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Month of Knowledge - 2021
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Connected by scripture or shared themes.
Month of Knowledge - 2021
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Connected by scripture or shared themes.
People of God, magnify the name of the Lord! This is the first thanksgiving we will see this year. We will see the last thanksgiving, and we will sit in it with stronger hearts, stronger and healthier, glorifying the name of the Lord.
Father, we give You thanks, we give You honor, we bless and glorify Your name in Jesus' mighty and excellent name, Amen.
Psalm 50:23 — "Whoever offers praise glorifies me."
One of the things we want to do all through this year is to continue to glorify Him—the One who was with us in 2020 and the One who will continue to be with us in 2021. What we do first matters. I want us to give God the best of praise, the best of honor, the best of adoration.
He says, "Whoever honors him, he will also honor." I pray that the honor of God will remain with you and with me, with our families, and in all that we do in the name of Jesus.
When we honor God, we bring to Him what is befitting. We sow a seed of thanksgiving, a seed of gratitude, a seed by faith. Lord, You who have kept us to the first of this year—keep us all through every Sunday, every thanksgiving, every day, every minute, every second, every hour.
Psalm 50:23 — "Whoever glorifies God, whosoever offers praise glorifies Him. And to Him who orders his way right, I will show the salvation of God."
Whoever instructs themselves in the way of the Lord understands that this is the path the Lord has created. The Lord says He will show the salvation of God. I pray that the salvation of God will be our portion as we stand by faith and stand in faith.
The man of God has told us over and over: one of the conduits of faith is the fact that we believe God—the God that knows all things, the God that can do all things. Only by faith can we scale through. Only by faith can we remain standing. Only by faith in God can we stand and say, "The Lord has been good," and that will be your song and my song.
What we are doing this morning is giving thanks by faith to the God who created the heavens and the earth—the One who knows all things and will show us the way. The One we believe in will continue to direct us.
We will not be afraid of what men can do. We will not be afraid of what a virus can do. We will not be afraid of what is out there. We will put our trust in the One that says, "Whoever offers praise glorifies Him."
I want you to glorify God with your seed. I want us to give Him a seed that is defeating and honorable unto the One who honors those who honor Him. When we honor the Lord, He does not forget.
He clears the heavens over us. He allows the heavens to remain open over your life and over my life. What else do we need much more this year than the heavens to be opened? Than the Lord instructing us? Than the Lord helping us?
Let us offer Him praise today in the form of thanksgiving. Let's give unto Him. Let's dance. Let's rejoice. Let us know God and allow Him to know that today, oh Lord, we recognize that You are number one.
The first of the Sundays, the first of the sabbaths, belongs to You. We have come back to say, "Lord, we are grateful. You who have brought us to this first Sunday will take us through every Sunday."
Oh Lord, my God, come Sundays! Oh God, we will look through the week and we will have a reason to thank You. We will have a reason to dance. We will have a reason to say to others, "Come and see what the Lord has done."
We will have a reason to reach out to others and say, "There is a God in heaven who is more than evil. The God of the faithful, the God that when you put your trust in Him, He can do exceedingly abundantly more than we can even think or imagine."
This year is unto us, but it is much more of God. This is the year of God. 2021—the first Sunday of this year, I am coming back to give thanks. Are you giving thanks?
I want you to lift up your voice and say, "Lord, the first Sunday of this year, I'm coming back to give You thanks, my Lord and my Maker, my King and my Deliverer, my Help and my Sustainer, the Everlasting King of Glory. I have come to say, Lord, I am grateful."
Only a grateful heart is permitted to receive much more.
I know that this year, oh God, is just opening and there is much more. Oh Lord, I put my trust in You.
Some trust in chariots, some trust in horses, but I put my trust in You.
As for me and my family, we will serve You. As for me and my family, we will stand in that faith because such is the loss and restoration as it has been spoken by Your Son, oh God.
My ability to soar higher, my ability to fly deeper, my ability to see deeper and greater things—oh God, that is my portion.
Lift up your voice. I want you to thank the Lord for the fact that the Lord will do exceedingly, for the fact that the Lord will do mighty things. As you and I stand in that faith and believe God, this year is our year. The year of God. The year of marvelous works. The year of manifestation. The year of supersonic flight. The year of wondrous deeds. The years of things that eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, that have never entered the heart of men—that God will do for us.
I'd like you to give thanks in that state. I'd like you to thank God in that state. We did it last year; He took us through 2020. That was grace. In 2021, because this is our year of restoration, be excited.
I want you to prepare your seed of thanksgiving over the year. Oh Lord, my God, this is the first of the twelve months of thanksgiving. The next eleven, Lord Jehovah, thanksgiving shall be from glory to glory. Because God does not do the same thing on the same level—He takes us from glory to glory.
His blessings over your life, as you give thanks today, shall be from glory to glory. Light upon your household shall be from glory to glory. Your testimonies shall be from glory to glory. The deeds of God in your life shall be from glory to glory.
The mercies of God that you and I will enjoy this year—it shall be from glory to glory. The wonders of God that you shall enjoy this year—it shall be from glory to glory. The things that God will use your hand to do, the places your future we step into—shall be from glory to glory.
Nobody will be able to pull you down. Nothing that is not of God will be able to stop you. In that way, the Lord will begin to do exploits.
Let's give thanks to the One that is able. Let's give thanks to the miraculous One. Let's give thanks to the great God. Let's give thanks to the great Physician. Let's give thanks unto the Keeper of Zion. Let's give thanks unto the One that is the Builder of our destiny and the Game Changer.
This year, the Lord will change games even on your behalf in the name of Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, it is written that knowledge is power. There is a difference between what they know and what he knows, what she knows. It is on the premise of knowledge.
Knowledge is your ability to know something, whilst wisdom is your ability to do what is needful and necessary. Knowledge is what you acquire, and once you acquire it, you become achieved.
In the scriptures, the word "knowledge" is used in about 172 places in about 169 verses. Knowledge is so profound. Knowledge is so important.
In Genesis Chapter 2, when it all began, God spoke something mysterious:
Genesis 2:9 — "Out of the ground the Lord made to grow every tree that is pleasant in the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
Even from the beginning, knowledge has been established. There is a tree of knowledge of good and evil. Some people acquire knowledge and use it for the good of mankind, whereas some people will have knowledge and use it for evil. The knowledge that the Lord is releasing upon us afresh, we will use it to touch lives. We will use it to impact generations in the mighty name of Jesus.
Let me begin with a solid foundation. In 1 Samuel Chapter 17, we know the story: David went to the valley of Elah to check on his brothers who were with Saul in battle against the Philistines.
When David got there, he heard the voice of Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, threatening the army of Israel. David offered to fight Goliath. They said he was just a young stripping—he didn't make sense.
They took David to King Saul. David shared his testimony from verse 34: "I was minding my father's flock. One day, the lion and the bear came and wanted to smudge one of the sheep. I went after him and smoked him."
After David shared that testimony, Saul armed David with his armor, his sword, and his shield.
1 Samuel 17:39 — "David gathered his courage upon him and he tried to go, and the Bible says, because he had not proved what he was wearing—the armor he wasn't used to it. He didn't have any knowledge. He hadn't proved it. He didn't have any knowledge of it."
He wasn't going to go to battle with the armor and the sword that the king had just given him. Why? Because he didn't have knowledge of it. He had knowledge of stones and a catapult—that was what he had knowledge of. And for him, that was good enough.
When you have knowledge, knowledge is power. When you have knowledge, knowledge becomes strength. When you have knowledge, knowledge becomes deliverance. When you have knowledge, knowledge will shield you from ignorance. Knowledge will shield you from oppression. Knowledge will shield you from being hindered and suppressed.
