Sunday Sermon by Pastor Rajesh Mathew, 14 January 2023 

Mathew 17:1-2- Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 21 [a]However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” 

Job 11:17-19- And your life would be brighter than noonday. Though you were dark, you would be like the morning. 18 And you would be secure, because there is hope; Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety. 19 You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid; Yes, many would court your favor. 

The Holy Spirit revealed a few things to me.

2024 will be a “GOD DID IT” kind of year. The Holy Spirit is reiterating that the year will be a “God did it” year. 

When you enter Dec 2024, you will end this year with celebration and joy. If you have faith, receive it with gratitude. 

• Celebrate the goodness of God. Let’s celebrate what God will do for us this year.

This is a year when God will cause you to walk in supernatural rest. No one will cause you to fear. 

• Psalm 23 says that He leads me beside still waters. You will experience rest. God will turn around every situation of your life so you may walk in rest. take it by faith. 

THERE IS A CALL TO PRAYER THIS YEAR. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PRAY? 1) Praying people will be transformed and blessed in front of others

• In Mathew, we read that Jesus went up the mountain. 2024 is a year of soaring high. A year of going up. Jesus went up and Peter and James went up with him.
• You also need to go up in prayer. In front of them, Jesus was transformed. If you are a prayerful person, God will change you and your situation in a manner that other people will witness. In front of the two disciples, Jesus was transformed. 
• The Holy Spirit is sending you an invitation to pray.

If you pray, people will see the transformation in your life and will be amazed. In your spiritual life, material life, family life and financial life, people will be amazed at the change! 

• Changes in your situations in Jesus' name! People will be surprised. Get ready for such changes in your life.
• If you cry this year, let it only be tears of Joy. You won't cry out of burdens and pain or sorrow but you will shed tears of joy at what God will do for you.
• He who prays, his face will be radiant. There is a heat in prayer. 

Paul lit up the fire on the island of Malta and when that fire burnt bright, what was hiding in those stacks of wood came out. When the fire and heat of your prayer begin to burn, whatever is hiding in your life will come out and leave. Sins, curses, diseases, bondages that are hiding, traps that are hiding, they will come out in Jesus name. They will jump out of your life. They will leave your family. That sin will be broken when you pray. Certain poisonous traits in your personality will come out.

• Some snakes will not leave you soon, they like to coil themselves stubbornly. But if you are a person of prayer, they will leave you. You will have boldness in prayer. You may see the snakes coiling in your life but when you pray, they will slither out.
• If you pray, you will be transformed. The person who prays will be transformed. Total deliverance and breakthrough come when you pray for yourself, not when pastors pray or prayer line persons pray. 
• The sinner becomes righteous through prayer, Saul becomes Paul through prayer (he was praying) 

Acts 9:10-11- Go to the street called Straight. There you will find a man by the name of Saul who will be praying.

• God tells Ananias to go lay his hands on a praying Saul. If you are a praying Saul, certain impartations will find you. Certain divine anointings and giftings will flow into your life. The Holy Spirit will send you the right prophecies and words of knowledge and word of wisdom at the right time.
• Looking at the face of Jesus, hearing the voice of Jesus, may you wake up every morning not looking at the moving fan but hearing the voice of God. 
• Lives are changed by prayer. Do not be afraid oh little flock.

Zechariah 10:3- “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds. For the LORD of hosts will visit His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them as His royal horse in the battle. 

The Lord will encounter you! 

• If you pray, you, small flock will be changed into a royal war horse.

God is transforming certain weak flocks into majestic warhorses. Glory to God! Prophecy over yourself- transformation- war horses. 

• This happened in prayer. Prayer will transform you. Prayer will transform you from weakness to strength. I will receive that change.
• I will encounter God and He will change and transform me. I will not sit here and sit drooping sleepy, I am changing. You won’t find me in the same place as I was.

2) Praying people will see victory in the midst the hostility they face

Mark 9:14-16- 14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. 16 And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?" 

