Pioneers in the Miraculous

This is Rob Rufus's message from City Church International in Hong Kong on Sunday 10th May 2009. It is not quite a classic sermon but there are some essential elements vital to anyone interested in the grace revolution. He starts off by movingly sharing about a member of their congregation who died prematurely and the church's reaction to that - and also about their efforts to raise him from the dead. Then he shares some testimonies from "Grace and Glory 2009" and the resulting impact around the world. Finally he shares some thoughts before closing. Here it is;

One of the keys to longevity in the kingdom - and by longevity I mean not how long you have been a Christian or have been a Christian but I mean freedom from bitterness, freedom from cynicism, skepticism, freedom from unbelief, freedom from fear, suspicion, conservatism, formalism. That year after year and decade after decade you keep a fresh childlike, virgin-like innocence of wonder and amazement at how great our God is. How many of you want to know the secret of that?! How many of you have met thousands of Christians year after year that every time you see them they are full of joy, gone through hell and back and have come through betrayals, disappointments, sad times, death of loved ones and rejection and abuse - yet they still have a twinkle in their eye. You see a love for Jesus there that is so childlike and so sweet and attractive. It is like a perfume comes out of their being. How many of you meet Christians like that? Every single day of your life! Praise God - we have got a church full of people like that! Why is it that there are Christians in the world that you want to avoid if you see them on the other side of the street you would rather go into the pub and sit with the real sinners. Sinners are just talking about rugby and they are really happy and their team won the cricket! They are just pragmatically determined to be happy.

You meet Christians today that sadly look like survivors of some devastating storm and like they have been pulled backwards through the exhaust pipe of a motorcar and have been baptised in lemon juice and they think that is holy! And they are "enduring for the Lord"! The Christian life should not just be characterised by discipline. It should be characterised by a great delight in our God!

When I was an atheist under the delusion of atheism for a short period of my life I began to seek the reality of a living God. I never grew up in a religious home and I looked not for God first but people that claimed they knew God and they worshipped and walked with this God and they believed in this God. I looked at Muslims and I looked at Hinduis and Buddhists and Christians.

I am sad to say that I looked for the reflection of the representation or the expression of the image of God in the people that claimed they knew God. And instead of becoming a Christian I became a Hindui. I saw more joy and more devotion in Hare Krishna people and that is why I was a serious follower of Krishna. I was totally deceived and in darkness and committed to that.

The world is not as intellectual as we think we are. There are people out there that think they are so brilliant and so philosophically together but people don't actually go with their intellectual conclusions - they go more by gut feel and intituion and emotions and by seeing "something" in people. The greatest witness of us is not just signs, wonders and miracles - although I want to talk about that today. It is very important! It is about our disposition - and a consistent attitude of credibility that continues. It is easy to be happy after a great conference. It is easy to be happy after you have just been healed miraculously or after God has just given you a couple of hundred, thousand dollars! It is so easy when your wife is making tea for you in the morning every morning!

Glenda found it easy because I made her tea every single morning on holiday. Thank you ladies - that was your chance to clap! It is easy to be happy when these things are happening. What worries me is that some Christians don't get passionately caught up in God - they get addicted to the sensation of feeling experientially happy. That is not the Kingdom of heaven! We are not to be addicted to a hormonal high. We are not to feel that God has left us when our hormonal high has left us! Do not reduce God to a hormone! Do not reduce God to a happy feeling! God is the creator of the heavens and the earth and the living God! The creator! The One that will sum up all of history at the climax and consummation of the ages in His Son Jesus Christ and every false god will be exposed in that day! God will deal with everything that is false and sum up history by the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That is what keeps us on line and consistent year after year, decade after decade with a good attitude that I am in this to serve and to sweat and to give myself and invest myself to make a change in human history!

I will take all the happy feelings, all the goosebumps, all the joy and all the blessings because I want as much as I can! How many of you want to know the secret to consistent living with a good attitude? I promise you this - it is not going to inner healing classes or going to introspective psychology with a few Scriptures attached to it but is more secular humanistic that sounds kingdom theology. It is not going to all these courses. They have their place and I am not against them - just keep them in their right context!

The way to stay free and liberated and growing in passion year after year - overcoming disappointments year after - is not trying to love God. That is Old Covenant. "You shall love Me!". God said to Israel; "I want you to love Me with all your heart - but you won't". He said in Deuteronomy; "I will make a New Covenant and I will circumcise your hearts and you will love Me". The New Covenant says; "We love Him because He first loved us".

So these Christians that are trying to love God - Peter saying; "I will follow You anywhere Jesus! I will do whatever You say! Others will abandon You but I will come to prison with You! ... Jesus? Not quite sure who you are talking about - never heard that Name!".

The one that knew Jesus loved Him was the one at the foot of the Cross. He was the one that pushed through. All the threats and all the dangers - because it is not about trying to love God. The more you try and love God, the more the devil will remind you how you don't love Him enough. You are not good enough - you don't have enough passion for God!

You will never generate passion for God by trying to generate passion for God!

Passion for God is a fruit - a response - a result to something else! It is a response to the glory of the New Covenant that He loves you unconditionally and He sees you blameless without accusation and you are the righteousness of God permamently and none of your sins can dilute your righteousness because your righteousness is not based on your obedience - your holiness or your performance but on the obedience of the One Man - Jesus Christ! You are always righteous no matter how many mess-ups or mistakes you make! You stand up and say "I thank You that I am the righteousness of God and you have no accusation, condemnation and I am blameless in Your sight because of Jesus Christ! You love me!".

If you don't see it that way then everytime you mess up and make a mistake then some Christian or the devil will come to you (sometimes they are close because religious people operate by religious demon spirits and speak by demonic powers) and they will speak and say "Look how you messed up your marriage and this and that and your children and you are obviously not committed to God enough. You obviously are not committed enough! Love Him more! What's wrong with you!?". That is curse and is Old Covenant! It is knowing He loves you perfectly in height and depth and length and breadth - the perfect cube. The height is not shorter than the length and the breadth is not longer than the depth. On every dimension of the perfect cube God's full love is unconditionally, irreversibly, always towards you and never ever going to change! He is not counting your sins against you and there is absolutely no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus! When that lives in you you can love Him with no remorse and no regrets and no sense of "if only I could put the clock back" - no! He turns all things together for the good to those who love Him and are called together according to His purpose.

You are condemned to success, a victim of victory and what the enemy meant for evil - God means for your good! There is nothing in all creation that can seperate you and me from the love of God in Christ Jesus!

We need to shout this gospel from the rooftops and tell the church and tell the world that it is a new day and a new covenant! It is amazing how if you are out of the orbit of the Word of God or the Spirit's movings you will gravitate to your default settings if you are not fully equipped in righteousness as a gift and go back to trying to earn God's favour. Trying to be good enough! In this economic downturn people who have been saying; "If you tithe enough then God will keep the windows of heaven open and then you will be blessed" - Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law and He opened the heavens permamently over us in Christ Jesus! So we tithe! I tithe all the time with everything I get not because of law but because I am a partner with El-Shaddi! I am walking with God! I am investing financially with God into eternity.

I don't tithe to get the windows of heaven open - I tithe because they are open! I don't tithe to get blessed. I tithe because I AM blessed through grace!

People who have been preaching law to release finances are struggling during this economic downturn and that makes me wonder about that theology! People that say God is blessing us through Abraham's blessing and through the redemption from the curse of the law - He blesses us with blessings because of faith in the goodness of God and the finished work of the Cross and they are prospering in the economic downturn! Their finances are breaking through!

We had a phenomenal holiday - probably one of the best we have had in many years. I won't tell you everything because you will be jealous. It felt like God had conspired and got a whole lot of angels on assignment to make this holiday work for us. We are so grateful to God - thank you to those that prayed for us while we were away. Holidays are very important - you should take them as often as you can! So we are grateful for that. I just want to say that I listened to all three of the messages of Ryan and Steve and no flattery here - this is integrity. Top quality stuff. It was superb ministry of the Word of God. Not bubble and froth but superb quality and content of revelation of the Word of God.

