Sunday Sermon by Pastor Rajesh Mathew, 7 March 2021

Acts 28:1- 28 Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.

There is glory ahead! God has kept glory for your life, your family, for your future; not struggles, accidents, bondages, or disease, BUT God has kept His glory for His church. Open you mouths and speak it out -- God has kept glory for me.

What does this mean?

1. The best is yet to come

Haggai 2:9- The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former,’ saith the LORD ofhosts. ‘And in this place will I give peace,’ saith the LORD of hosts.”

The glory of the latter day shall be greater than the glory of the former day. What is ahead of me is even better and very significant.

2. The present is not so good but it won’t remain that way

That struggle will leave, that heaviness in your soul will go, the pain you are feeling will go. You may not be able to see anything good now but God has kept good for you. God has kept the best ahead for you.

Psalm 126:3-4- The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad. Bring back our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South.

The children of Israel went into captivity for 70 years to Babylon. They wrote this psalm even before they went into captivity. You may have gone through bondage but you will come out from there.

There shall be a reversal and you shall return to your land. You may have gone through a struggle temporarily but you will come out.

The Lord has done great things for us.

Psalm 126 :2- Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

And our tongue with singing.

Then they said among the [a]nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

Not just us but even those around us will say that God has done great things for them. In the midst of those that persecute you and belittle you, God will bless you.

When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.

It is impossible to understand in your minds how you could be free. They would have never imagined a time when they would be out of captivity. But by our God, the children will be set free, by my God my ministry will see miracles, my future and my finances will be blessed by the Lord. The Lord holds your future. It will seem like a dream but He is able.

Psalm 126:4- The southern streams.

Israel is a linear country. North on top, south at the bottom. Judah is in the south (signifying the one who praises). In the dry season, the most affected part of Israel is the southern region. It becomes dry very fast. The stream and lakes dry up. But, suddenly the waters fill up in this

region. The rain starts in the north but because of the rains there, the water flows down to the south.

The Holy Spirit is saying that you have been looking into your dryness and your famine like situation (nothing can be seen externally) but suddenly the Lord will fill you up because you prayed.

Certain dryness is leaving people’s lives. Some of you will be totally healed of diseases. How did that way open up, how did the cancer be healed? It is by the LORD!! It happened by the Lord.

Everything is seeming dry. There is no chance. God is saying that there seems like there is absolutely no chance for anything to happen. But there is going to be an overflow. It will seem like a dream. There is glory ahead.

3. Things are good but things can get better

Everything is going pretty fine but it can get better. Elijah was a wealthy farmer but a mantle is going to fall upon him. He is going to arise as a prophet.

4. All things are glorious but you will be changed from one level of glory to another level
5. There was a past that was not so good

The Israelites were going through a crisis. Eli did not raise the children well. A child was born and was named Ichabod meaning glory has departed. There are such times where the glory leaves. The Bible says that there rose a king in Egypt who did not know about Joseph. Certain mistakes make the glory leave your life. BUT there is glory ahead. Still, God is able to restore the lost glory.

Declare this over your life “God will restore glory”.

6. Those that have never known glory will experience something new

What is glory

Proverbs 3:35- The wise shall inherit glory. But shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Glory is the opposite of shame. Whatever is opposite to glory or that which causes shame in your life will be destroyed or resolved by the Holy Spirit.

What are those things that bring shame or are opposite to glory?

1. Diseases- Will you advertise your disease? It is not God’s portion over your life. Any disease in your body and any kind of barrenness to be destroyed over your life.
2. Failures/ Defeat- Will you shout out gladly your failures? God does not delight in your failures. There is glory ahead. Do not be upset, broken and discouraged. God will turn your failures into victories. Imagine India losing against Pakistan in a cricket match. Would you be proud of it? No. Wise have glory. May you be filled with the glory of God. You are victorious in Jesus. Over all the things that tried to destroy you, if you pray, if you look unto Him, He will release His glory. In the end times, God will release His glory over your life and pick up those that have failed and are fallen. It is a mandate of God. God has been asking me to stand with those that have failed and have fallen.

Declare this- “I will not be a failure anymore. I have victory in everything through Christ.” 3. Stagnation - God doesn’t want His people to be stagnant. “Lord, let your glory descend upon me/ us”. Let stagnation leave your life. Move forward. In all levels and areas- financially, spiritually, career wise, may you move forward in Jesus Name.

4. Bondage- Can you glorify God when you are in bondage? Wrong natures and attitudes are a result of bondage. You need to come of it and glorify Jesus. Declare “I am free by the Blood of Jesus”.
5. Excessive sorrow- This is not the momentary grief and sorrow that we experience but perpetual sorrowfulness doesn’t bring glory. GLORY is the absence of all these things. God will help you to forget your failure and your sorrow.

