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A person who is going to have all the grace available from the kingdom of God cannot just build a shadow or dig a shadow foundation. It has to be deep. Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church," and the church is made up of the Christians—the people who make up the church upon this rock.
When a real windstorm blows, trees that are hollow inside—though they look big—come down. But when a house is well built with a strong foundation and good spiritual structure, something remarkable happens. When the flood arose and the stream beat vehemently upon that house, it could not shake it. If you're building a house, a life, a family, and a ministry that will not be shaken by any violent storm, that's why you need a foundation. It must be founded upon a rock.
So I must ask you: On what are you building the foundation of your life? Your Christian life? Your spiritual life? Your family life? Your ministerial life?
We're looking at three things:
Exploits means wonders. They are great demonstrations of God's power. If you want to have great grace, great godliness, and the great goodness of God flowing through your life to other people—that's the desirable exploit you want. But that needs a spiritual foundation.
The foundation we're talking about must be spiritual because the life we're talking about is spiritual. The house we're talking about is stable, steady, solid, and spiritual. Another person cannot come and dig the foundation for you and build that house for you. You will build your house spiritual by the grace of God.
Looking at 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 19: "Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure."
Whatever others do, whatever others do not do, whatever lives other people are building—some build a shallow life, others build a superficial life. That's not your concern. You have your life to live. When you were born into this world, you were not born together with that fellow building a shallow foundation. The Lord worked on you all by yourself and brought you into this world for a definite, distinct purpose.
Don't worry about what they're doing. Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure. It says: "Having the seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
Look at your life and consider what you could have been with God living big in you. Consider what you could have been with Christ energizing you. What could you have been if every step you took, every word you spoke, everything you did had been organized and directed by scripture? What could you have been if the grace of God had been there every moment, every day, every week, and every hour since you were born? But it had not been so.
But now you wake up and say: "Shallowness no more." Superficiality no more. That means you will not just stay on the surface. That kind of house put on the surface of the ground with no foundation—they just put that there for the moment. But your life is not just for the moment. Your life is for something wonderful, something great. The wind will try to blow, but this house will not blow away.
If you want that, the foundation you build must be on the name of Jesus. Everyone that names the name of Christ must depart from iniquity. You literally run away from iniquity—that heavy word for wrongdoing, for sin.
Iniquity includes idolatry. If you have been an idol worshipper, if you have been following after the gods and idols of this world, you're seeing: "Lord, iniquity, idolatry no more in my life in Jesus name."
You depart from negativism. When you are negative and the word of God is positive, you say no. It says come, you say no. It says this is the way, you say no. When you've been saying no and no and no to the commandments of the Lord, that's why your life is negative. You depart from negativism.
You depart from immorality. Immorality is so common, and some young people think it's the normal way of life. No, it's the abnormal way of life. You'll not do that anymore because you're building a new life, a great life. If you're building a gracious life and a gracious ministry, you have to have a gracious foundation.
You depart from quarrelsomeness. You cannot build a strong life, a great life on conflict. You cannot build a great life on fighting and quarrelsomeness.
You quit inconsistency. The problem is not that we don't know what to do. Our problem is inconsistency. I know the word of God, but my problem is inconsistency. You promise the Lord, "I will do this," you do it for a day, and then you quit. Before the Lord, decide and stay by that decision. You surrender to the Lord and abide by that decision. Don't come to church during the service saying "All to Jesus I surrender" and then once you leave, take it all back. You will follow till the very end in Jesus name.
You depart from temptation—both being tempted and tempting others. There are people who tempt others, drawing them to fight and conflict. You cannot build a great life, a great profession, a great ministry on tempting others because you need to help others, to lift others up. Depart and flee from anything that is sin and everything called temptation.
You quit every yoke. No yoke will remain in your life. You know, here you are—your hands are free, your feet are free, your mind is free. And then you go to school and some young people get themselves into a gang. They say, "Young man, church boy, there is a group here, and in this group they're bold, they're courageous, they can confront anyone. What makes them bold is that they joined this gang. Come. Stretch your hand out." And they bring a yoke upon you.
I have the permission of God to break the yoke in your life. I have the permission of Christ and the anointing of the Holy Ghost to break that yoke from your life. But if you do not permit, do not yield, do not surrender, what can I do? You must say: I quit all that yoke, I quit all that gang. When that is done, everyone that calls on the name of the Lord will depart from all iniquity, and blessing will come upon you. He'll give you salvation, security, supply. Every need of your life will be supplied fully, adequately, completely in Jesus name.
There are two words: static and dynamic. When something is static, it's there. You might blow on it, it stays there. But dynamic means it moves, it progresses, it achieves. Some lives are static. You encourage them, they're just there. You enlighten them, they're just there. They say, "I'm okay the way I am." But you are not okay. You can do better. You can go higher. You can achieve more. You can have more of God in your life.
Thank God I came here this morning not to preach to static people but to dynamic people. Exploits in your life will be dynamic in Jesus name.
Such dynamic exploit needs a foundation—a sure foundation. Looking at 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 19 again: "Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure."
Once God takes over as the controller and director of your life, the foundation is sure. You'll make progress in life. Once Christ takes over your life—you've controlled that life for 27 years, 42 years, 70 or 75 years—look at where you have reached. Hand over the control unto me. When you hand over the control of your life to the Lord, there's a sure foundation now.
You're going to build a great life, a gracious life, a great family, a gracious family, a great ministry, a gracious ministry. When you hand over the control of your life, your family, your ministry unto the Lord, allow him to control. The way you used to speak—don't speak that way anymore. You are not in control anymore. He is in control. The way you used to think—"That's what I'm going to do, nobody can change my mind"—you're not in control anymore. That's the way you controlled for all these many years, and look at where it has landed you. But now the control is totally in the hand of the Lord.
Everything that is useless will shake out of your life. Every good thing you don't have, he'll command and convey into your life. Heaven, glory, power will come into your life in Jesus name.
"The foundation of God stands sure, having the seal."
You know, in the olden days when an authority like a king put something there they didn't want anybody to touch, they'd put the seal of the king there—the stamp of the king—and there would be soldiers watching. Nobody would touch that thing or remove the seal. When you come to the Lord and your foundation is Christ, there's going to be a seal upon your life. Heavenly bodyguards—angels will watch over you. When demons want to come and destroy this important personality upon whom the seal of God is, heaven will drive them away.
"The Lord knoweth them that are his." It's wonderful when the king knows you and calls you by name. When the principal in your school knows you personally, you're so happy. When the vice chancellor of your university knows you and mentions your name when he looks at you—you are so happy. But now the God of heaven knows you. The Almighty knows you. The supplier of every need knows you. The Savior of the whole earth knows you by name. He knows the decision you have taken. He knows your destiny and your need, and he will supply every need in your life in Jesus name.
He knows you. Sorrow out of your life. Sin out of your life. Sickness out of your life. When a contrary wind is coming your way, he will not allow that wind that will swallow you up or bury you. He will not allow that to get to you.
"Let everyone that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
How and where do we name the name of Christ? When we pray, we say "in Jesus name we pray." We name the name of Christ when we come for salvation, because it says "whosoever calls on his name shall be saved." We name the name of Christ when we drive away evil power and evil spirit from anyone's life.
If you are a Christian and you pray, you name the name of Christ. If you are a minister, when you pray and preach, you name the name of Christ. If the naming of Christ is going to be effective through you, through your life and through your ministry, you must depart from iniquity.
Sometimes iniquity is there and you happen to be geographically in that area, but you didn't know. Now that you know there's iniquity surrounding this place, idolatry surrounding this place, negativism, immorality, quarrel, fighting, ungodliness, insincerity, inconsistency, temptation, and yokes surrounding this place—and you want to name the name of Christ and you want the name of Christ to be effective when you pray, when you ask, when you face challenges—you must depart from iniquity. Iniquity will not be in your life, and you'll have a sure foundation for dynamic exploits in Jesus name.
