Watch KT TV - Colin Dye - Constrained by the Spirit

oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] you have been so [Music] i'm delighted to tell you about the new edition of my living free devotional journal it takes you through 120 days with jesus covering many of the basics of the christian faith something that you can reflect deeply on and grow no matter where you are in your christian life the devotional includes topics such as assurance and blessing guidance and security power and authority obedience and surrender and each day there is a scripture passage to read a brief explanation of the passage a place for you to record your own thoughts and reflections a key verse to meditate on some place where you can write down questions to follow up and an important discipleship step to take it's a place for you to record your action points so that you can move forward in your spiritual life and then there is a key prayer to pay it's well laid out with plenty of space for you to write your own thoughts and this will become a key part of your devotional life as you learn to journal your spiritual journey [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Music] i love you lord [Music] i've been held by your hands [Music] of the goodness [Music] that i am oh [Music] devotional journal it takes you through 120 days with jesus covering many of the basics of the christian faith something that you can reflect deeply on and grow no matter where you are in your christian life the devotional includes topics such as assurance and blessing guidance and security power and authority obedience and surrender and each day there is a scripture passage to read a brief explanation of the passage a place for you to record your own thoughts and reflections a key verse to meditate on some place where you can write down questions to follow up and an important discipleship step to take it's a place for you to record your action points so that you can move forward in your spiritual life and then there is a key prayer to pay it's well laid out with plenty of space for you to write your own thoughts and this will become a key part of your devotional life as you learn to journal your spiritual journey [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Music] i love you lord for your mercy never fails me all my days i've been held by your hands from the moment till i lay my head of the goodness [Applause] [Music] every breath that i am [Music] [Music] [Applause] you are close like no other [Music] is [Applause] [Applause] [Music] i'm delighted to tell you about the new edition of my living free devotional journal it takes you through 120 days with jesus covering many of the basics of the christian faith something that you can reflect deeply on and grow no matter where you are in your christian life the devotional includes topics such as assurance and blessing guidance and security power and authority obedience and surrender and each day there is a scripture passage to read a brief explanation of the passage a place for you to record your own thoughts and reflections a key verse to meditate on some place where you can write down questions to follow up and an important discipleship step to take it's a place for you to record your action points so that you can move forward in your spiritual life and then there is a key prayer to pay it's well laid out with plenty of space for you to write your own thoughts and this will become a key part of your devotional life as you learn to journal your spiritual journey [Music] ah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] is [Music] so me [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh yeah [Music] oh yes you are jesus you are worthy awesome in this place awesome in this place jesus you are awesome in this place [Music] hallelujah [Music] your praise goes on and on [Music] foreign [Music] of jesus [Music] god is our everything christ is our everything and we're just going to express that to him this morning in him we have found our joy our peace our trust everything everything we hoped hallelujah [Music] have found a piece that plows on through the storm [Music] and i have found a joy [Music] and i have found [Music] you are all i need everything my heart can hope for we are longing for the glory of the lord cause we know there's so you feel [Music] [Music] my heart can hope for we are longing for the glory of the lord [Music] we are longing for the glory of the lord [Music] my heart [Music] i want you are all i need everything my heart [Music] you feel me [Music] me [Music] [Music] come on give me praise give me your everything if he's your everything give me [Music] feel my praise jesus [Music] jesus had the sense of it all [Music] it will always [Music] jesus everybody's singing jesus [Music] from beginning [Music] is [Music] everything revolves [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] everything and everything revolves [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] yes [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] is [Music] from my heart to the heavens [Music] this morning [Music] yes it's all about you [Music] this worship is about you these songs are about you [Music] oh [Music] jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant the former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever consequently he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to god through him since he always lives to make intercession for them let us pray heavenly father we thank you that there is one seated in your presence in heaven the only mediator between god and men the man christ jesus we thank you that he is touched with the feelings of our weaknesses moved with compassion feels with us in everything but this one who is high and holy and lofty lifted up carries the glory of god and communicates that to our lives we thank you for his heavenly intercession the one who stands with us the one who stands for us and we say if god is for us who can be against us and we ask father that you would strengthen us in your presence today as we turn our attention away from our lives and circumstances and upon the goodness and the greatness and the glory of your grace in the face of jesus christ have your way in our hearts have your way in this service and grant that the blessings of our great apostle and high priest jesus christ and his favor would rest upon us all in jesus name amen amen amen peace be seated everybody it's wonderful to welcome you in person here today good to see so many smiling faces and people way up in the in the balcony as well great to welcome people back and also to continue to welcome those who follow our online ministry the online ministry is is here to stay as boris johnson said there's no point in going back to the way things were all right we are going on and on uh now look the live stream is for you uh treat it as if you were here with us physically we want you to unite with us and really come into it enjoy the preaching and the teaching and the worship and the testimony and the communion time get your communion elements ready we'll be sharing communion in a moment and also link with us say hi to us and interact um today's services are being