In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the book of Corinthians and the importance of being faithful stewards of the mysteries of God. He shares how he was ordained into the ministry and how God spoke to him through a specific verse. The speaker emphasizes the revelation of the mystery of Christ, which was not known in previous ages but has now been revealed to the apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit. He highlights the significance of the Gentiles being included as fellow heirs and partakers of God's promises through the Gospel. The sermon concludes with a call to pray always, with perseverance and supplication, and to boldly make known the mystery of the Gospel as ambassadors of Christ.

situations into which I have been in fairly recent months. First of all in Nepal, I was there in November and just after I left, God intervened in a most miraculous way and has turned the whole tide of history in Nepal. Generations upon generations Nepal has been a Hindu kingdom. For the last 10 years they have been involved in civil war between the Maoists and the government and the royalty. The Maoists had intended to have a huge rally in Kathmandu and they were demanding that every household should accommodate at least four Maoist supporters at their expense. Overnight the whole thing was reversed. The Maoists agreed to work with the government. All arms were impounded to be monitored by the United Nations. The king was divested of all his property and power. It's all come under the hand of the government. The civil war has been brought to a complete end and Nepal is no longer a Hindu kingdom. It is now a secular nation that grants freedom of religion. Praise God. I know people who sat on the borders of Nepal for 50 years praying that God would give access to the gospel. Since the revolution some 10 or 12 years ago, the Nepali Christians have resolved to make the Lord Jesus known in every town and village in the whole of Nepal. When I first went there in 1976 there were only two churches in the whole of the country. Two in Kathmandu and one in Pokhar in the west. The largest of those churches in Kathmandu had 16 members. The last time I was in that church was for the funeral of a sister and there were over 2000 people present. There are now over 300 churches in Kathmandu alone. The place of worship in almost every village in Nepal. That's the working of God and God is not just working in people's lives, Nepali lives in Nepal itself. Wherever you go in the world and meet Nepali people you find that they're open and hungry for God. Next week I shall be in the University of Minnesota where there is a large group of Nepali who want to listen to the gospel. Praise God, it's wonderful. I think I told some people today that in China where I was last May and will be again this coming May, they are now baptizing something like 23,000 people per week. We get excited if we baptize two or three a year. 23,000 people being baptized every week. Of course they had 1.5 billion people. Praise God. But God is working, God is moving. Opposition and persecution of the gospel beloved is just like oil on the fire. It just makes it burn brighter and brighter. Glory be to God. It should make us who live in the so-called free West ashamed. Amen. I don't believe that the days of persecution are far away for those of us who live in the West. I can speak about England in particular where it's becoming increasingly difficult to be a Christian, be faithful to the word of God. You can go to prison. A man was arrested just before I went away a little while ago. A man was arrested in Cardiff in South Wales for giving out quotations from the epistles of the Apostle Paul. He was arrested and he is to be tried as a criminal. One newspaper said well if they try him they will be trying the Apostle Paul. That's how our present government is compromising with the word of God and the Christian heritage which we've had for generations upon generations. May God have mercy upon us and deliver us. When the enemy comes in like a flood the spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him. If you read British history prior to the Westliam revival it was called the age of enlightenment. It was just about as corrupt as our present society and God raised up men like George Whitfield, John and Charles Wesley and turned the whole course of our history and saved us from a bloody revolution comparable to that which was happening in France at the same time. Bless God. May God give us hearts to be faithful to him and his word regardless of the consequences. Amen. Now I want to read to you a number of scriptures tonight before I set out on my journey. Praise God and if you will turn with me first of all into Ephesians chapter three and we will read a few verses there. Ephesians chapter three. I'm reading from King James version. If you have a different version that's fine so long as it tells you the truth. Can't guarantee that. Paul says in verse chapter three verse one for this cause I Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ. I love that. The prisoner of Jesus Christ. I'm so glad that God allowed Paul to go to prison. He refers to himself as the prisoner of the Lord and if he hadn't gone to prison beloved we wouldn't have the benefit of these wonderful letters. Many of them would never have been written. Amen. Aren't you glad that God is long sighted you know. He knew that we would need these letters tonight. For this cause I Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given to me given me to you word how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery as I wrote afore in few words whereby when you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the spirit that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel whereof I was made a minister the word there is deacon according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world have been hidden God who created all things by Jesus Christ to the intent that now under the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. Turn over the page to chapter six and we'll break into one of Paul's sentences in verse 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints and for me that utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am ambassador in bonds that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak and now turn back into 1 Corinthians and chapter 4 this lovely book is like a tapestry and it's as neat on the back as it is on the front those of you who have enjoyed doing tapestry you will know that that's the real technique the back isn't just a collection of long ends it's all right I'm an artist chapter 4 of 1 Corinthians verse 1 let a man so account of us as the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful praise God in that particular verse beloved has tremendous significance for me because it was the verse spoken to me when I was first ordained into the ministry that was when I was an Anglican priest when God speaks to you it never disappears it's there forever you