Scripture Reference: Revelation 3:6-8 (AMPC); Revelation 3:19-20 (AMPC); Revelation 4:1-2 (AMPC); Acts 10:9-13 (AMPC); Acts 10:15-17 (AMPC)
… Add into your life everything that God wants for you and that your life will not be the same. I came into church this morning, recognising once again, I actually spoke it aloud to myself just to remind myself and I said this to myself, I said this; “John, do you realise?” Actually, I was driving, as I came out of my driveway and I was coming through on the road right from my garage, I said to myself; “John, do you realise that this is a service this morning that can never be replicated? It will never ever happen again and last week’s service can never be done again. That you are about to go into an encounter with God that you’ve never had before and that you’ll never be able to duplicate again? So, get yourself ready, John, to have an encounter with God.” I was speaking to myself – even as you minister, get yourself ready to have an encounter with God because last week’s encounter can never be had again and today’s encounter can never be had again. God designed it like that because every time we meet with Him it’s supposed to be unique and special and intimate and amazing. It’s never meant to be dull and boring and just the same because there’s nothing that’s the same in God. I mean, He is who He is and He’s so magnificent. The best way you can describe it is looking at a diamond ring that whenever the light catches a diamond ring in a certain way, there’s going to be a different colour refraction of light that’s going to hit it differently every time. Same ring, same light, but different all the time. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Do you agree with my prayer this morning? Thank you. Then you may be seated and the children that want to leave may go. Hallelujah. Thank you. Hallelujah.
I need the door up here. I need it to be put right over there and I need my round table, not my pulpit. Sorry, guys, that’s what I was trying to show you. Turn it a little bit sideways. That’s it. Perfect. Perfect. Thank you. Andre, I’m not sure. Does this door open? Look at that. Andre made the door open for me. That’s it. Thank you. Praise the Lord. I got my hankie. Praise Jesus. Thank you. You ready for the Word this morning? I want to say thank you to Andre for making this door for me because I didn’t give him much notice and I recognise that he, actually, did a fantastic job in a very short period of time. We will be using this door over the next couple of weeks and for as long as we need to have this door on stage, we’ll be using it, just as an example because it’s a year for new doors. It’s a new door year.
I haven’t yet done a service, where I’ve had this door on the platform. Right? So, it’s then, a new door. Isn’t it? I mean, I can safely say because I know Andre made this custom-made for this service. Legs and all. It’s a new door. [Pastor John pushes the door open] I mean, I can open it as wide as I want. I can close it. I can open it. I can, I mean, it only goes this wide, but if it’s wide open, then it’s wide open and you can walk through it. Right? If I walk through the new door, you know, I can stand and look at you through the door, but I have to fundamentally go through it to be able to say I went through it. Right? I know this is basic stuff, but the visualisation of it is important. So, I’m going to walk back.
Now, this new door that is on the stage today was designed based on my specifications and my idea and I wanted it to be here so that we could talk about it. The Word that the Lord had for us through Brother Jerry; this year is that He is opening a new door and when He opens this new door, you will experience supernatural increase like you’ve never experienced before. Some people might say; well, you know, for me a supernatural increase is not, it won’t be very difficult for me to experience the supernatural increase because if you have nothing then anything is increase. Right? Other people might say; well, I’ve got a lot, so for God to give me supernatural increase like I’ve never experienced before, that would mean that He would have to do something mighty significant. So, the answer is yes to all of that. Yes. Yes. Amen.
The Word that came through Brother Copeland, also said that this year will be a year of great change. Wonderful and magnificent changes in the Kingdom of God on the earth. Changes that will come because of insights, ideas and concepts, directly from Jesus to His Church by the mighty Holy Spirit. Glorious concepts of His laws, of how His laws work, the laws governing increase and financial prosperity. Hallelujah.
It’s been quite wonderful for me because as I’ve been meditating on this word, I’ve started to go back to all the notes that I have been preaching and talked about for many years; about business and finance. Some of you know that we have a business school. We have a Foundations of Business and we have Business Leadership School. I was going through some of those notes that are about business and I began to recognise some of the revelations that God had given me so many years ago – how significant they are becoming now. I’m looking for an opportunity that I can share them with you.
I want to tell you that it’s also in my heart and I’ve got some plans about that, that in the remainder of the year that part of our celebration will include a period of time where we celebrate the servants of God and the principle of serving. We will have an entire month where we are going to celebrate serving. We are going to celebrate some servants because, actually, without people giving their gifts, at any and all the levels in the ministry, we would not be celebrating twenty years of ministry. Isn’t that right? Later on, in this year, we are going to celebrate worship and we are also going to celebrate prayer.
