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Here's a powerful message from our lead pastor, Pastor Nathan Lee Wine and Sannabi. Let your heart be open, your spirit be stirred, and your hope be renewed. This is IPC Hope Temple, your place of divine encounter.

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Amen. Praise the Lord. Are you excited to be in the house of the Lord? I am. And I'm always very humbled to be here on Sunday and have you gathered to fellowship with God and with one another. And today is no exception. But having an expected heart, knowing that God will surely come through with his grace upon our lives. Amen. So we're rounding up the Easter season. But before then, what an amazing week it has been. Shall we put our hands together and bless God? Hallelujah. So I'm going to take you on a journey in the book of Luke. And I'll try to connect it a little bit to the Easter story and hopefully bring you to where I intend by preparation to take you. I want to give you a very sensational theme, but you know me by now that my messages are not sensational at all. So don't be taken away by the theme. I want to preach on the subject. I have a testimony. Amen. I have a testimony. But like I said, I've warned you, don't be taken away by the theme. In Luke chapter 10, the verse 18, we read down what the Bible says, He replied, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to tramp trample on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the powers of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Amen. I have a testimony. Mainly what I'm going to focus on is the it's just one word. And I was like, why do you just want to use one word as the theme? And so I try to be creative and not as creative as Pastor Michelle would be, so I failed. That's why I said I have a testimony. But I really want to talk about the word identity. Alright? And one would think that it's a 21st century problem, but it's not. If the Bible has to believe to be believed, then this happened first in the Garden of Eden. And since that time, humanity has struggled with the issue of identity. The bloodiest wars in the world have been fought not because of political divides. Those are the things they tell us, but beneath it has been identity. Either about national colors or has to do with ethnicity or has to do with race, something in there about identity. And in the Garden of Eden, life was so well, so good, everything was going on perfectly until the serpent showed up and questioned the identity. Did God say you'll die if you eat this? And immediately one thought about it and said, Have we really pondered over this? Well, Eve said, Well, he didn't say we shouldn't eat of any of the trees, and it's only one tree, one tree that we're not supposed to eat of. Said, Well, when you eat it, you will not die. At that moment, humanity went into overdrive thinking. And I like the way the Bible puts it. And when she looked at it, it was pleasant to her and it was good for food. Have you been in a situation where you've never had certain desires until somebody brought it up to you? You know why advertising really works? Because you have desires that sometimes you've even forgotten or suppressed them and you have normalized them until somebody came to you and said, Have you thought about this? No, there's this very funny thing on social media about this man carrying his son. Uh, if you're foreign to this, you might not know this. We have those guys we call the ice cream guys, they sell ice cream on a bicycle, and they've got this interesting hon that goes. You know, every kid notes that. I don't know about the kids now, but then every kid knew it. And this man is going with his son and knows that if the son sees the ice cream, there'll be trouble. And tries to cover the face of the son and points him to a different direction. And the ice cream guy knew very well that the man was trying to avoid him. And so he goes somewhere and presses the thing, poopy, poopy. And then the child turns and oh, hell breaks loose on him. We have desires that we we suppress, or sometimes we even forget about them until somebody questions it. And when somebody questions it, the way we ponder over it is not to be seen as an external discussion, it really has to do with who we think we are. Suddenly we feel liberated by that thought or the possibility of being liberated by it. And so we're thinking, well, God said we shouldn't do it. But what if? Is this all there is to it to be human? Could there be more that I could explore? Especially when it sounds like I can become like God. And we know what followed. They eat it, and then the fall of man follows through. Now, what I'm saying is, identity, people think is a 21st century thing, and and and the Gen Zs are the ones struggling with identity and everything. No, Adam and Eve struggled with identity. Now, the aftermath of eating that fruit was that when God was coming to them, they ran away. What has changed? It's the same garden, is the same Adam and Eve, is the same nakedness, no new nakedness. They they haven't had the opportunity we have, where