Sunday sermon by Pastor Rajesh Mathew, 2 July 2023 

John 15:1-4- 15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 

This shall be a month of rest for you. 

The Holy Spirit said that you will be the 7th wonder because of God's grace and God's Hand upon you. Take it as a prophetic word.

• Move with the Holy Spirit! 
• The number 7th is a number of perfection and completion in the Bible. It reflects the totality of God’s work.

Genesis 2:1-2- 2 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 

God rested on the 7th day after all the word He had done. There is a rest associated with the 7th day. 

Sabbath means to cease! Stop your efforts. 

There is another Hebrew word, Nuakh which means to take up residence. For example in Exodus 10:14 says that the locusts came and rested throughout Egypt. That comes from the word – Nuakh means ‘They took residence and they took that land’. 

God's divine rest will be upon you. Especially those who have been troubled.

You will settle into that place that is safe, secure and stable in the 7th month. 

That is rest. That is nuke. 

You will take rest in Christ, you will abide in Christ. Every insecurity will leave your life in Jesus. May the Holy Spirit release that into you. Rejoice in God! 

The prophet Elijah is saying to his servant- Go look and see if there is any sign of rain? The servant looked and said I can’t see anything. The prophet tells him to go look 7 times and the 7th time he saw the cloud, a cloud the size of your hand. 

In worship and prayer and Word, keep watching. Watch in the Holy Spirit. Watch and believe. Keep watching! 

What you did not see and hoped you would see for 6 months, you will see in the 7th month,

The curse of the land, the dry of land, God will send rain. He is sending rain and a cloud. He is sending rain over your life to see some fruit, to see the dryness go. 

Your season of the curse is over! 

For three and half years, you may have not heard the sound of rain. For three and a half years, you may have prayed but the heavens were shut and now the heavens are opening and will send the blessing upon your life. 

Prophecy over your neighbour- Certain blessings are coming your way. 

The walls of Jericho were built to keep the people of God away and prevent them from entering that land. It was a wide wall. Four jeeps could drive on that wall at the same time.

God told people to go around it once on all 6 days. On the 7th day the Holy Spirit said, go around 7 times. The direction from the Lord was not just to go around seven times but also to follow it with praise. A lfiting up of Jesus’s name. After that one praise. 

Whatever never fell before, will fall this month, in you favour! You will possess the nations.

The walls that are contrary to you will fall this month. Don't stop praising and worshipping. All night praise and worship. The Holy Spirit will draw you to praise and worship him continually. The walls will fall. If you are facing walls in your life, you will either need to jump over it or you need to praise God and the walls will fall.

The Holy Spirit is saying that somebody who has been waiting for a visa will see it come through and move to another land that God has given you.

Worship Him in Spirit and truth. No matter who builds those walls, they will fall before the Joshua generation. 

No matter how wide and how many years have been taken to build those walls, your worship will bring them down.

✓ Joshua used to meditate on the word day and night.

✓ Moses saw dreams but Joshua took possession of those dreams. He not only saw dreams but he experienced them. Joshua represents the generation that possessed, owned, and took hold of the promise, that worships and praises God.

No wall will stand before the Joshua generation, the generation that walked under HIS glory, that left Egypt, that saw the miracles of God 

His strength and His presence is falling upon some of you like rain this morning. Do you know why? 

1. Joshua was submitted to Moses. Moses asked him to go battle against the Amalekites. They were 20 feet tall giants but he just obeyed and went to battle as Moses commanded him. • In Exodus 33, God spoke to Moses as he spoke to a friend but Joshua, who had no experience of hearing that voice and no experience of seeing God’s glory still decided to 

stay/ linger on in the Tabernacle just because Moses was there. He was ready to just sit there.

He came under authority. He obeyed. 

• If you listen to the authority, it could be your parents, it could be your spiritual father. Just listen to their voice and submit to them and if you do, you will see that GOD will start speaking to you directly.

2. Joshua received an impartation

I believe in Impartation. Several men of God including Reinhard Bonke have laid their hands on me and prayed. I believe in impartation. One time, after being laid hands upon many times by several men of God, I could barely walk on the streets. My legs were shaky, I was like a drunken man, and I fell on the side laughing in the spirit. I was completely full of that Presence!

Bill Johnson laid hands on me. Russel Evans from Plante Shakers laid their hands on me.

I believe in impartation. My spiritual father, Jose Chachen also laid hands on me. I know that God has deposited something in my spirit and under that authority I command every wall against you to FALL!!! Let your praise bring the walls down. 

I will be a wonder in the 7th month 

The Word says in Deuteronomy that persons with debt were to be freed in the seventh year.

Let there be supernatural debt cancellation in this month. In Mathew 18, Peter asked how many times should I forgive. Jesus answered 70 times 7. 

I heard of a pastor’s testimony. He died and his spirit went to heaven and he wasn’t allowed to enter the gates of heaven. And the was told that he was carrying unforgiveness and bitterness in his heart, God gave him another chance. God sent him back to life. He forgave everyone he needed to and he says that he is certain that his eternity is secured now that his heart is free from the seeds of bitterness.