If you missed those messages I strongly encourage you to go get them and download them freely off our website. I will not miss a message while I am away because every sequence is a stage to the next unfolding sequence that we are being sequenced towards higher levels of release and liberty and glory. If you have been in this church a few years and you have missed dozens of messages or only come in lately - go back and listen to all the files and catch up on the revelation! I really mean that! There are people around the world doing that and we should be doing that! I asked Ryan to continue in that teaching on what is holiness and it is a departure from the traditional religious teaching of holiness and the New Covenant revelation of holiness because I thought that was a classic message last week and a classic insight. I wish we could release him to fly around the world and preach it across the world. I believe he will one day. He isn't preaching today though. Ryan will pick that up some other time and I will pick something else up today.

Now as I said at the beginning of this meeting we lost a son from this house who went to be with the Father some time Saturday morning. He came to Christ in our home and some of you were there when we baptised him in our back garden and I spent many hours having coffee with Ian through the many challenges and issues he faced for his three years as a Christian. He died in his sleep and we think it was a heart attack - we are not sure. Steve and Ryan and myself went around to Ian's home where he was still in bed - his body was there. He was with the Lord but his body was with the Lord.

He had been gone for a few hours by the time we got there and we thought we would give it a go. We would pray his spirit back into his body and command his spirit and life to come and death to go. We gave it an hour and a half standing over his body, laying hands on him and holding his face and praying for him. The glory of God was in that room and the Presence was there and just an amazing sense of God's peace actually. I am not making excuses now - I am going to go for raising the dead at every opportunity! People say "Have you raised the dead?". Well I haven't prayed for any dead people. Well then you are never going to raise the dead! You have just got to have a go. I am going to pray for every blind eye and deaf ear - I don't care! I am just going to do it and not be afraid of failure! Just go for it!

Everything is open target! All the way through - all I could think of was every service Ian would come to and he wouldn't miss, he would come up the front at the end of the service and say "Lay hands on me" and me or the ministry team do it. He just wanted to feel the Presence of God. He so longed - he would come under that Presence and be laid out on the floor and be there for hours shaking and enjoying God's Presence and His glory and he would always ask me; "Rob - how can I experience God's Presence more often? When I am in His Presence I always feel perfect peace and feel so precious in the love of God! An hour or so after the service life returns to normal and I feel torment and trauma and pain and if I could just stay in His Presence!".

So we tried to pull him back from that Presence! I could hear Ian arguing with the Lord saying; "I love my mum, I love City Church International but I don't want to go back!".

Afterwards when they came to collect Ian's mortal remains and we asked them to wait ten more minutes and we kept trying upto the last moment and afterwards speaking to Ryan, he said "Dad you know the whole time I felt like Ian was saying to the Lord, I don't want to go back!". I am saddened that a brother in Christ never finished his calling as we understand it. In the economy of God Ian will fulfill his calling embodied in us. God will use certain things to make sure the legacy of Ian continues through the earth. Even as I am speaking this will go to tens of thousands around the world. Ian! Pam is just a hero - a warrior of faith. She was in that room praying for his resurrection. There was no hysteria in her voice, no anguish in her voice, no sense of "This isn't fair!". It was just good theology, good revelation on the nature of God. That God is not a thief and He didn't take her son. Afterwards I was speaking to her and she said; "I wanted Ian to live - I wanted his resurrection but I told the Lord - not because I love him and he is my son. Because I do love him and will miss him terribly. But I just wanted him to finish his purpose". I said; "Pam - Ian's purpose will be fulfilled!".

And she said; "Yes! We will get redemptive revenge and we will see people raised from the dead and we will see people impacted by this gospel!". This is a mother now! We want to salute you Pam for being the woman of God that you are.

This will be a very key Thursday night in our home - the prayer meeting. God is laying things on our heart as a church that we are going to push further into and we want to pray and intercede and petition God this Thursday. I know Glenda has already welcomed Will and John but I want to do so again. We are privilidged to be having lunch with them straight after the service. What I am very excited about is that Andrew Wommack is hoping to come and minister into Hong Kong in October next year and so we will talk about the possibility of him coming to our church!

He is just a key cutting edge ministry in the earth today - I believe heading up this whole revelation of the grace revolution that is speeding up across our planet!

I wanted to look at the Benjamin generation but I don't feel we are ready for it yet and I wanted to look at Revelation through the finished work of the Cross because the last bastion of those that are judgemental and believe God hates the world and wants to kill everyone - their last bastion is a heretical interpretation of the book of Revelation. So I want to look at what the seven seals and the seven trumpets are and see what the book of Revelation is saying in the light of the Cross!

I also want to do a series on the Great High Priest - which is an awesome revelation - the typology and looking at Christ's fulfillment in the heavenly tabernacle and your heart will expand with the wonder of how secure we are in Christ.

Today I just want to talk about "We are God's workmanship" - a very simple message I prepared last night. I want to read to you a few emails and came back from holiday and had a pile of hundreds of emails. Most of them wonderful testimonies of what God is doing around the world off our website and as a result of people who went back from our "Glory and Grace conference" in March and some of the impact there. I don't know if you remember a couple from Sri Lanka that lead a church and planted a church in Colombo. A trendy Sri Lankan guy and we had lunch with them. But Joshua Mills went up to them and prophesied and when he did the oil started flowing straight away out of his hands. They had such an encounter with God and had such revelation of grace while they were at the conference - so this is what they wrote;

"Dear Rob and Glenda, hope you remember us - Kirby and Fiona from Sri Lanka. We attended the Glory and Grace Conference 2009 and have been back now over a month. It has been an amazing time of revelation and progress in the glory realm. All thanks to amazing grace! We have noticed a definite increase in the signs, wonders and miracles at our works of wonder meetings. We know this is because of the Christ mantle and impartation we have received at Glory and Grace 09 in Hong Kong. The grace teaching has profoundly impacted the ministry and we are soaking in your archives online every week for more. We hope to return next year to the Hong Kong conference. We can't begin to thank you enough and convey how your teachings have impacted our lives. We are so excited to be alive in these times when the Father is shedding more and more light on this beautiful thing called grace. This is good news! And we will preach it! It is everything we hoped for! Everything we longed for! Everything we live for! Jesus is the best! Love and blessings to you and yours - Kirby and Fiona".

"Some testimonies over this last month since coming back from the conference. 27th March - a man paralysed after four years after a stroke, could not talk, walk or lift his hands. After coming to their meeting, he walked, raised hands and praised Jesus as well as shocking himself when he replied out loud and clear; "I can't talk!" only to hear himself do it!".

It is so good to applaud these things because we are celebrating the acts of grace! When you can applaud what God does in other places, I believe He turns up more in your place! We have been like that boat - when the crowds were pressing onto Jesus and He asked the guys to lend Him the boat and He preached from the boat to the multitudes so He wouldn't be crushed. When He had finished preaching to the multitude He said to the guys; "Launch out into the deep". They caught a big catch! We have been like that boat that Jesus was leant - serving churches around the world through our website, through Glory and Grace conferences and worship that flows from here. I believe as we have activated miracles in many different nations from this little church in Hong Kong - God is positioning us for a great increase of miracles here in Hong Kong.

"There was an old woman who has blind and received her sight!".

The blind see and the lame walk - sounds like the gospel! It doesn't sound like church or religion - it sounds like kingdom! The gospel! A lady had a kidney stone healed instantly and many more amounting to about 50 healings.

"Then in Sri Lanka on the 3rd April a lady 90% blind and squint - a Buddhist came only for healing and stubbornly stated "Not to get converted". Was very negative and in a bad mood on arrival. She only came because a friend brought her. She received her sight much to her surprise! She could not help but praise and thank Jesus for what He has done! A young girl around 10 could not read without glasses and received her healing and read texts from a small print Bible without the aid of spectacles. Other miracles as well as the manifestation of oil from hands and have had oil appear in their hands as well as heat. Hands get so hot and when placed on someone else, it actually feels unusually hot and on occasion this happens and we touch others they get very high!!!!".

Now I don't know why God does this oil and different heat and things but if it is God then I am happy! Then this family - the Lewis's;

"Dear Rob and Glenda and everyone at City Church International. We live in Guernsey - Channel Islands - just off the coast of France. We started downloading your messages at the beginning of 2008. Our lives have been truly transformed. Up until that point we thought we had a good understanding of grace but in hindsight we knew we were not under the law but only knew a minute amount about grace".