These things God has put on my heart and we are going to set special time aside, so that we can do these things because this is how we made twenty years in the ministry. Although these are not new ideas and they’re not new concepts, per se, we’ve never done that in our church before, so, that’s new for us. I believe that this year, as we celebrate some of these things and we declare the supernatural increase of God, we are going to see marvels and wonders and we’re going to see the extraordinary greatness of our God come upon us in spectacular ways. Spectacular ways. I don’t want to spend too much time talking to you about the point of contact, but you have all sowed a seed, we have all sowed a seed, as a point of contact for the supernatural increase. That means, you can expect ideas, concepts, you can expect insights to be coming to you, that will allow you to see a new door. Seeing a new door is just one part of the equation, you’ve got to see a new door.
Now, I wanted to put this on the stage, because, if this door, as it was down there, maybe many of you sitting on that side of the auditorium, until Pastor Sharon nearly stole my thunder. If she didn’t see and didn’t tell you about the door that was there; you wouldn’t have seen it. It’s only when we took the door, and brought it up on the stage and I began to talk about it, that you became to, “oh this is significant, this is not just a door stuck on the side because we are doing a building project.”
It’s one thing to see a door, it’s another thing to see a door in the context of, what does this door mean and how am I going to go about opening this door. Every door has a handle or it has a way of opening the door. If it’s just a swing door that can swing both ways, then it will have a different kind of mechanism, this particular door has a handle on it, so that you can open it; it’s not locked but it has a handle so that you can open it.
These things are obvious in the natural, but if the Lord has said to us that He’s going to show us new doors then there are some things that we need to recognise and realise, and one of the things is that; you’ve got to see where the new door is. There will be many opportunities or doors that will present themselves to you, that you haven’t seen before. Because when you start looking, you begin to see things that you haven’t seen before.
I wonder how many times you’ve driven from your house to the local shop where you buy, maybe you put in gas, petrol, you maybe buy milk or bread or something from there, and you know the route that you drive to that place. I wonder how many times you drive on that day, and eighty percent of what you’re driving past is so the same as yesterday, that you don’t even think that there is anything different; because it just looks very much the same. Right? But it is possible that as you’re driving, as you’re driving to the shop, that one of your neighbours that you’re not even aware of, has built a room on the side of their house that you didn’t see them build; and you wouldn’t pay attention and notice because you’ve been riding on that same road all the time.
Or maybe a new neighbour moves into the area, and you weren’t there when the truck came to deliver their stuff, so you wouldn’t even know there is a new person in the neighbourhood. If you got into the car and you started to say, ‘“You know what, things are changing in this neighbourhood, let me pay attention to see what’s going on in this neighbourhood. How many people are coming and going. How many people are building or not. How many people are doing things?” Suddenly you become aware of just even a small load of bricks that is delivered, that’s on the side of the road, that you maybe wouldn’t have taken notice of. You have to have an awareness, before you can actually see anything. You have to have an awareness.
Last week I spoke to you and I said to you, that if we are going to have a new door that we are going to go through and, remember I spoke about the door that the children of Israel had to walk through. Every one of them had to walk through a door, that was sprinkled with the blood of a Lamb, in order for them to escape the calamity of the angel of death, right?
That’s very significant to us, I think, in this season that whatever we are going to do, we have got to make sure that we are walking through the door, that has been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. Walking through the door that has been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, is just the first phase. I said to you, as the people left their dwellings, God was taking them from a very, from a place that they were used to everything, every part of their day was a routine, every part of the people that lived around them, they knew. They knew where to get water, where not to go, what to do, what to say, where to go to work, how to come back from work, they knew, you know, which day was the sabbath day, they knew which was… their community was all the same. Now, they were going to go through a new door, where everything was different and they were leaving everything behind.
I just have made six points for you today, that came out of last week’s message and so the first point I didn’t make last week, but I want to say this to you. I want you to be aware that you should not compare, what the journey, or what the new door looks like to anyone else or anything else. If you try and compare what is happening to you versus comparing what is happening to someone else, then you will be distracted by the comparison and you won’t actually be ready to receive everything that is happening to you.