don't even have to memorize it something that God writes in your heart and you live increasingly into the in the reality and the wonder of it praise God if you have any budding preachers here beloved you've got a nice three-point sermon in verse one man minister mysteries there you are that will keep you busy for a long long time but if you were listening carefully beloved you will have discovered that the word mystery has occurred in all of those readings mystery the bible is a mystic book don't be afraid of the word praise God it's repetitive in the scripture A.W. Tausser said the great tragedy of contemporary Christianity is the lack of the mystic birth you read the apostle John beloved he was a mystic you read the biography of the Lord Jesus he was a mystic does that frighten you where there is a lack of the sovereign intervention supernatural work of the spirit of God either in our own personal lives or in the life of his church we will never come into the reality of that which God intends us to know Paul makes it very clear doesn't he in chapter chapter two of 1 corinthians where he says I have not seen nor ear heard neither hath entered into the heart of man the things which God had prepared for them that love him but God had revealed them unto us by his spirit yea the deep things of God later on in chapter he says the natural man knoweth not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned it's a mystery something is hidden yet to be revealed and that's what happened to Saul of Darsus on the Damascus road beloved he had a sovereign supernatural mystical experience that delivered him from everything that he had formerly been to make him another man a new creation that's why he could write with authority in 2 corinthians chapter 5 if any man be in Christ he is a new creation all things have passed away behold all things have become and are constant constantly becoming new that's the result beloved of a sovereign supernatural intervention in the life of a man or a woman we don't become Christians by just making a response at the end of a meeting God may use that method but not always hallelujah when did that happen to you when did God supernaturally sovereignly intervene in your life and do something that no human being could ever do for you even if you were able to dot all your i's and cross all your t's according to the book Jesus warned the pharisees didn't he he said you search the scriptures for in them you think you have life but he said you won't come to me there are many people beloved who know the book but have never experienced the work of the spirit in their life that brings them into the good of the truth as it is written in the book that's the work of the spirit of God to reproduce in you you and me to impart to you and me all that God made available to us in the person of our Lord Jesus both in his teaching and in his great finished work so that you and I can increasingly live in the wonder and the glory of it all amen brother prayed it's from glory to glory you know that scripture in John chapter 7 if any man thirst they didn't come unto me and drink and go on drinking all the time that fits in with what Paul says in chapter 5 of the Ephesian epistle be being filled with the spirit all the time John chapter 3 verse 16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth and goes on believing in him I often say that's the most misunderstood verse in the whole of the bible because we think it says but for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life and we relegate beloved our spiritual experience right back to a moment in time that never takes it on Paul didn't write like that the scripture doesn't talk like that Paul said I am saved I'm being saved and I will be saved the proof that you are saved beloved is that you're being saved now the guarantee that you will be saved is that you're being saved now now is the day of salvation those who endure unto the end shall be saved it's not just an experience but it's a life into which you and I are introduced to to by the spirit beloved that has continuity that goes on from one degree of glory unto another we are changed the word change there means transformed transfigured that's the language of bible we are transfigured the word which the spirit of God uses to describe you and I wrought upon by the spirit of God is the same word that he uses to decide Jesus on the mount of transfiguration glorified that's not just a veneering over making us religiously acceptable and respectable that's a radical internal work of the spirit of God that changes you forever and goes on changing you wonderful praise God by this time tomorrow beloved you should be better than you are tonight because of the continuing work of the spirit of God and it's all the result beloved of understanding the mystery of God no one has the ability beloved to define or describe God I read a book just recently by a man called William Frederick Faber called all for Jesus most of you would bin Mr Faber there's a lovely hymn in this red book I can find it what number is it love it's early part of the book here's Mr Faber so often beloved we because we have no ability to sing or read with discernment we throw out the wheat with the chaff oh where is it where is it yeah I don't mind pausing beloved we're going to find it yes here it is it's number 32 my God how wonderful thou art thy majesty how bright how beautiful thy mercy seat in depths of burning light how dread are thine eternal years oh everlasting Lord by prostrate spirits day and night incessantly adored how beautiful how beautiful the sight of thee must be thine endless wisdom boundless power and awful purity oh how I fear thee living God with deepest tenderest fear and worship thee with trembling hope and penitential tears that I may love thee too oh Lord almighty as thou art for thou has stooped to ask of me the love of my poor heart no earthly father loves like thee no mother e'er so mild bears and forbears as thou has done with me thy sinful child father of Jesus love's reward what rapture will it be prostrate before thy throne to lie and gaze and gaze on thee Faber beloved was a catholic amen read his books and chapter one absolute rockets you into heaven chapter two you want to put him in the bin so all the books that you have to read with discernment amen and separate the wheat from the chaff beloved and the reason why A. W. Towser was so profound in his writings beloved because he had the had the courage and the faith to read books of that caliber amen glory be to God Jesus thou joy of loving heart thou fount of light thou light of men do you know that one Bernard Clairvaux he's a roman catholic monk and they're all in the red book beloved which is a pentecostal hymn book i sometimes wonder if they the compilers really knew who they were quoting from bless the lord but these were people beloved who soared into the realm of the mysterious who got beyond amen that's what we should anticipate the spirit of God take us beyond what we can comprehend up here what