Joseph Prince - Pillars For Our Church And Life
Greetings, church. I pray that this service finds you and your family well, growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, we wanna continue from where we left off last week. Now, if you didn't catch that sermon last week, it will be made available online so you can have access to it, but even if you didn't, this message today is complete by itself. You're able to receive what God has for you in this word. But if you hear the message that went before, last week, it will give you a better idea from where we are coming from. But nonetheless, you still can receive. It is complete by itself. Praise the Lord, hallelujah. The Lord is uncovering more and more the treasures and the riches that he has deposited in his church.
See, the church is God's idea. It is not man's idea. Once again, when I say the church, I'm not referring to this physical building. I'm referring to the many-membered body of Christ, this one new man, and when we gather together, all the dynamics and all the functions and operations of the Holy Spirit and his manifold grace, and his varied giftings, will be made manifested in that local church. And we see last week how all the local churches are the glory of Christ. What a precious way of looking at the church, the glory of Christ. When you see the church with all its faults and imperfections, God calls the church, God esteems the church as the glory of Christ. Isn't it beautiful? Praise the Lord.
And that's why the Bible says: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together," because that's where all the action is, that's where God goes to work. Yes, we can receive individually at home and wherever we are, and I know that at this present time, these past few years, we have taken time to be by ourselves with all this social distancing and church at home, but that's not God's best and we know it is so and I have shared that this pandemic, you know, there is a purpose. Perhaps it's to cause us to appreciate our physical gatherings together more than ever. You know, when Israel was brought into captivity to Babylon, when they came back, when they came back, they never reverted to idolatry again, never. That stint in Babylon cured them of idolatry.
So I believe that many of the things we go through, it sort of wakes us up, praise the Lord, it strengthens us even further. It makes us appreciate all the plans and purposes in God's heart, or else we get very selfish. Like in Haggai, it says Haggai told them, the people of God, you know, these are people that just came back from Babylonian captivity, and he says to them that "why is it that when you drink, you're not satisfied? You eat, you're not full? You earn wages only to put those wages into a bag full of holes"? That means it seems like everything that you consume, everything that you have, is not enough. Why is that so? And the answer comes from the prophet Haggai. He says because God is saying my house lies waste.
We don't prioritize what he prioritize. And for us, you know, it's like the idea that the devil has sort of like put on the church instead of something boring, something mediocre, you cannot find the best, you know, people are just backwards, the people are, you know, full of old fogey people that have no idea that the world has moved on. Nothing could be further from the truth. The church is more contemporary, more advanced, and more in tune with heaven. For example, the Bible says in the book of Revelation, that something will happen in Jerusalem, and all the eyes of the world will be fixated on one location in Jerusalem. Now, many years ago, maybe 100 years ago, they would read that and the mockers and scoffers would laugh at the Bible and say, "How can something happen and the Bible says that every nation will see that event in one locality in Jerusalem"?
Well, no one is laughing now. With the advent of television, you know, online and just an instant online videos and all that, we can just receive in the privacy of our own homes, something that is happening way out there somewhere. Praise the Lord. So the Bible is more advanced than we think, praise the Lord. And some of the prophecies and all that, you know, until we had that technology, we don't even know how it would happen, especially that which is in the book of Revelation, but we know it's gonna happen, amen? Praise the Lord. So let's look at the church. If you look at the four Gospels, the church is not openly declared. Jesus was talking to the Jews, and this is something for all of us to remember. When God looks down, God sees only three groups of people, the Bible tells us: Jew; Gentile, those who are non-Jews; and the church of God.
So you belong to either one of these. If you're not a Jew, and you're not saved, you're not part of the church of God, you're a Gentile. Or if you're saved and you're a Jew or you're a Gentile who just got saved, now you're the church of God, praise the Lord, the most successful organization in the entire universe, and for all eternity. See, all the big corporations and all that, that you see around, the tech giants and all that, they're not gonna last forever. But the church will last forever. And that's the reason why God put all the giftings and all the charismas and all the grace gifts in you so that you can operate in them for what benefit? For the church. For the church, because you are building the church of Jesus Christ, amen? And of course, the expression can only happen in the local church, hallelujah.
Jesus said in Matthew 18: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them". Now, like I said, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, he doesn't talk about the church much, all right? There are a few mention of the church. For example, Jesus would say, again in the Gospel of Matthew, "And upon your declaration that I am the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus said to Peter, "I will build my church upon this rock; and the gates of hell will not prevail against the church". Now, he's not saying that the church is defensive and the church is attacking the devil with the gates. No one attacks with gates, okay? It is the idea, the church is on the offense and the gates of hell is crashing down. Praise the Lord, amen. The church is making inroads. The church is growing, hallelujah. And the church is alive and well all over the world. Praise the name of Jesus.
Jesus said, "The gates of hell will not prevail," it will not prevail against the church. Now, he does not say that people that come together and they want to be a church, right, unless they are gathered together. Notice what Jesus said: "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them". "I am there in the midst of them". But this two or three... by the way, two or three are the smallest plurality, right? The smallest plurality that can come to is two. And Jesus said, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them". Now, listen, he did not say, by the way, that's the church. The church is made up even of the smallest plurality.
Some people say that unless you are a certain size, then you're not a church. That doesn't make sense, okay? Based on what the Lord said, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them". And then, notice that word "are gathered together". This word "are gathered together," notice he did not say that "where two or three meet together". He didn't say that. He didn't say, "Where two or three are even gathering together". He didn't say that. This is not the church. People decide to meet together is not the church. People meet one another or gather together in a café, is not a church. But what is a church? When they are gathered. Gathered means someone is ministering the gathering power, someone is initiating the gathering. Who is that? The Holy Spirit.