• Jesus, Peter and James are coming down after praying. At the bottom, there was the sound of dispute. The person who prayed said ‘No, I am not getting into any dispute. And they calmed the crowds.’
• God sends victory over a prayerful person. The disputes, the hostility, and the conversations against you will not affect you. What people post against you on Facebook, will not touch you. The words and the criticism, gossip and judgements of men will not affect you. There will be a great strength in you. 
• A person who prays will experience a great calm in the storm. 
• You are not called to be angry and shout but to stay calm and bring peace. • I am not called to raise my voice, judge others, complain, dispute, or put somebody down, but to be a blessing no matter where I am, I am called to be a blessing. 
• All disputes and conversations against you, behind your back, I rebuke it in Jesus' Name. I declare victory in the Name of Jesus. Say this- I receive that grace in the name of Jesus.

Acts 6:10- 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. 10 But they were no match for his wisdom and spirit when he spoke. 10 But they were unable to stand up against the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he spoke. 

• Stephen did not react in anger. He looked like an angel and they could say nothing. The praying Stephanos, the Lord will give you such a grace to

If somebody is backbiting you, remember they are in the back. You are going forward. 3) A prayerful person will have the passion to handle any problem

Mathew 17: 17- Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the child was cured from that very hour. 

• When Jesus came down from the mountain, there was a dispute below among people. A man had an unwell son and the disciples were not able to help him and cast the demon out. Jesus says, give me the problem and I will solve it.
• What is impossible for you, I will make it possible, says the Lord. Give me that problem and I will make it possible. 

God will give a praying person wisdom, faith, grace and anointing to solve problems. Even the problems with no solution, God will make it easy and simple. 

• If you are a praying person, even a giant is as good as bread. You will be able to tackle it. God will make it easy for you. Ask Joshua and Caleb and they will you. If God is for you, who or what can be against you? If God is with you, what can man do to you? 
• God will give you the strength to leap over that wall. If you have a wall that is 6 feet high, you will jump 6.5 feet higher over it. if you have a wall that is 7 feet tall, you will leap 7.5 feet high over it. • You should be able to overcome every wall. The situations that are dying and destroyed, a praying person can walk in authority over it.
• If you sit with Jesus, pray to Him and worship Him, you will be able to overcome/solve any problem with Godly wisdom.

John 6:15- Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone. Walking on the Water. 16 When it was evening, his disciples went down to the sea, 17embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum.

• Jesus went up to pray Alone. We need to go up to pray ALONE. Then when He came down, the disciples were stuck in a storm and they were afraid. Jesus walks over the waters to them. He walks on the very thing that was making the others in the boat afraid. A praying person will be able to walk in victory over the very things that people of the world are scared of.
• When you get a report saying cancer, you can still overcome that in Jesus' Name. God will give a praying person such authority to overcome whatever the devil brings into your life. • You shall trample over snakes and scorpions and all the power of the enemy and nothing by no means will harm you. Pray without tiring, pray without ceasing.
• Every bondage, every thought, feeling, and darkness that is standing as a hindrance to your prayer life be broken in Jesus' Name.
• May you be able to wake up early hours to pray. Ask the Lord for the grace to pray.

Who conquered Mount Everest? Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. God will take you these days to the mountaintop to pray. The view from the mountaintop is beautiful; Vision is what you see in prayer from the mountaintop. When you look from there you will see the blessing, your promisedland. When you see from there, you will see that this is a year when God will honour you. What you see when you are fallen is not the vision. What you see from the mountaintop is the vision

• Get up and walk up the mountain to pray to Jesus.

Psalm 31:19- Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind 

• What God has kept stored for me is good. 

Joshua 3:7- 7 The Lord said to Joshua, 'This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. 

