Transcript: Concerning Spirituals - The Holy Spirit Part 1

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The experience is a meeting organized by the Disciples Christian Network, where men encounter God, His presence and His power in an atmosphere of worship and the word. Join Apostle Emmanuel as he leads us into an experience with God. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. Today I'm going to start a series that I have titled concerning spirituals concerning spirituals. I think and today today specifically which was be the introduction you put in front of it hyphen the holy spirit the series in itself is concerning spirituals is something that we are going to start looking at on Sundays, on Tuesdays, every single meeting day concerning spirituals. It is a very very broad subject. Very very broad subject. And we will try as much as possible to exhaust it. Within the time that we have. Maybe till the end of the year.

Concerning spirituals. You see the bible was not originally written in english language it was translated into english language and there were several occasions where there weren't enough English words to capture some thoughts that the original language carried because your original language is rich it's a three-dimensional language and you agree with me that if you use two dimensional context to understand three-dimensional realities, there are many things you might not be able to capture. You understand what I'm saying? Yeah. So when they were translating, because of how rich and how vast the original language of scripture is, the Greek language, the Hebrew, the Aramaic, because of how rich the language was when they were translating some things into other languages, into the English language for instance, many things were lost in translation. So that in order to understand certain things, you may need to consider the original language used. In many occasions in scripture. You find that the English language that was used in translating certain words did not carry the original essence and the intention of the writer. And it is because of the limitation of the language itself. That is the limitation of the English language.

If you are many of us come from different language settings. Is that not so? And some of us are Yoruba, some of us are Igbo, some of us are Wusa, some of us Benin, speak different languages. And these languages are deep. Some of them are even richer than the English language. Some of them are even richer. And there are things that you would attempt to speak in your language that you would find out that the English language might not have enough vocabulary to contextualize or to describe or to explain. And it is even the same thing for your own language because there might be some things in the English language that your own language because of when it was invented might not have the words to capture certain realities or certain concepts. Who can speak Yoruba very well? Raise up your hand.

You understand it very well? Raise up your hand. Come. Who can speak Igbo? Very well. You understand it very well? Raise up your hand. Anybody like that? Nobody? Are you bored?

Are you thinking whether you can speak or not? If you're bold, come. What other language exists? Who can speak? I will serve very well. Alright? Come. What other language exists? If you can speak any language that is not here, and you're bold, come. You just have to be bold.

That's all it takes, really. A language that is not here. Give them a microphone. Let's do a very fast example so that we try to explain some of the problems that the original... I I'm asking for is a microphone. I'm seeing a lot of walking up and down already. You sure everybody there speaks different languages? Alright. What language do you speak? Himbo.

What language do you speak? How about you? How about you? How about you? You. Edoba has not been in Europe. You speak a different language? What what is that? Iran. Is Iran.

That a language? Yes. Interesting. You wouldn't blame me. I've never heard that before. Alright. So you you pass the mic very fast. Okay? You can speak it well. I like that.

How do you say cheer in your language? Go. What did you call it? I'm I'm interested in hearing house. Speak. Speak. One can call it too. One can call it And both of them means the same thing. We can't verify, unfortunately. But because I don't even know the language.

But... And you've all heard everything they said. Right? How do you say bird that is a flying bird? Inomi. Ununu. Can I hear these things, please? What's yours? Now listen. Listen.

So how do you... Let's form it into a sentence. How do you say I'm going to church? Let's start with you. Alright. Listen. Let's be fast. Let's not spend too much time on this. Now you see that you understand... You have a rich understanding of your language.

You can conceptualize these things into your words. Is that not so? Yes, So let's go deeper a little bit. How do you say Jupiter? Are you seeing the problem here now? How do you say plasmodium? So what if I need to write that and I need and I need somebody to understand? Say your mother to understand what I'm saying. Are you seeing the problem here? Yes, sir.

This was the headache when the scriptures was was being translated into English. So there were many meanings that were lost in translation. Many meanings because the language they were translating from was rich. So it had words for many things that the English language did not even have words for. For instance, I love you. That's all it means in the English language. But you're translating from a language where love means four different things. So much so Jesus is asking Peter, do you love me above all these things? And what Jesus is asking when you check the word love there is agape. Peter is replying, you know that I love you, feel you.

Two different words being used in the same conversation, but the English language only has love for it. So when you read it, you think they are saying the same thing. Whereas, it is completely different in understanding. You read and the word was with God. In the beginning was the word. The word was with God. The word was God. And then you read again that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. And you begin to wonder, these are two different realities. Two different meanings.

One is logos. The other is rhema. But the English language only has one statement for it. Word. And if you read it just at face value, it means there are many things you will not understand or you might not understand well. Can you clap for them these beautiful people? It means there are many things you will not understand or there are many things you will not understand well enough. That was the limitation of the language when translating. And one of such limitation, it means the best you can do when you meet this kind of issues when translating is to try to describe. In other words, you're no longer translating word for word, you're not describing.

Describing based on the understanding of what you think the person is saying. And how best your language can communicate what the person is saying. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir. So many of the words used in certain languages are not the actual words, they are descriptive terminologies. For instance, in Yoruba for instance, there is you say air condition. Air condition is the name of a machine. Is that not so? But we don't have a word for it. So what do we do?

We describe it and we call the description the word. So we say it's a description. Do you understand what I'm saying? So there are many times in the English translation that what is happening is a description based on the intention of the translator, based on the understanding of the translator as to the intention of the writer. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir. Right now, I was studying some things in the Yoruba language a few weeks ago, and I realized that some words that they weren't words for. The researchers are now inventing words for them in Yoruba language for instance. Rocket now has a word. Space now has a word.

Then when you were growing up, you probably would not have known. Because these things are new inventions. Now they have to start formulating words, inventing words to describe. Molting magma. Now has a word, but it didn't before. You understand what I'm saying? That is actually the intention behind multiple translations of scriptures. What they attempt to do is to also describe in their own understanding what they think the original rite has meant. One of such limitations is in first Corinthians 12 verse one. Because when you read it in face value, what you would see is concerning spiritual gifts.

Are you with me? Yes, sir. But it betrays the intensity of what the apostle is actually writing about here. And if you understand the scripture solely from the lens of the English language, you will misunderstand the entirety of what Paul is communicating through how this chapter. Because you would think that Paul's communication is limited to spiritual gifts. In fact, some translators use concerning the gift of the spirit. Which is wrong. Are you with me? In the original Greek text, the word translated as spiritual gifts is one word. It is the word pneumaticus.

And that word does not mean gifts at all. In fact, there's no reference to gifts in that word. Because the word gifts is the word charismata or charisma in the Greek. And there's no reference to it here. It's not used yet. The word used here is the word pneumaticus. And pneumaticus means spiritual things or spiritual matters. In other words, Paul is simply saying, now concerning spiritual things. Now concerning spiritual matters. Now concerning spirituals.

In other words, Paul's this course here is not limited to gifts. It is actually an opening into a conversation on spiritual matters. Are you getting this in Epstein? So Paul wrote, Peredaton pneumatica. It means concerning spirituals. He was addressing the old scope of spiritual realities, the old scope of spiritual operations, spiritual manifestations, spiritual understanding, spiritual warfare, the entire scope. He was not limiting the conversation to tongues. He wasn't limiting the conversation to prophecy or healing or all of these things as beautiful as they are. He was saying concerning the entire spiritual dimension that governs, that influences, that intersects with natural realm. I do not want you to be ignorant.