And the Bible says it's only when the Holy Spirit bring this two or three or even more together, if he is the initiator, and he is the one gathering, it's not a matter of me wanting to gather or I want to meet, it's the Holy Spirit gathering. And when we gather together, and he's the gathering power, he gathers us, that's the church, and Jesus promised "there I am in the midst of them". Hallelujah, praise the Lord. Thank you, Lord Jesus. So when God looks at you, God sees you as the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12, it says: "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually". "Now you are the body of Christ". What are you? "The body of Christ, and members individually". In another place, Paul by the Holy Spirit said, "We are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones".
Now, I know it sounds mystical. It is called the mystical body of Christ, but yet, the body of Christ today in heaven is made up of flesh and bones, glorified flesh, nonetheless. And the Bible says that we are members of that body, here on earth, of his flesh, and I'm sure that he has healthy flesh, hallelujah, right now. We are members of his flesh and of his bones, and that's why we need to identify ourselves in him, and that's when we become like him, not by our own energy, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. The more we see him and our focus is on him, the more we claim that oneness with him, amen, we are members of his body. Does not say "Try to be part of it". Doesn't say, "Try to be the body of Christ". No, you are the body of Christ. You are his member, praise God. And you are part of his flesh and of his bones, praise the Lord, hallelujah.
And I like to say it like this: As Jesus is, so are we in this world. He has healthy flesh and bones, I have healthy flesh and bones. I may not look like it, I may not experience it right now, but that's what I claim, and praise the Lord, truth will outlast fact. It's a fact I feel the pain in my body right now, but if I claim the truth that I'm one with Jesus, praise the Lord, that pain will have to go away. That pain is temporal. The truth that I am one with Jesus is eternal. Praise the name of Jesus, hallelujah, hallelujah. So don't forget, you're the body of Christ and members in particular. Now, the birthday of the church happened in the book of Acts. The book of Acts and the Gospel of Luke was written by Luke. Paul calls Luke in one place in Colossians, "The beloved physician". He's a partner of Paul, and he's a medical doctor.
Notice, Paul says, "A beloved physician". Luke is a beloved physician. And that's why he has insights into, like, when Jesus cures a disease, he will say, he'll notice that, compared to the other Gospel writers, he will say, "The right hand of that man," all right, "was withered". Now, when the right hand of a man is withered, he can't have any means to provide for himself because right hand is usually the main arm for the man to work with, and he noticed things like that, okay? And Luke wrote in the opening of his Gospel, he writes this: "It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus," notice this guy's name? "Most excellent Theophilus".
So in the opening chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Luke mentions that he's writing the entire Gospel of Luke for one person and, of course, the Holy Spirit is involved in this for all of us to read, right? But he's writing specifically, he said at that time, to a man whom he calls most excellent Theophilus. Most likely, he's a Roman. And because of the word "most excellent," in other places that phrase is used in the book of Acts for a governor, a Roman governor. Here, most likely, this man is either a governor, a Roman governor or someone of a high rank, and obviously this person got saved and he wants to know about the life of Jesus, so Luke writes and he says, "I'm gonna give you a proper account, an orderly account, O most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed". So this is the Gospel of Luke.
Now, look at Acts. Acts was written by Luke also. In Acts 1:1, the very first verse of the book of Acts: "The former account I made, O Theophilus," now, he doesn't call him most excellent anymore. Probably Theophilus says, "Hey, look, don't call me 'most excellent' anymore. I'm your brother in Christ," okay? He says, "The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach," and that's how he opens up. So you can see that the author of both books is the physician Luke who traveled with Paul. And many a times in the book of Acts he will say "we" because he's writing "we" including himself with Paul and the other partners and other companions. And here, when he wrote this, he was writing to Theophilus to give an account of the life of Jesus, and then in the book of Acts he's writing another account to Theophilus as well, this time more about the body of Christ, amen?
Here, the life of Jesus, here the body of Christ, hallelujah. If you look carefully, when Jesus was born, the narrative about Jesus's birth and all that, can only be found in the Gospel of Matthew as well as the Gospel of Luke. When Luke wrote that, Luke mentioned in Luke 1:35: "And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One is to be born will be called the Son of God.'" So Jesus was born in a manger, where? In Bethlehem. Now, the timing. In Galatians 4:4, it says: "But when the fullness of the time had come," not any earlier, not any later, "but when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law".
So Luke writes that he was born in Bethlehem. Now notice, that he's talking about Jesus. When the fullness of time came, Jesus was born. But here, in Acts, it says in Acts 2: "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven," the Holy Spirit filled them all and that is the birthday of the church. So you have, Luke in the Gospel, he talks about the birth of our Lord Jesus, and in the book of Acts he talks about the birth of the church, the body of Christ. Again, both were in the fullness of time. God had a time, and when the time was filled, when the time came, when the fullness of time came, not any earlier, not any later, Christ was born.
The same for the church. On the Day of Pentecost, when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, the birthday of the church happened, hallelujah. And the church goes on. That's why I say the church is the most successful organization ever. It's still going on until today, amen. It's growing larger and wider, praise the Lord. The church is winning, people. I know you see physical things and you might even see professors, people who claim that they are saved and they're doing all sorts of things that are, you know, people are thinking, "My goodness, is this what the church is all about"? But don't be discouraged by this. And maybe even some people have backslidden and all that, but the devil will make you see what is visible, what is palpable, what is out there in the open, but he will never show you by revelation how the church is like, even right now.
So I wanna share that with you because it's crucial to even having your needs in your life met, because the fullest way, the fullest extent by which God wants to bring supply into your area is via the church. Praise the Lord. Yes, you can receive from the Lord directly. You can never go to church, never be part of a fellowship anywhere, you don't have to say you belong to any church, and still receive from the Lord, can you? Yes, most people are saved that way, actually. Most people hear a sermon at home or they read a book, amen, of a man who has even passed away and they get saved, right where they are. But that is not all. To be saved is wonderful but God wants you to belong to his church, amen, that mystical body of Christ, hallelujah.
