INTRODUCTION
The main problem with the people of Israel is that they stop believing in the promises of God. They didn't believe he will still take them to the Promised Land. So it is in our time now, our present Church leaders had stopped believing in the promises of God – that is why they are not pointing people to Christ anymore.
Whenever Israel is in unbelief, first thing they do is to bring in foreign gods – the present church also is in unbelief that is why we are now bringing in idols of the world into the Church. The idols of the world are hinged on Social system, Political System, Religious System and Economic system…that is why most churches teach more about financial empowerment more than they teach about Christ. God is says “I want to call you out and make you like Christ.”
But there is a generation that sat under them that are going to say..NO! We’ve lost the vision of the kingdom, we need to get it back. Like Joshua, Caleb and the two spice they sent. There are Apostolic Men and Women that are going to rise up at this time. They will see and understand the vision of the kingdom and as they are going in they will lead others to it. You just might be one of them.
Listen please this is not a crowd thing – it is going to grow big though – but it is not a crowd thing, it is a remnant thing. 10-50 men in this room that can connect to the vision of the kingdom, we shake a whole city to its foundations. 12 men listened to Jesus for 3 years until they believed and connected with what they heard….they took over the land.
The title of my message is THE CALL.
The call to what?
Before the fall of man, Genesis says we are the Image of God and the expression of that Image in our world is Dominion. That image and likeness of God is our LIFE and we express that Life in Dominion.
Sin came, man lost that Image and likeness of God which is LIFE, and consequently lost dominion. Christ came to give us back that Life so that in expressing that life we have dominion. Therefore Christians having Dominion is not just a prayer topic, it is an expression of the image and likeness of God which is the expression of the life of God.
Christ came to produce this Image in us (Romans 8:29) and expressing it on earth is dominion. In other words “Christians should not pray “God let us dominate”. Rather pray to know Christ, and you will dominate. Looking for Dominion without his image and likeness will not work. Because God said…the man I made in my image and likeness is the man that will have Dominion.
God will never give you his real power until you see from where he sees (i.e. until you have his image). If he does, you will use it wrongly. You use it to go finish all the Boko Haram…but he loves them.
And our dominion is his kingdom on earth. That is why all Christ talked about is the Kingdom of God.
This kingdom, Christ preached of, is mentioned 147 times in the New Testament, that how this kingdom is important to God.
Let try to define the kingdom.
Graeme Goldsworthy has summarized a definition of the Kingdom of God as "God's people in God's place under God's rule.”
Anthony Hoekema has described God's Kingdom as "the reign of God dynamically active in human history through Jesus Christ, the purpose of which is the redemption of his people from sin and from demonic powers, and the final establishment of the new heavens and the new earth."
Therefore everything is about his kingdom coming down here and this kingdom is “God in Man” EMMANUEL . Unless this kingdom becomes our pursuit, we will be stuck with the experiences. Experiences are great but they point to the kingdom…for instance…Healing can come on our way to the kingdom…God is saying here you are you can be sick, pray and get healing, tomorrow you will sick again, pray and get another healing but once you enter this kingdom…you will not be sick at all.
Let’s get to our text.
John 6:63 Amplified Bible (AMP)
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh conveys no benefit [it is of no account]. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life [providing eternal life].
Before we go on lets look at the both the chapter summary and the context summary I picked from an online bible commentary
Chapter Context
In chapter 6, Jesus feeds thousands of people who had been following Him. He does this by miraculously dividing the contents of a small lunch, leaving more left over than He had to begin with. At first, the crowd is amazed and they enthusiastically praise Jesus. After sending the disciples across the Sea of Galilee, and rescuing them from a storm by walking on the water, Jesus once again addresses the crowd. This time, He emphasizes the spiritual lesson behind His prior miracle. In response, most of those who had been praising Jesus turn away from Him in disappointment.
Context Summary
John 6:60–71 shows the drastic impact of Jesus' teaching on the crowd: most walk away. When confronted with spiritual needs and a spiritual message, most people will turn it down. What society wants is spectacle, material things, and a political savior. The more Jesus insists on being the means to eternal life, the angrier the crowd becomes, until the vast majority simply abandon Him. The twelve disciples, on the other hand, seem willing to follow Jesus, though they are also struggling to accept His recent claims. Peter's declaration will be the third of John's seven witnesses to Jesus' divinity.
Lets go back to our passage Vs. 63. It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh conveys no benefit [it is of no account]. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life [providing eternal life].
The first encounter of God you will ever have will be His word, and when you believe in that word, he will release to you the spirit of that word, the spirit will now produce that word in your life.
After the disciples believe in his resurrection – the Holy Spirit was released to them, because it is the Holy Spirit that will produce the life of Christ in them. That is after the Holy Spirit, even the fearful ones like Peter became very bold.
In the gospel of according to Luke, we saw the story of Mary’s encounter with the angel of God.
The angel spoke to her about Christ, The moment Mary believed the living word, she became pregnant and that pregnancy determined her friends, where she goes to, what she does, who she listens to….
The bible said she went straight to Elizabeth’s house, you can’t have the living word in you and be going to any ministry to hear about.
If you read down the passage, you will see their conversations, they talked about God, Giving thanks to God, exalted his name, praising him and talked about his promises – they never discussed what devil does to pregnant women. They fixed their eyes on God.
Whatever you fix your eyes on, you will see. Fix your eyes on Christ, you will see him, fix your eyes on witches and wizards, you will see them also.
How can the living work produce the life of God in us?
The bible says that Faith comes by hearing, hearing by……
There are two hearings there
1. The hearing that comes from the outside
2. The hearing that comes from the inside.
You should hear from the outside so much till you will be able to hear from the inside.
And what you are hearing should be the same thing, it can be in many forms but the same it is ….CHRIST CRUSIFIED.
That is why Paul said in 1 Cor 2:2 “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
The only subject of teaching concerning which the Apostle had formed a determined resolve in his mind when coming to Corinth was the preaching Christ and Him as being crucified. We have here a statement of what was ever the subject-matter of apostolic teaching. St. Paul did not dwell on the miraculous in the life of Christ, which would have pandered to the Jewish longing for a “sign”; nor did he put forward elaborate “theories” of the gospel, which would have been a concession to the Greek’s longing after “wisdom”: but he preached a personal Christ, and especially dwelt on the fact that He had been crucified. 1 Cor. 1:22-24.
This outside hearing comes from preachers and teachers but the inner hearing will come from retreats or being alone with God. He will bring the truth to you.
Preacher raise our consciousness for the need of God and ones we choose him, he will bring his life into us.
Preaching is a way God tells you the need of Him in your life, when you agree and accept him, he saves you. So find him now.
When we say “lord and Saviour” we are saying it is on the basis of your Lordship that I get salvation.
Action Step
1. Determine to hear only about the finished work of Christ, hear and hear and hear until you believe and believe and believe….this is your own part…..at this point Christ takes over and produce his life in you.
The process now is to start the journey.
May God help us all. Amen.