May the Lord endow you afresh with knowledge as you go after knowledge. As you increase your work rate this year and go after knowledge, you will blossom. You will be indeed like that tree that is planted by the rivers of water that will bring forth his fruit in season.
I remember when I became a Christian. I was so thirsty for God. I tested, and I touched the testing, and in the process of time, I started to serve. I got to know my pastor.
I remember very vividly one fateful day, years ago—about 1998, 1999. My pastor asked me if I could take him to a bookshop in Southeast, near Elephant Castle. It was called the Rock Bookshop. I took him there. He was buying some books and all of a sudden, he looked at me and said, "Brother Chris, buy this concordance, buy this parallel Bible, buy this, and buy that."
By the time I picked up the stuff, there was an old woman also looking around in the bookshop. All of a sudden, the old woman turned to me and said, "Listen to what the man is saying. I'll buy all the things that he's asking you to buy. It may cost you today, but it will profit you tomorrow."
I will never forget that. The knowledge that came from that season began to come. Knowledge is power. Knowledge started to come to me, and I spent about 400 pounds, which was a major sacrifice. But you know what? Knowledge started to come. Knowledge is power.
I pray that you will open your eyes unto knowledge, to the glory of the Almighty God.
I've heard about Daniel Chapter 9. Daniel was one of the scriptures that encouraged me back in those days.
I grew up in a home where there were books all over. My father was a sergeant, and there were books everywhere—enlightened encyclopedias and all that. I grew up in the midst of books. I was just fascinated with books, and that test has remained.
But you know what? As you get into this year, to the glory of the living God, let the Lord enlarge that thirst. Let the Lord increase that thirst so that we can be a blessing and we can begin to do exploits.
Daniel 9:2 — "I understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the prophet—the word that would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of Jerusalem. Daniel says, I got to know that because I read books. I got to know that because I went after knowledge."
I pray, people of God, that knowledge will be upon you in the name of Jesus.
Just as knowledge can be used for good, some people can take on knowledge and use it for evil.
I pray this year: anyone that thinks they have knowledge of you to hinder you, to the glory of the living God, they will fall perpetually in the mighty name of Jesus.
1 Samuel 23:7 — "It was told unto Saul, David is here."
1 Samuel 24:1 — "When Saul returned from following after the Philistines, it was told unto him, David is in the wilderness of Engedi."
Anyone that has knowledge about you, that they know of you—the Lord Almighty will turn things around in the mighty name of Jesus. The knowledge that the Lord is going to give unto us is for good. The Lord will cause it to be so in the mighty name of Jesus.
2 Chronicles 1:10 — "Solomon said, 'Give me now wisdom and give me knowledge. I want knowledge. I don't want to be ignorant in this office. I don't want to be ignorant in this king's office. I just don't want to be a king by title. I want to be a king of knowledge.'"
Solomon says, Lord, give me wisdom. Please give me knowledge. I want knowledge. Give knowledge unto me.
May the Lord endow us with knowledge in the mighty name of Jesus. May the Lord endow us with knowledge to the glory of His praise, Hallelujah.
Let me build the foundation of why knowledge.
Proverbs 2:3 — "If thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice unto understanding—in other words, you must go after knowledge. Solomon says if you cry after knowledge and you lift up your voice for understanding."
Cry after knowledge, people of God. It is for your good. It is for blessings for you. It is for control for you. It is for deliverance for you.
There's an adage in my native tongue: a person that does not know where his mates or her mates are excelling will just be going round and round and round the circle. The person may live an endless life.
I pray for you that will not be your portion in the name of Jesus. Whatever you need to know for you to do well, whatever you need to know for you to excel, may the Lord Almighty release upon you. May the Lord help us this year. He has told us in the declaration of 2021 that we shall be taught of the Lord this year. The Lord will teach us to the glory of His praise.
Proverbs 2:4 — "If thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as treasures—Solomon is saying, think about how precious ornaments of gold and silver are. Think about that, and if you can articulate that, that is the way you should take knowledge."
Now, our Solomon says, put value on knowledge. Put value upon it. Go after it with so much value.
These days our attention span is just decreasing and decreasing. We don't want to read. We don't want to catch up with what is happening.
Knowledge is beautiful.
The other day, we were in the living room, and I got a text from my daughter. She was asking me a question, and I turned to Pastor Abi and was just laughing. She was looking at me, asking, "What is it?" I said, "My daughter just sent me a text, and she was asking a question." I said, "How beautiful it is that she reached out to me to ask me, and I had an answer for her." I felt so good and so proud. It happens all the time.
Life is beautiful. Go after it. Solomon says, look at her as silver and gold. Put value upon knowledge. Treasure knowledge.
Proverbs 2:5 — "Then shall thou have understanding of the fear of God."
When you go after knowledge, this is what shall happen: you shall have understanding of the fear of God. You shall find the knowledge of God. It will lead us to great things.
When we go after knowledge, then we get to know the Word of God. We got to know what the Lord is saying. We understand that knowledge is great.
I was sharing with our teenagers during the festive period about the birth of Christ. We looked at Isaiah 9:6 and Isaiah 11. I was saying to them, "The most important thing is that our Lord Jesus Christ was given. So anybody wants to argue with you out there—you are in school, and everybody argues with you, 'I don't believe in Christmas. You know, all these Bible things'—I said, it's for real."
When you have knowledge, it shields you from the tongue of men. It shields you from confusion of any age that man has lived.
People have got knowledge. This is the most peculiar age. All kinds of things are available now—it's on the Internet, it's on the web. All kinds of belief, all kinds of this, and all kinds of that. If you don't know who you are, you will be swayed away completely. You will be like a leaf that has no branch—you'll just be hustled from this place to that place, from this place to that place.
I'm telling you, people of God, we will have a great time this month. Knowledge gives you balance. Knowledge gives you stability. When you know who you are, you know who you are, you know who you are.
Proverbs 2:9 — "Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity and every good path."
When you have knowledge, then you will know what it means to be righteous. What it means to stand right before God. Righteousness means that God is your judge. Righteousness means that you live by the dictates of God, not what man dictates to you.
All kinds of stuff is happening out there. Do this and do that. Do this at this time. Read it at that time. Watch at this time. Better this time. No! People of God, let us go after knowledge. And when we go after knowledge, look at what Solomon says: then you will understand righteousness and judgment and equity and then you will know the good path that you should follow.
Isn't that beautiful?
Of all my exposure and the things that I've seen, the reason why there is so much oppression in some part of the world is because people don't have knowledge. In some parts of the world, the level of illiteracy is so high. Some people that know will oppress the people that do not know.
I wrote something in my notes. Let me read it to you. I said, "Millions don't know in underprivileged societies that their vote is their voice. Their vote is their voice." What they have been told is that their vote is oppression, incapacitation, compression, and exploitation.
They don't know. So someone will come that has a little bit of knowledge and will hound them. They will give them stipends. Just have a meal, and then they won't.
They don't know that their voice, their vote, is their power. Their vote is their own voice, and they can elect officers into representation offices.
I'm passionate about that. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is power. And that is why in such countries, it amazes me that the budget for education many times is so low.
If only the people get educated, when there is education, when there is knowledge, there will be liberation. There will be liberty. People will have freedom. There will be no oppression. They will know what this means and what that means.
When there is education, when there is knowledge, Hallelujah!
My father told us some amazing stories when we were growing up—amazing stories of how he was growing up and how when a priest came, a reverend came to their city, how glorious it was for the reverend to speak. And the beauty of how he spoke—that was what pointed him on to going after education.
There are many people still today that have never been in the corridors of schools. You know, privileged society and believe in God that in our lifetime, God is going to use you and God is going to use me to liberate millions in the name of Jesus—to give them knowledge, to let them know that this is judgment, this is righteousness, this is equity, and this is the path, the good path of life.
Hallelujah!