Joseph had two children. Manasseh (meaning ‘the Lord had caused me to forget my past’) and Ephraim (meaning ‘doubly fruitful’). Let God fill me and everything that I have with His glory in Jesus Name.

Proverbs 3:35- "The wise inherit honor, but fools get only shame."

• God doesn’t want you to be foolish.

Who is the foolish?

Psalm 14:1- The fools says in his heart there is no God.

• When believers say that there is no use praying or fasting, there is no difference between you and the fool. You a ‘believing fool’.

Hebrews 11:6- Without faith it is impossible to please God. Everyone who seeks him must know that he exists and is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.

• A wise man is the one who prays and seeks His face, diligently. God will reward such.

The greatest tragedy in life is when men and women cannot manifest the glory that God has kept for them.

• There are two aspects of glory- God’s glory and your glory.

Glory is the full manifestation of your purpose in God.

• There is a glory for the sun, glory for the moon and stars. Each star differs from the other in glory. Each one has their glory. God has kept a unique purpose for you. When this purpose manifests through your life, you are walking in that glory. This morning everything that is hindering you from the purpose of God from manifesting in and through you be broken.

➢ You are insulting God when you do not maximize the opportunities that God has kept for you. ➢ Your glory is released when you carry GOD’s glory. ➢ The power of God is the perfect environment for the glory that God has kept for you to be manifested. ➢ God’s glory is His presence.

Garden of ‘Eden’ means Paradise and Presence. They were placed in His Presence, both Adam and Eve. That’s why their potential and mental capacity was huge. They named over 36000 animal species. He called and so it was called forever. He was in the glory of God. But when he sinned, he was out of the garden.

• All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Sin is not good for the glory of God to be manifested. If you have sinned, come back to God. Don’t play around.

There was a purpose for Paul--- to stand as a witness for Christ in Rome. He reached the island of Malta on his way to Rome. He got into five ships, five types of storms hit him, he got to Malta on a piece of wooden plank. If God is with you, all you need is a plank to save you. If God is not with you, even a huge ship cannot help you.

Acts 23:12- 12 And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

• Religious people had planned to kill him. Wonder why they were so annoyed with him?!

Acts 27:2, 4- 2 So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. 4 When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.

The five storms that came against Paul:

1. The storm of challenges
2. Verse 7a- When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. The storm that opposes you or doesn’t let you in.
3. Verse 11- 11 Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. The storm of impossibility. 4. Verse 14- But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. The storm of opposition
4. The storm of severe challenge

All these storms may have come against you. There is glory ahead. No matter which storm opposes you, if you still haven’t drowned and are staying afloat it is because God has kept you. Why? Because there is glory ahead.

• They wanted Paul to be destroyed. But God kept him. THERE IS GLORY AHEAD. May the purpose of God be fulfilled through you.

Acts 28:1- Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.

The Holy Spirit is saying to me, those you thought are barbaric will show you unusual kindness. Even when you thought that those people are most unlikely to help you, such will come and lift you up and pray for you.

Verse 2: Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.…

• Paul was patient. He gathered the sticks. And when he threw the sticks into the fire, a viper came out because of the heat of the fire.
• 226 people were there but it found only Paul’s hand to bite into and hang from! Some issues in our life is biting us and hanging from us. Be ready to shake it off like Paul did. The Holy Spirit is going to give you victory over such issues. There is glory ahead.

It was a viper. It is a poisonous snake. What was inside Paul? Glory!

Christ in me is the hope of Glory. Who won? It was Paul because there was glory that did not allow the poison to enter his body.

• The anointing of the Holy Spirit of God is more powerful than any poison sent your way and any evil that you experience.
• When a Viper bites, eyes begin to blur, then it spins us and it throws us down. But Like Paul, I will swing it and shake it off.
• Just think about it—why did this viper hang from Paul’s hands? When you read the Bible, of the 66 books, 14 books were by written by this same hand. The one that wrote the greatest number of books in the Bible is Paul. The devil tries to destroy the very thing that God has purposed for you. Today declare that you won’t allow that. God’s glory will manifest through me.

You should also learn to fling that thing that which bites you, you can’t keep crying about it. You are not called to keep showing your wounds to others and crying but you are called to shake it off into the dust.

• There is glory ahead!
• When the anointing descends upon you, that which is hiding inside of you, your family, your children will come creeping out. But you got to kill it and shake it off.

In the very area that the devil tried to destroy you, that will be the same area where God will use you.

Acts – Paul placed his hands on this person. That’s a sign where your ministry is. There is glory ahead for you, Paul. God told him that you need to lift up Jesus in Rome. Till then no matter what attacks you and what storms come against you, God will make you stand.

It is Christ in you the Hope of Glory