Spiritual Editing

The speaker begins by praising God and acknowledging His goodness and victories in their life. They emphasize the importance of staying hidden in Christ and relying on His strength and power. They talk about the enemy's attempts to steal glory from God and the significance of believers being named by the Lord. They highlight the power of testimonies in glorifying God and drawing others to Him. The speaker encourages those facing battles to trust in God's past victories and reminds them that God is ready to bring them through. They discuss the use of digital technology in spreading the gospel and caution against teaching incorrect doctrines online. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! God's people praise God! It's another wonderful Sunday in the Land of the Living. God, as always, has been good. God has been kind. And this week, God has been fighting and winning major battles in my life. And I believe and I trust in the life of His people who hold on to Him as the last resort. The enemy is always prowling. Looking for ways to douse our fire. Looking for ways to steal God's glory. Looking for ways to tarnish God's image. And that's because, as children of God, we are named by the name of the Lord. And so, because He cannot vanquish God, He tries to vicariously vanquish God through us, His children. And this is why it is imperative that we are hidden in Christ because of our own selves. We have no power. We have no strength. Our strength and our power is in the name of Jesus Christ. This is why we must, as much as we can, as much as we know how, as much as we are led and helped by the Spirit of God, the Spirit of help, the Spirit of anointing and power, we must always abide in Christ. Therein lies our safety. We have nowhere else to go. As for me and my house, we are covenanted to the Lord. We have nowhere else to go. If we did, we would not go there. We have tasted and we have seen that our God is good. We know that Jesus lives. We know that our Redeemer lives. We know because of His antecedents, because of the way that God has shown Himself righteous and shown Himself worthy in our lives, we know that God deserves our trust. And because of this, I, me and my house, we have covenanted to serve the Lord all the days of our lives. That doesn't mean that we will not fight battles, but what that means is that the outcome is already set. We are victorious in Christ because the Bible says, And they overcame Him, Revelation 12, 11, And they overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony. By words such as declaring that me and my house, we shall serve the Lord, that is the word of our testimony by which we vanquish the enemy, by which we partake of the victory already won in Christ. And so I feel led to begin our meeting this evening by encouraging someone just to say that because God has preplanned such great and awesome things, there will be resistance from the kingdom of darkness. There will be resistance from the realm of the spirit. And that's because with greater clarity than probably you can see, the other side, the dark side, they can see that God has prepared some things through which some things and some events are getting ready to unfold in your life through which God will be glorified. And the enemy never wants God to be glorified because the more God is glorified, the more the reality of our God is published. And that's why the Bible says, They overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb which is already set, which is already done on Calvary and by the word of their testimony. That testimony is a mechanism through which God is glorified and others believe. They believe in God. Other people believe in God through the words of our testimony. And once they believe in God, the result is that they go in pursuit of this God who has done it for one person that they know, that they have heard. They didn't read it in a book. They are hearing from your mouth the words of your testimony. God did this for me. And if God can do it for me, God surely can do it for you. This is why the words of our testimony, they are so powerful and they must go out in some form or fashion. It is imperative that we teach people, we proclaim what God has done in our lives in real time. There is power in our testimony. So as many of you, hallelujah, who might be fighting a battle right now, I want you to know that the God who gave you victory in the past is alive and well and on standby to win this one also. Why? Because glory, victory brings glory to God and glory awaits our God in Zion. It is in God's interest to bring us through because in bringing us through, our God receives victory, receives glory, and we testify of what he has done and the world, who might have been in doubt of our God, that maybe he only resides in the pages of the Bible, they see God leap out now from the pages of the Bible to reality through the words of our testimony. Amen? And so, before we go into our business for this evening, we are going to begin by praying. We always like to start by prayer and also to end by prayer. So Father, we honor you. We worship you. We reverence you. We exalt you. There is none like you. There is none like you. Every other God is the works of the hands of men. They cannot see. They cannot hear. They cannot answer prayer. But thou, O God, you are the only true and living God, and we worship you. Tonight, we invite your presence. There is nothing we know. There is nothing we can do except by your help. Teach us tonight by your spirit. This is your platform. You called this for yourself. You called this by yourself. Release a measure, a mighty measure of anointing this evening and declare the mysteries of your kingdom. Open our eyes to see. Open our eyes to see truth tonight. Holy Spirit, come. We invite your presence. Move. Move, Holy Spirit. Reveal Jesus to us tonight. Do awesome things. Let a soul be saved tonight. Let deliverance flow tonight. Let wisdom flow tonight. Let power flow tonight. And let God be glorified. In Jesus' name, amen. Hallelujah to Jesus. And so today, we are going to talk about something that we have touched on before on this platform. And it's important because of even the medium through which God has elected to speak to us in this ministry. God