Scripture reference: 2 Corinthians 6:16 (NKJV); Matthew 16:15-18 (NKJV); Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJV); James 5:1-4 (NKJV); Matthew 5:24-26 (NKJV); Job 1:1-5 (MSG); Malachi 3:1-5 (AMPC); Hebrews 12:22-23; James 5:4 (NKJV);Matthew 10:5 (NLT); Matthew 23:37 (NKJV)
We all know that the Holy Spirit is here with us. The joy of the Lord is our strength. May we have the joy of the Lord, and be strong spiritually. We do not lose ground, we do not lose ground. Let us pray before we are going to listen to the Word of God this morning.
Father, we ask You the name of Jesus that Your anointing will be on this message today, touching every heart, every ear and that every heart Lord, we ask You, we will receive from You today. Father, we ask You that Your words will penetrate deeply and cause us to grow and to change, to become more like Jesus, in everything that we do. Father right now, in this wonderful atmosphere of Sound and Song, we just want to praise You already, for the light and the understanding that is coming to our hearts, because Your Word says, when we hear the Word of God, it brings great faith and understanding. So Lord we praise You right now, before the message is even starting today, break up hard ground in our hearts, if there is any.
We just want to start to praise You this morning. Lord we have already been in that flow. But now Lord we come to You and we say thank You, we say thank You, we praise You. To You Lord all the glory, we praise You. Oh we praise You Father. In the mighty name of Jesus, we praise You. We thank You, we thank You Holy Spirit, for being our helper teaching us all, You are showing us the things to come. We praise You today Father for this message that must come. Now Father, we ask You to bless and to anoint everything that happens in this service today, in the mighty name of Jesus. We all say Amen.
Praise the Lord. Well, a big, big good morning, and it’s wonderful to be here with you again. It is always a privilege when Pastor John is asking any of us to minister in Joburg. Pastor Lynn, it is a privilege to be here with you and all the congregation members and with Pastor Melusi here today. Praise the Lord. Well, we know it’s a long weekend, and some people are away and we bless them with a wonderful break. Some people can enjoy. But God has a very big important word for all of us today. Well, you just saw Pastor John and Sharon, and of course they are sending all their love to all of you all their love. Well, I say now, I mean, experiencing it with you today to be part of live worship. Because normally you see us in Witbank, it has really been a wonderful experience for me to see this today.
The title of my message this morning, Your money has a voice. So please go to second Corinthians chapter six, verse 16, I am really going to stay focused with what God is pushing on my heart. There is much, I will not be able to get to all of it today. I’m staying in the flow of the Holy Spirit to make a very good start today. Second Corinthians 6, verse 16 and I am reading from the New King James.
Before I start, I just want to say a big welcome to all visitors here today, people visiting and I just want to say to you, please know that we are busy with a new series of messages about Kingdom Finances. For all of us, it’s important to understand that God is going after the spirit of Mammon, and money and wealth and possessions. There is much that God wants to say to us today. Verse 16; 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). This is very easy to quote a scripture. When God is really, really our God, then we must decide, if we are really His people that will obey Him. Now, if you will immediately open your Bibles to… Pastor Sharon already shared with us, the scripture is speaking to us the Word of God. Allow the scripture to go into your heart and let your ears hear what God, Himself is saying.
Matthew 16, verse 15. You see God is now sending these messages, purifying our hearts to prepare us for the bigger level. We must understand that God is preparing us for an abundant overflow in the local church, the Ecclesia I’m going to give you a short recap of what Ecclesia is, because it is very important, for where I am going today with this message.
Matthew 16, verse 15 to 18 in the New King James, this is Jesus speaking here. 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” and then in verse 16 we see Peter answers him,16Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Now Just at this point verse 18 is very important 18And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, Church is a very important word here, we are going to talk about the ecclesia and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:15-18 NKJV).
Now, for us as congregation members here in Witbank, Johannesburg, Diepsloot, Lenasia; all of us, I know many of you already have a much better understanding of what the Greek word Ecclesia means. I need to say to some of you today, that many of you must still study the Word of God, in a better and a deeper way to understand the revelation about the Ecclesia. I have asked Daniel to put verse 18 on again for us. Jesus said that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and I want you to look at that word, church, because we are going to look at this. First of all the word church here, and I know you have heard this, but faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God. Church here, in Matthew, where Jesus is using this word, is actually not the correct word that we should be using. The Greek word here is Ecclesia. Jesus chose on purpose to use this word Ecclesia, because He wanted to show that He is not talking about the Synagogue, the Jews and the people at that time were used to the synagogue. So when Jesus was talking to the people here, the Jews were used to the synagogue, but at the same time, they understood Jesus 100% because at that time, the word Ecclesia was very well understood. Not the word in the church that we know. I mean most of us grew up using the word church, but God wants to bring real new revelation to us. So all His disciples and all the other people around them, now this is important, they knew what an Ecclesia was, and how it operated.
For our understanding today, what is the meaning of Ecclesia and I have asked Daniel also to put this up for you. Number one, Ecclesia is governmental, it is judicial, and legislative. That means it is about legal matters, not just going to church and singing a few songs. It is very important. Now, if we say governmental, judicial and legislative, what does that mean? Well, church, us – the Ecclesia, it is the assembly of individuals who hold a position as citizens touching political and judicial matters. With such an assembly comes when they come together, like we are right now, here is the local church. They and this is what Pastor Sharon has put together for us and both Pastor John and Sharon have taught much on this. It is so good for your eyes to see these again. When we come together on a Sunday or we pray in a prayer meeting, we are creating laws. Remember, it’s judicial. Key judicial cases were decided in that time of Jesus when the Ecclesia came together. Governmental decisions were debated, policies, affecting both internal and external affairs were formulated. Customs and cultural rules were adapted and changed. State decisions are proclaimed, and officials were appointed.