• I will exalt you in the sight of all men. The Lord will exalt you in a way that many will see. 2024- is the year where God will exalt you in the sight of all men. 
• Joshua, the Jordan will overflow in front of you. But God will make you walk over it because you are a praying person, like the priest, when you step into the waters, the waters will part. • The Joshua who prays, the Joshua who meditates on God’s Word, not just you, your family, your friends and the ones that trust you, will enter into the promised and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Enough of going around the mountain in circles. 2024- you will enter the promised land. Stop talking about the old things and walking in circles. It's time to get into the promised land. • May the Lord reveal things in your life that reflect His miracle-working power.

The Jordan doesn’t open for everyone. It does only to the ones who meditate on God’s Word, who sit in God’s presence. 

• Joshua, God will honour you in front of all men. I will make you do things that others can't do. I will make you go into nations that others cannot. I will make you possess certain blessings that others cannot. God began to lift up Joshua. 

2024- you will make certain blessings become yours. Inheritance will be possessed this year by you.

Anybody can reach out to the branches of a small tree and even break them, but imagine a tree whose roots have gone deep and the branches are high. You are unable to reach them. Many people may have reached you and broken you in the past but when God begins to exalt you and lift you and increase you, they can't touch you, they can’t harm you. You will be beyond their reach because you have grown higher.

I’m stepping into the next phase of my life by the grace 

4) A praying person will enjoy supernatural rest

Job 11:17-19- And your life would be brighter than noonday. Though you were dark, you would be like the morning. 18 And you would be secure, because there is hope; Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety. 19 You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid; Yes, many would court your favor. 

People will court my favour. 

Supernatural rest means:

1 Kings 5:4-5- 4 But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. 4 But now the LORD my God has given me peace on every side; I have no enemies, and all is well. 5 I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’ 

• God gave Solomon rest all around and then he was able to build the Tabernacle. Only when you are at rest can you build. If anything needs to be built in your life, it happens with rest. • I speak divine and supernatural rest upon you. May there be no evil occurrent. No adversaries. May the Lord’ great supernatural rest be yours in Jesu's Name.

2 Chronicles 20:30- 30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side. 

HOW DOES ONE EXPERIENCE THIS REST? 

1) Believe in God and believe in the prophets

2 Chronicles 20:20- 20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 

• Three nations were coming against the people of God in war. Jehoshaphat says, take refuge in God and have faith in God and believe the prophets. If you believe in God, you will go to heaven and if you believe in the prophets you will experience prosperity on earth. When Prophets release a Word, receive it in your spirit and thank the Lord.
• You may be sitting at home and watching online, but please come to church. • Some people listen to all prophets but they do not know what is for them specifically and they can’t grow beyond a point. 
• If there is a choice between this church and another church, please go to another church. But if you feel that God has called you to be planted here, then stay here and be faithful. You will see God’s hand move for you. 
• Certain people feed on spiritual food in one place and put their offerings in another place. They eat from the Taj but pay the bill at Hyatt. Where you are fed, you should sow there! 

2) Surrender to worship

• Oh, give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever. Jehoshaphat turned that battle into a worship.

Make your battles into worship. Make your problems in worship. Paul and Silas in the prison praised God. When you do so, prison doors open, and chains will be broken. 

• Don’t always ask God to take away your battles. But in the midst of it, earn to worship him. 

2 Chronicles 20:3- 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 

• Jehoshaphat knew that he had a God who could give him rest. I have a powerful God. May your refuge be only in the Lord. I will take refuge in Jesus. Only in such a person can worship flow. The presence of God comes upon such people.

2 Chronicles 20:25- 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing[a] and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 

• God will give you a treasure in your battle if you worship Him through it. God will reveal a treasure in my life.

3) Go to the temple

2 Chronicles 20:26-28- 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah[a] to this day. 27 Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. 28 They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets. 

• When they got the plunder, they were joyful and they came to the temple. You need to go to the temple. This year financial doors will open! 
• Faith, trust, your giving, your reliance on God. Prayer and worship will give you rest in your life. May you be filled with supernatural rest.
• Let every anxious thought leave you in Jesus name. May today be the last date of these worries in your life.