It's the steadfast foundation. When we were very young and were given something to plant, we saw daddy planting it, saw it growing and bringing fruit. So they gave us the same thing to plant. The next hour we'd go check—why is it not growing? We'd dig it up again and plant in another place. Another day we'd check. The following day, we'd plant in yet another place, thinking it's not growing. We didn't know. We weren't steadfast.
That was like everything in our lives. You try that, it's not working—you quit. You try another business, it's not working—you try another one. You keep planting the same thing in different places at different times. If we keep doing that until we grow old, nothing good comes up. That's why we need to be steadfast with the Lord. The foundation that is going to carry a magnificent building must be steadfast. You will be steadfast in Jesus name, and the exploits in your life will be distinguished exploits in Jesus name.
Looking at Luke chapter 6, verse 46: "Why call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
If we call him Lord, then you know he said: "You come, you're here, you do." You know him as Savior. You know him as Lord. Do what he says. Why would you call him Savior if you don't allow him to save you from your sin? Why would you call him Lord if you do not do what he says so that he can be Lord and director of your life?
Verse 47: "Whosoever cometh to me..." We're not coming to the preacher or the evangelist. The evangelist is just a herald declaring the word of God. The evangelist does not save—Christ saves. Christ is the power of our lives. The preacher is not the power of our lives. If you come to him, he will empower you, he will energize you, and you'll not be weak anymore—you will be strong.
"Whosoever cometh to me and heareth my sayings and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like."
Verse 48: "He is like a man which buildeth his house and digth deep and laid the foundation on a rock. And when the floods arose and the stream beat vehemently upon that house, it could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock."
That's your new life. That's your new ministry. That's your new endeavor. From this morning, you come. Don't worry about the past. The mistakes we made, we made. The failures we had, we had. The foolishness we had in the past—it's done. It's done.
When you're holding an egg and that egg falls and breaks, you cannot scoop it up and make it whole again. That's gone. But now there are hundreds and thousands of eggs that will replace that one broken egg. Your life might be broken, your ministry might be broken, your family might be broken. Maybe you cannot do anything about that again. But heaven will do something about that. He'll repair your life. He'll restore your life. He'll reform your life. And things will start today on a new note in Jesus name.
I see a rising person before me. Rising man, rising woman, rising boy, rising girl before me here today in Jesus name.
We're talking today on knowing God more and more for extraordinary unprecedented exploits. Looking at Daniel chapter 11, verse 32:
"And such as due wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits."
Exploits are great wonders. Exploits are great miracles, great manifestations of the power of the Almighty coming from heaven. The people that do know their God shall be strong.
Before you can help your community, your country, before you can help the church and be a blessing to the people of God and to all creation, you must be strong in faith. Faith is the key. It's the faith we have in God that makes us pray. It's the faith we have in God that makes us expect. It's the faith we have in God that makes us receive.
The people that know their God shall be strong. Abraham was strong in faith. Moses was strong in faith. Joshua was strong in faith. David, who destroyed Goliath not for himself but for the nation of Israel, was strong in faith. Elijah, who brought revival to the nation of Israel and wiped out the worship of the idol of Baal, was strong in faith. Elisha, who followed after and healed not just one person but healed the land, was strong in faith. Daniel, in Babylon, who held the whole Babylonian nation to know the Lord, was strong in faith.
When you come to the New Testament, you have Peter, John, Paul—the people that do know their God will be strong. And all these have gone. You are the man of the hour. You are the woman of the hour. To help your nation, to help your state, to help your country and beyond—the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.
Let me speak about Moses. The exploits that Moses did were not just for the people among the people and himself. The people were thirsty—the whole nation said, "What shall we drink?" Remember that Moses too was thirsty. He had no water to drink. They had no water. And the Lord told him, "Strike that rock." When he struck the rock, water came out for the people and for the prophet.
You see, the people that do exploits in days gone by—it's not just exploits for others. Exploits for the people that have need too. They did exploits in their personal lives. It will be surprising if the whole nation receives quenching and refreshing of their thirst, but Moses the prophet did not get it. He got what he gave to the people. It will be surprising when he stretched the rod and the people of Israel passed over on dry ground—exploits—if he didn't also pass over.
The exploits that is done by a man of God, a woman of God, a prophet of God, a preacher of the word—the people that do know their God, the prophet that knows his God, he'll do exploits. Exploits that benefit the nation. Exploits that benefit others. Exploits in their personal life.
We preach salvation. And when people get saved, that's a great miracle—exploits. It will be surprising and unscriptural for the one that preaches salvation to others to be without salvation himself. The water you bring out of the rock is for them and also for you.
The preachers that preach holiness, sanctification, purity of heart—it will be surprising if the miracle of a changed heart, of a purified heart, of a sanctified heart is done in the lives of others but not in the heart of the preacher himself. The exploits done in the lives of other people must begin with the life of the preacher, the prophet, the pastor, the proclaimer himself.
We preach the word of Christ: "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you." When the preacher preaches, the Holy Ghost comes in the fullness of might and power upon the sanctified people. But it will be contradictory and surprising if the preacher that preaches the power in the Holy Ghost himself has a broken backbone for ministry. He doesn't have the power that he preaches about and gives to other people.
The pastor, the preacher, the proclaimer that knows his God shall be strong and do exploits. And the exploits is not just for the crowd. The exploits must be for himself as well.
You know, we're seeing families uniting together. There are some families that broke up and said to one another that they would never come back again. But in one of the meetings, a man who had separated—not just separated, but severed, cut off from his wife, and there had been a very violent divorce—got saved. And the woman, unknown to him, got saved. At a meeting, the man came and the woman came. It so happened—this is not accidental, this is providential, this is God at work—the man was about to sit down and the woman looked and said, "So you come to this kind of meeting." The husband said, "So you, you come, you of all people." She said, "Yes, I come." They sat down. They had the word of God. They didn't go back to their separate homes immediately after that meeting. They reconciled. They came together again.
That is an exploit. The preacher, the pastor, a proclaimer who knows his God will be strong and do exploits. If the exploit of reconciling husband and wife is being done by your proclamation, that kind of exploit must also be in your home.
Moses went to the top of a mountain and God gave him the Ten Commandments: "Thou shall have no other gods. You will not call the name of God in vain. You will not make any representation of God. You will remember the Lord's day. Honor your father and mother. You will not commit adultery. You will not kill. You will not bear false witness. You will not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor."
He delivered that eventually to the children of Israel. It was a great exploit because they said, "What nation is so great and so mighty that has this kind of law that the Lord has given?" But if he was telling the people the exploits in our nation that you will not commit adultery, it would be embarrassingly surprising if the man that brought that law was committing adultery himself. No, it shouldn't happen that way.
The exploits that is done in our ministry or through your ministry must also be reflected in your personal life and in your family as well as in everything. Everything that you do—exploits you will do. And it will start in your personal life. It all starts in your home, and everything you preach.
The holiness without which no man shall see the Lord—that holiness in its entirety, in its completeness, in its depth, in its height will be reflected in your life.
We don't just meet anyone in one place. The dedication we have is for exploits through the entire world—from the old to the new, from the beginning to the very end.
Looking at Matthew chapter 28, verse 18: "Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
The one who has called us, the one who has converted us, the one who has consecrated us to follow, the one who has commissioned us—all power in heaven and on earth is given unto him.
Verse 19: "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."
Verse 20: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."
Whatsoever I have commanded you—you don't go to the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders of the land, asking "What do you want me to teach?" Already the Lord Jesus Christ has told us, has given us what to teach.