There is no space for bitterness in our hearts. May our hearts be filled with God’s love.

In 2 Kings 5, Namaan’s leprosy healing was only when he would dip for the 7thtime in the river. There is something unique about the number 7.

Jesus on the Cross. When Jesus was on the Cross, there were 7 sayings of Christ: 

1. Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
2. (To the robber) You will be with me in Paradise.
3. Woman, behold your son!
4. I thirst.
5. My God, My God, why have your forsaken me?!
6. Father, into your heart I commit my spirit.
7. It is finished

His work on the Cross is finished work. Your judgement, hell is taken up by Christ, you can walk in Victory, his work on the Cross is a finished work.

In the ministry of Jesus, He said 7 I AMs 

 

The Bread of life. 

the Door of the sheep 

The Light of the world. 

The Good shepherd 

The Resurrection and the life 

The Way, the truth and the life 

The true vine and my father is the vine dresser. 

ABIDE IN CHRIST

1) THE START 

• Jesus said, abide in Christ. For those of you who will abide in Christ, there is a start. A new beginning to abide in Christ. 

It starts with Christ. 

• I remember when I attended done of my initial retreats, I was hearing about the crucifixion of Christa d I agreed to be saved. I went into my room, I threw out my cigarettes, the ganja, the alcohol bottles etc. I gave my life to Jesus. It was a new start for me. A new start to abide in Christ. 
• You may be praying lot but still not abiding in Christ. It all starts at the Cross of Jesus Christ. Have you had that start? 

2. THE CONTINUATION

It is not enough if you only start, there needs to be a continuation.

• In John 13, we read that when Judah has taken the sup, Satan entered him and he left the fellowship. People leave the fellowship when the devil enters them.
• Judas left at night. When someone leaves the Lord, it is always night. May that darkness leave your life.

When someone comes to God it is always light 

• Let all the powers that are stopping you from continuing in Christ be broken today in Jesus Name. You need to continue in Christ. No matter how strong you are, Satan will drop the thought “Enough, let me just go, no point,” especially when prayers are not answered, when 

you are hurt, when you are seeing nothing in life and when you are faced with intense challenges come. Whatever it may be, this morning, let the light of the Word destroy that seed put by the enemy in your life. Say, I WILL ABIDE IN CHRIST! 

• In Gidron Valley, Jesus was speaking to his disciples, those who abide in Me will bear much fruit.

Give me the grace to abide in Jesus Christ. 

Genesis 22:6- 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife and the two of them went together. 

1. We see that Abraham and his son Isaac are going to offer a sacrifice. Verse 6 says Abraham has servants but he took the logs by himself. He himself placed that log on Isaac. He would have perhaps checked to see if Isaac would be able to carry that weight or not. Even so, your heavenly Father will only allow you to carry that much weight that you can actually manage to carry! And nothing more! He will give you the grace to carry that weight. 
2. Abraham and Isaac are climbing together the same mountain, He is walking with you. Jesus is walking with you. God Immanuel is walking with you over that mountain. The Psalmist says though I walk through the valley of shadow of death I will not fear, for the Lord is with me. Jesus is with me. It doesn’t matter who is with me and who isn’t but Jesus is with me.

Jesus will do a wonder, a miracle. He has kept your blessing and His miracle on top of that mountain.

God will never allow you to face a problem that has no solution. 

Exodus 15: 27- Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water. 

1. When the children of Israel left Egypt to travel to Canaan, they reached Mara a place of bitterness. When Mara comes into your Christian life, the burdens and problems in the Christian life is a part of the journey. Don’t stop, just continue moving forward on the journey. There are twelve springs and 70 palms waiting for you in a place called Elkm. 

Why should you continue you abide?

Romans 8:29- 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 

this trouble is to become more like Jesus. I have to be changed to be like Christ. It is for your transformation that you face certain battles and challenges.

3) TO STAND FIRM IN CHRIST

I have you stand firm In Christ. Though there is a beginning for your start abiding in Christ, there is no endto this! 

If you remain in Him there is life, there is fruit. Bible talks about life and also about eternal life. Abiding in Jesus signifies life. Death is separation from Christ.

Spiritual life is not meant to be unsteady. Genuine spiritual life is a full-time thing- In front of people, outside church, with friends, in secret life, in private life, in your Facebook etc. That is the sign that you are abiding in Christ. Your spiritual life is not teeth dentures that people tend to take off sometimes and put on sometimes! 

When you abide in Christ, life flows through you full-time! 

You don't want to do anything that cuts away your relationship with God. Christ is being revealed in your workplaces, in your YouTube channel, and in your schools and colleges. You don’t want to do anything that will cut your relationship with God.

What is eternal life? To stay and remain in Jesus is eternal life. Even hell has everlasting life. But there are worms and fire. The eternity that God promises us is in the truth that we will never be cut away from Christ.

You can't get out of hell. No matter who prays for you, no matter how many candles are lit, nobody can bring you out. While you are here on earth, just abide in Christ. 

Joyce Meyer was sexually abused for 19 years by her own father. She was destroyed. She had not hope. She fell into addiction. She says, ‘If God could save me, He can save you!’