Are you with me? Yes, sir. The Greek word used for ignorance is the word is where the English word agnostic is gotten from. It means to have no knowledge. To be uninformed, to lack understanding, to be unaware. One who does not know. And Paul is declaring with such apostolic authority that you cannot afford to live in ignorance of spiritual realities. Ignorance in this realm is not innocence. Ignorance in this realm is vulnerability. Ignorance of the spiritual leaves you exposed.

Ignorance of the spiritual leaves you manipulated. It leaves you defeated. It leaves you unable to operate in the fullness of what Christ has made available. And in Osea chapter four verse six, the Bible says, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being priest for me. Because you have forgotten the love of God, I will also forget your children. This is not a warning. This is a divine indictment. The people of God were perishing not because they lack zeal, not because of lack of activity, not because they did not attend church services, but because they did not know. They did not know the ways of God.

The operations of the spirit. The realities that govern both the heavens and the earth. And to be ignorant of the spiritual is to be destroyed in the natural. You cannot fight what you cannot see. You cannot steward what you don't understand. You cannot operate what you have not been trained to handle. Please don't miss this series. We'll continue on Tuesday. If you're the kind that misses believers, don't miss this series. Do your destiny a favor.

Do your life a favor. And Paul is speaking with such an urgent language here. I do not want you to be ignorant. This is the heart of a father in the faith who knows that the church cannot fulfill a divine mandate on the earth without understanding the spiritual. Everything that happens in the natural realm has already been decided, has already been decreed, has already been contested in the spiritual realm. Everything. Every victory, every defeat, every open door, every closed opportunity, all of it have spiritual roots. They all have spiritual roots. They all do. In Ephesians chapter six and verse 12, bible says, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Can you see that? That your battle is not with people. Your battle is not with circumstances. Your battle is not even with your own weaknesses even though the devil can use them against you. Your battle is spiritual. And if you do not understand the nature of the battle, you will waste your life fighting shadows while the real war wedges on sin around you. This is the reason we are discussing this series, to uncover the spiritual, to pull back the veil, to open your understanding, to see what has always been there, but has remained hidden because of ignorance, because of wrong teaching, because of religion that majors on form but minus on power. And we're going to be going into the deep waters of pneumaticus, into the realm where the spirit of God moves, where angels are dispatched, where demons are bound, where destinies are shaped, where the will of heaven is enforced on the earth. Look at how verse two begins. Verse two says, you know that you were Gentiles carried away to these dumb hidos however you were led.

The word carried away there is the word in the Greek. It means to be led off by a force. Without discernment. Under external influence. You are manipulated. You are controlled. And Paul is saying, before the spirit came, you were subject to manipulation. You were led by impressions. You were led by idols and influences that could not speak. You were carried away, manipulated, and controlled by these dumb idols, Mute systems, lifeless energies operated by demons.

Spiritual vacuums that were pretending to have voice in the spirit. So Paul was saying, you are spiritual, but your spirituality was not governed by the holy spirit. This is why Paul wrote concerning spirituals by first contrasting spiritual ignorance with spiritual discernment. Every man is spiritual by nature. Every man. Because man is a spirit. But not every man is led by the holy spirit. Because the bible already shows you from verse two that it is possible to actually be led by another spirit. The Bible says you were carried away. You see, Apago.

You were carried away, led, controlled, manipulated. However, you were led. So these people were led. The question is who was leading them? They were led in the things of the spirit. These people were spiritual people. They understood spiritual things. This means it is possible to be in touch with the spiritual realm, but out of alignment with the spirit of God. And that is what Paul did acknowledging, that a man can actually be in touch with the spiritual realm. You don't have to be a believer to be in touch with the spiritual realm.

Because man is a spirit, soul, and body. Man is a spirit, soul, and body. That is the reason why it is possible to have dreams of things to come without even being a believer. You don't have to be a believer to have dreams and see what will happen. Doesn't mean that you're walking in word of knowledge. It just means that you are accessing spirituals. And a man can manipulate different doorways and different corridors to access spirituals and to manipulate spirituals. People can go through all kinds of events, use all kinds of methods and ways. Are you with me? Yes, sir.

Different corridors, different access points. So in verse three... So look at the buildup here. Concerning spirituals, I do not want you to be ignorant because I know that you are not exactly new to spiritual things because you have been led by idols. You have been manipulated and controlled by idols. You have been open to the spiritual realm before now. Thus, that your entry into the spiritual realm was wrong. Are you seeing the discussion here? Your entry into the spiritual realm was wrong. Led about by idols, demons.

Then in verse three, Paul continues to build in context. He then says, therefore, I make known to you that no man speaking by the spirit of God calls Jesus accursed. So he's speaking about the limitation of your entry into the spiritual. He then goes on to say, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the holy spirit. So what is Paul saying here? What is Paul saying here? Paul is saying that the holy spirit is the interpreter of divine truth. That the acknowledgement of Jesus as Lord is not a product of intellect or religion. It is the unveiling of Christ through the spirit. He says, no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

Do you remember Matthew chapter 16 from verse 16 to verse 17? Simon Peter answered and said, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, blessed are you Simon by Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven because no man can say that Jesus is Lord except as revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. Are you with me? So the revelation of Jesus as Lord is unveiled to a man by the Holy Spirit. So he says, no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Now do you remember Romans 10 verse 13? Because we need to understand what does Jesus is Lord mean in this context. Romans ten thirteen, for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So when he's saying no man can say Jesus is Lord, what did he say?

No man can be saved. Except the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to that man. Are you with me? So what is Paul saying? Paul is saying your entrance into the spirit realm is salvation. Your entrance into spiritual realities is your new birth experience as facilitated by the holy spirit. That's why the bible says the holy spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and justice. In other words, you cannot uncover the spiritual without first encountering the holy spirit. You cannot understand spiritual things with your natural minds. You cannot perceive the movement of the spirit with your physical senses.

You cannot navigate the spiritual realm with human intellect no matter how brilliant you are. The Holy Spirit has to be your entry points. Now watch the context again Concerning spirituals, I do not want you to be ignorant. I am not exactly new to spiritual things, but your entry was wrong. What should be your entry now? Are you seeing where this man is intelligently building here? That the holy spirit... Any other door you use to access the spirituals without the holy spirit is wrong. Any other door, any other door you used to access spirituals and manipulate spirituals without the holy spirit is wrong. Do you remember Jesus?

In John chapter three and verse three, except a man be born again. He cannot see. The same scripture. First Corinthians chapter two and verse 14. The Bible says, for the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. The natural man. The man who operates by his five senses. The man who operates by logic. The man who operates by education alone, by human reasoning alone cannot receive spiritual things.

It is not that he will not, it is that he cannot because they are foolishness to him. And even if he tries to understand it, he cannot because they are spiritually discerned, spiritually understood. There is a faculty required to perceive spiritual realities, and that faculty is not your brain. That organ is not your intellect. It is your spirit awakened and taught by the holy spirit. This is why we cannot be talking about spirituals without talking about the holy spirit. The holy spirit is not a doctrine to be studied. The holy spirit is not a theological concept to be debated. The holy spirit is not an optional addition to your Christian life. The Holy Spirit is the person of the God head who makes the spiritual realm accessible to you.