That is the problem you see - many Christians know we are not under law but don't really know or understand what that means and really live as those under the law. They really don't understand grace because they haven't heard the law properly preached or heard the grace of God properly preached.

If you preach the law properly - it means cut your hands off, pluck your eyes out when you sin. It means take your children out and stone them if they keep on disobeying. It means stone people who break the law. It means fly into buildings in 9/11. That is consistent with the law. It means stand outside abortion clinics and shoot people. That is the law! It is a ministry of death! You cannot water it down to try and behave well. It means kill people if they don't behave well!

People say we preach an extreme grace message - it is because they have never heard the law in all it's true spirituality.

To look at someone with lust in your eyes and your heart - you have committed adultery and you should be stoned. Literal adultery! If you hate someone without cause then you have murdered them! That is the true spirituality of the law!

They have heard a compromised watered down and diluted law. That is why they can mix this compromise law with a compromised grace and mix them together. If you preach the extremes of grace - that is no more extreme than the law! Everyone with a brain will know you cannot mix them together ever again! As extreme as law is - grace is a scandal! It is so wonderful and complete!

"In hindsight we knew we were not under law but only knew a minute amount about grace. For years we had remained on the fringe of church life as we could see the horrific effects of control. It was clear that this was not the way church was supposed to be but we couldn't see how the church could be transformed into a glorious Bride. Now our eyes have been opened, the veil has been lifted and so much truth has been revealed and our lives have been turned upside down. The Bible has come alive! We are learning new things every day! We listen to your messages every week and we are also so grateful for the worship you put on the website. Your church has blessed and inspired us and we are so grateful for your continuing input into our lives. It was an enormous privilidge to come to Glory and Grace in 2009".

I didn't even meet them.

"We have been meeting with two other like-minded couples and arranged an evening of Glory and Grace on our return from Hong Kong. We invited several other people who we knew were also listening to your talks and hungry for more of God. It was a great evening of impartation. To our great relief God turned up and it was simply awesome! As a result a few fragmented people have become a solid group meeting to worship, encourage others and to see that we are equipped to fulfill our destiny. We are looking forward to our first supernatural treasure hunt this Saturday. People in our church have noticed that something has happened to us especially since Glory and Grace and we have had such fire inside of us and such boldness that we are having an amazing time telling people how the good news is really GOOD news! Last week we were invited to speak at a small group and we shared our testimony and spoke about our identity in Jesus and they are keen for us to go back and tell them more. We are so keen to see more and more people set free from religion and know that Jesus will build His church here. Thanks again for all that you have imparted to us. Looking forward to the next Glory and Grace. With love Jeremy and Ann".

How many of you think we should have another Glory and Grace next year?! I have got so many testimonies here - from Thailand and it is deeply Buddhist but God is breaking out. This couple came from Thailand and I want to read what they said about you - CCI! They said;

"What has impressed us very much about City Church is the absence of pretense and religious masks among the people of City Church. The Lord shall make you reflect His matchless glory and Presence in increasing measure!".

When we were away on holiday I just felt like God was saying that He wants to change up a gear and release us into another realm of supernatural miracles, healings, signs and wonders and people being healed through us. Not just through the ministry team but ALL of us. There are no superstars or gurus here and that is the truth! I am on a journey as much as you are.

When I was at Glory and Grace and I saw how Joshua Mills moved, I had lunch with him and I said; "Teach me Joshua!". I am twenty something years older than him but I want to learn from him! I want to learn! I want to remain a novice!

You are not a novice when you are raising the dead regularly and seeing many blind eyes open and many cripples walk and I have seen people come out of wheelchairs on numbers of occasions and I am still a novice, I want to see so much more happening! If I don't see many signs and wonders then I started getting tempted to go into intellectualism! I did that 10 years ago. I put on scientific seminars against macro-evolution and I exposed it as totally unscientific because of blind faith religion. I had professors there and leaders of universities there speaking to crowds of 1500 people and yet you don't convert people that way! Their heads just analyse intellectual facts!

I was thinking if we don't see more signs and wonders maybe I should go back and study more apologetics and get more intellectual and persaude people about the existance of God and the reliability of the Bible and that it is not made-up myths but that it is a supernaturally inspired book and give evidence for the resurrection of Jesus and intellectual arguments that are persuasive. I realised that is a bad sign that my mind is thinking that! Then I felt the Spirit of God say to me; "You and City Church are about to enter into a realm of greater signs, wonders and miracles and the enemy is trying to mock the very idea of miracles and signs and wonders. He is trying to scorn the very idea!". You go and pray for the dead and don't see them live; "Ah! You see it doesn't work!". He is trying to mock and scorn! I came away encouraged though - thinking I am going to do this again!

I have prayed for 50 cripples and seen maybe seven or eight walk. I want that to get to 50 out of 50! I have to fight through the same cynicism as you have! You have no idea what my intellectual university brain was trained with! Some of you think I am gifted with some lucky charm and never live with doubts and unbelief and cynicism and skepticism! You must be crazy - you don't know how I have to wrestle! I know some of you that come under a spirit that wants to mock the very idea of doing miracles. That is not you! There is a demonic spirit that is anti-anointing! Anti-Kingdom and anti-authentic gospel!

This gospel is not just about grace but about God testifying to this great salvation through signs and wonders and miracles! If you preach grace and don't see miracles then you are not preaching grace!

That is what I love about Andrew Wommack's ministry. He preaches grace and they see signs and wonders. He raised his own son from the dead when he was black - that is how far dead he was! You preach grace and there must be confirming signs and wonders and miracles! That spirit of cynicsm - how many of you have felt when you hear preaching on miracles or going for a run and out somewhere quiet, and you think about miracles and you hear a voice saying; "Eugh, it won't happen - it can't!". We have seen them! They have happened! Not just in the UK when we saw hundreds! And in Dubai - where I just got an email from the "Power Encounter" conference I was at and people who couldn't fall pregnant for years and now babies are coming! Miracles can be pulled in or out from inside of you and we have seen miracles!

In the Hong Kong Glory and Grace in the fire tunnel that little boy came through with a squint eye and the next morning he came running up to me pulling on my pants as I am trying to get out the door; "Rob, Rob! Look at my eyes!". Eyes perfectly normal! God straightened his eyes! We have seen miracles in Hong Kong! That couple from Sri Lanka - she had big scarred ridges on her back and scars had completely disappeared! Those are miracles in Hong Kong! Not in the UK or in Africa but here in Hong Kong! We are seeing miracles in Hong Kong! Sally sitting over there had her hips turned around in this building! If I see a thousand attempts to heal someone and a thousand people are prayed for and one gets miraculously healed without any argument - if 1/1000 gets a miracle then it is evidence to me that God does miracles today!

We haven't seen one but dozens even in this year! But as grateful as I am and we need to applaud God, I know with a burning ache while I was on holiday that Hong Kong is a city destined for miracles. This city has not been known as a city for signs, wonders and miracles! Jackie Pullinger in bringing drug addicts off heroin through speaking in tongues is a great sign and wonder! But I am talking about churches that regularly see the blind see and the cripples walk! Mighty manifestations of cancers disappearing and lumps going! The dead being raised! There is very little evidence of that in 100 years of the church being in Hong Kong! I felt God say; "It is Hong Kong's time for signs and wonders - it is our time to move into that realm!". I preached a whole message on how to overcome disappointment! When you pray for the sick and nothing happens! Your children ask you; "Why did they die?" and you don't know how to answer your children! I talked about how to overcome disappointment and we must do that.

But without signs and wonders and healing - we are not manifesting an authentic gospel. A biblical gospel will have signs, wonders and miracles and healings!

Balance that with what I said at the beginning. We are not going on a religious high. We don't live from miracle to miracle but from faith to faith - from glory to glory - from Scripture to Scripture. But if you live that way you will see the miracles!