Proverbs 2:12 — "To deliver you from the way of the evil man."
When you have knowledge, Solomon says, you will be delivered from the way of the evil man. The evil man will not come knocking and tell you to bow before him.
In Luke Chapter 4 and Matthew Chapter 4, we're talking about Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus had knowledge. The enemy thought he could just bring Scripture and twist Scripture. And Jesus kept on responding back to him:
"Man shall live by the word of God. Not by bread alone, but by every word that cometh from the mouth of God. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."
He continued to respond back to the enemy. Why? He had knowledge. He had knowledge. He had knowledge.
When knowledge comes, fear is suppressed. When knowledge comes, fear is suppressed. You have knowledge. You know who you are. Someone will not come and lord over you or suppress you or think that without them, you can breathe, without them you can do this, you can't. No! You have knowledge.
You know that you're God's child. Just like Job says, "You know that your Redeemer lives. Even though He slays you, you shall yet be merciful. You have knowledge. You can call upon the Lord, and He will answer you. He will show you great and mighty things that you know not."
You have knowledge. Knowledge delivers, people of God. Knowledge delivers. And I believe God Almighty that the Lord will lead us into the place of great deliverance in the mighty name of Jesus.
We shall be delivered by the grace of God. The Lord will deliver us greatly to the awesomeness of His glory. We shall be delivered.
Proverbs 10:14 — "A wise man lay up knowledge as if he's depositing money in the bank."
In other words, a wise man will acquire knowledge, will build on his knowledge, will add to his knowledge, will get exposed to knowledge, will be in the know of what is going on and not be oblivious of what is happening.
No! You must expose yourself to knowledge, Hallelujah!
A wise man lays up knowledge, and the mouth of the foolish is near to destruction. You know what jumped up in my notes is a "knowledge bank." How can I cook? Google it. How can I run? Google it. How can I lose my belly fat? Google it. How can I speak a different language? Google it.
It's a knowledge bank. The guys that put that together are multi-billionaires because they've made knowledge available to us at our fingertips. They've made knowledge available to us. Every little thing, it becomes—in fact, the guy became cliché. You want to joke with someone? Someone says, "What does this mean?" "He's a knowledge bank." Is a knowledge person.
People have got it. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is powerful.
Knowledge is available to you everywhere you turn. There's a library. There's a library online. There are books on your phone. There are e-books. Knowledge is available.
The Woman of God just brought out a fantastic book some weeks ago. When I got mine, I didn't just rush it to print. She said it was another standard when she brought it out. The first set was e-book so people can read it on their phones, on their iPads, on their tablets, on their Mac. Knowledge is available.
I want you to get hold of that like never before.
The beauty of knowledge is that knowledge can be reused. Once you know it, you can use it. You can use it. You know how to drive a car? You can drive anywhere. You know it.
I love to drive. We're traveling as a family. We love to explore. We live to adventure. By the grace of God, in the different continents that we have been in, I would drive. Each time I would tell my friends, "You know what? I went business." They'd say, "Really, you drove?" I said, "What, yes. Knowledge. Knowledge. I know how to drive a car. Where's the road? Let's go."
I can't forget my first trip to China. My host was there. He just learned how to drive, so he was taking me around. I was the me that you may know. I was just boiling inside. I was frustrated. You know what I told him to do? To park so that I would drive. He said, "Are you serious?" I said, "Yes. You know, you can't you have knowledge. It is reusable. That is the beauty of knowledge."
When you have it, it's reusable.
Joshua 1:8 — "This book of the law will not depart from you. You will meditate on it day and night. You meditate upon it at night. Meditate on the content of it. Then shall you make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Once you have knowledge, you go after it. The knowledge you have, you have it. You can reuse it. That's the beauty of knowledge. You can reuse it.
You've been out of work, perhaps. You've been in a field, and you've been out of work for it. Maybe you wanted to do something else. You wanted to stop to have children, to take care of children at home, and all that. You can take yourself back up and dust your certificates and get back out there.
Knowledge is reusable. You have acquired that knowledge. Even if some things may have changed, it would not be difficult for you to adapt and perhaps if there are some things that have been tricked. The foundation remains. You will notice that there is absolutely nothing that is completely lost.
I know perhaps some people in the medical field, in the legal field, maybe they studied in another country. They come to other countries. They do what is called adaptation, and all of that. Even in church, we do what is called assimilation. Knowledge is knowledge. The Word of God is the Word of God.
So we take people through. Now you are in our midst. Maybe the way we do things are slightly different, but it's the same Word of God that we are applying. Perhaps it's just the way that it's put out that may be slightly different, but it's still the same.
So knowledge is reusable. Oh, I've been out of work for four years, five years. What am I going to do? No. Dust yourself back up again. What you knew, you can reuse it. And by the time, if you want to add to it, you won't have to go through all that again. You want to do another degree? You just perhaps do an adaptation, or you want to add to your knowledge. It will not take as long.
The beauty of knowledge is that knowledge can be transferred. So early on, we established that knowledge helps us, like Solomon says, "I want to know good from evil. I want to be able to be a blessing."
We established that when you have it, you can do a lot of good. Some people do evil. That is not our portion. In Matthew Chapter 4, Jesus says He was going to take his followers. He started to pick disciples, and He said He would make them to become fishers of men. So they will now begin to touch upon others. They will begin to lean on to others. They'll begin to help other people.
Remember, even Paul, support young Timothy. What you have learned, you teach our children. Your teacher asks you, "How do you know how to cook? How do you know how to sew? How do you know that?" Somebody taught you.
And what have you done? You were also teaching your children because knowledge is transferable. You teach them how to sew. You teach them how to cook. You teach them how to take care of the home. You teach them management. You teach them this. You teach them that.
Why? Because you have acquired that knowledge, and that knowledge is transferable.
What do lecturers do for us in school? What do teachers do for us in school? Their personal knowledge, they transfer that knowledge to us. They transfer it to us. And that is what we do when we grow to the next level.
Knowledge is precious people of God. I love Psalm 19:10.
Psalm 19:10 — "More to be desired are they than gold—yeah, much more fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."
The Psalmist was talking about the Word of God. But what do you do with the Word of God? You take it on, and it becomes knowledge. Knowledge is very pleasant, people of God. Knowledge is pleasant.
When you have knowledge, the glow and the feel that you have—I'm telling you, I'm telling you—knowledge is continuous. It's beautiful. That's the other thing.
Knowledge can never be out of sought or out of date. Knowledge can never go out of fashion. There's something you're learning even as an older person. You learn, perhaps, how to take care of yourself at an old age. You learn a new skill at an old age that will keep you busy, and it will not make your mind to be idle.
And that's the beauty of knowledge. It's continuous. God has given us such a mighty opportunity that at every time in life, there's something new to be learned. There's something new to be left.
What have you chosen to learn this year? What have you chosen to learn this year? I'm not talking about New Year's resolutions and all that. I'm talking about knowledge, knowledge, people of God.
When you acquire it, why should you go after knowledge? When your quality becomes yours, it becomes yours. It becomes your property. That's the beauty of knowledge. Once you have it, it is yours. It is yours. It is yours.
You know how to do this, and you know you know how to do that. It becomes yours. That's the beauty of knowledge.
Once you have it, once you have it, that was you know, that is a story. I mean, this is not a story. There are millions of stories like that.
Someone just collapsed in the mall. Everybody was frankly running all over the place. And one person just got closer to the person that just collapsed. Everybody was saying, "Please give me space." And everybody started to ask a question, "Who are you?" "I'm a doctor." Oh! And everybody started to move.
Why? Because of knowledge. Because of knowledge. Because of knowledge.
You don't hear the story of a plane that was flying when all of a sudden the pilot got sick? My body was in pandemonium. Everybody was in pandemonium. But, blessed be God, somebody approached the cockpit. "What are you doing? You're not even one. Sit down. Put on your seatbelt. We don't even know what is happening." "I'm a pilot." Everybody changed. The atmosphere of the whole place changed.