Don’t compare, don’t compare what’s happening to you, or not happening to you but it’s happening to someone else. Hello. Because the minute you get into this mindset of comparison, then you’re actually trying to say, “Well maybe I missed it, maybe I‘m not focused enough, maybe God doesn’t care for me as much as He cares for someone else, maybe I’m not experiencing as much supernatural as someone else is.” So if you get into the comparison mindset then you are going to begin to undermine your faith for the supernatural; so be wary and beware, don’t get into comparison.
I especially want to say this, don’t compare your… so, a lot of what will be preached this year, by definition of the fact that most people want some kind of financial release, don’t compare your financial situation to anything that has happened in your past. Because the minute you compare your current situation to anything that has happened in the past, you’re always making something in the past, the landmark. The other thing is; if you make a comparison to what you have as an expectation and you start comparing to where you, where it looks like you are, versus comparing to where you want to be, you’re also going to undermine your faith. So, don’t compare. Don’t get into the comparing mindset.
I made this point, point number two is, prevent yourself from getting into comfort zone crime. Do not get into a comfort zone crime. It’s a crime to live in a comfort zone. Hello. I want to say, it’s probably the biggest crime that we perpetuate on ourselves every day, because every day you have a tendency to look for a comfort zone, and the last thing you actually ever want to do is live in comfort. I’m not saying that your life shouldn’t be comfortable in terms of the overall peace and safety and security of your life, but when I’m talking about a comfort zone crime I’m talking about habit, I’m talking about goods, and I’m talking about processes, that you trust in to make your life comfortable. Because when you trust in those things to make your life comfortable you’re busy committing a crime against your faith. Because your faith never wants you to be comfortable. Your faith is always wanting you to reach for better and more. Hallelujah.
Point number three, don’t connect to the past for confirmation as to whether you’re making progress. Your progress is not based on how different your circumstances now look to your past. Just take this point where you are now, and say, “I am expecting a change in my status.” So, don’t connect to the past for confirmation of your progress.
Become unchanged, point number four. Become unchained from your current status. In other words, do not use your current status as a point that says; this is my reference. Unchain yourself from your current status and allow God to move you forward. Whatever that looks like. You see, because at this point in time this door here is just in the middle of nowhere. It’s just sitting on the stage. It’s literally unattached. There’s no building it’s attached to, there’s no wall that’s attached to, there’s nothing attaching this door to anything. There’s just a frame on the door to keep it up, but if you chose a door that was attached to many other things from the past, I wouldn’t be able to show you this new door, because by default if I put a new door on the back of the building there, it would be a new door but it’s all attached to so many other new things, some of my old things in my life that walking through the new door won’t mean very much because I’m still chained and my new doors still chained to all my old stuff.
Hello, so you must walk, point number five, you must walk, see and talk covenant future. Don’t walk, see and talk reference points to the old. You must walk, see and talk your covenant future.
Number six, you must be courageous and obedient to His guidance. Courageous and obedient to His guidance.
So, to me I just used six keywords. The keyword was compare, comfort, connect, current, covenant and courageous. So, you’ve got it all there, I gave it to you. I have prepared a prayer for you which is, before we started the service, so you’re not allowed to look on your phones now, but it is on our Facebook page and it is on our website. I’ve prepared a prayer for you, a declaration that includes all of these things. Shall I read it to you?
I am a son of God and therefore I walk purposefully. I am alert. I received the gift of peace and do not accept fear, intimidation and feelings of being unsettled. I do not compare my new door to anyone, to anything or anyone. I do not concern myself with current status, neither do I look back to my previous comfort zones. My comfort status. I am unchained from the past and any limitations. I look forward to covenant status. In Jesus’ Name. I expect God’s favour, His blessing, wisdom and understanding as part of my covenant. I am courageous and obedient to God’s written Word and to the prophetic Word. I am a son of God, therefore I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. I will be bold. I will be courageous. I will be fearless, in Jesus Name. I receive supernatural increase in Jesus Name! Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. You can find that on the Facebook page, and on the website, www.hofmi.net, in case you want to know Hallelujah.
I’m going to read to you today, this passage of Scripture from the book of Revelation and I’m reading from two versions, well my first Scripture is just from the Amplified, but it’s Revelation 3 verse 6, 6He who is able to hear, let him listen and heed what the [Holy] Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). 7And to the angel (messenger)… (Revelation 3:6-7 AMPC) Actually that word angel, is more correctly interpreted as messenger. If you read the book of Revelation, it talks about the angels, but actually, it’s all properly interpreted as messengers because he was actually writing the letters in Revelation, to the senior messengers of the churches. Meaning I am, if I am the messenger of God to this church, he was writing the letter to me, as the messenger.
