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Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Question 4 – Christopher (United Arab Emirates): Dear Pastor Chris, I praise and thank God for this media. Kindl... -
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Introduction: Hello! Welcome to today’s program! I will endeavor to answer your questions and I believe that thi... -
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Question 8- Jonathan (United Kingdom): Thank you sir for this forum. Please sir, can you shed more light in acco...
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Episode 2 :: Prayer/Words of Knowledge
12:45 AM | Posted by
St. Burnish
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| Pastor Chris Oyakhilome |
Prayer: In the name of Jesus, I pray that the Holy Spirit will rest upon you - the anointing of God will come upon you and strengthen you, and that the glory of God will rest upon your life right now. If you haven’t received the Holy Spirit, receive the Holy Spirit right now. Receive Him into your heart right now. If you haven’t received Christ, receive Christ into your heart, right now, ask Him to come into your heart. Say “Lord Jesus, I believe in you; I confess your Lordship with my mouth. I receive you as my Lord and my Savior. I believe God raised you from the dead. I proclaim you my Lord and Savior – my Master. I receive eternal life from you now into my spirit, and I am saved!” Say that; say that, and receive eternal life!
And, in the name of Jesus, if you have pains, if you have an infirmity in your body, if you have a disease in your body – something that’s made you sick, I want to pray for you. I command that pain to leave you; I command that infirmity to go from you, in the name of Jesus. Be cleansed in your blood; be cleansed in your body. Be healed right now. Receive healing for your bones. Receive healing for your body. From the crown of your head to the soles of your feet, be made every whit whole right now, in the name of Jesus! Yes, be healed! Be healed! Be healed right now, by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the name of Jesus! Oh, praise God, praise God, praise God! The anointing is reaching out to you right now. Yes, the anointing is reaching out to you!
Words of Knowledge: A Pastor has just been healed in the heart. You had a heart condition, and the Lord has just healed your heart. The Lord has healed your heart. Thank you, Lord Jesus! Thank you for that miracle! Thank you for that miracle! I see someone who’s been having a problem with the spine, and the Lord’s healing you right now. You’re feeling a hot sensation – a warm glow really – going through your body, correcting that problem. Yes, you are healed, in the name of Jesus! I command the cancer to die, in the name of Jesus! I rebuke the cancer, I rebuke the pain, [and] I rebuke that growth! Be healed of the plague, in Jesus’ might name! Thank you Lord! I see a little girl who is the child [the daughter] of a Pastor and has been sick and actually unable to walk. In the name of Jesus [you can put your hand on that child…touch that child now], I command healing for that child, in Jesus’ mighty name – healing for that child right now, by the power of the Holy Ghost, in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Thank you Lord! Thank you Lord! Thank you! Thank you for giving them healing now. Thank you for touching them with your power! Thank you Lord for these miracles, in Jesus’ name. Amen! Let us know what the Lord has done for you. Write us; send us an e-mail…so glad to hear from you. Until next week, God bless you!
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Episode 2 :: Question 7 on Laboring/Travailing in the Spirit
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| Pastor Chris Oyakhilome |
Question 7 – Clara Allen (United Kingdom): Dear Pastor Chris, thank you for providing us this opportunity to address questions that we sometimes do not know how to answer. What does it mean to labor in the spirit or travail in the spirit? As a leader, I have been advised to labor in the spirit for my members. I have searched the scriptures, but I still need an insight into this. I thought if you prayed earnestly for a desired result and you believed you have received, then you shall have what you have asked for. Thank you.
Answer 7: Well, laboring in the spirit or travailing in the spirit refers to two things: laboring in the spirit just means that you’re working with the materials of the spirit – the Word of God, prayer, encouragement, sharing with them. That’s labor. When we teach people, when we study the Word of God and go out to visit and teach people the Word of God and encourage them and strengthen them, that’s laboring in the spirit, because it’s a spiritual ministry. So, that’s laboring in the spirit.
