Transcript: The Apostolic Constants - The Unchanging Foundation of The New Testament Faith

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Just like a soldier, going to battle, Garrett himself with every armor needed for battle and for winning. So believers must guard themselves with the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Join apostle Emmanuel as he teaches God's word to equip you for a victorious life on earth. This is believers equipped. Today, I'll be sharing on something that hopes to reemphasize some of the things we have discussed all through this year on a the subject that I have titled, the apostolic constants. Hyphen I think the unchanging foundation of the New Testament faith. The apostolic constant. I think the unchanging of Jesus. Name of Jesus. Faith.

The But those of us who are science students, who have been science students and are still science students, you aren't familiar with the concept of constant. Is that not so? Because in science, there are constants, and these are standards that are not debated every time a problem is being solved. Whenever you are reading the bible, especially the epistles, even the bible as a whole, you have to realize in the Christian faith that there are also constants, subjects and standards that cannot be debated every time we are having conversations. In physics, for instance, no one redefines the value of acceleration due to gravity for each calculation done. Acceleration due to gravity is a constant. No one argues afresh about Planck's constant or Boltzmann's constant or gravitational constant. Is that not so? These are settled constants. They form the baseline of everything that is built.

Every application, every model, every interpretation must align with this constant. To ignore this constant is error. Are you with me? Yes, sir. When a physicist is approaching a new problem, he does not begin to approach that problem by questioning whether gravity exists or not. He is already in error. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir. It does not test whether light travels at a constant speed in a vacuum. That is already a constant.

Whatever test that he is doing would be to verify that constant, not to challenge it. Do you understand what I have said? Yes, sir. It does not debate the atomic weight of carbon. It's a constant. Because these things have already been established. These things have already been proven to be true. They have been tested again and again. They have been proven across centuries of observation, experimentation, verification. A lot of scientists across the world have proven these things to be true.

So they they have become the foundation upon which all other further discovery is to be built. To reject that these things is not to pioneer a new frontier. To reject it is to reject science itself. Are you with me brothers and sisters? The same thing is true in mathematics. The properties of a triangle do not change based on the mathematician's opinion. It means that you cannot come tomorrow and say that the sum of interior angles is 500 degrees. You remember Euclidean geometry? Some of interior angles? You see, I have brilliant students here.

That's not a suggestion. It's not open to your personal interpretation. It means if you have solved problem one day and you find that you did your own sum and far and ended up at 200 degrees, Does it not show that there is something wrong with your understanding? Do you begin to doubt whether the constant is true? Or do you doubt whether your understanding is true? In other words, if something is a constant and you are solving a problem that should arrive at that constant, and you find out that your problem, your answer exceeds the constant or is below the constant, do you begin to challenge the constant? In other words, how do you know that you are wrong? Because there is already a constant that proves whether or not what you are saying is true. Is that not so? How you know that you are wrong is because of the constant.

You know, the constant is a litmus test. The constant is a test. We can use the constant to measure or to test your revelation. Do you understand what I've said? Yes, sir. It means the constant exposes error. That's the nature of constants. They are fixed. They are universal. They don't bend to accommodate preferences.

They don't bend to accommodate culture. They don't bend to accommodate experiences. They define the parameters within which all other valid work must occur. And because they are constant, they also serve as a test. Any conclusion that contradicts them is an immediate suspect. Any model that requires the suspension of the constant to sell is error, is invalid. And so whenever we're talking about the constant and somebody says put that one aside first, It means whatever you're about to say is invalid. Please stay with me. If you're not a science student, just allow the holy spirit to explain to you what I'm saying. Glory to God.

You won't come tomorrow and start giving different meaning or interpretation to the SI units. Because these are constant. Biology, they are also constant. Across sciences, they are constant. And any new invention, any new observation, any new whatever must be built on those constants, not away from them, not apart from them. Are you with me? Sir. They're pistils, and the entire scriptures, the entire bible functions in the same manner. When you read scriptures, you find out that there are also constants in scriptures. And these constants are not suggestions.

They are not the starting point for speculation. If we are speculating anything, debating anything, arguing anything, it is not the constant. Are you with me? These things are not drafts that are awaiting a revision by the next generation who imagine themselves to be more enlightened. So we come thirty years later and begin to revise certain things, and we say, these are the things we want to revise. I'll begin to revise ancient landmarks. Begin to move pillars that are not designed to be moved in the name of a more enlightened generation. This is the beginning of error. When you start thinking that you can move the unmovables. And if that is your approach to scripture, you're already wrong.

The purpose of knowledge is to grow. Say that with me. When you begin to hunger for knowledge in order to do anything other than to grow, you are already in error. And you begin to wonder, how is it possible for a man to hunger for knowledge in order to do anything other than to grow? You can hunger for knowledge to hug you. And when that becomes the basis of your hunger for knowledge, you already biased towards knowledge. It means that you already have an opinion. The knowledge you are looking for is not that that will teach you. It's that that will reinforce you. You are looking for reinforcement, not truth.

And so what you're looking for is more facts that corroborate your opinion so that you can have solid points with which to tell them truth. And when that becomes the ideology that you have, when that becomes the mentality that you have, when that becomes the approach to scriptures, you might be very enlightened, but you are building towards this a wrong foundation. You are building on a wrong foundation. Are you with me brothers and sisters? When you read scriptures, you'll find that there are constants that establish the baseline of what the gospel is, what redemption accomplishes, what the believer possesses, and how spiritual warfare operates, how the believer lives in the kingdom, what should be the tenant of the believer's faith. And if we argue about every other thing, these are things that must not be argued about. They are constant. Are you with me? Yes, sir. They are not cultural opinions.

They are revelations given directly from the from the risen Christ to the church. These things were transmitted through men who saw him, who walked with him, who were taught by him, who were sent by him to lay the foundation of the church. To begin to argue about this constant will be dire foolishness. I was speaking with a young man so recently. Thank you, Jesus. So many years ago, I was watching a movie. And the young man I was speaking to recently made me remember the movie I was watching many years ago. It's a Christian movie. Some of you might have seen it. I forgotten the title of the movie.

It's not entirely a bad movie. The part I can't remember anyways. So tell us the story. It's a it's a true life story too. Tell us the story of a man of God, a powerful man of God who started a church, grew the church, and the church became so big. A black, Indian evangelist. The church became so big, a black American. And he he started getting invites moving from country to country, place to place, and he was such a genuine man of God. And and the call of God upon his life was so strong. He spread very fast.

And the church around him, the apostolic church around him welcomed him as one of theirs, forwarded an invitation to him to minister in their churches, be a blessing to them. It was accepted by the body of Christ in America. True life story, but captured in the movie. And this man's heart was so tender. Is that not so? Loving God and loving Jesus. And one day he was praying and watching the news. And after praying, went to watch the news rather. You can't pray and watch the news. So after he had finished praying, he went to watch the news.

And while he was watching the news, he saw videos of people dying and mass burial being conducted for them. Some dying out of... There was a war that broke out in the nation, and then there were thousands of dead bodies that had to be buried. Some of them were... The children was even another country. They first showed deaths of war, and how they were packing bodies like refuse beam, dumping them into large holes. And and and there was... He was... There was pain in his heart. So much pain that he started weeping as he was watching the news.

Why are these people dying like this? Why are they dying like this? He he switched the TV... The channel from that channel to something else. And when... Where he switched it to, it was children dying of malnutrition in Africa. People dying because of Kashwoko, malaria, different... He started weeping again, crying again. What is this? Weeping.

And he started asking himself questions that what if these people have never heard about the Christ? What if they have never been preached to before? Does that mean all of them, thousands of them are dead now are going to hellfire? What kind of an unjust God is this? What kind of a... And he he started asking all kind of questions in tears. It's like an anointed movie. You can almost feel the the pain that he was feeling. And immediately, thoughts started flowing to his mind that, no, God cannot be this wicked. Does the Bible not say that God is good?

How will God allow these people who have never heard about the Christ? Who have never been preached to? Is it their fault that they've not been preached to? Is it their fault? So why do they have to die and go to hell if it if it wasn't their fault that they were not preached to? Can God be that wicked? Can God be that... He started asking questions like this, and that question led him to look for knowledge to rim... Are you seeing this now? It led him to look for knowledge to reinforce his already existing ideology.

