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PRINCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST SERIES
THE
REALM OF POWER
We have been studying the principles of Jesus Christ. Principles that work in Jesus’ life and that need
to work in our lives so that we could be like Him. Being like Jesus is not something outward
physically but being like Jesus is to put into practice in our personal life
the very principles that are precious to Jesus.
In the gospel of John
we see another principle, which He applied in His life in the success of His
ministry God, has called Him to. John 10
as Jesus face the Pharisees who challenge His ministry, challenge His authority
and challenge everything that He stands for in all that He represent from
God. Jesus answered them with words that
are astounding in verse 32 onwards “Jesus answered them, many good works I
have shown you from My Father. For which
of those works do you stone Me? The Jews
answered Him, saying, for a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy,
and because You, being a man, make Yourself God. Jesus answered them, is it not written in
your law, I said, You are gods? If He
called them gods, to whom the Word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be
broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and set into the world,
You are blaspheming because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not
believe Me.”
What a statement? He says that if He did not show any of the works,
the signs and the wonders that He brought forth, He is telling them they don’t
have to believe Me. This is a statement,
which many who proclaim Jesus Christ will find it difficult to make. But this is the gospel that Jesus came to
bring. It is the gospel of the
Jesus went on to say in
verse 38, “but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works,
that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” What a challenge He made to them. These statements are made to the unbelieving
world that were challenging Jesus Christ.
They were represented by the Jews for they do not want to believe in
Jesus Christ. Through the ages
Christianity sometimes lost some of its glamour, some of its power, Jesus says
here that the gospel must come forth with signs and wonders. Through the ages somehow we get the idea that
just sharing Jesus and the forgiveness of sins and the promises of heaven is
enough. We don’t realize that people do
not come to God by argument. Sometimes
there are some of the most intellectual people who could argue on any
point. See no one has come to God by
intellectual argument. If you have two
champion intellects, one an atheist and the other one theist a believer in God,
do you know that know that the argument will still end up in a draw? Intellectual arguments in whatever form will
only lead to a statement. Although
sometimes some arguments sound convincing but it’s just because of the strength
of the argument. But when two people are
really able to argue it out, it will end in a stalemate statement for believing
in God takes faith. You could say the
world was not created by accident yet the people could use the same argument to
disprove that thing and you end with a stalemate.
In the end, no matter how intellectual a
person is, when they see miracles take place and demons driven out in the Name
of Jesus, that’s the end of their intellectual argument. The doctor says there
is no more hope, there is no cure, and they will be forced to acknowledge that
something is there when they see a miracle.
The signs and wonders will only stir their curiosity to look for
alternative explanation or get into the faith.
Jesus says that this gospel must go forth with signs and wonders.
In John 14, to His own disciples, this is not
the same group as John 10 was with the Jews.
John 14 is now with the disciples.
Jesus said here in verse 7, “If you had known Me, you would have
known My Father also, and from now on, you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father,
and it is sufficient for us.”
Philip desired to see God, to see the Father. He has seen Jesus but Jesus was in human
form. He could not see beyond the veil
of human flesh. He says, show us the
Father. Just like people want to know
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is here
this morning. You sometimes could feel
His presence in a strong way. He is
invisible and we know He is here but we can’t see Him. Sometimes people want to see Him. He says show us the Father and the Lord said
in verse 9, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me,
Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the
Father; so how can you say, show us the Father? Jesus said, the Father is revealed in Him,
and verse 10 He began to make this astounding statement. “Do you not believe that I am in the
Father, and the Father in Me? The words
that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who
dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me
that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake
of the works themselves.”
Jesus places a high importance on the works and the signs and
wonders that He brought forth, that when people find it hard to believe in Him,
He says look at the works. These are not
normal works. These are supernatural
acts. These are the spirit realms
breaking into the natural realm. High
laws breaking natural laws or superseding natural laws and causing a tremendous
out-working of sings and wonders. Then
He ends with this promise in verse 12, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who
believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than
these he will do, because I go to My Father.” We need to place a high importance on signs
and wonders in the
See, it is by signs and wonders that the Gentiles
became obedient to the gospel. Romans 15: 18-19 “For I will not dare to
speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in
word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient.” Somehow along the way in Christianity, we
have lost one part of it. We have only
made people obey the Word but the deeds need to come. He explained what they are. In verse 19, “in mighty signs and wonders,
by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from
I Cor.2: 4 “And my speech and my preaching were not with
persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of
God.”