live streamed from my own youtube channel so take the opportunity to subscribe i've been perfecting this it's not perfect yet but i'm going to give it a go are you ready this is just a rehearsal thank you for subscribing to my channel if you haven't do it now by pressing the button below you how's that no more practice more practice but uh yeah seriously amanda and i will be uh have a continue to have a social media online presence we'll be continuing to be teaching and preaching and and uh following through on so many things so this sunday next sunday is the last sunday now you know what the bible says in the last day it was the greatest day of the feast next sunday come out from wherever you are and join us we're going to have lunch that is going to be so special we're going to have guests some presentations and a whole load of fun uh next week so join with us today really it begins because at the 2 30 service we have a special presentation of the documentary light to the nations the colondai story well it's i suppose it's a bit autobiographical but the motivation in doing this was just to get out there some of the reminders and the views of good stuff that has happened over the years beginning with my birth which i think was good news for somebody and and embarrassing baby pictures they are there too the story of how i came to christ as well as a little bit of history of kalandai a la royal ballet but you would never know to look at me today you have no idea that i have any kind of theatrical background would you but there we go anyway we just we are we be ourselves that's all we are and enjoy but also the documentary points forward to the mission that god has given us as a church london and the world for christ this documentary was prepared more than a year ago because we should have been out of here more than a year ago but something happened coveted 19. and so amount and i said we cannot abandon you during kovid so we locked down with the rest of you and we've been here sunday by sunday wednesday by wednesday just to make sure that the the the transition between us and the next leadership is smooth and a happy one and so uh come along at 2 30 service a few other things i just want to present to you understanding world views it's one of my courses that i wrote for ibiol the bible school now this may sound a little bit abstract but actually think about it spiritual warfare is about tearing down strongholds in people's minds i was watching a debate a discussion between a prominent evangelical believer and a highly prominent intellectual pagan he called himself very respectable gentleman i'm a born-again pagan he says and anyway conversation goes on i try not to go on too long but this is this is an interesting story um so they were talking about gratitude and um the evangelical said of course we're grateful because jesus has saved us he's come in the flesh and uh he's given us all this and the pagan man spoke a lot about gratitude you know gratitude is a human reaction isn't it true what people do he said gratitude is an overflow of love all good stuff he said but there's just one thing one thing that i i can't agree with here and that's this idea that god came down in a in the form of a human being he said if that were the case our gratitude would be impossible to express utterly impossible to express therefore it didn't happen so what we're hitting there hitting a world view a worldview the christian worldview yup it is astonishing and amazing but many of the people that you talk to they can't quite grasp the gospel because they have a worldview which is which is not a biblical one and so this teaching and it's for everybody starts tuesday the 5th of october 7 o'clock here uh there are three weeks in person followed by on seven online workshops it's a tremendous course that will help attune you to the thoughts the ideas that are out there which are strongholds in people's minds and you can help break through them and it's very simple when it comes down to it it's all very simple now next wednesday is a praise party in the house everybody that wants to praise god be here and i have got uh lined up some of our best lead worshipers i don't know if any of them are listening now but i've got a little plan in my mind i want those powerful women i could name them now but you have to come on wednesday to find out they have led breakthrough after breakthrough in the spiritual realm especially during covert and beyond i i want you to experience that and i want to honor them i want to honor those women the daughters of the house so that's what we're doing yeah that's what we do on wednesday now the idea behind it is um when i think back over the decades of momentous moments in the story of kt nearly every one of them happened in a prayer meeting where we broke through with prophetic and apostolic intercession and we saw the effects of those prayers worked out in our lives personally in our church and our city and the nations i cannot leave this house and hand over to anybody else until i've stood in this spot and given thanks and glory to god for answered prayer for over 30 years so i want you to join with us then and um yeah all right i think that is enough for me to say at the moment so the revival times for the month of september this is still september you know still september this is going to be september until next week and the revival times new one is coming out after that and this is a celebration issue uh looking back over 30 years and hopefully looking forward to the next 30 years so make sure you have that and then also check out the august one which has more of the same but this is available online as well as in person here today visitors and newcomers you are most welcome i'm going to speak to those who are live streaming first of all you can be welcomed in our virtual welcome room it's a zoom room the idea is coming up on the screen also you can connect directly from our home page and there are people there waiting to say hi to you and just you you feel that you can talk to somebody watch the service with them or join them later just to say hi if you want prayer we can do that if you want that private there are private breakout areas in that zoom room facility to encourage you those who are here in the building we have something physical to give you we think physical presence deserves a physical present and there we go for you if you are visitors or newcomers today after the service through the door on my right we're going to share with you also a cup of coffee and a very warm welcome reception now i invite you to get your communion elements ready we're going to be sharing in communion as it is our custom on the first sunday of each month and at home join us as well have whatever you've got available in place of the bread and the wine so that we can share together now i want to turn you back to hebrews 7 that was the passage i read from earlier i want to go on from where i left off so i'm now at hebrews chapter 7 and verse 26 because i've got one thought to pass on to you as we take communion today let's read for it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest holy innocent unstained separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens he has no need like those other high priests to offer sacrifices daily first for his own sins and then for those of the people since he did this once for all when he offered up himself for the law appoints men in their weakness as high priest but the word of the oath which came later than the law appoints a son who has been made perfect forever the writer to the book of hebrews the writer to the hebrews invites us to open our spiritual eyes and see jesus not just with our imagination but the with the reality of revelation and indeed throughout the whole of the new testament the writers constantly remind us to keep our eyes upon him and this is not escapism but but for a moment think about the news that we have been subjected to over the last week i'm not talking about fuel crisis and tankers and all that kind of stuff though that has been at the very least inconvenient the news of police betrayal of trust violence and aggression against women and many other things coming in from different parts of the world and we look around our own lives and probably everybody here would say do you know what i would love if things were different you know there's stuff happening to me i wish it didn't happen i see stuff i wish i never had to see and you look around and you see quite frankly not being pessimistic realistic the world's in a mess it's like the world has gone crazy well the world always was crazy but there's a whole new element a whole new level of crazy that we see and sometimes that's overwhelming thank god we can turn it into prayer and lay it once again at the feet of jesus but actually we need to do more than that we need to keep our eyes fixed on jesus this is the one thought that i wanted to pass on to you we have a high priest and what that means of course is he's representing us he intercedes for us so that we will be sustained through whatever difficult stifling circumstances however anxiety provoking our situation is we know that jesus is praying for us that the one who is the author of our faith will perfect our faith and he will keep us strong but even more than that imagine now in heaven where there are no problems there's no inflation deflation conflation in heaven there's no anxiety in heaven there's no emergency summit meetings in heaven nothing takes heaven by surprise because it is where god is seated upon the throne of the universe there is nothing that brings harm one thing we can say there's no kovid 19 in heaven no there isn't there's nothing that will harm and and there's no malevolence do you sometimes get maybe it's just me and i've had a good week i have a good we haven't had a depressing we had a good week but there are times when you get so tired of the evil around you say oh god and i think to myself what would i do if i didn't know that i had a savior what would i do if i didn't know there was a place where you can go by faith in prayer to sit with christ in heavenly places far above all principalities and powers and messiness not to escape but actually to breathe fresh air to be revitalized renewed and restored and strengthened so that we can go on for another day and then the day after that and the day after that mental health issues have come right to the forefront and we are not immune to them as believers but thank god we have the answer to them when we cast all our anxieties all our cares all our struggles all our brokenness all our failure onto him because he's already carried it all two thousand years ago he took our sin the one who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of god in him two thousand years ago he took upon our br he took upon himself our brokenness that we might be made whole he carried our shame that we might receive his glory that is a very good dose of holy spirit sanitation in our minds and in our hearts and it all happened at the cross which we're about to celebrate through the breaking of bread the apostle paul said the night in which jesus was betrayed he took bread and when he had broken it he distributed it and said all of you eat this this is my body broken for you and as we eat this bread by faith it's a faith act not just the physical act we believe that the one who heals our bodies is with us now to bring wholeness strength and restoration and in the same way after the supper jesus took the cup and forever hallowed it with a blessing to it becomes for us even today the cup of blessing the blood of jesus christ shed for many for the remission of sins that by faith every promise that is indicated by the blood becomes ours as we appropriate the benefits of christ's death his blood his washing his cleansing his healing his joy thank you for the blood lord jesus amen [Music] to [Music] worthy is [Music] is [Music] the sun [Music] has been [Music] is [Music] your kingdom [Music] is [Music] the highest praise oh [Music] we [Music] oh [Music] glory [Music] be [Music] one more time [Music] [Music] it is the most beautiful among thousands and thousands [Music] it is the most beautiful among thousands and thousands [Music] among thousands [Music] and thousands might be love it is the most beautiful among thousands and thousands [Music] yes you [Music] are [Music] yes you are [Music] it is the most beautiful among [Applause] among [Applause] [Music] it is the most beautiful among thousands and thousands might be in love it is the most beautiful [Music] thousands and thousands [Applause] [Music] [Music] ah [Music] [Music] and yours is the kingdom yours is the power of yours is the glory forever amen and yours [Music] [Applause] [Music] and [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the [Music] amen can we give god some praise it's it is wonderful to see our worship team writing and producing songs that bring honor and glory to the name of jesus amen so we're going to continue our worship this morning in the giving of our regular tithes and offerings so if you're here in the building hopefully there was a white envelope on your seat if there wasn't or you need one take a moment and indicate to a steward they are making their way down the aisle and they will facilitate you with a pen as well if you are giving online our regular three platforms are still available for you but kindly note that giving by telephone is now during office hours so you can still call but we will process your giving during regular office hours 9 30 monday to friday to 5 30. proverbs 3 verses 9 and 10 capture a great promise for us honor the lord with your wealth with the first fruits of all your crops then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine and so as you prepare your giving this morning remind yourself in your heart that giving should always be an expression of gratitude and of thanks to god for all that he has made available to us amen we see god's faithfulness manifesting in our lives in every single area but each and every day his consistency and his faithfulness is on display in our lives and these words tell us very clearly to give god the first fruits of our increase therefore his priorities become our priorities that we put him at the epicenter of our lives that we don't give god our leftovers after we've paid all our bills and everything else