What was that ideology? God cannot be that wicked. What you should have done is go into scriptures and check what did God see. And let the bible interpret scriptures. And you know how how the devil works. The devil came and brought a strange revelation that says, as long as a human being is born, he's saved. And he was able to prove it from scriptures. You know, you can prove whatsoever you want to prove. He was able to prove this thing from scriptures, and he started teaching his church members. He was invited to a particular man of God's altar to preach.

Big... Also a big man of God. Thousands of people started preaching this thing there. The people... The man and the man of God was so hungry and annoyed. He could not hold himself. He had to maintain composure because he was pissed. What is this person saying? This is not theology. This is not what we believe.

This is not a Christian faith. Is he creating a new ideology for himself? And he was called by the presbytery. He was called to come and defend his belief. They were trying to enlighten him. He started asking them, are you saying that you serve a wicked God? Then he asked them a question. He said he said, pastor, let me ask you a question. If your son... You know what is emotional stuff?

If your son contain an offense, I did not know what is nonsense. And he could not answer because he he was a kind of manipulative question that would trap them. You understand what I'm saying? Like the kind of thing that the Pharisees wanted to do for Jesus except for the fact that he was successful. So they could not answer him here, but they were still convinced that he was wrong. They just could not answer his question. And so because they could not answer his question, they could not win him back. So he left that place. Held on to that mentality. Of course, there was trouble in the church.

Lost his church members. Lost his church. Lost his pulpit ministry. Lost... And after losing everything, he still held on to the belief. Went from being a global pastor to being a body pastor of two or three. And he still held on to the belief. And record has it that he died with the belief. Mental and disciple people with the belief. You see what that man did was that he sought for knowledge to reinforce an opinion.

And when you approach scriptures like that, you will see wrong. You will see wrong and you will see bad. And everything that you hear, and you'd find that especially if that opinion is wrong, the devil will be reinforcing that thing more by giving you several other news outlet, podcasts, people hearing their opinion that further reinforces that opinion just because they they want that thing to become a stronghold. Do understand what I'm saying? Which is why you have to know that in the Christian faith, there are constant. There are constant. There are. There are. There are things we cannot argue. Let me show you something.

Luke chapter one, I believe. Verse one. Can we read this thing everybody together as long as you can see it projected? One, two, three, go. Give me KJV. One, two, three, go. Did you see that? For as much as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed amongst us. It means there are those things that are most surely believed amongst us. These things are not subject to argument.

They are constants. These are the things that are most surely believed. If we unpick a believer in the North, in the East, in the West, in the South, and we ask those believers, what is this? This must be this. Because there are things that are most surely believed. That if there are separations and different kind of denominations in the Christian faith, it becomes an error to make a nomination that fights the constants. It becomes an error. You have built... And if that nomination now happens to be big, it's a problem. Because you cannot go against the order of scripture and raise a people after your own opinion, after your own approach.

That something is a code of conduct or a doctrine in a church does not make it theology. Theology is theology. It is scripture. It is bible. A man of God can have a reservation based on how God has dealt with him. And from his reservation and from his reservation, establish certain doctrines in the church based on his reservation does not in any way mean that these doctrines are scripture except they are. I don't wanna give examples so it doesn't look as though I'm against anybody. I am not. I speak these things in love. Are you with me?

And the problem usually is that when some of us, you know, many of us came here from different backgrounds. And why am I saying this? Because a lot of you are going back to the same background you came from. And if you not wise, you will be held in bondage again. They are not wise. Are you still with me? Yes, sir. Paul makes it very clear. In first Corinthians chapter three from verse 10 to verse 11. It says according to the grace of God, which was given to me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another builds on it.

Let each one take it how he builds on it. Next verse. For no other foundation can anyone lay than which is laid. Which is Jesus Christ. The foundation has already been laid. It is Christ. He is unchangeable. And every doctrine, every teaching, every model of ministry, including how we approach warfare, how we approach finances, how we approach daily life decisions, how we approach everything that has to do with our divisions on a daily basis. It must be built on that foundation, Christ. It must not be built beside the foundation.

It must not be built around the foundation. It must not be built contrary to the foundation. Are you with me? We might not be able to read all the scriptures but put them down. Hebrews chapter two three to verse four, the Bible says, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him. Next verse. God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders with various miracles and gifts of the holy spirit according to his own will. That the salvation we have received was spoken by the Lord. It was confirmed by those who heard him directly. God himself bore witness to it, and he bore witness to it with signs and wonders.

That this is not a message that is subject to reinterpretation. It is not a framework awaiting improvement. It is the settled word of God. It was delivered once and established forever. Jude chapter one and verse three. The bible says, beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary. I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Did you see once for all? The faith was delivered once for all. It wasn't delivered in installments.

It wasn't delivered in progressive versions. It wasn't delivered in culturally adaptable forms that shift with every new generation. It was delivered in full, in finality, in completeness. Our task is not to add to it. Our task is to contend for it, to guard it, to preserve it, to proclaim it without alteration. This is why the epistles are so precise. That's why scriptures are so precise. That's why Paul is so insistent. That's why John writes in book of first John chapter four verse six. He says we are of God.

I was talking to a young man, Zonda Megu, and he told me, he said, is ideology of the judgement is different. From mine. And I was shocked. Because I had thought that my ideology of the judgement came from scriptures. And so when he said it was different from mine, I wanted to know what his was. And so he told me, he said, he doesn't believe. He doesn't believe that we are born as sinners. He doesn't believe in the idea that when you were born, you were a sinner. He don't believe in the judgment because he don't believe that we are all born as sinners. And that concept does not make sense.

I said, okay. Explain. He said, because when you think about it, it's unfair. How so? He said, if you are born as sinners, how about children? Children? How would they be judged? Are you telling me that a child who has never done anything is a sinner? It's not possible. I don't believe that we are born as sinners.

I don't believe that the premise of our judgment will be how we're born. I believe that the premise of our judgment would be based on every man's works. Based on what they did. If they did well, they will be judged and they'll go to heaven. If they did not do well, they'll be judged and they'll go to hell. Know the danger now. The danger is that that young man wants to be a pastor and wants to have a church. It's scary. It's scary. Said many revelations to me, but that particular one scared me because you...

That's the foundation of what we call Christianity. For all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. Next verse. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. That the premise of the justification is because all sinned. This is a constant. Through one man, all sinned. Through one man, all that receive life. This is what the Bible says. In iniquity did my mother conceive me.

It's scary. It's it's very scary. I couldn't say much. It wasn't an argument because I don't argue in matters like this, especially if your heart has not been open to receive to learn. Don't hug you. I just keep my fear to myself. Another reason why I was afraid is because of what I've observed in the patterns of God for those people. Because you see when a man of God begins to hear, usually when people like that begins to hear, what God does is to limit your influence. Limit how far your voice will reach so that your error is not... It doesn't circulate.

11 ensures... It's only when your error starts at at the point where you are growing. There's a solution to it. You just silence your voice, and only those who are able to gather are those that become victims of that error. But when a man of God is already prominent and has influence and errors, It's a different approach that God takes because you already have the years of people. Thousands of people already listen to you, if not millions. To in that depth, in that capacity is more dangerous. The repercussions are devastating. The amount of lives you will destroy, the amount of lives you will wreck. So other than the fact that your influence can be taken away, heaven can also ensure that they bring you home.

It's true. I've observed this in the wisdom of God. It's true. It... And it is love. It's an act of love. It's an act of love. Son, son, come back. Come back. You.

Come back. Come back. Come back. Will be with the father. You'll be dancing with the father. Yeah. Scriptures are not merely informative. Scriptures are legislative. They don't record just the opinions of people. They establish the doctrine of the church for all time, especially the New Testament that establishes the new covenant that the believers are in.

Are you with me? And the same way the constant insights protect the integrity of discovery. The constant in scriptures protect the integrity of the gospel. And when a teaching arises that contradicts the apostolic baseline, it does not matter how popular it is. It does not matter how many testimonies support it. It does not matter how spiritual it sounds. It does not matter how desperate people are for breakthrough. If it violates the constant, it is wrong. It is not partially wrong. It is not wrong in emphasis.