In
Thessalonians the same thing about how the gospel came to them. Not in word only but in deed, in signs and
wonders, in demonstration of power. We
realize here that the realm of signs and wonders and powers can mean different
things to different people. It includes
healing, it includes demonstration of resurrection power, and the presence
where there’s such power without a word being spoken. People get convicted and dropped on their
knees before God or they just cannot do anything but just get their lives
right. It includes healing power, all
these powers but there is a power that is beyond words that can only be
felt. You can talk about it. You can’t explain it but there is a power
that is beyond words. It can only be felt
and it’s so powerful that healing takes place, demons flee when the power
comes. That’s the power we are talking
about that God is bringing forth. That
also includes in these days a new realm of power that I call creative
miracles.
Long time ago when God first called me, He
talked to me about creative miracles. It
talks about paying the price to move into that realm. What are creative
miracles? Someone comes to a meeting
without an arm, and the arm grows out.
Someone comes without a leg and the leg grows out. Someone comes without a kidney and another
kidney appear. God kept on speaking
about that over and over again. Part of
the call is to move so deep in the Spirit until that realm comes. In our church’s newsletter you read about Sister
Sally going to that room in heaven where the human parts are to be sent down to
earth for people and that keeps coming over and over again. God keeps talking about that special signs
and wonders in creative miracles and that seems especially reserved that God
has called people move into. There is a landmark in my life to move into that
and to get people to move into that. We
will have healings and demons casting, etc.
But there is a special thing that God has spoken to me from early days
and even when Jesus appeared to me in 1986, He spoke about the same thing. Kenneth Hagin seldom prophesy but when we
were visiting him, just on that very day, he began to speak about creative
miracles and many times when we have gone to meetings and places and every time
we were there, there is prophecy talking about a creative miracle that is
happening. There is a realm of power
that God wants to bring. There is a
price we have to pay to move into that power.
Please don’t misunderstand, the power of God don’t just come like that
without a price being paid. Or without a
certain laws being obeyed. In order for
a plane to fly, there are many hours of detailed work and planning and construction
and building of an airplane that will break the laws of gravity with a higher
law of lift and to bring the plane up to the air.
In the same way, Paul says in II Cor.12,
that the signs and wonders will work with the key word perseverance. Perseverance is necessary. We need to persevere into that realm. Now this is one of the key principles in
Jesus life. See Jesus persevered into
that realm. For thirty years there was
no record of a single miracle. There are
some apocryphal records but those are not scriptural. For the bible declares in the gospel of John,
when He turned water into wine, that this is the first signs and wonders that
started. That tells us from scripture
that there was no sign and wonder that came upon His life for thirty years. For thirty years He lived as a carpenter, as
an ordinary man with the exception that He spent more time in the Word and in
prayer than any other person and with the added facts that He never got
distracted with worldly things.
When William Branham was young, there is
always this wind that come into his life whenever he is alone. It frightened
him until he met an angel in his adult life.
When he was young, he tried to smoke a cigarette because of peer
pressure from his friends to prove that he is a man or something. As he was just about to smoke a cigarette, there
was this wind that came and he heard this voice. It seems that only he heard the voice. The others felt some strange presence coming
on the treetops. He heard a voice that
says, “You must not smoke. You must not drink.
You must not give yourself to all these.
Keep yourself holy because when the time is ripe I will use you.” Because of that all his life he could not
smoke, he could not drink, because there was something that drove him. Something that tells him that God has some
special power for His life. Later on he
moved into ministry and he is the key leader to bring the 1950s revival to its
peak.