that we need for the month no we trust god with the first fruits and we commit to that because that is a reflection of where our trust ultimately abides but don't don't we also get to capture a great promise from god that he will provide abundance and an overflow that will surpass anything that we can possibly capture in our own hearts and in our own imaginations therefore when we give we're giving not out of obligation but out of an opportunity to express to god our thanks and our gratitude that is in our heart for all that he has made available to us but not only that all that he will make available to us as we continue to trust in him trust in his unfailing love trust in his righteous right hand to continue to uphold and protect us but more than that to see his provision in every area and aspect of our lives you know god's word never returns void so there's an iron-clad promise that we can lay hold of that as we keep his kingdom first place in our hearts and lives he sees our sacrifice he sees our giving and it will be richly rewarded according to his glorious riches in christ jesus amen praise the lord so let's all stand together we're going to worship together and celebrate as we give of our tithes and offerings this [Music] what morning [Music] he [Music] is full of water [Music] [Music] is [Music] him [Music] is the power of [Music] god forever [Music] we pray [Music] me [Music] [Music] god [Music] hallelujah [Music] let's just continue to worship the lord god almighty he is worthy of our praise may the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart be pleasing to you god has given the fruit of our lips this morning [Music] if i find favor in your sight [Music] to be where you are i've crossed the heart [Music] for your is i will do anything just to seek you to behold you as my king for your glory i will do anything just to see you to behold you as my king lord lord if i find favor find favorite make this your prayer this morning [Music] is [Music] glory i [Music] i wanna be where you are [Music] [Music] i gotta be where you are i wanna be where you are [Music] i wanna be [Music] where you are [Music] i want to be [Music] where you are [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] jesus great desire for his disciples [Music] was that wherever he was [Music] they would also be so that where they were he would also be and for this we need to know what it is to be led by the holy spirit amen please be seated everybody while you're taking your seats let me remind you that uh we are receiving support for colonda kt missions that part of the kt emissions program that i will be continuing amanda and i aren't going anywhere we're just stepping aside and working on your behalf seeking uh the holy spirit's leading for world missions all that information has been given and we'll hear more about it next week but it's the one with the blue ribbon on top and stewards please make sure people have those in their hands now thank you so much the living free stewards would you please distribute them right now thank you so much the living free devotional journal this new edition special presentation hardback edition um you know it's it's going for 9.99 which is 10 pounds really isn't it i know that but still 9.99 uh i'll be here signing copies afterwards this now is being offered separate from the um living free program which is our 10-week program of consolidating people and encouraging people in the faith and it is a good standalone um publication and in it you follow through 120 days with jesus and there's information here and there's places for you to write in that i also do between the hours of 12 p.m and 6 a.m at some time whenever the alarm sounds or whether i'm up waiting on the lord send out a daily one-minute daily devotional but only do it for those who are committed in other words i think what do they call it your close friends oh that social media language which one of our brothers and sisters you go to my instagram and your link with that and then you will you will have that also we are uh reducing a number of books to a very special parting offer from amanda and me with all our love and with tears in our eyes here we have them and what i'm featuring today is the five-fold ministry and uh i'd like you to get hold of that and it's so relevant for us i'm going to be touching on it today and next week the prophetic ministry and the apostolic ministry for you know we need all of the gifts that god gives to us so kindly off load me thank you very much you know my uh a former assistant here he is scott give him a round of applause [Applause] i don't know what you're going to do without me i i'm i'm crazy you probably you've probably returned to sanity when we're gone but i'm gonna take my personality with me and i'm gonna be myself wherever god leads me in the world i'm gonna be me in jesus and i want you i want you i want you to to do the same as well so yeah you can imagine um i'm being highly selective um this sunday and next sunday knowing that i probably said everything to you that i ever needed to say over these last years but actually coming down to it there's some stuff i want to leave with you you may not get the pattern behind it but there is one to leave with you some things which are going to be most precious to you and today i want to talk about the leading of the holy spirit it's part of a loose series entitled the age of the spirit to remind us that we are spirit filled believers living in the age of the spirit jesus is not physically with us on the planet if he was here he wouldn't have to come again he will come again but he is with us spiritually by the holy spirit and that's advantageous to us because it means he's not limited he can be with you and with me and with every other believer anywhere in the world and so we need to lay hold of what it means to be walking with the holy spirit throughout this whole period of time and that's what it's going to be like until jesus returns now i want to intensify this idea of being led by the spirit because you could be forgiven to think that this is a passive experience that you're just being led and most of the time the leading of the spirit is almost imperceptible it's not usually mighty visions great volcanic interruptions of holy spirit revelation usually it's that inner prompting but i want to intensify it today from the life and experience of the apostle paul because he spoke not just about being led by the spirit but being constrained by the spirit that inner witness the operation of the holy spirit that very strongly thrusts us out of spiritual conviction into certain chosen directions of our life acts chapter 20 verses 22 to 24 it's a little slice from a continuing story of how paul met with christ and was led every step of his way shaped by the spirit educated by the spirit guided by the spirit from the very first moment that he met christ right up until the end of his life now he is on the way to jerusalem a bit of a recap he's done three missionary journeys each of them have been full of adventure full of the holy spirit and this is the final one and he's he's so sure he needs to go to jerusalem and and as it happened he was arrested in jerusalem and sent