Without him, you are blind. Without him, you are deaf. Without him, you are powerless. Without him, you are locked out of the very dimension in which God operates, the Holy Spirit. And this is the reason why we cannot attempt to discuss spirituals without introducing the holy spirit. Silent and still has the midnight. You're the one who can kill and can make a lie. You bring violence and still need to be right. For you're the one who can see and would judge right. You're silent and the holy spirit the most misunderstood person that exist.

The most misunderstood member of the God head. The least talked about. The least thought on. The least spoken about. And yet we use him without understanding him. We use him without knowing him. We know fire, but we don't know the holy spirit. We talk about fire. We talk about wind. We say the fire of God is here.

And we don't even know what we are talking about. We confuse expressions with identity. Even the man of God does not know the holy spirit. Even disciples don't know the holy spirit. Many pastors and teachers and prophets and apostles don't know the holy spirit. We know his works. We know his signs. But we have not understood this person. And he longs to be understood. He longs to be known.

The Holy Spirit is not fire. The Holy Spirit is not wind. The Holy Spirit is not a dove. What many people know Him as is a dove. The holy spirit is not oil. The holy spirit is not wine. The holy spirit is not water. These are not identities. These are expressions. They are the visible and the tangible, the symbolic manifestations that scripture uses to help the natural mind to comprehend something about his nature, something about his work, something about his arrival, something about his operation.

Do not confuse the sign with the person. And we have count our understanding of the holy spirit on the signs. We have limited our understanding of the holy spirit on the expressions. So what we talk about is not the holy spirit. What we talk about are the signs, the expressions, the rushing mighty wind, the fire, the electricity, the goosebumps as though that were him. And the question is, can he be understood? Can he be known? The reason why he reveals himself as these expressions are not in his form is because his assignment is to reveal Jesus. So revealing in form would defeat the purpose of the assignment. Because what he is sent to do is to reveal Jesus.

So how he reveals himself is through forms and expressions. And we many a time misunderstand the forms and expressions as the person himself. There are lots of believers who since they have become saved have no idea who the holy spirit is. Yet we pray, yet we fast. Yet we come to church, and we don't know the reason behind all that we do. And it is obvious in what we do. It is obvious in how we live that we don't know who this person is. We know the anointing. We talk about the anointing. But we don't know the custodian of the anointing.

We talk about power. We teach on power. We dispense power. But we don't know the custodian of power. We talk about sign. We talk about gifts. The word of knowledge, healings, and miracles. But we don't know the one who regulates, who dispenses. Misunderstood. Highly misunderstood.

Obviously misunderstood. When acts chapter two and verse two and verse three says, and suddenly they came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they appeared to them divided tongues as of fire And one sat upon each of them. You have to understand that everything that the bible describes here are just signs that accompanies his coming. This does not mean that this is the holy spirit. These signs were not him. He's not the cloven tongues of fire. He's not the rushing mighty wing. Are you with me? Yes sir.

You don't pray to fire. You don't have relationship with wind. You don't commune with oil. You relate to a person. And if you don't know who this person is, your Christian experience will be dry. This is the reason for the dryness a lot of people experience in their Christian experience. This is the reason for that dryness. And there are so many people that their Christian experience is already dry. Because you see, the one who brings life to what you do, you don't know. So you try to pray, but you don't even know the engine behind prayer.

So very soon prayer become a strenuous activity. Prayer becomes something you have to discipline yourself, wind yourself, convince yourself, motivate yourself to do. And even when you do it, it becomes so dry because the person of the holy spirit is not known. And a lot of the things that are meant to be organic have become largely mechanical because we don't know the holy spirit. I remember many years ago, I was fellowshipping on my bed and just praying, and there was tears in my eyes while I was doing this. I, Kabba, shut yourself out of my eyes. Tears in my eyes while I was doing this. And all of a sudden, I felt something or someone sat down on my bed. I felt the depression on the bed beside my pillow. As though someone sat down and the bed went down, pressed down.

And then I looked because I thought somebody had entered and was interrupting my prayers until I found that there was nobody there. But I could see the obvious depression on the bed as though somebody was sitting down there. And there was an uncontrollable essence of glory around me. An uncontrollable essence of power manifest around me. And this thing was so strong that I didn't even know how to control it. I remember then I used to be a teacher somewhere. I would go to class and people would come and greet me and they would shake me and then half they go under the power. Off they go under the power. In normal conversations, the essence of the glory was so strong. And that became the beginning and the introduction of conversations with the holy spirit.

I remember reading books by Benny Hinn, reading books by Torrey and all of these great American preachers. Trying to understand who this person is. Because I didn't just want to know the signs. I wanted to understand who was making it happen. Why it was happening in the first instance? Why it was happening in the first instance? That is the reason why for some of us, our prayer experience can never be dry. Because it is more of a communication than it is a monologue. It's more of a dialogue than it is a monologue. That's what happen when you don't know the holy spirit.

Prayer becomes a one way channel. You just go and spit off all the things you want to say and you go away because you don't even know if anybody's listening. Don't even show if anybody speaks back. And there are many believers that sincerely speaking, they are living their life by head knowledge, even pastors. That's what comes to mind. And it is important again today that we introduce the person of the holy spirit. Because this is where the church have veered off truth. We seek signs. We seek miracles. We chase experiences.

We chase goosebumps. We have neglected the person of the spirit. Which is tears in worship. And we miss the person. John chapter 14 verse 26. The Bible says, but the helper, the holy spirit, whom the father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Jesus does not say it will teach you. Jesus said, he will teach you. The holy spirit is addressed with personal pronouns throughout scripture.

He's called helper. It's called comforter. It's called counselor. It's called advocate. It's called teacher. It's called guide. These are not titles that you give to an energy field. These are relational terms. These are descriptions of a person who can think, a person who can feel, a person who can decide, a person who can act. In first Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 11, the Bible says, but one and the same spirit works all these things distributing to each one individually as he wills.

That the holy spirit wills. He makes decisions. He has volition. He distributes spiritual gifts according to his own sovereign choice. Not according to human demand. Not according to generational tradition. It's not a force that you manipulate. It's not a power that you control. It's God and he moves as he pleases. The spirit of God.

In Romans chapter eight and verse 27, the Bible says, now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. The mind of the spirit. And the holy spirit has a mind. He searches, he knows, he intercedes, he makes intersession. We'll study all of these things later, maybe on Tuesday. These are personal, intelligent, relational actions attributed to the holy spirit. It is not a force or a force field. The holy spirit is not electricity. It's not goosebumps. Because you cannot have a mind without personhood.

You cannot intercede without intention. The Holy Spirit is not the impersonal force of Western mysticism. He's living. He's active. He's the personal presence of the God head dwelling in every believer. Ephesians chapter four and verse 30. The Bible says, and do not grieve the spirit of God. You see that? Do not grieve the holy spirit of God. The holy spirit can be grieved.

You cannot grieve a force. You cannot hurt the feelings of electricity. You cannot offend gravity. You can only grieve a person. You can only wound someone who loves you. You can only reject the fellowship of one who has been trying to teach you, who has been trying to guide you, who has been trying to comfort you, who has been trying to empower you. And you know, the reason why it looks as though many believers are incapacitated in life is because we do not know the holy spirit. And so his ministry in the lives of the believer cannot be fulfilled or successful because we don't even know the person. Imagine that you go to school. And you are studying engineering.