they will be glorified in that new body that you know that they were still Adam and Eve in the garden. But suddenly, identity crisis comes up and they tell God we are running away because we were naked. Now, fast forward, we come to an era where we have a bunch of people we call Christians. And the early people who became Christians were the disciples of Jesus Christ. And if you remember, they they were called the way. Now, the reason they were called a way is that they followed a certain pattern. The way of the master, which was Jesus. Before they were called Christians, they were called the way. They had a pattern by which they did design their lives and followed through it religiously. They became the people known as Christians. But before Jesus died, they had an experience with him. Remember, these were people drawn from all walks of life: fishermen, taxmen, uh, people who were not really loved, and and and some of them were not loved, some of them were loved. We know Matthew was not the favorite of society because at the end of the month he and his guys will come knocking at your door. And the worst part of it is he's not collecting those monies for the priests, he's collecting it on behalf of the Roman Empire that they so much hated. Alright? And these were the people who followed Christ and somehow had mixed identity, and then they come to Christ, and then this man is performing powerful things and doing so many miracles, and they're like, Wow, we found our purpose. Now, if you're charismatic, this sounds familiar. Have you found your purpose? Because all charismatic preachers are about finding purpose. Now we just found our purpose, and then they were with Jesus and they felt good about themselves. Because for if for nothing at all, they had a man who could heal the sick, who could feed 5,000 people, who could cast out demons. These things were not common. Jesus made it too common now. He turned water into wine. You know, usually the guy who gets the props in society is not even the one who does the thing, it's the one who is closer to him. It's like, can I see Jesus? Ah, he's busy, he's busy. Talk to me. What is it about? And so the disciples acquired a new identity. And then in Luke chapter 10, the record tells us now Jesus calls 72 disciples and sends them out. Now, one you're following a man who performs miracles and does wonderful things, and now this man is sending you out to go and perform miracles. That's another identity crisis. Because suddenly you're just a follower, now you will the same power assumed. And they go out there, and everything Jesus said to them came to pass. They had the power to cast out demons, to heal the sick. I love the way they reported, even the demons obeyed us. You know that thing is different if you fought a demon and they ran away. That was a fight that you won. But if you show up and you're like, hey, you know, I don't have time, can you just leave? I need to move on to the next day. Okay, sir, I'm leaving and they go. The demons even obeyed us. And they were excited, and they thought they had reformed the identity. This is what we've been looking for. We now have power, we know the one who controls that power, and we have it now. And they said, even the demons obeyed us. Jesus' response to them was a bit colder than what I would normally give. He said, Great, I saw Satan fall fall like lightning. That's like an admission of all that you've gone to do. I love that. And then he has that but thing to a very beautiful statement. And it's not usually good. It's like, yeah, you did so well. But and then the moment you hear but, you're like, oh no, what did I do wrong this time? No, you just have to pause for a moment. He says, but don't rejoice that they obeyed you. Don't rejoice over that. Okay, so what should we be happy about? Be happy that your names are written in heaven. Be happy. At that moment, in our modern terms, we say that's joy killing. He just killed their joy. They were excited. Haven't we built the success of a church on how many miracles and signs and wonders happen in the church environment? Or how much testimonies we have about coming and saying, you know, I was sick and the Lord healed me. I was going through this problem for so many years and the Lord came through for me. Those are the testimonies that build up the church. Why not? Who doesn't want healing? And who doesn't want to come out of a troubled lifestyle? Who wants to remain unemployed for the rest of his life? If you came to church and there was a prophecy about your life and it happened to you, you have a testimony. Come on, be charismatic. Say amen. I know I warned you, and so you're like, yeah, he said. He said we should be careful of the theme. Still charismatic. You have a testimony. You have a bad marriage, and somehow, miraculously, God fixes that marriage. Or you have a terrible breakup, and somehow you find some peace with God. And then you come to church, and your pastor says, Look, I want to give opportunity to people who want to give testimony about their lives, and you just can't wait. Hello, come on. Pastor, you have no idea what the