Oral Roberts and every famous men of God today trace their ministry to William Branham’s ministry. But that’s the realm we are talking about - a key in Jesus life. If you were to take Jesus minus the miracles, which a lot of modern scholars and theologians who are not of God, have what we call Higher Criticism saying this is not of God. They cut the Scriptures until there are no more miracles and all you present is Jesus a good man. If that’s all we have, we have missed out everything. Christianity is a supernatural encounter with God Almighty. Jesus is not just a good man with nice teaching with great love. Although all these things do move us and change us but Jesus uses signs and wonders as a key principle in His life. Because He uses them, He challenges the people and says, “If there is none of these signs and wonders in My ministry, you don’t have to believe Me.” There is this realm of signs and wonders - the key principle in Jesus life. It’s His stepping into this river of signs and wonders that helped Him move into that.
That is where God is leading this revival that God is bringing. In fact the revival has already began and has began with repentance and cleansing. You could feel it in your heart. But that’s not the end. That’s leading us somewhere. And as we continue to press on to pray, we will see the days of the Acts of the Apostles all over again. You remember the book of Acts chapter one and two, the 120 disciples continued to pray for ten days, probably in several sessions of prayer together. As we meet week by week before we hit what I call the power line, God is cleansing us. If you hit the power line with sins in your life, you may die. If you hit the power line with things that are not right in our life, it’s the end of you. It is the most dangerous thing. So God is doing a cleansing work in our life and as we keep on, you could feel it in your spirit something is building up. I know prayer meeting like this is revival. As we keep on, something will give way. The flesh of course will give way. We die to self. A lot of things are dealt with and it’s leading us somewhere. These things have happened in pockets here and there in the early ministry.
I remember in the second year of seminary, I was in a small town Baptist church. When we were there, having a call to bring people to revival. One of the first things we did was to call a prayer meeting for revival. After church on Sunday, we used to stay back and pray. We wept and we cried. Things began to happen. The Lord began to appear to people and some of those who were not in the meeting the Lord visited them in their house and some in their dreams. One of the sisters had a dream. In the dream she saw the Lord Jesus was passing by and then she saw a red light. She didn’t recognize the Lord until the end. When she got up from that frightening dream of seeing the Lord and not recognizing Him, the Lord said to her, “You should be in that prayer meeting. But you are not recognizing Jesus when He comes.” She got frightened and she quickly came to the prayer meeting. Then the Lord began to deal with the chairman of the church. The Lord said, “You have sinned. You have pride.” He came and he wept at the meeting. Then strange things began to happen. People who have not been Spirit filled came for the prayer meeting and suddenly the Spirit came on them and they talked in other tongues without anyone laying hands on them or touching them. Strange things began to happen. You cannot have this kind of prayer meeting continually without hitting something somewhere. It’s an awesome thing when you become a part of the move of God. Here we are touching on the fact that one of the principles of Jesus is the principle of signs and wonders. It’s not something you just move into. Why is it not so prominent? Let’s us consider three things in regard to the principle of signs and wonders.
Season
No.1, there is always a season when signs
and wonders are manifested. Remember
Paul said; preach in season and out of season.
When it’s out of season, we still can lay hands on the sick, we still
can cast out demons, we can anoint with oil and receive miracles based on our
faith in God and the believer’s anointing.
But there is a season where it just manifests even in a greater measure.
I met some of those people who have worked in the 1950s revival in
After this outpouring of the Spirit, God
saw that the people needed the Word of God and it went into a season of the
Word of God. People learned to believe
for themselves and not so much depend on the preacher or the vessel of God
because some of the vessels of God began to go off track. In the 1970s and 1980s we began to see that
there were fewer and fewer people with a miracle ministry. However, we don’t see that kind of miracles
anymore that they had in the early days.
There still are but they are pockets of them. Not a whole season. So there is a season of signs and wonders and
outside the season, those who have the faith are still able to get those
miracles. But when it’s in season, those
with very little faith still can see miracles.
But when it’s not in season, it takes perseverance and deep faith to
stay on in that realm of miracles.
So the first thing we see here is season. Jesus knows the season. Why didn’t Jesus do any signs and wonders in
the early days? Is it because His
relationship with God was not deep enough?
Who dare to say that when Jesus was 20 years old He was not as much as
the Son of God as He was when He was 33?
Same Jesus same obedience but Jesus knew there was a season when He was
to demonstrate the signs and wonders. He
knew that the season was coming to an end.