7To the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Philadelphia, write: These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, He Who was the key of David, Who opens and no one shall shut, Who shuts and no one shall open: 8I know your [record of] works and what you are doing. See! I have set before you a door wide open which no one is able to shut; I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept My Word and guarded My message and have not renounced or denied My name. (Revelation 3:7-8 AMPC) I want to tell you today, that when God opens and presents a new door to you, and He opens the door, there is no one that can shut it. It doesn’t matter how much power you think you have or how little power you have. You have enough power to go through that door. You have enough power to get everything that God has given you, even if your power is that you have not renounced and denied His Name. Hallelujah.
That’s why I keep on saying, I am a son of God. You may want to say, I’m a son of God and I proclaim His Name. Even if you’re just proclaiming it to yourself. I’m a son of God, and I proclaim His Name. You know it just means you’re not denying His Name. You’re making His Name a part of your life. I am a son of God and I proclaim His Name, even if it’s just to me first, and to no one else, at least I’m proclaiming His Name. Praise the Lord.
19To those, verse 19, 19To those I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell you their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them] (Revelation 3:19 AMPC). I want to tell you, that whatever your progress is that you are going into, into life, you will feel some discomfort and you will feel some things that you are not, what you would think, “ahh this doesn’t feel like supernatural increase because it feels like squirming time, like a parent disciplining a child.”
Well, if there is some correction that is coming to your behaviour or your life, don’t squirm and try and get out of it to make yourself comfortable. I want to encourage you to embrace it, because God only tells you what needs changing because He loves you. Not because He is trying to condemn you. Not because He is trying to make you feel bad. Not because He is trying to make you fit into a church lifestyle pattern. Not because there is a culture in a church and you must fit into the culture of the church. He is only going to bring discipline to you, so that you can change yourself.
It is one of the reasons I hate religion. A religious spirit always wants you to change to fit the culture of a behaviour pattern that is established by other Christians, which they think is the God way of doing things. The minute any church says that this is the pattern that you must adhere to, in other words, in order to be in this church, that is not the love of God. Hello, Praise the Lord.
Now, I mean there is something, there is a different law at work, so I am just going to give you an example: If Sharon is making some food for us, and we are going to sit down and we are going to have a meal together and I show up at the table, just in my jockstrap, my underpants, you know. No, no, not even the Gilbert, my underpants, my Jockeys – You get the idea? I mean our relationship can handle that, but it is just rude, it is dishonourable, it is disrespectful.
So, you know, if she puts candles on the table, I might pitch up there without any clothes on at all, you know, and that is a different conversation. [Pastor John laughing] You know, that would be a completely different conversation, but, and it would be a different purpose for that, but I am saying in the normal course of life, if she’s made food and we are going to sit down and we are going to have a meal together. We are just, this is a natural friendship, life, marriage, living together and enjoy a moment, for me to just show up you know, naked or just in my underpants, it is just bad manners, it is just rude.
That is different to say, you must always come to a meal that I have prepared with a tie and a jacket on otherwise it is disrespectful. Do you understand what I am saying? One comes out of the natural joy of honour and dignity of being together, the other one is a law, rule-based thing that demands a performance. I am preaching really good, today. Hallelujah.
The next passage of scripture says: Behold verse 20, 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him and he [will eat] with Me (Revelation 3:20 AMPC). There is a relationship that is being established here and this relationship obviously refers to the door of your life, okay?
So, you can imagine Jesus standing at the door and knocking. [Pastor John knocks on door] I want in. Well, Jesus why don’t you just break the door down? Because I have given you a free will and I won’t open this door, but I will let you know that I am here. I am always knocking. I am always wanting to be where you are. What does that look like?
Well, for starters this message today is knocking at the door of your life, and this message today is saying, “Have a better, more intimate walk with God.” I will tell you there are other things that are knocking on the door of your life. The Bible is full of these things. In the book of Matthew, he talks about the cares of this world are knocking at the door of your life. Deceitfulness of riches is knocking at the door of your life. Do you know what the deceitfulness of riches is? The deceitfulness of riches is that money or wealth answers every problem, so therefore, you must pursue that with everything you’ve got, because that is the answer to your problems. [Pastor John keeps on knocking] It will knock on the door of your life.
The Bible says there is something else that knocks on the door of your life in the book of Matthew, and the Bible says, it is the lust of other things. In other words, whatever you possess is not enough, I lust after more possessions – it is knocking at the door of your life.