Now it would have been wonderful if we all knew this for years, especially when you were growing up, that the church actually means all of these things that you had a closer look at. Only citizens could attend a meeting like that. And very important, everyone was invited. I mean, people, everyone is invited to church here this morning. Only citizens, why? You had to be planted in a place, not just being a visitor. You can all understand, you just go, you don’t go to a place as a visitor, and then all of a sudden you want a say in that place, it doesn’t work like that. No, people living there, paying taxes, owning land, they have to decide; not just a person passing by. That’s very important when it comes to our understanding of being planted in the local church.
So, is it with church. You cannot do church-hopping and think you can have a say or even think that your prayers are going to make a difference. People have to be planted where God wants them. There, your praying and your saying will change things. Now, you will all remember, and it was very powerful, the last Prayer Connect we had online with Pastor Sharon before, of course, now, our Prayer Connect meetings have started again, but Pastor Sharon shared with us on that last evening, that our heavenly language when we pray in the Spirit, is full of legalities, because we are planted, and when we pray, we bring all the legalities to God in prayer – what must happen in our city, and in our nation. That’s very, very powerful to understand where I’m going today for what God wants to say.
You can open your Bible so long at Hebrews, the tenth Chapter, verse 24. So, I’ve said the local church, which is actually the correct word, ecclesia, is governmental, judicial, and legislative. In a time of Jesus, and here with us today, people were called out from their private lives and summoned to take their seats in this distinguished assembly. They counted it – and this is what God wants from us today – they counted it a great privilege and honour to be part of this local assembly, the ecclesia. Many Christians know nothing about this, they do not understand the immense importance of going to church, missing out on the assembling of yourselves together with other believers – for many Christians, they think Sunday is an ‘offday’, they do not understand how important it is.
Now, again, we’re going to look at Hebrews 10. Look how God is telling us to go to church, and to not neglect the assembling of ourselves together. Verse 24, 24And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, Why? Verse 25, 25not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…(Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV). That means come to church. Now why does Jesus really, really want us to go to church, and not to miss a Sunday morning, and not to miss a prayer meeting? Because if you don’t go, the supply of your spirit is not there. Actually like Pastor John ministered on a lot, you are actually splitting the church, because your supply of the spirit is not there. It’s like when a mom or dad leaves a family, all of a sudden a wife must be a husband, mom and dad. Or a dad must be mom and wife. Because one person’s supply of the spirit and giftings left. So you weaken that family. You weaken that assembly that’s coming together. And if God wanted you there, even if we pray for our nation, and you sit in your chair, and you go, “Amen”. The power is in agreement.
So exactly what’s happening here? Every time God speaks, every time we pray for our nation, and you are sitting there and you come into agreement just by saying, “Yes Lord.” That is you sitting in your chair, legislating and saying, “It will be so”. If you stay away, and you are not actively part of where God has planted you, the supply of your spirit is not there, but also your gifting, also your gifting, your anointing, the calling, the mantles that God has planned for your life is missing. Can you really, really see why this is so important? Why you have to answer to Jesus because you’ve got something more important to do on a Sunday, when He’s calling. This is God’s work. When we’ve got a prayer meeting, but you’ve got other activities that are more important, and we will talk about that again. We’re supposed to be part of the local assembly, because in that, by coming and doing our part, we are affecting and creating laws, influencing governmental cases, and affecting policies and rules in the spirit there where we are planted.
Now, one thing that I want to make sure that you hear me today, of course, I’m going to go into that direction right now. Where God is planting you and not where you are planting yourself. God said, “You did not choose your own natural family, you did not choose your mom and dad or your brothers and sisters, then why do you think you can choose your own spiritual family?” God does the choosing. That, of course, comes from 1 Corinthians 12 where God says, “I will plant you in a Body where it’s pleasing to Me, not where it’s pleasing to you.” Like Pastor Sharon helped us – you don’t go to a church, where you find the music ministry is very nice, or the children’s church is suiting you really nice.
You go to the place where the Holy Spirit is leading you. So that’s very important. Why? I’m going to share something with you that I’ve said to Pastor John is big in my heart for years. But recently, it’s one of those things that you know, you can’t keep it in anymore. Now, in that place where God is planting you, you now have to understand that you are representing that place. We’re going to talk about that. Please go to James, Chapter 5. I’m going to move in that direction right now. Please remember that you must not listen to one single message, without listening to the whole series of Kingdom Finances. You are going to hear things today that’s going to challenge you. I can’t repeat everything that Pastor John and Sharon ministered on
so far. I would love to. Yesterday, in my preparation, I was sitting there and I just wanted to say what they’ve already said, by the Holy Spirit, so we can’t repeat that. I can only make a start today and go the way that God showed me to go.
Kingdom finances, James 5, verse 1 to 4. 1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Verse 2, 2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. The third verse, 3Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasures in the last days. Verse 4 is also important, but we’re first going to look at verse 3. Verse 4, 4Indeed the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord… While we cannot say, like I said, we cannot say everything here today, but I want you to look at verse three, again. 3Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days (James 5:1-4 NKJV).