He needs to increase that in His life and He began to anoint His twelve
disciples and He sent them out. Then He
sent the seventy disciples out. They
began to experience signs and wonders.
Jesus knows the season. Now in
the gospel, healing, salvation, deliverance belong to us in season and out of
season. Anytime you have a sickness and
you claim God’s Word for healing you can receive your healing.
But we are talking about a time of season
of signs and wonders. In God’s special
move there will be signs and wonders everywhere accompanied by visions and
dreams. People who are preparing
themselves for revival will be getting signs and wonders effortlessly. When it’s outside the season, you still can
get the same signs and wonders but it may take for example three days of
fasting and prayer to do a special sign and wonder that God instructs. You still got to listen for God’s
instructions to raise a dead or bring a healing to a very difficult case. But when it’s in season, it’s different. You could be just having a full meal and you
are still burping but suddenly the dead will be raised up in Jesus’ name. That is what I am talking about when it is in
season. There is a season. My friends, we are entering into that
season. The kind of prayer meetings that
are taking place is because the season is coming forth. When you see people gathering in great
numbers to pray, to weep before God, to kneel, to sanctify their lives, you
know that the flowers are budding. The
fruit flowers are budding and it’s heading somewhere. Don’t miss this move that God is bringing
forth because the flowers are budding.
The flowers of revival are blooming and after sometime the flowers will
begin to bring forth fruits.
Acts 19, Paul started with twelve of them
in verse 7. Just with twelve people in
verses 8-10 “He went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months,
reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the
Now they were faithful for three years. Either somewhere in the third year or towards
the end of it, we do not know. It says
in verse 11 “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul.” Suddenly there was a season of signs and
wonders. When the season of signs and
wonders comes, go after it with all your heart.
You could be wearing glasses and you could enter that presence and your
glasses cannot be used because suddenly you are healed. You didn’t even ask for it. You could be having a kidney operation and
you have only one kidney left and you come into that presence in that season,
and you feel something happening on you inside.
You check it up and a new kidney was there. In this season there will be tremendous signs
and wonders. You enter into it and you see
unusual signs and wonders.
Turn to the book of Acts. I just want to show how that there are
seasons of signs and wonders that take place.
Even in the revival in the book of Acts the first thing that took place
in Acts 2 was just salvation and repentance.
Three thousands souls were saved.
They repented, they were saved, they were followed up, they were in home
meetings, praying and breaking bread.
Imagine how much prayer was going on.
You know people always look at the book of Acts. We need the book of Acts for revival. The same people don’t go to prayer
meetings. We need the church like the
book of Acts. But they talk in an
academic way without any real passion for revival. Do you know how often they prayed in the
early church? Their revival prayer was
everyday. I mean there was a prophecy
that came Saturday before that God wants the prayer to go on everyday. But who will pay the price for it? You say, “Oh no, our society is
different. People still got to work. People still got to feed their family.” What do you know? In the revival among the tribal people of
The early church prayed every day from home to home, house to
house. Revival took place and there were
much repentance in their lives. It says
in Acts 2 verse 42, “And they continued steadfastly.” Now the word steadfastly implies that
they remained faithful in the face of challenges and distractions. They
continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, in the breaking of
bread and (you see the last word,) in prayers. We do not know how long they continued in
that manner. Usually the most excited
people are those who are most recently born again and they want to win somebody
else for Jesus. But those who have been
saved for long time, they will cool down after a while. God does not want everybody to cool
down. The excitement of sharing the
gospel is no more there. Remember the
first day when you were born again? I
mean you thought this was the best thing in the world. Saved from hell to heaven. But after ten or fifteen years of
Christianity, you will say, “Well, I have got a ticket to heaven.” What happened to the initial excitement? May God restore to us the joy of
salvation.
You know why the joy of salvation has
disappeared? Sin and compromise. David said, “Create in me a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within me.” David realized the joy of salvation was
missing. We need that joy of salvation
in our life. The early Christians love
to fellowship and pray together. It’s
not too late. Now that the move has
begun flowing in God, Acts 2: 43 says, “Then fear came upon every soul.” What kind of fear is that? It is the fear of God. I mean don’t you fear God when you began to
see multitudes seeking God? You are afraid that you may displease God. You are afraid that you may miss out of
it. There’s a fear that comes. Some of you working very hard in the secular
world would ask, “Is my life right with God?”