has elected to use the internet, the online platform, to reveal himself. And we have taught here before that it is God's desire. Digital technology is God's domain. And you can see by the way that God is using digital technology to propagate the gospel, to disseminate information, to reveal. Because if you are tech-savvy, or even if you know your way to a platform like some kind of social media, you will find there that God is active in the social media, online platforms. God is active and God is revealing himself using digital technology. We have taught here many times that everything belongs to God. The earth is the Lord's, the fullness thereof. The world and days that dwell therein. Digital technology is in the world. It belongs to God. Everything belongs to God. And God uses everything how he will. And God has elected to use digital technology. For instance, we spoke about in one of our teachings, one of our recordings, we spoke about COVID. How during COVID the church was literally paralyzed. The physical church, the church of Jesus Christ is not the building, it is the people. But church as we knew it, meaning the buildings, the gatherings as we knew how to do church, was shifted. Everything shifted during COVID. God did a new thing in COVID. The church, online church was birthed in COVID. That is to tell you that the enemy usually, always, when the enemy launches a thing, he means it for evil. He always means it for evil because the devil, the enemy comes only to steal, to kill and to destroy. When the enemy launches something, because COVID was certainly of the devil. COVID as an event was of the devil. What happened was that what the enemy meant for evil, God meant it for good. And God stepped in to COVID and used the event that the enemy launched to birth the online church. Pre-COVID, many pastors, many churches had no online presence. Very few had social media accounts. Very few knew how to get on YouTube. Very few knew how to preach a sermon online. Very few knew how to connect their churches to social media. Very few knew how to edit videos. That was a whole new world that the church knew very little of. But in order to survive, the church had to get online because the world was shut down. There was lockdown. Nobody could come out to come to church. But the messages had to go out. The church had to go on in some way, shape or form. And so God used a plan of the enemy. God used it for good to birth the online church. And for that, we are very grateful because I personally, I am a beneficiary of this divine innovation. And you see, the amazing thing is that when God does a thing, the Bible says, He does exceedingly and abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think of Him. According to His power that works in us, God birthed an online church. But what's going on now is that the church is even getting so advanced technologically that what's happening now, and this is only, what, COVID was 2020. So this is 2023. In three years, what's happening in the online church is amazing, mind-boggling. There are movies now. There are ministries just specializing in movies. So the word of God, the gospel is traveling further now through technology, which is an amazing thing. And for that, we are grateful. Today, I am going to talk about an aspect of this medium of expressing and of disseminating the gospel. I'm going to talk about an aspect that we as believers must be mindful of, because in everything, we have to be mindful that what is good and meant for good stays good and is used for good. Because now everybody, especially ministries, have easy access to digital technology, and many are speaking things that maybe are not in the Bible. Or many are now using the liberty that online ministry provides to teach things that need to be vetted, need to be vetted with spiritual maturity. And so, if you are a mature Christian, and you come in contact with things online, that you know by the Spirit that this is not biblical. It is your responsibility to find a way to teach the correct position of the Bible, so that believers are not led astray just because of this liberty. The Bible says, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But even in this liberty that we now have because of online ministry, we must be careful that we are teaching the right doctrines, we are teaching biblical principles, and we are not teaching the people out of the abundance of our whims and our caprices. No one is interested in your opinion as a man of God. You can have an opinion in your business. You can have an opinion in your house, perhaps. But once you get online and get on this digital pulpit, it is your assignment to teach the sheep. Feed the sheep God's Word. Feed the sheep Jesus, the food that Jesus left for His sheep. Feed them that. And where do you find the food? In His Word. And you must learn it correctly, understand it correctly, digest it correctly, and then teach it correctly. So, my subject for this evening, I have titled my subject, Spiritual Editing. Spiritual Editing. And this is because we must learn to edit the information that is coming to us through online media in ministry. We must learn to balance and search out everything that we hear, that we receive online. We must learn to place that on all fours with the Word of God. And to be able to do that, we must know the Word of God. We must know. Everybody is not going to be spiritually mature. Everybody is not going to know the truth of the Word. But once you, who has been graced with maturity in the Spirit, and you have been graced with a full grasp of the Word, not a full grasp, but a sufficient grasp of the Word, once you find something and you pick up something online that you know is contrary to what God is saying in His Word, it's your responsibility to bring it back online and do what you can to correct what has been released online. And so, my anchor scripture for this evening, because this is a Bible ministry, this is a Bible platform, like I said, no one is interested in my opinion, my personal opinion. Anyone who comes online to listen to me, they're coming to hear what doth sayeth the Lord. And so, what doth sayeth the Lord always comes from the Word of the Lord. And so, this evening, my anchor scripture for our conversation this evening is coming from the book of Matthew, the book of Matthew chapter 5, from verse 13, we're going to go all the way to verse 19. So, that's the book of Matthew. Matthew, as you know, is in the New Testament. So, Matthew chapter 5, verses 13 to 19, the Bible says, this is Jesus speaking now, ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 15. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light unto all that are in the house. Let your light, 16, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Verse 17. Think not, which is really where we are going, Think not, that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, not one jot, or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19. And the last verse, Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Hallelujah! Holy Spirit, help me, speak, teach me, and teach us. Amen. In Jesus' name. So really, today, the reason why we're having this conversation is because, in the past week, I have been listening to an online preacher. He's a very, very gifted preacher, because he is gifted with oratory, he knows the Bible, and God is helping him to articulate the word, and God is obviously showing him light. I actually had never listened to him before, until two days ago, I think. And I ran into him on YouTube. And this is why I say that online ministry is such a blessing, because the quality and the power of God's word coming out of online ministry is... I mean, there is no doubt that God is using these platforms to do awesome things. And so, this minister preached about spirituality. He preached about the reality of the invisible world, and how the invisible world is a parallel world to the visible. And that because we don't see the invisible realm, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, and that any Christian, or anyone, in fact, who is unmindful of the activities of the spirit realm, the invisible realm, is going to be a defeated person, and surely a defeated Christian. And I totally agree, because the Bible says we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against rulers of the darkness of this world. So, I am in full agreement with that. He went on to say about how the realm of the spirit is the parent world for the physical realm, which I 100% agree with. And he said that before anything happens in the natural realm, it is already established in the realm of the spirit, which is absolutely true, for good and for bad. For good in the sense that when God does something in our lives, it is already done in His time. The Bible says God makes all things beautiful in His time. So there is a divine timing, there is a time of God, which is not necessarily the time of man. The time of man is the time of life. That's why when God does a thing and He sends a messenger, when God sent a messenger to Sarah, to let Sarah know that she would carry a child, the angel of God said, according to the time of life, there is the time of God and there is the time of life. What happens and manifests in our lives, in the time of life, in the natural, is already done by God and is beautiful in His time. In His realm, in His dimension, the spirit realm, because God is a spirit. He dwells in the realm of the spirit and manifests Himself in the natural realm. Job 12.22 says, And ye shall decree a thing, and it shall be established for you. So light shall shine on your path when you decree, because the power of life and death are in the tongue. When you decree a thing, in the realm of the spirit, the invisible realm, it is established for you. It is established for you once you decree, because your words are spirit. The Bible, Jesus said, The words that I speak, they are spirit and they are life. When you, because we are made in the image and the likeness of God, we also, our words are spirit and they are life. Especially when our words are backed up by covenant, backed up by the name of Jesus Christ, those words are going to be creative. And so once we decree a thing, in the natural, it goes out into the spirit realm and receives life. It becomes established. Where? In the spirit. And then immediately, the Lord God of hosts, who is the creator of all things, God releases light to shine on your path. So that in the natural, that light will lead you to the manifestation of what God has already done. The manifestation of it according to the time of life. This is for good. So also, when something is about to happen in the life of a believer, and it's from the kingdom of darkness, this is now, this pastor was talking about spiritual attacks, that before a spiritual attack manifests in the natural, it has already received momentum in the realm of the spirit, and it's been activated in the realm of the spirit. And if the believer is not discerning, and able to intercept what has been programmed in the spirit realm, will manifest in the natural. But we have the name of Jesus. We have the blood of Jesus. We have mechanisms through which to overcome. So all of that, I was in full agreement with. And I was very glad to have found this ministry. Until he said, he began to talk about money. He began to talk about giving. He began to talk about seed, sowing seed. And he began to talk about the tithe. He was talking about tithing. And he said, which is in the Bible, that Jesus said, if you give to the poor, you have given to him. This is true. That's in the Bible. But he began now to knock seed, sowing of seed. He didn't stop there. He began now to knock tithing. And he said, he said, I don't tithe. He lost me immediately. He had lost me a little bit at seed, when he was knocking the seed. And he said, don't give your seed to the man of God. Don't give to the church. He said, don't go and sow any seed. Don't sow any seed in the church. Don't sow a seed to any man of God. Give only to the poor. That the only way to give to Jesus, is to give to the poor. And he went on to say, not to tithe. That he didn't tithe. He lost me right away. Why? Because that is wrong doctrine. The Bible says here, now, someone like this minister may say, oh, Micah is in the Old Testament. We're going to come to Micah, where the Bible talks about tithing. But before we do that, Micah is in the Old Testament. And Micah talks about tithing. Bring ye all the tithe into my house. Into