There is another thing that knocks on the door of your life – it is the lust of your eyes. In other words, I need things to be satisfying to me and only when I am satisfied with things, that please me do I feel happy. Those are all things that are knocking on the door of your life and the Bible says that when those things knock on the door of your heart and you allow them into your heart, they will choke you. They will choke you, and they will prevent your future from having any meaning. Hallelujah.
Sometimes these things happen in the form of relationships. Sometimes these things happen in the form of opportunities. These things happen from different sources and in different ways, but they will knock on the door of your life and Jesus is saying, 20Behold, I stand at the door of your heart, I stand there and I am knocking; and if you listen to and heed My voice and open the door, I will come in and will eat with you and you with me (Revelation 3:20 AMPC). What He is saying is when you let Me into your life, we will have a level of relationship that is the most satisfactory that you could ever experience in your life.
What He is saying is, I desire to come and live with you where your world is, so that you can live in Me, with Me, where My world is. This is the foundation of our whole Christian life. Where He is come to live with you, where your world is, but He doesn’t want to leave you in your world. He is going to be there with you so that you can live with Him in His world because that is where the real progress comes, is when you live with Him in His world.
Revelation chapter four verse one says, 1After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard addressing me like [the calling of] a war trumpet said, …(Revelation 4:1 AMPC) Notice he didn’t say it was a war trumpet, I am just giving you some ideas of where I got my meditation from. 1He addressed me like [the calling of] a war trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place in the future (Revelations 4:1, AMPC). This is a door that was opened, that he could see, see a, saw a door and the door opened. That door was not a real door like this door is a real door. That door was a door in the heavens, and this door was for him to get access into a heavenly realm, that he, he had to transition from his natural earthly ability, into a heavenly ability and he had to go through this door; which opened to him.
And I came, and so he said…, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place in the future. 2At once I came under the [Holy] Spirit’s power, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne! (Revelations 4:1-2, AMPC). I just want to show you, that whatever the new door is that’s going to open to you; you’re going to see it under the power of the Holy Spirit. There are things that you will see in your soul, in your heart, you will see them in your spirit before you will see them in the natural.
I can maybe refer to some of my musician friends sitting at the back there, and I can say; it’s an amazing thing to me when someone who is very proficient at playing an instrument. They hear a sound in their head before they actually play the sound on the actual instrument with the guitar or drums. They hear the rhythm, they hear the sound, they are, you know. I’ve seen it with my son Garth, when he’s writing a song. He writes words and then he’ll hit up a few chords on the piano and I can see that he’s looking for a sound, something that he can hear.
He doesn’t know exactly where it is yet, but he can hear it. He is looking for the combination of chords that are going to bring about the sound. He can hear it, but he can’t, he’s not yet playing it. While he’s playing it, he’s saying, “Ah, that sounds like the chord I want to play.” Then he plays another chord, “That sounds like on I can combine with this chord.” There is a certain level of knowledge of chords, how they progress together and how they work together, that comes into play.
Well, that’s the same with your walk with God, if you have absolutely no knowledge of God, it’s going to be very difficult to see the door in the spirit. So, it works together; your knowledge of the Word and your knowledge of the prophetic Word, begin to work together, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, you will begin to see things that you say, “I know there’s a prosperity coming here somewhere and it’s got to do, maybe with the connection to this person, maybe with this business. Maybe I’ve got to phone here or I’ve got to make a call there, or I’ve got to research this, or I’ve got to do something here.” You can’t yet touch it, but you know it’s, there’s a combination that’s got to come together for it to work. Hello?
So, if you remain unchained to your past, and if you do not perceive your current status to be the thing, that demands where your next step is. Then you are able to just with absolute, without limitations and with freedom, you’re able to see things that you wouldn’t see before. Amen.
Today, as I’m speaking to you, I have filters on. My filters are my contact lenses and they allow me to see you, more clearly then I would be able to see you if I wasn’t wearing them. You even forgot that I was wearing contact lenses because they have become so part of my life. I’m saying, if you can’t see clearly because there’s something wrong with your sight, you need to get filters. You need to get Holy Ghost filters. The power of the Holy Spirit needs to come on your eyes so that you can see where the new door is. The new door, to begin with, may be unattached to anything that you’ve ever seen, most likely. It might just seem like a door that’s not attached to anything, and it might look a bit weird to you; it’s just in the middle of nowhere. How can this door be significant?
