Sunday Sermon by Pastor Rajesh Mathew, 5 March 2023, the Cornerstone Church 

Colossians 1:26-29- 26 the [a]mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: [b]which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. 

• Christ in you is the hope of glory. What is inside is what matters to God and not what is outwardly. On the outwardly we can show that we are full of faith, we pray, we know the scriptures, and we are devotional more than the others but God is not looking at anything on the outside but Christ IN you is the hope of glory! 
• Bible uses the phrase IN Christ, IN the Lord, IN Him, IN the Beloved, commonly in the Bible. • No matter how many psalms you know, how many hours you are praying or how many songs you know, but are you in CHRIST, in Jesus? IF that is your focus, the mightiness of His power will work in you. Those who are in Christ give him Glory.

1 John 2:28- 28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that [a]when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 

• The same Jesus who died and rose again for you is coming back again.

Who is HE coming back for? For those abiding in him. 

• I should abide IN CHRIST. I know you pray a lot but are you abiding IN Christ? • The scripture doesn’t talk about walking with Jesus but to Abidein Jesus. The fish needs to be inside the water. If you have a bucket of water and if you place the fish next to it, it won’t survive. It needs to be INSIDE the water. Just like that you need to be IN Christ, in the Lord! When you are IN Him, His life will flow through you. 
• A baby in the mother’s womb for 9 months gets all the nourishment it needs from the mother through the placenta. When you are IN Christ, even without you knowing, all that you need for your life is provided. You need to abide and dwell in Christ. 

Colossians 1:28- 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. 

• The working of his mighty power – What is the purpose of this working? To make me stand perfect in CHRIST. Is it to make the world see that you can preach, that you can prophecy, that you can lead worship, that you can heal? All that is fine, but the working of His mighty power in you is to only make you STAND and ABIDE IN Christ. 
• ‘Fullness in Christ’ is reflected by the word Plaroma is the word in Greek. You don’t need to leave empty today but today you can leave full. Let there be a filling of the Holy Spirit. Plaroma means ‘to be full’!
• Read Verse 29 again’-working mightily’ comes from the word ENERGIOSE---it means ‘charge entering you’. 

The charge of the Holy Spirit – is it getting inside of you? GOD’s power is charged into you!

• There is a grace and anointing that will charge you in Christ and make you stand in the midst of your challenges. Is your charge dead? The Holy Spirit charge will bring you back to life! That charge will keep you standing in faith, in prayer, in grace, in power, in peace, the Power of the Holy Spirit working mightily. 
• Are you charged? Don’t look at your phone, look inside you. Is there a charge inside you? Some of you are dead like a dead battery. Some of you are half dead. Get plugged in again and may you be charged again, may the working of the Holy Spirit work within you. 

In 2023, if two or three people gather together and pray, you will be charged! In the family, three of you pray together in this third month of 2023, certain families will be recharged, be filled with new anointings and new giftings.

Be filled with new life in Jesus! 

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CHARGES

• There is a Positive charge and a Negative charge also. In order to abide in Christ, you need to learn to reject negative charges and accept and plug into the positive charges. 

An English scholar said that one of the most important words in the English language is ‘NO!”. A person asked, ‘how come ‘No’? Isn’t ‘no’ a negative word? The scholarsaid, ‘I am not only an English scholar but also a Christian, My role model is Jesus Christ and I need to follow him. Therefore, I feel that the most important word for me to abide in Christ is NO! 

• I have to learn to say NO to everything that is hindering the work of God. No to everything that is taking me away from my prayer life, and No to thoughts and voices that are tempting me away from the truth of God’s ways, I have learnt to say NO to the things and thought processes and desires that take me away from God.

If you want to dwell with Jesus, learn to say NO. 

• You need to say no to certain peers, certain ways of speech, certain desires, certain aspirations, you need to say NO! Everything that tries to tempt you and draw you away, say no! Say no to fleshy lusts and fleshy desires. 
• Joseph in the Old Testament, said no to Potiphar’s wife.
• What David couldn’t do was say no to Bathsheba. He was the first to see a UFO (Unclad Female Object). He went wrong and that’s why he had to write Psalm 51. 
• I don’t need this business (which is not led by the Lord). I have a God who is bigger and who will make me grow and flourish. The El Shaddai God. 
• Judas couldn’t say NO to 30 pieces of silver. He had walked with Jesus for three years, he had cast out demons and heard the teachings of Christ but couldn’t say no. 
• In 2 Timothy 4, Paul said, Demas has left me because he was too attracted to the world. Learn to say NO. 