Some of you who normally say, “I didn’t do my devotion today, well it’s
okay,” suddenly you say, “Did I miss the visitation?” The fear of God has descended on you. People began to get their lives right with
God.
Acts 2:
43 continues, “and many wonders and signs were done through the
apostles.” And do you know why we
are on the right track? The same thing is happening right now. There is a love of God that is being shared
in each one of our hearts. You could
feel that love overcome every weaknesses, every hurt and it’s causing the Body
of Christ to be one. With that kind of
love as we continue to pray we will hit the power line. There will be signs and wonders. And then in chapter 31, Peter and John went
up together to the temple at the hour of prayer. Again they were on their way to a prayer
meeting. Who knows one day on your way
to a revival meeting, as you are catching the bus, you see someone stretching
his arm out for alms. You may suddenly
be on fire for God and the anointing of God comes upon you on that street and
you say, “Dollar and cent I don’t have, but such as I have give I thee, in the
name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk.”
There you see the person starting to walk. Before we know it, suddenly 3 dozens new
people showed up in our meetings in addition to the 200 now present. Where did you get these people? They saw somebody received a new leg. See Peter and John were on the way to pray in
the
They continued on
in God and then suddenly there was a wave of persecution. The authorities got to hear it; the
authorities got concerned in chapter 4.
They began to persecute those who were leaders of that revival. What do they do? Get down on their knees for more prayers. So when they were released in Acts 4, they
went forth in verse 23-23 and they continued praying even more. As they prayed even more, the revival reached
its highest point in chapter 5. Remember
what I said before you hit the power line, you can get away with small sins and
do not seem to pay the consequences. But when you hit the power line, be
careful – you will be judged severely for any sin. You could even die. There
was Ananias and Sapphira and all they did was to hold back part of the money
and tell one simple lie. It was kind of
half-truth. They only told part of the
story because they kept back part of the money and immediately they died. The revival reached its height and during
this season though the signs and wonders were tremendous, so was the judgment
of sin. This wave of revival will sweep both sicknesses and sin away in its
path. Acts 5 verse 12 Through the hands of the apostles, many signs and
wonders were done among the people. They
were all in one accord in Solomon’s Portico.
Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them
highly. The people of the world
began to notice. They said don’t play
around with these people. Don’t you
think that is revival? They began to
honor the name of Christ and didn’t dare to lightly speak the name of Christ. That revival was affecting the society.
Verse 14-15, And believers were increasingly
added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women. So they brought the sick out into the streets. In chapter 5, that was the season for signs
and wonders. People were out on the
streets receiving the signs and wonders.
This was like Jesus Himself walking in their midst. And as the shadow of Peter passing by, just
walking, people got healed. Isn’t that
wonderful? They were not even laying
hands. They were just walking and it
brought healing. That’s the high
season. After that you notice that the
season sort of tapered off. You still
can have signs and wonders but you got to flow with what God is doing. It’s sort of tapered off because the church
structure was not big enough to contain the group. The apostles had a restructuring of the
church in chapter 6. And after the
restructuring where this time seven deacons were ordained, and the multitude
increased.
Suddenly there was the fiercest
persecution they ever had with one ringleader named Saul. Many people died in the persecution. You thought that was the end of the church,
but no, it expanded because the persecutor became a believer. And then suddenly unknown people, people who
were known as deacons, like Philip goes up to
So No.1 be sensitive to that season that God is moving into
us. We had the Spirit movement in 1950,
1960. We had the Word movement in 1970
and 1980. Now in 1990 to the year 2000
we have the Word and Spirit movement. We
are experiencing a revival in the move of God.
It has begun in our prayer meetings and as we keep that prayer meeting
heat up, as the fire of prayers are fanned up and as more and more keeping up,
something is bound to happen. You will
enter the season of signs and wonders, something that you could not enter
alone. For one person to pray through it
may take a long time but if all of us pray through, it will speed up the
process. It’s interesting, once you
enter that season of revival and you learn the key, you can move in it
anywhere. But unless you enter it you
cannot learn all the rules in that season.