Well, you see, if you got to see it spiritually, you’re going to see it spiritually unattached to anything, before you can walk through it naturally. So, you got to be prepared, to walk through doors that seem like they’re insignificant. Hello? Because you don’t know what sits on the other side of this door. In the weeks to come, I will change our set here, a little bit, to remind you. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.
I’m going through new doors. Me, John Bendixen, I’m going through new doors. I am, and I’ve got news for you, because you’re in this church, some of those new doors, you don’t have a choice, you’re coming with me. Nick, I want to tell you; I just love the way you play the guitar. Riaan and Denholm, I love the way you play your instruments. Miles, the way you played, you are doing those bongos and those things, it’s lekker. Garth, I think your piano playing is amazing. The singers, I mean isn’t it cool?
I was sitting up here this morning thinking, when Nick was going through a thing with, I was thinking about the leader. I wonder how the older generation of people in this church are handling this music. I did have a thought about that. I thought; I wonder if older generation people like it or they don’t like it? As a pastor, it’s a concern to me. I don’t want to lose anybody in the ministry, because they don’t like the music. I don’t want to, but I’ve got to go into new doors and change and experience new things and some people might not like it. I’m hoping that they’ll change with me.
I’m hoping that they’ll change with me because, there’s things on the other side of, and let me tell you, there’s things that God is doing because I believed Him for it twenty years ago. That God is doing now. It might be yet in a fairly raw form of how we’re delivering it, but just wait, the anointing of the Holy Ghost is coming upon everything we are doing, and it’s going to change and look significant and do amazing things in the Kingdom of God. Don’t judge a child’s future capability because he’s two years old. Hallelujah.
I’m going through some stuff. I’m going through them with God and I’m believing you’re going to all come with. If you’re seventy or eighty years old, come and dance with us. Maybe you, maybe you grew up you know, with a piano accordion [making accordion sounds]. We’ll find you one somewhere, we’ll find it, and we’ll add it into the band. Not the orrel. There’s a Afrikaans word for it; a trekorrel, dis die woord, trekklavier nê? [making accordion sounds]. In a minute, Grobbies is going to remind me of, what’s that couple? Die Briels! [laughter]. We’re not going back to Die Briels. I tell you what, what I am believing God for is only just begun when it comes to music because I want to have a violin, I want to have a saxophone, I want to have different kinds of instruments that fill this space of music, that we can worship the Lord with here. Hallelujah.
I fully expect this to happen. I’m telling you I saw this more than twenty years ago. I saw this happen. I saw us having praise and worship sessions with all manners of instruments and the anointing of God coming so strongly into the church service that people will just begin to get healed, and people were delivered and people were restored, and relationships came back together and all manner of sickness and disease and evil spirits just flee out of the room, because of the quality of the music. Where do you get that from Pastor John? Well, David came in and King Saul was all oppressed with all manner of evil spirits that oppressed him and when he came to play him worship songs, the Bible says, “The peace came upon him and all those spirits left him.”
I’ve got new doors I’m seeing in the spirit; you’re going to come with me. I know Pastor Sharon sees them too. Do you want to prophesy, Sharon? Otherwise, I don’t want to hand the service to you, but if you want to prophecy come and say something.
Pastor Sharon: Pastor John I just wanted to share with you that Sandy, you know after her operation, she was experiencing some after-effects quite badly and during the worship of the special services, she said she felt the power of God while she was ministering to the Lord in song and instruments and worship. She felt the power of God in her completely, completely healed her. She hasn’t had that symptom once again and she knows it’s gone. She felt it inside of herself.
Pastor John: Hallelujah, hallelujah, praise You, Jesus. Glory to God. I tell you, you can break down anything in your life. You can say, “Well it’s just a bunch of strings, put onto a piece of wood or plastic and some guy playing them or some pieces of skin over a kettle and hitting it with a stick. What can that do to change anybody?” Then you don’t understand contact point either. The contact point is the sound and then your faith is mixed with the sound to bring about worship. Just like your money when you put it in the offering is the contact point to your future. Hallelujah.
I’ll tell you, I would not have a future, because I would not be able to preach what I preach to you today if Sharon and I were not in such a bad financial situation that we couldn’t buy groceries for the next month. Because of our faith and the little bit of seed that we had that we’ve sowed, because of our faith, a lady came and just knocked on the door and said, “I come from the church and the Lord told me to come and buy you a month’s groceries.” Took her and she went into a supermarket and the lady said because she didn’t know what to buy. The lady said, “Just go down the aisles and fill the trolley. Fill it, fill it, full to brimming over just fill it.” She went with that lady and walked up and down the aisles and filled her trolley. She came home with that stuff and I came home from work and didn’t know if we were going to eat anything.