This morning may you have the grace to say NO. I will need to stand in Christ, nothing should turn me away from God. I need Your grace, I need the charge of Your strength, the power of the Holy Spirit. I need that power from God to say NO! To say NO to those things that make me empty. 

The power of His working. Two negative workings and two positives

NEGATIVE WORKINGS - What do you say ‘NO’ to?

1) SAY NO TO SIN

Romans 7:5-5For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.

• Our body is good. But there are workings of sin. These cannot be allowed to manifest in our bodies. Our body is good. Many of us look at our bodies and we are constantly critical of how we look. We don’t need other people’s noses and colours. Fairness versus darkness. All of this is unnecessary! You can’t choose your body. God gave these bodies. Give them to GOD. Do not be concerned about it. You can’t exchange your body with somebody else’s, can you? 

Your body is good. But there is a working of sin that tries to control your body.

Genesis 4:7- If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.And its desire is [d]for you, but you should rule over it.”

• The word sin was used for the first time in the Bible here. God says to Cain, sin is lurking at the door.
• In Revelations 5 we see sin being used for the last time. Between these two the word sin is used 570 times in the Bible. In the name of Jesus, I have victory over sin.

Romans 5:20- where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.

• Aren’t we those who have seen this grace? Aren’t we the ones who drank the previous night and despite the hangover we made it to church today and are still desiring before God to walk upright and blameless? Isn’t it because of Grace?!
• Sin doesn’t manifest when you are in church or during the time of worship. When you are alone and when nobody is watching is when sin begins to work. You have four fully charged mobile phones, and a big screen at home. Parents are not around. What will go through your mind? Remember that Jesus is not looking at your outward works but He is looking at your heart!
• There is a saying ‘show me your friends and I will show you your character’. Now I can change this a bit and say- ‘show me your phone and I will show you your character.’ Children can’t fool their parents, they are smart but they forget that there is a God who is watching them so closely.

There is a God who sees and a God who is only thinking good for you. He wants to make you standin Christ. A God who doesn’t forget you even if your parents forget you. He is your heavenly Father. Lord, My God let your grace abound.

• It is not sin but it is the grace of GOD!!! Lord, fill me with your grace!
• Your financial life should be one of integrity. Your married life must be in Christ. Are you truly happy? You can show the world that you are but is your marriage truly being built up in Christ?Church life also can be a big show on the outside. But inside? NO!

Say No to fleshy lusts. Say No to unbelief. Say no to the workings of Sin

2. SAY NO TO SATAN

2 Thessalonians 2:9- 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

• Say NO to the workings of Satan. Learn to say No to that. There are demonic plans and demonic preaching. There are satanic possessions.
• I started out as part of the deliverance ministry. I used to see my spiritual father cast out demons and the demons would shriek and come out and people’s hair would be out, tongue out and it would be angry and howling but the demons have evolved since then. They are more well behaved now! :)
• But there are satanic suggestions and plans. They are negative and they reflect the workings ofSatan.

1 Chronicles 21:1- Satan* rose up against Israel, and he incited David to take a census of Israel.

• The devil is inciting David here. He gave into that and just because he listened to the satanic suggestion, 70000 people died in one day. We need to discern if the thoughts and words are of the Lord or of the devil. We need to be able to discern.

There is a gift of the discernment of spirits. Lord grant me the gift of discernment.

• Some people sell their houses just because somebody gave them a suggestion to do so. Some people start businesses just because of somebody prompted them to. Those decisions take you away from God and trap you in such a way that you have no time to fulfil God’s purpose. Is thissuggestion from God or from the devil? May you be able to discern

1 Thessalonians 2:18- 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.

• Imagine if Satan was able to block the way of Apostle Paul, how much more you and me.

Acts 16:6- Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.

• If it were in our time, we would fast and pray and take victory and still go. 21 days of fasting just to overcome that block without even discerning whether it is from the Lord or from the devil, in the first place.

We need to discern what is from the Lord and what is from the devil. If it is from God, just follow it. what is from the devil, reject it.

• Discern the travels and journeys. Is the Lord sending you?