So Luke writes about the birth of Christ and Luke writes in the second account to Theophilus the birth of the church, the body of Christ, hallelujah, amen. In the Gospel of Luke, Luke writes, in the entire Gospel of Luke, he writes about Jesus's 30-plus years of his life. In the book of Acts, Luke writes about the 30 years from Acts 1, Acts chapter 1 to Acts chapter 28, the last part of Acts, all this spans about 30 years, so in Gospel of Luke, he writes about the 30-plus years of Jesus's life, in the book of Acts, Luke writes about the 30 years of church life, of its history on earth, hallelujah. Do you see the parallel, my friend? Praise the Lord. I'm coming to something here. I want you to see this first because you need to see that today, today, the expression of Jesus, many people are trying to, "I want the Lord in heaven. I want the Lord to directly", but God has ordained, you know?
The other Sunday, I was sharing with my son Justin. I said that if someone gave you the authority to do something, for example, a policeman, a traffic police, and he's directing traffic, and he's kind of a small, puny size man, wearing a uniform, and a huge truck comes right in front of him, what does he do? All he gotta do is just lift up his hand. Now, does his size make a difference? No. Why? His authority makes a difference, amen, because behind him is all the police force, and behind the police force is all the army, the navy, the land, ground force, and all the entirety of the wealth and the weaponry of Singapore will be behind that man. So when he lift up his hand, he's not standing there in and of himself.
So I was telling him that, you know, when you say "in the name of Jesus," you feel like, you know, fear is coming to you, say "in the name of Jesus, fear depart from me," and fear has to obey. It's not what we are, it's not our how much we know, it's not whether we are grown to a certain extent, but if you know the name of Jesus, all authority is in his name. Jesus said it like this, I told him, "All authority". Just before he left, Jesus says, "All authority is given unto Me in heaven and on earth". Now, he's gonna do it directly? No, he says to his church, he turned around to his disciples and says, "Go you therefore," notice the "therefore"? It's connected with "all authority is given unto Me in heaven and on earth. Go you therefore, and teach all nations". Praise the Lord.
Now, we see something. He's authorizing us, so that's why when we use the name of Jesus, we pray for the sick and we use the name of Jesus to come against that disease, to curse that disease to its roots, to command it to be plucked up and be removed from that body. It is not us. We are not the healer, but he is, amen. He is still working, like, in the last few verses of the Gospel of Mark, he went back to heaven and the Bible says: "The Lord working with them". Remember the ox? The picture of the ox is from the Gospel of Mark, and the Gospel of Mark portrays Jesus as strong to labor, like an ox, and that's why in the very first chapter it says that the words immediately, I told you last week to underline, all right, the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark where it talks about immediately, forthwith, straightaway, straightaway. It's like a servant, an untiring servant. It doesn't open with genealogy. He opens with his service, his how he went about doing good, healing all. Once a work is finished, he goes on to do another work, amen. Once he casts out devils, all right, he goes on to teach, and then after he's finished teaching, he goes on to heal. Untiring, amen, strong to labor like the ox.
So the ending of Mark's Gospel, the last few verses, it says the disciples went everywhere, the Lord in heaven, "the Lord working with them". Notice, not apart from them, not directly without them. But the Lord working with them, amen? So all authority in heaven, on earth, is given to us, and not long after that, my daughter asked me the question. One of her care group members was asking her a question about why pray, why must we pray if God knows everything? And I have an entire sermon on that. It's got to do with authority, how God gave the authority of this earth to Adam, the very first man, and Adam committed high treason, okay? So God cannot directly just intervene and take back the authority because what God gives, God gives. God has to find a legal channel, a righteous ground, to get back that authority, and that's why Jesus is called the second Adam, the last man, amen. So he came and he wrested that righteously from the hands of the enemy.
And of course, when the enemy had it, he brought in death, he brought in all kind of destruction, all kind of uncleanness, all kinds of mayhem into this world. Death came in, disease came in, and that authority that he had, he used for evil, but now Jesus has wrested it from him, but then Jesus says, "All authority is given unto Me in heaven and on earth". Another place he says, "I have the keys of hell and of death". But then he tells the church, "Go ye therefore". That's why we pray. When we pray, we are enforcing it. We are enforcing the victory already accomplished. Now the enemy is stubborn. Sometimes he will still fight back, but then you've got to stand firm, you've got to keep on enforcing the authority because, at the end of the day, authority, like the policeman, is greater than the power of the truck. The truck has to stop because of his authority, amen? Praise God.
Okay, let's go on. We look at the birth of Christ and how it is portrayed by same writer, Luke in the Gospel of Luke and in the book of Acts, the birthday of the body of Christ, the church, hallelujah. And he talks about in the Gospel of Luke the first 30-plus years of Jesus's life, in the book of Acts the 30 years of church life, amen, of what the church is like in the beginning of its history, hallelujah. Another thing is this, we see the Holy Spirit very clearly in the book of Acts. Why is that so? In fact, we say the Acts of the Apostles. But then, it is the Holy Spirit time and time again, the Holy Spirit filled them all in the Upper Room, the Holy Spirit is the one that whispers to Peter, saying, "Three men are looking for you".
It was the Holy Spirit that told Philip, "Go, join yourself to this chariot," and there was a man there needed his ministry, and the man got saved. It's the Holy Spirit, while Paul was praying with his companions, the Holy Spirit spoke at Antioch, "Separate me Saul and Barnabas," and as his name back then was Saul, and it was the Holy Spirit that said, "Separate me," all right? And "Separate me Barnabas and Saul". In other words, "Give to me Barnabas and Saul. I have a commission for them," praise the Lord. They heard the Lord, they followed the Lord, they were in the flow some, at one time, Paul was about to preach the gospel somewhere, and even preaching the gospel, we can be led by the Spirit. There are times, like, in the Gospels it says that Paul wanted to preach in a certain location and then "the Spirit suffered him not," the Spirit forbade him, the Spirit did not allow him.
He was very sensitive. Perhaps God's timing for them has not yet come, their hearts are not prepared and God knows it. They are steeped in sin, and they refused to hear. Paul would just be wasting his time, but whatever it is, the Holy Spirit knows even the right time for our preaching the gospel, amen. So it should be called instead of the Acts of the Apostles, the Acts of the Holy Spirit, hallelujah. So what Jesus did in the Gospel of Luke, he went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil, he's still doing, but via the Holy Spirit, through the Holy Spirit, and through his church.