Knowledge. Knowledge. Knowledge.
Luke 24:45 — "Jesus lifted up his hands and began to bless them, and he expanded their knowledge of the scriptures."
Because he knew that once they have it, it becomes their own. It is their own. And really, when you get into the book of Acts, they were just quoting Jesus. They were just quoting scriptures. They were just quoting.
Acts 20:35 — "Remember what Jesus told us: it is better to give than to receive. Remember what he told us."
Remember. They were just quoting their knowledge. People of God, you know, you know, you know. When it is acquired, it becomes yours. When it becomes yours, what is the next thing?
When you have knowledge, it's not that which gets you out of trouble. Knowledge gets you out of trouble. Knowledge becomes a form of defense. Knowledge becomes your stability.
You know how people say, "Don't mess with me. I know my rights. I know my right." Knowledge! "I know that's what I should have. I know this. I know that." I know! How many letters I've written to complain about this and to do this and do that because I know that is not right, that is wrong? And I've gotten redressed on several locations, people of God.
Knowledge is power, Hallelujah!
Let me leave this foundation with you today. And I'm going to build upon it next week. We're going to look at the benefits of knowledge—the great benefits of knowledge. We're going to really go and drip into the scriptures. Then we're going to go scientific, if I can put it that way—the capacity of a man.
Maybe you're looking at yourself: "Oh, I passed the time to go to school. I passed the time. Nobody even perhaps went to the corridors of school." These days, the other day, I was online and got on a course that is run by a department of a school in Harvard University. I had that access online.
There's so many things available to us. And one of the things that I gave you—it's available. It is not age-specific. It is not gender-specific. Knowledge is knowledge. Knowledge is knowledge.
It's not that, "Oh, males should not know." No! We have even more female doctors and scientists these days. Females going to the moon, into the space. So it's not gender-specific. Knowledge is knowledge.
He has made it available for us. Even from the onset, knowledge, Hallelujah.
I pray for you today that in the name of Jesus, the Lord Almighty, shall be glorious upon you in the name of Jesus. You will expand your knowledge. You will increase your knowledge. You will increase in capacity.
You will rise up from every oppression. You rise up from everything that has held you bound and held you down. You will rise up, and you become a fortified city. You rise up, and you become a wealthy nation as knowledge becomes light unto your path in the mighty name of Jesus, Hallelujah!
To the Lamb of God, I look forward to sharing some more with you as God in the course of the month. The Lord Almighty bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you in the name of Jesus.
I want to encourage you: Jesus is the truth. He's the way, and he's the life. He's the light, and he's our world. He's our all in all. He's our branch, and we cannot exist without him. We are nothing without him.
I want to encourage you today, people of God, in this new year that we have entered into: Get to know Jesus as your Lord and your personal Savior. Let him be indeed your guide. Let him be your light. Let him be your Holy Lord.
Knowledge in Jesus leads to abundant life. When you know him and you know what he's able to give to you, it led me to write a book called "The Completed Blessing: Abundant Life." It's the knowledge of Him.
He says in John 10:10:
"I have come to give you life, and not just life, but to give you life abundantly."
It takes knowledge to know that even though there is life, then what are you talking about? He says there is a life that is called abundant life. Abundant life is joy. Abundant life is mercy. Upon that life is deliverance. Upon that life is increase, and all of that.
Knowledge allows you to know that when you know what you have, the truth that you know shall make you free. That is the beauty of knowledge.
You want to give your life to Jesus today? I tell you, if you do, it's another pedestal. You begin a different new lease of life. You take on life not as men have told you—not that you have experienced it. It's a different lease of life. It's God himself walking through you, through Jesus Christ, the channel that he has made available.
Let me pray with you. It's a simple prayer. No matter who you are, where you have been, and what you have done, it's a simple prayer. All you are doing—I tell you, we make this thing clear. All you are doing is to say, "You know what? I surrender my life to you. Be my Lord. My Savior."
Why? He knows the way. He's the truth and the life. He's the Alpha and the Omega. He's the beginning and the end. Before you existed, before our fathers knew each other, he has always been.
He told that woman in John Chapter 4, "Before your father Abraham, before your father Jacob, I was." He has been.
So the person that has been as such, the second person of the Trinity, he knows the way. And that's what he said in John Chapter 10: "My sheep, they hear my voice. Strangers' voices, they will not hear."
"The enemy comes still to kill and to destroy, but I have come so that they will have life and have it abundantly."
You want to pray with me today? Say, "Lord Jesus, I surrender myself to you. I give you my life. Be my Lord. Be my personal Savior. Help me to stop living a life of sin. Help me to begin to live a life that you have promised—a life that is abundant, a life that is different to the life that I've ever known. Do this for me, Lord. I submit and surrender in Jesus' name, Amen."
If you've prayed that prayer, I tell you what begins to happen: you begin step by step. Your life will become to shine forth. You begin to see life in a different perspective. What used to cause you to be afraid, you'll be afraid no more.
I'll share those things that next week. Knowledge takes us away from ignorance. It takes us away from oppression, from all kinds of suppression. The things that you think should cause you to be afraid—you see those things, and you laugh.
Knowledge makes you to have that kind of peace. Knowledge gives you peace.
Jesus says, "He that is every lady and body," Matthew 11:20, "Come unto me." It takes knowledge to go to him and not to fret.
God bless you in the name of Jesus, people of God.
You want to bring your tithes and offering this morning? Let me pray with you. Let us give unto Him. Let us pay our tithes and give our offering, and let the blessings of the Lord restore greatly upon our lives this year.
Deuteronomy 28:12 — "It will bless the works of our head."
Are we not excited about this? Here, God is going to bless the work of your hand. What is going to prosper you?
There's someone that's listening to me today. I believe God Almighty that in this month of January, God is going to show you a different path—a different path of increase. Hear me and hear me well.
Wherever you are this year, I shall not be stranded. Then the T there, I shall be taught of the Lord. The Lord will teach me every single day. He would teach me what I don't know.
There are some subjects that they would not have taught us in school. The Holy Spirit would teach us. He's going to teach us this year. You're trying to get something somewhere and trying to understand finances, and the Holy Spirit is going to open the door unto you.
Bring forth your tithes and your offering—your very first one in the year, Hallelujah! With the excitement in your heart, God is going to help us graciously this year and this month in the mighty name of Jesus.
Glory, glory, glory be to the Almighty God!
Everlasting Father, we want to bless You. We want to give You glory, honor, and praise. You want to ask of You, Everlasting Father, that as Your children bring their tithes and their offering today, Your blessings that make it rich and added—no sorrow shall be upon them in the mighty name of Jesus.
As they give, oh Lord, that with their soil shall not return back unto them the manner and the way that they have sown it—but it shall be returned back and multiplied. Other great harvest, amazing harvest! Even as the Lord has spoken, in the name of Jesus.
And Father, Lord, we commit ourselves unto You—body, soul, and spirit. We commit our finances, our resources. We commit our jobs, our visions, our vocations, our careers. We commit them all unto You, God, asking You for matured and divine blessings to be upon them in the mighty and awesome name of Jesus.
Glory and honor be to Your name, oh God. Thank You, our dear Father. You said in the Book, Manna, can we read it clearly and well? The Bible says that when we bring forth our tithes, You say You will open the windows of heaven. He's not subject to debates and subject to this and that. No! That is the path we have chosen to believe.
And we trust in You that when we do so, You are able to open the windows of heaven. You are able to pour the blessing. You are able to cause the virtues for our sake. You are able to make nations to call us blessed. And for us to be a delightful land, thank You, our dear Father.