Last week I travelled and I had no intention to travel. But I went to Asbury- the place where revivalis happening. The Holy Spirit forced me to go. Me and my older daughter. Once I reached there, they said the revival is over and nobody is being allowed in. We went there straight from the airport and stood in line, one of the people asked me where I was from and I said that we had travelled from India. They were shocked. He then took me and made me sit right in the middle of the hall. The place was filled with the glory of God and His presence. I am here with a piece of that revival in me. May the Lord raise some of you up to catch the fire of revival.

• Then the Lord asked me to go to Columbus Ohio to Pastor Rod Parsley’s church. Nothing much happened there but he laid his hands on me and imparted the anointing that was upon Smith Wigglesworth and his spiritual lineage.

Your journeys should be of the Holy Spirit but they should never be demonically inspired whether it is for business or for ministry or for personal reasons.

• You think- I want to study in Bangalore or I got a visa for UK or US or north America, don’t just go! Parents give money to the agent and use up all their savings, and finally, they are on their knees praying for deliverance from debt. Why? Because this is inspired by the devil. And you just went ahead with it without first discerning it.

If God is sending you, then all the provisions for your journey and for your life will come from the lord.

• I need the Holy Spirit’s discernment. You need to live in the world but not of the world. You are in the flesh but not of the flesh.
• We are all so concerned about our bodies. We want to eat well before coming to church. We takegood care of our bodies. That is fine because the Body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. But you also need to know that there is a spirit inside your body and you worship God with that spirit andnot just with your body. Your worship should flow from within.
• One lady was sad after church and a friend asked her why are you looking so sad she said, today there was no keyboard in church during worship!! She was looking at worship from her flesh.

Philippians 3:3- For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised.

• You need to worship in the spirit. The next week again the lady was sad after worship and thistime it was not because the keyboard player wasn’t there but there was a power cut! You need akeyboard, electricity and instruments to worship God! Really?!
• All that is not needed. Who is there and who isn’t doesn’t matter. It is between you and your Heavenly Father and that you need to have an encounter with His Presence during worship.

A spiritual man will always keep Christ in front. David says I kept the Lord before me at all times!

• Genesis 1- In the beginning, God. Place God in the beginning.

Romans 1:10- 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

• These are the two negative charges. Say no to sin. Say no to satanic suggestions.• When you place God first, He is the witness to your financial life, and your spiritual life. It doesn’tmatter who else sees and who else doesn’t see. He is the witness.

1 Thessalonians 2:10- You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.

Verse 5: or we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—Godis witness.

• God is a witness! In your financial dealings, who is the witness? Is it your wife or your business partner? No, it is God! There is a God who can’t lie. He is the truth. He is the witness. He is witnessing how you are behaving!
• May there be a conviction within you to say that. God is a witness. Working of His power means that God is a witness.

POSITIVE WORKINGS - What do you say ‘YES’ to?

1. SAY YES TO THE WORD OF GOD

1 Thessalonians 2:13-13And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

• The Word of God working inside of me is the positive charge. God’s Word should effectually work inside of me.

You need to listen to the Word, believe the Word and receive it. THAT Word will workinside of you.

• The power of the Word will be demonstrated by the Word itself. It will heal, it will release life and power. His strength will work on your and my behalf.

2) SAY YES TO THE HOLY SPIRIT POWER

Ephesians 1:19- 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength

• The power of the Holy Spirit. The same power that resurrected Christ from the dead, lifts up those who are dead. The power that brings you out of your pit and prison. The power that brings back life from death. The working of His power manifests for those who believe.

Where are you lying dead and buried? The power of the Holy Spirit will bring you out of it. It is the Limitless power, Immeasurable power of God

• Abraham and Sarah were in their tent in Genesis 18. They saw the three angels of God. Abrahamran to them and welcomed them into the tent. He killed a goat and prepared food. Where is your wife Sarah? the angels asked. Sarah was not around. He just let him do his thing. In the Jewish traditions, if you do not bear a child, you are put to shame, you can’t step out. It is a shameful thing to be considered barren. Sarah was ashamed. She did not come out.
• Today you may be ashamed. But certain breakthroughs that you never imagined will manifest in your life. GOD will do miracles for you. He will bring you out. Next year this time you shall have a child. They believed and the power of the Holy Spirit began to work. He began to move in that womb. Miracles happened.

The Holy Spirit is saying- by this time next year, certain answers to your prayers will be manifested.Blessings and answers will come to you in a way that will glorify God. Big breakthroughs will come your way.