He wants us to teach repentance. He wants us to teach faith: "Except you believe in me, ye shall all likewise perish." He has told us: Blessed are the poor in spirit—he wants us to teach humility and to demonstrate humility, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the people that mourn when there is sin. We shouldn't joke about it but mourn to see sin all around you. That fellow is doing evil even in the presence of God in the church. We don't say he's a smart guy. No, he's dumb, he's foolish to come to the presence of God, the lawgiver, and break his law in his very presence.
We preach the word of Christ: Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you. When the preacher preaches, the Holy Ghost comes in the fullness of might and power. And it says that we will teach everywhere we go and observe all the things whatsoever he has commanded us.
"Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
The Lord will be with us always, even unto the end of the world.
Looking at Luke chapter 9, verse 23: "And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself."
When Christ speaks, he speaks to all. Why? Because he is Lord of all. He speaks to the ministers. He speaks to the members. He speaks to them all. The minister cannot withdraw himself and say "I'm a minister. All that is spoken to the members is for them, not for me." Everyone, because Jesus is Lord of all.
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself. A follower of Christ, a real Christian, a disciple of Christ, does not say every word that comes to his mind. You examine those words. Will those words discourage people? Will those words show that you are an obedient follower of Christ? Will that word show that you are born again?
Any word can come to your mind, any idea can come to your mind. But you deny yourself of the pleasure of seeing what is wrong and taking action. There might be an action you used to carry out when you didn't know God fully. Now you know God afresh and fully. You know him as Savior. You know him as the purifier. You know him as the sanctifier.
Now that you know him and you know his word deeper than before, higher than before, there might be an action you want to take because that's what you have always done. Somebody does something you don't like, you always take this action. But you know him more now, and you deny yourself of such action.
There might be things you had always enjoyed. Maybe when you were young as an adult, there was a father figure, maybe not your father directly, but a father figure. You saw that he enjoyed a particular thing. As a little boy, little girl, you appreciated him. And that's what they always did. You didn't question it. But now you're born again, and the word of your Father in heaven takes precedence over any father on earth, over any relation on earth.
When the idea, the temptation, the pull comes that you do this—because now you know your God and you are strong—you deny yourself. I can't do that again. Now I'm born again. I can't do that again. Now I'm a child of God. I can't do that again because I am conscious. Everything I do, there is a heavenly eye watching me. Everything I say, there is the eternal ear of the Almighty God hearing me. Anywhere I go, there is the Almighty eternal one evaluating what I do.
And because of that now, and I'm following Christ, you deny yourself and take up his cross daily.
Following Christ—he, the one that bore the cross, brought that to Calvary. Why did he have the cross to bear? Because the religious people were against him and decided to crucify him. If he had said what they wanted to hear rather than what God told him to say, if he had done what they appreciated rather than what pleased the Father in heaven that sent him, if he had told the lie that they wanted him to walk in, they would not have put a cross for him to carry and then crucify him.
It was because his way was not approved by them. And you know, when you come to follow Christ and follow the word of Christ and the way of Christ, your way will not please everybody. The people who are not happy with your direction, your choice, your lifestyle, your standing, your steadfastness, you will put their own cross also before you.
But you know, we have decided to follow Christ. No turning back. No turning back. The cross before me, the crown also coming after the cross. No turning back. No turning back. And every day, whatever cross comes on the basis that you are following after the way and the word and the will of God, you carry that cross daily and keep on following. Whatever the price, whatever the penalty from the people of the world, you keep on following Christ.
We do that because of the word of God that we have received. We have faith—unshakable faith in that word of God.
Romans chapter 10, verse 17: "So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God."
The faith that makes you stand, the faith that gets you saved, the faith that keeps you saved, the faith that makes you steadfast—no turning back, no turning aside, no falling by the wayside, no collapsing on the way. You keep on standing. That faith comes by the word. It comes through the word. And when you hear that word, you believe that word—that Jesus is now your Lord, Jesus is now your Savior.
And what you believe in the heart, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. "I believe in my heart that Jesus was raised from the dead for me, and that brings you righteousness in him. And I confess with your mouth what you have in your heart, and you say he now is my Lord and my Savior."
Because you have this unshakable faith in the Lord—whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then after that, you now continue to read your Bible, not like you read it in the past. You read the Bible now to know, to know, to know God more and more. And as you know God more and more every day, your faith will be strong. Your faith will do exploits.
It is very good to honor and respect every man of God. I say that to tell you this: We respect and love Moses. But Moses is not here with us. As much as we respect him, we don't say, "Well, that's Moses. This is me. I cannot." You can. I said you can.
We love and respect Elijah, that great man of God. The mighty force of heaven came and wiped out Baal worship in the land. Respect that man. But he's gone. You are the man here today. You're the woman here today. We don't respect the past to the point that we minimize the present.
You know, when you were a baby, your teacher could write. You couldn't write. But then you didn't remain a baby all your life. All that the teacher could write, now you can write. And there was a professor that taught you, and when he taught you, you marveled at the depths of knowledge. But now, after the professor taught you, you graduated. After graduation maybe you became a lecturer, and now you're a professor yourself. What the professors did, now you can do. In the spiritual realm, the same—we don't elevate any man of God, any woman of God to the height: "It's them. What they do, I cannot do." You will do.
All you need is to be strong. The people that do know their God will be strong. And God make you stronger. And when God makes you stronger—what will you do? What will you see and do in your life? The Lord confirm that from heaven upon you.
There are weak people all around. Yet a strong man, a spiritual man, will not exploit the weak. You might be a director, a place of work. All the people that follow, they're weak in the sense that they don't have the power you have, and of course they don't have the knowledge you have. We must be the real people of God—whatever authority we have, whatever power we have, we know the people behind us, that are following us, they're weak.
Maybe they cannot challenge us, maybe they can, but they will not challenge us. We must not take advantage of our position against their personality and exploit and oppress the weak. There was a time you were weak too. At least you were a baby and any little thing could crush you. And there were times you had more than others in that place. Mommy did not crush you. Mommy helped you. There was a time you'd walk a little and fall, and Daddy did not break your leg asking, "Why are you wobbling like that?"
So the people that were before us were strong when we were weak. Their dad, their mom, their teacher, their leader—they were strong. But very careful—you don't use your authority and your power to exploit the weak. You will not exploit people.
The people that have talent—talent to speak, that talent of speaking makes them strong, lifts them high, and they're rich already. Don't use your knowledge to exploit the poor. It might even be the knowledge of Scripture. Because you know how to move the emotion of the people, and those people you can tell them, "You know the money you have, you can promise them quite a lot. Bring this." Don't do that in secret.
The weak are poor. You are rich already. Why will you use your position to exploit the weak? The Lord forgive those who have done that in the past in Jesus name. And the Lord renew us that your will add value, your will add confidence, you will add faith, you will add even finance to all the people who are weak or do not have what you have in Jesus name.
You know, there are people that say so the seed well is in the word of God—whatever you sow, you're reaping. But it's not just the people that are to sow. The preacher also must sow. You know the promise that if you sow, your preacher, pastor, God blesses those who give. Don't just leave the giving to the rest of the people. We too who are preaching, we too who have all these generous things—please.
I have a jacket to put on my back and I have this and I have that. Instead of asking the people "Come and sow, come and sow into my life," I think I ought to sew into your life. And preachers must not exploit people. We must sow good things in the lives of people. The Lord help us that we will do exploits, but we are not selling exploits. We'll pray and the sick will be healed, but we are not selling healing. We'll pray and God will bless the people. We're not selling blessing. We're doing exploits without exploiting the weak.
Looking at Matthew chapter 10, verse 7: "As she go preach saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Verse 8: "Heal the sick. That's what you will do. Say that: That's what I will do. That's exploit. Heal the sick. The power will come to you. The faith will abide in you. The urge, the expectation: Christ lives in me. I'm not the healer. He is the healer. He lives within me. You will do it in Jesus name.**
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. No matter how big, how fat, how tall, how strong, how stubborn, that demon is, you'll cast it out.
