Sunday Sermon by Pastor Rajesh Mathew on 6 Feb 2022

Psalm 28:7- The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.

Proverbs 4:18- The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine. But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker— travellers can’t see a thing; they fall flat on their faces. (MSG BIBLE)

It is time to gain momentum!

• The longer they live, the brighter they shine. The Lord is my help and He is my salvation. • It's time to gain momentum. The process of movement has to gain momentum. • The more quickly you begin to move, the less the chances of you stopping. • The brightness only keeps on increasing. The darkness cannot overcome it.

Some of you are hoping to gain momentum in your life. God's help is coming upon you for this today.

• Momentum is to move faster and increasing forward motion. If you double the mass or velocity, you double the momentum. As long as the mass and velocity doubles, the momentum too increases.

2022 is 2 0 2 2 → Everything will double. That zero in between is a small tear. You only need remain in God's presence and cry before HIM, you will gain momentum and fulfil every prophecy over your life.

• Momentum in business is built when there is an accumulation of a series of successes. There may have been small successes and small victories in the past. But it is time to gain momentum. Time to experience double of every blessing He has promised, if only you would pray with tears in God’s presence.
• Psalms are written by David. He writes about His relationship with the Lord. The Lord is MY strength and MY shield. MY heart trusted in HIM. You should be able to say "MY". It is personal.

Psalm 4: 1-8- Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have relieved me in my distress;

[b]Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

2 How long, O you sons of men,

Will you turn my glory to shame?

How long will you love worthlessness?

And seek falsehood? Selah

3 But know that the Lord has [c]set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.

4 Be[d] angry, and do not sin.

Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the Lord. 6 There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?”

Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.

7 You have put gladness in my heart,

More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.

8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

• GOD OF MY righteousness.

There is spaciousness for you. It is time for stuck things to be released and... enlargement and spaciousness to come in Jesus Name. All stagnation, dried up, hindered and stuck issues will be resolved by heaven!

Psalm 18:28- For You will light my lamp;

The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

• The Lord MY God will enlighten MY darkness. It is in your personal intimate relationship with God that you experience His greatness.

Psalm 23:1: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not [a]want.

Psalm 27:1-2- he Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked came against me To eat[a] up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.

• He is my light and MY salvation. Who shall I fear? Is the Lord your light?

Psalm 18: 1-2- will love You, O Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

My God, my [a]strength, in whom I will trust;

My shield and the [b]horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

The Lord is MY rock and my fortress, MY rock

• It is very personal. The Lord is that close to you. Lord, you are the horn of MY salvation. Today you may be praying for many things. All of that and more is in these verses. The Lord is your everything!

Psalm 30:10- 10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!” • Be thou MY helper. My helper is not my neighbour, nor the panchayat president nor my brother in law who lives in Dubai. My Helper is the Lord.

Psalm 32:7- You are my hiding place;

You shall preserve me from trouble;

You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

• You are My hiding place!
• Can you picture the Lord as you tower, as your shield, as your hiding place. As your help, strength, your salvation?
• Is he your defence, your strength and your help? Only then can you worship Him. Only then can you pray with all your heart!

Psalm 62:2- He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my [a]defense; I shall not be greatly moved. I will not be shaken because God is my defense.

Verse 6- He only is my rock and my salvation;

He is my defense;

I shall not be [a]moved.

• HE ALONE! There is such certainty in these verses. David is so sure!

Verse 7- 7 In God is my salvation and my glory;

The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.

• Everything was personal. God gave you a free will but He doesn't want you to be independent of HIM. He has given you the freedom to choose. But that you will always be dependant of Him. • The Lord will cause this year to be a year of increasing and keep on increasing.

Don't wait till the end of this year. Even much before that God will cause you to keep on increasing.You will gain momentum by the power of the Holy Spirit. Take it and receive this wherever you are by faith and pray in the gift of tongues.

Psalm 71:7- I have become as a wonder to many,

But You are my strong refuge.

• You will be a wonder to many if you make God your refuge.

Get ready to become a wonder!

• God's anointing oil will move through you so miraculously that you will be a wonder to many. You may have been defeated in the past but the anointing oil will make you a wonder.

Psalm 74:12- For God is my King from of old,

Working salvation in the midst of the earth.

• He is MY king. The One who controls. The one to whom I am submitted to. That assurance and certainty should come.
• We all know that if we believe we will see the glory of God.
• Jesus got into the boat with the disciples to go across to the other side. The storms hit. Then Jesus asks them “Don't you have faith”. Despite having no faith, they did not sink. Why? Jesus Himself who is our defence, light, health, rock, fortress was in that boat. When the devil mocks you by saying you have jo faith, you tell him that I have JESUS with me. So, even if my faith is little, I will not sink, because JESUS is with me and I will keep moving forward! • COVID 19 came but you weren't destroyed. Why? Because Jesus was with you.

