Sunday sermon by pastor Rajesh Mathew, 31 October 2021

Leviticus 6:12-13- 12 And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.

• The fire shall ever burn and never go out. RED HOT.

Zechariah 3:2- 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?

Revelations 1:5-6- 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who [a]loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us [b]kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

• In all the three verses we read, there is a word seen commonly, “priest”. In this year, God gave a prophetic word. A year of supernatural encounters.
• Men of impact are men of encounters. People who are being used by God are not just those who pray for some time, or went to Bible college but those who have had an encounter with Jesus Christ. You can always trace such people back to an encounter with God.
• Along with these prophecies, the Holy Spirit will ignite some of you to have a fresh encounter with Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The man of God, TL Osborn came to India years ago and gave the gospel. Nobody got saved. There were no miracles. He went back discouraged and when he was back, he went to a meeting conducted by William Branham was in the US. There he saw an overflow of miracles. It proved that Jesus was a Living God. TL Osborne came back home and told his wife, “William Branham and I both have two hands, two eyes and both of us love Jesus and Jesus too loves us both. What was the difference? I am unable to see the manifestation of God’s presence”. He said to his wife, “I am going to get inside this room and you lock me from outside and I will not get out of this room without an encounter with God.” He sat for days with God’s presence and he had an encounter. He said, “you can open the door darling”. The wife said, when TL Osborne was walking around the house, she couldn’t connect with him. The glory of God upon him would push her back. Then She said, “now I don’t want to be a rumour monger. I also want to be a witness of Jesus Christ. I too am going to enter into the room and I will not get out without an encounter with God.” Both of them were used mightily by the Lord.

Get ready for a manifestation and an encounter with God as a family.

• After I got married, I told Tanya, “Just because you are my wife, you won’t get the pulpit. You have to have you own encounter with the Lord. This doesn’t happen automatically. Let the church respect you by knowing that you are a woman of God”.
• You don’t need a mike or a ministry to manifest God’s Presence. In your homes, while you shop, wile you are out on the streets, you will show forth his glory.

Jesus Christ is real

• Years ago, I was learning about how to grow the church. I was wondering if we need church cell groups? God said, “I haven’t called you for that. I have called you for Raw evangelism. You burn with MY fire and miracles will manifest. God’s glory will be seen”. Say it out loud, “Lord I want to be red hot for you. I want to burn bright for you”.

HOW CAN YOU BE RED HOT FOR JESUS?

PRAYER

• In the book of Genesis, God createdthe heavens and the earth. Borak is the Hebrew word. But when He created man, there is a different word used. He says, “Let US” (the trinity- the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit). He created land and said let the grass spring forth. He saw the waters and said let the fishes swim. Then he said, let US make man. If we are not connected to the source from which we were made, life won’t manifest.
• Grass needs soil, fish needs water and if you disconnect the two they will not survive even for a day. So, since man was made from the Lord, unless you are connected with Him, His love will not manifest through you.

Connect with him in an intimate relationship with Him. Don’t play religion. Connect with Jesus. Real prayer is to stay connected with Jesus. It is not a philosophy, ideology or a principle.

• Adam had no issues, no in- laws, no demons, no disease, no curse. They just had a relationship with God in the cool of the day, they walked with HIM. He was not having a prayer life or a relationship with God for a need. We pray for a need (healing, children’s study).
• Even if you do not have any issues, prayer is an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. You do so, because you love Jesus. If prayer is not real to you, then God is not real to you.

If you forget your prayer, you are forgetting God. Pray up or dry up

Pray or die! It is a relationship! Only through prayer, there is life. It is not a tradition or a law. The one who lights fire is the Lord. Would we have received Jesus unless He had reached out to us and ignited His fire in us?

He is a God who lights the fire. He lit the fire on the altar of our heart. But we are the ones who maintain the fire on this altar. The priests have to put the wood, remove the charcoal and keep the fire burning.

If I place the wood, you will be red hot.

Prayer is Jacob’s ladder.

Genesis 28 talks about the ladder that reaches up to heaven, that Jacob saw.

When you place your heard on the rock of Jesus Christ, a supernatural realm opens up. There is a ladder that connects your home and heaven. For your prayer to ascend and answers to descend, is there is a ladder in your home?