It is wrong. It is wrong in essence. Are you with me? We are not trying to be harsh. This is just clarity. This is the mercy of God because it did not leave us to wonder subjective experiences. He gave us the objective standard by which to measure every spirit, every doctrine, every practice. The constants are a gift. They are the guidelines that keep the church from veering into the ditch of superstition. To stay on one side of the cliff.

Of either liberalism, holiness, purity, legalism, and all of these extremes. It protects you. The constant protects you from them. Are you with me? Yeah. The plumb line in which we measure whether a teaching is built on the foundation or whether it has drifted into the sand. You know, there's an argument right now that somebody caught my attention to of whether certain prayer postures are of God or they're not of God. I have no say on the matter. I have no say on the matter. Mind is to teach my people.

Whatever anybody wants to teach their people is their business. Glory to God. The same thing applies to spiritual warfare. When we approach a delicate matter like the subject of spiritual warfare, we cannot afford to begin building on that subject with our experiences. We don't begin with testimonies. We don't begin with what a man of God said. We don't begin with an experience that your roommate shared. Because when you approach spiritual warfare with experiences, you have already left the constants. For example, somebody begins to share with you how that they were praying. And whilst they were praying, a demon appeared to them.

And that demon wrestled with them for six hours. And on the sixth hour, he saw a water beside him. And the holy ghost spoke to him to take that water and sprinkle the water and shout the blood of Jesus 27 times. So he takes the water and sprinkles the water and shouts the blood of Jesus 27 times. And oh my goodness, you would not believe at the twenty seventh time, the demon vanished after shouting, Jesus, and I was free. Oh, glory to Jesus. Amen. When that becomes your introduction into spiritual warfare, you are in herald. It does not it does not in any way suggest that the testimony is a lie. Are you with me?

It just is not the constant. What is the constant? There is a constant. We'll talk about that very soon. If your experience is different from the constant, it does not negate the constant. If you jump from this roof, this roof is not really high enough. Your attempt might not really be successful. And instead of a successful attempt, you would end up in jail because attempted suicide is a criminal offense. What a very funny. He suggests to you that it must succeed.

Glory to God. But it is true. It's a criminal offense. It's a criminal offense. If you go on the highest, jump down. Doesn't matter whether you're breathing in tongues while you're jumping down. You'll find out that there is a constant that predicts the day you knew how to pray in tongues. That constant is called gravity. Are you with me? Let's imagine, adventure as you're jumping down.

The holy spirit now decides to have mercy on you And says, ah, let this guy not die. He now sends his angels. The bible says he will give his angels charge over. Lest you dash your foot against this storm. Let's assume that that now becomes your experience and angels are not dispatched. Hold that guy. Hold that guy. Let's not allow him to come home just yet. And realized I that you had a very soft landing. And you just landed on your two feet, chuckle at the cat.

Glory to God. You realize that it will be herald and stupidity and foolishness to come to church the following day and tell your members to go and jump? Because even if your experience is separate from the constant, it does not eliminate the constant. What am I saying? I'm saying that the fact that demons press you successfully does not mean that Christ did not already take their power. Because that is a constant. Why your own is different is why we have to investigate. Not the constant. The constant is always true. Do you understand what I'm saying?

There is a place somewhere all these wonders of the earth that two rivers connect and then the colors are very different. And spiritual people, overly spiritual people, all the spiritists would come there once in the... The ones in three months or so because they believe that there... Some kind of spiritual thing is happening there. Right? Because they believe that for the waters not to meet, it must be the line between heaven and hell or something like that. Because they came up with the rhetoric to explain that mystery only to find out that it was just a density difference. And science came and humbled all of them. And you can't imagine they are... When you wake up and realize that you're foolish, it's always the sobering experience, isn't it?

What am I trying to say? The fact that they were ignorant of the subject of density did not in any way justify their foolishness. The fact that they could not explain what was happening does not eliminate the constant. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? And so instead of trying to understand your experience by scripture, why not use scripture to determine what your experience should be? Why? Instead of trying to say, why did this happen? Why did this happen? This is not meant to happen. It will never happen again.

Simple as ABC. Because the more you start focusing on the why did not happen, the more you'll be building your knowledge base on why miracles don't happen. Didn't get what I just said? And you would have the stronger theology on why miracles don't happen than how miracles happen. Glory to God. Amen. So have a solid foundation in your spirit. And if the word of God says this, that is what it is. Are you with me? Yes, sir.

So when you read scripture, scripture establishes the constants. The epistles establishes the constant. Our responsibility is to identify what this constant is. I was talking about spiritual warfare. If you're beginning your knowledge on spiritual warfare, also don't start by what happened in a deliverance session. Or what you witnessed in the deliverance session. Because there are people who believe right now that if a demon should be casted out now, it will leave that person and jump inside them. Why? Because somebody told them this, or maybe when they were young, they saw it. Maybe they saw a demon leave manifesting the same way the person was manifesting.

So maybe the person acting like a serpent. The demon now left, enter one person, maybe even the usher that was holding the person, which has not really acting like like a a serpent. Serpent. And that day ends for the person became afraid of deliverance sessions, and they started going around with the mentality that says that if a demon is being casted out, run out of that church because if they not careful, they can find you. It means your knowledge base began from what you experienced in the deliverance session. You are already wrong, and you are already wrong. There are people today who are afraid of manifestations. There are people today who call these things fake. You see, when the holy spirit starts moving in a place, they don't even wanna hear Jack. They just play pity them out loud about me or bug bark.

They they are not interested in whether it is genuine or not. Somebody is falling over. I beg, carry your back. Carry all this. Let's go. All these churches. Why? Because their first introduction into the things of the spirit was probably people that manipulated them, collected money from their hands, fixed these things, pushed their head onto their head, wanted to break, and then they had to pretend to fall down. And then the guy was on the floor. Whilst the guy was on the floor, the guy knew that, see, nothing is doing me.

I'm just just here. And now he has formed the narrative about it. That anywhere you see such things happen, begins to join him. There's one of my girls like that whose parents are very, very against our coming to disciples Christian network because according to them, all the spirit thing is fake. All the spirit things is fake. And whenever you see all these spirit things, it is because pastors are manipulating you. The question is, isn't there a constant? Where did your knowledge begin from? Do you understand what I'm saying? Sir.

You don't start studying physics by what is true to you. Imagine your teacher coming to class and telling you that nails have iron particles on them and is on healthy to put nails, that is nail, the nail, inside the food you are eating because these are the dangers of iron particles in your body. And he said, no. My mother used to put nail on beans. Nothing happened to me. You didn't grow up like that. Oh, your mother put Gen Z people. You are too young to relate to what I've just said. You are too young to relate to what I've just said. How many did not have the experience?

All these 2,000 children. Glory to God. That's an ancient mechanism. And then because that was your first introduction to physics, so... And you saw the magic happen, your wonder will tell you if you put it, you want... This is what will happen. Now you are being taught physics in class, and you say no. No. No. You will fail.

You understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir. Glory to God. Our task right now is to identify the constants, understand them deeply, and test every model of ministry and warfare and everything against them. And any teaching that requires us to suspend this constants to imagine that the cross was incomplete, a believer that still beneath demonic authority, but that our warfare is to fight demons and to struggle for victory and all of these things. And our ideology on what a church is, what the kingdom is, what is the faith of the believer, and your finances as a believer. Any teaching that attempts to dispute the constant should be rejected vehemently. What did I say? Vehemently. Shut your ears to it because they're affecting you.

What did I say? What is the first constant? There are six of them, and many of them, of course. There are six I've written down here to try to teach us. The first constant is the finished works of Christ. That's the first constant, especially in the epistles. That the work of Christ on the cross is finished. It is complete. It is utterly decisive. This that I've just said is the heartbeat of the gospel.