We give You all the glory, all the honor, all the praise in Jesus' mighty name we pray, Amen.
God bless you!
People of God, magnify the name of the Lord! This is the first thanksgiving we will see this year. We will see the last thanksgiving, and we will sit in it with stronger hearts, stronger and healthier, glorifying the name of the Lord.
Father, we give You thanks, we give You honor, we bless and glorify Your name in Jesus' mighty and excellent name, Amen.
Psalm 50:23 — "Whoever offers praise glorifies me."
One of the things we want to do all through this year is to continue to glorify Him—the One who was with us in 2020 and the One who will continue to be with us in 2021. What we do first matters. I want us to give God the best of praise, the best of honor, the best of adoration.
He says, "Whoever honors him, he will also honor." I pray that the honor of God will remain with you and with me, with our families, and in all that we do in the name of Jesus.
When we honor God, we bring to Him what is befitting. We sow a seed of thanksgiving, a seed of gratitude, a seed by faith. Lord, You who have kept us to the first of this year—keep us all through every Sunday, every thanksgiving, every day, every minute, every second, every hour.
Psalm 50:23 — "Whoever glorifies God, whosoever offers praise glorifies Him. And to Him who orders his way right, I will show the salvation of God."
Whoever instructs themselves in the way of the Lord understands that this is the path the Lord has created. The Lord says He will show the salvation of God. I pray that the salvation of God will be our portion as we stand by faith and stand in faith.
The man of God has told us over and over: one of the conduits of faith is the fact that we believe God—the God that knows all things, the God that can do all things. Only by faith can we scale through. Only by faith can we remain standing. Only by faith in God can we stand and say, "The Lord has been good," and that will be your song and my song.
What we are doing this morning is giving thanks by faith to the God who created the heavens and the earth—the One who knows all things and will show us the way. The One we believe in will continue to direct us.
We will not be afraid of what men can do. We will not be afraid of what a virus can do. We will not be afraid of what is out there. We will put our trust in the One that says, "Whoever offers praise glorifies Him."
I want you to glorify God with your seed. I want us to give Him a seed that is defeating and honorable unto the One who honors those who honor Him. When we honor the Lord, He does not forget.
He clears the heavens over us. He allows the heavens to remain open over your life and over my life. What else do we need much more this year than the heavens to be opened? Than the Lord instructing us? Than the Lord helping us?
Let us offer Him praise today in the form of thanksgiving. Let's give unto Him. Let's dance. Let's rejoice. Let us know God and allow Him to know that today, oh Lord, we recognize that You are number one.
The first of the Sundays, the first of the sabbaths, belongs to You. We have come back to say, "Lord, we are grateful. You who have brought us to this first Sunday will take us through every Sunday."
Oh Lord, my God, come Sundays! Oh God, we will look through the week and we will have a reason to thank You. We will have a reason to dance. We will have a reason to say to others, "Come and see what the Lord has done."
We will have a reason to reach out to others and say, "There is a God in heaven who is more than evil. The God of the faithful, the God that when you put your trust in Him, He can do exceedingly abundantly more than we can even think or imagine."
This year is unto us, but it is much more of God. This is the year of God. 2021—the first Sunday of this year, I am coming back to give thanks. Are you giving thanks?
I want you to lift up your voice and say, "Lord, the first Sunday of this year, I'm coming back to give You thanks, my Lord and my Maker, my King and my Deliverer, my Help and my Sustainer, the Everlasting King of Glory. I have come to say, Lord, I am grateful."
Only a grateful heart is permitted to receive much more.
I know that this year, oh God, is just opening and there is much more. Oh Lord, I put my trust in You.
Some trust in chariots, some trust in horses, but I put my trust in You.
As for me and my family, we will serve You. As for me and my family, we will stand in that faith because such is the loss and restoration as it has been spoken by Your Son, oh God.
My ability to soar higher, my ability to fly deeper, my ability to see deeper and greater things—oh God, that is my portion.
Lift up your voice. I want you to thank the Lord for the fact that the Lord will do exceedingly, for the fact that the Lord will do mighty things. As you and I stand in that faith and believe God, this year is our year. The year of God. The year of marvelous works. The year of manifestation. The year of supersonic flight. The year of wondrous deeds. The years of things that eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, that have never entered the heart of men—that God will do for us.
I'd like you to give thanks in that state. I'd like you to thank God in that state. We did it last year; He took us through 2020. That was grace. In 2021, because this is our year of restoration, be excited.
I want you to prepare your seed of thanksgiving over the year. Oh Lord, my God, this is the first of the twelve months of thanksgiving. The next eleven, Lord Jehovah, thanksgiving shall be from glory to glory. Because God does not do the same thing on the same level—He takes us from glory to glory.
His blessings over your life, as you give thanks today, shall be from glory to glory. Light upon your household shall be from glory to glory. Your testimonies shall be from glory to glory. The deeds of God in your life shall be from glory to glory.
The mercies of God that you and I will enjoy this year—it shall be from glory to glory. The wonders of God that you shall enjoy this year—it shall be from glory to glory. The things that God will use your hand to do, the places your future we step into—shall be from glory to glory.
Nobody will be able to pull you down. Nothing that is not of God will be able to stop you. In that way, the Lord will begin to do exploits.
Let's give thanks to the One that is able. Let's give thanks to the miraculous One. Let's give thanks to the great God. Let's give thanks to the great Physician. Let's give thanks unto the Keeper of Zion. Let's give thanks unto the One that is the Builder of our destiny and the Game Changer.
This year, the Lord will change games even on your behalf in the name of Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, it is written that knowledge is power. There is a difference between what they know and what he knows, what she knows. It is on the premise of knowledge.
Knowledge is your ability to know something, whilst wisdom is your ability to do what is needful and necessary. Knowledge is what you acquire, and once you acquire it, you become achieved.
In the scriptures, the word "knowledge" is used in about 172 places in about 169 verses. Knowledge is so profound. Knowledge is so important.
In Genesis Chapter 2, when it all began, God spoke something mysterious:
Genesis 2:9 — "Out of the ground the Lord made to grow every tree that is pleasant in the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
Even from the beginning, knowledge has been established. There is a tree of knowledge of good and evil. Some people acquire knowledge and use it for the good of mankind, whereas some people will have knowledge and use it for evil. The knowledge that the Lord is releasing upon us afresh, we will use it to touch lives. We will use it to impact generations in the mighty name of Jesus.
Let me begin with a solid foundation. In 1 Samuel Chapter 17, we know the story: David went to the valley of Elah to check on his brothers who were with Saul in battle against the Philistines.
When David got there, he heard the voice of Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, threatening the army of Israel. David offered to fight Goliath. They said he was just a young stripping—he didn't make sense.
They took David to King Saul. David shared his testimony from verse 34: "I was minding my father's flock. One day, the lion and the bear came and wanted to smudge one of the sheep. I went after him and smoked him."
After David shared that testimony, Saul armed David with his armor, his sword, and his shield.
1 Samuel 17:39 — "David gathered his courage upon him and he tried to go, and the Bible says, because he had not proved what he was wearing—the armor he wasn't used to it. He didn't have any knowledge. He hadn't proved it. He didn't have any knowledge of it."
He wasn't going to go to battle with the armor and the sword that the king had just given him. Why? Because he didn't have knowledge of it. He had knowledge of stones and a catapult—that was what he had knowledge of. And for him, that was good enough.
When you have knowledge, knowledge is power. When you have knowledge, knowledge becomes strength. When you have knowledge, knowledge becomes deliverance. When you have knowledge, knowledge will shield you from ignorance. Knowledge will shield you from oppression. Knowledge will shield you from being hindered and suppressed.
May the Lord endow you afresh with knowledge as you go after knowledge. As you increase your work rate this year and go after knowledge, you will blossom. You will be indeed like that tree that is planted by the rivers of water that will bring forth his fruit in season.