Now you will remember Luke, where God is talking about the certain rich man, that is hoarding up for himself. When he said, “Well, I’ve got so much, what would I do?” Then he decided, “With all the stuff that I got, I will tear down my barns, and I will build bigger ones.” The Lord said, “You fool, your soul will be required from you this day.” Now, these words in verse 3, this is what the Lord showed me, He said to me, “Christi, these things…” And He said to me, “You in the ecclesia…” The government of God, it’s judicial, everything is about the order and the ways of God. He said to me, “Did you see those words, it will witness against you. It will witness against you.” I just want to bring this in here. Please go and listen to Pastor Sharon’s message on the 24th of May last year in lockdown. The title is, Bold to stake your claim. Remember God said that we must come to the Judge of all the Earth, and Pastor Sharon has taught much on this – that our Heavenly Father is the Judge of all the earth – and bring your case to Him. Anything that you have suffered loss during lockdown, in that period, you can go and take your case before the Judge. So can you see how God is already training us with all these legal terms to understand, actually what people never understood for a long time about the local church. This is very, very important.
So now we go back to James 5. It is clear from God’s Word that your money is speaking, because the corrosion of your gold and silver, testifies against you. Testifies means one way or another. The money that you sow, and the money that you keep, it speaks. God wants us to understand when He’s now talking about Kingdom Finances, for us to come out of the world system, we really have to understand the seriousness here today. If we obey God, our money speaks for us. If we disobey God, and we misuse finances, we’re not good stewards. Money is speaking against us. Very important.
Not one person can say today, this is what the Lord said today, He said to me, “Christi, not one person can say, but I don’t want my money to say anything.” The Lord said, “It’s too late”. Because, you see, this is the Word of God. This is the Word of God, it’s too late. “You cannot shut your money up. It is talking. You must use your
money in a righteous way to have the right voice so that it will testify and speak on your behalf.”
You cannot shut your money up. It is talking. You must use your money in a righteous way to have the right voice so that it will testify and speak on your behalf. Now remember, everything in the New Testament is not under the law but everything is about the heart. So, I have put this in here so that you can follow me as God revealed these things to me and I’m going to give it to you in a nutshell. Just this part. In the New Testament, everything is about the heart. God is looking at our hearts. Everything that we do, everything that we give has a definite motive behind it. Not one of us are just doing something for just doing something. We’ve got motives in our hearts for doing every single thing.
Please look at Matthew chapter 5. We are going to read from verse 23. You are going to be amazed to see that God is talking about finances. Immediately He starts to show us in the judicial way of how God works; how that is connected with how the enemy and the accuser can come. I think, now that God is bringing us out of Babylon, and we are repenting for the way that we lived and not being mindful about the Word of God; it is just wonderful when God brings this revelation to us.
Matthew 5:23, New King James; 23Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, Look at verse 24 and Jesus is speaking, 24leave your gift. Don’t give. God says, 24Stop your giving. Stop your giving right there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23, 24 NKJV) Then give your gift.
Verse 25, is this not interesting what’s following now? I mean, you want to sow a seed. You are bringing your money to the Lord. How interesting now that we understand more about the ecclesia – where you are planted. What you have authority over, what we have called together; the dominion that God gave us, the ecclesia. I found verse 25 very interesting, that’s why God wants to get our attention. 25Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge. All of a sudden things are testifying. Your adversary can come and deliver you to the judge because, I mean, God is talking here about the moments when you decide to sow money. So you can see 25the judge hand you over to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. Verse 26. 26Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny (Matthew 5:25, 26 NKJV).
People, I’m not coming with a doctrine here. I’m coming from an angle here, how God spoke to me about what’s going on in our hearts. Please, this passage of scripture is talking about many, many other wonderful things that we will talk about that. I want to show it to you in this light today. You will see in this passage that this person came to bring an offering. Suddenly you realise that there is a problem between you and someone else. Jesus says, “Stop your giving.” Why? Because whatever is in your heart will testify about the reasons and the motives for giving. Very important. Please go with me to the book of Job. Now when I’m going to read Job to you, once again I’m not coming with a strange kind of doctrine here today.
When God started to put His light on these matters for me I was in awe because I never saw the two working together in the book of Job. Because we know what happened with Job primarily was because of fear. He says, that which I feared came upon me. But because those motives are in the heart I never, never realised until now that God opened this up for me to see the motives – what was in his heart. Then obviously we’ve got to look at ourselves.
I’m going to read from the Message Bible. Chapter 1 verse 1. 1Job was a man who lived in Uz. He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion. 2He had seven sons and three daughters. 3He was also very wealthy – seven thousand head of sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a huge staff of servants – the most influential man in all the East! (Job 1:1-3 MSG) And just by the way, people who have a problem with money in the church – is this not very interesting that again and again if you look in the Bible, Abraham, Job, we can – Isaac, Jacob, mention many others, how God blessed them with prosperity. Satan came against the body and says, “You are always speaking about money.” You know, I really laugh when I hear that because that’s a reproach against the church always, “You just speak about money.” I’ve said to someone the other day, isn’t it interesting that you get up in the morning to go and work. For what? For money. But the church is not supposed to talk about money. You will give and you will give your time and get up in the morning and go and work for money but don’t talk about money. When you’re in trouble it’s the first thing you ask God to help with. But the church must just not talk about money. Can you see what the enemy did for so long?
Verse 4 to 5. 4Now Job’s sons used to take turns hosting parties in their homes, always inviting their three sisters to join them in their merrymaking. 5When the parties were over, Job would get up early in the morning and sacrifice a burnt offering (so here he brings again an offering) for each of his children, thinking, “Maybe one of them sinned by defying God inwardly.” Job made a habit of this sacrificial atonement, (bringing these kinds of gifts before God, offerings) just in case they’d sinned (Job 1:4-5 MSG).