to prison and many bible scholars say that he died in that roman imprisonment under the reign of nero the vagabond crazy emperor others say that he was released and went on with missionary journeys but that doesn't concern us now just to pick up on that story acts 20 22-24 and now behold i'm going to jerusalem constrained by the spirit not knowing what will happen to me there except that the holy spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me but i do not account my life of any value or nor as precious to myself if only i may finish my course and the ministry that i receive from the lord jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of god do you no i mean really no the leading of the holy spirit in your life i don't think there's anything more important than realizing the gift of the spirit for you means that he will lead you and guide you surer more safely more accurately than any sat nav system or any google maps other maps are available please don't sue me you have an internal personal guidance system god the holy spirit this is your birthright as a child of god that the holy spirit lives within you and will guide you will shape you direct you empower you in every area of life and living there is no aspect of our life that we do not also need to be guided by the holy spirit also for your ministry and mission life living ministry mission to me all those words mean the same thing we are all servants of jesus christ learning how to discern and respond to the holy spirit his personal leading for you is very very important for your discipleship for your life as a believer now there are many ways of hearing god chiefly scripture which is prophetic the bible is a sure word of prophecy prophecy just means god speaking god speaks thoroughly completely infallibly clearly in his word so hearing the spirit's voice begins with and is always centered on the word of god but there is also the inner witness as paul describes it here i am on my way to jerusalem because i am constrained by the spirit the spirit is constraining me acting on the inside of me telling me i got to go to jerusalem and i'm obeying the holy spirit now along the way paul receives prophetic revelation and that's the area of my message today to hear the voice of the holy spirit what to know what to do with prophecy in our passage paul says i don't know what's awaiting me there imprisonment and affliction but one thing i do know is the spirit testifies in every city that hardships await me he said i know on the inside i've got to go that's the spirit leading me and it constrains me but also i'm having prophetic witnesses the spirit is testifying i like it there's so many wonderful principles here first of all you have the holy spirit and you don't need any prophet to reveal god's will to you open your bible ask the holy spirit to show you and be led by the holy spirit now it doesn't mean to say prophets are in uh have no value of course they are but you've got to follow certain principles first of all when a prophet comes to you and starts to prophesy thus says the lord raise one eyebrow mm-hmm oh really uh i i you know we've got to test all things but not despise prophesying but it's so easy for people who are looking for a platform who have some kind of attention seeking need in them to try and pull rank over the fellow brothers and sisters and say i have a word from the lord one so-called prophet recently delivered a so-called prophecy to me saying well i have done and i've passed it on now that's my job done when i looked into this that person has no church no connection no credibility and actually has caused a lot of problem problem problems wherever he or she went notice i just made it gender confusing there so you so you don't get the wrong idea but however prophecies are valuable don't quench the spirit do not despise prophesying test all things hold on to that which is good so how did paul handle it first of all he was the great apostle to the gentiles he is going to be used by god to write two-thirds of the theology of the bible in other words this guy knew his onions and he was carrying a level of spiritual authority and infallibility that exists now only in scriptures at that time the scripture was not complete now it is but even he is relying on the leading of the spirit on the inside of him it is spiritual to be listening to the holy spirit but also he takes into account what the spirit is saying through prophetic words and first clue it says in every city the spirit testifies there is such a thing as the law of spiritual repetition in other words a one-off thing um is often not authentic there is a principle out of the mouth of two or three witnesses let everything be established and so there is safety in listening not just to one voice or one prophet or one person but sharing with others and hearing what the spirit is saying and when there is prophecy after prophecy which confirms something which you already sense and know in your heart it's very likely to be god and so just a few words about being guided by the spirit it's often the very first question when people come to talk to you when you are a cell leader or in some kind of pastoral responsibility how can i know the voice of god how can i discern the will of god have you ever been asked that question i think every preacher has their way of doing it mine is a traffic light system uh red amber and green let me explain red amber and green traffic light system we've just had that rolled out and rolled back a little bit as well over coveted international travel red countries i'm praying that though some of those red countries are going to go green this week especially brazil lord i'm preaching now but i hope you hear what i'm saying brazil please jesus can i have an amen all right so go from red to amber and all that kind of stuff now here it is very simple read god's word amber god's will green god's way god's word is clear and that's the first light that you have to see uh signal in your favor and that is the word of god check it out in the word of god so um here's an example i i'm just asking god um you know i'm i'm 50 years of age my wife is 50 and kind of i'd like to trade her in for two 25 year olds what do you think about that holy spirit what are you gonna get you're gonna get a thump for on your head first of all from your wife and then another one from god because it's not biblical don't question those kind of questions and as if you god's going to give you a different answer than the one that is written it is written and the bible applies to you and me you can't just ignore that and ask god to oh give me another word lord i i'm not happy with this one it's it's like the man who was wandering too close to the cliff edge and he fell and was hanging on from a root of a tree that was just beginning to give way and he calls out and he says anybody up there and god says yes oh thank you lord what do i do and god says let go the man pauses and waits and says is anybody else up there no matter how difficult it might be we we we settle it if god's word says no that's it if god word says yes then the first traffic light is a go but you still really can't rush in after that because you see there's