You have got to keep contending because if you don't contend then the vast majority of the church worldwide if it doesn't have prophets and apostles and evangelists and teacher/pastors contending, passionate, overcoming their own disappointments, their own cynicism, their own skepticism and unbelief - pushing through the demonic lies, if you don't have leaders like that then the church will gladly settle quickly to sermonettes on a Sunday and dead religious rituals and laws and superstition and guilt and doctrines of demons!

It is so vast around the world that when the true gospel appears there is such hatred against it and such a reaction in certain parts of the earth! But I tell you what there are people standing up around the planet right now and preaching the gospel that Paul preached and it is gaining momentum and signs and wonders are gaining momentum and around the world there is over 176, 000 people being saved every day! Every day! It is a documented record of hundreds of resurrections from the dead - documented records in books today! The dead are being raised! Mighty miracles are happening! We live in Asia and in China and God knows that the Chinese must see signs and wonders and miracles! Even sophisticated Hong Kong people! I want to say this - that you will either be a mimic-er and a follower or a pioneer and an initiator. You will either live in the fruit of the breakthroughs of others or you will breakthrough yourself.

Where would this world be - in the natural - if we didn't have men and women through our history that overcame the formidable intensity and the savage opposition of skepticism and cynicism and the scorn and mocking of people who dared to believe and dream that there was something possible that is greater than what we can see right now with our eyes?

Any inventor, any person that breaks society and history into another dimension had to endure hell and opposition and even their friends and close friends and members of their congregations or political groups and educational groups that mocked them and ostracised them as fanatical fringe and madmen. In their hearts there was a dream that they felt that something greater than what they see can happen! They are the initators! What would this world be without the Wright brothers who believed men could fly on wings? Now we fly all over the world and take it for granted! But imagine when there were no planes flying and the Wright brothers were saying they believed they could find something to overcome the law of gravity and can have men fly around the world! The people mocked them! We have such an inbuilt desire to be loved and understood and accepted and patted on the back - and that is the problem. We have a need for man to recognise and approve of us and accept us. That's why you have so few inventors and initiators because they are constantly afraid when they try and fail and the scoffers mock them!

The Wright brothers believed and they were mocked! The people said if God wanted us to fly then He would have put wings on our backs. That is arrogance! And the Wright brothers flew and got wings and took off! Roger Bannister said man could run a mile under four minutes and he was mocked - he broke it and then everyone else started breaking it! I have run the mile under four minutes but I am a mimic-er! I am a follower! He was the initator! Eddison invented the light bulb and tried over a thousand times and each bulb failed. One day he created a bulb that worked and he said that over a thousand times he learnt what didn't work until he got what did work. Today at the flick of a switch we turn on lights but we forget that there was a man that was mocked. In the natural - the world would be a poor place if everyone were mimic-ers and mockers and scoffers of those who have the guts and the courage to step out and say "I can't stand passivity! I can't stand apathy or status quo - I believe there is a God who can do things differently and better in the nations of the earth!". The Church is like a sleeping giant! The Church is a place where there is so little change taking place but we are subjects and partners with a God who creates and brings initiative and transformation and revolution! He is not the God of stagnation but the God of creativity and diversity and colour!

I am SO frustrated sometimes at how quickly churches settle for the lowest religious common denominator of happiness and peace and personal victim mentality! The majority of Christians pray for the sick a few times and if it doesn't work then they back off and formulate a theology to legitimise and accomodate blatent evil hearts of unbelief and then they mock and scoff at those who step out and fail! Well we may break a thousand lightbulbs but one day that lightbulb is going to come on! And almost everyone that is dead that we pray for will be raised from the dead! And all the blind eyes and deaf ears and cripples! In Jesus Name! Because He said; "The works I do shall you do and greater works!".

Those Scriptures haunt me - how can I leave them behind!?

Turning Disappointments into Divine Appointments for Greater Miracles

Rob brought this short exhortation before the notices on Sunday 22nd February 2009 in response to a personal tragedy that has obviously deeply affected City Church International. I was profoundly moved by it but I found it such an important message to transcribe. I'm sure Rob gets accused of preaching a "health, wealth and prosperity" gospel of triumphalism in which suffering is rejected. Nothing could be further from the truth. When suffering and trial comes along - this prophetic exhortation is a strong reminder that Rob is more than confident to face tragedy head on and to lift his people's heads to the risen and ruling Jesus Christ.

Because suffering and trial affects us all whether we like it or not (usually not). But there is a glorious hope throughout this! We don't have to go to the excesses of "health, wealth and prosperity" teachers who claim that suffering equals a complete lack of 'faith'. But neither do we have to go the rather foolish excesses of the "Together for the Gospel" four who claim;

"We further deny that any teaching that offers health and wealth as God's assured promises in this life can be considered a true Gospel".

I think anyone who hears the care and compassion and love in his voice will find their hearts warmed by a caring father's breaking heart. Rob isn't some distant "Christian celebrity" using Hong Kong as a platform to further his status. You listen to this message and you will hear his heart breaking for these people that he clearly loves.

So here is the 20 minutes of what he said;

"Well - well done to the worship team for once again just leading us in and well done as a congregation for not being conservative or formalistic or cautious in your expression of love for Jesus. The Bible is full of a culture of extravagant expression and the nature of God is of extravagance. I really need your faith and help over the next few minutes before Glenda gives the announcements - I want to speak some "faith" things but I really need your support and I need your faith expressions all the way through! I would rather have "please be quiet!" than you just sit there and listen quietly while I say these things. This is very important.

We need these times to see them as defining opportunities that can be defining moments or watershed times - crisis that can often precipate or catalyse greater advancement of the Kingdom of heaven depending on how the people of God respond to tragedy and respond to things they don't understand.

I have been a pastor for over 30 years now and it is still amazingly mysterious to me how some human beings can face the most terrible grief and pain and cry their tears and then move forward almost with a greater sense of confidence on their face.

It is almost like the departure of their loved one created a slip-stream of glory that enveloped them with a concious awareness of that celestial realm of safety and glory that their loved one had gone to.

And Paul the apostle writes that they never referred to someone in Christ dying. Not once! Both Jesus and Paul said that they fell asleep. If you are in Christ you have already died and He said; "Those who believe in Me shall never perish". You have already died with Christ - you died with Him on that Cross and died to the old life and died to the law and was raised with Jesus and are seated with Him - you are alive!

So the Christian in Christ does not die! Ever again! You fall asleep and you just shift conciousness from the planet earth into the heavenly realm - the glory realm!

So he writes to the Thessalonian church that is suffering from losses of loved ones and he says; "Do not grieve as the world does". He didn't say; "Don't grieve". Grieving is a very important part and process anytime you lose anything! Especially a loved one. The world grieves without hope. Unbelief grieves without hope. That grief is then contaminated by tormented by demonic powers that will snap people's minds and move them into morbidity and psychological breakdown that is destructive.

The grieving with hope is painful but redemptive and brings you through a process where you have greater confidence and greater strength in life because death is not a fear to you!

I have been at the bedside of a number of dear ones come near to exiting this planet and there is always glory! I watched my own dad go that way and you are left with wonder at the glory of God! And you look at that body and you know that is just the earth suit - they have departed! And there is a grieving afterwards because there is a temporary recognition of the abscence of that person. Only temporary! There is a heavenly hope that we all will see that precious baby in our eternal future! There is a grieving as well because maybe that person who fell asleep in Christ didn't fulfill all their hopes and their desires and all their dreams and aspirations! And you grieve that was not given opportunity to be fulfilled! But if you have this hope and grieve with hope then there is a guarantee that heaven will give everything that didn't have an opportunity to fulfill on this earth - heaven will more than compensate and fully satisfy and fulfill in eternity!

So heaven is not some glib excuse or silly cliche to dismiss or surpress grieving. But heaven is this hope that everything we have been robbed of on earth will be fully satisfied in eternity and in the realms of heaven's glory! Heaven is real!

This is not to say it was God's will to take that little baby. I promise you with all the venom and anger and strength of my hatred of that demonic lie that God kills. There is a song that says "God gives and God takes away". That is Old Covenant and a statement out of Job's mouth. Jesus never taught that! God did not take that baby! God did not take her but He received her! God didn't contribute or cause the situation at all!