we can handle what we can articulate take us beyond into that realm beloved where we meet with God where you're lost in wonder love and praise and scarcely know what to do with yourself you're you're brought to a place of speechlessness you lie prostrate before the throne and gaze and gaze on him oh may God take us beyond beloved our intellectual limitations our ability to understand and comprehend words and even give expression to the things that rise within our heart i believe this is one of the reasons beloved why God gave the gift of tongues it takes you beyond yourself well you don't know what you're talking about amen that deals with your pride because most people like to be in control of what they're saying but when you speak in tongues but you don't know what you're saying unless God gives the interpretation either to another person or to you that's why people are afraid beloved of this realm the realm of the spirit oh perhaps some of you don't even know what i'm talking about we're so earthbound beloved people say you're so heavenly minded that you're no earthly use i beg to differ but most of us are so earthly minded we're no heavenly us may God lift us out of ourselves into the realm of the spirit of where we learn to soar in our hearts amen let a man so come to us as the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God most people don't know what the mysteries of God are all about and unless they come to you by the spirit of revelation beloved even all that i have to say about the mysteries of God tonight would be just information we need the word of God to be illuminated and quickened by the spirit beloved so that it becomes life force to us instead of dead letter Jesus said didn't he in John chapter 6 verse 63 the words that i speak unto you they are spirit and they are life and the people listening to him beloved took exception to what he said and he said this is a hard saying it offends us and they quit amen now tonight beloved i want us to look at some of the great truths related to the mysteries of God you'll find the first one beloved in the first book no the second book of Paul to the church at Thessalonica to Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 7 for the mystery of iniquity doth already work only he who now let it will let until he be taken out of the way the mystery of iniquity is already working hmm one of the reasons why many people never get properly saved is because they don't understand this tremendous truth so many people never get properly saved because they don't know what they need to be saved from turn with me into the Ephesian epistle again in chapter 2 where Paul clarifies it this for us in three very simple verses Ephesians chapter 2 here's the definition beloved of the mystery of iniquity that works in every heart outside of Christ and you who were dead in trespasses and sins wherein time passed you walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience among whom we all had our manner of life in time past in the lust of the flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath even as others now that's an all-inclusive statement the prince of the power of the air works in the children of disobedience among whom we all had our manner of life in time past all of us without exception every single human being born into the world has within them a spirit that is working when you have a baby brother don't think that you produce an angel you won't live very long before you discover that you haven't you ask Wendy her little angel kept her awake for two hours the night before last you discover they're not angels they look very angelic beloved when they're sleeping a little pair of shoes sitting beside their cot amen but you won't live very long beloved before you discover that they're not they're not angelic through those of us who've been mums and dads praise god there is in every single life beloved every single heart sometimes referred to as spirit because you are spirit soul and body not just soul and soul and body you are spirit soul and body in every person's spirit beloved there is a spirit working you know lots of people say that they're empty that's a bad scientific statement beloved and it's an even worse theological statement no one is empty everyone has within their spirit a spirit he's called the prince of the power of the air the spirit that workers in the children of disobedience among whom we all had our manner of life in time bust the universal all-inclusive statement it will explain your newspaper lovely it will explain the radio services that you listen to it will explain your television it will explain to you what's going on in contemporary society there is a spirit at work the prince of the power of the air beloved is another name for satan now you can educate that you can veneer it over you can make it religious you can teach it hymns to teach it how to pray beloved and all manner of things but you will not change the internal state of a man or a woman that thing will still be there and it won't be your actions that give you away beloved it will be your reactions you see that's what happened to peter peter who longed of other lord he was always putting his foot in it he tried to prevent jesus from going to calvary in matthew chapter 18 trying to frustrate god's eternal plan of redemption for the human race and jesus said to him get thee behind me satan for thou savest not the things that be of god but those that be of men in john chapter 13 beloved he cries from the depth of his heart why can i not follow thee now hasn't that been the cry of many hearts why can i not follow thee now then we find him in the foyer beloved of the judgment hall confronted by a young girl you belong to him don't you he said i don't don't know him later another person from front him you belong to him don't you now third time brother in the scripture says he cursed and he swore and he said i don't know him i have nothing to do with him but what was in his heart came out of his mouth jesus said so didn't he what a man is in his heart that's what comes out of his mouth not because he had time to think about the right answer but spontaneously he reacted and the real thing inside of him came out of him now don't be too hard on peter beloved jesus hadn't yet died the miracle of regeneration hadn't yet happened the day of pentecost hadn't yet dawned you read peter's letters but you'll find that it's a different person to what you meet in the gospel record he was another man amen he'd been delivered everyone needs deliverance some people's need is more apparent than others because they give greater ground to the enemy to wipe the floor with them and wreck their lives but all of us beloved without exception paul said he needed to be delivered in fact that scripture which i quoted to you from 2 corinthians chapter one where paul says i am saved i'm being saved i will be saved in the authorized version but it says is i am delivered i'm being delivered and i will be delivered it's the same word the prince of the