Now look at what follows here: "Freely ye have received. Freely give." How much did you pay for your salvation? Nothing. Jesus paid it all. Go give that message, that miracle of salvation to others. Remember—you got it freely. You give it freely.
How much did you pay for the faith to be healed and the faith to heal? Nothing. Jesus paid it all. It says: Whosoever believes in me, these signs shall follow them that believe. You didn't pay anything. You received it freely. Give it to them freely.
How much did you pay for casting out devils? "Silver and gold have I none, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." How much did Peter pay Christ for that? He paid nothing. And when that man rose up, Peter didn't go to him and say, "Don't go yet. Don't go yet. All your sickness, all your sin, you look at what you have received. If we didn't come here, you would not have got that. Go bring money."
No. "Everybody say no. You will not charge for the good things God is going to do through your life. And God is going to use you to do mighty, mighty miracles freely. Freely ye have received. Freely give. I will not exploit the weak. And the Lord bless you. And the Lord use you to do wonders and exploits in the lives of many people in Jesus name.
What Jesus did is that he demonstrated before them. He didn't tell them, "Now, Peter, James, John, Matthew, sit down. I'm going to give you a formula. The formula has four parts. Number one, number two, number three, number four. Apply this formula and what I'm doing you will do."
There is no formula. God just has compassion on you and he called you and he has chosen you. And because he had chosen you, what Christ demonstrated, you will demonstrate in Jesus name.
I will. I will. I will. Now make up your mind: What you say in the believers conference here, when you go back home, you will do it. Once again, I will. The Lord confirm it in your life and family and ministry in Jesus name.
Looking at Mark chapter 16, verse 15: "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
That's what we preach. Don't preach yourself. Don't preach church denomination. Preach the good news, the gospel to every creature. Don't preach your culture.
You know, sometimes you are called to go to another place and those people in that other place are not of the same culture as you are. You don't speak the same language. They don't follow the same pattern of life. Even the way they sow, their dress is different. And you're not going to preach culture to them. You're going to preach the good news to them. If you preach the gospel, the good news, God will confirm it in Jesus name.
Verse 16: "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved. But he that believeth not, even if he is baptized a thousand times, he that believeth not shall be damned."
If you have believed on the Lord, you must have water baptism. If you've had it already after you believe, you don't need to do it anymore. And if you join any new church and they say they're baptizing people—already when you believe, you have been baptized—you don't need to do it again. There is no better baptism, higher baptism, deeper baptism. The baptism you've got—if you lean on the Lord Jesus Christ and you are baptized, you are saved in Jesus name. You don't need to submit to another water baptism.
But if you were baptized as an infant, that's a different thing. When you were an infant, you didn't know. You didn't even know the name of the person sprinkling water on you. The person that says, "I baptize you and I give you the name Johanna," you didn't even know the meaning of the name. You didn't know the man, the priest that was doing that. You must believe first. And it says: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
If you are not saved yet, salvation has now come.
Verse 17: "These signs shall follow them that believe."
You're a believer. I said you are a believer. Now, believers have different kinds of titles. A believer may be called a priest. He may be called an evangelist. He may be called a pastor. He may be called a teacher or even Sunday school teacher. A believer might be called a prophet. A believer might just be called a convert. A believer might be called by just a Christian. But it's not the title. It's the faith you have in Christ. And there's a common denominator.
And that denominator is the word "believe." Them that believe. I believe. I believe. I believe. You know, as a preacher, that's all I can say: I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you, whether you are preacher or not, if you're a real child of God, tell me again: I believe. The same way you believe, the same way I believe. I say I believe. You say I believe. That heaven recognizes us the same way.
And so these signs shall follow them that believe. Them. There. I am part of that "them," and you are part of the "them." What's your name? These signs will follow you because you believe.
"In my name shall they cast out devils."
Devils will not cast you out of your property. The devils will not cast you out of your inheritance. The devils will not cast you out of the ministry. The devils will not cast you out of Christ or his church. On the other hand, any devil making an attempt on you, you cast them out. Thank God—all the good things that the Lord has given and pronounced concerning you, concerning your present, concerning your future—nobody will cast you out. But when you stand and you mention the name of Jesus, you cast every negative thing out of your life in Jesus name.
"They shall speak with new tongues."
God bless your mouth. It will speak the new tongue—tell me, not the old tongue. The old tongue used to say "I am useless." The old tongue used to say "Who am I?" The old tongue used to say "I am a failure." The old tongue used to say "I cannot do any good thing." Old tongue is taken away from your life.
And now new tongue: I am saved. New tongue: I am healed. New tongue: I succeed. And now you used to speak a language that everybody can understand, and they take you up or take you down on that. But now new tongue—you know, when you come to the Lord, he allows you to speak in new language in your own language. You say something new, you never said before. Words of courage, words of conviction, words of confidence.
But now it takes you beyond that, and it gives you another language in the spirit that you never learned before. And when you speak in tongues and you speak that language, even Satan cannot understand that language. You will confuse Satan by the new tongues. And the people that will pick your word, they can't even understand that language. But only God understands. And you speak mysteries unto God. And a new tongue will get you to new places.
Verse 18: "They shall take up serpents."
You know, some people used to go about—something is walking in my body, gets to my shoulder, gets to my tummy. And when it gets to my head, I get dizzy and I fall down. We take that thing up and throw away from your life. Serpents will no more walk in your head. Will no more walk at your back. Will no more walk in your belly. Will no more walk in your feet. When that thing is walking in the field, the pain and the confusion—the mind is confused, the brain is confused. And when you are walking, you cannot walk straight. This day, all that taken away from your life in Jesus name.
And then it says: "If they drink any deadly sin, they will not be hurt." Not that somebody goes ahead and says, "I want to prove something." The devil said to the Lord Jesus Christ, "Throw yourself down, because it is written. The angels will take you up, catch you so that you not break your bone." And Jesus said to Satan: "It is written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Don't use the words of Jesus to tempt the heavenly Father.
No, you don't go out to drink anything which is poisonous. But if accidentally you didn't know—like there was something in the bottle, you thought it was good water to drink or beverage and you put it in the cup and you didn't have good perception in your smelling to know that this is not good and you drank it—the Lord will save your life. Nothing in that bottle will cut short your life. You will live to full age. And everything God has appointed you will do in life, you will do in Jesus name.
"They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Remember once again—remember once again—the water that Moses brought from the rock, he drank part of the water too. And the Red Sea that Moses divided and the people went through—he went through also. In the time of Joshua, when River Jordan was divided miraculously, when the priests were standing there with the ark of the covenant and the people passed over, Joshua also passed over. All were passing over. The preacher will pass over. The pastor will pass over. The priest will pass over. The evangelist will pass over. And now the next person—that very important personality—you will not stay behind. Your will pass over.
They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. What is the hand you are going to lay on the sick? That same hand you lay upon yourself, and you will recover. Anything troubling that belly, lay that hand on that belly, you will recover. Anything painful in the leg—the same hand you are going to lay on the sick, and the Lord your anointed hand will heal any sick one. You lay your hands on yourself, you are healed. On your wife, she's healed. On your husband—you will not cry over your husband because the same faith that Christ has declared, these signs shall follow them. All of them. All of them. All of them that believe. The signs will follow after you.
This morning I accept everything I've heard. This morning I believe everything I've heard. This morning I confess everything I have heard. This morning I do everything I have heard. And this morning I embrace everything I have heard.
The Lord knock away failure out of your life. Weeping out of your life. And the Lord fulfill the strength of heaven upon your life. And the Lord make you ready. But you accept, you believe, you confess, and you do, and you embrace. The Lord make you a doer of exploits in this land.
You are not a failure anymore. You're a believer, and the Lord has brought spiritual, spectacular, supreme, sublime success into your life. Call upon the Lord. He answers prayer. He is answering your prayer.