such a thing as god's will god's word is usually very general god's will becomes a little more specific there used to be and i'm sorry that i didn't check it out and maybe it still exists but if it does anyway it certainly did a bible school called all nations and i was in a meeting where some of the bible school leaders were complaining about the all nations bible college here's what their complaint was it's not fair that you have in the you have your name all nations because when people turn to the bible and says go to all nations they think that god is leading them to your bible college what about our bible college we should have thought about that but the international bible institute of london isn't in the bible but bible training is in the bible so you see god's word will direct you towards bible training and that's a good biblical principle and that's his word but his will is where should you go now if you ask me i'm biased i'll tell you i'd be irl won't i but the holy spirit would like to specify to you something which is general in the word but more specific so that you can take that step of obedience but it's not ended there that's the second light i call it the amber light god's will red light god's word god's will the second light third light is god's way god's way uh let's go into the kitchen um and uh you might make a a a dish let's invent a dish so we invent a dish how about beef stroganoff i know i haven't invented it it is it existed now then if we were to get people together the mamas and the papas and say okay how do you make beef stroganoff some will say what you're putting in the other have never i'll try a bit of that or somebody who says oh no no don't put that in i have a secret ingredient in mine it's mustard oh i wasn't going to say now the secret is out but don't freak out if you don't put mustard in your beef stroganoff i i would love to describe to you jollof rice and chicken but it is a mystery to me before i go somebody's gonna have to teach me teach me how to do that but there are variations there's a ghanaian way there's a nigerian way and there's an english way and the english way anyway all right we'll we'll go either ghanaian or or nigerian or actually west indian as well so you see that everybody has their own way of doing the same thing really slightly differently so god's way is the exact details tailor made for you the the details and especially the timing you can be sure of god's word you can be sure of god's will but if you step out without the revelation of his way you will get it wrong especially in terms of timing many years ago when i was just a new believer and i was getting all kinds of exciting revelation dreams and visions and the call of god of my life and i sat at the back of this very church praying and god says your ministry begins now and oh that's amazing and what do i do this is this great powerful international ministry well you know that was more than whatever well a great number of years ago 1973-74 and where are we now don't remind me anyway we're a little bit later on in the day than that how many will understand that many of the things that god showed me in those days were real and true but some of them have not even yet been fulfilled and it's taken all these years so it's the timing it's god's way of working things out in detail so i expected that something would happen there would be an amazing manifestation of the spirit and i said well what is my ministry there and what am i to do lord i opened my eyes i still have this habit of closing my eyes when i pray i want to say i've missed so much because i had my eyes closed while i prayed anyway i opened my eyes and my eyes focused on a red hymn book that was sitting on the floor and i looked and there was another and another and another and i looked up and there was the old oldest deacon he was so old i think he would have run second best to methuselah himself he was so old and there he was struggling as the holy saints of god were so holy they they just emptied their hands of everything and threw it on the ground and went out praising the lord and he's picking them up and i didn't even think about it i better help that guy and when i did holy spirit said to me congratulations you have found your ministry can you see god's ways and you need the direction of the holy spirit in each and every one of these levels first traffic light god's word what does the bible say second traffic light god's will how does it apply to you specifically third traffic light god's way how is it going to be worked out in specific details which actually will be relevant only to you because it's god's personal leading of you so constrained by the holy spirit and what we see here is i think a model of how we can work from the word hear god's voice for ourselves be open to the gifts of the spirit including prophetic ministry here's the little thing i want to remind you of there are five ministry gifts of christ apostles prophets evangelists pastors and teachers unfortunately today evangelical and pentecostal tradition often ignores three of those and puts the other two together and so the only ministry you really see and hear about in many evangelical and charismatic pentecostal churches is the pastor teacher they take the role of the pastor and the teacher put it into one and that's it do you know what the church is missing out because we do not recognize apostolic prophetic ministry let alone evangelistic ministry i have ministered over the years not if i if i'm not a pastor i'm nothing if i don't care for people you shouldn't even listen to me of course i care for people we give ourselves in pastoral care but that is not the gift that defines the gift that has defined the leadership of this church for many decades not just the last three decades but decades before that has been a much more apostolic and prophetic ministry which is the foundation of everything and and you need to be exposed to prophetic and apostolic ministries otherwise you're not going to have any direction in your life you'll be feeding and feeding and feeding until you're fed up and decided to go to another church but when there's an apostolic ministry at work not only will the church have a degree of expansion and direction and breaking out of tradition and breaking out of the ordinary entrepreneurial expansion and extension breakthrough ministries and when you are sitting under that kind of a ministry you get a breakthrough you get a breakthrough when there's an apostolic ministry operating which is a breakthrough ministry new territories you discover new territories you move into new horizons and places that you've been struggling with in your life areas and situations under apostolic ministry you find that the walls come down there's a breakthrough a breakthrough in your personal life a breakthrough in your spiritual life a breakthrough in your family life a breakthrough in your ministry and in your work and in your employment so pray that god will continue to cause kensington temple to be open to true prophetic and apostolic ministry and do not settle for the tradition of one man ministry pastor teacher together we pray that the apostles and prophets will continue to arise and