Now, the second thing is travailing in the spirit – part of laboring in the spirit; it means prayer. And, Paul said the same thing, he said, “my little children of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you” [Galatians 4:19]; he was talking about intercessory ministry [or] intercessory prayer. So, we call it travailing because you pray in tears – you cry. I understand what you’re trying to say here, “I thought if you prayed earnestly for a desired result, and you believe you have received then you shall have what you asked for.” Yes, you’re referring to a prayer of faith. Prayer of faith is when you pray like that and just expect that you got it – “whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them” [Mark 11:24]. That’s the prayer of faith, but intercessory prayer is different.
The prayer of faith is for something you want; it all depends on you, but intercessory prayer has to do with someone else who has a different will. And, as a leader, what they’re trying to tell you is that you’ve got to intercede for your members. That means you’re praying for people who have their own will, and they may not be subject to the word of God. They may be rebellious sometimes; they may be childish sometimes. They may be unwilling to do the things they’re supposed to be doing, which means you’re going to have to intercede, because now you’re asking God to do something that has to do with other people. You’re praying for them about them, for their sake. In that case, you can’t just pray and run off; you’re going to have to pray in intercession, which refers to this travail in the spirit. Sometimes, you cry…sometimes, there are deep sighs; sometimes, it is as though you feel like you’re in their very situation. When you intercede for others, sometimes you feel their pain. Sometimes, you feel as though you’re even lost yourself when you’re interceding for a lost man. When you’re interceding for someone who’s gone wayward, you feel like you’re the one who’s gone wayward [you know]. You feel the pain, see? And, that kind of intercessory ministry is what you’re being taught; that’s why they said you should labor in the spirit or travail in the spirit. That’s what it’s all about.
Conclusion: Great, great, great! You know, the word of God provides answers to all questions…well, questions that are true questions, not questions that people ask just so they could find fault with the Bible or find fault with the minister. If you’re asking an honest question, we’ll try to provide answers for you, because the Holy Spirit knows all things. His Word is loaded with information. The Bible says, “those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children and those which are not revealed belong unto God [Deuteronomy 29:29].” So, if it’s been revealed, it’ll be in the word of God, and we’ll be able to communicate it to you. And, I’m glad that we’ve been able to share this with you.
Watch the full episode 2 [June 2, 2009] video here!
Episode 2 :: Question 6 on Christians Attending Multiple Churches
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| Pastor Chris Oyakhilome |
Question 6 – Maria (United Arab Emirates): Can any believer go to two churches to get the Word? Is it against God’s will?
Answer 6: What I think you’re asking here is attending two different churches. Well, “can any believer go to two churches to get the Word? Is it against God’s will?” No, it’s not against God’s will. But, see, going to two churches to get God’s Word? Hmmn…there’s a little problem here…it’s like belonging in two different families, and we usually don’t belong in two different families; we belong in one family…we belong in one family, and that’s important. You’re nurtured in one family. You don’t get nurtured in this family, and then you go to the other family to be nurtured. When you talk about ‘getting the Word’, you’ve got to understand the ministry of the Word of God. We don’t just go to church to get the Word; we’ve got a function. You don’t get the Word until you are in the Word [you understand?] You’ve got to be a participator in the Word. So, you’re not only expected to hear the Word; you’re expected to also give into the Word. That means, ‘live according to that Word’ and that Word leads you. So, if you attend a church, you’re expected to not only hear the Word in that church but to participate in the ministry of that church. And, that’ll be a problem if you belong in two churches. And, it’s not appropriate for you to be going to a particular church just to hear the Word and you don’t participate; sooner or later, you’d feel like something’s gone wrong. You know, like Kenneth Hagin used to say, it’s like washing your feet with your socks on. You’d feel like something’s wrong. So, you can’t really participate in two churches; so, getting the Word is not done until we’re part of the Word, until we minister with the Word, [and] until we participate in that church. So, that’s why you can only really be a member of one church.
Watch the full episode 2 [June 2, 2009] video here!
Episode 2 :: Question 5 on Fasting
Question 5 – Neo Daniel Diphaha (South Africa): Hi, Pastor Chris, I would like to know the rules of fasting. When am I supposed to fast and how do I determine the duration of my fast? How does fasting help me in my prayers?