So where's the Holy Spirit found? In the church, in the church. And, friend, when you look at the world today, you think that the world is bad, it's because the church is here, it's not that bad yet. When the Bible says when the restrainer, the Holy Spirit, in the church... where is the Holy Spirit? In the church. When the restrainer is removed, you're gonna see what kind of darkness and lawlessness there'll be on this earth. The Bible says the church, you are the salt of the earth. Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world". What does salt do? Back then, it is their refrigerator, all right? It preserves things from becoming corrupted. Just being there in your workplace, you don't have to speak out, amen, that you are a believer, you're a Christian, amen. You don't have to jump on the chair and preach the Word of God and tell them all about the mystery of the horsemen. You don't have to talk about all that, amen? Just your sheer presence. You're bringing the Holy Spirit to work, and that whole atmosphere, there is a sanctifying influence.
Now, imagine when the church is removed in the Rapture, amen, the Holy Spirit in that sense is removed, amen. Then what we have on earth, the Holy Spirit will still be working, but not in the fullness like he did through the church. It'll be like before the church time in the Old Testament, remember, people still got saved, people still believed in God, although they're very few, right? And it was the Holy Spirit also back then, but it's not the fullness of it. In other words, we are living in those days of grace where it's almost like, if I can say this, the Holy Spirit makes things effortlessly easy, amen, there is a flow. That's what the anointing does, right, the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It's like you put oil on the hinge of the door that is creaking all the time, you put the oil down there, and guess what? It's a flow, and there's no noise.
You know, relationships need that. They need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That's why Paul says, "Be filled with the Spirit," amen, and "Speaking to yourself in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs," and talks about "Husbands, love your wives," amen. He talks about relationships after that. Why? Because the anointing of the Holy Spirit will cause us not to grumble, not to be speaking words that will not edify, not built up, destructive words, and you know, like the creaking of the door, once the oil comes on it, it's a flow, amen. Everything prospers, effortlessly easy. You turn the door, effortlessly easy, praise God. And that's what God brings. And it's all available in the church. So the worst is not yet to come, my friend. Yes, you might think that, you know, wars and rumors of wars like I shared last week, what Jesus told us, but Jesus says, "See that you do not be alarmed. See that you are not troubled, for the end is not yet". "The end is not yet".
So because we are here, all right, evil is restrained, hallelujah. You, child of God, because of you, that evil in your household is restrained, amen. It could have been worse. Because of you, that workplace that you're in right now, you say that "I don't like the environment here. I wanna work in a Christian organization". Well, if all the salt goes into the salt shaker, and salt is not among corruption, what value is there, amen? It's time for us to get out of the salt shaker and salt the corruption that's in the world, praise God, amen? Praise God. You have it in you. God has called you and ordained you to be such. That's the power of the church of Jesus Christ, amen. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus.
And another thing is that you see the Holy Spirit, Jesus was conceived in the Holy Spirit, in the virgin's womb. In the Gospel of Luke, it talks about that, Luke 1:35, amen. "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and overshadow you; also, that Holy One that is to be born will be called the Son of God". So the Holy Spirit is involved in the conception. The Holy Spirit, all right, was in the womb of Mary, amen, conceiving the Holy One who is the Son of God. Praise God. And the early church, the birthday of the church, the Holy Spirit filled all of them. Acts chapter 2, verse 4, "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance". We need to depend upon the Holy Spirit, my friend.
Another interesting thing is if you look at both books, at the chapters 2 of both books, Luke chapter 2 and Acts chapter 2, the very last verse of both chapters, you'll find this. Luke chapter 2, verse 52, it says, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men". This is the very last verse of Luke chapter 2. What about the other book that Luke wrote to Theophilus, the book of Acts? This is the very last verse, verse 47 of chapter 2 of Acts. "Praising God," the early church. "Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved". Can you see that?
Now, in Luke chapter 2, the very last verse says, "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men". In Acts chapter 2, the very last verse, it says, "Praising God and having favor," the church, the many-membered body of Christ. "Having favor," just like Jesus had favor, amen, growing up, having favor, "with all the people. And the Lord added to the church," now isn't this like Jesus, he increased in wisdom and stature. When the Lord adds to the church, the church increases in stature, in growth, amen, "daily those who were being saved," hallelujah, hallelujah. Do you see the parallel, my friend? These two books written by Luke, the beloved physician, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You can see that God's focus is now on the body of Christ. You see, I always tell people this, that if you want a solid ministry or you want a strong church full of grace and truth, praise the Lord, it's important you always remember this. The three legs of a stool, a stool that's on three legs, the first one is the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
You've got to emphasize Jesus, amen. Your life gotta revolve around him. Your teaching's gotta revolve around him. Everything that you say and do is to his glory. He is the center of your life, amen. That is important 'cause it's possible for us to say, "God, God, God," and not say, "The Lord Jesus Christ," amen. God has ordained that the fullness of the Godhead dwell in him, praise God, hallelujah. The Holy Spirit's come only to glorify One, not even himself. "He shall not speak of himself, amen? He shall glorify me," Jesus said. The Holy Spirit even wants Jesus glorified, and he will anoint anyone that wants to see Jesus glorified, praise the Lord, hallelujah.
So it's vital for us to remember this, that as we study the Word of God, amen, we wanna see Jesus above everything else. Not how to make money, all right? Not how to have a successful marriage, all good... these things are fine, amen? God wants to bless us with all these things, but the primary reason to open up the scriptures is to see Jesus, and when you see Jesus, these things won't suffer. In fact, many a time when you see Jesus, the supply is there, or when you see Jesus, the wisdom comes to know how to act in this specific situation that you are beset by, amen? You will know just what to do, just by seeing Jesus. Praise the Lord. Just by seeing Jesus, you end up at the right place at the right time.