She said, “John,” because we didn’t have cell phones those days you know it’s a long time ago. We have been married 38 going on 39 years, in a couple of weeks. I don’t look that old hey? I’m not that old in my heart either. I came home that day and Sharon said, “John, we’ve got a miracle; someone bought us groceries for a month.” So, we talked about it, we prayed over it and we knew that some friends down the road were in the same situation as us. So, we said, “Well if God can meet our needs because of our faith let’s go and sow half of our groceries into someone else’s life.”
We took half of our groceries and walked them down the road and gave them to our friends who didn’t have food either. We could have taken the situation, “Well we’ve got the faith sorry for those guys.” No, no, we wanted to, we said, “If God can do this once He can do it again.” The way that we get Him to do it again is we give this one. We share it. It’s like you mean you’re going to give half of your month’s stuff away that you’ve believed for? Exactly. You understand that when you give half of it away, you are potentially putting yourself into poverty within two weeks. Hello?
That was just the beginning because from that day to this day we have never had empty cupboards again. We’ve never lacked food again, we never lacked rent again, we’ve never lacked anything again. We understand that our future is dependent on how we believe God’s Word what our point of contact is, not what anybody else says it can be.
I don’t compare my life to anybody else’s life. I don’t compare myself to the fact that, of anything. I just got to walk with God based on my walk. Hallelujah. Ok, what’s the time here? I’m out of time. Praise the Lord, but I know you want me to keep preaching. Hey? I’ve got another five points, but I’ll get to that another time.
I want to just leave you with this story because you can read it for yourself this week. I need to just tell you the story. There was a man by the name of Cornelius and he was living in this Caesarea and he was a known, he was a captain or a centurion in the Italian regiment. He did a lot of good things for God’s people and he had a dream and in this dream he saw the Apostle Peter in his house. He said, “But that’s not possible that the Apostle Peter will come to my house.”
At the same time, three o’clock in the afternoon that he was having a dream that Peter was coming to the house, Peter was having his own dream. It says in Acts chapter 10. 9…. Peter went up to the roof of the house to pray, about the sixth hour (noon). 10But he became very hungry, and wanted something to eat; and while the meal was being prepared a trance came over him, in other words, he went into the spirit realm. 11And he saw the sky opened and something like a great sheet lowered by the four corners, descending to the earth. 12It contained all kinds of quadrupeds and wild beasts and creeping things of the earth and birds of the air. 13And there came a voice to him, saying, Rise up, Peter, kill and eat. 14But Peter said, No, by no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unhallowed or [ceremonially] unclean (Acts 10:9-13 AMPC).
Do you understand what Peter was just doing? He was making everything in his past his contact point. He was making everything in his past, he was connected to his past which became something that, as he was comparing what God said he was able to eat, he looked at his past ceremony and said, “I can’t eat of it.” He was restricted, he was limited, he was chained. He was everything that God wanted him to be free of, he was actually evaluating all of it, immediately on his past. His comfort zone, even his covenant was the point of his reference point.
15And the voice came to him again a second time, What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, do not you defile and profane by regarding and calling common and unhallowed or unclean. (Acts 10:15 AMPC) In other words, God is about to get you through a new door and He’s pronounced it to be clean. He’s pronounced it to be His will. He pronounced it to be God-ordained. He’s pronounced it to be good for you. Don’t you get into a place and say, “Because of my past and all of the ceremonies of my past and all of my covenants of the past and all of the things that limited me in the past and all of my connections of the past and all of my status of the past, is going to hold me from going through the new door. If you do that, you make it unclean for yourself not because God prevents you.
16This occurred three times; then immediately the sheet was taken up to heaven. In other words, this wasn’t a real-time experience he was having. This was a spiritual conversation. 17Now Peter was still inwardly perplexed and doubted as to what the vision which he had seen could mean, when [just then] behold the messengers that were sent by Cornelius, who had made inquiry for Simon’s house, stopped and stood before the gate (Acts 10:16-17 AMPC). So, this thing is happening, real-time in spirit that Cornelius is wanting Peter because he saw a vision. Peter’s having a vision because God wants to connect him to Cornelius. Cornelius sends his messengers to his house, but they are Gentiles, they’re not Jews. These people are not supposed to have the Holy Spirit.