my house, so that there shall be meat. Bring ye all the tithe to the storehouse, so that there shall be meat in my house. This is the Bible. And it's in the Old Testament. But you see, this pastor might be a New Testament pastor. He might be a New Generation pastor. I don't know. But this is the New Testament. Matthew chapter 5, verse 19. Jesus, the Son of God, the Word Himself is speaking. And He says, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. All. Old and New Testament. Including the book of Micah. Micah, a minor prophet. Verse 19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of God. And so I was bothered to hear this pastor who had a large platform and many, many, many tens of thousands of people had watched that video where he is knocking the seed and where he is knocking the tithe and declaring that he, as a minister, as a man of God, he does not tithe. That only in giving to the poor are you giving to Jesus. When the Bible says bring ye all the tithes to my storehouse that there might be meat in the house. Meat in my house. Now, let me ask a question. We all believers, if you are a Bible-believing Christian, you fellowship somewhere. You are part of the body of Christ. You are part of the church of God. And you worship somewhere. In that church, they must pay rent or they pay mortgage. They must have light. Power. They need to turn on the power. The light must come on in that church. They must need to clean that church. They may have staff, people to pay in that church. They are probably feeding the poor in that church. They are housing people. They may be paying fees for indigenous people. They are helping people. How exactly is the church going to be able to afford to do all these things without the tithes? If you, as a man of God, you don't pay tithes and you teach people not to pay tithes, you are immediately in violation of the word of God in the book of Micah. If you don't pay tithes, you don't pay your tithes, you are teaching people not to pay their tithes, how then is the church of God going to have provision? How is the bills? In your house, somebody pays the bills. And how do you pay the bills? You work. You earn some kind of income. The church of God has bills to pay. How is the church going to meet the needs, especially in this season? This season, this generation now, where inflation and everything is going through the roof, how is the church going to meet its financial obligations if people don't tithe? If people don't sow seed in the church, how is the church going to go on? Our verse in the book of Malachi, in the Old Testament, Malachi chapter 3 verse 10, the Bible says, Bring me whole tithes, all, into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Then test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. This is the Almighty God speaking to His people. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Where is the storehouse? The church. For what? That there might be food in my house. The building doesn't eat food. It's the people in the building. Yes, the ministers, the pastors, the poor, that the church will help. The building isn't going to eat the food, and God is aware of this. So the tithe that you're bringing is not for the building, it's for the people in it. And God has entered into covenant with you, that if you obey this word in Malachi 3.10, you can be sure that I am available for you to test. If you do this, you have already entered into a covenant with me. And I will do what this word is saying, I will throw open the floodgates of heaven, and I will do what? I will pour out so much blessing upon you, you in your house, you in your storehouse, you won't have enough room to store what I will pour on you, because you have brought your tithe to my house. So this pastor, who is preaching and teaching against the tithe, is in violation of the word of God, direct violation, and also is robbing God's people of the opportunity to be blessed in overflow. That's two violations right there. They are violating the sin against God and the sin against man. Because Jesus said, I haven't come to destroy the law. If it's in Malachi, it's in Matthew. If God said it in Malachi, I am saying now, in the book of Matthew chapter 5 verse 17, I have not come to nullify anything that God has said. The law remains. Not a jot, not a tittle falls out. If God said tithe, I say tithe. If you are telling people not to tithe, I didn't say that. God didn't say that. If that's your doctrine, that's not biblical. And that is in error. This pastor, I pray, because I have a lot of respect for him, based on what I heard, I listened to what he said, and I believe that the Lord is really speaking to him. But he's in error. Regarding what he said, that is error. And I really hope and pray that God, by his Spirit, will reveal to him and bring him into a higher level of illumination, and he will be able to use the same platform to teach and to correct any errors so that God's people won't be led astray. So that the house of God will have food, will have provision, and God's people will have an opportunity to enter into covenant, the covenant of abundance with Almighty God. Amen. Praise the Lord. And so that's where we're going to leave our conversation this evening. I'm hopeful and I'm thankful that God has revealed some truth, and I pray that what we have heard will go deep down into our hearts and take root, and then we also will learn, when we are able, when we hear, we hear things that we know by the Spirit are inaccurate, we will search the Scriptures and we will come on our own platform and make the effort that we can to teach truth. Amen. In Jesus' name. And so we're going to close with a prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this opportunity to speak your word. We thank you because you have visited us again as you always do. We yield ourselves to you. We yield this platform to you. This is all about you. We ask that you will come and you will bring great light so that we can see the grace to walk right given to us, the grace to pursue Jesus, the grace to embody Jesus even in the world at large given to us in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Hallelujah. Well, everyone, thank you for tuning in and until next week, stay blessed. Amen.