When Mary wanted to share her love for Jesus, obviously Jesus is central in her life, amen? She was occupied with Christ. Remember, she anointed the Lord, and the Lord says, "This is done for his burial". Later on, when Jesus had died and was buried, some women came on the third day with spices to anoint him, but they were too late, amen. Only Mary, she was able to do the right thing at the right time, just because she was occupied with Christ. You see, we don't have to worry about what to do, when to do it, are we in the flow, are we on time, are we in the right place, right time? All that will be taken care of. As you occupy yourself with Christ, you will end up like Mary, doing the right thing at the right time, hallelujah. Praise the name of Jesus, amen.
The second leg of that stool is the church. The Lord emphasizes the church. So after the person of Jesus, what we need to emphasize is the church, the church of Jesus Christ. It is geared to his heart. Even though it was a mystery in the Old Testament, the Jews could not see the church of Jesus Christ, and that's why they could not understand this. Even Peter couldn't understand it, and God had to raise Paul for the revelation, he calls it the mystery. And the mystery above every mystery is the mystery of the church, amen. And Paul revealed that, hallelujah. We need to be occupied with what his heart is focused on. Praise the Lord.
And the third leg for the stool is Israel. And nowadays, you know, you have people saying things like, "Well, God is through with Israel. They rejected Jesus," and replacement theology, okay? And all the end time, Israel is not in the picture and, in fact, when they interpret the Bible, a lot of things that's meant for Israel, the restoration of Israel, they'll just say it's for the church, okay? They don't see the importance of Israel, and that is faulty doctrine, okay? You gotta have these three legs of the stool to have a stable, solid ministry, amen? The person of our Lord Jesus, the church, and Israel, amen.
Okay, let's go on, and I wanna pick up from where we left off last week. This is Acts chapter 2, verse 47, the very last verse of chapter 2. You go earlier on to verse 41, it says, "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them". Like I've alluded to before, on Mount Sinai God gave the law, the Ten Commandments, 3,000 people died. On Mount Zion here, God gave not the law, but the Spirit, and 3,000 people were saved. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life, hallelujah. "And three thousand souls were added to the church. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine," notice what they continued steadfastly in, number one, the apostles's doctrine; number two, and fellowship; number three, in the breaking of bread; and number four, in prayers.
Now, friend, I call this the four pillars of the church. Notice, not only they continued in it, they continued steadfastly. It was a revelation to them that they must not let go of these four pillars. It is what makes the church great. It is what makes the church strong. It's what makes the church flow with the will and the purposes of God, hallelujah. And if you look carefully at the church today, you find that either they emphasize on one or two more, all right, but one is lacking or two are lacking. And again and again, we must come back to these four pillars of the church. It is also for our own personal lives, my friend. It's important for us to see that these are in our individual life, but the picture here is in the local church, amen.
So we express this in the local church, like, for example, breaking of bread. You can break bread at home, yes, you can. Praise the Lord. The Bible says, "They broke bread from house to house in the early church". In fact, in this passage, it tells us that. "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, they broke bread from house to house, ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart". So they broke bread from house to house. But when you come together like the Bible tells us in the book of Acts, when the Apostle Paul and all the rest came together, "upon the first day of the week, to break bread," notice the purpose for which they came together on a Sunday, the first day of the week, to break bread. Not even to hear the greatest teacher at that time and preacher, the apostle Paul was there. It's not even to listen to him, although he preached. It is to break bread.
I believe that breaking of bread or Communion is the highest watermark of worship. It is really geared to God's heart. Jesus says, "Do this in remembrance of me". And for the lack of this, the church has suffered, and also the provision that God wants us to receive in the Communion has been neglected, amen. And we are trying out, you know, all kinds of ways to get the answers from the world that can only be found in the church of Jesus Christ, amen. So the four pillars again, we have the apostles's doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and in prayers. And notice the result of these four pillars in the early church. "Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles," hallelujah. And I believe that if we continue steadfastly in these four pillars, again, wonders and signs will be done in the name of Jesus.
Drop down. "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple," they had a physical gathering as well as breaking bread from house to house. I know at this time, in this season, it's not possible, depending on where you are and all that, to meet so freely as you can, but if you cannot, just remember online is just fine, praise the Lord, to get together God's people and have a sense that you're breaking bread with all of them collectively, but this is only temporal, and then God is waiting for you to come together to break bread. Praise God. And it says that "They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people". That's the early church. "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved".
So just continuing steadfastly in the apostles's doctrine, in fellowship, in breaking of bread, and prayers, the Lord added to the church daily. Now, if you look carefully at these four pillars, you can also find them, if you meditate carefully on what I shared about the four horsemen and the four faces of Jesus, and then bringing the direction, the direction by which they attack, and you see that the provisions that God has placed all around, if you meditate on that, you will invariably come to this. If you look at Acts 2:42, these four pillars, and look at the tabernacle. Remember last week, we looked at the tabernacle, and we see the attacks coming from the four corners?
So that's the tabernacle. See, the tabernacle proper will be the one that you see inside there, the rectangular shape, right, that's the tabernacle proper, but the entire thing is sometimes called tabernacle. Now, if you uncover the curtains from the tabernacle and you look down, you find on the south side here is the menorah or lampstand. Opposite, a table of showbread. Then you have the altar of incense, and then the ark of the covenant. Okay, so let's look at a top-down view, North, South, East, West, and you see that I've placed the apostles's doctrine at the East, and then you have fellowship in the order that it appears in Acts 2:42. Apostles's doctrine, fellowship in the South, and breaking of bread in the North, where the table of showbread is, and prayers where the altar of incense is. Can you see that? All right, and why do I place it like that? Because the apostles's doctrine is teaching, and you have the bronze altar and the laver, amen.