Please, I want to illustrate something here today. Like I said, this is now not a doctrine to go in some funny way here. You see that Job brought offerings to the Lord because there was fear in his heart. Can you see the motive? Fear that his children had many parties and maybe they have sinned. Also it’s very interesting that in the next verse we see that the enemy comes before God. The very next verse it is talking about where Satan comes before God to accuse Job. So here we see a wrong motive in the heart, fear, and he’s mixing it with a gift. And the accuser came. There was fear in Job’s heart. How many times people come with an offering to manipulate God, trying to buy off God. What is the motive in your heart, attached to your giving?
God wants us to come, Pastor John ministered so beautifully on this. God wants us to come and worship Him because we love Him, because we love Him. He is our source. I always say to people, Jesus… You know, we’ve got this powerful and wonderful Bible School and I always say to the students, healing is not a subject, it’s
a person. Jesus is all of it. You know, when you come to Jesus in the morning, you don’t have to plead. Jesus has been made wisdom unto you and me. Jesus is our healing. There’s not one thing that’s not in Him, not paid for. All of our covenant rights are the promised land. You don’t have to come and plead. Just the way that we received our salvation is how we receive the wisdom and the provision and the protection: everything comes from Him. Everything comes from Him. He wants us to come that way. We don’t have to come and manipulate Him – to bring a gift because there’s fear or grief for what’s in our hearts. We cannot come with a spirit of fear or anything else to come to manipulate God.
If something is wrong with your heart, do not release your money. Now how often did Pastor John say, I mean, you know this. You know this. Pastor John would say, “If you do not have faith, do not bring your tithe. Do not bring your tithe. Go back and study the Word of God so that you can see what the Word of God says about faith. Then when faith comes, bring your tithe.” This is not a place where we or God are squeezing people for money. We live by faith. This is important to understand. The thing that we’ve got to know, that’s the basis of all of this, is that God loves a cheerful giver. Now this is another message all on its own. How do you know that when you give, that you are doing it in faith? Very simple: we sang it this morning. How many times did you put an offering in the basket and after you’ve made the EFT or you placed the offering in the basket and you see the basket is moving and you go, “Oh, I wonder what I could do with that money.” You’re not in faith. You’re not a cheerful giver.
It’s not made out in your heart, in the motives of your heart between you and God. I know it’s so simple but that’s what it is. Because when you come to give, you know that all that God is, belongs to you. He is not withholding a thing from us. We come with our faith and full confidence and then when you sow, you praise God. It’s when you make that EFT or put that offering in the basket, that you can’t stop rejoicing because, I mean, you understand the power of a seed. Now I want you to please go to Malachi chapter 3.
While you are looking for those scriptures in the Bible, our money is speaking. I’m going to talk today about what God showed me, you know, this for a long time in this church, that your life is not only individual. You are not just an individual in the church and not touching the Body of Christ. Everything about my and your life is individual and corporate, and you can never ever separate the two from one another. So, I want to show you today how God opened this up to me to say that we must be very careful to see what we are doing in the local Ecclesia, the Body of Christ, because we have a great impact on one another, on the place where we are planted, and of course in the things that God wants to do in the earth.
So, our money is speaking, it is testifying for or against. Now, this is a huge revelation that God has for all of us in the Local Church. Everything that we do, not only impact you and me personally, but also corporately, and the place we represent. You see people, we are not representing America. We are not representing Australia. God has planted us in Witbank, in Johannesburg, in the nation of South Africa. And when it comes to your understanding of church, it means that’s where we have authority. That’s very, very important. So God opened this up for me in a profound
way, where God has planted us, our giving is impacting us, definitely personally and later on our I will talk more because I’ve got to talk to you about first fruits. But I’ve got to lay this foundation first, before we can go there.
Now, I want to show you a very powerful thing in the Word of God. Malachi 3:1-5. It’s important where we are planted because we represent that place. We have authority in that place. Malachi 3:1, 1Behold, I send My messenger, and let me just interrupt myself here. This is my Malachi the third chapter where we know I’m going to read to you, very soon after God is coming when He’s talking plainly to his people, but some people are robbing Him with tithes and offerings. But there is a part that God highlighted here to me, that is amazing to me. That just comes before that part, and see what God is saying. 1Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me. And the Lord [the Messiah], Whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger or Angel of the covenant, Whom you desire, behold, He shall come, says the Lord of hosts. That means the Lord of Angels, verse two, 2But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap, you know Pastor Sharon’s powerful teaching on this. Look at the third verse, very important for me and you today.
3He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the priests, and the sons of Levi, He will refine them. All these messages that’s now coming to us started when God started I Will Take the Children. And now God is talking about Kingdom Finances. God is dealing with our hearts. He’s dealing with motives in our lives, that’s coming such a long way.
The rest of the verse is crucial, 3He will come and He will purify the priests, the sons of Levi, and refine them, why? Like gold and silver that must not testify against you with their corrosion. Like gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord offerings in righteousness (Malachi 3:1-3). Not offerings with wrong motives. God says here He will take His people through a massive purifying process, so their hearts can be right. So that they can bring the Lord an offering in righteousness.
This is very important. The purifying process is to empower us to bring an offering that is and has the right testimony to it., that God will receive from us all the time. For motives and reasons why we are bringing our offerings. God wants to reveal to us so that we can see why we have to bring our first and our best. But now back to Malachi Four, 4Then will the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in ancient years. Now this is crucial. God says, “I want you to bring Me an offer in righteousness.” When you do that, that is pleasing to Him. When will our offering be pleasing to the Lord? When we bring our offerings in righteousness with the right motive, also the first and the best, but we will talk about that a bit later. Gideon made a very wonderful start by starting to teach the Interns there in Witbank about first fruits, and there’s much that God wants me to say about first fruits.