A person who is going to have all the grace available from the kingdom of God cannot just build a shadow or dig a shadow foundation. It has to be deep. Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church," and the church is made up of the Christians—the people who make up the church upon this rock.
When a real windstorm blows, trees that are hollow inside—though they look big—come down. But when a house is well built with a strong foundation and good spiritual structure, something remarkable happens. When the flood arose and the stream beat vehemently upon that house, it could not shake it. If you're building a house, a life, a family, and a ministry that will not be shaken by any violent storm, that's why you need a foundation. It must be founded upon a rock.
So I must ask you: On what are you building the foundation of your life? Your Christian life? Your spiritual life? Your family life? Your ministerial life?
We're looking at three things:
Exploits means wonders. They are great demonstrations of God's power. If you want to have great grace, great godliness, and the great goodness of God flowing through your life to other people—that's the desirable exploit you want. But that needs a spiritual foundation.
The foundation we're talking about must be spiritual because the life we're talking about is spiritual. The house we're talking about is stable, steady, solid, and spiritual. Another person cannot come and dig the foundation for you and build that house for you. You will build your house spiritual by the grace of God.
Looking at 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 19: "Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure."
Whatever others do, whatever others do not do, whatever lives other people are building—some build a shallow life, others build a superficial life. That's not your concern. You have your life to live. When you were born into this world, you were not born together with that fellow building a shallow foundation. The Lord worked on you all by yourself and brought you into this world for a definite, distinct purpose.
Don't worry about what they're doing. Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure. It says: "Having the seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
Look at your life and consider what you could have been with God living big in you. Consider what you could have been with Christ energizing you. What could you have been if every step you took, every word you spoke, everything you did had been organized and directed by scripture? What could you have been if the grace of God had been there every moment, every day, every week, and every hour since you were born? But it had not been so.
But now you wake up and say: "Shallowness no more." Superficiality no more. That means you will not just stay on the surface. That kind of house put on the surface of the ground with no foundation—they just put that there for the moment. But your life is not just for the moment. Your life is for something wonderful, something great. The wind will try to blow, but this house will not blow away.
If you want that, the foundation you build must be on the name of Jesus. Everyone that names the name of Christ must depart from iniquity. You literally run away from iniquity—that heavy word for wrongdoing, for sin.
Iniquity includes idolatry. If you have been an idol worshipper, if you have been following after the gods and idols of this world, you're seeing: "Lord, iniquity, idolatry no more in my life in Jesus name."
You depart from negativism. When you are negative and the word of God is positive, you say no. It says come, you say no. It says this is the way, you say no. When you've been saying no and no and no to the commandments of the Lord, that's why your life is negative. You depart from negativism.
You depart from immorality. Immorality is so common, and some young people think it's the normal way of life. No, it's the abnormal way of life. You'll not do that anymore because you're building a new life, a great life. If you're building a gracious life and a gracious ministry, you have to have a gracious foundation.
You depart from quarrelsomeness. You cannot build a strong life, a great life on conflict. You cannot build a great life on fighting and quarrelsomeness.
You quit inconsistency. The problem is not that we don't know what to do. Our problem is inconsistency. I know the word of God, but my problem is inconsistency. You promise the Lord, "I will do this," you do it for a day, and then you quit. Before the Lord, decide and stay by that decision. You surrender to the Lord and abide by that decision. Don't come to church during the service saying "All to Jesus I surrender" and then once you leave, take it all back. You will follow till the very end in Jesus name.
You depart from temptation—both being tempted and tempting others. There are people who tempt others, drawing them to fight and conflict. You cannot build a great life, a great profession, a great ministry on tempting others because you need to help others, to lift others up. Depart and flee from anything that is sin and everything called temptation.
You quit every yoke. No yoke will remain in your life. You know, here you are—your hands are free, your feet are free, your mind is free. And then you go to school and some young people get themselves into a gang. They say, "Young man, church boy, there is a group here, and in this group they're bold, they're courageous, they can confront anyone. What makes them bold is that they joined this gang. Come. Stretch your hand out." And they bring a yoke upon you.
I have the permission of God to break the yoke in your life. I have the permission of Christ and the anointing of the Holy Ghost to break that yoke from your life. But if you do not permit, do not yield, do not surrender, what can I do? You must say: I quit all that yoke, I quit all that gang. When that is done, everyone that calls on the name of the Lord will depart from all iniquity, and blessing will come upon you. He'll give you salvation, security, supply. Every need of your life will be supplied fully, adequately, completely in Jesus name.
There are two words: static and dynamic. When something is static, it's there. You might blow on it, it stays there. But dynamic means it moves, it progresses, it achieves. Some lives are static. You encourage them, they're just there. You enlighten them, they're just there. They say, "I'm okay the way I am." But you are not okay. You can do better. You can go higher. You can achieve more. You can have more of God in your life.
Thank God I came here this morning not to preach to static people but to dynamic people. Exploits in your life will be dynamic in Jesus name.
Such dynamic exploit needs a foundation—a sure foundation. Looking at 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 19 again: "Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure."
Once God takes over as the controller and director of your life, the foundation is sure. You'll make progress in life. Once Christ takes over your life—you've controlled that life for 27 years, 42 years, 70 or 75 years—look at where you have reached. Hand over the control unto me. When you hand over the control of your life to the Lord, there's a sure foundation now.
You're going to build a great life, a gracious life, a great family, a gracious family, a great ministry, a gracious ministry. When you hand over the control of your life, your family, your ministry unto the Lord, allow him to control. The way you used to speak—don't speak that way anymore. You are not in control anymore. He is in control. The way you used to think—"That's what I'm going to do, nobody can change my mind"—you're not in control anymore. That's the way you controlled for all these many years, and look at where it has landed you. But now the control is totally in the hand of the Lord.
Everything that is useless will shake out of your life. Every good thing you don't have, he'll command and convey into your life. Heaven, glory, power will come into your life in Jesus name.
"The foundation of God stands sure, having the seal."
You know, in the olden days when an authority like a king put something there they didn't want anybody to touch, they'd put the seal of the king there—the stamp of the king—and there would be soldiers watching. Nobody would touch that thing or remove the seal. When you come to the Lord and your foundation is Christ, there's going to be a seal upon your life. Heavenly bodyguards—angels will watch over you. When demons want to come and destroy this important personality upon whom the seal of God is, heaven will drive them away.
"The Lord knoweth them that are his." It's wonderful when the king knows you and calls you by name. When the principal in your school knows you personally, you're so happy. When the vice chancellor of your university knows you and mentions your name when he looks at you—you are so happy. But now the God of heaven knows you. The Almighty knows you. The supplier of every need knows you. The Savior of the whole earth knows you by name. He knows the decision you have taken. He knows your destiny and your need, and he will supply every need in your life in Jesus name.
He knows you. Sorrow out of your life. Sin out of your life. Sickness out of your life. When a contrary wind is coming your way, he will not allow that wind that will swallow you up or bury you. He will not allow that to get to you.
"Let everyone that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
How and where do we name the name of Christ? When we pray, we say "in Jesus name we pray." We name the name of Christ when we come for salvation, because it says "whosoever calls on his name shall be saved." We name the name of Christ when we drive away evil power and evil spirit from anyone's life.
If you are a Christian and you pray, you name the name of Christ. If you are a minister, when you pray and preach, you name the name of Christ. If the naming of Christ is going to be effective through you, through your life and through your ministry, you must depart from iniquity.
Sometimes iniquity is there and you happen to be geographically in that area, but you didn't know. Now that you know there's iniquity surrounding this place, idolatry surrounding this place, negativism, immorality, quarrel, fighting, ungodliness, insincerity, inconsistency, temptation, and yokes surrounding this place—and you want to name the name of Christ and you want the name of Christ to be effective when you pray, when you ask, when you face challenges—you must depart from iniquity. Iniquity will not be in your life, and you'll have a sure foundation for dynamic exploits in Jesus name.