There is a robbing and a stealing there! Yet in it all God's victory prevails because of heaven's hope and because of the Cross! Jesus Christ is Perfect Theology! And He proved beyond doubt or debate the revelation that His Father's will is to bring life and power and to heal and restore and do miracles!

It is a blasphemous deception to credit God with Satan's works! That is a deception that much of the church has come under!

There are only job descriptions in the Bible - Jesus and the Devil's! Both are in John 10:10. "I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly". Satan's job description is to rob, to kill and to destroy. Wherever you see death - life that has been ended early then that does not fit Jesus job description but whereever you see healing, miracles, abundance of blessing then that is Jesus in operation! God didn't cause this or contribute to this! It is the fallen state of the cosmos reaching back to Eden's betrayal through Adam that there is frustration in our mortal planet.

But we will never stop contending to conduct more of the beauty of heaven's influence into this earth! For Jesus still means what He means; "Father Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!". They are not killing babies in heaven! The Father didn't do it!

We will enquire from God, we will request from God, we will investigate revelationary realms and Scripture and we will seek God to know how to do this better so that future babies will live their whole lives on this planet! But we will never question the goodness of God because He has already proved irreversibly that truth on an old rugged cross and on a hill called Golgotha.

We will aggressively and passionately pursue more of the Presence and power of God so that we come to a place where our minds are so renewed from the traditions of men and the corrupt wisdom of this age - we will not partner with unbelief which is partnering with the devil - we will contend and pursue until our minds are so renewed that we look at seemingly impossible situations that our minds are in harmony with heaven and our hearts are in harmony with heaven and we can say; "THAT is not the will of God - THIS is the will of God!" and BANG instant healing takes place!

We will never tire or allow ourselves to grow weary of our quest and our pursuit to see the power of God in not partial manifestation - not a 2/10 but a 9/10 or a 10/10 and full manifest power of God healing everyone of sickness and disease! We will weep our tears and hug one another and deal with our sorrow then we will lift our heads and rejoice that we are alive in 2009 by God's appointment to discover the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven that will help us release more miracle power according to what we see in Acts which the early church had so that future, future, future generations will say of us in Hong Kong and CCI that they did not flag or fail or fade in their faith in the face of setbacks but they set their hearts to the heavenly Jerusalem and that they released and unleashed so much of heaven's glory and power into the earth that evil was broken and every manner of sickness and disease was healed by the power of God!

They will say of us that because of what we did that heaven's love and gracious justice rained down on planet earth and heaven's perfect peace and justice kissed a guilty earth in love and earth lifted it's face to heaven and gave thanks for a generation in Hong Kong that did not give up in setbacks and did not allow disappointments to surrender but saw every disappointment as a divine appointment to release more of heaven into the earth! The devil should not pick on us! He should not choose to hurt people in our ranks! He should know better but he's brain-damaged and he will pay seven times for what he has done! We have had two situations - Phil who died of cancer over a year ago and know this little baby before we even met her - that to me is unacceptable!

There was a man and he was commissioned to raise an expedition to climb Mount Everest. The first team he took up failed because the weather closed in. They tried again and they too failed and had to come back. They tried a third time and this time they did more training and exercise and equipped themselves with higher standard equipment to get themselves better placed to succeed. They went up and half the way up there was a terrible avalanche that wiped out most of the team and even the leader was killed in this avalanche. When they came down the survivors went to a banquet in honour of their comrades who died on that mountain.

The leader of the survivors got up at the end of the banquet and stood up to speak with dignity and boldness and he spoke as if Mount Everest was in that room. And he pointed at an imaginary Everest and he said; "Everest - you have defeated us once. Everest you then defeated us a second time. Then even a third time Everest you defeated us by taking the lives of our friends but Everest we will defeat you because you cannot get any bigger! And we CAN!".

Cancer is not getting any bigger, the devil is not getting any bigger, disease is not getting any bigger but we are growing into the measure of the full stature of Christ - we are getting bigger in the power of our God and we will conquer!

I was speaking in London and was doing some training for evangelism to go out and heal the sick and on the third day I heard the Lord say; "They think too much of you and too little of themselves - they think that they are useless and you get everyone healed and that you have never had disappointments or struggles because all they have heard is of the cancers healed and the wheelchair cases that walked. And they think you just lay hands on anything and it happens!". God said; "Tell them of every failure you can remember - all the people that died - all the people I prayed for that got worse". So I went and gave an hours talk on every person that I prayed for and failed.

Then I said; "Okay I want to pray for the sick - who wants to come and be prayed for by a failure?!". They all came and that day Steve was supernaturally healed of a serious back problem. That night we went after a testimony of my failures and Glenda and I prayed for a woman in a wheelchair who said we were wasting our time - the doctors said she was in the last chronic stages of M.E. You will not walk ever again. After fifteen minutes of praying for her she starting feeling divine voltage and heaven's influence and began tingling all over. She could feel feeling coming back in her legs. Within minutes she got up and jogged around the building to people rejoicing!

You cannot get confused about this! God good! Devil bad!

But we need to walk in such humility - everytime someone doesn't get healed don't form a theology to accomodate failure! Don't lower the Word of God down to your bad experience! Trust God to lift your bad experience upto the level of His promises in His good and keep contending! Bill Johnson sees thousands healed but he will equally tell you of thousands that aren't healed. Thousands! Many medically verified! Yet Bill Johnson's own dad died. He said; "I declare Reading a cancer-free zone!". In a short space of time his own dad was diagnosed with cancer and died in four months and it was humiliating to do that in front of his congregation. His own secretary died of cancer. His son is deaf in both ears! To this day they see hundreds of deaf ears healed, cripples walking! But they keep contending!

Because every time you face disappointment, it's another divine appointment to go through that crisis and it is a question of "Do I believe God is good all the time and yes we haven't figured it out how to get everyone healed all the time like Jesus did and the book of Acts did". But we are learning the ways of the Spirit. Most of the church has been taught religious traditions and have not been taught the mysteries of the Kingdom or ways of the Spirit and how to walk in the supernatural. They have not been taught the supernatural! That's why you have got to train Christians who haven't got a clue how the anointing works or how to release this authority! But many in this church DO have a clue how to do this and most in this church are lightning conductors!".

Julian Adams Prophecies Over Rob and Glenda!!

While at the Newfrontiers Europe Conference, Julian Adams brought a weighty prophecy for Rob and Glenda Rufus and City Church International in Hong Kong. You can hear the audio from Rob's "Testimonies from Europe" - it's about an hour into the recording. Here is the transcript;

"I feel that in this atmosphere of God pouring out His Spirit - I feel the Lord has been giving me a word for Rob and Glenda - if you will come and stand here. I wonder if some of the apostolic team guys will come and stand alongside them. Rob - the last time I prophesied over you, I saw an angel and tonight the angel has been walking up and down the stage. The royalty of heaven - the protection of heaven is on you and I felt the Lord wants to speak to you about a new season you will enter into over the next 3 - 6 weeks. It's going to be a season of incredible visitation. It will be a season of incredible encounters. I saw you heading away in the room and out of the norm that you have been used to. I saw the Lord begin to visit you and I believe it is going to be with revelation from His Word - in this next season there is going to come a sharp prophetic word that is going to move people into a new experience of the glory.

But I felt God say you will encounter Me in some ways that would seem to many other people as irrational and out of the box. You will encounter Me in some ways that are going to challenge even some of the most experienced charismatics. Because God's going to visit you. I see the Lord encountering you in the secret place - it's almost like I see you in the secret place and it is like I see you eating scrolls from heaven because there's going to be a word coming to you that will become a part of you that you will begin to prophesy and speak into that will begin to cause a new wineskin to come to many movements. I believe the Lord is saying that the next 3-6 weeks are going to be weeks of incredible encounter - you are to get ready!

They are going to be encountering weeks. I felt the Lord showed me your church and I felt the Lord say to me; "Even as David had some famous men join his army, the Lord would say that I am going to give you famous men and women in your city. I am going to give you influential businessmen and women who will join your church and will flood in and it will be an incredible amount - it won't just be one or two but 10's and 20's who will begin to join the rank and join the army of the Lord in that local church". I felt God wanted to say to you - Rob and Glenda - that this next season will see an acceleration of leadership added to you. You will see an acceleration of men and women who will carry you in this season of visitation in order to prepare a wineskin of a local church revival.