Lord has done. You know, two years ago, I thought I was going to die, and I thought I'd lost everything. But you know, and this is what I like. You would like this part. When I came to Cherjo in worship, I felt the Holy Spirit was speaking to me to sow a seed. Oh, come on, amen. And I went to sow a seed, Pastor. This seed was special because I knew the Lord was going to do something, and then I sowed that seed. Three days, Pastor, three days, only three days. And everything got resolved. You know, charismatic pastor, it's like, really? Don't tell anyone. You know, I'm I'm just gonna make sure that we capitalize on this one. And so next Sunday, Pastor comes to church and says, This is an altar where when you sow a seed, miracles happen. Say amen. You know, at this moment, if if the Lord leads you to sow a seed, just come and put it here, put it here, and then we create a shrine with our so-called altar because of a testimony somebody gave about how the Lord came through. I'm not really old, and before I became charismatic, I was in the Orthodox chat method is to be specific. And I remember during our prayer meetings when people were supposed to give testimonies, they were quite different. We talked less about the miracles. Well, they were also miracles, but we talked about our transformation. Those were the days somebody is not shy to tell his fellow believer. So you know, I was struggling with fornication, but these days, somewhere somehow, that desire is gone, even though occasionally I feel like it. You have no idea. The last time it came, I prayed, and trust me, I survived it. Those were the days the testimonies where I used to drink a lot, but now I no longer drink. And I I feel very good. It's been six months and I'm still solid. Those were the days the testimonies were like I never touched my Bible. But trust me, for the past three weeks, every single day I do my quiet time. And I'm I'm discovering things I've never read in this Bible, I didn't even know existed. Those were the testimonies when I was growing up. What's our testimony today? I bought a new house. Somebody gave me money. Now, I was saying this last week, and again, for you visitors from outside of the country, especially if you're from the a privileged country like the US or UK, you would never understand this, even if I explain it to you. When we want to travel, it's a prayer topic. Because we need to get a visa from a country that does not want to give us visas. And so we take our passports to church, and pastor will have to anoint that passport to get a visa. And when we get a visa, we come to testify. Ah, I got a passport, I got I got I had a visa to travel to the US or to the UK, and that's great testimony. Jesus is not saying those testimonies are bad. He said, I saw Satan fall. In other words, I acknowledge all that God is doing in your life. But what matters most is not this temporal miracles because they fade away. You see, the devil obeyed you today. Hello, believers. Next week he's going to resist you. He fled today, but next week you are the one going on a retreat. You knocked him out, but next week you're the one bleeding. If your testimony is based on your success and your victories, what testimony do you have when there is no success or victory? Jesus said, Don't hinge your joy on temporal success. There's something more eternal, something more powerful, something that transcends victories and successes and testimonies about cost and money. Again, Jesus didn't say your testimony is false. Please tell your neighbor if God blessed you with good marriage. Tell them if God blessed you with money. Tell the church that you bought a new car. It's okay. But we cannot build church on those testimonies because it would change. Your car could be involved in an accident, your business could go down. What then happens to your testimony? So, what it means is if next Sunday I come to church and for some reason God should forbid for our sake, all of us are finding ourselves in a very, very bad place. And I'm saying we need to give testimony, then we'll have no testimony. When indeed the reason Jesus died was not for your Range Rover, but it was for your name to be written in heaven. And so I'm sorry, I'm I'm still not getting used to the kind of churches we have today. And all of us are confused, even we, the pastors, are confused. In fact, I think we are the most confused. Because I have a feeling that for a good number of pastors, we know the truth. But somehow the truth is not pleasant. And we count the success of our church, not based on how deep, deep we are, but it's based on how many heads we can count. I don't know what kind of inspirational leader Jesus is. It's I'm sorry, but if I were to grade him based on our modern leadership skill, I think Jesus lacked emotional intelligence. I don't say it because I believe it. I'm just saying that he would woefully fail if he lived today. Emotional intelligence, you you fuel. The excitement of your team. Even when they are down, you tell them they are up. Because I hear that in psychology, the moment you focus on the negative, no matter what you