Christianity has become very casual. Red hot is only when you pray. The month of November if for prayer. The year is going to end and you need to have an encounter before that.

If prayer is not a priority, the fire won’t burn. It won’t stay alive.

Shut the door: In Mathew 6:6, Jesus said, shut the door when you pray. It is a private place. You are alone with God. It is a priority. No distraction. No phone calls, no guests. No point listening to 100 sermons.

• Prayer has to be a priority in my calendar and everything else can work around it. if you don’t sit with God, the fire will die down. Even if you have to travel early in the morning, cut down your sleep time, finish your prayer even earlier

Work out is not more important than prayer.

PRAYER IS A

sin killer.

power bringer.

obstacle remover.

dispute healer.

victory giver.

holiness promoter.

Learn to shut the door. My relationship with God comes first.

• I tell my children, that once the door is shut that means that I am in prayer. It is liked Superman. Once he is in the phone booth he comes out flying. You can become a superman when you sit in His presence and all the grace, wisdom and strength you need to battle any situation in your life will be available for you.
• People say, we pray when I get a leading from the Lord. Will you say that about your job? Such are the people who don’t have a prayer life. Will a student say, I don’t have a leading to write my exams? You have to fit into a schedule there! Similarly, even in your spiritual life, you need a discipline. You need to cut the firewood and place it on the altar every day.
• Even if you don’t have a leading, if you sit in His presence, there you will experience His mercy and blessing.

You get paid in your prayer place, God pays you.

In the Bible, there are two times of prayer for the offering. In the morning (the 9th hour) and evening (3rd hour). Prayer should become a priority.

I know of a testimony that really touches my heart - North Koreans and Us are engaged in a gun fire exchange. One of the soldiers gets shot and is lying hurt between the two camps. the firing prolongs and one of the soldiers wishes to rescue him. He keeps looking at his watch and soon, crawls to the hurt soldier and manages to drag him to safety. The commander watches this sight and at the end of the day calls the soldier inside and congratulates him on his bravery. Then he asks him, I noticed something. You kept looking at your watch. Why did you do that?” to this the soldier replied, my mother had promised me that at 9.00 everyday she would be praying for me. So, I waited till it was 9 to step out in the midst of the bullets. I know the bullets won’t hit me while my mom was praying.

Prayer builds a wall of protection around you.

• Every time you pray, you are protected. I always used to tell my team to pray when I step out for ministries. And when I saw something strategic happening in ministry, I knew that prayers were going up.

1 kings 18:36-36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice,that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, letit be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I havedone all these things at Your word.

• in the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah payed and the fire fell.

Daniel 9:21-21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, [a]being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.

• If you are consistent with your prayer life and prayer is your priority then supernatural things will happen for you.
• God will send angels to answer you when you make prayer your priority.

Acts 2:15-15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only [a]the third hour ofthe day.

Peter and John saw a lame man and said, walk, it was the hour of prayer. Even this morning, let some healings manifest. Let tiredness leave. Get up and walk for Jesus.

It is an hour of power. There is no magic in the time but it shows your priority in prayer.

• For miracles to happen and for supernatural realms to open up, to see answers to prayers, you need to pray, remove the ashes and place the wood in the altar.
• Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. He prayed in the garden, he prayed in the wilderness. He always went to a solitary place. And connected alone with God.
• The Holy Spirit told Ezekiel, go into the plain. Move away from people. Move away from crowds. • Isac went into the field to pray and meditate (Genesis 24:63). To a place where there was nobody. Alone with God.

If God needs to do something in your life, HE needs to get you alone with HIM.

• A man of God said, go alone. Don’t take anybody else with you. God wants to tell you something. • Let your heart burn with love for Jesus. Isaac meditated in His presence. He was praying and the camels were coming with Rebekah!

God is a heavenly match maker. Find your partner in the prayer field.

• Some are asking, is it enough to pray? People give suggestions, go to the club, go to the old school meet to find a potential husband or wife. God alone can give you the most suitable partner.
• God will give you a beautiful Rebekah and a handsome Isaac will come into your life. Let God open doors of family lives over your lives in prayer.
• Peter sat under the fig tree and prayed. It is a special place where your pray. A place where there is no disturbance. I don’t want anybody to intrude when I am talking with my God. God will ignite you. In prayer and surrender, you will throw the wood into the altar.
• This generation doesn’t know how to pray. If you do not have a pattern to pray, you will not know how to pray. That’s why from the past there is a pattern that Jesus taught. Luke 11 talks about it. the disciples are asking him to teach them to pray.
• There is no gimmick and falsehood. There are no pretensions. Supernatural is real. Miracles and blessings, healings are real. This morning, look unto the face of Jesus. Get ready to pray in the name of Jesus.