power of the air works in the children of disobedience but that is the mystery that people don't understand as i say they try to educate it because the psychiatrist and the psychology has a heyday in that realm i studied psychology for four years only to be told that i was incurable i didn't need anyone to tell me but i knew it i needed to be delivered glory be to god the natural man is an enigma to himself he has no ability to change himself improve himself until god comes glory be to god god will come and he will save you the mystery of iniquity it will answer lots of questions you do have about situations about people it's working hallelujah so you're to read the paper with discernment you're to watch the television if you dare with discernment you're to listen to the radio you're to consider brother the contemporary scene with discernment there's so many people though it's just a riddle it's a mystery but it's already working you know i mean and until you acknowledge that beloved you will never experience what the new testament talks about is salvation study the second chapter of the ephesian epistle fantastics in that chapter beloved says for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourself it is the gift of god not of works lest any man should boast for we are his workmanship created in christ jesus under good works which he has foreordained that we should walk in them wonderful that's the very pivotal statement beloved in true evangelical christianity when i use the word evangelical there beloved i mean christianity that is consistent with the revealed word of god amen this is our measuring rod beloved the mystery of iniquity then it goes on beloved to talk about a more wonderful mystery you'll find this in one timothy oh one timothy where it talks about the mystery of godliness chapter six of one timothy but thou oh man of god flee these things and follow after righteousness godliness no that's not the right chapter go back into chapter three there it says in verse 16 chapter 3 verse 16 nearly every 3 16 in the bible beloved reveals tremendous truth praise god here it is chapter 3 verse 16 and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness god was manifest in the flesh justified in the spirit seen of angels preached unto the gentiles believed on in the world and received up into glory amen the mystery of godliness that's the great antithesis beloved to the mystery of iniquity in other words it's the great opposite god intends you and i beloved to be indwelt by the mystery of godliness not by the prince of the power of the air but by god in christ by the power of the holy ghost enabling you and me to live a godly life amen just turn over the page beloved where we were in chapter 6 it says in verse 6 but godliness with contentment is great gain hallelujah let me ask you tonight are you contented paul says in the philippian epistle doesn't he says i'm content but i've got nothing or whether i've got everything i'm content it's a wonderful thing beloved to be contented we're not always hankering after something else something new the passion designers but they have a whale of a time playing into the hands of the devil seducing men and women beloved to go in for their new revelation which i should say abomination amen many people are manipulated men and women who have become the embodiment of the mystery of godliness beloved should be beyond human manipulation or demonic interference my god it is a scripture from one john this morning i think it was john john chapter 4 verse 4 one of my favorite scriptures you are of god little children and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world he's greater than satan beloved he's greater than sin he's greater than self he's greater than circumcision and he lives in you by the spirit amen so that your life is not regulated by the things that come to you from without beloved it is governed and regulated by that which lives within you the mystery of godliness amen it's the opposite as i say to the mystery of iniquity in verse 11 it says oh but thou oh man of god flee these things follow after righteousness righteousness is the first great proof that you're born again of the spirit of god you'll read that in one john chapter 2 and the last couple of verses godliness faith love patience meekness amen it's an abbreviation beloved of what paul defines in the fifth chapter of the galatian epistle as the fruit singular of the spirit love the rest of the definition but it's an analysis of the first word love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance against which there is no law for those that are christ have crucified the flesh with the if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit that's what it means to live a godly life you're godded with god as george fox said you know who george fox was he was the founder of the quaker movement that's light years away beloved from what george fox believed godded with god no longer indwelt by the prince of the power of the air but you've got god living on the inside of you enabling you to live a godly life turn with the me into the second epistle to the corinthians chapter six where we have a description beloved of the mystery of godliness where it says in verse 14 be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness and what concord hath christ with belial and what heart hath he that believeth with an infidel and what agreement hath the temple of god with idols for you are the temple of the living god as god has said i will dwell in them and walk in them and i will be their god and they shall be my people wherefore come out from among them and be separate set the lord and touch not the unclean thing and i will receive you and will be a father unto you and you shall be my sons and daughters set the lord almighty having therefore this these promises dear dearly beloved let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of god amen there's a description beloved of the mystery of godliness god says your body is the temple of god your body is the temple of the holy spirit and he will not share you with another there can be no compromise beloved in your life between the prince of the power of the air and the spirit of god god will not share you with another he's described again and again especially in the old testament as a jealous god amen he loves you beloved he won't share you with anyone else we have a wonderful example of that beloved in john chapter 2 it's one of the records of jesus going into the temple and cleansing the temple and remember every time you read about the temple in the new testament beloved realize that he's talking about you not just talking about the building in acts chapter 7 and acts chapter 17 it says god does not live in buildings made of stones he's talking about you talked about himself to start with he said destroy this temple and in three days i'll build it again this is fake of his own body they did destroy it because of sin because he voluntarily beloved was made sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of