The Lord says to you; "You think you have seen downloads - now wait till you see what will happen in the next 2 to 3 years as many will get on a plane and come and visit Hong Kon and be part of the meetings that God is going to open up. There will be a residential anointing that the Lord will give you and the Lord says where it seems impossible for land and buildings - I will make a way in this next season. I will make a way in this next season and I will give you favour even with municipalities and governments and God says to you; "Son - you will begin to see a statesmen-like anointing come on you. Where you will find yourself in front of influential governments even in Hong Kong and you will bring the Word of the Lord to them".

God says at times it will be supernatural - an organisational supernatural appointment - it will not be man-made. The Lord says to you; "Son and daughter - get ready for a new visitation because from you will come an anointing to begin to shape whole areas. God is going to give you a download of community city revivals. Son you have prayed and said; 'God I don't want to presume on you and don't want to think more of myself than I ought to' but the Lord says to you today that there is a ranking in the Spirit that comes on you and moves you into the realm of statesman and government anointing for I will give stadiums says the Lord. I will give stadiums says the Lord! I see stadiums full - I see stadiums full and I see you carry a glory that will begin to grab a hold of thousands of thousands.

And the Lord says; "Son and daughter I want you to know that these next 6 weeks will be incredible visitations. I believe it has to do with those angels you saw in the past. I see those angels coming to commission you and you have been waiting in the decree room and the Lord says; "Today I am issuing you with decrees of old. They will begin to shape and disciple whole nations. So I want you to get ready says God. Because there will come incredible growth in this season in your local church - growth from affluent people and you will begin to see your church swell with numbers in order to shape a whole nation. His breakout is coming upon you.

Rob and Glenda I believe the Lord is releasing an anointing upon you for the resurrection of the dead. I see literally the resurrection from the dead! An anointing coming upon you for that for this next season. God is going to catapault you as a couple and He says; "I will provide men and women - even men who are able to work with both hands. David's men were added and they could work with the left and the right hand - multi-skilled men and women". God says; "I want you to get ready - because there is a commissioning and a decree that has gone out in this heavenlies and you will step into it in this season. You will begin to know My favour in a radical way".

So Father - we want to pray for this couple right now. Won't You proclaim victory over this couple? I believe the Lord will give you hundreds of intercessors that will be your portion because the enemy has attacked - the enemy is trying to steal and come against you and there has been a wrestling and a contending and a fighting. But God says to you today; "Son I have given you apostolic authority in the heavenlies. Even right now there will be a spirit of intercession that will clothe and protect you from the works of the enemy in this next season. It's almost like Jesus when He came out of the desert place - the Bible says the enemy left Him for a season and I believe that you are about to enter into that kind of season where the enemy will leave you alone because God decreed it so.

You will gain much ground - much ground. Geographical and physical ground - physical buildings! Physical buildings! I see like a shopping mall. I see a building and you taking the whole floor of the mall. God says; "Get ready!". It's opening up for you. Buildings - training centres - releasing centres coming to you in Jesus Name. So we ask You for Your favour. And Your protection! Come Holy Spirit!".

Invading the Impossible - Part 11

What better way to mark the glorious Easter Sunday (my most favourite day in the entire Christian calender!) than to preach on this wonderful subject. But think this is just another "classic" Resurrection Sunday sermon? Think again. This sermon involves YOU most definately in the Resurrection power of what happened that glorious day!

"Enjoying The Benefits Of The Resurrection Power Of Jesus" - Sunday 23rd March 2008.

"Grab your Bibles if you have your Bibles and open to them to Acts chapter 4. Boy did we have a time last Saturday night. It was probably the most phenomenal meeting I have experienced ever, here in Hong Kong.

I think 90% of people were under the power of God on the floor, encounters with God.

And it was such a follow through from last Thursday night when people came to our home and we prayed together and God was so there in a wonderful way. There was such a sense of joy and freedom and liberty. So this morning we are sharing the Word first and not trying to make this a formula. Last week we really felt God say, "Share the Word first" but this morning we are sharing the Word first but it has probably got more to do with logistics. We are going with a team straight up to China after the service and so I am trying to save time in a way. There are 5 congregations all coming together and all Mandarin speaking bringing unsaved friends to an Easter celebration and we get the privilidge of preaching there and pulling the net in.

I believe (and I am going to announce it ahead) that we are going to see numbers of gloriously wonderful Chinese people come to Christ. This morning! Today on this Easter day!

So we are looking forward to that. Do you remember last Saturday night what the message was? The prophetic word to us was;

"Please stop trying to impress Me and allow Me to impress you. Please stop trying to impress one another - stop trying to impress Me and allow Me - the living God - to impress YOU!".

Alright so this morning is "Invading the Impossible - Part 10" (note: it is actually Part 11!) - and it is a very exciting and very powerful subject today. I want to talk about "enjoying the benefits of the Resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ".

For any believer eager to invade the impossible, the resurrection of Jesus is far more than a historical fact, the fact of the matter is that Jesus is risen from the dead.

I have done much of the intellectual study for the case of the Resurrection of Jesus and ifyou read a man by the name of Frank Morison - ("Who Moved the Stone?") - he was a barrister, a high ranking barrister in the United Kingdom and he was against Christianity.

He knew that all of Christianity was based on the resurrection - that if Jesus didn't rise from the dead then Christianity is just another religion because you check the historical facts and Buddha's tomb is occupied - Mohammad's tomb is occupied - every other guru's grave is occupied or they have been cremated. But Jesus Christ rose from the dead and it gives us more than a memory and a historical sentimentality or philosophy. He is risen from the dead and it gives us a Presence full of power!

The man wrote the book to disprove Christianity and argued on the basis of a lawyer in a court of law on the basis of available evidence and in the process of investigating the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he became so convinced that the evidenced actually SUPPORTED the resurrection and became a Christian while writing the book AGAINST Christianity!

If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead then you and I are still in our sins and Christianity is a powerless religion of rituals and ceremonies. So if we want to invade the impossible then the resurrection is more than a historical factor - it is more than a doctrine - it has to be a DAILY LIFE EXPERIENCE.

Let me say this: when the Resurrection is preached not just as a historical fact, not just as a doctrine but when the Resurrection is preached with apostolic revelation of how the power of the Resurrection relates to daily living then you will see much grace come upon the Church and great power for the supernatural, great power for miracles will be manifested within the Church.

Folks, don't try and impress the visitors with how well behaved you are! Be live you've been for the last few months! Just go wild! Respond to the Word of God! We are talking about the most amazing event in the world - Jesus Christ is RISEN from the dead! Now I like to preach after the praise and worship because everyone gets warmed up and experiences the love of God and gets their feelings of badness about themselves over and then they are ready to receive the Word of God! But for City Church International - I expect better of you! You walked in here under the anointing - you know the righteousness of God is a gift and the blood has cleansed you and there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ so let's just go ballistic and enjoy Him!

Evangelical Christians - bless their hearts and I love them - only preach the Resurrection as though it was a historical fact (and it is a historical fact). But it is MORE than a historical fact! What is the point of getting sentimental if it is just a historical fact?

I have stood in the empty tomb in Jerusalemn - stood there. I heard a friend of mine preach a message at the empty tomb with a whole bunch of Jewish people around listening to us. His opening lines made our mouths dry up with fear because with a serious look on his face, he said; "Jesus Christ was a complete failure". Everyone thought he was going to blaspheme! "Yes" he said, "He is a complete failure ... at funerals. Because to have a successful funeral the corpse must stay dead! Jesus Christ ruined His own funeral by being raised from the dead! He is alive!".
If I do not have a daily encounter with the miraculous power of the resurrection then how do I deal with the troubles and and demands of life? A historical fact; "Go away devil - Jesus is risen. Go away cancer - Jesus is risen"?? No if it is just a historical fact that has no benefit for people on the earth. But if we get apostolic revelation to what the true relevance of the Resurrection, when we preach the power of the Resurrection much power breaks out and there is great grace manifested over the entire Church.