Answer: Well, uh [laughs], the rules of fasting…there are no specific rules of fasting as it were, because there are different kinds of fasting like the Bible shows us. There are different types of fasting. And, you can be led by the Spirit to fast, and when he tells you to fast, then you have to fast; and, he will tell you how long you should fast. But, apart from that, fasting in itself helps us to get our spirits attuned to God. Fasting helps us position ourselves spiritually to hear God – to listen to Him. See, fasting doesn’t get God to listen to us; it gets us to listen to God [see?]. It’s a spiritual exercise also; it’s another…it’s a form of self-denial, where you’re able to subdue your flesh, subdue your appetites, and then you can listen to voice of the Spirit of God within you. So, that’s why fasting is important. You said “how does it help you in prayer?” That’s the way it helps you in prayer. It helps your focus; it strengthens your resolve, when you pray and fast. So, that’s why it’s important that we fast.
Watch the full episode 2 [June 2, 2009] video here!
Episode 2 :: Question 4 on Standard of Judgment before the Law
Question 4 - Rocky (Zimbabwe-Africa): During the period between Adam and Moses, there was no law and hence, no standard for sin or transgression. How then are men to be judged or what was the expected code of conduct when there was no measure? How will those people be judged at the end of time?
Watch the full episode 2 [June 2, 2009] video here!
Episode 2 :: Question 3 on the Rapture/Second Coming of Christ
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| Pastor Chris Oyakhilome |
Question 3 – Angel Aimuan (United Kingdom): Pastor, I will love you to throw more light on the rapture of the church and the second coming of Christ. Thank you very much sir.
Answer 3: This is one of those few…no, many things rather that people confuse in the scripture. The rapture of the Church is different from the second coming of Christ. And, by the way, you will not really find the word ‘rapture’ especially in the older translations [of the Bible], because rapture means ‘to catch away’, ‘to take away’, ’to be caught up’, but you’re going to find that term [‘to be caught up’] even though you don’t find the word ‘rapture’ in itself. But, let’s just talk about where these things are in the scriptures, so that we can distinguish between them, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. In 1st Thessalonians…if you go into your Bible in 1st Thessalonians Chapter 4, reading from verse 13, the words of Paul the Apostle: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we, which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them, which are asleep. For the Lord Himself [now notice] shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [that’s where the word ‘rapture’ comes from] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” [1 Thessalonians 4:13-18] Beautiful words!
That 17th verse tells the whole story…it says, “then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them”. It tells us about this rapture; it says Christ will descend. He will descend himself from heaven with a shout and with a voice of the archangel and with the trump of God. And, the dead in Christ shall rise. Those Christians who have died would rise – come out of the graves – from wherever they were…wherever their bodies were buried, or even if their bodies were burnt, they’ll come together. And, then it says, “the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air” [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17]. Now, I want you to notice a striking thing here; it says the Lord will descend, the dead in Christ shall rise, those of us who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall be caught up together with the dead in Christ that have risen, and we shall all meet the Lord in the air. He will be waiting in the air, so we’ll be caught up to meet him in the air. And, then [you know], we’ll be with him. And, that’s the way we leave; we are ‘caught up’ – that’s the rapture.
Now, there’s another portion that refers to the same thing, and it’s in 1st Corinthians Chapter 15 [I want to read that to you], from verse 51: “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [that means everybody is not going to die; it’s talking about Christians. Not every Christian is going to die], but we shall all be changed.” And this change is not the same change that you have in metamorphosis where we are transfigured. No! This is not that kind of change from one glory to another in terms of a metamorphosis but a transformation. The Greek here [for ‘transformation’] is ‘alasso’. It’s a transformation. It’s like you putting on something else. So, your body is going to be changed. That’s what it’s talking about. So, it says here, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” [1 Corinthians 15:51-52] Isn’t that wonderful? So, that’s the same thing it talks about in 1st Thessalonians 4. Now, these two portions of the Bible refer to the rapture of the church, when we are caught away from here – we are suddenly taken away from the earth. Now, according to the scriptures [because of time, we may not be able to go into all the details], what’s going to happen is this: first comes the rapture. In fact, the major sign that we’re waiting for in the world today is the rapture of the church, which means anytime soon, this is going to happen…anytime soon, this is going to happen [quotes 1 Corinthians 15:52 again]. That’s remarkable!