It is the foundation upon which everything else rests. And the bible states it so clearly, so emphatically, and so repeatedly throughout the New Testament that to miss it would not be lack of revelation. It is to refuse what has already been revealed. Because when you study scriptures, you'll find that the epistles do not present cross as partial. The epistles not present the cross as provisional. The epistles not present the cross as merely symbolic. The epistles present the cross as final. That's what Jesus cried in John chapter 19 and verse 30. Jesus said, it is finished. But when Jesus made that cry, he was not expressing hope.

He wasn't declaring the beginning of a process. He was announcing the completion of the work the father had sent him to do on the earth. The Greek word like I've taught you there is a word to the less die. It's a term that is used in the ancient Greek in commerce to mean paid in full. It means the debt had been settled. The ledger had been balanced. The work is done. There is nothing else to do. It is finished. And so any teaching that attempts to convince us that it's not finished.

Something is wrong with our teaching. Because Jesus himself declared it. It is reemphasized and repeated emphatically speaking throughout the epistles. When Jesus said it is finished, what exactly was finished? And this is where the epistles become indispensable because the epistles does not leave us to guess. They don't leave us to in infer. The epistles state it very clearly with clarity and precision what exactly was finished when Jesus said it is finished. What was accomplished through the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus. Colossians chapter two, you read from verse 13 to verse 15. The bible says, and you being dead in your trespasses and this uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made a life together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

Can you see that? He has made us alive with him, having forgiven you how many? All. That means the forgiveness is what? Total. It is... The forgiveness is finished. How many trespasses were you forgiven? All. Not partial, not conditional.

It is all. It's not based upon your performance. It's not dependent upon whether you discover and break generational causes or not. All trespasses have been forgiven. The tense here is a verb. It's a perfect tense. It is an action completed in the past with ongoing results. You were forgiven at the cross, and that forgiveness stands even today. Next, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. What did he do?

He wiped it out. Every accusation that the law brought, every handwriting of ordinance, every demand that is being made, every altar that is speaking against you, every penalty that it imposed upon you, he has wiped it out. Both the one that your great grandfathers did, both the one that your forefathers did, both the ones that anybody might have done. Even if it was or that your mother approached when she was looking for a child. I should not promise your mother a child. We now happen to be the result of that promise. One day, your mother now told you that, see, when we're looking for children, we approached a river, and we wore white clothes and tie white wrapper, and they bathed us in the river, and they told us that we will have a child. But they said that the conditions will be stated sometime in the future. So, actually, yeah, when they told us we'll have a child, you were the one that we now had. We now find out that you go and sleep.

When time you now go and sleep, you will now find one spirit in the river dancing like this. And he's telling you, call my child. Call my child. Come my child. You have done several deliverances. I don't understand why you just keep on seeing this person just dancing, coming in different shades. And when you refuse to come, you say, ah, maybe this one is not fine enough, then you come into a the shape of one fine boy again. Then come, my child. And you finish watching Game Monsho, and it comes as Game Monsho, and he says, come, my child. Even if that was how you were birthed, the moment you said, I accept Jesus as Lord and savior.

You were in Christ. And the bible says if any man... It don't matter who he is. It don't matter how he came to be. Peradventure is a man. Can we just verify that he's a man? A human being. How we verify? Who born in does not matter. How he came to be does not matter?

Can we verify that he's not a dog? He's not a goat. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Hold things. What are these hold things? Handwriting of requirements. Handwriting of ordinances. What ever order might be making demands of you because the bible says, which was contrary to us, even the demands being made. Bible says, he wiped it out completely. Oh, glory to God.

Completely. The word wipe there is the word exalifu. It means to completely dissipate, to erase completely, to obliterate with no traces left. It's a picture of when you rub something off a board or something with no traces left, that the enemy's legal claim upon your life has been suspended. It wasn't negotiated. It was erased completely. There's no record left for him to cite. There's no charge left for him to bring against you. It means if the enemy tells you that the reason why we have a hold upon you is because of so so and so, the bible calls him the father of all lies because that record does not exist. The bible says it was wiped out.

It means what the devil is using against you is a non existent record. It does not stand the court of law. Remember that drama that the drama guys did some time ago? And people were in the court of law. And the young man could not defend himself. See, the only defense that he needed was to show the judge that every that the devil was bringing it against him as an accusation has been wiped out. It's a nonexistent charge. Sorry. This is the case we bring against Emmanuel Bolo Atifa Adego. This is why he will not prosper.

This is why he will not be great. And there's no burden in his family. We checked the family and we saw that... But the firstborn of the family is now seated in heavenly places. We are not getting this thing. How can you say there's nobody in the family? I mean, are we taking two different families? What? First born of that family. See, high far above principalities and powers, and then you are saying there's no body in the family.

These things are constant. There are assurances of victory. It is called the finished works of Christ. Are you with me, brothers and sisters? He says he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. That these things were not set apart temporarily to come and disturb your children when they are born. It has been removed. It is completely out of the equation. It was nailed to the cross with Jesus. He died when Jesus died, and there is no believer that is under his jurisdiction anymore.

That's what Romans seven four says. Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ that you may be married to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. You are dead to the law. It no longer governs you. It no longer defines your standing. It no longer provides the enemy with ammunition with wish to attack you. And look at the next statement. Are you with me? Having disarmed principalities and powers. Having what?

Principalities and powers. Give me an LT. One, two, three, go. MSG. Do you have TPT? MSG. One, two, three. Go. Pause or scam. Don't go too fast.

Read it slow slow. Pause. How many? Who did this trip? What is a tyrant? You don't know. One, two, three, go. Tip it. One, two, three, go. Highlight that last statement.

You you know that meme that says, don't let them know your next step. Didn't come. You're a nursing family. That's exactly what happened on the cross. Jesus has just dripped with those guys. Thought they had imprisoned the guy. Only to find out that the prisoner has become the detainer. He has become the prison warden. And he stripped all of them of power. He disarmed principalities and powers.

Every spiritual tyrant was stripped bare. Every spiritual tyrant. Every. Every. Every. Disarmed them. He stripped them off completely. Divested them of power, removed the weapons. A particular translation says, even the power to accuse us was removed. It means what Jesus did was not to weaken the principalities.

He did not wound them. He did not reduce their influence. He stripped them morally, publicly, completely. He took from them every weapon that they once wielded. He removed their legal ground. He nullified their authority. He made a public spectacle of them, matched them around the street. It means it was not a whisper victory. It was a loud victory. It wasn't around the street of Jerusalem.

So when he made a public spectacle, he didn't come on earth to come and drag the devil around. But the Bible did mention that he made a public spectacle. You see that? Yes, sir. So if you didn't come on earth, where did he make a public spectacle of them? It means in the spiritual, spirit knows that Satan and his minions are defeated. Yes, sir. Every spirit knows. Every spirit knows that any believer, even a believer that was born again yesterday, can stand in front of any demon. Even the demon knows because he was there.

When they took the person that promised them life and death, and they were dragging him pantless, stripped him naked, removed power, removed authority, removed everything. They saw their defeat. They saw angels. No. Demons. No. Principalities. No. Powers. No.

All of them know. The question is, do you know? Yes, sir. Because it was not on earth that he made a public spectacle of them. So it's possible you might not have seen it. Your own knowing must be revelational. You must believe it because crypto tells us. And the day that the believer believes this, that day the believer will realize that there is no power of hell. There is no prince of darkness, no demon from the pit of hell, No witch nor wizard. No spiritual tyrant representing darkness.

A believer that knows this is not afraid of a ring. Is it be careful if I stretch my ring out? You stretch your ring. You better be careful. Let me not stretch my own hand at you. It is revelation. Which believer knows this? If I can teach a believer this thing for six hours that I got born again yesterday, it will work in more authority than one who has been born again for eighteen years, learning only about demons. He will do more dangerous things because this is a constant. This cannot be debated.

This cannot be negotiated. The bible says it is finished. Are you with me? It is finished. Do you believe this? He stripped him. He no longer has a key of death, the power over death even. Because that's one of the things that Jesus collected from him. Revelations one eighteen now shows us... Jesus now saying that he's the one that now holds the key to Hades, even to death.