And one of your engineering courses is give me an engineering course, you said. Say technical drawing or whatever it is called. For example, and then you go to class and then you are told, you have a teacher that will teach you technical drawing and you sit down in class. And every day you go to class expecting to be taught technical drawing. And many people come to class saying different things. And as you sit down there expecting to be taught technical drawing, there's the class rapper comes to make an announcement. Another funny comedian in class comes and stand down and start making jokes, calling somebody big head. Someone else comes to Clark and is talking. Is it wisdom to bring out your note on technical drawing and be writing? Announcement, there is a test tomorrow.

You understand what I'm saying here? Yes, sir. This is however the experience of many believers. Because the Bible calls the holy spirit teacher. But when you don't know the teacher, how would you know what it teaches? That is the question. If you don't know who is meant to teach you, then you will start writing what the announcement is. Ask the teacher. You will start writing the joke as the teaching. If you don't know who is men who teach you, does the bible not call him comforter?

Allos paracletos, another of the same kind. But how many believers can truly say they have experienced the comfort that only the spirit of God brings? How many? Because if it were so, oh, you would not rely on human beings the way you do. If you know who this person is on your inside, if you can access his comfort, yeah, you will be inside fire and be asleep comfortably because there is one called comforter on your inside. There is no external encouragement anybody wants to give you that will ever supersede what the spirit within can supply. But you don't know him. That's the problem. You don't know him, so you don't even know how to access comfort. You don't know him, so you don't know how he teaches.

You don't know him, so you don't even know how he helps. How does he help you? Because the bible says he helps our infirmities. If you don't know who the person is that is meant to help you, how do you receive? You you will then realize that this is largely the reason why believers are powerless. Why believers are weak. Why believers are confused and darkested. That's why a man can be depressed. A man can be lonely. You can seek comfort.

Somebody told me that they were lonely. And I was wondering what in the world that means. Lonely. Because you don't know this person. How can you be lonely when you are open to a vast channel of resources on your inside? That when it begins to communicate with you, you you can be lost for three hours. You would have to call yourself back to order. And a believer says you are lonely. Now when he begins to teach, the bible says he will teach your fingers to what? Your hands to battle.

Could that be the reason why your fingers are still weak? Could that be the reason why your hands cannot battle? Because you don't know him. Do you know what Psalm one one zero says of the holy spirit? I will send the Lord of my strength out of Zion proclaiming rule down in the midst of my enemies. This is who is inside of you. A ruler in the midst of enemies. But a believer is cowering down with a ruler on his inside. Could it be that you don't know him? That's his mandate.

What what he was sent with from heaven is rule in the midst of my enemies. Verse three says, your people shall be volunteers. Your people shall be willing in the day of your power. So when the holy spirit came and possessed you, he came with a mandate, a mandate of rulership. Rulership across the system of this world, across the mountains of influence. But could it be that the reason why a believer is steeped and cowsted is because you have not known him that is meant to rule. The Bible says he will teach you to prosper. Have a dishonor list, the Lord that teacheth thee to prosper. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

Look at verse two. Verse two says he makes me lie down in green pastures. But if it say I lie down in green pastures, what does it say? Yes. That means if you don't know him, how will he make you? Because you're lying down in green pastures is not of your own volition. There is a person that makes you lie down. There is a person that leads you besides still waters. There is a person. He.

How come you have missed out the he? How come we've missed out the he? The next verse says, he restores. He leads me in the path of righteousness. Look at the next verse. This is where I'm going. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Not because I'm so powerful, not because I'm so intelligent, not because I'm educated, not because I went to a good school. It says, for you are with me. You are rod.

You are staff. You are comforter. So who is this speaking about? Who is rod? Who is staff? Who is comforter? All this text is describing the person of the holy spirit. So when he said I will send the rod of my strength out of Zion, who are they speaking about? Could it be that your misunderstanding of this person is why your life is the way it is? How come you have chased everything apart from the holy spirit?

How come you have chased joy? How come you have chased happiness? It's not because you want to be happy. You walk with friends, you go to parties, you are following a guy up and down, following a woman up and down, looking for jobs everywhere, looking for money, pursuing everything just to bring your soul to some kind of pleasure. Whereas, there is peace on your inside. Peace as a person. Joy as a person. How is it that you can sit down and watch a seasonal movie for ten hours? Because you are looking for joy, some kind of You know what we say? We say go and relax.

Now we say go and relax. What do you mean? Because relaxation means different things based on how you have been educated. So when you tell somebody go and relax, what somebody feels is go and watch a movie. See, somebody pick out a movie and say I'm relaxing. But how many believers would you see ever praying? And you ask them what are you doing? And they say I'm relaxing. Does the Bible not say times of refreshing? Does the Bible not say this is the rest?

Does the Bible not say my presence will follow you, and I will give you rest? That when a believer begins to fellowship in the spirit, times of refreshing. Strength renewed. Joy renewed. The Bible said as they prayed and fellowship, they were filled with the holy spirit and with great joy. Joy renewed. And there are times you are fellowshipping with this person, and there is joy unspeakable. Joy unspeakable, what the Bible calls it. Joy that cannot be explained, unleavened and experienced. And not so many believers know that joy.

Not so many believers know that peace. Not so many believers know strength because there is strength that the spirit himself is. And you know what happens? What happens is that these things become miracles because you don't know that there is a constant supply. It's meant to be a reality, but it's a miracle. It's meant to be your everyday experience but it's a miracle. It's a miracle that you were feeling condemned and then somebody came and spoke to you and you were encouraged. It's a miracle. You're not getting this thing I'm saying. Something that is meant to be a life that you live.

Is it possible that a man can so know the person of the holy spirit? That you become lost in him and he's lost in you. But when you begin to speak, it becomes obvious that your voice has been wrapped with the voice of another. Is it possible that the eyes of a man can so open that even his perspective to everything changes? He does not feel as though he's ever defeated. That a man can so know the holy spirit that even in the pressing, even in the trials, even as gold is being made, as the impurities are being forged out of you to make you into a sign and a wonder. He's unfeasured. He's not shaken. He's not ashamed. He's not afraid.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. The things that are supposed to kill me. Defeat, delay, stagnancy. He says I will not be afraid. Whom do you know? Do you know your pastor? But you don't know the holy spirit. You will be very afraid. This is what this teaching is supposed to do. To bring you through theological exegesis into the experience of this person, into the knowledge of this person.

It is more than an instruction. It is more than words spoken. It is meant to launch you into an experience even as we uncover his personality as revealed in scriptures. And even though we do justice to his person, using the pages of scripture. The experience you have with him supersedes the words on letters. Perhaps that's the reason why the bible is dry to you. Bible says all scriptures are inspired. By the holy spirit. All scriptures. So how do you attempt to go into all scriptures without the one that inspired it?

How do you attempt to go into the scriptures without the one who inspired it? What are you attempting to do? Have you not seen that you have failed on arrival? You have failed even before you began. What you are trying to do is failure already even before you started. So you are trying to use your understanding, your brain to understand what can only be spiritually discerned. The bible says that it is spiritually discerned, spiritually understood. So you read scriptures and you're seeing genealogies, but your eyes cannot see beyond it. You're seeing stories and parables, but your eyes cannot see beyond it. So it becomes a boring thing.

It becomes an arduous task. It becomes a strain of activity. Whereas for some of us when we carry the scriptures, it's as though an eternal story is being told. It's as though you are watching a movie painted by the original artist himself. And you are there as it is unveiling before your very eyes. And you have insight into revelation that mortal men cannot touch. That mortal men cannot touch. You will not suffer my food to be more. I carry your presence everywhere. Where?