Psalm 28:7- The Lord is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices,

And with my song I will praise Him.

• The Lord is my helper.

Therefore, to gain momentum, you need to have

1) a personal intimate relation with the Lord Jesus

You need help to gain momentum. He doesn't want you to be independent. Oral Roberts says, “God doesn't want you to be in a place where there is self-sufficiency”.

• Not just dependant on God but God has also kept the church and leadership to keep you connected to Him.
• Don't think that you can be an island and that you can make it alone! That is arrogance. Such people will experience no momentum in their lives. If you don’t have a single You need the help for the prayerful, holy and anointed people. You need the help of the church!

The saddest thing in life is to be surrounded by meaningless people. If there is no relationship that is adding value to your life, then there is a problem! • Relationship is a spirit. Relation means connection. Ship means transport. All relationships will transport you or will transport something into you. You cannot accept or assume or allow

anyone into your life because without you knowing or unknowingly that relationship will take you somewhere or will transport something into you. A ungodly person cannot transport you into God’s destiny.

• Relationships do expire. Certain relationships are temporary. You need to discern that. If you want to gain momentum in 2022, be very intentional about your relationships. Because they are spirit. They carry something into you.
• The Bible doesn’t allow physical relationships outside of marriage. Because it brings something into you. It will make you a slave. It is not godly. It is demonic.
• Your relationship must steer you into a new level.

Therefore, to gain momentum, you need to

2) be very intentional in your relationships with people

• Who is the person who God has sent my way to get me into the next level? You may not like me but be blessed.
• David wrote this psalm. In Israel I had the opportunity to visit David's tomb. The star of David is also seen on Israel's flag. There is an honour towards David in the nation of Israel. A shepherd boy became a generational blessing. He became King. The psalms written by him are a blessing to us even to this day. He was a murderer, an adulterer. But God changed him and made him generational blessing.
• David is the only king who had a successor while he was alive, not when he was dead. Why? Because David was greatly helped by God. How did God help him? Look at David’s humility. There were many people who God sent to help David.

PROPHET SAMUEL

• In 1 Samuel 16, prophet Samuel anointed David with oil. And David learnt to value it. Many people are anointed but they don’t value it.
• David stayed connected to Prophet Samuel till the time the prophet had died. • There is a term ‘CHANGE AGENTS’. For example, in the UAE, they found oil in the midst of desert. That oil was a change agent. Today everybody goes to Dubai. Prosperity, development and opportunities began to spring up in that land.

Today recognise the change agents in your life.

• Samuel was a change agent. Every relationship has a posture. The posture of David with prophet Samuel was that of humility. Not that of greatness or pride.
• Who is YOUR Samuel? Who revealed YOUR calling in our wilderness? Surrender to that person. If you do, GOD will send HIS grace. His push will come upon your life to help you gain momentum. The Holy Ghost force will push you from behind and thrust you into your blessing. That grace is available for you this morning.
• One of the Kennedy family members was very sick in the hospital during an important election. In order to win, that person stepped out even when sick.
• David ran to Samuel during the times when Saul wanted to kill him. Samuel was a safe haven. David knew that Samuel’s help is needed. In certain situations, will you run to your Samuel? Who is your Samuel? I belong to my Samuel.

ELIZABETH

• Who is your Elizabeth? Mary ran to Elizabeth because she wanted someone who understood what morning sickness is. Many pregnancies are aborted because you have gone to the wrong

place. You did not connect with the right people. This morning, ask God to lead you to the house of Elizabeth because God has kept help for you there to gather momentum.

In the F1 race, there is something called the pit stop. That is the time where the team members will quickly change tyres, put oil, change the break pad and enable the racer to drive with speed and momentum to somehow get you to victory. Which is your pit stop? Which church is your pit stop? The place where your tyres are changed and where you can surrender to gain speed.

• Remember that your Elizabeth won't look for you and your Samuel won't come looking for you. You need to go to them.
• You need somebody who is secure enough with your calling. That person needs to have the boldness and courage. On whose shoulders are you crying?

2022, in Feb pray and ask God to send you strategic helpers.

• Strategy is a positive word. The voice of godly wisdom to get you to where God has destined for you. Informative destiny helpers.
• Mordecai was an informative destiny helper who let Esther know that a conspiracy has been hatched. Therefore, pray.
• There is money everywhere. If you are a businessman, you need somebody to inform you, where to invest and what to do with your money?
• There is blessing in the real estate. But somebody needs to tell you when to buy, which is the property?