I remember when I became a Christian. I was so thirsty for God. I tested, and I touched the testing, and in the process of time, I started to serve. I got to know my pastor.
I remember very vividly one fateful day, years ago—about 1998, 1999. My pastor asked me if I could take him to a bookshop in Southeast, near Elephant Castle. It was called the Rock Bookshop. I took him there. He was buying some books and all of a sudden, he looked at me and said, "Brother Chris, buy this concordance, buy this parallel Bible, buy this, and buy that."
By the time I picked up the stuff, there was an old woman also looking around in the bookshop. All of a sudden, the old woman turned to me and said, "Listen to what the man is saying. I'll buy all the things that he's asking you to buy. It may cost you today, but it will profit you tomorrow."
I will never forget that. The knowledge that came from that season began to come. Knowledge is power. Knowledge started to come to me, and I spent about 400 pounds, which was a major sacrifice. But you know what? Knowledge started to come. Knowledge is power.
I pray that you will open your eyes unto knowledge, to the glory of the Almighty God.
I've heard about Daniel Chapter 9. Daniel was one of the scriptures that encouraged me back in those days.
I grew up in a home where there were books all over. My father was a sergeant, and there were books everywhere—enlightened encyclopedias and all that. I grew up in the midst of books. I was just fascinated with books, and that test has remained.
But you know what? As you get into this year, to the glory of the living God, let the Lord enlarge that thirst. Let the Lord increase that thirst so that we can be a blessing and we can begin to do exploits.
Daniel 9:2 — "I understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the prophet—the word that would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of Jerusalem. Daniel says, I got to know that because I read books. I got to know that because I went after knowledge."
I pray, people of God, that knowledge will be upon you in the name of Jesus.
Just as knowledge can be used for good, some people can take on knowledge and use it for evil.
I pray this year: anyone that thinks they have knowledge of you to hinder you, to the glory of the living God, they will fall perpetually in the mighty name of Jesus.
1 Samuel 23:7 — "It was told unto Saul, David is here."
1 Samuel 24:1 — "When Saul returned from following after the Philistines, it was told unto him, David is in the wilderness of Engedi."
Anyone that has knowledge about you, that they know of you—the Lord Almighty will turn things around in the mighty name of Jesus. The knowledge that the Lord is going to give unto us is for good. The Lord will cause it to be so in the mighty name of Jesus.
2 Chronicles 1:10 — "Solomon said, 'Give me now wisdom and give me knowledge. I want knowledge. I don't want to be ignorant in this office. I don't want to be ignorant in this king's office. I just don't want to be a king by title. I want to be a king of knowledge.'"
Solomon says, Lord, give me wisdom. Please give me knowledge. I want knowledge. Give knowledge unto me.
May the Lord endow us with knowledge in the mighty name of Jesus. May the Lord endow us with knowledge to the glory of His praise, Hallelujah.
Let me build the foundation of why knowledge.
Proverbs 2:3 — "If thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice unto understanding—in other words, you must go after knowledge. Solomon says if you cry after knowledge and you lift up your voice for understanding."
Cry after knowledge, people of God. It is for your good. It is for blessings for you. It is for control for you. It is for deliverance for you.
There's an adage in my native tongue: a person that does not know where his mates or her mates are excelling will just be going round and round and round the circle. The person may live an endless life.
I pray for you that will not be your portion in the name of Jesus. Whatever you need to know for you to do well, whatever you need to know for you to excel, may the Lord Almighty release upon you. May the Lord help us this year. He has told us in the declaration of 2021 that we shall be taught of the Lord this year. The Lord will teach us to the glory of His praise.
Proverbs 2:4 — "If thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as treasures—Solomon is saying, think about how precious ornaments of gold and silver are. Think about that, and if you can articulate that, that is the way you should take knowledge."
Now, our Solomon says, put value on knowledge. Put value upon it. Go after it with so much value.
These days our attention span is just decreasing and decreasing. We don't want to read. We don't want to catch up with what is happening.
Knowledge is beautiful.
The other day, we were in the living room, and I got a text from my daughter. She was asking me a question, and I turned to Pastor Abi and was just laughing. She was looking at me, asking, "What is it?" I said, "My daughter just sent me a text, and she was asking a question." I said, "How beautiful it is that she reached out to me to ask me, and I had an answer for her." I felt so good and so proud. It happens all the time.
Life is beautiful. Go after it. Solomon says, look at her as silver and gold. Put value upon knowledge. Treasure knowledge.
Proverbs 2:5 — "Then shall thou have understanding of the fear of God."
When you go after knowledge, this is what shall happen: you shall have understanding of the fear of God. You shall find the knowledge of God. It will lead us to great things.
When we go after knowledge, then we get to know the Word of God. We got to know what the Lord is saying. We understand that knowledge is great.
I was sharing with our teenagers during the festive period about the birth of Christ. We looked at Isaiah 9:6 and Isaiah 11. I was saying to them, "The most important thing is that our Lord Jesus Christ was given. So anybody wants to argue with you out there—you are in school, and everybody argues with you, 'I don't believe in Christmas. You know, all these Bible things'—I said, it's for real."
When you have knowledge, it shields you from the tongue of men. It shields you from confusion of any age that man has lived.
People have got knowledge. This is the most peculiar age. All kinds of things are available now—it's on the Internet, it's on the web. All kinds of belief, all kinds of this, and all kinds of that. If you don't know who you are, you will be swayed away completely. You will be like a leaf that has no branch—you'll just be hustled from this place to that place, from this place to that place.
I'm telling you, people of God, we will have a great time this month. Knowledge gives you balance. Knowledge gives you stability. When you know who you are, you know who you are, you know who you are.
Proverbs 2:9 — "Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity and every good path."
When you have knowledge, then you will know what it means to be righteous. What it means to stand right before God. Righteousness means that God is your judge. Righteousness means that you live by the dictates of God, not what man dictates to you.
All kinds of stuff is happening out there. Do this and do that. Do this at this time. Read it at that time. Watch at this time. Better this time. No! People of God, let us go after knowledge. And when we go after knowledge, look at what Solomon says: then you will understand righteousness and judgment and equity and then you will know the good path that you should follow.
Isn't that beautiful?
Of all my exposure and the things that I've seen, the reason why there is so much oppression in some part of the world is because people don't have knowledge. In some parts of the world, the level of illiteracy is so high. Some people that know will oppress the people that do not know.
I wrote something in my notes. Let me read it to you. I said, "Millions don't know in underprivileged societies that their vote is their voice. Their vote is their voice." What they have been told is that their vote is oppression, incapacitation, compression, and exploitation.
They don't know. So someone will come that has a little bit of knowledge and will hound them. They will give them stipends. Just have a meal, and then they won't.
They don't know that their voice, their vote, is their power. Their vote is their own voice, and they can elect officers into representation offices.
I'm passionate about that. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is power. And that is why in such countries, it amazes me that the budget for education many times is so low.
If only the people get educated, when there is education, when there is knowledge, there will be liberation. There will be liberty. People will have freedom. There will be no oppression. They will know what this means and what that means.
When there is education, when there is knowledge, Hallelujah!
My father told us some amazing stories when we were growing up—amazing stories of how he was growing up and how when a priest came, a reverend came to their city, how glorious it was for the reverend to speak. And the beauty of how he spoke—that was what pointed him on to going after education.
There are many people still today that have never been in the corridors of schools. You know, privileged society and believe in God that in our lifetime, God is going to use you and God is going to use me to liberate millions in the name of Jesus—to give them knowledge, to let them know that this is judgment, this is righteousness, this is equity, and this is the path, the good path of life.
Hallelujah!
Proverbs 2:12 — "To deliver you from the way of the evil man."