Oh, my. The question we should be asking is, if you see you carry his presence everywhere, what are you carrying exactly? Let me tell you what many of us do. Watch. Let me give you an illustration. Imagine a man wears a very strong perfume, and you know that perfume. But every time the man walks in, you can just smell that is around. Because there's a way his horror just encapsulates the atmosphere. So you can be in the toilet but know that this person is around. You can be in the kitchen but know that this person is around.

That is the extent of relationship that some believers have with the holy spirit. It's his aura. They just know that he's around. Like a sweet perfume. That is like a perfume. So you know that he's around, but doesn't mean that you have interacted with him. Doesn't mean that you have gone to the man to say, I knew you were here. How are you doing? Doesn't mean that you spoke to him. It was obvious.

If they asked you that this person come, you will be part of those who said he came. Not because you met him. Not because you know him. How many businessmen attempt to do business without the holy spirit? What an introduction to frustration. Without the holy spirit. So what you will have is logic. What you will have is common sense. What you will have is natural principles, trial and error. Testings upon testings until you find the one that matches.

So you can waste seven years of your life doing what you're not meant to do because you are trying it out. After seven years, you found out that this is not where I'm meant to go. Is it not called... The Bible said he will guide you. It's not the one that is meant to guide you. So how can you have someone? How can you have the most powerful guidance system in the world inside of you and still be confused? Still be living like a wanderer. Still be living life purposeless and without clarity. It becomes amazing to me when believers say I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing with my life and you wonder, have you even met the one that controls your life?

How do you think you will know? Anybody introduce you to this person? So we try to love without the holy spirit. You have failed before you started. You have failed before you started. Because humanity is falling. Humanity is falling. Human beings are flawed. We are flawed by nature. We can disappoint.

We can offend. We can make you hungry. We can step on your toes. You can't love a man unconditionally by yourself. So how how do you even begin to love without knowing love? Without knowing the person of the spirit of God. How do you forgive the unforgivable? If you don't know the person that lives within you. And there are times when the holy spirit begins to reveal to you whilst you are angry at what this person did and say he did not even apologize, he did not even apologize. And the holy spirit will come and ah, because you know this person.

He will come and speak to your heart. So let me forgive him. And whilst your mind is fighting, then he will remind you, you are waiting for him to apologize. But whilst you were yet sinners. Why must it happen? Did I wait for you to apologize? Imagine if I waited for you to apologize. Why in your hunger, tears on your face? Because the love of God is being revealed to you even in your... You are sin again.

The gospel is being preached in your hunger. Jesus is being revealed. You are seeing the cross in your hunger. I told the woman, I said, go and apologize to your husband. And the woman looked at me and said, I said, Kai, look at the believer. Look at the believer. It's obvious we don't know the holy spirit. This thing is a title. We call ourselves Christians without the essence of Christianity. How is that even possible?

How is that even possible? And it is because we have gloried in the signs and ignored the person. So the average believer knows goosebumps but doesn't know the holy spirit. He knows power. He knows fire. In fact, he understands fire more than the holy spirit. Can tell you seven manifestation of the fire of God. But doesn't know the holy spirit. Doesn't know the holy spirit. How can you be proud if you know the holy spirit?

How can? How is it possible? How is it possible? That's why Paul can say I became all things to all men. That I might save some. A man who does not know the holy spirit cannot even begin to understand this thing. Come on even begin to understand the language or the communication. Many have wasted years of their lives. Years of their lives for something that one direction can give. One direction.

If when you were saved, somebody introduced you. Somebody attuned your ears. Like you are tuning a radio to pick the frequency of your radio station. Somebody taught you how to attune your ears to his speakings. In the spirit realm, there are many frequencies being broadcasted. Demons are broadcasting on a frequency. Principalities are broadcasting on a frequency. Wickedness, destructions. All these guys are broadcasting on a pestilence, poverty, famine. Broadcasting on different wavelengths on different frequencies.

No wonder it says my sheep know my voice. It's because there are many voices. All of them are broadcasting, speaking a language. And if you were not taught who this person is, a demon will speak to you and you will believe it. The demon will show you how unworthy you are and you will believe it. Isn't this how suicidal thoughts are bettered? This is how condemnation is bettered. This is how it is that you have attuned your ears to a frequency that the holy spirit is not broadcasting on. Because nobody trained you, nobody taught you, nobody showed you. Nobody showed you.

He's bringing everything. That's your Christ. Is bringing everything in obedience to Christ. Swallowing your pride Without the holy ghost, Christianity is a religion. It's a religion. The body What are you doing without the holy ghost? What are you doing? What are you doing? What do you define what you are doing has? What do you define what you are doing has?

What are you doing? What will be the name given to what you are doing? Christianity, preaching, studying, living without the holy ghost. How does life make sense without the holy ghost? My intention is to teach. My intention is to teach and I will teach. But I just sense so strongly that the holy spirit is drawing men to himself. Because you can show men the holy ghost in scriptures. But the holy ghost can also reveal himself to men. He can give you an experience of a lifetime.

He can reveal Jesus to you. But if a man ever sees Jesus, it is because the holy spirit revealed him. If a man ever knows Jesus, it is because the holy spirit reveals him. He's called the searcher. He searches the mind of the father. It reveals the deep things of God. The deep things of God. Is the revealer of secrets. The revealer of mysteries. Who can know the spirit of a man?

Who can know the heart of a man save the spirit of that man? Listen. How can you walk when you don't know the way of the spirit? How can Listen. Listen. Sit down. Sit down. Have your seat. When you know the holy spirit, there are times you will pray in tongues. There are times you would even lose the words.

You would utter no words, but you are praying deeply. You are praying strongly. Sometimes with tears flowing in your eyes. Because there is the depth of communication and communion happening. Beyond what the mortal man can understand. Beyond what the natural mind can understand. Without the holy spirit, you will break in pressure. You will crack in pressure. You will crack in pressure. Pressure will break you.

It will crack you. What is meant to mold you will become your undoing. You will break without the holy spirit. Challenges will become mountains to you. Without the holy spirit. Without the holy spirit. What is meant to train you becomes your destruction. Without the holy spirit. And because many of us have not been introduced to his person, we grieve him so easily. Yet in the book of Isaiah chapter 63 verse 10, The bible says, but they rebelled and grieved his holy spirit.

So he turned himself against them as an enemy and he fought against them. This is the tragedy of Israel. Israel did not simply break a law. They grieved the person of the holy spirit. And when you grieve him long enough, when you harden your heart against his voice, when you despise his corrections, when you resist his leadings, he withdraws his manifest presence. He does not with... He withdraw himself. He's still with you. He's still in you, but that manifest presence. He's still with you.

He's still... You know, he doesn't withdraw himself from you, but there's a presence. A presence. Spirit of the sovereign lord, will you come and make your presence known revealed? The glory of the living god. That presence. Spirit of the sovereign Lord, will you come and make your presence known reveal the glory of the living God at present. That manifest presence is what I'm talking about. Goddess prayed himself still remains. It still remains.

But there's a glory, a manifest presence of are the of the glory his glory, when you know him as a person, when you fellowship with him, when you become intimate with him, there is a presence that you carry around. It is for that presence the Bible says grieve not the holy ghost. Do you know that? You cannot know the holy spirit and be ungrateful. There are times I'm driving and I just remember, I just remember the holy spirit. I just remember one time he saved me from trouble. It can be ten years ago. And I will just blot, hey. Thank you, Jesus. And sometimes I will just smile.