When you come in, the first things you see is the bronze altar, which speaks of the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's where the sacrificial victims are placed, the burnt offering, amen, and the four corners speaks of the four corners of the cross that the efficacy of the work of Jesus goes to the four corners of the earth, amen. So the altar of burnt offering is a place of sacrifice, the place of Calvary, if you would, amen, Jesus Christ's death. And then the laver is where the priests go there and wash themselves, amen, "The washing of water of the word," amen. So it's referring to the Word of God, the Word of God teaching on Jesus and the finished work. That is the apostles's doctrine. Not Mosaic doctrine from the book of Exodus and Leviticus, not the patriarchal teachings, amen.
We can learn the Word of God at that time, for them, but this is the apostles's doctrine. It's based on the cross. It's based on the finished work of Jesus Christ and his person. And that's the apostles's doctrine, amen? Then we have the fellowship. Fellowship because this side here you have the menorah on the South side, and that's the church of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is in all his fullness in the church of Jesus Christ, amen? And there's the place of fellowship. Then you have the breaking of bread. Why is it in the North? Because from the North comes evil, the Bible tells us, and that's the direction that evil comes to attack Israel throughout the Bible. It usually comes from the North. Even all the enemies of Israel usually will come from the North. And here, you have the table of showbread placed on the North, so that is the breaking of bread. Can you see that?
Then on the west side, you have the altar of incense which is the altar of prayer, praying intercession and praise and worship, hallelujah. It goes up as a sweet-smelling incense to God. And the prayer is there on the west side. Now, when the enemy attacks, remember last week we saw the attack of the enemy, we saw from scripture, all right, the reason why God placed them in the different directions so we can see what counters them. Notice from the East, the apostles's doctrine, what attacks the church from there will be the false doctrine. And that's why God placed the apostles's doctrine right at the door. It's important we hear the preaching and teaching about Jesus and the finished work. Anything else is Antichrist. Any other teaching that devalues Jesus and his place or negates the finished work of Jesus, saying that you can get those things without the cross, is anti-Christian teaching, all right? It's false doctrine, of which this rider on the white horse represents.
And the fellowship, notice the rider with the scales, right? He rides from below, the rider on the black horse, and this is famine and lack. He's the one that brings famine. Now, all these are principalities of darkness and you're gonna know more about them, you can get my message, listen to my message, which will be made available, okay? Listen to it, and then you'll have a clear understanding about it. Because of time, I just wanna show you today how in the church of Jesus Christ, these four pillars counter all these things, amen. Fellowship in the menorah, amen. Praise God. If you look at the menorah, the lampstand, Jesus calls the seven assemblies, the seven churches in the book of Revelation, obviously he's referring to the specific local churches.
Now, they were in existence at that time when Jesus spoken to them, but it's also prophetic. The book of Revelation's also prophetic so it talks about all the way from the first church that Jesus addressed, Ephesus, okay, all the way to the church of Laodicea, amen? Laodicea. So you have here a panorama of seven churches that covers two thousand years. I believe right now, we are in the area of the church of Philadelphia, as well as Laodicea, okay? Either you're a part of the church of Philadelphia, which is a church that did not receive any rebuke at all from the Lord, amen, just a commendation.
All the churches, Laodicea. I look at some places sometimes, you know, and I shudder to hear people saying things like, you know, they're very proud they have money. Exactly the language that the Lord says about the church of Laodicea. People will say things like, "I am rich and I have need of nothing," as if their stronghold, all right, and their joy is based on this false fortress of wealth. They'll say things, "I'm rich and have need of nothing". And it's something like confession of faith gone wrong. Notice that Jesus is not in his mouth. "I am rich and I don't need anything. See how much money I make," all right? The Lord is not in their thoughts, okay? That's the endtime, the last church, Laodicea. May we never be like Laodicea, amen. May we be like Philadelphia, hallelujah. Praise the Lord.
And notice that what counters the famine and lack is the fellowship in the body of Christ. Like I said, you know, in the church of Jesus Christ, God's way of having all your needs met, God says, "Honor the Lord with your substance and with the firstfruits of all your increase: so shall your barns, your own personal barns be filled with plenty and your winepress burst out with new wine". I mentioned just now Haggai telling them, all right, that, "You put money in a bag full of holes". Why? "Because my house lies waste". "If you'll priorities my house, I'll take care of your wages, I'll take care of your supply, I'll take care of your needs". Amen. Amen. The Bible says things like honor the Lord with the substance of firstfruits; your winepress will burst out with new wine. Amen. Burst out is the idea of overflowing. Hallelujah. Amen? Praise the Lord.
And God talks about, "Bring the tithes into my storehouse". Praise God. "Bring the tithes into my storehouse". So this is how you counter famine or lack, amen, in the church of Jesus Christ, and the fellowship that goes on is a fellowship of helping one another, even meeting the needs of one another. Amen. You know, it's a sad thing when you see the Gaderene demoniac. Okay, the Bible says in Mark chapter 5, verse 5, he was so possessed always, night and day, in the mountains, in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones; no fellowship. See, the devil will never want you to fellowship. He will try to withdraw you from fellowship, live among the tombs, live among the mountains.
Now, I'm speaking prophetically here that this is going to happen in these last days. People will start to distance them self more and more not because of pandemic; they'll distance themselves because they have perhaps tasted life on their own. They don't realize that they are suffering mentally, they are actually finding that they need to shut everything out, or they become so critical, "All churches are bad. There's no good church", and all that. And you know what? You're right. There's no perfect church. If you find a perfect church, don't go there or else you'll make it imperfect. Amen. There's no perfect church, but the Lord calls it the glory of Christ. Amen? Praise God. And that's how God sees the church. Hallelujah. And they get this illusion. They stay in the darkness of their room just in front of the computer, you know, and just cutting off from all social interaction.
See, exactly like this guy, this man here, the Gaderene demonic who was the most demonized man. Notice the activity of demons in his life to become antisocial and cutting himself, crying out day and night, crying out and cutting himself. Well, our Savior heard that cry, because if you're on the opposite side in Capernaum and Gadara is just opposite of Capernaum, that the waters will carry that cry all the way to Capernaum. I'm sure the Lord many a times when he healed the sick and all that, he'll hear their cry and he says, "I must go there. I must go there". At the right time he went over there. And that's why there was a storm. The devil tried to hinder him from delivering that man because that man, when Jesus delivered him, he became an evangelist. Amen. The Bible says he went and publicized in Decapolis, ten cities. He became an evangelist in ten cities. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Amen.