There are destiny helpers who will give you information

Timely helpers

Capable helpers

Able helpers

• In my small life, I have understood that everybody goes through storms in life. In such times without a full stop, you need destiny helpers who will help you fulfil your destiny and keep your momentum. Only then will your light shine brighter.

Don't stretch your hands towards people before whom you need to kneel down. • Blessings are provoked and curse also are provoked.

Genesis 27:7- 7 ‘Bring me game and make [a]savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’

• There are blessings that come from the mouth and those from the heart. • Isaac said, ‘give me some stew that I might bless you’.

It is wrong for you think that you are a self-made man or self-made woman. If you think that way, that is a dangerous place to be in.

I am proud to say that I am helped of God, I had good people and a spiritual father who laid his hands upon me and blessed me, I had mentors and so many people who have stood in the gap and prayed for me.

Life is a battle who is fighting for you?

• There was no one to speak on behalf of Vashti, despite being a queen.

May the voice of your helpers be louder this year than the voice of your enemies in Jesus Name. May there be destiny helpers.

Abraham Lincoln said this- Whatever I am today sick because I have bent on the shoulders of people who were ahead of me.

JONATHAN

1 Samuel 18:4- 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

In Genesis 22, Rachel says this to Jacob, ‘Place that curse on me.’ The curse that might come from the mouth of her father upon Jacob.

• Here Jonathan removed everything (bow, arrow, armour and clothes) and gave them to David. He was willing to be vulnerable for someone like David to succeed.
• You may be without defence but you can still help somebody.
• Be that selfless. Who will be so selfless to see someone else lifted up and to see someone else blessed? Even if I lose my portion, I will surrender. I will make myself vulnerable to see someone else win. If you are that breed of people, then God will release you into ministry. You will experience that kind of God’s presence upon your life
• Someone who will not say I am your friend and then befriend your enemies. Someone who will not smile before you and bad mouth you behind. May God send you true friends. • May true friends come into my life in the Name of Jesus.

Gaining momentum through your relationship with the Lord and His people MICHAL

1 Samuel 19- Michal was David's wife, Saul’s daughter.

• When Saul came to kill David, Michal understood that there is a method to kill someone, she sent David away out of the window and made a dummy of David and made it lie on the bed for Saul to mistake it to be David and stab it. There is a lot to learn from all Bible characters.
• Learn even from Jezebel how to be a good wife who pleased Ahab’s heart. Learn from Delilah how your husband can be your best friend.
• Michal is a daddy’s girl but she said, “there is somebody who I have to help right now. David is a man of God”. A realisation from the Holy Spirit to understand relationships.
• Love and honour your spouses. You can miss your marital destiny and that is a terrible thing. You won’t experience a deep sense of fulfilment.

For the unmarried, marry the right one. Think before you leap!

• Marriage is an eye opener. Love is blind.

Michele Obama said “only secure men can marry strong women like us.” Marriage doesn't change people. Marriage just amplifies who you are. • It's like currency. It's neutral. Depends on whose hand it goes into.

• Let there be good marriages, healthy marriages. That will fulfil the destiny that God has kept for them.

Therefore, to gain momentum, you need to

3) be kind

1 Samuel 30:11-11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water.• Be kind. David was helping a man who was hungry and thirsty. In 2022, be kind to people.

I was listening to a testimony recently. A woman of God was walking into a building to minister there. It was under construction. There she saw a poor labourer lying there hurt. She stopped by him, asked him if he needed any water, or some food or prayer. And while she was speaking to him, the construction collapsed. Has she not stopped by to speak to that man in kindness, she would have been under the rubble dead.

• Here David was helped by the very one whom he had reached out to help. In 2022, may you experience restoration of everything you have lost. May heaven show you peopleand ways that will give back to you what
• Will people gain momentum through your life? If it is possible by you to provide help for anybody, do it. Don’t sit on that file if you have the authority to move it! Don’t expect momentum to come into your life if you don’t do so for others.

2 Samuel 21:15- 15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.” A giant wished to kill David.

• In all our lives, we grow tired. Marriage is tiring, work can be tiring, business can tire us. When you get tired, there are enemies and giants that come to attack you. David grew faint BUTAbishai. When you are tired, there are people who will come to help you to steer you into your destiny.

When you least expect and when you need the most, may you never lack helpers. May they help you bring down your giants in Jesus Name.

Value relationships, build relationships, forgive people when you need to, Assess and evaluate the posture within relationships.

• We might be age mates but not grace mates. Respect and honour those who have stood with you.