Thank you, Jesus. As I'm going again, will remember another incident. I will say, Kai, Emmanuel, you would have died. Oh. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Your your your life is a constant flow of thanksgiving and rejoicing. Do you know that the reason why many people... Is that because it will bring to your remembrance all things, all things that I have taught you. So now that you are inside one problem or the other, how come you have forgotten how he saved you last year?

How come you have forgotten how he saved you yesterday? The bible says it will bring to your remembrance. It means if you know the holy ghost, whilst you are facing mountains, you will remember. I faced this kind of an issue, this kind of a mountain, but it came through for me. This is nothing. If you get depressed every time problem comes, it is because you don't know the holy ghost. Yes. So let this be very clear. The holy spirit is God. He's co equal with the father.

Is co equal with the Son, is co eternal, is omnipresent, is omniscient, is omnipotent, is not subordinate in essence. Even though he's submissive in function within the divine economy of redemption, he does not act independently of the father and the son. He acts in perfect unity with them. The holy God is not... Is is not a lesser God. He is God. He's omniscient. He's omnipotent. He's omnipresent. In Psalm one three nine from verse seven to verse eight, it says, where can I go from your spirit?

Can you see? Where can I go from your spirit? In that scripture we read, David is speaking of the omnipresence of God, and he equates it with the spirit. You cannot escape the holy spirit because he's God and God is everywhere. It is in the holy spirit that God is everywhere. But this is the mystery. Even though he's omnipresent, he does not manifest his presence everywhere equally. He chooses where to dwell. He chooses where to move. He chooses where to rest.

He chooses to whom to reveal himself. And since the day of Pentecost, he has chosen to dwell permanently in human beings. That's why first Corinthians chapter six and verse 19 says, do you not know that your body is the temple of the living God and the holy spirit dwells in you? The temple of God is no longer in Jerusalem. The temple is no longer a building made with bricks, made with human hands. You are now the temple. Your spirit has become the holy of holies. Your body is now the sanctuary and the holy spirit. The very presence of God himself dwells in you. God lives on your inside.

God lives on your inside. It is humbling to know that God is on my insight. It is humbling to know that God is on my insight. It's humbling to know. Humbling to know. It's humbling to know. Thank you Lord. Thank you. Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord.

What is the ministry of the holy spirit to unbelievers? There are three of them. Thank you Lord. Before a man is born again, that man is dead in trespasses. That man is dead in sins. That man is spiritually lifeless. That man is dormant. That man is unresponsive to God. That man is incapable of perceiving spiritual realities. That man may be morally upright.

That man may be religious. He may even be sincere. But without the Holy Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God without the holy spirit. He cannot enter the kingdom of God without the holy spirit. The ministry of the holy spirit to unbelievers is tripartite. There is threefold. Number one, the holy spirit convicts. The holy spirit convicts. In John chapter 16 verse eight to verse 11, the Bible says, and when he has come, he will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment of sin because they do not believe in me, of righteousness because I go to my father, and you see me no more of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. This is the first work of the holy spirit in the life of the unbeliever.

He convicts. He convicts, not condemn. Not condemnation. He doesn't condemn. He convicts. There's a difference because condemnation crushes you. Condemnation leaves you hopeless. Conviction on the other hand pierces you. Conviction leads you to repentance. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin.

Singular. That scripture we read says he convicts. He will convict the word of sin, singular. Not of sins. In other words, what is convicting you of is the nature of sin. Are you with me? And the fundamental sin of humanity is not murder, is not adultery, is not theft, is not lying, is not fordication. The fundamental sin that is convicting you off is the sin of unbelief. It is the rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. All other forms of sin flows from this one sin.

And until a man is convicted of his own belief, he will never cry out for a savior. Until a man realizes that he's he's a sinner by nature, he will never understand there is need for a savior. So what does the world do? He convicts the world of sin. Of sin because... Next verse. They do not believe in me. So the sin is the unbelief. Are you with me? Which is where other sins flow out from.

So a man cannot come to Christ without the Holy Spirit. A man cannot know Jesus without the Holy Spirit. It means that you are here and you are a believer, it is because you were convicted of sin. Not because your father is a pastor. Because your father can be a pastor and you are an unbeliever. I am not saved. The work of the Holy Spirit is individual. The convicting work of the Holy Ghost is individual. The Holy Spirit convicts of judgment. Why?

Because the ruler of this world is judged. He convicts of righteousness too. Why? Jesus says, because I go to my father and you see me no more. Jesus ascended to heaven. He is no longer physically present to demonstrate righteousness. The word no longer has a visible, a walking, a talking standard of the righteousness of God. So what the Holy Spirit comes to do is to reveal the righteousness of God that has already been fulfilled in Christ. And that same righteousness is now available to everybody that believes. It shows the sinner that his own righteousness is filthy rags.

Isaiah 64 and verse six. And that the only recklessness that matters is the one imputed into you by faith in Christ Jesus. No man can by self righteousness come into salvation. So he convicts the world of righteousness. And the holy spirit convicts the world of judgment. Why? He says because the ruler of this world is judged. Satan has been defeated. Sin has been defeated. Without this conviction, no one can ever be saved.

Are you with me? The holy spirit convicts the world. Of judgment. The Holy Spirit tells the sinner that hell is real, that heaven is real, that eternal judgment is real. The second ministry of the Holy Spirit to the unbeliever happens when that unbeliever now believes. In other words, when conviction has now succeeded and the unbeliever now believes is then introduced to the second ministry of the holy spirit, which is the holy spirit regenerates. John chapter three from verse five to verse six, Jesus answered, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, it cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Conviction leads to repentance. Repentance leads to faith.

And then faith opens the door for the holy spirit to perform one of the greatest miracles in the universe, regeneration. The Holy Spirit takes a dead spirit and makes it alive. It takes the heart of stone and makes it the heart of flesh. He impacts the very life of God into a human being that was once dead, that was once alienated, that was once an enemy of God. Titus chapter three and verse five. Bible says, not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy. According to His mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not human achievement. Salvation is a divine act. You did not save yourself.

You don't make yourself born again. The Holy Spirit regenerated you. The Holy Spirit washed you. He renewed you. He made you a new creation. Second Corinthians chapter five verse 17 declares, if any man being Christ is a new creation and old things are passed away, behold all things have become new. And the agent of the new creation is the Holy Spirit. Can he generate? He takes what was once dead and he makes it alive. He enlivens.

The third ministry of the holy spirit to the unbeliever and we close here. Is that the holy spirit seals. The holy spirit seals. Ephesians chapter one from verse 13 to verse 14. The bible says, in him you also trusted. After you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. In whom also having believed you were sealed with the holy spirit of promise. You see, you were sealed. Having believed, you were sealed. He convicts.

The conviction leads you into repentance that leads you into faith. Faith then becomes regeneration and then it then seals you. Are you with me? Who is the guarantee of our inheritance onto the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory. The moment you believe the holy spirit seals you. A seal in ancient times was a mark of ownership, a mark authenticity, and a mark of security. And I will show you the three of them. That's what a seal represents in ancient times. It was a mark of ownership, a mark of authenticity, and a mark of security. When a king in ancient times sealed a document, that document could no longer be altered.