Now, the second coming of Christ on the other hand is very different. Now [you know something], the rapture of the church is actually one of the signs of the second coming. So, the rapture is not a coming of Christ [really], because he’s just going to be in the air, and we’ll be caught up to meet him, and we’ll go with him. So, he takes us away. But, in the second coming of Christ [that’s why it’s called the second coming, because the rapture is not a coming of Christ…he only descends and waits in the air, and we join him to be caught away, but in the second coming], he actually will come to this world, but he will be coming with us, because we went away at the rapture. So, we will be coming together with him at the second coming. So, he’s not coming alone; he’s coming with us at the second coming of Christ. So, we are not waiting for the second coming of Christ; we will be coming together with him to the earth.
Now, I’d read this to you in the scriptures. Let’s begin with the book of Jude, so you can follow this in the right context. The book of Jude – that’s the last…it’s the book before the book of Revelations – and, I’m reading verse 14 [it’s just a one-chapter book] : “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam prophesied of these, saying: Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints [now, notice it didn’t say ten thousand but ten thousands – that means you’re numbering them in tens of thousands] To execute judgment [notice what it says] upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers and complainers, walking after their own lust, and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.” [Jude verses 14-16] Did you see that? It says the Lord is coming to execute judgment on sinners. That’s what the second coming is for. Jesus will be coming to execute judgment in the world. Now, we’ll go into a little more detail on that in a moment, but I want you to see what it says that the Lord will come with ten thousands of his saints – that’s tens of thousands of his saints. He’s coming with his saints.
Now, let’s go to his [Jesus’] very words. We go all the way to St. Matthew’s gospel in Chapter 24 [I’ll begin reading from verse 3]: “And, as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? [Matthew 24:3]” There were three questions that they wanted to know from Jesus; [and] for us to understand these three questions, we’ll have to go back to verse 1: “And, Jesus went out and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple [beautiful building]. And, Jesus said unto them, see ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. [Matthew 24:1-2]” When he was looking at the temple [and he said ‘look’…they were trying to show him the beauty of the temple, and], he said, “[look] not one stone shall be left upon another”. And in verse 3, the disciples came to him and said, “tell us, [question one] when shall these things be [what he just said concerning the temple]?”, “what shall be the sign of thy coming [that’s question two]?”, “and of the end of the world [that’s question three]?” When will it happen? When will this temple be so destroyed that not one stone shall be left on another? And, then, Jesus began to speak from verse 4: “And, Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many: And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. [Matthew 24:4-8]”
And, Jesus kept on talking, giving sign after sign, sign after sign – things that’ll happen – in his response to those three questions. Now, the first one happened in 70 A.D. when the Turks invaded Jerusalem and they destroyed Jerusalem. They destroyed the temple. In fact, Josephus says, “Jerusalem was plowed up”; that’s his description. He says it was plowed up – not one stone was left on another that was not thrown down in that temple. It was destroyed just like Jesus said – completely destroyed. So, that was fulfilled [in] 70 A.D. many years ago. Then [two more questions], it says, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” And, this is the one that we would talk about now – the second coming. Remember, we were distinguishing between the rapture and the second coming of Christ.