So, I want you to see God’s reaction here. When we give Him with a righteous, with right motives, a righteous gift. When we do this, it’s very interesting to see what God
says in His Word, when we come this way. Look at God’s response. If we come in the right way, giving our finances what’s going to happen.
Verse Five, God says, 5Then I will draw near to you for judgment; now again we are back to the Ecclesia, we back to the way God functions. God is the judge on the whole earth and He sits in His Court. We’re back to legal terms and language. God says, 5I will draw near to you for judgment; why? Because I God, will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against the false swearers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and who turn aside the temporary resident from his right and fear not Me, says the Lord. So I’m just going to repeat this to say to you, God says, “You come to me in the right way and I will draw near,” is that not interesting, again, that’s talking about judgment? And I will be swift to witness against these things that’s happening in your communities. And I will come near to you for judgement rendering a verdict, says God.
God is talking to us like a judge. God says, when that kind of offering with right motives are coming to me, I will come near to you for judgment to render a verdict. A verdict for what, Lord? Against what? God says against those things that are coming into your city, into your community working against the purposes of God.
We want to take the city. We want to take a city, and we think we can do with our finances what we want? This is powerful. Why do you think God wants us to come out of Babylon? To talk to us about I Will Take the Children, and this is how Kingdom Finances work. God says, “I not you,” Pastor John mentioned that on, when we had Bible school right now. Normally is one of the questions that Pastor John and Pastor Sharon, where they have to answer this, because people who do not have that kind of understanding about the Word of God, will all by themselves or in a prayer group come pray, “Lord, we bind the spirit of abortion or corrupting our nation.”
You can not do that. You can not do that. Those fowl spirits are at work, whenever a person, we can not, we can not have dominion over another person’s choices. Whenever there is a person in any place giving access to those spirits, they will work, they will work. But isn’t it powerful, that where we are planted and we come this way, God says, look what I will do against those things in your community.
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord. God says when my people bring offerings in righteousness, it will be used as a testimony on their behalf that will allow me, God to bring judgment on those things, those works of darkness in those places they live.
Remember we are taking the city of Witbank. And then God wants to take all cities of South Africa. God says in those places where we live, where I planted you, I will come quickly with swift judgment. God says in Witbank and in Johannesburg, and of course this is now where we are planted. But it goes to all the places that God has for Pastor John and where we are going as a people. God said in those places, I will deal with those things that are causing adultery. I will deal with those who are exploiting wages. I will deal with witchcraft, liars, corruption, all things polluting your environment. God will release justice against that which is hitting against the plans and the purposes of God in our communities. The Word of God is clear that when
you are doing with your money, just what you want, then it’s not only just personal, but it speaks for where you are planted.
This is very, very important. Now we’re coming back to a very, very big things of – we are going in together. And I just want to say this very quickly. Also, I don’t have time to go there today. But when we bring gifts of righteousness, as sons of righteousness. Pastor Sharon touched on this many, many times, we actually talking about Hebrews 12, verse 22-23, I did not ask Daniel to go there, I just want to mention it. Because we talk about God is the judge. We talk about the assembly, the church, a Ecclesia. Ah, Hebrews 12:22 says, 22But you have come to Mount Zion the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to the multitude of angels, 23 to the general assembly of the church.
There’s the assembly, the ecclesia in action to the spirits of the righteous of just men made perfect, to God the Judge of all. This is the New Testament speaking right along with Malachi. The giving of offerings…This thing bothered me I would say almost for fifteen years in the twenty years of being planted in Witbank. This thing has been sitting with me a very, very long time. The giving of offerings of my brothers and sisters with me in the local church is affecting me. It’s not just your own individual story that’s going on. When people in the church are doing with their money just what they want; it testifies. How you can take the cities and the nation if we are hoarding up money and possessions for yourself, corrosion, our stuff, the corrosion of our stuff testifies against us. If we are selfish, and only living for ourselves, hoarding stuff, and possessions for ourselves, we are bringing an offering to the Lord with selfish motives. Then actually we allow these influences to be around us and in our city.
So if we are coming out of them, as a people we are we are now entering to occupy the spaces and the places that God is giving that we must do. We must understand that what we are doing with our money is affecting our own lives, but it’s affecting the places that God gave us the authority over, and what you are doing and what I am doing with my money is affecting one another. If I come with a righteous gift, and Gideon decides to live for himself it is going to impact the ecclesia. It means the one wants to follow God and the other one says all of these things that God wants to come and give us swift judgment; please come in, you are so welcome to take over our communities.
You know, we know this so the Lord said to me when He started to reveal this to me He said so Christi you know Pastor John and Pastor Sharon have said many times; ‘As the church goes so goes the nation’. So as the church goes so goes the city, so goes the city. How and what offering you bring releases God to bring judgment in our culture against things that have controlled our communities for so long. So, if we would do this as a church, and we go in as a people, it would enable God to release judgment that will now propel justice to take place. Malachi 3, 5 says then I will draw near to you for judgment, it will be a swift witness against these things, because the Church is rising up to take its place. I’ve never seen this before. This is the power of our finances, in what God is bringing through the Holy Spirit by Pastor John and Sharon in the local ecclesia, to rise up and dominate. What we do with our
money and stuff is going to determine if we are going to take our cities and our communities.
Back to James 5, but now I want to go in a direction that is huge that’s also been huge in my heart for years and we’ve got to speak about these things. The next time when I can speak to you more about first fruits so that you will really understand what it means. There’s levels of revelation in that. I want to focus on James 5 verse 4. We’ve already read that, but I want to read it again. James 5, 4 4Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord (James 5:4 NKJV).