Just
like Elijah, do you know that before Elijah you hardly see any miracle? The people had fallen into sin. It took one man and he prayed to God
earnestly and slowly he began to move into the season of signs and
wonders. His life became a sign and
wonder. His first ministry was to stop
the rain and that sign and wonder was brought into the other areas. He brought fire down from heaven and then he
began to raise the dead. Then there was
someone who caught on to that season. Do
you know that if nobody catches on zeal of Elijah it would have died with
Elijah? But good for us there was
Elisha. For ten years he lived with that
man. He washed his clothes, took care of
him like a servant but because he wanted that presence, he wanted the Spirit that
was there. For ten years Elisha never
had a miracle, never had a sign and wonder.
He knew that it came from that man.
One day as Elijah was going home and he said what do you want? Elisha said, “I want twice the Spirit of
God.” Elijah said, “Okay, if you see me
when I go,” and as he kept walking with him, suddenly the chariot of fire
parted them. As he saw Elijah going up,
he wanted it. He doesn’t want it to go
off.
When Kathryn Khulman died people were
asking who would take her mantle. If Hagin
goes home who will take his mantle.
People are asking who would take all those mantles. When he saw Elijah going up, he said, “My
father, chariot of fire,” and Elijah dropped his mantle down. When it came, he tore his own and put
Elijah’s on him. He walked to the
Gehazi was supposed to take that mantle,
but unfortunately he was overtaken by the love of money, and Naaman’s leprosy
befell him instead of Elisha’s mantle.
When the anointing is so high, sin will be severely dealt with. Gehazi
was in the presence of a very anointing upon Elisha, but he dared to covet that
which Elisha spurned, he dared to lie to Elisha, and as a result he suffered
the consequences. God is no respecter of persons. When the revival hits, and the
presence of God is very high, those who dare to sin in such a presence will be
dealt with severely, sometimes even with instant death. Annias and Sapphira
instantly died. Gehazi was inflicted with leprosy.
Please understand what I am talking
about. When you tap into a certain
presence and you experience it and that presence of the signs and wonders, you
do not come out the same. Something of
that presence gets into your life. The
rest is for you to learn how to let it flow.
We need that season and we need to flow into that season.
We need to understand the season of signs and wonders and be there when the season is there. When you are there where the season is, that’s where the presence will come on your life to bring the signs and wonders. In Acts 13, they had a prayer meeting that was like a holy club. Paul, Barnabas and others were there praying, and they received the call of the Spirit to go forth. As they moved out, the first thing they did was the signs and wonders. Where did they get that power to do that? From that prayer meeting where they were sent forth. Elymas tried to stop them, Paul said, “You will not see the sun for a season,” and he was blinded for a season. Where did Paul get that power? From the prayer meeting in Acts 13 where they touched the glory realm and God said, “Separate me Paul and Barnabas for the work, which I called them.” Paul was called ten years ago but that season had now come. I want you to see clearly my friends, what brought about the season. The prayer meeting was like the fire cooking and bringing the season out. You may have a call of God in your life. You may be like Saul, but unless you are in one of those revival prayer meetings, your season may never come.
Do you know what it does when you enter this kind of revival
prayer? Something changes on your
inside. Something ripens on your inside
and you enter your season of the gift of God in your life.
There are seasons so that you know when the season is not
there, you just continue moving at your level.
John the Baptist never performed a single miracle because he could not
move into that realm, which was reserved for Jesus. John the Baptist only ministry was repentance
but he moved into the fullness of it. He
could not enter further because it was not reserved for him but yet wherever he
preaches, in the wilderness, in the desert where nobody normally goes, the
crowds flocked there. He was
faithful. There are seasons and we need
to flow with them. The season of just
teaching the Word is almost ending. It’s
like the season of signs and wonders accompanying the Word and the presence of
God coming in more and more glorious ways.
In the 1970s and 1980s those of us who were called by God, your
faithfulness was to the Word. You stayed
true to the Word. You preached the
word. You practiced the Word. You meditate on the Word. That season is coming to an end because we
are entering into the Word and Spirit.
The Glory of God
The second key is the desire for the glory
of God, which is why we talked about dying to self in the last message. A lot of people want to move into signs and
wonders but their motives are not right.