evangelists and all together so i said that in order for you to realize that i really am digging up the prophetic ministry even though i'm saying be careful be cautious and there are some danger zones you've got to stay away from but it is a thing it's a real thing the holy spirit brings prophetic words to god's people today it can i have an amen in this charismatic church all right so let's look at paul and see what we can derive from his life for our own leading of the holy spirit first of all paul says that he knows his calling everything that happens to him he interprets it according to this one directive god's call upon his life in other words you can see him asking the question is well that's what that prophet is saying that's what i'm sensing uh but do you know what does this help me fulfill my calling is this something that is going to take me further into the fulfillment of god's purposes for my life everything else is secondary and our choices would be much more simple if we actually said you know what if i have a choice between a b and c which one of those things is going to help me bring the most glory to god and to fulfill his plan for my life think about that don't think about advancing on a career ladder don't think about salary scales only don't even think about well it's more convenient if i go from there because i'll have more opportunity if i'm in that place in this place location no think about mission think of what god is calling you to do and then take those choices even if some of them may have been may be more difficult for you than others but in order for that to happen you got to know what you're calling is and paul knew what his calling was he met christ on the damascus road acts chapter 9 verse 15. what happened was that paul saul of tarsus he is called in that chapter was on the way from jerusalem having authority from the from the priests of the temple to go and arrest christians and to torture them and to imprison them and and even kill them and so he's threatening the very existence of the early church of jerusalem while he has this anger and hatred in his heart he's on the way to damascus to do this thing and jesus appears to him and he realizes that he's been persecuting the one who truly is messiah and then god sends a disciple by the name of ananias to deliver a message a prophetic message to explain to saul of tarsus what his life was going to be like from now onwards saul life as you know it is over but i've got good news for you your new life your mission your purpose has just begun acts 9 15 but the lord said to him this is the message go for he's a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the gentiles and kings and the children of israel and here's paul paul now knows this mission and even in our passage when he is saying the spirit testifies imprisonment and afflictions await me in jerusalem but i don't care about that i only care about one thing that i may finish my course and the ministry that i receive from the lord jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of god and do you know i couldn't put it better myself for my life and i couldn't put it better for your life that's who we are and why we are where we are to testify of the gospel of god's grace to let the whole world know that jesus is not dead but he is alive amen and amen what did he do next well we know he went about preaching straight away testifying wherever he could in damascus saying ah jesus is the christ he was pretty ignorant he knew the hebrew scriptures but only from the point of view of the uh rabbinical interpretation that he was brought under he had no idea how the scriptures related to jesus of nazareth and so they came for him and his friends thanked god for friends they said saul they're coming for you now we're gonna let you out the window well that's five stories high never mind here's a basket get in the basket and escape and they let him down and let him out and he went away to arabia and he was in obscurity for a number of years quite a long number of years so what did he do grumble and complain no he immersed himself in the scriptures he had fellowship with jesus by the holy spirit and during that time god opened the scriptures to him and he was learning and unlearning and relearning he was thinking and rethinking everything listening and hearing from god so that after that period he was available to the holy spirit and then of course as you know the story goes he's called by barnabas and he becomes a bible teacher in antioch the new gentile church that was creating shock waves in the ancient world and and then one day after two years of this the spirit speaks and says separate saul and barnabas send them out as my apostles and and then every step of the way he's led by the spirit he follows a strategy holy spirit interrupts on one occasion he was heading for ephesus this was his second missionary journey and we know on the third missionary journey he actually did that but the holy spirit stopped him saying you can't preach in asia so though can't preach in asia i'm not going back let's go on i know you can't go up there bithynia the only option one road one road out of there the road to troas that's the coastal town on the other side of the gnc from what is now modern europe and there he has a vision in the night and a man from macedonia says come over and help us so they cross the aegean sea and come to philippi and that's how the gospel came to europe in the very first instance now he's completed those three major journeys and he wants to go on to rome he wants to testify in rome i'm going to jerusalem first if you want to go to rome don't go to jerusalem but he was in he was in the transfer lounge in jerusalem because the prophet said you're going to be arrested handed over and they said they begged him even by the spirit don't go don't go paul it's going to be difficult don't go and paul said no the spirit is constraining me but the prophets are saying all the prophets are telling me is what's awaiting me there i'm prepared for that let god's will be done and so he surrendered to the will of god and even the prophets who are saying don't go don't go thus says the lord don't go don't go and paul says i must go because the spirit is driving me doesn't that tell you something doesn't that tell you something prophecy is not supposed to be some infallible direction some of the stupid things that people have done because somebody who called themselves a prophet said thus says the lord empty your bank account and give it to me and people have done that people have done both those things how dumb can you be and still breathe you have the holy spirit god makes you alert to the voice of god that's what the cross is all about he's given you a personal relationship with god personal intimate contact by the holy spirit we do need each other we do need to have confirmation we do need to hear what god is saying to us through other people but never reject your responsibility don't kiss your brains goodbye and just follow whatever everybody tells you we have got to be more mature than that and there's any doubt go to those who are seasoned soldiers in the school are seasoned soldiers in the army of the