Last year, Pastor John released a message here in Johannesburg. He did not yet minister this message in Witbank. It was on the sixth December. But you know how it works. Whenever Jesus released something and He said something, that word was out and all people are judged by it. Doesn’t matter Pastor John did not bring this in Witbank… the word is out. So why do I say it. Because the labor referred to in this verse, people jump very quickly, and that’s good. But it’s not what the Bible is talking here about. It’s not just talking about the people that’s working for you. No, no, these laborers are the sent ones from God, the apostles and the spiritual leaders bringing you Gods messages so that you can live safely and prosper. Now, let’s see if this is the case.
Please go with me to Matthew chapter ten, verse 5 to 11. In this instance, I’m going to read from the New Living Translation, Verse five and this is Jesus in action. This morning when I was done with all my preparation this morning and I will go there, thank you Holy Spirit, He said to me Christi you tell them this, you tell them this. Jesus is showing us this, Jesus is speaking here: Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. I want you to see what they have got to do and what pastor John is doing all the time, listen to this verse eight: Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! (Matthew 10:5-11 NLT).
Now, I’m really talking to the Heritage of Faith people here today. I want to say to you that; Jesus sent out the twelve apostles, Pastor John is giving and giving and giving and giving. We say this, you know, this is it should be like this; “Pastor John, please give us freely of your wisdom and the direction of God for our lives.” There’s not one here today that cannot say, not one of us sitting here today and you know it and I know it, that Pastor John is not is not giving everything to seek God have the answers from God for our lives personally, for our children, for our families for our destiny, for our callings and our gifts. There’s not one here today that can say this word is not true and then many of us, we come to Pastor John; “Pastor John, those big issues, my children, intervention, my business, all these things.”
Look what God says in Matthew 10 verse 5. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Pastor John keep on giving freely as you have received. It’s powerful to see it like this. Look what God says: verse 9
Don’t take any money in your money belts—no gold, silver, or even copper coins. Don’t carry a traveler’s bag with a change of clothes and sandals or even a walking stick. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed. Verse 11 “Whenever you enter a city” Pastor John, Witbank or Johannesburg or any place where God is sending you search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town. When you enter the home, give it your blessing. If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing. This is an important passage of scripture. Wherever you enter a city, search for those that are supposed to take care of you because you may not take money in your money bags. The apostle, these apostles, these messengers had to see whose hearts were ready to take care of them whose hearts are ready to do this.
This is also for us to understand that there will be some people that will just be there for a show, not really taking care of their spiritual leaders and God says take your blessing from them and leave. What Jesus was showing us is that these sent ones, these apostles, that Jesus authorized them to walk in a level of authority and blessing that is taking healing and deliverance to households, cities and nations.
Remember what I’ve said to you many, many years ago, when God taught me what it means to be planted and not to be a visitor in a church. God said to me, “Christi, you do not have the anointing on your own life to take yourself to the promised land, I must give you a Moses, I will give you the fivefold ministry in the New Testament.”
And exactly Pastor Sharon taught that powerfully, Ephesians 4 verse 11. Why would God give you the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, the teacher? The Bible says, to mature you for the work that God has called you. Without them, there are things that cannot come to your household, to your city and to our nation. The Bible is very clear about that. Jesus said; If their hearts are open and they bring you the blessing, if that happens, bless them but if they reject you walk away from them as though there is nothing from them that you even remember (Matthew 23:37 NKJV).
That’s the word of God here. Now, I’m going to say this to you today, I’m going to take you to Matthew chapter 23, verse 37, there’s many things you already know. But there’s one thing that we know about Pastor John’s love for us and, listen, when God calls someone to stand in one of those offices, God gives you the grace for the place. Let me just explain to you what’s happening there. You guys who have children, the moment you became a mom and dad, with that God gave you the grace for the place just to do that you love your children. That’s what people sometimes smile and say, “I don’t love all the children, but I love my children”. It’s a great story.
So when God calls you to be a businessman, there is a grace for the place. When God calls you to be in the ministry full time, or in any place that you’re part, there is a grace for that place. It comes from the Lord. So this is what’s happening here. When God called Pastor John to do this, God gave him the grace in that place to be everything that he should be in that function. So we know about Gods love to Pastor John for all of us and how Pastor John is fighting for our lives.
I mean, I’m 20 years here now, I, me and Grobbies, we know, I know you know this personally, how he’s fighting for every single one that God wants to be planted here for their calls, their gifts, their children, their destinies. How Pastor John is bringing a Word every time that he is ministering. Let me tell you, it’s not always easy. It’s not always easy, even this morning, I actually, even about five minutes I said to the Lord, it’s not always nice to bring a message like this such an important message that you know must be received in our hearts.
Now many times has Pastor John, fighting for our lives, and he’s bringing a Word and messages but the people don’t want to hear, they don’t want to change, they make it as hard as possible to fight against that love and the direction of the Lord. God wants us to know. And this is what the Lord said to me this morning, you remember the teaching of Pastor Sharon, when Jesus and what, what so bring thought, just as Pastor Sharon explained, she said, “Jesus was standing in the temple to see what people are giving”. So he saw, he saw all these rich people that, that is actually in, Pastor Sharon has put it very, very beautifully, is giving out of their excess. Then that one widow woman came to put her everything into the offering basket. But the point here is Jesus was standing in the temple for the very reason to look, to look, what are you giving?