It only works when you are fully and truly desire the glory of God and
all you want to see is the glorification of Jesus Christ and His precious
Name. God is willing to do mighty things
when all your desire is the glory of God.
It is a prayer meeting if the fans of revival burn in us. All other desires die and you only desire to
glorify God and see His name is lifted up.
Moses knew that he was called when he was
forty years old. At the age of forty he
went to visit the Israelites, thinking that they would know that he was the one
sent to them. He had a call and a
mission to deliver the people. He wanted
to glorify God but he also wanted to glorify himself. People have a mixture of that. They want to glorify God and they also want
to glorify themselves. He wanted the
people to be freed and he killed the Egyptian.
In Acts 7 we are told, thinking that the people will know that by his
hand God will deliver them. But God was
not in it.
Why? It was the wrong season and the wrong
timing. The four hundred odd years were
not up yet that God prophesied to Abraham.
Secondly, Moses still wanted some glory.
So God put him on the shelf in the wilderness for forty years. He just lived as a shepherd. He got married and thought that he will
settle down. Forgot about his
ministry. Forgot about delivering the
Israelites. He even forgot about all these
things. You know when you put aside your
ministry God builds your ministry. When
you build God’s house, God builds your house.
Seek ye first the
By the time God called Moses God said,
“Moses come, I want to send you to free my people.” Moses said, “Who am I Lord?” He had no more desire for his own glory. God said, “Give My people the revelation of
My Name, I Am Who Am. In chapter 4: 1
Moses answered and said, “Suppose they will not believe me or listen to my
voice. Suppose they say the Lord had not
appeared to you.” God gave him signs and
wonders. That was what Moses failed to
receive earlier. The moment Moses move
into signs and wonders, it was powerful.
In ten plagues he destroyed all the
If you want to follow Moses’ life, it was
the signs and wonders that God gave him that enabled him to shake the entire
nation. My friends, the only way to win
your country for Jesus is signs and wonders.
It is not just trying to get on TV to tell the people about Jesus. It is not just trying to put billboards
everywhere to tell them about Jesus because it doesn’t affect anybody. You can win some but you cannot win the
nation. The only way for us to win the
nation for Jesus is through signs and wonders.
The only way for us to win the whole world for Jesus is through signs
and wonders. No other way. It is not just great preaching although great
preaching is good. It is not great music
although good music is good for it helps us to worship God better. It is signs and wonders. If you are faithful in God and you move into
signs and wonders, your preaching can have signs and wonders. Your music can bring signs and wonders. It is signs and wonders that will win this
nation. So lets not settle for anything
less. Lets pray through until we break
into the realm of signs and wonders.
There is no other way. Isn’t it
better to pray through on our knees for signs and wonders until one day God may
give one or a few signs that you could demonstrate all for the glory of God and
win the entire nation than to try to work your fingers to the bone with human
method of evangelism. Trying to win
millions to Jesus. Lets chose the right
thing and the right way. Lets choose
Jesus’ method – the Jesus principle of signs and wonders. One sign is enough many times. Because of one sign in stopping the rain, the
whole nation of northern
Let me show you that Moses had become the
man who only seeks after God’s glory.
There were many times where he had the opportunity to seek any things
for himself but he put them aside. In
Exodus 32: 7, God said this is his first 40 days and nights on the Mount, “go,
get down! For you people whom you brought out of the
Moses had
an opportunity from the Almighty God to accept an offer of a great nation for
himself. I want you to see how much he
had died to self. No wonder God gave him
signs and wonders. Here was a man who
could move so powerfully that he parted the entire sea until waters of the sea
stood like walls on both sides. The
signs and wonders became a part of his life.
I want you to see that this is the man who only desired for God’s Name
to be glorified and not his own. He says
in verse 11, “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You
have brought out of the
You know what Moses was saying? He was saying, “God, if You do that and I
became a great nation and all these people die, it’s good for me. It’s good for my name but God, what will
people say of you?” I mean he cared for
God’s Name more than his own. When did
this quality come into Moses life? When
he died to self. When we care about the
glory of God, when all we want is to glorify His name and you really meant it
and even if you have an opportunity to promote your name, you rather want the
name of Jesus to be glorified as much as you can. God has tested you and He will know He can
trust you with operating in signs and wonders.