If you release your faith as I am speaking to you - as you open your heart on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, great power will be made manifest here and much grace will be upon every single one in this room and to the 30, 000 that will download and listen on the website.

(Acts 4:33) - "With great power the apostles continued to testify to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and much grace was upon them all" - Through the preaching of the Resurrection.

There is a power available to us who believe equal to the power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

Now just because you haven't seen that power often in operation - or some never have seen it - doesn't mean to say it doesn't exist. You may not believe the sun will rise tomorrow and if every person on the planet went blind and could not see the sun rise tomorrow - it would still rise tomorrow because the rising of the sun isn't dependent on your small little world and your little limited experiences!

The power of God that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is literally available to everyone who believed on a daily basis - and it is people that believe it who see it and experience it. Don't believe it? You don't experience it. You don't see it. You don't enjoy it.

Let's look at the extent of that power. (Ephesians 1:17) - "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better". Look at (v19) - "And His incomparably great power for us". For us. For City Church International. "For us who believe that power is like the working of His mighty strength which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realm". Now the question I want to ask is a practical one. How do I walk in this resurrection power? This is a question I want to ask and answer from the Scriptures. How do I have the life and power that raised Jesus from the dead daily giving life to my mortal body? I am not talking about the day you and I are raised. That is being given an immortal body when we are raised permanently from the dead never to die again.

There is a power of the resurrection towards us that can daily give life to our mortal body and renew your youth and actually your health and your mind and your moods and your attitudes. There is a power of resurrection that can come on your body on a daily basis to renew life in your body. What is the access? How do you get into resurrection life? How do you experience it? It is through the revelation of righteousness. It is through the revelation that God has made us righteous as a gift. That I am righteous all day - all the time irrespective of my behaviour but it is based on the behaviour and obedience of Jesus Christ on my behalf! I am righteous!

That doesn't mean to say I want to run out and sin and do stupid things. I love Him - the motivation to serve and obey Him is not condemnation or fear of rejection or divine disapproval. My motivation for serving Him is that there is no condemnation and I am the righteousness of God.

The more your faith rises in the revelation that you are righteous, the more power of the resurrection will be made manifest in your physical body.

People say why do you keep on preaching the gift of righteousness? Because the level in the gift of righteousness is far too low in the Body of Christ. When it is too low in the Body of Christ, the power of the resurrection is too low in the Body of Christ. You see resurrection power brings dead things back to life, it brings dead marriages back to life, it brings dead financial balances back to life, it brings dead heads back to life. The power of the resurrection removes cancer and opens blind eyes - it brings people out of wheelchairs and I have seen those miracles with my own eyes. No one can tell me they don't happen! I was there! I know what the key is!

Revelation of righteousness raises the power of resurrection power in your life and through your physical body.

Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God and the more you hear; "You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus", the more you will encounter Christ and the power of the resurrection at a higher level. Do not settle for a low level! The day is coming when the hospitals will not be able to cater for the patients. The diseases and viruses coming on this planet, medical science will not be able to cope with it. I thank God for medical science and I thank God for hospitals - use them.

But I tell you something - the Church needs to position itself with resurrection power flowing through our bodies so that in the midst of the plagues we can walk in with life from God and raise the dead and we do not get the diseases of the people we are praying for.

You see Christians are sitting on the planet now with access to doctors and medical science and all kinds of social securities and don't understand the shaking with which God is going to shake the nations. The nations will be shaken but there will also be glory of God coming in the earth and covering the earth as the waters cover the sea. The people who are ready and positioned and know their God will do mighty exploits in the last days. Some Christians are waiting for the shaking and the glory to come and then they will say; "Okay count me in Lord". He will say; "Too late - I have given years of opportunity and windows of opportunity to get equipped to breakthough out of condemnation and into revelation that you are the righteousness of God. You are not equipped now and it is an army who is equipped and ready that will take advantage of this great visitation coming to the planet".

There are going to be billions of people saved in the days ahead! China will be saved! Africa will be saved! Nations will be saved - some in a day! There will be believers walking through hospitals and emptying hospitals going into insane asylums and delivering insane asylums because when you are walking in resurrection power even your shadow will heal the sick.

Some people are settling for a kind of Christianity that is cerebral and doctrine and historical and that is not going to do it!

In 1905 in South Africa John G Lake - a man who raised the dead, God used him to heal cripples - started a revival and planted 500 churches in 5 years. The bubonic plague hit South Africa. 20, 000 dead here and 20, 000 dead there. A disease so contageous that if you touched the spittle or got near people who had it, you would catch it. They were burying people in mass graves. And John G Lake went into the areas where no one would go because the corpses were stinking. He and his friends would bury the dead and finally the vaccine came from the United Kingdom down to South Africa in 1905. It took a while.

They came in and said; "You should be dead sir. You have been handling the dead here - this bubonic plague. How come you are still alive and your friends also?". He said; "Take some spittle from that dead man over there and put it under a microscope". They saw it was seething with bacteria or virus. He said; "Okay - bring it here and put it on my hand". He held it on his hand for just a little while and he said; "Okay now - put it back". ALL the disease was dead! They said; "WHAT is this!?!?".

He said; "This is Romans chapter 8 verse 11 - the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you - He will make alive and give life to your mortal body!". He said; "Sir, my mortal body is vibrating with resurrection life and power and disease can't penetrate this!".

Now THAT should be the testimony of the Church! But the trouble is a few men and women have stepped into the benefits of the New Covenant - just a few on the planet and they are upheld as special kinds of people when actually it is an inheritance of every pew-sitter! We don't want pew-warmers and pew-sitters - we want people who live and walk in resurrection POWER!! Paul is speaking and expressing his extreme frustration at legalistic religious people. He was calling them "dogs"! He was saying that the Church needs to be safe-guarded from law and those who preach sin conciousness to the New Testament church. He says they are dangerous and evil workers and they try to impress everyone with their religious pedigrees and he is saying if anyone should have confidence in the flesh - then "I am a Hebrew of Hebrews, circumcised on the 8th day and concerning legalistic righteousness - faultless".

He says I count that all rubbish and dung that I may receive a gift of righteousness that is by faith and that I may know Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection. Paul was saying that he was legalistically perfect in righteousness. In other words if you looked at Paul year after you you wouldn't see him do anything wrong. But Romans 7 towards the end of that chapter, Paul says he was full of guilt, confusion and full of perplexity. So you have got moral people in the church who don't raise the dead, don't see signs and wonders and don't lead others to Christ - they are morally good people but inside are full of dead men's bones, full of death, fear, insecurity and condemnation and they are powerless.

The Gospel has been falsely preached as right living when actually the Gospel is right believing. Right believing will lead to right living - but it is primarily right believing. "I am the righteousness of God for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for in the gospel a righteousness that is by faith from first to last for the righteous will live by faith".

Every day I have to live by this faith - "I am the righteousness of God if I want to see the power of the resurrection operating in my life". Even when I have messed up or made a mistake, instead of endlessly confessing my sin I need to get up and say; "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus" and when you do that, you will feel resurrection power coming over your body".

But if you allow condemnation and guilt as if you were under Old Covenant then you will not feel resurrection life for the law (Paul says) is a ministry of death.

The law kills, the law curses and the law makes you concious of sin. Anyone living even a little bit under law never manifests resurrection power to raise the dead.

Now we are not called to raise everyone from the dead. And everyone we do raise the dead will die again when their body gets old but at the end of the age every Christian will be raised again with immortal bodies never to die again.

But in the meantime according to Matthew 10:7 Jesus says to ordinary disciples, go out, preach the Kingdom and tell the people that the Kingdom of heaven is not coming - the Kingdom of heaven is here now! It is touchable, it is tangible and then He says heal the sick, cast out demons, cleanse the lepers and RAISE THE DEAD. So Jesus expected His Church to live and move in resurrection power. The fact that that most Christians have never seen a dead person raised, never seen a person raised out of a wheelchair, don't see blind eyes opened is absolutely UNBELIEVABLE! It is a statement of horror - something has gone WRONG! Because the early Church moved in these signs and wonders! Something is wrong! Someone should be bothered about it - someone should be troubled about it!