You see, whenever you have a revelation, you know what the Lord does? He puts you on the menorah. He puts you in the church. He puts you in a place where you will shine the brightness. No other place can you shine. In fact, in Mark chapter 4, Jesus says, "'And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the Word, receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.' And Jesus said unto them, 'Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel...'" Now, you know what's a bushel? Here's a picture of a bushel. Right? A bushel in those days, it speaks of commerce, it speaks of business, finances, okay, because the farmers in those days, that this is their wages, this is how they make money, this is their commercial enterprise, amen, selling wheat, selling barley, selling the grapes, and they will measure it with a bushel. And there are different basket sizes, and the basket are called bushel, the idea of commerce.
So Jesus says, "Who lights a candle to be brought under a bushel or under a bed and not to be set on a candlestick"? So in other words, God says, "Once I light you up, once I give you a revelation, once you see things," God says, "I won't keep you hidden. I won't keep you under the bed". Bed can speak of indolence or sexual sins. Indulgence in that will cause your light to be impeded, you know, will destroy that light. Just like when David killed Bathsheba's husband Uriah. His name Uriah, ur is light, iah is the light of God. It's as if he put out the light of God in his life. Amen. So the bed can represent sexual sins or indolence, laziness. Amen? All these things will kill, destroy that light that God wants to shine forth in your life. Amen. The Lord says, "I won't put it under a bed. I won't put it under a bushel".
Now, what is bushel? Again, being involved so much, being obsessed with making money, being obsessed with making money. Friend, making money is our responsibility, all right, but it's a means to an end. That's all it is. Remember, don't be obsessed with it. If you hear ideas about making money fast, it may be true. There are people making money. It is true. There are also people losing money. Beware of this idea of making money fast. The Bible as a whole, and you read the book of Proverbs alone, it talks about those who are hasty to be rich. He that is hasty to be rich has an evil eye and does not consider that poverty shall come on him.
That's why gambling and anything that smacks of gambling, all right, in its principle, like, "Come on, invest fast, okay, do this fast and you'll make money fast," anything that tells you you'll make money fast whereas the Bible says in the book of Proverbs, he that gathers by labor shall increase, anything that tells you, you know, you can make money fast is the principle of gambling, and God doesn't bless that, my friend. Be careful. That is putting your light under a bushel. Amen? The commerce has put out your light. That business has put out your light. Amen. Make sure it is in its right place. The light is shining, praise the Lord, and everyone can see it. So he doesn't put it under a bed, doesn't put it under a bushel. What does the Lord do?
Now, I believe the Lord is the one that lights us, and then he puts us where? On a candlestick. Even you're a successful businessman, the place he'll put you is on the candlestick, in the church, where your influence will be received in a way that will glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and serve his purposes. He'll make you prominent. Where? In the church, in the menorah. He'll set you there, not under a bed, not under business, commercialism, where it drowns you out. Now, again, commercialism itself is not wrong, but when you're obsessed with it, your light is put out. Another passage in Matthew, this is the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel," again, the idea of commerce and business, "but on a candlestick". And look at the effect. "And it gives light unto all that are in the house".
This is a blessing for everyone in the church. God says, "When I light you up, when I give you, I impart to you a revelation, you know what I'll do? You are precious now, very precious to me. You have value that you didn't have before. So I'm going to put you on the candlestick. Amen? I'll put you there so that your light will shine brightly and your influence will go far and wide and you'll influence people". Those who have the gift of commerce, amen, to use that to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Another passage, he talks about this, in fact, he mentioned all this in the Synoptic Gospels, "No man," Jesus said, "when he has lighted a candle, puts it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light".
Just now in Matthew, he says that it gives light to all that are in the house. Not only in the church, but also in your house, everyone is blessed. Just like in Exodus it says that there was darkness in Egypt, but in the household of the Israelites, the Bible says, there was light in their dwellings. Praise God. All your family will experience that light in the house, praise God, amen, and also the church will experience the light in the house. So this is blessing on the house, be the church or your own personal house. Amen? But the Luke 11 is different. Here it says, "That they which come in may see the light". This is testimony for people who are looking to the church, people who are trying out the church, people who want to know about the Lord: your light will shine to impact them for Jesus. Those who come in will see the light.
Just like the Egyptians, they saw light in the household of the Israelites, and they know it is supernatural light because if it's not supernatural then they will use the same means, whether it's flint or whatever to cause fire to come out, and yet they could not do that because the Bible say is a supernatural darkness; they could not light any fire, and yet in the households of the Israelites, they can see light. It's supernatural light so that it'll give light to all who are coming to the house. Amen.
Let's go back again to the tabernacle. So that's the fellowship. Now, opposite the north side you see the breaking of bread. I've touched on this a lot. So because of time, I'm not going to spend too much time on this, but just suffice to say that the breaking of bread counters death and disease. We have so many testimonies of people who have received healing to the breaking of bread, and that's the reason why the Bible says when you take the cup and the bread, discern, make a distinction between them. The cup, the blood is for the washing of our sins, cleansing us from all sins. Amen. But what is the bread, the broken body for? What happened to Jesus before he was put on the cross? He was scourged And the Bible says with his stripes we are healed. If we discern this, the Bible says you are partaking worthily, you are giving glory to Jesus, and you are proclaiming his death until he comes. Amen. So this counters the death and the disease.