It's the steadfast foundation. When we were very young and were given something to plant, we saw daddy planting it, saw it growing and bringing fruit. So they gave us the same thing to plant. The next hour we'd go check—why is it not growing? We'd dig it up again and plant in another place. Another day we'd check. The following day, we'd plant in yet another place, thinking it's not growing. We didn't know. We weren't steadfast.
That was like everything in our lives. You try that, it's not working—you quit. You try another business, it's not working—you try another one. You keep planting the same thing in different places at different times. If we keep doing that until we grow old, nothing good comes up. That's why we need to be steadfast with the Lord. The foundation that is going to carry a magnificent building must be steadfast. You will be steadfast in Jesus name, and the exploits in your life will be distinguished exploits in Jesus name.
Looking at Luke chapter 6, verse 46: "Why call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
If we call him Lord, then you know he said: "You come, you're here, you do." You know him as Savior. You know him as Lord. Do what he says. Why would you call him Savior if you don't allow him to save you from your sin? Why would you call him Lord if you do not do what he says so that he can be Lord and director of your life?
Verse 47: "Whosoever cometh to me..." We're not coming to the preacher or the evangelist. The evangelist is just a herald declaring the word of God. The evangelist does not save—Christ saves. Christ is the power of our lives. The preacher is not the power of our lives. If you come to him, he will empower you, he will energize you, and you'll not be weak anymore—you will be strong.
"Whosoever cometh to me and heareth my sayings and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like."
Verse 48: "He is like a man which buildeth his house and digth deep and laid the foundation on a rock. And when the floods arose and the stream beat vehemently upon that house, it could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock."
That's your new life. That's your new ministry. That's your new endeavor. From this morning, you come. Don't worry about the past. The mistakes we made, we made. The failures we had, we had. The foolishness we had in the past—it's done. It's done.
When you're holding an egg and that egg falls and breaks, you cannot scoop it up and make it whole again. That's gone. But now there are hundreds and thousands of eggs that will replace that one broken egg. Your life might be broken, your ministry might be broken, your family might be broken. Maybe you cannot do anything about that again. But heaven will do something about that. He'll repair your life. He'll restore your life. He'll reform your life. And things will start today on a new note in Jesus name.
I see a rising person before me. Rising man, rising woman, rising boy, rising girl before me here today in Jesus name.
We're talking today on knowing God more and more for extraordinary unprecedented exploits. Looking at Daniel chapter 11, verse 32:
"And such as due wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits."
Exploits are great wonders. Exploits are great miracles, great manifestations of the power of the Almighty coming from heaven. The people that do know their God shall be strong.
Before you can help your community, your country, before you can help the church and be a blessing to the people of God and to all creation, you must be strong in faith. Faith is the key. It's the faith we have in God that makes us pray. It's the faith we have in God that makes us expect. It's the faith we have in God that makes us receive.
The people that know their God shall be strong. Abraham was strong in faith. Moses was strong in faith. Joshua was strong in faith. David, who destroyed Goliath not for himself but for the nation of Israel, was strong in faith. Elijah, who brought revival to the nation of Israel and wiped out the worship of the idol of Baal, was strong in faith. Elisha, who followed after and healed not just one person but healed the land, was strong in faith. Daniel, in Babylon, who held the whole Babylonian nation to know the Lord, was strong in faith.
When you come to the New Testament, you have Peter, John, Paul—the people that do know their God will be strong. And all these have gone. You are the man of the hour. You are the woman of the hour. To help your nation, to help your state, to help your country and beyond—the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.
Let me speak about Moses. The exploits that Moses did were not just for the people among the people and himself. The people were thirsty—the whole nation said, "What shall we drink?" Remember that Moses too was thirsty. He had no water to drink. They had no water. And the Lord told him, "Strike that rock." When he struck the rock, water came out for the people and for the prophet.
You see, the people that do exploits in days gone by—it's not just exploits for others. Exploits for the people that have need too. They did exploits in their personal lives. It will be surprising if the whole nation receives quenching and refreshing of their thirst, but Moses the prophet did not get it. He got what he gave to the people. It will be surprising when he stretched the rod and the people of Israel passed over on dry ground—exploits—if he didn't also pass over.
The exploits that is done by a man of God, a woman of God, a prophet of God, a preacher of the word—the people that do know their God, the prophet that knows his God, he'll do exploits. Exploits that benefit the nation. Exploits that benefit others. Exploits in their personal life.
We preach salvation. And when people get saved, that's a great miracle—exploits. It will be surprising and unscriptural for the one that preaches salvation to others to be without salvation himself. The water you bring out of the rock is for them and also for you.
The preachers that preach holiness, sanctification, purity of heart—it will be surprising if the miracle of a changed heart, of a purified heart, of a sanctified heart is done in the lives of others but not in the heart of the preacher himself. The exploits done in the lives of other people must begin with the life of the preacher, the prophet, the pastor, the proclaimer himself.
We preach the word of Christ: "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you." When the preacher preaches, the Holy Ghost comes in the fullness of might and power upon the sanctified people. But it will be contradictory and surprising if the preacher that preaches the power in the Holy Ghost himself has a broken backbone for ministry. He doesn't have the power that he preaches about and gives to other people.
The pastor, the preacher, the proclaimer that knows his God shall be strong and do exploits. And the exploits is not just for the crowd. The exploits must be for himself as well.
You know, we're seeing families uniting together. There are some families that broke up and said to one another that they would never come back again. But in one of the meetings, a man who had separated—not just separated, but severed, cut off from his wife, and there had been a very violent divorce—got saved. And the woman, unknown to him, got saved. At a meeting, the man came and the woman came. It so happened—this is not accidental, this is providential, this is God at work—the man was about to sit down and the woman looked and said, "So you come to this kind of meeting." The husband said, "So you, you come, you of all people." She said, "Yes, I come." They sat down. They had the word of God. They didn't go back to their separate homes immediately after that meeting. They reconciled. They came together again.
That is an exploit. The preacher, the pastor, a proclaimer who knows his God will be strong and do exploits. If the exploit of reconciling husband and wife is being done by your proclamation, that kind of exploit must also be in your home.
Moses went to the top of a mountain and God gave him the Ten Commandments: "Thou shall have no other gods. You will not call the name of God in vain. You will not make any representation of God. You will remember the Lord's day. Honor your father and mother. You will not commit adultery. You will not kill. You will not bear false witness. You will not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor."
He delivered that eventually to the children of Israel. It was a great exploit because they said, "What nation is so great and so mighty that has this kind of law that the Lord has given?" But if he was telling the people the exploits in our nation that you will not commit adultery, it would be embarrassingly surprising if the man that brought that law was committing adultery himself. No, it shouldn't happen that way.
The exploits that is done in our ministry or through your ministry must also be reflected in your personal life and in your family as well as in everything. Everything that you do—exploits you will do. And it will start in your personal life. It all starts in your home, and everything you preach.
The holiness without which no man shall see the Lord—that holiness in its entirety, in its completeness, in its depth, in its height will be reflected in your life.
We don't just meet anyone in one place. The dedication we have is for exploits through the entire world—from the old to the new, from the beginning to the very end.
Looking at Matthew chapter 28, verse 18: "Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
The one who has called us, the one who has converted us, the one who has consecrated us to follow, the one who has commissioned us—all power in heaven and on earth is given unto him.
Verse 19: "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."
Verse 20: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."
Whatsoever I have commanded you—you don't go to the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders of the land, asking "What do you want me to teach?" Already the Lord Jesus Christ has told us, has given us what to teach.