Are you with me? What's the result of the destruction of the devil and his power? Hebrews says that Jesus came to release those who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. That bondage has been broken. Yes, sir. That fear has been addressed. Yes, sir. The power that held humanity captive. That power had been judged. The weight of sin has been removed.

The fear of death has been removed. It's not a future promise. It's not what will happen. It's a present dense reality. The release has already occurred. The believer is no longer under bondage. Can you declare loud and clear? I am no longer I've been set. First John chapter three verse eight. The Bible says, For this purpose, the son of God was made manifest that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Why was the son of God made manifest? It means it's not incidental. That's the reason why he came. It's not a side benefit of the cross. It's the reason why he came for this purpose. This was the reason for the incarnation. Jesus did not merely come to teach. It not just merely come to model godly living. It didn't just merely come to do miracles. He came to destroy, to utterly undo, to completely dismantle the works of the devil.

And the bible tense that is used there is decisive, but it might destroy. Not in the sense of possibility, but in the sense of purpose fulfilled. The works of the devil has been destroyed. The works of the devil has been destroyed. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord. What is the work of the devil? First John three and verse eight. The Bible says, he who sins is of the devil. For the devil has sinned from the beginning.

It means a very... The devil's primary work is to hold humanity in sin. To keep them under condemnation. To maintain the power of death over them. And Jesus destroyed that by paying the price for sin. By removing the legal power of sin, by canceling the record of every debt that you might have a power, and by stripping the devil of his authority. The work of the devil is finished. Glory to God. Amen. The work of the devil is finished.

This is the first constant. The finished works of Christ is not contestable. It's not negotiable. It's not debatable. It's not subject to revision based on your experience, based on your testimony. Ah, ah, about mommy. Mommy Keneko is a prayerful woman. If you see what the devil did, that's not your business. The constant is that Christ has disarmed principalities and powers. Do you understand what I'm saying?

This man of God was preaching on the pulpit when he slumped and died. All these young people don't even know what they are saying. A man of God was teaching on this subject on his social media platform. And I don't know why people just repulsed the least teaching, and it's a constant. The young man commented, he said, there's a difference between theory and practice. In other words, all these things you are saying is theory. You have not seen the practice. You have not seen the practice. What is the second constant? The second constant is the provision of the believer.

What did I say? That's the second constant that a believer must know. What is the position of the believer? You are seated with Christ in heavenly places, far above all principalities and power. It's not aspirational, but I hope you know. It's not a goal that you are trying to reach by deeper consecration, by more intense spiritual warfare. This is a positional reality. It describes where you are right now if you are in Christ. Ephesians chapter two from verse four down to verse six, the bible says, but God who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved and has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Where are we sitting, brothers and sisters? Heavenly places. Now look at the sequence from the beginning. God made us alive together with Christ. He raised us together with Christ and made us sit together with Christ in heavenly places. They are all one aspect of the same salvation. Everything was accomplished in the past. All of it was secured by grace. All applied to the believer the moment he's united to Christ by faith. All of it.

All of it. Paul does not say that he will. He says he has raised us. Paul does not say that you will sit. He says he has made us sit past tense. It's a completed action. You're not waiting to be seated. You're not climbing towards the throne. You're already seated there. Is your present tense position in Christ Jesus?

Where exactly are you seated? Ephesians one twenty and verse 23. There's no need to assume. Let's look at where you're seated in scripture. One, two, three, go. Next verse. I said, try to return three. Where are you sitting? Go on. Course, go back to verse 20.

Verse 20 says, which he walked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. So Christ is seated in the heavenly places. We are seated in Christ and with Christ. So where is Christ sitting? Gives you an idea of where you are sitting. Christ is sitting far above principalities and powers, might, and dominion. So where are you sitting? Where are you sitting? Above principalities and powers, and dominion. Every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.

So it's not only Christ that is above principality. The believer is also above principality. The believer is also above every name that is named. Because if you think deeply about this thing you will see how feared a believer is. And when you tell sicknesses and that it fades away in the name of Jesus, you realize that one of the reasons why it fades away is because Jesus Christ is seated far above every name that is named. That's also where you are sitting. It means if you have a revelation of what we are... A deep revelation of what we are discussing. You yourself can walk in an authority that suggests that you are seated above every name that is named. Let me give an example.

A man went into a land and he was told that the king's son is dead and bred for the past six months. And the young man went to the tomb where he was buried. Put his signature on it. And walked away. Told them to take it off. And he dug up a live body. He did not write in the name of Jesus. He put his signature on it. They got it also seated where? Every name that is named.

A madman was taken to Dahosa's house, and Dahosa was not around. And they met the wife around, and the wife told them, ah, papa is not around, but his is around. And she went upstairs, brought the abada of baba, and put it on the madman, and the madman became whole. It happened not because the man is so high ranking. It happened because the man has become terribly conscious of where he is seated, his positional reality in Christ. Are you with me? Yes. Terribly conscious. And there are some of us who are like that. I met a young lady in chapel some years ago who told me that the mother had elephantiasis.

Big leg. And I was just walking, and it was it was gonna be the last time I would see her. I'd ministered to her by a word of knowledge. Two Muslim girls, one elder, one younger. The woman had been sick for many years, they were begging around, trying to raise money to take care of her. And I met them. When I saw them, I knew by word of knowledge that the father had also left because of that sickness. So they gave the land of Christ, spoke in tongues, all them filled. And I gave them, and I'm the chief. And I told them, I said, go drop this on your mother's leg.

I left. I never met again until, like, two years after or so. I was walking around the streets of UI, and a car was pursuing me. I looked back. I stopped. And a young man came out of it. Young woman came out of it, and two children came out of it, ran to me. They were not on the job, so I did not know who they were. But they remembered me and reminded me that they were the two girls that I had met in chapel, And this was their mother, and this was their father. Hail and heaven.

Two of them now Christians. The entire family Christians. All of them worshiping in chapel because they thought that was probably a pastor of chapel because that was where they met me. Never met the person once. But some of us do know by revelation, and we've come to believe it that we are seated far above. I said, place your hand where you get to on each of them. In less than three months or so, the elder sister who had a case of multiple personality disorder was healed totally. Healed totally. The mother who had a case of diabetes was healed totally. The father from God, where the father had, all all of them were sick.

Healed totally. When he was telling me what had happened, he said, I placed my hands on them like you have said. It's not as though, oh, this is... We are more anointed than people usually. It's just a level of consciousness in revelation. A level of consciousness in revelation. A place we have come to sit where we have believed. And the more you believe this thing, the more you work in power. The more you do what? Work in power.

You see, this why I watch healing videos a lot. I'm doing something to my consciousness. That's why I watch it a lot. Doing something to my consciousness. Something literally happening to consciousness the more I watch these videos. I mean, I saw you guys stammering and then, hey, Helen. Just look at young man and say, oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Jesus, look at him.

Jesus, look at him. What's your name? And then bam, just like, how? How? How can it be that easy? Is God... Yeah. What is going on? Consciousness. Consciousness.

Blessed memory. Somebody brought a man with a deformed face. He had a skin condition that made his face deformed. I've forgotten what the name is. And they brought him to Oman, and Oman said, what is this? And they told him Oman the condition. Oman said, look at heaven. And the young man faced up. He said, Jesus, if this is your image, leave him like this. And the man walked away.

It makes you wonder what level of consciousness is that. If when the bible says you made man in your image, this was what you made, then leave him like this. And the man walked away. The face rearranged instantly. Instantly. Oh, I see these things. I'm not so concerned about social media drama. This is what may I watch. Miracles, healings, crutches, wheelchairs. How I feed my spirit with these things.

I wanna see. I wanna see. Especially those that walk in with it with ease. That one I love the most. I I don't like stress. I don't like stress. By the time you start doing too much drama, want... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Go away. I don't like stress. We tell a demon out, and the demon is gone. Like that one. You look at a demon, and it's gone. I like that one. Look at a demon. They'll give you your face, and it's gone. I want the power of God to move, and I start doing all kind of calisthenics. Because I want power to move.

Start doing all kind of drama. Hey. You must see Jesus. You... Ah. You are not hungry. Shout it very well. Ah. Hey. And now go.