Now prayers. Prayers is where you have war and strife. The rider on the red horse brings war and strife. This is the rider that's causing problems. This is a principality of darkness that's causing problems right now in Ukraine even as we speak. And the Bible says to counter this in a smaller form in a daily way, it manifests as strife, strife in our families, in our relationships. And how to counter strife? Pray. Pray. Amen? Don't use your words to have your way or to convince someone if they refuse to see it. Pray, amen. When you pray, it's hard to criticize someone or continue to be angry at someone when you're praying. And the prayers that they were involved in, it's very interesting that it says in the prayers. The definite article is there in the Greek. They continued steadfastly, all of them in the apostles' doctrine, in the fellowship, in the breaking of bread. Very specific. In other words, it's a specific thing they have in mind, amen.
Some people will say, "The breaking of bread here is just a daily meal. Then what is so out of the ordinary of the early church partaking of their daily meal"? Of course not, it's referring to communion. The breaking of bread and the prayers. So obviously the prayers, and there's an idea of a prayer that is specific. Amen? And what came on the day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit? They began to pray in tongues. Praise God. They began to pray in tongues, and throughout the book of Acts, you'll find them praying in tongues. One of the things that the apostle would do is to pray for people who are believers to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then they'll speak in tongues or prophesy, but usually the mouth speaks. Amen.
So the prayers here is actually praying in tongues for the greater part. I believe that. That's why the definite article is used, the prayers, a specific kind of prayer. Amen. Of course, prayer and understanding is here as well. So as you pray, you will stop the strife in Jesus's name. Pray for your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you, who abuse you. Pray for them. Amen? Bless them. I pray when I hear people saying things or whatever against me or whatever. I just stop. The first thing I do, I pray for them. Amen. You know, if they are right, may they prosper, amen, if they are wrong, they'll need my prayer, okay? So pray. Amen. Praise God. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.
So, church, the Bible says the early church, not only they continued in these four pillars, they continued steadfastly, hallelujah, and the Word of God grew and grew and grew. In Acts chapter 6, verse 7, "The Word of God spread, the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith". In Acts chapter 12, it says, "The Word of God grew and multiplied". In Acts chapter 19, it says, "The Word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed". The word mightily there, it can be said like this in a DARBY Translation: "Thus with might the Word of the Lord increased and prevailed".
My friend, the Word of the Lord increased and prevailed where? In the church, from the church. Amen. We need to come back to the Word of God. We need to see the priority that God places on his Word. In the apostles' doctrine there's a first thing mentioned, the priority is always on the Word of God. Amen. Keep on hearing the Word of God. Make sure it's the apostles' doctrine based on new covenant teachings, New Testament teachings. Amen? You know, I teach a lot. This sermon in my last... last Sunday sermon is based a lot from the Old Testament, but what you do is that you look at the shadows and you bring out the Word of Christ. That becomes an apostolic doctrine. Amen? Keep on listening to apostolic teachings more and more, more and more, and see the blessings of God grow and grow in your life as the Word of God grows in your life and multiplies. Amen? Praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus.
I see someone holding his stomach, and for some reason, while you're watching this, your stomach is causing problems. It was causing you problems yesterday as well. And right now, in the name of Jesus, I rebuke that pain. I command it to go from you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God. Now you feel like fire. I'm telling you you're feeling like fire, and God is healing you. There's an ulcer in your stomach. You know it. And now God is healing you, ceiling up that ulcer. Once you have confirmed this with a doctor, right, write to us and let us know about this. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Someone you fractured, I see like, I think, your clavicle or your shoulder, this area, and right now you cannot lift your hand, but I want you to do it right now because God is imparting to you his healing and his strength. Do it right now in Jesus's name. There you go. Praise the Lord. You are healed. You are healed in the name of Jesus. Amen. Write to us and let us hear about it. Well, you praise the name of Jesus.
I see it's someone's toe, all black, black and blue, all right, blue, black, and right now it's clearing up. Look at your toe. Look at your toe right now. Look at your toe. Praise, all the pain is gone. The Lord has healed you. I don't know when you stubbed that toe, but even small things, the Lord cares for it. Even a small toe, amen, he cares for it. Thank you, Jesus. Praise the Lord Jesus.
If you've never made Jesus your personal Savior and Lord, I want to invite you right now to receive him as your personal Savior and Lord. Friend, whatever the decision you make on earth will only last in this lifetime. This decision will last forever. Amen. Jesus Christ will be your redeemer and your Savior forever. So if that is you, pray this prayer with me right now. Say:
Heavenly Father, thank you for your love for me, thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, that you are giving to me right now. I confess my Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, as my Lord, and I believe that Christ took all my sins and all my diseases on the cross, and I believe that you raised him from the dead when I was acquitted, when I was justified in him. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior now and forever in Jesus's name. Thank you, Father. I am saved, I am now your child, and I'm blessed with every blessing in heavenly places in Christ. In Jesus's name, amen.
If that is you, please write to us and let us know, amen, that you have received salvation, the greatest gift you can ever receive, amen, through Jesus Christ. Stand to your feet, church. Praise the Lord. Amen. Get involved, my friend. Get involved in the local church. You're going through a trial, all these four pillars apply. Amen? Get involved in prayers, in the breaking of bread. Call someone. Share with them their problem. Don't go through it alone. Amen. Find someone in the body of Christ, not from the world, amen, and receive counsel or receive just a fellowship. Have you noticed that, even online, when you meet someone, another brother in Christ, a sister in Christ, there's like a current, there's something that goes on that lifts you up? Amen.
I know you can complain about, you know, a Zoom fatigue and all that, but, friend, get together, especially when you're going through a trial, amen? Just being together with God's people, there is an elevating going on, there is a lifting going on. Amen? You leave them not the same as when you met them earlier. Amen? There's something that happens. Every time God's people come together, amen, the Holy Spirit is moving. Amen? Amen? It's like he's the vine, we are the branches. His life, his electric power, amen, his powerful virtue flows in and through us. Amen, amen, amen. Praise the Lord. Lift your hands.
This coming week, may the favor, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you and your family and may the love of God, the love that saw our need even when we didn't think about him, that love that loves you still and will love you forever, as Jesus has described that love, he will love you to the end, may the love of God and the sweet friendship and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you and your loved ones now and forevermore in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.