He wants us to teach repentance. He wants us to teach faith: "Except you believe in me, ye shall all likewise perish." He has told us: Blessed are the poor in spirit—he wants us to teach humility and to demonstrate humility, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the people that mourn when there is sin. We shouldn't joke about it but mourn to see sin all around you. That fellow is doing evil even in the presence of God in the church. We don't say he's a smart guy. No, he's dumb, he's foolish to come to the presence of God, the lawgiver, and break his law in his very presence.
We preach the word of Christ: Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you. When the preacher preaches, the Holy Ghost comes in the fullness of might and power. And it says that we will teach everywhere we go and observe all the things whatsoever he has commanded us.
"Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
The Lord will be with us always, even unto the end of the world.
Looking at Luke chapter 9, verse 23: "And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself."
When Christ speaks, he speaks to all. Why? Because he is Lord of all. He speaks to the ministers. He speaks to the members. He speaks to them all. The minister cannot withdraw himself and say "I'm a minister. All that is spoken to the members is for them, not for me." Everyone, because Jesus is Lord of all.
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself. A follower of Christ, a real Christian, a disciple of Christ, does not say every word that comes to his mind. You examine those words. Will those words discourage people? Will those words show that you are an obedient follower of Christ? Will that word show that you are born again?
Any word can come to your mind, any idea can come to your mind. But you deny yourself of the pleasure of seeing what is wrong and taking action. There might be an action you used to carry out when you didn't know God fully. Now you know God afresh and fully. You know him as Savior. You know him as the purifier. You know him as the sanctifier.
Now that you know him and you know his word deeper than before, higher than before, there might be an action you want to take because that's what you have always done. Somebody does something you don't like, you always take this action. But you know him more now, and you deny yourself of such action.
There might be things you had always enjoyed. Maybe when you were young as an adult, there was a father figure, maybe not your father directly, but a father figure. You saw that he enjoyed a particular thing. As a little boy, little girl, you appreciated him. And that's what they always did. You didn't question it. But now you're born again, and the word of your Father in heaven takes precedence over any father on earth, over any relation on earth.
When the idea, the temptation, the pull comes that you do this—because now you know your God and you are strong—you deny yourself. I can't do that again. Now I'm born again. I can't do that again. Now I'm a child of God. I can't do that again because I am conscious. Everything I do, there is a heavenly eye watching me. Everything I say, there is the eternal ear of the Almighty God hearing me. Anywhere I go, there is the Almighty eternal one evaluating what I do.
And because of that now, and I'm following Christ, you deny yourself and take up his cross daily.
Following Christ—he, the one that bore the cross, brought that to Calvary. Why did he have the cross to bear? Because the religious people were against him and decided to crucify him. If he had said what they wanted to hear rather than what God told him to say, if he had done what they appreciated rather than what pleased the Father in heaven that sent him, if he had told the lie that they wanted him to walk in, they would not have put a cross for him to carry and then crucify him.
It was because his way was not approved by them. And you know, when you come to follow Christ and follow the word of Christ and the way of Christ, your way will not please everybody. The people who are not happy with your direction, your choice, your lifestyle, your standing, your steadfastness, you will put their own cross also before you.
But you know, we have decided to follow Christ. No turning back. No turning back. The cross before me, the crown also coming after the cross. No turning back. No turning back. And every day, whatever cross comes on the basis that you are following after the way and the word and the will of God, you carry that cross daily and keep on following. Whatever the price, whatever the penalty from the people of the world, you keep on following Christ.
We do that because of the word of God that we have received. We have faith—unshakable faith in that word of God.
Romans chapter 10, verse 17: "So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God."
The faith that makes you stand, the faith that gets you saved, the faith that keeps you saved, the faith that makes you steadfast—no turning back, no turning aside, no falling by the wayside, no collapsing on the way. You keep on standing. That faith comes by the word. It comes through the word. And when you hear that word, you believe that word—that Jesus is now your Lord, Jesus is now your Savior.
And what you believe in the heart, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. "I believe in my heart that Jesus was raised from the dead for me, and that brings you righteousness in him. And I confess with your mouth what you have in your heart, and you say he now is my Lord and my Savior."
Because you have this unshakable faith in the Lord—whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then after that, you now continue to read your Bible, not like you read it in the past. You read the Bible now to know, to know, to know God more and more. And as you know God more and more every day, your faith will be strong. Your faith will do exploits.
It is very good to honor and respect every man of God. I say that to tell you this: We respect and love Moses. But Moses is not here with us. As much as we respect him, we don't say, "Well, that's Moses. This is me. I cannot." You can. I said you can.
We love and respect Elijah, that great man of God. The mighty force of heaven came and wiped out Baal worship in the land. Respect that man. But he's gone. You are the man here today. You're the woman here today. We don't respect the past to the point that we minimize the present.
You know, when you were a baby, your teacher could write. You couldn't write. But then you didn't remain a baby all your life. All that the teacher could write, now you can write. And there was a professor that taught you, and when he taught you, you marveled at the depths of knowledge. But now, after the professor taught you, you graduated. After graduation maybe you became a lecturer, and now you're a professor yourself. What the professors did, now you can do. In the spiritual realm, the same—we don't elevate any man of God, any woman of God to the height: "It's them. What they do, I cannot do." You will do.
All you need is to be strong. The people that do know their God will be strong. And God make you stronger. And when God makes you stronger—what will you do? What will you see and do in your life? The Lord confirm that from heaven upon you.
There are weak people all around. Yet a strong man, a spiritual man, will not exploit the weak. You might be a director, a place of work. All the people that follow, they're weak in the sense that they don't have the power you have, and of course they don't have the knowledge you have. We must be the real people of God—whatever authority we have, whatever power we have, we know the people behind us, that are following us, they're weak.
Maybe they cannot challenge us, maybe they can, but they will not challenge us. We must not take advantage of our position against their personality and exploit and oppress the weak. There was a time you were weak too. At least you were a baby and any little thing could crush you. And there were times you had more than others in that place. Mommy did not crush you. Mommy helped you. There was a time you'd walk a little and fall, and Daddy did not break your leg asking, "Why are you wobbling like that?"
So the people that were before us were strong when we were weak. Their dad, their mom, their teacher, their leader—they were strong. But very careful—you don't use your authority and your power to exploit the weak. You will not exploit people.
The people that have talent—talent to speak, that talent of speaking makes them strong, lifts them high, and they're rich already. Don't use your knowledge to exploit the poor. It might even be the knowledge of Scripture. Because you know how to move the emotion of the people, and those people you can tell them, "You know the money you have, you can promise them quite a lot. Bring this." Don't do that in secret.
The weak are poor. You are rich already. Why will you use your position to exploit the weak? The Lord forgive those who have done that in the past in Jesus name. And the Lord renew us that your will add value, your will add confidence, you will add faith, you will add even finance to all the people who are weak or do not have what you have in Jesus name.
You know, there are people that say so the seed well is in the word of God—whatever you sow, you're reaping. But it's not just the people that are to sow. The preacher also must sow. You know the promise that if you sow, your preacher, pastor, God blesses those who give. Don't just leave the giving to the rest of the people. We too who are preaching, we too who have all these generous things—please.
I have a jacket to put on my back and I have this and I have that. Instead of asking the people "Come and sow, come and sow into my life," I think I ought to sew into your life. And preachers must not exploit people. We must sow good things in the lives of people. The Lord help us that we will do exploits, but we are not selling exploits. We'll pray and the sick will be healed, but we are not selling healing. We'll pray and God will bless the people. We're not selling blessing. We're doing exploits without exploiting the weak.
Looking at Matthew chapter 10, verse 7: "As she go preach saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Verse 8: "Heal the sick. That's what you will do. Say that: That's what I will do. That's exploit. Heal the sick. The power will come to you. The faith will abide in you. The urge, the expectation: Christ lives in me. I'm not the healer. He is the healer. He lives within me. You will do it in Jesus name.**
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. No matter how big, how fat, how tall, how strong, how stubborn, that demon is, you'll cast it out.