Now, you go to…from verse 27 [of Matthew 24], because Jesus talked a lot about the terrible things that’ll happen in the world, and [you know] from one sign…in fact, in verse 21: “for there shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And, except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake, those days shall be shortened. [Matthew 24:21-22]” It says there shall be great tribulation [you see]…there shall be great tribulation. Now, what’s going to happen is this: after the rapture of the church, which the church is waiting for now [and this is going to happen anytime soon], there’s a period in which the anti-Christ will be revealed…the anti-Christ will be revealed. He’s called ‘the man of sin’, ‘the son of perdition’; we don’t have so much time to talk about him now. But, the anti-Christ will be revealed, and that will lead into the great tribulation. Actually, he will sign a treaty with Israel for seven years; now, in the midst of the seven years [in other words, in the middle of the seven years, according to the Bible] he will break the agreement and mistreat Israel, and also begin to mistreat those who believe in Jesus Christ. [This will happen] And, the great tribulation will actually be in that second part of that seven-year period. And, many of us believe that the rapture of the church will take place somewhere around the beginning [actually somewhere around] the inception of those seven years. When you see that treaty signed with Israel, to protect Israel [to guarantee the peace of Israel], know that the rapture is nigh.
Now [you know], there are Christians who wonder; they say, “will Christians go through the tribulation before the rapture?” and “will the rapture be during the tribulation, before the tribulation, or after the tribulation?” Well, I believe, for many reasons that the rapture will be before [just before] the tribulation. I believe that for many reasons. In the scriptures [you see], the Bible tells us that it was the day that Noah entered into the ark that the waters for destruction came [Genesis 7:7-17]. God waited for Noah to finish and enter into the ark and the ark was shut and then the rains of destruction came. Again, in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, after he [God] helped Lot to flee Sodom, the fire came [Genesis 19:15-25]. So, he cannot leave us in here, because Jesus also related these two stories that I just told you of Sodom and the days of Noah…he related them to the coming as well. So, letting us know that our flight will have to be before the trouble shows up. Well, so many scriptures for us to go through there, but that’s not your question; and, I want to stay within the ambits of this particular discussion.
Now, there’s something else here; I’m reading to you from verse 27 [to 28 of Matthew 24]: “For as the lightening cometh out from the east, and shineth even unto the west: so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together [repeats verse 27].” That’s remarkable! You know, people say how’s Jesus going to come, because the Bible says the whole earth shall see him [everybody’s going to see him]. So, he’s going to be out there and the whole world is going to see him. Now, let’s read on, you’ll notice something [in verse 29]: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of the trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. [Matthew 24:29-31]” Now, what do you mean [by] ‘his elect’; there will be believers [many believers] who did not go at the rapture of the church and they went through the tribulation. There will be many from Israel, who will believe at this time, and there will be many all over the world who will believe, for the Bible says a multitude of people came through the great tribulation. So, there’s going to be a lot people who will come through the tribulation, and they shall be saved [Revelations 7:13-15]. These are those that will be gathered together unto the Lord, when we come together with him. Praise the Lord!
So, if you live your life according to the scriptures as he has told us, and you remain in prayer and in watchfulness, that day will not take you unawares. The rapture will not take you unawares; you will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, and then we shall come back with him. So, remember this: the rapture is the coming of the Lord in the air [he will not come to the earth]…he will stop in the air and believers will be caught up from here to meet him and they will go with the Lord. Then, many years after [about seven years or less, because that period from when ‘the man of sin’ signs that treaty with Israel until the coming of the Lord (the second coming of the Lord) will be will be seven years], when he comes he comes with the saints and then he comes to execute judgment. In fact, the seven-year period will be ending with the Armageddon, and just at that point of Armageddon [that war, that terrible war] is when the Lord comes in the air, and we come with him, with power and great glory. So, that’s the second coming…the second coming of Christ, we come together with him to this world and to execute judgment on this world. And, from then, he’ll establish 1,000 years of peace; so, Jesus will actually come into this world physically and we will come with him. And, he’ll begin a 1,000-year reign – a millennium of peace – and Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit for that period of time. He [Satan] will be in chains and put into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. So much to say about all of these, but I just wanted to explain to you the difference [like you requested] between the rapture of the church and the second coming of Christ. Praise the Lord!
So, prepare of the rapture rather than the second coming, because we are going to be coming together with him. Those who will be joining us at the second coming will have had to go through the tribulation. Alright! Tribulation [by the way] is a time of trouble, trouble and persecution, hardship like never before and terrible persecution because of Jesus.
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