My throat is spinning. My lungs is spinning. My kidney is spinning. Because of power. Can we not get to the point where we are so conscious? Where your mere appearance revolves the level of glory because you know that I'm seated in a place where glory dwells. And if I can come out of that place every morning, that if I go to work, I can go to class, I can come to preach with the understanding, a revelation of a place wherein I am seated with Christ far above principalities and powers. And if I maintain that consciousness, then what power of hell can scare me? Because as you are speaking to me, I'm speaking from a place I know I'm seated. My responses are from a seated location.

When you threaten me, are threatening a man who knows he's seated. Do you understand what I'm saying? The consciousness is so strong that it's not when I leave that place that I begin to react what I should have said. I know I live and I walk and I move with it. I know I'm seated. I know I'm seated. I know I'm seated. It's a constant oh. It's a constant. It's done.

Brother, it's done. It's done. It's done. It's not something that will happen. It's not the more you pray, the more fit you are. No. No. It's not the more you press, the more fit you are. No. In fact, it is good to pray from the consciousness of your seated position.

You have a dream and the dream becomes a very scary one that holds your chest so tight. And before you start becoming afraid, you remember I'm seated. Far above principalities and powers. Far above. You go to the hospital and they tell you, and they tell you, oh, my sister, this is your condition. You have so and so and so and so. And you remember, part of what I'm seated is far above every name that is named. As long as this is a name that is named, I am seated far above it. It can't touch me. It can't reach me.

It is from this place I said this is not my portion. It's from this place I reject the report. It's from this place I say I'm healed. I know that I am whole because I'm seated. That's why in Ephesians one eighteen to 19, Paul does not pray for the Ephesians to have power. Paul prays for them to know the power they have. Because that's the problem with the believer. Paul didn't say a prayer should have power that you might know. That you might know the power of his resurrection. It is what he was praying for is, know the power already available in you.

Know that you're already seated. Know that what is chasing you, you are meant to be chasing. What is pursuing you, you are meant to pursue. What is running after you, you should be running after. We got lost. You see a demon approaching your dream, holding got lost. You collect the got lost and hit him in the head. Can you awaken to that consciousness? In Ephesians six, listen. In Ephesians six, when Paul was addressing spiritual warfare, he don't tell the believers to ascend.

He don't tell the believers to attack. You don't even tell the believers to break through enemy lines. You don't not tell them to engage in investigative warfare. Go and find out what happened to your mother or to your father. Mhmm. It doesn't tell them to start tracing back bloodlines or start mapping territorial spirits and where they come from and start checking who is monitoring you and monitoring spirit. It tells them to stand. Ephesians six thirteen to verse 14. That command is repeated three times. Withstand.

Stand. Stand. It's not a mistake. It's not accidental. They repeat it three times for the sake of emphasis. And Paul was drilling into their minds the nature of their warfare. Now in this warfare, you are holding your ground. He says, stand. You are maintaining the position that has already been secured for you. Stand.

Why must you stand? Because the battle is already won. So stand in the battle that is won. Stand in the victory you have received. The enemy has already been defeated. Stand in the revelation of the defeat of the enemy. The territory has already been taken. Stand. Your job is not to win the war. Your job is to enforce the victory because the war is won.

The battle is over. Are you with me? Yes, sir. Stand in the authority of your position. One of the greatest things the devil can do to you is to make you forget where you are seated. Are you with me? Yes, sir. You're not beneath demonic powers. You're not struggling to gain ground. You are above them.

You are seated with Christ's far both principalities and powers. And any warfare model, any warfare teaching, any doctrine that ignores the authority that you have in Christ. Advancing the authority of principalities and powers, making them look more superior than they are is a dangerous teaching. Are you with me? Sir. Tell somebody I'm seated. I think the third constant I should briefly tell you is the nature of the warfare itself. The nature of the warfare itself is positional. It's not investigative. It's not rooted in trace and ancestral spirits or territorial powers, all these things.

That's not the nature of the warfare itself. That's a shift, a fundamental shift in how the warfare is meant to be presented in the teaching of Christ. And you have to understand this constant. In Ephesians six thirteen to verse 14, Paul is describing the posture of spiritual warfare. And he says to take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand, stand. That the terrain of warfare is that of standing. When the believer discusses warfare, the believer is not fighting. The believer is standing. Because he didn't say, therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to fight in the evil day.

He says that you may be able to stand. And having done all to stand, Still do what? A believer is not trying to find the enemy's weak point and trying to do all this. The warfare is that of one who knows where he's standing, who knows where he's sitting. Having done all to stand. It means after you have fully equipped yourself, after you have put on every piece of the armor, after you have done everything required of you, the final and the ongoing command is still to stand. Stay in the revelation of what Christ has done. Glory to God. The only offensive weapon that is listed amongst the armor of God is the sword of the spirit. What is the sword of the spirit?

The word of God. I pray that you understand what I'm saying. You don't really have time. What is the fourth constant? I'll skip the fifth and I'll jump to the sixth. So you... I'll make the sixth the fifth. So that we can close. The fourth constant is the enemy's weapon right now. So what is the enemy's weapon?

Right now. Because it's it's also revealed in scripture. Why is it important that you know the enemy's weapon? It's important because if you don't know this, you would think that the enemy is so powerful that his weapon are the different powers that he uses to cause misfortune in the lives of men. So a believer is going to church and they use a whole Sunday to teach him on the powers, the malevolent forces that attack the firstborns. And they teach him the same weapons that the enemy uses to attack the firstborns. And they say number one is the blood. Number two is the placenta. When you were born, was your placenta buried or did they cut it? If it was not buried...

Listen. Let's be serious. Then we start praying against forces that are tying and holding the placenta. And a whole revelation is drawn from that. You're not careful. You'll be taught that the enemy's weapon is spirit husbands and spirit wives. But the reason why you will experience a divorce in your marriage is because spirit husbands are already up to your wife and your husband is already meeting with spirit wife. And you will not hear stories. Hey, God. I had one that the husband and the wife could not sleep together for three months after they married.

And one day, the husband insisted that, what is going on? Today, we will sleep together. I will not married. I said, okay. Okay. And the wife did not hug you. The wife kept on warning the husband that let's not sleep together. Let's not sleep together. And the husband said, and that happened for three months. And on the third month, the the husband said, I'm not married.

I paid your wife price. Blah, blah, blah. He said, okay. No problem. So the wife laid down. The husband was trying. And the husband received a thunder slap. And did not know where this... You see, this thing, listen. This thing you are laughing about.

When we when we hear the stories, days, we used to brain dumps. And you are laughing. They are not spiritual. And your husband received a thunderous slap on his head. And he wondered who slapped him. And the wife says, not me. I didn't slap you. And he tried again, and he was watching the wife's hand to ensure, received another one. And they don't know. Then they went in for deliverance.

It was in the place of deliverance that they realized that the wife had been married for sixteen years to his spirit husband. And they have seven spiritual children. And the spirit husband was the one insisting. I'm not talking with you. This is not this is not a movie, neither is it a book. Some of you might have heard this story bit that I'm telling you. This one I'm saying, it's not a a new thing. And then you hear these things and you say ah. And then they say all kind of things. If you now see you are eating a cara, then it means this.

If you are eating bread, it means this. If you are eating that, it means this. Means this. And unfortunately for you, you did not now hit that night. You went to sleep. Now have a dream where you are thinking about different things. Listen. I was sleeping one night. Right? I slept, and I saw myself in my secondary school.

And I saw some people who were teaching. I was outside. I was looking at them, and I woke up. I saw different things in the dream, and I and I rarely dream, by the way. So I woke up. And, you know, the minute I woke up, the first thing I remember was a book that I had read, dreams and their impartages. And when you see yourself in your secondary school, That's the first thing I remembered. That he, that is retrogression. That's stagnancy. That is delay.

That's he. It just came to my head. Phew. But he came to the wrong person because my spirit is so hot for such whisperings that that missed their target. What whispering that missed their target? Me, delay. Me, stagnant. Stagnate. I will stagnate you, dear. I will change the stagnation.