So the Lord said to me, “Say to everyone, I am doing this, I am not sending out Pastor John and Sharon with the money but they are giving, heal the sick, bringing the gift, please Pastor John and Sharon of that tremendous wisdom that you’ve got, please give us everything but we want to live like we want to live. No. So I want to show you something in one or two and maybe much more than that, where I’ve seen the sadness on Pastor John’s face. Why? Look at Matthew chapter 23, verse 37 where God is coming for your love for your children’s destinies, for callings, everything that God is giving you and me, Pastor John is coming that way but we can disperse. 37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often, Pastor John said these words, How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling (Matthew 23:37 NKJV).
This is, this is the Lord speaking to us. This is the Lord speaking to us, because he has this in the place. And that’s true for every church, every local ecclesia all over. When God gives those scriptures needed, this is God’s law and His pattern concerning the matter.
For years, I’ve seen how people who come to church just keep the blessings for themselves, not willing to obey God in looking after these apostles, the preachers that God brings into your place. In our church, I have witnessed many opportunities where God wanted people in our church to do exactly what Matthew 10 says. I remember Pastor John moved from Johannesburg to Witbank, how many times Pastor John would say from the council, I sold my house in Johannesburg, and I want to buy the house in Witbank but the Lord would not permit me to do so. So, about that situation, the Lord showed me specific businessmen in our church that were supposed to do that. But most of them would only come to church now that then when they will feel it, therefore, they did not hear what God was saying, even in the messages. I knew in my heart that God was not viewing this lightly. And I also
knew in my heart that those people were jeopardizing what God wanted to do in Witbank and in this nation, and of course, in Johannesburg. Everything in my heart cried up to God and God showed me what to do. It became part of the Glory story, why Grobbies is sitting here today.
So what I want to say to you, I’ve seen and it’s been a, it’s been a thing of sadness and a spiritual fight. I remember at times, I’ve said to people in Witbank, “If we were going to hear what God wants to say to us in Witbank and how God is bringing us to these messages”, I said, “Do you want the day for God to say, ‘Pastor John you go there no more, you go no more to Jo’burg’ then he must shake off the dust of his feet in those places, because those who are called alongside him will not obey Jesus purely on his word?
That was and is still, a thing in my heart in Witbank and Johannesburg that people will understand that God sends these messengers and just like the Apostle Paul, there’s always who was sent to a man and to a people. People don’t like it when the Bible, the fact that they said you follow it that way people have said to me in the past, Christi, you follow a man. I say, oh, must, must my follow God? Yes, you must follow God. I said, “Is it not very interesting, that if you want to follow God, and you start to read his Bible, he says in Hebrews 13”, let me read it to you. I said this to the one person that said to me over and over, “Christi, you’re following a man”. You see, God calls you to a man, Moses, and a people, Israel. So let me read to you. Of course, Hebrews 13, I say to this person, oh, I must follow God? Yes, yes, you must follow God. I said, “Have you read what God wrote?” Y’all know, they think they know what God wrote. I said, “Hebrews 13 says therefore, by, 17Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch over your souls. I said to him, I started to open the Word of God, I said, “You say, I must follow God. It’s clear that you do not know what God said”. But this is a typical thing, when we are ignorant about the Word of God. I mean, that’s my story 20 years ago, when I grew up in the Church of God and the Lord said to me, “Christi, you are lawless. You don’t go to church, you watch TBN all the time, you think all your books at home will equip you? He said to me, “You are lawless, disconnected and opinionated”. The shame that hit my life. And many people are like that, they have much to say. But when you follow God, did you read what he wrote? So this will answer you in that way.
So what happens when these apostles take their blessings with them? Well, the answer is judgment, judgment happens. Why? Well, I’ve explained to you that people in the church are leaving for themselves and even, specially in this case, in their giving, they decide if they will give to God or what they will keep, and that testifies.
Now, I’m going to this and I’m going to read you some of the passages from the sixth, the December 6th message of Pastor John. So in this message, Pastor John shared that when Moses died and Joshua took over, there was a circumcision that was needed to take place. For the Israelites a physical one, we understand this under the law, but now with the New Testament, and this is what’s happening with these messages, we need the circumcision of the heart, because we do not live under the law.
So these messages that are coming to us is to repent and to purify our hearts. People, this is the word of God to us, we can stay the same, or we can go into the Promised Land with God. I’m reading from Pastor John’s 6th December message and I’m closing with this. What about what was about to happen is that the children of Israel were about to go in and confront the strongest, most well-built and guarded city in the whole region, Jericho. Yet there was no army strong enough to defeat him and yet the children of Israel we’re about to go into the Promised Land. Like Pastor John said, You cannot take the land, if you can defeat the strongest city. As we go forward in this momentum, Pastor John said, We are going to figuratively speaking, and spiritually speaking, we are going to bring down big cities and strongholds that are in this nation, that are in households in this nation. We need to understand the blessing mandate that is on us. We need to circumcise our hearts, knowing that what we give, and what we hold back is testifying, and that God is willing for our righteous giving, that He can come, draw near to us in quick judgment so He can swiftly come against these things.