Do you really desire the glory of God? What happens if God uses you in many ways but
nobody ever heard of you or knows that it was you? In your heart would you be satisfied? If you are not then you haven’t died to
self. You don’t really desire the glory
of God. You only desire the glory of God
and your own glory. It’s still not good
enough. You will tap on some realm of
achievement and power, but there is a realm that God reserve, something that
our generation has never seen before. I
mean we have seen many great things.
Mighty great men of God have done many things but I want to bring to you
brethren, the Word of God says, that there is a realm. There is a place in God. A realm of power that this generation has
never seen. A realm of might and
demonstration that maybe the body of Christ has not seen for fifty years. That is only reserved for those who truly
from the heart love His name more than their own name, who love His glory more
than their own glory, who love to broadcast Him more that any other things.
Even if you got to live and die without even your neighbor hearing you but yet
through your works you have brought glory of God to millions of people, you
will die a secret worker knowing that the glory and the rewards will be given
to you in heaven, but you still would do it, then and only then God will bring
you into that realm of the secret place of His power, signs and wonders.
Do you know that Jesus desires only the
glory of God? There was many times where
He was challenged. Satan came and said,
“Turn this stone into bread.” He could
prove Himself but what’s the point? He
says that He can do nothing except what the Father calls Him to do. But the devil challenges Him to turn this
stone into bread. He refused. Take all the silver, the gold and the glory
and the glamour of this world and He refused.
Do you know that Jesus rejected faith in one of the temptations? He did not just reject silver and gold. The devil said in one of the temptations, if
You were to bow down and worship me, I will give you all these glory. Remember what the word said, the devil showed
him the glory of the world? The fame,
the silver and the gold. And Jesus said,
no, thanks! Do you know the devil can
offer you fame because he is the lord of the worldly spirit. But I wonder how many people can say no to
him. I want you to know our Lord Jesus
said no. He refused to glorify His own
name, even though He was the fullness of God in human form but He waited on God
to exalt His name. How humble He
was. If you could have this kind of
humility in the body of Christ, the church would be mighty. What happens after
you have been tested and proven and God knows that all you want is to glorify
Him to the extent of removing your self-glory?
He will give you a realm of signs and wonders that you have never had.
Need
The third and the last point, to move into
the realm of these signs and wonders, no.1 understand the season. No.2 desire only the glory of God and not thy
own. No.3, which is important, you must
see the need of the dying world. We must
know the need that is there. I mean when
we began to turn our prayers from O God revive us to O God heal us to
O God save me to O God save them, then only will God bring you to
the glory realm. Unfortunately so much
of our prayers have to do with ourselves. Until we are willing to be like Jesus
to lay down our life that others may live.
Until we are willing and we see that vision of the need. I mean how many people constantly feel the
need of this dying world? If we could
see the fires of hell that have taken so many millions souls who have not heard
about Jesus, you would have been willing to sell all you have to preach this
glorious gospel to save one soul. But
the vast majority of Christians have been so caught up with their lives, their problems
and there are so few who would see the need of the dying world. And because so few see the need of the dying
world, so few receive that empowerment to go out and help them.
Although Moses had his faults and problems
but I want you to know, from the age of 40, Moses saw the needs of his
people. He may have his timing wrong;
his methods wrong but Moses couldn’t stand it anymore. Everyday when he was in his luxurious palace,
there were these cries of his Israelite brothers being whipped and being
tortured and even killed. The people
were treated so cruelly that they cried unto God. Maybe if it were any other man, they would
not care for the world but be satisfied with the luxuries offered by
Do you know why God used the apostle
Paul? If you read what he said about
himself, everyday he says the burden of the church is on him. It was his driving force. He says, woe unto me if I don’t preach the
gospel. I am indebted to preach the
gospel. Let me tell you the apostle Paul
saw the need. Many times he would be
pleading with the people. He said in
Acts 20, day and night he told the elders of
That is why when Elisha cried my father,
my father, and the chariots of God that’s the glory of God and the chariots of
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