The stagnation will not be able to move. The stagnation will be stagnated. We say it from a point of consciousness. You understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir. The point of consciousness. And if you don't know these these things are real, will truly be stagnated because you have believed something that is a lie, that this is one of the weapons of the devil. This is one of the weapons of the devil. That's the spirit of shame. I said, yes, sir.

The spirit of shame. I said, auntie, let's regulate your eating. Let's watch when you sleep. Let's watch when you... Simple as ABC. Came around eight months later, he said, apostle, you know, not bed wet in eight months. That's not... Is the shame? Where did the shame now go? Did the shame retire?

But it's so funny how as long as he held on to that mind that as true, the manifestation continued. That's why it's important to know what the weapon of the enemy is. That is a constant in scripture. Let me show you. It's a constant. As the serpent did what? This is the weapon of the enemy. Deception. Verse 13 and verse 15. Deception.

That is the weapon of the enemy. Deception. What did I call it? The enemy twist your understanding of who God is. Twist your understanding of what Christ has done. Twist your understanding. Lies to you. Go read second Corinthians eleven thirteen to 15. Go read first Timothy four and verse one. Go read second Timothy two twenty five twenty six.

Go read John chapter 17 verse 17, and go read Romans chapter 12 and verse two. Glory to God. Amen. Deception. That's also why the bible wants about the shield of faith. Is that not so? That you might be able to withstand the fearing that of the enemy. What are the fearing that of the enemy? They are lies. Are words that the devil tells a believer.

That's not true. So it means that the moment you believe that... See, a dream that you have, for instance, is the reason why your level stop moving forward. It means that you have believed that the devil is so powerful that through that... The weapon of that dream that he has given to you, he has unsat you from being far above him. You understand what I'm just saying? Because the day that you had the dream, did you quickly get down from far both principalities and powers to go and use the toilet? Maybe you just said, Jesus, I'm coming. I'm gonna go and use the toilet. That's when the dream now came.

So when you woke up, were you still seated far above? Yes, That means your response should be from there. That's where you exercise authority from. Because you can truly sense that these things are warnings. And you can sense the plan of the devil for maybe your family or even for yourself. And you are going for a a a job interview or something and you see yourself being denied, or you see... You you dream and you see and and you see the interviewer being angry with you and tearing your paper. You don't just laugh and wake up. No? Or you assume that there's nothing there.

No. You wake up and you speak from that place that you are, far above. You say, oh, you are excited because you have seen what the devil is planning. You say, ah, so one interviewer that is... That that that was angry with his wife that morning is the one that will come and judge me. The bible says that the spirit of a man is in the hands of God. He turns it wherever he wills. I declare right now, everybody who I'm facing in this meeting, in this cabinet, they favor me. Their spirit are in the hand of God. And you begin to make pronouncement.

You begin to make because you have seen something that you can you can exercise judgment over. Do you understand what I'm saying? That you can exercise judgment Respond from where you are. You will pray the right prayers. I'm telling you. You will exercise authority. I'm telling you. You will build capacity when you're praying. You will speak like a king. You will speak like a king.

You will respond to circumstances like a king, not like a power. What is the fifth constant that a believer? I'm rushing through all of these things just so that we can finish and because I really wanna do this one. What is the sixth? It's the last meeting of the year, and I feel so strongly that we should do this. So please permit me. The fifth is the place of the church and the pastor in discipleship. It's a constant. The place of the what? In discipleship.

Because when you read New Testament, you find that it does not allow the believer to grow, to mature, or to remain spiritually healthy apart from being under the care and authority of a pastor within the context of a church. Are you with me? It's not a matter of preference. It's not a matter of cultural accommodation. It is divine order that is enshrouded in the pitches of scripture from the very beginning. And it is perhaps one of the most widely ignored constant in modern Christianity right now. Where believers move from church to church like consumers who are sampling products, where they attend services without ever submitting to leadership, where they claim to follow Christ while rejecting the very means by which Christ has ordained for their growth. And you wonder, have we really read scripture enough to understand what is the place of the church and the pastors? By that, I mean the gift that Christ has given to the church and to you in the place of discipleship and growth. If it's something that you have a choice over, because it's one of the most contested debates and topics right now in modern day Christianity where people believe that matters of church and God and the pastor and the man of God is a choice.

And I've told you this, that you don't subject your knowledge in building on the revelations of scripture to your experience. You start from the constant. You start from scriptures. Are you with me? Sir. A lot of people don't even know what a pastor is. Or what your pastor is. What your pastor is. Not a pastor, your pastor. A lot of people don't know what that is.

The belief that many people have is that your pastor is the person whose church you attend. The belief is that your pastor is the one that preaches to you on Sunday. The belief is that your pastor is the one that you listen to on YouTube or something. Your pastor is the one whose status you you share whenever he shares his status. He's the one whose message you agree with, it excites you. Your pastor is the one that you support as long as it talks whatever it is that that appeals to your understanding. Your pastor is the one that you vibe with, that plays with you. A lot of people believe also that your pastor is the one that you put on find that this is not what the New Testament means by pastor. A pastor is in the biblical sense is not someone whose services you consume. Listen to me very carefully.

Your pastor in the biblical sense is someone that you follow. In other words, if all of these things are there, you listen on Sunday, you go to the church, but you do not follow. Such person is not your pastor. Your pastor is not the one that teaches the crowd. Mm-mm. Your pastor is whom you follow. Who has been given authority by God to shepherd your soul. Let me show you. Hebrews 13 verse 17 makes this unmistakably clear. One, two, three, go.

Everybody, one, two, three, go. You see that? Are you seeing that this is more than the personal sermon you listen to? Because the bible says this is someone that watches over your soul. It means the person knows you. It means it is foolish to think that your pastor is a YouTube preacher that you admire who you have never met. The question we should then ask is, is he can mentor you? Yes. He can instruct you. Yes.

But how does he watch over your soul? Enough to give account for you. Are you with me? Yes, sir. He watches over your soul, not in a general sense. Not from a distance, not by preaching sermon that you can apply. Anybody can do that. He watches over your soul specifically, personally, relationally, even sometimes. And he does so knowing that he will give account to God for how he has shepherded you. Are you with me?

Yes, It's not a life responsibility. It's not a title. It's not an it's not an honorific position where you put somebody there and then confide title on that person. This is a weighty and a sober responsibility. It's an eternity affecting assignment. The pastor will stand before God and answer for how he led you, how he taught you, how he corrected you, how he protected you from false teaching. Are you with me? Yes, sir. How he guided you through seasons of trial. How he helped you grow in holiness.

And you, the believer, are commanded to be submissive to this authority. Not because the pastor is perfect, but because God has placed him in that role for your good. The language is quite explicit. Obey those who rule over you and be submissive for they watch out for your souls. Obey them. I checked the meaning of the word obey, and guess what I found? It's the word faithful, and it means to trust. It means to be persuaded. It means to follow. That means a man of God you do not trust is not your pastor.

A man of God you cannot follow is not your pastor because your pastor goes beyond just the sermons you hear. It goes even to the lifestyle of the man because he's an example of Christ to you indeed and in doctrine. Do you understand what I'm saying? It means if you do not trust a man's leadership, leave that church. Go somewhere you will trust them. Leave the church. If you're always doubting a man of God's instruction or your pastor's instruction, leave the church. That's why Paul says, follow me as I follow Christ. This is the constant. If you choose to follow a man, you follow that man as he follows Christ.

Two things are important there. The word follow me is important. It doesn't say follow Christ. Should be I'm following Christ. And let us both follow Christ together now. That's not what the bible... That's not the constant. Do you understand what I'm saying? The constant is follow me. Imitate me.

Follow me. Give me the KJV. Be followers of me even as I also am follower of Christ. The NKJV announces, imitate me. Do... Copy me. That's why Paul was speaking to Timothy, and he was giving strict instruction to bishops because he understands that their lifestyle also must be reflection of their message. That's why I said a man of God must be found worthy, orphaned of one wife, not be quick to hunger. So the responsibility of the man of God is to watch over your soul. He's guarding your spiritual life.