When a merchant sealed a shipment, it could no longer be tampered with. So the Holy Spirit is God's seal upon your life. It means you belong to him. You are authentic and you are secure. Let's start with the first one. The seal means ownership. It means you are honed by God. So the Holy Spirit is God's seal to show the word and to show demons and to show the devil and to show principalities that this one belongs to one already. You know, because of when the bible was written, some of these concepts might be lost in our time because you might not even know what a seal is. A seal is like a stamp.

It is usually a signet of authority that is imprinted into a ring that the king wears. So that when a letter is to be sent, what differentiates that letter from any other letter is that an ink is poured upon that letter. The king then takes his ring and presses it upon that ink and forms a seal that shuts the letter. So as a king, as a... Let's say whoever is carrying that letter, it might be the servant or whoever is carrying carries that letter. Nobody can stop him because he's carrying the seal of the king. Are you with me? He's carrying the seal of the king. What the king has declared is that this one belongs to me. So when soldiers meet him on the road and he just brings out that seal, it is obvious.

This one belongs to me. Let him pass. This one belongs to me. Let him pass. Are you with me? When a seal is placed on something in the ancient world, it declares that this belongs to someone. And in fact, different houses, noble houses had their own seals. Are you with me? Yes, sir. And when you place a seal on a product on anything, it's saying this thing is not available for purchase because it has already been purchased.

It is under the protection and the authority of the one whose this seal belongs or who owns this seal. So in second Timothy chapter two and verse 19, the Bible says, nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands. Having this seal. The Lord knows those who are his. So what is the seal? You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians one thirty. You remember that? So when the Bible says having this seal, so what then is that seal? The Holy Spirit of promise.

And what does that seal mean? It says the Lord knows those who are His. The seal of the Holy Spirit upon your life means that God knows you. It means you are not anonymous. You are not lost in the crowd. You are not just another believer in a sea of billions of believers. God knows you by name. He has counted the heirs on your head. He has tattooed your name in the palms of his hand. The psalmist calls you the apple of his eye.

You are his personal possession. And when you become his personal possession, he guards what belongs to him. It means if I am owned by God, God is responsible for me. He guards me. He protects me. Because the seal of ownership is upon my life. Are you with me? Yes, sir. That is the reason why the enemy cannot pluck you out of the father's hand. Because you have been sealed.

You have been mocked. And that mark is the person of the holy spirit who lives inside of you. The devil may attack you. The devil may accuse you. The devil may even oppress you, but he cannot hold you. You do not belong to him. You belong to God. There's a revelation a believer would have from this that makes him know therefore that if any man being Christ is a new creation, is now had that revelation because now you know that not only am I a new creation, I'm a new creation that belongs to one, that belongs to God. I'm a new creation that belongs to God. It means there is no demon that can lay possession on me.

There is no ancestral cause, no ancestral battle, no ancestral pattern that can lay possession on me. There's no altar that can speak any kind of voice upon me and claim ownership upon my life because I belong to God. The holy spirit within me. I have the seal of ownership. Are you with me brothers and sisters? Yes, sir. That seal also means you're authentic. In the ancient world, a seal verifies authenticity. A document that does not have the seal of the king can be forged. A shipment that does not have the seal of the merchant can be count of it.

But when the seal was present, there was no question about its authenticity. Everybody knows immediately that this is the real thing. Do you know that there is a seal upon the naira note? And when you present the naira note to anybody, the first thing they are looking for is the seal. And that is how you differentiate a fake note from a real one. Is that not so? The seal of the holy spirit upon your life shows your authenticity. Are you with me? In other words, what am I saying? I'm saying that the Holy Spirit dwelling in you is proof that your salvation is real.

The Holy Spirit dwelling in you is proof that you are not pretending. You are not play acting. You're not just going through religious motions. You have been born again genuinely. And the evidence is not just that you go to church. The evidence is not just that you read your Bible. The evidence isn't just that you raise your hands in worship. Though these things flow from a regenerated heart, the evidence that you are saved is the Holy Spirit himself. So I know that my salvation is real because the Holy Spirit dwells in me. I know that the tongues that I am speaking cannot be fake because these things can be fake.

What's the difference? The Holy Spirit. Because believers ask question like that. And they don't choose to see people on national television who are acting and will not be saying nonsense. Would you say they are speaking in tongues too? How do you even know that what you are saying is real? How do you even know that what you're saying is genuine? The holy ghost is the proof of authenticity. That seal means that this is authentic. So when I speak in tongues, I'm different from the man who is play acting because there's a seal upon my life that shows that what I'm doing is not a joke.

Would you understand what I'm saying? Because the fact that somebody carries a fake nylon note does not mean there are no real nylon notes. It is foolishness to say I won't spend money again because somebody gave you fake money. So how do you know that this thing is real? Because the holy spirit is on your inside. If you have the holy ghost on your inside, you should never be afraid to pray in tongues. Because the devil has lied to so many people. The question is, do you have the holy spirit? Yes, I do. Why do I now know it is real?

Because you have the Holy Spirit. Because you have the Holy Spirit. That's how you know. Are you with me? Sir. Do you know that? It is even because you have the Holy Spirit that you know that you are a child of God. Otherwise, how do you know that you are saved? How do you know that the day you gave your life to Christ, you really gave it? Or the day you received his life, you really received it?

Romans chapter eight verse 16. The Bible says the spirit of God bears witness with our... That we are what? It means you can only know you are a child of God because the Holy Spirit is in you. There is an inner witness, a testimony that rises from deep within your spirit that cannot be explained by psychology, cannot be explained by physiology, or sociology, or emotionalism. It is the voice of the holy spirit confirming to your spirit that you are mine. You are a child of God. You are not an orphan. You are not an outsider. You belong.

There's a voice within that bears witness with you. If this is not there, you are not saved. This is what is called the assurance of salvation. You see believers, every Sunday they call altar call. You have to come out again and again because you are not sure. Let me not risk it. I'm not really sure where I stand. Let me shall go. Rapso can come tomorrow. And if by eventually you go for a crusade and they say if you want to give your life to Christ, come out.

You will run out again because maybe the anointing on that man of God is more powerful than my own man of God. So his own altar call can carry my anointing. Let me really run and dedicate my life under his own call. And when a bigger man of God comes, yeah, let me just be sure. The reason why you have no assurance is because the Holy Ghost does not reside within you. You might truly not be saved. Even after your 10 alter calls, you might still truly not be saved. Because the condition for salvation is not alter calls. It is belief in your heart. Confess with your mouth.

If these two things happen immediately, the bible says you are sealed with the holy spirit of promise. Immediately, that is the assurance. The seal of authenticity that what I have received is genuine. And from that being sought, there's a Brit bearing witness in you that you are a child of God. Are you with me? Say I'm a child of God. A child of God. After you know that you are saved, not because a preacher told you so, not because you prayed a prayer, not because you worked on how, but because the holy spirit himself bears witness within you. When the enemy comes to come and question your salvation, are you really saved? It didn't really happen.

Look at your failures. Look at your mistakes. Look at all that. You can reply him very assuredly. Calvary covered it all. My sins and shame don't count anymore. All praise to the king who was ransomed on my soul. Calvary covered it all. An assurance within. All praise to the king who has ransomed my soul.

Calvary covered it all. An assurance. All praise to the king who was ransomed my soul. Cover recovery, you know. All praise to the king who was hands on my soul. So when the devil brings these things to you, don't argue with the devil based on your performance. Don't say, ah, me. I'm not... Like me, I I prayed every day. I do...