god in him what an exchange second chapter of john's gospel is very interesting it divides basically into three sections the first section is about what come on no peeping you cheaters no peeping the wedding feast of cana of galilee where he turned water into wine praise god the second section is all about the cleansing of the temple and then the last section is very very interesting and very very important for you and i to understand verse 23 of chapter 2 of john's gospel now when jesus was in jerusalem at the passover in the many believed in his name when they saw the miracles that they did they were believers you might say hallelujah but jesus didn't say hallelujah listen to him but jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men and needed not that any should testify of man for he knew what was in man oh they believed lots of people say i believe in other words we intellectually assent to truth we're believers but when the new testament talks about believing moments always unto receiving as many as receive him to them gave he authority to be called the not just those who intellectually assent even to biblical truth but those who receive it's only when you and i receive him but when jesus went into the temple what did he do he cleansed the temple he drove out beloved everything that was inconsistent with your own nature his own will his own own purpose he said my father's house should be a house of prayer you have made it a den of thieves and he drove out everything and god in his faithfulness beloved when he begins to address you and me and we allow him to deal with their lives but in his faithfulness he will drive out of you and me everything that is inconsistent with his own nature he drives out satan glory be to god the lord made it very clear to me a little while ago beloved that satan isn't all-knowing because i should have known that a long time ago he's not omniscient he's not omnipotent he's not all-knowing so when you're dealing with satan beloved you'll have to articulate he can't read your mind god can he can discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts and declare that we're all naked and open before him with whom we have to do but the devil can't do that amen he's not all-knowing so when you're dealing with satan but you have to articulate what you have to say and say get out get off don't have to shout necessarily amen but sometimes you need to shout at the wicked one praise god but god in christ beloved came to cleanse the temple as i say when you read about the temple beloved and there are many passages of scripture like chapter 8 of john's gospel it says they he came into the temple in the first verse and in the last verse it says he went out of the temple so you don't have to be very clever to come to the conclusion that all that went in between verse one and the last verse beloved all transpired within the temple and one of the things that transpired in the temple beloved in that chapter was the deliverance of a woman caught in the act of adultery dragged into the presence of god of the lord by the religious leaders of her day all threatening to stone her they were a pack of hypocrites beloved they never implemented the law of god as they should have done and they wanted to inveigle jesus into their own pernicious way of thinking and handling human beings and he said to them he who is without sin let him cast the first stone at her one by one they dropped their stones beginning under the eldest unto the youngest and left the temple and jesus was left alone alone with the woman and all that would have broken the silence of that great edifice beloved was a sob of a broken-hearted woman and jesus said to her doth no man condemn me she said no my lord he said neither do i condemn thee go and sin no more and behind that word beloved was god's power to enable her to do what he said that's the second time in john's gospel we read the same truth beloved in chapter five where he said to the man whom he'd healed at the pool beloved when he met him in the temple he doubted with his physical condition at the pool he dealt with his spirit could his spiritual condition beloved in the temple he said to him go and sin no more unless the worst thing come upon thee now was jesus mocking them was he telling them to do something beloved that was utterly impossible or was he imparting power to them to live a life of godliness driving the devil out beloved in order that the spirit of god could come in and reveal the fullness of god's intention for every human life glory to his name no word of god is devoid of power that's what god through the angel spoke to mary when she said it's impossible for me to have a baby i don't know a man and you said the things which are impossible with men are possible with god glory be to god that verse literally translated is no word of god is devoid of power behind every word that god speaks is god's power to perform it amen and when you and i respond to the lord beloved unconditionally we will discover that behind the words that he speaks to us is the power that will give us the ability to live in the reality of it amen go and sin no more that's what emancipation is all about deliverance from the power of satan deliverance from the power of sin deliverance from the power of self deliverance from the circumstances in which we live glory to his name and we would begin to discover the mystery of godliness by working in our lives not because you try harder to love more if you're still trying to love more trying harder to love more but you haven't understood the scriptures god by his spirit sheds the love of god abroad in our hearts by the holy ghost amen to give us the ability to love even as he loved that's the operation beloved of the mystery of godliness active activating in the depth of your being causing you to live spontaneously in the will of god not a striving and struggling and trying to live up to an impossible standard many of us have done that but only to fall flat on our face again and again when the spirit of god comes glory to his name let's see that in a clearer way in a very familiar verse beloved in the epistle to the colossians chapter 1 in verse 25 again breaking into one of paul's long sentences verse 25 whereby i am made a deacon amazing how many times paul refers to himself as a deacon praise god according to the dispensation of god which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of god even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations but now has made manifest to his saints to whom god would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles which is christ in you the hope of glory whom we preach warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect don't be afraid of the word brothers repetitive in scripture that we might present every man perfect in christ jesus where unto i also labor striving according to his working which worketh in me mightily amen there again beloved is the great secret of the mystery of godliness actually