spirit mature students in the school of the holy spirit so be guided by the word and be constrained by the holy spirit be open to genuine prophetic words but know this that no prophet today can speak with the infallibility of scripture very simple rule people who tell you god has told me you should marry such and such a person i always tell the story when amanda tells the story of a of a man who was rather too zealous for the ladies in a certain church somewhere i am blanking out the name to protect the guilty here my dear sister amanda heard this man say to one of the other sisters in the church god has shown me that i am to marry you and she said well isn't that a coincidence he said the same thing to my husband three years ago the gift of prophecy today is not about controlling your life where you should go how much you should put in the offering what you should do what you shouldn't do who you should marry no god lives in you seek him for his word for your life and let that be confirmed and i don't dismiss it i've got a prophecy that somebody gave me many many years ago i haven't ignored it but it's not been confirmed and i have no witness but i haven't ignored it i put it on one side here is the word go to japan what now i have nothing against japan i'd love to go to japan but why would i go unless god tells me to go why would i go just because somebody else says now i haven't ignored that and now i've let the cat out of the bag so please don't come prophesying about japan but but when the holy spirit confirms that to me and maybe it's about timing you know maybe i gotta be open to japan maybe i will maybe i'll have more opportunity now but i'm still not gonna go until it's the right time until it's the right time to go god spoke to me about africa and brazil many many years many years before i had the release from the spirit and one day somebody came in and said now there's a definite invitation for brazil and the spirit of god came upon me i nearly fell over i mean you know sometimes god has to really shake me to get through to my thick brain but anyway that was the right time and and if i'd gone one day before that i would have been out of the will of god so it's being sensitive to the holy spirit always working towards the big picture staying within the scripture listening to god yourself and working always towards the big picture and if it fits in with the big picture or god shows you about your life then go for it go for it big time so the age of the spirit we are being led by the spirit shaped to be like jesus by the spirit living for the glory of god by the spirit and in following the spirit we know that we can trust god with everything else in our lives amen and our men god bless you let's give jesus a big big big praise thank you we're going to come and sing a final song all right oh the sun is out very very good so the barbecue is on outside straight after this five pounds plus whatever you get a drink and enjoy that fellowship also as it's the first sunday of the month remember first and third sundays together for ghana at kt a fellowship meets in the transept on my left straight after this service and when you're gone have some lunch come back and watch the documentary that we'll be showing god bless you still stand and worship him [Music] so [Music] sing together [Music] broken hearts declare his ways [Music] is [Music] ever [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] i [Music] thank you thank you so much don't forget to stay behind for our lunch also visitors the newcomers please through the draw on my right or connect with the welcome room behind you behind me on the screen now uh 5 30 service claudette who's had a little absence a little rest back full of strength ready to administer the trust of the night at the 5 30 service i'll be here at the front with amanda got the book the devotional journal and other books and uh whatever you get you get with that a free pack in here with books that are free so you will have plenty of reading material for the rest of the winter so i'll be signing copies here waiting for you afterwards okay god bless you thank you for joining us thank you for joining us at home as well let's say the grace together as we finish our service with the grace of our lord jesus christ the love of god and the fellowship of the holy spirit be with us all now and forever and surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we shall dwell in the house of the lord forever and ever amen amen goodbye god bless you [Music] [Music] i love you lord for your mess she never fails me [Music] till i lay [Music] of the goodness [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i love your [Music] [Applause] you are close like no other oh [Music] [Applause] me [Applause] [Music] i'm delighted to tell you about the new edition of my living free devotional journal it takes you through 120 days with jesus covering many of the basics of the christian faith something that you can reflect deeply on and grow no matter where you are in your christian life the devotional includes topics such as assurance and blessing guidance and security power and authority obedience and surrender and each day there is a scripture passage to read a brief explanation of the passage a place for you to record your own thoughts and reflections a key verse to meditate on some place where you can write down questions to follow up and an important discipleship step to take it's a place for you to record your action points so that you can move forward in your spiritual life and then there is a key prayer to pay it's well laid out with plenty of space for you to write your own thoughts and this will become a key part of your devotional life as you learn to journal your spiritual journey [Music] ah [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Music] i love you lord for your mercy [Music] i've been held by your hands from the moment [Music] of the goodness [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] you are close oh [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] i'm delighted to tell you about the new edition of my living free devotional journal it takes you through 120 days with jesus covering many of the basics of the christian faith something that you can reflect deeply on and grow no matter where you are in your christian life the devotional includes topics such as assurance and blessing guidance and security power and authority obedience and surrender and each day there is a scripture passage to read a brief explanation of the passage a place for you to record your own thoughts and reflections a key verse to meditate on some place where you can write down questions to follow up and an important discipleship step to take it's a place for you to record your action points so that you can move forward in your spiritual life and then there is a key prayer to pay it's well laid out with plenty of space for you to write your own thoughts and this will become a key part of your devotional life as you learn to journal your spiritual journey

Channel: Kensington Temple

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Length: 125min 55sec (7555 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 03 2021