do, your mind is telling you it's the negative. So when they are down, you tell them they are up. Now, obviously, these guys were not down, they were not even up, they were skyrocketing, and all you could say is, I saw Satan fall. However, don't be excited about this. Come on, Jesus. Now, if I were Jesus, I was going straight on social media to say, I'm a good leader. I have brought 72 people who can cast out demons and not just cast them out. Actually, demons obey them and they run away. That is a good selling point to grow your church, Jesus. He needs those three strong points of how to build a church. He didn't know it at the time. We need to help him out. But listen, I've said this to everyone who is a member of this church, and I'm sure you're bored by it by now. I think we have truly trivialized the price that Christ pays on the cross. We have because for some reason we have identity crisis. And we want a Jesus who sort of fuels our excitement. And you remember my two favorite scriptures in the Bible. I don't like the way the Bible puts it. I have my own version. And man said, Let us create God in our own image. Because the God that we worship today is not the God the Bible describes, it's the one that we have created in our own image. Because that God we have created is a cheerleader. He is cheering us on. Yeah, you did it. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Don't forget about heaven. That's for later. Yes, you got it right now. You keep going. If the culture can embrace you, if you can be politically correct and everything sounds alright around you, you're fulfilling an old age philosophical idea called pragmatism. Whatever works is true. If it's working for you, don't change it. But truth does not work on what works. Truth is so exclusive that it does not beg for an opinion. It doesn't beg for an opinion. Jesus said the only objective reality of what is happening is not the demons that went out, is whether we can verify that your name is in heaven. And if your name is in heaven, it doesn't matter what happens to you because you are all right. Because I remember a scripture that says all things, all things, not some things, not half of the times, all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. But you see, that aspect is just a minute part of it. You love the Lord, and so what? Don't walk around arrogant. I love the Lord, I love the Lord so much, I don't even know what to do. I love the Lord. Well, it works, it's it's okay. But what makes that scripture great is not because you love the Lord, but because he has called you according to his purpose. That is what matters, so that when sometimes you don't feel like loving God, scripture will still be true. That whilst we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And John says, before you become all arrogant about a love of the Lord, this is how your love works. We love Him because He first loved us. So I have a testimony, and you're looking around and say, Pastor, what's your testimony? Well, I haven't seen the book of heaven, and I can tell you today for a fact if my name is in the book of heaven, because I don't have that evidence there. But there is a man who said, Come unto me, all ye who are heavily laden, and I'll give you rest. And even though sometimes I doubted that, at least I know that I have been to church a couple of times since I was born. And if anything at all, I know a little bit more about this man than one man that the Bible talks about. And that man was a thief and a robber and a murderer, and he was just about to have his last breath, and before he took that last breath, somebody close to him said, Today, you shall be with me in paradise, and that was made true. And if that guy can go to heaven, I haven't seen my name in the book yet, but I believe if Jesus said, I am with him. So, yes, I have a testimony, it is not fanciful, but I have a testimony that Jesus knows me. He says, I know my sheep. And they don't just I don't just know them, but I have so much related with them that they know my voice. I don't know why you came to church. Maybe you got excited about diva conference, and diva conference was amazing. Now, but I think they got it wrong. I'm sorry I had to say it in public. All the preachers got it wrong. I'm sorry, you you're such a great preacher, but you all got it wrong. And the reason you got it wrong is that you had this great opportunity to speak to women. And instead of talking about feminism and the power of women, you were talking about deep relationship with God. That is so wrong. They wanted to be excited about the miracles, they wanted to be excited about the wonders. People wanted pictures and wanted to see that I'm part of this conference, and you're talking about deep relationship with God. You're so wrong, and I have no apology for that. You're so wrong. Next time you get to speak to women, tell them about feminism and how to be strong and forget about Jesus, and then Jesus will show up on that day of the conference and say, Don't get carried away by all these lofty words. What matters is it's your name in the book, and that's