working it's no longer the prince of the power of the air working in you but it's god working in you not what you can do it's not what i can do it's what he's doing praise god if you look back and keep your finger in colossians but just look back into the philippian epistle for a moment in chapter 2 of the philippian epistle these are repetitive truths chapter 2 verse 12 wherefore my beloved you as you have always obeyed not in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is god which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure turn over into the galatian epistle and chapter 1 verse 8 in brackets for he that wrote effectually in peter to the apostleship of the circumcision the same was mighty in me towards the gentiles ephesians chapter 3 and verse 20 now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us unto him be glory in the church by christ jesus throughout all ages world without end amen beloved you've got someone working in you the mystery that was hidden from the ages and the generations christ in you the hope of glory and paul's definition of christ in the colossian epistle is absolutely mind-blowing in chapter 2 verse 9 he's described as all the fullness of the godhead bodily in verse 19 of chapter 1 it says it pleased the father that in him should all fullness 12 in other words all that god was was in christ for god was in christ reconciling the world unto himself all that god was was in christ and all that christ is by the spirit comes to live in you and me just think of that that's who's living in you that's the mystery hidden from the ages and the generations but you can go to university going to doctorate in theology beloved but if you don't know that you don't know anything of eternal value all that god is in christ by the holy spirit living in you and me working moving doing oh i'm surprised that you're all sitting down looking so composed but i'm surprised that you haven't exploded on the spot i tell you when god began to show me things like this beloved i wondered where i'd been all my life it's only when the spirit of god came and i began to read these phenomenal statements in god's word i began to understand what authentic christianity was really all about lots of people think christianity is an alternative religion jesus didn't come to give you an alternative religions he came to give you life and life more abundant and the life that he was talking about but it was the life that he lived on the earth by the power of the spirit being lived reproduced outworked in you and me in in every increasing way oh i'm almost airborne you know lots of people we come from a city called liverpool where it's just been a point well a little while ago was appointed to be the cultural city of europe in 208 we don't quite know what culture there is in liverpool i'm not a born liverpudlian amen knowing we've got the beatles we got football we got slavery not a very very good repertoire amen but it's a city where they go mad about football you got liverpool and everton two of the huge teams they're never allowed to play at home on the same day because that would create chaos in the city and then people get all dressed up if you're a liverpool supporter but i'm red and white hats rattles clowns rushing around shouting bawling they say it's natural or if you want to go to everton beloved it's blue and white i'm no footballer jenny used to go and watch our boys when they were young playing football for the school she used to run up and down the touchline to encourage them and john said do you know what dad mum was running up and down the touchline and do you know what she was doing she was talking in tongues probably gained more into more success beloved than all the people who were bellowing and shouting glory be to god but people go crazy about football don't they a bag of wind 22 men beloved one to keep them in order for i don't know how long that's how ignorant i am at the game and people think that's normal get excited about jesus but then they think you've gone over the top and if you're not careful you'll get locked up very quickly that's what they did to a remarkable man beloved called john sung have you ever read the biography of john sung well you should make you stand on your head john sung was a young chinese man whose father was a pastor who in his teenage came to america he was a very gifted young man he got about four doctorates and about half the time that most people did the same thing well he was in america america all thought of being a christian and living a christian life but i've just drained out of him but in order to please his father before he returned home he he thought he should go to bible college and get yet another doctorate in divinity he hadn't been there very long but he'd been running away from god but god hadn't been running away from him because you know the god is like the hound of heaven amen and he won't let you go but until he's grounded you i fled him down the night i fled him down the day i fled him down the labyrinth of my no mind and in the midst of tears i hid from him and his feet followed after after after it's a long long poem by a man called francis thompson well god persisted and followed young john sung hadn't been at the bible college all that long beloved when god met him he was born again and filled with the holy ghost and he got up beloved he ran around the college telling everyone testifying to the fact that it was a liberal bible college telling people beloved what god had done for him they thought he was mad in fact they incarcerated him in a mental hospital and eventually beloved they locked him up in the ward for dangerous patients he's there for something like 140 odd days and during that period of time though he read his bible from cover to cover about 40 times and made copious notes of everything that he read and then he was deported from the united states because he was a danger to the security of the nation this is a man who got born again and filled with the holy ghost he was no longer being regulated by the prince of the power of the air which would have done real damage to the united states he'd now got the power of god living on the inside of him but the natural man beloved cannot stomach that and they put him on a boat beloved and send him back to china and as he was approaching china he threw all his accolades in the in the sea apart from one doctorate which he promised to give to his father he donned a peasant's robe beloved and spent the rest of his life he died in his early 40s preaching the unsearchable riches of christ and it is said that probably more people in southeast asia were born again as a result of that man's ministry than anyone else amen and all that had happened to him beloved was that he'd been delivered from the prince of the power of the air and possessed by the spirit of god the mystery that had been hidden from the ages and the generations that superseded all his intellectual ability our men had come into him glory be to god when was he revealed in