When you have knowledge, Solomon says, you will be delivered from the way of the evil man. The evil man will not come knocking and tell you to bow before him.
In Luke Chapter 4 and Matthew Chapter 4, we're talking about Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus had knowledge. The enemy thought he could just bring Scripture and twist Scripture. And Jesus kept on responding back to him:
"Man shall live by the word of God. Not by bread alone, but by every word that cometh from the mouth of God. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."
He continued to respond back to the enemy. Why? He had knowledge. He had knowledge. He had knowledge.
When knowledge comes, fear is suppressed. When knowledge comes, fear is suppressed. You have knowledge. You know who you are. Someone will not come and lord over you or suppress you or think that without them, you can breathe, without them you can do this, you can't. No! You have knowledge.
You know that you're God's child. Just like Job says, "You know that your Redeemer lives. Even though He slays you, you shall yet be merciful. You have knowledge. You can call upon the Lord, and He will answer you. He will show you great and mighty things that you know not."
You have knowledge. Knowledge delivers, people of God. Knowledge delivers. And I believe God Almighty that the Lord will lead us into the place of great deliverance in the mighty name of Jesus.
We shall be delivered by the grace of God. The Lord will deliver us greatly to the awesomeness of His glory. We shall be delivered.
Proverbs 10:14 — "A wise man lay up knowledge as if he's depositing money in the bank."
In other words, a wise man will acquire knowledge, will build on his knowledge, will add to his knowledge, will get exposed to knowledge, will be in the know of what is going on and not be oblivious of what is happening.
No! You must expose yourself to knowledge, Hallelujah!
A wise man lays up knowledge, and the mouth of the foolish is near to destruction. You know what jumped up in my notes is a "knowledge bank." How can I cook? Google it. How can I run? Google it. How can I lose my belly fat? Google it. How can I speak a different language? Google it.
It's a knowledge bank. The guys that put that together are multi-billionaires because they've made knowledge available to us at our fingertips. They've made knowledge available to us. Every little thing, it becomes—in fact, the guy became cliché. You want to joke with someone? Someone says, "What does this mean?" "He's a knowledge bank." Is a knowledge person.
People have got it. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is powerful.
Knowledge is available to you everywhere you turn. There's a library. There's a library online. There are books on your phone. There are e-books. Knowledge is available.
The Woman of God just brought out a fantastic book some weeks ago. When I got mine, I didn't just rush it to print. She said it was another standard when she brought it out. The first set was e-book so people can read it on their phones, on their iPads, on their tablets, on their Mac. Knowledge is available.
I want you to get hold of that like never before.
The beauty of knowledge is that knowledge can be reused. Once you know it, you can use it. You can use it. You know how to drive a car? You can drive anywhere. You know it.
I love to drive. We're traveling as a family. We love to explore. We live to adventure. By the grace of God, in the different continents that we have been in, I would drive. Each time I would tell my friends, "You know what? I went business." They'd say, "Really, you drove?" I said, "What, yes. Knowledge. Knowledge. I know how to drive a car. Where's the road? Let's go."
I can't forget my first trip to China. My host was there. He just learned how to drive, so he was taking me around. I was the me that you may know. I was just boiling inside. I was frustrated. You know what I told him to do? To park so that I would drive. He said, "Are you serious?" I said, "Yes. You know, you can't you have knowledge. It is reusable. That is the beauty of knowledge."
When you have it, it's reusable.
Joshua 1:8 — "This book of the law will not depart from you. You will meditate on it day and night. You meditate upon it at night. Meditate on the content of it. Then shall you make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Once you have knowledge, you go after it. The knowledge you have, you have it. You can reuse it. That's the beauty of knowledge. You can reuse it.
You've been out of work, perhaps. You've been in a field, and you've been out of work for it. Maybe you wanted to do something else. You wanted to stop to have children, to take care of children at home, and all that. You can take yourself back up and dust your certificates and get back out there.
Knowledge is reusable. You have acquired that knowledge. Even if some things may have changed, it would not be difficult for you to adapt and perhaps if there are some things that have been tricked. The foundation remains. You will notice that there is absolutely nothing that is completely lost.
I know perhaps some people in the medical field, in the legal field, maybe they studied in another country. They come to other countries. They do what is called adaptation, and all of that. Even in church, we do what is called assimilation. Knowledge is knowledge. The Word of God is the Word of God.
So we take people through. Now you are in our midst. Maybe the way we do things are slightly different, but it's the same Word of God that we are applying. Perhaps it's just the way that it's put out that may be slightly different, but it's still the same.
So knowledge is reusable. Oh, I've been out of work for four years, five years. What am I going to do? No. Dust yourself back up again. What you knew, you can reuse it. And by the time, if you want to add to it, you won't have to go through all that again. You want to do another degree? You just perhaps do an adaptation, or you want to add to your knowledge. It will not take as long.
The beauty of knowledge is that knowledge can be transferred. So early on, we established that knowledge helps us, like Solomon says, "I want to know good from evil. I want to be able to be a blessing."
We established that when you have it, you can do a lot of good. Some people do evil. That is not our portion. In Matthew Chapter 4, Jesus says He was going to take his followers. He started to pick disciples, and He said He would make them to become fishers of men. So they will now begin to touch upon others. They will begin to lean on to others. They'll begin to help other people.
Remember, even Paul, support young Timothy. What you have learned, you teach our children. Your teacher asks you, "How do you know how to cook? How do you know how to sew? How do you know that?" Somebody taught you.
And what have you done? You were also teaching your children because knowledge is transferable. You teach them how to sew. You teach them how to cook. You teach them how to take care of the home. You teach them management. You teach them this. You teach them that.
Why? Because you have acquired that knowledge, and that knowledge is transferable.
What do lecturers do for us in school? What do teachers do for us in school? Their personal knowledge, they transfer that knowledge to us. They transfer it to us. And that is what we do when we grow to the next level.
Knowledge is precious people of God. I love Psalm 19:10.
Psalm 19:10 — "More to be desired are they than gold—yeah, much more fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."
The Psalmist was talking about the Word of God. But what do you do with the Word of God? You take it on, and it becomes knowledge. Knowledge is very pleasant, people of God. Knowledge is pleasant.
When you have knowledge, the glow and the feel that you have—I'm telling you, I'm telling you—knowledge is continuous. It's beautiful. That's the other thing.
Knowledge can never be out of sought or out of date. Knowledge can never go out of fashion. There's something you're learning even as an older person. You learn, perhaps, how to take care of yourself at an old age. You learn a new skill at an old age that will keep you busy, and it will not make your mind to be idle.
And that's the beauty of knowledge. It's continuous. God has given us such a mighty opportunity that at every time in life, there's something new to be learned. There's something new to be left.
What have you chosen to learn this year? What have you chosen to learn this year? I'm not talking about New Year's resolutions and all that. I'm talking about knowledge, knowledge, people of God.
When you acquire it, why should you go after knowledge? When your quality becomes yours, it becomes yours. It becomes your property. That's the beauty of knowledge. Once you have it, it is yours. It is yours. It is yours.
You know how to do this, and you know you know how to do that. It becomes yours. That's the beauty of knowledge.
Once you have it, once you have it, that was you know, that is a story. I mean, this is not a story. There are millions of stories like that.
Someone just collapsed in the mall. Everybody was frankly running all over the place. And one person just got closer to the person that just collapsed. Everybody was saying, "Please give me space." And everybody started to ask a question, "Who are you?" "I'm a doctor." Oh! And everybody started to move.
Why? Because of knowledge. Because of knowledge. Because of knowledge.
You don't hear the story of a plane that was flying when all of a sudden the pilot got sick? My body was in pandemonium. Everybody was in pandemonium. But, blessed be God, somebody approached the cockpit. "What are you doing? You're not even one. Sit down. Put on your seatbelt. We don't even know what is happening." "I'm a pilot." Everybody changed. The atmosphere of the whole place changed.