Everything that is opposing God in our cities and nations. Remember I shared with you how huge this revelation is to me. I have said this a couple of times – that you think that you may make money just for yourself. Do you think what you are doing in your own little corner is not affecting everyone around you? Many Christians think their supply of the spirit and their supply of money belongs to them for what they want. This is very important for us to understand in our collective greatness – listen to the last part of this message of Ps John. The enemy of God is violently determined to violate our lives. He comes with enticing prospects for him to follow so that you will do what is pleasing to yourself and serve self. But in that, the enemy is stealing your future”. This now, Pastor John was summarising what I was walking with for years already. In that the enemy is stealing your future and your destiny, listen to this: If satan 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 Pastor John, and you’re planted here and you don’t, then you steal Pastor John and our future. Because the supply of the spirit that you are suppose to bring to this place, you are holding it back and using it for yourself and off course now also resources. Pastor John says, I have to follow God, I have to be bold now because we are about to take down some big cities, some big spiritual fortifications that has stood in our way. And they have and now these giants, Pastor John many years ago already spoke about this – these giants, if we are going to follow God like this, they’re going to fall in their tracks at our feet. We cannot come into the places and spaces we’re suppose to occupy and live like this, giving the enemy scope to live among us. Big spiritual fortifications that have stood in our way, our the church of the Lord Jesus.
How God is leading us in our financial resources does not only affect us personally, but also our cities and our nation. We have the authority as the Ecclesia to release a testimony before the Lord that gives Him the right to move on our behalf. Why? Because this is the very nature of government. Ecclesia works like this – in our South African government, America and everywhere else it works like this. If you think about government or any other government like SA or Australia – there’s a small group of people in parliament representing the large group of the nation. But their decisions make and has a big impact in terms of everything. So as the Ecclesia, how many people go to church? How many people are truly planted and called by
God to be in those areas? As the Ecclesia, we are an expression of God’s government and the decisions and the activities what you do and what you don’t do, that which we engage ourselves in – does more than just shiftings in your own life.
Our worship right now, our worship right now, is Ecclesia. The way that God is taking us in Sound and Song in giving Pastor Garth the songs, it is shifting more than the atmosphere in our buildings. We heard the prophesy of Pastor John that the sound and song is going out from this place – it is shifting everything in our cities and in our nations. If we live righteous before God, He is going to get the cities, He is going to get this nation, He is going to get everything with the word, the message, sound and song – God says: I am looking for a people. These are the big things that God started to open for me. We are not just doing things for ourselves. We are doing something on behalf of what we have jurisdiction over, that which we have been given authority over. That is why our money and resources has a voice.
It also speaks on behalf of what we represent. There is not enough time today and I realised it actually when I started to talk to you about first fruits – that is connected to everything I’ve shared with you today. Because there is an understanding and Gideon started to share with the interns so beautifully, when you start to understand first fruits, you begin to understand how to give your Terumah. What is the difference between Terumah and tithes and offerings? You understand and you have to understand those things that you bring your tithe to the house of the Lord but your Terumah first fruit will always go to the priest and what the Bible has to say about this. But then there are levels of revelation that goes into understanding first fruits in the new covenant. What are these revelations and part of this that God gave me – and you see – this is, and we’ve got some interns here today, which is so wonderful. We’ve got Jess and Caitlin and Danielle here, and just because it is long weekend now and off course all the others are in Witbank.
What is so powerful about them giving their first to the Lord, to find out what God wants them to do – what originates from God continuous on as God – we will see that God takes the first place and best in our lives, first in our life, first in our neighbour, first in our families, and first in prayer. Then there is levels of understanding of first fruits where you where you look at Abram where he took Isaac to offer him – I am going to explain it to you. Those are the levels where you actually ask when you look at Abram and Hanna – is a level of that giving possible? Who does this? Who does this to go all in with God? So there is much to talk about. That’s why Pastor John said, and we’re going to pray now. That’s why Pastor John said, “this is strategic for us this is a strategic time and you know – this is a Word that God gave us for 2021. Do you see it in the spirit”?, he asked. This is a time for us, can you see after today with all the messages that are coming – this is a time for us to begin to join hands. God says, what I am doing is affecting you, and God brings a gift in me and has opened our understanding to the collective greatness to us. God says it is a time to combine our resources – isn’t that interesting? Because we turn our destiny and future to them we have to combine our faith and prayers and in doing this, we make place the big things that God has for us.
You know what is so powerful about that word that the Holy Spirit released to Pastor John? I remember when Pastor John was preaching, I got everything down. God
said, it is time for the collective greatness, join hands in prayer, join hands in faith, join hands in the process, understand these things about money and resources because now God is allowing us to press in for the big things to come into the material world. Because we are about to take down big cities, some big spiritual fortifications, that have stood in our way for a very long time – in the way of our church and the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lets pray.
Father, we come to You today, and we are grateful Lord, we are grateful. We thank You that You love us so much, to teach us, to train us, even to bring us correction Lord, because the entrance of Your Word brings great light and understanding. Thank You Lord Jesus that we are a mighty church that is rising. We are truly ready to obey Your leading Holy Spirit. Thank You for Your word that is purifying our hearts with these messages. And we want to say to You Lord Jesus, You are with us and we are with You. We want to say to You that we look at Your Word, the Scriptures are speaking. We are planting these scriptures in our hearts. We see that it is Your time, and our time with You Lord and we are grateful. We are grateful and we are rejoicing that You have us in this place to walk with You like this. Father, in the Name of Jesus, all of us here, we are in agreement and we pray for this week ahead, we declare in the Name of Jesus that no weapon, and we say no weapon, no weapon formed against us shall prosper. We declare that we are protected in the Blood of Jesus. We are blessed going out and we are blessed coming in. We declare in the Name of Jesus that no evil shall befall us. Psalm 91. No sickness and disease will come to our household, our business, our people Lord, our families in the Name of Jesus. And now Father, as we go from this place, rejoicing, rejoicing that You are in us so powerfully – Your blessing is overtaking us. We pray Lord, that not just life, but life in abundance in our being and in our becoming and we receive it from You and we believe it, and we receive this and we all say Amen. Hallelujah.
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