you beloved that was paul's testimony wasn't it paul was on the way to damascus to bring bound unto jerusalem all the court upon the name of the lord jesus later he documented it and sent it sent it in a letter beloved to the church at and he said this it pleased god who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal his son in me and the mystery was disclosed he understood it that's why he could write with authority about it christ in you the hope of glory all the fullness of the godhead bodily living in you and in me brother that's what will make you a genuine christian amen praise god are you all expensive on the inside glory be to god you're not worried about whether your heart's ticking fast or or slow beloved but you've got god living on the inside of you and when you go out of this meeting that is true you won't leave him behind he'll go with you when you go to work tomorrow morning brother he'll be there with you when you're washing up the pots tomorrow if you haven't got a dishwasher amen he'll be with you glory be to god you can't be anywhere where he is not oh praise god brother that's what makes a man or a woman a christian christ in you the hope of glory let's look at another truth turn with me into the ephesian epistle now in chapter five well we have this magnificent passage which starts up starts off by saying in verse 17 wherefore be not unwise but understanding what the will of the lord is be not drunk with wine wherein is excess but be being filled with the spirit all the time drink and go on drinking all the time speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs making melody in your heart to the lord giving thanks always for all things unto god and the father in the name of our lord jesus christ submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of god amen now that's the sort of introductory verses to this section of chapter five and then it goes on to talk about husbands and wives and then towards the end of the chapter it says in verse 32 this is the great mystery i speak concerning christ and the church but marriage in the scripture is the most precious thing as far as god is concerned hmm why because marriage beloved is a visual aid to the world of the relationship that god intends you and i to have with his son that's why you read in romans chapter 7 you should be married are you married my son not yet are you married yes there you are i said that to another young lad once sitting on the front row i said son are you married he said no i said son are you married he said yes you should be married that is to him christ jesus whom he had raised from the dead blood this is a most sublime illustration it runs from the second chapter of the book of genesis right through into the very last chapter of the book of revelation it's a great theme you should be married to him talks about union it talks about communion but talks about oneness it's what it says here doesn't it it says for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife and the two shall be one flesh what did jesus say in john chapter 14 at that day you will know that i am in the father you are in me and i am in you that was his great prophetic word beloved in john chapter 17 what he prophesied in john chapter 14 he goes on to pray that wonderful 17th chapter of john when you read it but i would read it on your knees and ask yourself the question is this prayer being answered in me first part of the prayer beloved is between jesus and his father second part of the chair prayer is related to those who were with him when he was on the earth the last part of the prayer beloved relates to you listen to this john 17 verse 20 neither pray i for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word that all they all may be one as thou father art in me and i in thee that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that thou has sent me and the glory which thou gave us me i have given them that they may be one even as we are one i in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one that the world may know that thou has sent me and has loved them as thou has loved me oh that was the prayer of jesus beloved if no other prayer was ever heard in heaven i tell you this one was the reason why jesus died beloved and released the spirit that was in him because he didn't just die to deal with our sin he died to release the spirit that lived in him to come and live in you and me to make us one with him and the church beloved is the bride of christ that's why john chapter 4 beloved is the story of jesus at the well not the story of the woman at the well jesus came to the well beloved to marry the harlot of syka what about that then that will put an end to all the nonsense of the da Vinci code amen why do i say that beloved because she became a part of the bride of christ that was the purpose for which he came and that's what all the others missed beloved they had belly ache and went to find their dinner jesus never told them to go and get their dinner they'd stayed around but they would have heard that magnificent conversation between jesus and the woman who was derelict beloved riddled with demons she'd been a victim of abuse and misuse when she went home she said come see a man first man she'd ever met you say that can't be true she'd been living with five ones now living with number six that can't possibly true they weren't men beloved they were beasts peter described them in his second letter as natural brute beasts and that's what we all are beloved well we're indwelt with the prince of the power of the air we're natural brute beasts driven the good things we want to do we don't do and the things we hate ourselves for doing but we keep on doing them who can help me says the apostle thanks be to god through jesus christ our lord and then he launches into that wonderful eighth chapter of the roman epistle which is the poor line parallel beloved to the sermon on the mount amen a description of normal christian life oh glory be to god that we should be one that they should be one even as we are one do you do understand beloved the mystery of the trinity i don't understand it up here i understand it down here god speaks of himself in trinitarian form beloved in the first chapter of the book of genesis where he says let us make man known in glory be to god the indivisibility of the relationship that exists within the godhead beloved a relationship of love hmm there's a sort of relationship into which he wants to bring you and me and this is why beloved when he's talked about marriage here in ephesians chapter five he says this is a great mystery concerning christ and the church and his illustration is wonderful it says two things to the ladies he says they're to be subject and submissive and go forth the women's live but i throw up their hands in despair you know where women do that because men fail to be men can't throw bricks at the ladies it's we men beloved who are responsible but then he goes on to say three things to the men he said a man is to be even as