He's paying attention to where you are, what season of your life you are in right now, guiding you till you get to exactly what God has said. Because you see, the responsibility of the man of God is to nurture your growth until you enter into the fullness of what is promised. Until you enter into the fullness of the inheritance. That's why Galatians chapter four verse one says, the heir, as long as it's a child, different not from the servant. It means you are the heir. These promises are yours. These inheritances are yours, and it has been given to you. But you are not different from a servant as long as you remain a child. What does God now do? Verse two is put under tutors.

These tutors are your teachers, your pastors. Their responsibilities to guide you, teach you to the point of growth and maturity. Are you with me? To the point of growth and maturity. So your pastor knows what season you are in, and that time when you are trying to run ahead. And God has shown the man several things about your life that you have not seen. And they will give instructions and corrections many a times from a place where you are not seen. The question would be, do you trust? That's why the bible says obey them. Because you see, you have your own mind.

You have your own will. You can choose what you want to do. And that's why the word used there is very deep. It says trust to follow. That's the meaning of the word people. It means trust to follow. If there is no trust in that relationship, it should not exist. The moment you are in a church where you start doubting the integrity of the man of God, leave the church. This is generic to every believer. Leave the church.

Plant yourself somewhere else. Allow God plant you somewhere else. Because it is useless to be in a church you cannot obey. Are you with me brothers and sisters? Where you continue to doubt and doubt and doubt and wonder. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus. The responsibility therefore is to submit. The constant is submission. When you find yourself in a church, submit.

Because the place of the church is indispensable. You cannot claim to love Christ and not love the church. You cannot separate the church from Christ. Because the bible calls the church the pride of Christ. Glory to God. Amen. The constant is submission. Once you find yourself in that bracket, submit is what the bible says. Obey them. Submit to them.

Pride is what insist on independence. Pride is what resists submission. That that that voice that tells the man I can't navigate my own life by myself. I know what to do. I know what to do. But God has brought you to a place where men can shepherd your growth. Equipping believers until believers get to the point of maturity. That is the purpose of the church. That is the purpose of the church. The same thing is the purpose of the parents to their children.

You give birth to a child. Is that not so? And you begin to shepherd that child, feed that child. When it is time for that child to go to school, you are the one that knows. Is that not so? Is it your child that come and tell you that mommy, it's time for me to go to school? Why? Because you are conscious of the seasons of his life. You didn't get that. Do you realize that when it's time to go to school, the child many a times will resist the training in narcissism?

That you will carry the child to school and he will start crying. He will say, and you you will drop him in school. He wants to run and follow you because he sees that training at the detachment. Why is my mother doing this to me? You just drop me in the hands of people I don't know. And you know that this is an important phase of that boy's life to get to where God would have him get to. Otherwise, he won't know how to read. He won't know how to spell. He won't know how to... Do you understand what I'm saying?

This is a compulsory stage of his life. And as it begins to grow, his mind becomes sharpened again. At some point, he become the teenager with rebellious tendencies. Because now he's becoming smarter, more independent, open to social media, open to different kind of things. You're having different kind of opinions on social media. So all of sudden, he wants to do this, wants to do that, wants to do this. You are according to what God has shown to you. Now decides, no. No. No.

You're not doing this or that. This is what you are doing. That's the responsibility of the parent. Are you are you getting what I'm saying now? That's exactly what the church does. That's exactly what the pastor does. They monitor the growth process. They monitor the growth process. Bring words from God that are in season and in time. So if you are under a pastor that is your pastor, there is nothing the man teaches that will not be answering your most important challenges in the now.

Nothing. Nothing. It will always look as though you have had a prayer conversation conversation with with someone. Someone. And it will be funny because it will be generic. That means everybody would have the same experience for the same message as though everybody is going through the same thing. So you're getting this thing I'm saying. Whereas, everybody are in different phases of life. The graduate, the undergraduate, the career person, the businessman, and they all hear one message, and they all say this thing is for me. In what wisdom does that happen?

It takes labor. It takes labor. That thing is labor. That thing is labor in sensitivity to the spirit. To know what the spirit is saying now. Across the different people so that you don't just come in as a man of God to come and teach what is in your mind. To come and just teach something as long as it is scriptural. Oh, this Sunday, let's talk about salvation. Next Sunday, let's talk about faith. These are all good things to teach about.

Changing my point now. But what point does he bless the people? When it becomes something that we stop just speaking randomly, and it becomes something that becomes the word of God to the people in the now. That thing is labor. It is spiritual sensitivity. That is one of the labors of the man of God. When the bible says one of them do labor over you, you don't know the extent of that labor to remain sensitive in the spirit so that you don't miss what God is saying to your people. Because when you do that as a man of God, it is in that day that they stop getting blessed. They will be knowing scriptures, but they won't be blessed. Do you understand what I'm saying?

Because God would not be able to communicate with people in what you are saying. In what you're saying. When you find that this is so, what then becomes your responsibility? Submit. What the bible says is submit. It's a constant in scripture. Submit. Submit. I came with the intention to prophesy. As I was praying, very shortly, the spirit took my attention away.

And showed me act of apostles four. And I saw in scriptures, they continued steadfastly. They continued steadfastly. In the breaking of bread, act of apostles two. In prayers. 42. Thank you. Go. They continued. Clear against my spirit.

That made me see that there are constants that the Bible calls the apostles doctrine. It is where the people continue in. The people are not given the privilege to be creative, to initiate their own ordinances. The Bible says when the New Testament church started, they continue steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine. And apostle Luke, apostle Luke, writing to Timothy is the one that told us that these things are not just commonly devised fables. They are things that were most surely believed. Most surely believed. And it is important that you are not a generation of people that attempts to craft ideologies for yourself that is separate from what you have been taught. Craft mentalities and mindsets from yourself that is separate from what you have been taught. If you are taught honor, it is because it's a constant.

Honor your father and your mother. Honor... The bible says those who labor over you. If they are laboring over you, in word and in doctrine, it doesn't say honor them. You see, accord them double honor. They are the only ones in the entirety of scripture that the bible uses double honor for. Nothing for your parents. I'm sorry to say, but it's scripture. I wish it were me for a scripture. For a scripture.

Somebody might hear this and be a parent and be offended with me. Don't be angry with me. Be angry at the scripture. I'm not quoting me. Do you understand what I'm saying? You're quoting me. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Blessed are you when your parents are your parents, and they are also the ones that labor over you in word and doctrine. How scarce that is. How rare that is.

But blessed are you if that is the case. Low blessed are you. How blessed are you? Because that is the kind of prayer you should be. That's the kind you should be. That's the kind you should be. Thank you Lord Jesus. Is a constant. It is a constant. You don't war with constant.

You will die. Do you understand what I'm saying? Sir. The day you enter into water without knowing how to swim is the day you will realize that there are constant. Oh god. There are low. There are drag forces and up trusts. Even if you don't know... Even if you have not been taught them before, and you just jump inside water. One day when you are studying physics, you will now realize, oh, this is the balancing of weight.

This is where I missed it. This is where drug fall and ultra spade against each other. This is where this and that and that. There are constants. Here and there. In life and the spiritual, there are constant. I saw a young guy playing with rubber band, and he was stretching it like this, like this. And it was a... Well, I was a small boy, and he was playing. He was just playing, stretching me, and he will bring it back and say, and he will stretch it again.

And the mother was trying to collect rubber band from him. And I was saying, Kai, young muslims. You don't know He does know. Nobody has told him that one day... It's not even one day. Very soon. That thing will reach what is called a breaking point. And when it breaks at the breaking point, the recoil motion that will slap at your hand, you will never know. The question is, that young boy does not know. He does not know all these things I'm seeing.

If I if I factor in him, guy, don't you know? He's just wondering what I... He might even be listening to me. I'll be laughing. Why is he pulling this thing? Because he's a small child. But an adult knows the the consequence of that action. Is how a pastor feels like when he's showing you constant and you are thinking you are smart. Rise up on your feet. Sing a song and then we close.

On Sunday, we'll prophesy like I wanted to today. 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, AudioMac, and Apple Podcast. Connect with us via our social media platforms on Instagram at d c n underscore nations, on Facebook at disciples christian network, on x at d c m 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 disciplescn@gmail.com. God bless you.