Now look at what follows here: "Freely ye have received. Freely give." How much did you pay for your salvation? Nothing. Jesus paid it all. Go give that message, that miracle of salvation to others. Remember—you got it freely. You give it freely.
How much did you pay for the faith to be healed and the faith to heal? Nothing. Jesus paid it all. It says: Whosoever believes in me, these signs shall follow them that believe. You didn't pay anything. You received it freely. Give it to them freely.
How much did you pay for casting out devils? "Silver and gold have I none, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." How much did Peter pay Christ for that? He paid nothing. And when that man rose up, Peter didn't go to him and say, "Don't go yet. Don't go yet. All your sickness, all your sin, you look at what you have received. If we didn't come here, you would not have got that. Go bring money."
No. "Everybody say no. You will not charge for the good things God is going to do through your life. And God is going to use you to do mighty, mighty miracles freely. Freely ye have received. Freely give. I will not exploit the weak. And the Lord bless you. And the Lord use you to do wonders and exploits in the lives of many people in Jesus name.
What Jesus did is that he demonstrated before them. He didn't tell them, "Now, Peter, James, John, Matthew, sit down. I'm going to give you a formula. The formula has four parts. Number one, number two, number three, number four. Apply this formula and what I'm doing you will do."
There is no formula. God just has compassion on you and he called you and he has chosen you. And because he had chosen you, what Christ demonstrated, you will demonstrate in Jesus name.
I will. I will. I will. Now make up your mind: What you say in the believers conference here, when you go back home, you will do it. Once again, I will. The Lord confirm it in your life and family and ministry in Jesus name.
Looking at Mark chapter 16, verse 15: "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
That's what we preach. Don't preach yourself. Don't preach church denomination. Preach the good news, the gospel to every creature. Don't preach your culture.
You know, sometimes you are called to go to another place and those people in that other place are not of the same culture as you are. You don't speak the same language. They don't follow the same pattern of life. Even the way they sow, their dress is different. And you're not going to preach culture to them. You're going to preach the good news to them. If you preach the gospel, the good news, God will confirm it in Jesus name.
Verse 16: "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved. But he that believeth not, even if he is baptized a thousand times, he that believeth not shall be damned."
If you have believed on the Lord, you must have water baptism. If you've had it already after you believe, you don't need to do it anymore. And if you join any new church and they say they're baptizing people—already when you believe, you have been baptized—you don't need to do it again. There is no better baptism, higher baptism, deeper baptism. The baptism you've got—if you lean on the Lord Jesus Christ and you are baptized, you are saved in Jesus name. You don't need to submit to another water baptism.
But if you were baptized as an infant, that's a different thing. When you were an infant, you didn't know. You didn't even know the name of the person sprinkling water on you. The person that says, "I baptize you and I give you the name Johanna," you didn't even know the meaning of the name. You didn't know the man, the priest that was doing that. You must believe first. And it says: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
If you are not saved yet, salvation has now come.
Verse 17: "These signs shall follow them that believe."
You're a believer. I said you are a believer. Now, believers have different kinds of titles. A believer may be called a priest. He may be called an evangelist. He may be called a pastor. He may be called a teacher or even Sunday school teacher. A believer might be called a prophet. A believer might just be called a convert. A believer might be called by just a Christian. But it's not the title. It's the faith you have in Christ. And there's a common denominator.
And that denominator is the word "believe." Them that believe. I believe. I believe. I believe. You know, as a preacher, that's all I can say: I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you, whether you are preacher or not, if you're a real child of God, tell me again: I believe. The same way you believe, the same way I believe. I say I believe. You say I believe. That heaven recognizes us the same way.
And so these signs shall follow them that believe. Them. There. I am part of that "them," and you are part of the "them." What's your name? These signs will follow you because you believe.
"In my name shall they cast out devils."
Devils will not cast you out of your property. The devils will not cast you out of your inheritance. The devils will not cast you out of the ministry. The devils will not cast you out of Christ or his church. On the other hand, any devil making an attempt on you, you cast them out. Thank God—all the good things that the Lord has given and pronounced concerning you, concerning your present, concerning your future—nobody will cast you out. But when you stand and you mention the name of Jesus, you cast every negative thing out of your life in Jesus name.
"They shall speak with new tongues."
God bless your mouth. It will speak the new tongue—tell me, not the old tongue. The old tongue used to say "I am useless." The old tongue used to say "Who am I?" The old tongue used to say "I am a failure." The old tongue used to say "I cannot do any good thing." Old tongue is taken away from your life.
And now new tongue: I am saved. New tongue: I am healed. New tongue: I succeed. And now you used to speak a language that everybody can understand, and they take you up or take you down on that. But now new tongue—you know, when you come to the Lord, he allows you to speak in new language in your own language. You say something new, you never said before. Words of courage, words of conviction, words of confidence.
But now it takes you beyond that, and it gives you another language in the spirit that you never learned before. And when you speak in tongues and you speak that language, even Satan cannot understand that language. You will confuse Satan by the new tongues. And the people that will pick your word, they can't even understand that language. But only God understands. And you speak mysteries unto God. And a new tongue will get you to new places.
Verse 18: "They shall take up serpents."
You know, some people used to go about—something is walking in my body, gets to my shoulder, gets to my tummy. And when it gets to my head, I get dizzy and I fall down. We take that thing up and throw away from your life. Serpents will no more walk in your head. Will no more walk at your back. Will no more walk in your belly. Will no more walk in your feet. When that thing is walking in the field, the pain and the confusion—the mind is confused, the brain is confused. And when you are walking, you cannot walk straight. This day, all that taken away from your life in Jesus name.
And then it says: "If they drink any deadly sin, they will not be hurt." Not that somebody goes ahead and says, "I want to prove something." The devil said to the Lord Jesus Christ, "Throw yourself down, because it is written. The angels will take you up, catch you so that you not break your bone." And Jesus said to Satan: "It is written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Don't use the words of Jesus to tempt the heavenly Father.
No, you don't go out to drink anything which is poisonous. But if accidentally you didn't know—like there was something in the bottle, you thought it was good water to drink or beverage and you put it in the cup and you didn't have good perception in your smelling to know that this is not good and you drank it—the Lord will save your life. Nothing in that bottle will cut short your life. You will live to full age. And everything God has appointed you will do in life, you will do in Jesus name.
"They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Remember once again—remember once again—the water that Moses brought from the rock, he drank part of the water too. And the Red Sea that Moses divided and the people went through—he went through also. In the time of Joshua, when River Jordan was divided miraculously, when the priests were standing there with the ark of the covenant and the people passed over, Joshua also passed over. All were passing over. The preacher will pass over. The pastor will pass over. The priest will pass over. The evangelist will pass over. And now the next person—that very important personality—you will not stay behind. Your will pass over.
They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. What is the hand you are going to lay on the sick? That same hand you lay upon yourself, and you will recover. Anything troubling that belly, lay that hand on that belly, you will recover. Anything painful in the leg—the same hand you are going to lay on the sick, and the Lord your anointed hand will heal any sick one. You lay your hands on yourself, you are healed. On your wife, she's healed. On your husband—you will not cry over your husband because the same faith that Christ has declared, these signs shall follow them. All of them. All of them. All of them that believe. The signs will follow after you.
This morning I accept everything I've heard. This morning I believe everything I've heard. This morning I confess everything I have heard. This morning I do everything I have heard. And this morning I embrace everything I have heard.
The Lord knock away failure out of your life. Weeping out of your life. And the Lord fulfill the strength of heaven upon your life. And the Lord make you ready. But you accept, you believe, you confess, and you do, and you embrace. The Lord make you a doer of exploits in this land.
You are not a failure anymore. You're a believer, and the Lord has brought spiritual, spectacular, supreme, sublime success into your life. Call upon the Lord. He answers prayer. He is answering your prayer.