I heard about a survey. One out of every two marriage is sending in divorce. Even among believers. However, the survey says only one out of 2000 marriages end in divorce where both the partners pray together.

Prayer can glue your family life back.

• May God reignite the fire of romance in your marriages.

WHAT WAS THE PATTERN THAT JESUS TAUGHT TO PRAY?

1. Luke 11:2- So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our[a] Father [b]in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. [c]Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

• Hallowed be thy name. make His name great! Lord, You are almighty! You are holy. There is no one like you.
• A child asked a pastor, how big is your God? He showed a plane flying in the sky and said as big as that flight. It is your proximity that determines how big your God is.
• If you coming close to Him in prayer He is big. If you are following Him at a distance, your problems are big and he is small. Hallowed be thy name!

My spiritual Father told me two things when you go into prayer:

1. Call Him by all the Names that is described himself by. El Shaddai, mighty one. Jehovah Jireh. The Lord of my breakthrough!
2. Read the prayers prayed by the anointed ones in the Bible.

• Call Him Jesus. JESUS! Call Him by His Name. Hallowed be thy name, Lord. 2. The priority
• Thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord not my will but your will. We are always telling him what we want.
• Seek first his kingdom and his will! Where should I study, where should I work? not my desires but his will. You need to learn to surrender this
• Learn to tell him, Lord your will, your Kingdom! Only the Lord can sustain the fire.

Tod Beemer talks about the time when the September 9/11 attacks happened at the White House. The plane crashed before it hit the white House. This plane was hijacked. It was under the control of the terrorists. You can hear the person saying, before we go forward to enter into the cockpit,let us say the Lord’s prayer. It is that powerful! You can see it in the video.

• Our Father who art in heaven, holy be thy name, they kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven! Then they went inside.
• I need to buy that house Lord, I need to start a business Lord. But Lord, let thy will be done.3. Provision
• God will give us what we need. God is saying, “ask Me”. There is no lack in His presence or in heaven. God will look after your children. Will He not look after your soul also? He will provide for your needs according to His riches in glory.

Acts 16:16-16Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessedwith a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.• She was a diviner who brought lot of profit to her owners. How much more will the Lordbring

profit to us! When they cast that demon out, the owner put the disciples in prison since they lost the source of their money. There Paul and Silas worshipped and the Lord opened the prison doors. The Presence of the Lord came down, saved the jailer’s family and that eventually became the Philippian church. The church birthed from the dishonour and stripes of Paul.

• If you go through the difficulties and dishonour, God will still use it and build something out of it. • We think that Paul and Silas started churches after starting a Bible school. That was not the case!Paul stepped out listening to the Macedonian call. He thought there will be a mighty revival but he only got beaten and thrown into prison. But that gave birth to the Philippian church and thanks to that, we have the letter to the Philippians in the Bible.

We have these amazing scriptures:

✓ Philippians 1:6- 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

✓ Philippians 2:13- 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

✓ Philippian 3:10- I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

✓ Philippian 4:13- I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

✓ Philippian 4:19- My God shall supply all your needs according to His riche sin glory in Christ Jesus

If our owner is Jesus, He will provide for you. He will profit you. God will bless my bank account, bless my wallets. Prophesy to your kitchens. My God will provide for the children.

Don’t forget the pattern of prayer.

4. Pardon: We find it difficult to pardon others but we want God to pardon us! “Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who sin against us.”
5. Power- “Lead us not into temptation.” Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from all evil.When you pray and descend, you will have authority. You will trample over snakes and scorpions. Let disease and bondages break.
6. Praise:Then you need to return to praise. “Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.” There is a pattern.

When you pray, you are speaking to God. When you read the Bible, God is speaking to you.

Pray aloud, open your mouth and pray. Pray in the name of Jesus. That is how you keep the fire burning in your heart.

Be red hot For Jesus. Burn for Jesus. I should burn with my love for Jesus.