exactly what he did this week. Do you have a deep relationship with God? Do you? Our choir was amazing. In this money were a little bit too known when I came during the rehearsal. It's like we've conquered the world. One of them told me, Pastor, your stage is too small for us. I said, I said, I get that, I get that, but I still love you, but with all that amazing ministration, my question to you is, is your name in that book? If all the years of preaching to you, all I can talk about is how great church service was, how great relationship I had with you, and I can talk about my name in the book, then what benefit is that to me? I have a testimony, and my question to you is what is that testimony? And it's critical you think about this. See, it's the foundation of your faith. The reason the disciples were given a tag is that they needed to have an identity. They were disciples, and a disciple could be anything, but after the death of Jesus Christ, they said the way they had a pattern. Peter was one of those people who came and said, Oh, even the demons obeyed us. That was his testimony. But when Jesus died in Acts chapter 4, these guys were not shut up, went around preaching about his resurrection and everything, and they called him and said, and he and John, and they said, You were making too much noise, and you should stop preaching about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this same Peter, whom the demons obeyed, and later fled from a small girl and denied Jesus, after had his identity properly aligned and realized that it is not in the works, it is not in the miracles, it is in my relationship with Jesus. Previously, it was about the works, it was about the miracles, it was about all the things that they were doing, not about the intimacy of their relationship with Christ. But now that he knew the perspective was rightly put, they said stop it. And listen, before they told him to stop it, he had performed a miracle, and the people discussing the miracle was not John and Peter, it was the people who said stop talking. They were the people who were saying, Well, they have performed a miracle, everybody has seen it. We cannot deny it, but maybe the only thing we can do is to ask them to stop preaching. Nowhere was it mentioned that this Peter who was part of the 72 who came and said, Oh, even the demons obeyed us, talked about that miracle. He never talked about it. The only comment he made was, Well, this man was healed by the power of Jesus Christ. And after that, his response to them was, if you're asking me to stop preaching, be the judge. Tell me what is right. Is it to obey you or to obey God? And then he goes on to say, as for us, we cannot stop preaching what we have received by sight and by hearing. Do you know what that means? In every good relationship, if well, if you're not married, um let me tell you how men especially get frustrated in the house. Women, this is how a man gets frustrated. And I'm talking to those who are not married and going to get married. Please don't do it to your man. You're having a conversation with your wife, and the first thing she says to you is, you're not even listening. No, no, but I'm here. I heard everything you said. You're not listening. Okay, what did I say? Oh, I said, but you didn't say it. I said that no, but okay, I didn't say it word for word, but I had I understood it now. The next thing, this one, if this is what would take us to heaven, all men will be in hell. So you haven't noticed any change on me. What exactly are you talking about? So you didn't see that I've changed my hair, and what they're literally saying is that intimacy comes by yielding your hearing and your sight. And Peter said, We cannot break that intimacy which we had with Jesus. We saw it, we heard it. Guess what? He was with John. He was with John when that happened. He said no. And so when all these episodes had happened, and John was writing a letter to the church, John wrote something in 1 John chapter 1, the verse 1. I'm gonna read it to you. John said, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, not the miracles we perform, not the signs and wonders that God wrought through us. It is none of that. Our testimony is not based on the fact that God uses us to perform miracles. The last time I checked, apparently it is possible to perform miracles in his name and still not be known by him. Why not? If God has his eyes set on someone and he has to cause you, whom he does not know, to perform a miracle so that person will be cut by him, you think he is restricted? I have exception to all those people who preach the theology that God needs the permission of man to act on earth. I'm sorry, I don't believe it. He made a donkey talk to a prophet, and he needs your permission. He causes a bush to burn and not get consumed so he can get the attention of the man he set his eyes on, and you said he needs your permission? Job puts it this way. Where were no, he puts it this way to Job. Where were you when the foundation of the earth was laid? And today, he needs your permission. Because he rules in heaven and we rule on earth. Who taught you that theology? As if he came begging Mary, please would you let Jesus come through your womb? That which we've heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at, and our hands have touched. This we proclaim concerning the word of life. And who is the word of life? Jesus. The life appeared, we have seen it and testified to it. And we proclaim to you the eternal life. Our names are in the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. Now, pay attention to this part. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard. It is this repetition about seen and heard rather than things we have done. The first time they had the opportunity, they wanted to testify the things they have done rather than the relationship they've had. And when their theology was corrected, now everything is about their relationship and what they've seen. So that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus. That is what our gathering here is about. That is what it's about. Cut out all the excesses. When we strip it all, this is what it's about. It's not about a good music, it's not about good sermons, it's not about anything. It's just about fellowship with God and with one another. And here is what they should have known in Luke chapter 10. And our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. Previously, their joy was based on circumstances, miracles, demons obeying them, and all of these things. Now their joy is not hinged on temporal miracles and happenings and circumstances, their joy is hinged on your eternal relationship with Christ. He says, now so that our joy will be complete. You ask yourself the question, why am I not happy? or and I'm going through, I've been a Christian. Well, maybe. Maybe. Even though I believe you're still a Christian. Maybe you're emphasizing too much on the temporal stuff. I'm gonna tell you a very funny story to end with. I don't know why, but for some reason, about three weeks ago, on two different occasions, two different days, my last child comes to me and says, Daddy, are you rich? And I'm like, What do you think? He paused, said, But Daddy, are you rich? I'm like, what do you think? And he said, I think you're rich. And I said, Okay, then I'm rich. And then he has these toy cars, all the super cars. He has Lamborghini, uh mention them, all of them. Then he said, Then daddy, buy one of these cars. And I said, at the right time, I'll buy one. Days later, he comes home and he says, Whilst in class, the teacher asked, How many of you um how many of you have your daddy as a rich man? And he raised his hands. That's what he told us. And a couple of people raised their hands. And and my wife asked, Did everybody raise their hands? Said no. Said, did the teacher ask if there were other people who were poor? Said yes. And did they raise their hands? He said yes. Now I'm sitting here and saying, He doesn't even know what is in my account. But somehow he goes out there testifying that his daddy is rich. And then I realized that he as long as has that relationship with me as my son, he trusts me. It doesn't matter what the circumstance is. Once I confirmed that I was rich when he said you were rich, and I said that that that does it for him. And so when he's denied any pleasures or opportunity, he would only think I'm being mean to him, but he would never think I cannot afford. But the modern Christian, a denial of request, a late-answered prayer, is simply that God is somehow incapable of functioning in the 21st century like he used to function in the past. And that's why my second scripture, favorite second scripture is very important. John 15. We are the vine, he is the branch. If he is not performing, we will prune him until he bears fruit. And that's what we do. We used to attend church every Sunday. There was that young man who sat here one evening before COVID, sat right there. He's not a member of this church, just strolled into England. I was straight into church service, Wednesday service, and we were praying, and he was praying after church. He saw me and said, I want to speak to you. And he said, My grandmom just passed away, and I'm upset with God, and I'm no longer going to church. Because while she was sick, we believed, we prayed, we fasted, took her to prayer comes and all of those things, and she still died. And I felt sad for him. Because he's built his hope on God performing at his pleasure. When what he needed to build his hope on was a God who was unchangeable, even if circumstances around us changed. If you have that, you've got your insurance, Cavit. It doesn't matter. Insurance does not prevent bad things happening. Insurance guarantees that no matter what happens to you, you shall be restored. And I think that is what God wants us to do. Stop focusing on the temporal, circumstantial issues and focus on what is more important Him and your relationship with Him. Amen.

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Thanks for tuning in. We hope this message spoke to you. Be sure to subscribe, share, and stay connected with us. Until next time, God bless and take care. IPC Raising Heroes.