Then he understands, I’ve got to go there. These three messengers take him to Cornelius’ house and then as he is preaching the Word to them, the Holy Ghost falls on them and they all begin to speak in tongues. Then he says, “If these people can speak in tongues, what prevents them from being baptized?” He takes the whole household and immediately baptizes them in water, and they become born-again spirit-filled, baptized, Holy Ghost, full of power Christians. These are Gentiles, never been done before; to the point where Peter’s got to go and explain himself to the other apostles.
I finish with this, I want to tell you, people, that this is a season where you’re going to have things happen to you that have never; you’ve never seen things like this before. You’ve never heard of things like this before. It might seem like it’s impossible, it might even be against everything you’ve been taught, everything you’ve learned, everything that has been in your world and you’ve got to say, “It’s about the Holy Spirit now. It’s about the Holy Spirit guiding me and leading me now. This is, and I’ve got to see that door, I’ve got to walk through that door.”
Let me tell you, what you see; I’m going to, I’m not going to be here next Sunday, because God is doing new things for me, based on my seven strikes. Hey, you might just hear about things that are happening to Pastor John that are just supernatural. Don’t be surprised, don’t be surprised. Hallelujah. So, I want to just leave you with this, Pastor Sharon is going to preach next Sunday, but I’m going to ask them to put this door here. I’ve got some things that I’m going to do with this door that I’m going to do anyway for next Sunday. So, that you can just, this is going to always be a reminder to you, for this whole season.
I know this, I know this, I want, I want you to just imagine that Peter is the leader, he’s the senior apostle of this new church. Every move he makes is scrutinized. You understand this is the same Peter that walks from the place of prayer and his shadow is falling on people and they are getting healed. I mean, he’s got a reputation now and suddenly God is asking Him to go to the unclean people and minister the Word to them. He is saying, by no means, by no means, I won’t do that. God says to him, “Who are you to judge what is unclean when I’ve made it clean?” I’ll tell you that’s a big deal, it’s a big deal.
I leave you with this. As I said to you, as I said to you earlier on, I’m just going to remind you. Do not compare yourself, don’t let your comfort zone prevent you from going into a new space. Don’t connect to your past for confirmation about what’s about to happen, because if you take past things that you’ve done for confirmation, then the confirmation that you seek, will always limit you to what you can go into. Unchain yourself from your current status. Walk, see and talk covenant future. Be courageous and obedient to His guidance. Hallelujah.
I close with a prayer. I am a son of God and therefore I walk purposefully. I am alert, I receive the gift of peace and do not accept fear, intimidation and feelings of being unsettled. I do not compare my new door to anything or anyone. I do not concern myself with my current status, neither do I look back to my previous comfort status. I am unchained from my past and any limitations. I look forward to covenant status in Jesus Name. I expect God’s favour, His blessing, wisdom and understanding as part of my covenant. I am courageous and obedient to God’s written Word and to the prophetic word. I am a son of God; therefore, I can do all things through Christ Jesus Who strengthens me. I will be bold, I will be courageous, I will be fearless in Jesus Name. I receive supernatural increase in Jesus Name. Praise the Lord, hallelujah. Glory to Jesus, glory to Jesus.
This is a whole new season we are in, people. Expect wonders and miracles and wonderful things to happen to your life. Hallelujah, won’t you all stand with me, please? Did you get something out of the service today? I feel like, I got to, have you say this with me, I want you to say; I see my new doors, Lord, I see my new doors, Lord, I see it, Lord. I receive it, Lord, I am bold Lord, I’m going to walk through it, Lord. I receive it, Lord. I see it, Lord. Hallelujah, praise Jesus, praise Jesus.
Put your hand on your heart again, I am a son of God and therefore I have no need to fear. I am a son of God and therefore my future is secure in Jesus Name. Hallelujah, glory to God.
I pray that this week ahead will be full of peace. I pray that this week will be full of understanding, will be full of God for you. He is standing at the door of your heart and He’s knocking, because He wants you to go through the new doors and I pray that you will see the new doors and nothing will come between you and the things that God has for you this week, in Jesus Name. I pray that the Word of God surrounds you, protects you, and no weapon formed against you will prosper. You’re blessed going out and blessed coming in, in Jesus Name. He gives His angels charge over your life. So perhaps if you agree with this prayer you could say, “Angels listen to the Word of God today that comes out of my mouth, go work for me and get my new door working for me, in Jesus name. Amen.”
I enjoyed preaching to you today, thank you for coming to church. Totsiens, sala kahle, Auf Wiedersehen.
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