christ to his wife as a savior he's to be even as christ to his wife as a lover and he's to be even as the lord that is as christ to his wife as a provider and a supporter amen you ladies have you married a man who's just like jesus what an awesome responsibility brother we men have no woman would have any difficulty beloved in being subject to her husband if he behaves like that towards her how many of you ladies would have liked to have married jesus yeah there's one over here i've got a volunteer over here not very not very enthusiastic just up a little so that too many people didn't see put your hand up sister amen that's better amen i've got two two ladies here who aren't married in the natural beloved they're game ha ha ha glory be to god you should be married that is to him christ jesus whom he hath raised from the dead beloved this myth this spiritual marriage this union this communion this oneness glory but this is the very pinnacle of christian experience not just getting safe and sinning going to heaven when i die amen but enjoying a relationship with him beloved that is intimate oh wonder of wonders i have loved you with an everlasting love and with loving kindness have i drawn you i have betrothed thee unto me read jeremiah chapter 31 read hosea chapter 2 that's the sort of language that i read woven into the fabric of the scripture that's the sort of relationship that god longs to have with you and me doesn't hold me at arm's length amen he's nice even within our heart are you in love with him jesus thou joy of loving heart thou fount of life thou light of men from the best bliss that earth imparts i turn unfilled to thee again from glory unto glory melt you all down beloved every human being longs to be loved longs to be wanted longs to be included so many beloved are live on the periphery feel that they're sided they're not included even within fellowships like this beloved it's amazing how we gather together with the ones with whom we so easily relate and overlook those who don't seem to fit in exactly in the way that we'd like i have loved thee with an everlasting love and with loving kindness have i drawn thee amen turn back into the ephesian epistle in chapter three where we read at the beginning he says in verse eight unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given that i shall preach unto the gentiles the unsearchable riches of christ and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world have been hidden god who created all things by jesus christ amen to make all men see doesn't say make all men hear make all men see but when you live you and i live in that sort of relationship with the lord your life will become infectious i don't believe any encounter with any other human being beloved is insignificant it may be a fleeting encounter but if god lives in you beloved and he's living out his life through you and you have a heart that's big enough beloved to embrace all i remember once many years ago now i was in india i was on a rickshaw with david weatherly in a city called lucknow and we were on the way to a meeting and there was another rickshaw wallow sitting beside the road in his rickshaw and as we passed a little bit he looked at us and smiled and i waved and he got on his rickshaw and overtook us and then we waved again and then he let his rickshaw go back and then overtook us again and we waved again and it happened three times amen i have the faith to believe beloved that god had initiated a work in his heart i shall never see him again i wouldn't even recognize him he's one of millions just a passing encounter a communication in the realm of the spirit beloved that you and i cannot comprehend it it's irrational to the natural mind when you look at people brother do you look at them with the eyes of jesus and see all the potential of god in them and as i said this morning brother you'll find that you have the ability to love your enemies you're not holding people off like this glory be to god well you say well this all sounds very wonderful and it's all about an apostle the great apostle paul well let's finally brother turn into mark chapter four in the context of where jesus tells shares one of his tremendous stories about the sower but at the end of the story beloved between between the telling of the parable and the explaining of it to the disciples you read this in verse 11 and he said unto them unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of god but unto them that are without all these things shall be done in parables amen unto you is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of god amen do you know beloved i'm not asking you if you know all the texts in the scripture they just serve beloved as a framework to communicate truth amen you can know all these things beloved without ever having read the bible now in saying that beloved i'm not saying that you shouldn't read the bible read it mark it learn it inwardly digest it wear it out year after year my dear man john sung beloved read it what did i say 40 times bless god and when the spirit of god beloved illuminates the word of god and quickens by the spirit it leaps out of the page into your heart and it's not dead letter anymore but it becomes a part of your person god wants to incarnate his word in you and me beloved so all that we've looked at tonight becomes a reality you're no longer deceived beloved about the mystery of iniquity you have a degree of understanding what the mystery of godliness is really all about you live in the reality of the mystery of christ by his grace beloved you're a part of the great mystery called the church by one spirit you've all been baptized into one body you won't get into the church in any other way it's a mystical thing it's a supernatural thing you don't become a member of the church beloved by agreeing to a doctrinal statement you don't become a member of the church beloved by joining a fellowship like this you don't become a member of the church beloved by water baptism all the water in the world will never change your soul the only way in which you and i will become a part of the mystical body of christ is when the spirit of god baptizes us into the body amen again it's supernatural the whole of this realm is a realm that is supernatural glory to his name unto you it is given to though the mystery of the kingdom of god and then you can say i know what did jesus say at the beginning of his prayer in john chapter 17 this is life eternal that you might know him and jesus christ whom he has sent and the word know their beloved is the same word used at the end of matthew chapter 1 where it says mary joseph knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son and called his name jesus it's the language of intimacy not just knowing about as they know all about it from the scripture and say amen but it's when you know do you know when did you experience that supernatural encounter with a sovereign living god who loves you and wants to marry you hallelujah glory to his name let's close our book shall we