Knowledge. Knowledge. Knowledge.
Luke 24:45 — "Jesus lifted up his hands and began to bless them, and he expanded their knowledge of the scriptures."
Because he knew that once they have it, it becomes their own. It is their own. And really, when you get into the book of Acts, they were just quoting Jesus. They were just quoting scriptures. They were just quoting.
Acts 20:35 — "Remember what Jesus told us: it is better to give than to receive. Remember what he told us."
Remember. They were just quoting their knowledge. People of God, you know, you know, you know. When it is acquired, it becomes yours. When it becomes yours, what is the next thing?
When you have knowledge, it's not that which gets you out of trouble. Knowledge gets you out of trouble. Knowledge becomes a form of defense. Knowledge becomes your stability.
You know how people say, "Don't mess with me. I know my rights. I know my right." Knowledge! "I know that's what I should have. I know this. I know that." I know! How many letters I've written to complain about this and to do this and do that because I know that is not right, that is wrong? And I've gotten redressed on several locations, people of God.
Knowledge is power, Hallelujah!
Let me leave this foundation with you today. And I'm going to build upon it next week. We're going to look at the benefits of knowledge—the great benefits of knowledge. We're going to really go and drip into the scriptures. Then we're going to go scientific, if I can put it that way—the capacity of a man.
Maybe you're looking at yourself: "Oh, I passed the time to go to school. I passed the time. Nobody even perhaps went to the corridors of school." These days, the other day, I was online and got on a course that is run by a department of a school in Harvard University. I had that access online.
There's so many things available to us. And one of the things that I gave you—it's available. It is not age-specific. It is not gender-specific. Knowledge is knowledge. Knowledge is knowledge.
It's not that, "Oh, males should not know." No! We have even more female doctors and scientists these days. Females going to the moon, into the space. So it's not gender-specific. Knowledge is knowledge.
He has made it available for us. Even from the onset, knowledge, Hallelujah.
I pray for you today that in the name of Jesus, the Lord Almighty, shall be glorious upon you in the name of Jesus. You will expand your knowledge. You will increase your knowledge. You will increase in capacity.
You will rise up from every oppression. You rise up from everything that has held you bound and held you down. You will rise up, and you become a fortified city. You rise up, and you become a wealthy nation as knowledge becomes light unto your path in the mighty name of Jesus, Hallelujah!
To the Lamb of God, I look forward to sharing some more with you as God in the course of the month. The Lord Almighty bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you in the name of Jesus.
I want to encourage you: Jesus is the truth. He's the way, and he's the life. He's the light, and he's our world. He's our all in all. He's our branch, and we cannot exist without him. We are nothing without him.
I want to encourage you today, people of God, in this new year that we have entered into: Get to know Jesus as your Lord and your personal Savior. Let him be indeed your guide. Let him be your light. Let him be your Holy Lord.
Knowledge in Jesus leads to abundant life. When you know him and you know what he's able to give to you, it led me to write a book called "The Completed Blessing: Abundant Life." It's the knowledge of Him.
He says in John 10:10:
"I have come to give you life, and not just life, but to give you life abundantly."
It takes knowledge to know that even though there is life, then what are you talking about? He says there is a life that is called abundant life. Abundant life is joy. Abundant life is mercy. Upon that life is deliverance. Upon that life is increase, and all of that.
Knowledge allows you to know that when you know what you have, the truth that you know shall make you free. That is the beauty of knowledge.
You want to give your life to Jesus today? I tell you, if you do, it's another pedestal. You begin a different new lease of life. You take on life not as men have told you—not that you have experienced it. It's a different lease of life. It's God himself walking through you, through Jesus Christ, the channel that he has made available.
Let me pray with you. It's a simple prayer. No matter who you are, where you have been, and what you have done, it's a simple prayer. All you are doing—I tell you, we make this thing clear. All you are doing is to say, "You know what? I surrender my life to you. Be my Lord. My Savior."
Why? He knows the way. He's the truth and the life. He's the Alpha and the Omega. He's the beginning and the end. Before you existed, before our fathers knew each other, he has always been.
He told that woman in John Chapter 4, "Before your father Abraham, before your father Jacob, I was." He has been.
So the person that has been as such, the second person of the Trinity, he knows the way. And that's what he said in John Chapter 10: "My sheep, they hear my voice. Strangers' voices, they will not hear."
"The enemy comes still to kill and to destroy, but I have come so that they will have life and have it abundantly."
You want to pray with me today? Say, "Lord Jesus, I surrender myself to you. I give you my life. Be my Lord. Be my personal Savior. Help me to stop living a life of sin. Help me to begin to live a life that you have promised—a life that is abundant, a life that is different to the life that I've ever known. Do this for me, Lord. I submit and surrender in Jesus' name, Amen."
If you've prayed that prayer, I tell you what begins to happen: you begin step by step. Your life will become to shine forth. You begin to see life in a different perspective. What used to cause you to be afraid, you'll be afraid no more.
I'll share those things that next week. Knowledge takes us away from ignorance. It takes us away from oppression, from all kinds of suppression. The things that you think should cause you to be afraid—you see those things, and you laugh.
Knowledge makes you to have that kind of peace. Knowledge gives you peace.
Jesus says, "He that is every lady and body," Matthew 11:20, "Come unto me." It takes knowledge to go to him and not to fret.
God bless you in the name of Jesus, people of God.
You want to bring your tithes and offering this morning? Let me pray with you. Let us give unto Him. Let us pay our tithes and give our offering, and let the blessings of the Lord restore greatly upon our lives this year.
Deuteronomy 28:12 — "It will bless the works of our head."
Are we not excited about this? Here, God is going to bless the work of your hand. What is going to prosper you?
There's someone that's listening to me today. I believe God Almighty that in this month of January, God is going to show you a different path—a different path of increase. Hear me and hear me well.
Wherever you are this year, I shall not be stranded. Then the T there, I shall be taught of the Lord. The Lord will teach me every single day. He would teach me what I don't know.
There are some subjects that they would not have taught us in school. The Holy Spirit would teach us. He's going to teach us this year. You're trying to get something somewhere and trying to understand finances, and the Holy Spirit is going to open the door unto you.
Bring forth your tithes and your offering—your very first one in the year, Hallelujah! With the excitement in your heart, God is going to help us graciously this year and this month in the mighty name of Jesus.
Glory, glory, glory be to the Almighty God!
Everlasting Father, we want to bless You. We want to give You glory, honor, and praise. You want to ask of You, Everlasting Father, that as Your children bring their tithes and their offering today, Your blessings that make it rich and added—no sorrow shall be upon them in the mighty name of Jesus.
As they give, oh Lord, that with their soil shall not return back unto them the manner and the way that they have sown it—but it shall be returned back and multiplied. Other great harvest, amazing harvest! Even as the Lord has spoken, in the name of Jesus.
And Father, Lord, we commit ourselves unto You—body, soul, and spirit. We commit our finances, our resources. We commit our jobs, our visions, our vocations, our careers. We commit them all unto You, God, asking You for matured and divine blessings to be upon them in the mighty and awesome name of Jesus.
Glory and honor be to Your name, oh God. Thank You, our dear Father. You said in the Book, Manna, can we read it clearly and well? The Bible says that when we bring forth our tithes, You say You will open the windows of heaven. He's not subject to debates and subject to this and that. No! That is the path we have chosen to believe.
And we trust in You that when we do so, You are able to open the windows of heaven. You are able to pour the blessing. You are able to cause the virtues for our sake. You are able to make nations to call us blessed. And for us to be a delightful land, thank You, our dear Father.
We give You all the glory, all the honor, all the praise in Jesus' mighty name we pray, Amen.
God bless you!