No. No. No. That's not the assurance of salvation. It's not whether you are still fasting, whether you are still praying. That is not the assurance of salvation. The assurance of salvation that the holy ghost dwells within you. The life of God is within you. What you received is a seal of ownership, a seal of authenticity. Are you with me?

When the devil comes, point him to the seal. Holy spirit is within you. That settles it. And lastly, that seal means that you are secure. Second Corinthians chapter one from verse 21 to verse 22. Bible says now, he who establishes us with you in Christ And anointed us is God. Who has also sealed us and given us the spirit in our hearts as a what? The seal is a guarantee. A guarantee a guarantee. The Greek word guarantee there is the word harabon.

And it means a down payment. That's the meaning. So when he says, he has given us a spirit in our heart as a down payment. Are you with me? What a down payment? A deposit. The first installment of what is to come. When you make a down payment on the house, that payment guarantees that the rest is coming. Is that not so? It is a legally binding pledge.

The seller cannot back out because it's already yours. The contract is already enforced. The full payment is already guaranteed. When you want a car, you put a down payment, a guarantee that the car is yours. It means if another person comes to price that car, they say this one is not available. Is that much so? Because there's a down payment already. I will guarantee there. It's what happened. The Holy Spirit is the down payment.

The initial installment of what? The initial installment of what? What is the down payment? Who knows? Be confident. Who knows? If the bible says the down payment, what has it paid for? Yeah? Of what? Calm down.

This is a car. You pay for the car. What is that down payment for? Uh-huh. So if your holy spirit is the down payment that you have received, what is the payment for? Mm-mm. Heaven. That's why you know you will go to heaven. So a believer is not checking every day that am I heaven bound? Am I heaven bound?

The Bible says a down payment has been given. It means as long as the holy spirit is on your inside, there is never a time a believer should be afraid of making heaven. Are you with me? Your salvation is not just dependent on your ability to hold on to God. It is also dependent on God's ability to hold on to you because he's the one that gave you a down payment. Are you with me? Yes, And he has sealed you with the holy spirit. The Bible says, unto the day of redemption. Look at that. Ephesians four and verse 13.

Grieve not the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed, give me KJV please, unto the day of redemption. Can you see that? Unto the day of redemption, not until you sin again. Not until you stumble. Not until you have a bad week. Not until you are in a season of doubt. Until the day of redemption, the day when Jesus returns, when your body is resurrected, when you stand before him glorified in flesh, fully and finally redeemed your spiritual and body. The Bible says you have been sealed until the day of redemption. This does not mean that you live carelessly. This does not mean that sin has no consequence.

Because Paul has not grieved the holy spirit. You can wound him. You can resist him. You can quench him. But you cannot lose him. He does not unseal you every time you make a mistake. If that were the case, nobody will survive. Are you with me? Yes, sir. The man of God used an example to illustrate something by things that this captured it very well.

Give me a currency. 1,000 naira, 100 naira. Who has it? Bring it. Bring Bring it. It. How much is this? How much is this? Is this a real note? So how do we know it is real?

What do we do? We do like this. When we do like this, what are we looking for? Are you seeing that now? Yes, sir. So what if I do like this? And I give you this money. You won't take it again. You'll be hungry with me. You'll say, is that?

Cry the money and go. Is this money still valuable? Why? Has this removed the seal? No. What if I do like this? And I step on it. And I keep on marching on it. What if I play it at you? Can you still spend it?

Yes. Is it valuable? Yes. Has it removed the seal? No. Understand what I'm trying to teach you here. This is why the bible calls him a seer. He's the seal of authenticity. The guarantee of security. That's why the bible says, for I am persuaded.

Romans chapter eight from verse 38 to verse 39. For I am persuaded. Persuaded means for I know. I know that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. Next verse, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us. Why? Because neither the stomping nor the squeezing nor the... Are you getting this thing now? Nothing. As long as the seal is there, there is nothing the believer ever faces that separates him from the love of God.

Yes, sir. That's why the song says, it may have been long though since you've called upon my name, but you are still my own. I didn't leave you. Even though the last time you prayed was last year, I didn't leave you. Even though the last time you opened your bible was six months ago, I didn't leave I'm still with you. The problem is that you will lose the benefit of my relationship with me. That's the problem. The problem that you will be confused. You'll be weak. You'll be powerless.

You will work as though you have no defense. You'll walk as though you are exposed. The devil will cheat you, but I'm still there. And the devil might try to convince you that, look now, look now, you you are worthy goat. You know how many times they have corrected you? How many times they've spoken to you? You are still... It's people like you that God is looking for. You are a goat. Then you want to worship God.

There's a guilt that pierces your soul. You can't even worship again. You want to pray and you are thinking about the mistakes you made. And I say, can God even accept my prayer? And then the believer says I feel that the Lord's prayer left me and he's saying, I'm a seal. I was sealed on you. I didn't come to visit you. I was imprinted in your spirit. Do you know that if I tear this money and I sell you tape it back, the bank will still collect it. Do you know that I can take this money and put it in a color printer and then you print out money that looks like this on paper.

And then you trim it very well. It looks exactly like this. Is that not so? Exactly like this. Can you go and give it to a bank? Do you agree with me that that money will be neater than this one? Do you agree with me that it will be finer than this one? Polished and prepared. But they will throw you in jail. They will rather collect this one you have squeezed.

But not getting this thing I'm saying. That someone can be more morally upright than me. And yet does not carry a zeal. That what makes me accept that is not first my performance. It's not forced what I'm doing. It's not forced what I'm not doing. As a matter of fact, I can do those things because I am accepted. That's why the bible says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous, not of a man. It is of a man that is sealed. Yes, sir.

That's where prayer flows from. That's what makes prayer powerful. There's a seal upon my life. That's why it says come boldly. That that money is done. Yet you can still bring it boldly. It says come boldly to the throne of grace that you might receive mercy. That you might receive mercy. That you might receive mercy. That you might receive mercy.

That a believer can feel so far and realize through this teaching that you are the one feeling far. The only ghost is still in you. He's closer to you than your brother who is in America you speak to every night. The Holy Ghost is within. And he's just sitting down there saying, when will you come? When will you come? Do you remember the parable of the prodigal song? That guy was rehearsing so many speeches. He was rehearsing. He said, when I get there, I will tell my father.

I will tell him that I'm sorry. I will tell him that I will... And while he's rehearsing his speech, he's turning back. The bible says, the father saw him from afar. And immediately the father saw him. He saw a seal. If the... This one is not a servant, oh, this one is my son. That was all the father needed. All the speech that guy had rehearsed, there was no opportunity to even say it.

The bible says the man ran to him from afar and hugged him. That was his draw near unto me. Just turn turn your heart to me and watch how I run towards you. Watch how I run towards you because there's a revelation you must have of the holy spirit that makes you fellowship with him. That makes condemnation far from you. You would notice there's no devil that will condemn you again. Eyes up on your feet. May have been longer. It may have been longer, but you are still my home. It may have been longer.

It may have been longer, but you are still my home. Thank you for listening to this message. We trust you have been blessed. You can get more life transforming messages from apostle Emmanuel Boluwatife on our Telegram page at DCN media channel. You can also stream the messages on Spotify, Ocho Mac, and Apple podcast. Connect with us via our social media platforms on Instagram at dcn underscore nations, on Facebook at disciples christian network, on x at dcn central, and on TikTok at Disciples Christian Network. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel at Disciples Television. If you have a testimony from this message, you can mail us at disciplecngmail dot com. God bless you.