Why? Because we have allowed evil workers and not safe-guarded the Church from those who have put the law and sin-conciousness and are offended and Pharisaical. We have got to see the Church released in revelation that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! Philippians chapter 3 - after Paul says he considers all that stuff rubbish.

Look what he says in (v9); "I want to be found in Him not having a righteousness of my own".

If you have a righteousness of your own, you will not move in resurrection power. If you have a righteousness of your own that is of your holiness and your performance and your efforts then every time you fail that standard of your righteousness, you will feel guilty, you will feel condemned and you will be sin conscious. But if you get a revelation of righteousness that is God's gift to you that has got nothing to do with your performance whatsoever then you will have a revelation of something that will stop you from that day ever suffering guilt or condemnation again and you will come into a knowledge of God that is experiential and you will move in the power of His resurrection!

Look at (v9) again; "And be found in Him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings and becoming like Him in His death". Now sharing in His sufferings and becoming like Him in His death is something I am going to share about in a few Sundays time. It is not morbid, it is not sad, it is one of the most powerful truths you will ever hear in your entire life! It is mainly in the book of Romans chapter 6. To share in His sufferings and becoming like Him in His death is to come into a whole new state of righteousness conciousness and I can't wait to preach that. I want to preach that today but I can't! It is not having a righteousness of our own but righteousness as a gift from God that enables you to know Him and the power of His resurrection!

Go quickly to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I do believe we will be ready to worship after this! Let's read 2 Corinthians 5:19; "God was reconciling the world to Himself". The world. He wasn't just reconciling the Church friends. "God so loved the world". Some Christians think that God only loves the Church. God so loved the world. The Church doesn't seem to love the lost. They don't care that the lost are going to hell as long as they are getting their needs met! They complain and winge and whine and pastors become some sort of political diplomats trying to keep everyone happy.

I say blow that - let the prophets and apostles rise up and let the fire of God shake the Church and awaken the Church to the hour that we are living in! There are multiple millions that are ready to get saved today if revival would hit the Church and it will when we preach the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!

"That God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself in Christ not counting men's sins against them". Not counting men's sins against them. This is God Almighty - Creator of Heaven and Earth - not counting men's sins against them! Why is He not counting men's sins against them? Because in Christ He was reconciling the entire world to Himself in Christ - not counting men's sins against them! And He is committed to US the message of reconciliation! So what is our message - the message of believers to the lost? God was in Christ reconciling you to Himself and He is NOT CURRENTLY YOUR SINS AGAINST YOU!

At that Cross Jesus Christ obliterated every single sin that every human being would have done from the beginning of time to the end of time. Do you understand that God is not counting men's sins against them and never will? Because the law of double jeopardy says you cannot punish the same crime twice! He has already punished Jesus on behalf of the entire world! He is not counting the world's sins against them!

You say why should people go to hell then? Sadly millions do go to hell. But why? God is not counting men's sins against them! There is only one sin that Jesus couldn't die for! Only one. That is the sin of unbelief. All of His glory - no one sin is going to be judged! He is not counting your sins against you - China! He loves you! He has reconciled you already 2, 000 years ago! He is not going to do it one day! He has already done it! Communist government - He loves you! But there is one sin that He has to count because it is the only sin that locks you out of wonderful benefit of the Gospel - that is the sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ. I want to come back to John 16:8. It doesn't say the Holy Spirit convicts the world of "sins". He has no sins to convict the world of because they are not being counted against them!

He says "sin" singular! "The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin". Sin because (v9) says "they do not believe on Me and righteousness because I go to the Father". In other words when He goes to the Father as our Mediator and our intercessor saying "All their sins are no longer counted" and so the Holy Spirit will convince you that you are the righteousness of God and the Bible says in terms of judgement, He will convict of judgement because the Prince of this world - Satan - has been judged. Where? At the Cross! So the Holy Spirit is convicting the world and us every time we don't believe the message of grace. Every time we don't believe we are the righteousness of God, the Holy Spirit is saying; "Believe on Jesus - believe you are the righteousness of God - I go to the Father, I am praying for you - don't listen to the voice of the devil who is accusing you".

The Holy Spirit is not accusing you - the devil is accusing you! But the devil has been condemned at the Cross and is being judged - the powers of principalities have been taken away! I have taken away the written code and the regulations that stood opposed to you - I cancelled them at the Cross and you are righteous! You are righteous! You are righteous! I believe it Lord! Resurrection power!

You see why I have to preach like this? Because we are preaching against centuries of brainwashing and corruption. If you tell a lie often enough then people will believe it. The Church has had so many lies about what the Gospel is that, that we don't see resurrection power in the Church because God's people are not convinced that they are the righteousness of God permamently, irreversibly and all the time that God is not counting their sins against them.

We can go into the world and say; "You know God isn't counting your sins against you?". That isn't your opening line by the way. They will say; "What do you think I am a sinner?". No you make friends with them and they ask you questions why you are so happy and then you say; "Because God isn't counting my sins against me!". They say; "Well I didn't even know there were sins to be counted. I am not so bad". Then you give them a bit of the Law of God and where they have fallen short of the Law and then they say; "Oh yes I think I have sinned a few times". Then you can say; "Okay but you know what? God isn't counting your sins against you!". "Well am I going to go to heaven?". "Well sadly no". "What?!". "How come you are going to heaven?". As you say that the power of the Holy Spirit will come on that unbeliever and convict them of the singular sin - their unbelief in Jesus Christ. And when that conviction comes - and listen conviction is to convince. Not only will He convince that they don't believe on Jesus but He will convince them of how easy it is to believe on Jesus and He will empower them to believe! You have the 3rd Person of the Trinity testifying that you are righteous and you are in the place of righteousness. That God has condemned the devil - He is not condemning you. You have the power of the Spirit of God when you speak to the unsaved and you tell them they need to believe on Jesus and the Spirit will convince them that is true - they need to believe on Jesus! Something in them will agree! Let's preach the Gospel in 2008!

Look at (v21) - "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God". I want to read that to you again. No sin whatsover FOR US - so that IN HIM we might become the righteousness of God. When it says "we might" that doesn't mean if we are lucky we may become - he is saying that when Christ died on the Cross everything from that moment into the future was done so that the doors were open so that all who believe will become the righteousness of God.

Three questions quickly;

1. How was Jesus made sin? Was He made sin by doing sin? No.

2. How then did He get made sin? How was He declared sin? How did He get into a state of sin? He receieved from the Father the free gift of our sin - sin was imputed or given to Him. He was made sin by our sin being given to Him as a free gift. He didn't do anything sinful but He was made sin.

3. Once He received that free gift of sin from the Father - our sin - did He have to beg the Father to bring the wrath and judgement of the Father on Him? No. The negative blessing came instantly and automatically and with fullness and without reservation from heaven because He was now in the standing of sin. He was made sin and in that state of sin He attracted judgement and curse. It attracted sickness, disease and poverty onto Jesus Christ. He did not have to pray for it or beg.

Now let me ask you this;

1. How did you become the righteousness of God? By doing righteous deeds? No. By a free gift. Jesus free gift of righteousness was given to you. So you are righteous by a free gift.

2. Do you have to do anything to keep that gift? Did Jesus have to sin a little bit more to keep the gift?

3. Now you are the righteousness of God, do you have to beg God to bring resurrection power on you? Do you have to beg God to bless you or heal you or to provide for you or to preserve and protect you? No! That's why Jesus said stop running after things the pagans run after! Clothes, food and provision - He said seek first the Kingdom and all His righteousness - not your righteousness! - His righteousness and all these things will come on you. The revelation that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and you can leave that and declare that out of your own mouth.

Romans 10 is clear that under the law we had to do things and under the New Covenant with the gift of righteousness we have to say things. You read Romans 10 and it says several times say so - I am the righteousness of God, I am the righteousness of God. Say it if you believe it! If you believe in your heart and say with your mouth then you will be saved for with the mouth confession is made unto righteousness. Say I am righteous!

Let me say this to you - this is the tragedy and that is why I had to shout and scream two Sundays ago - the fact is that God has imputed a gift of righteousness to you that He will never take away because He is never going to count your sins against you. Do you know how glorious that is? But do you know that has no effect on most Christians lives? They are the righteousness of God in God's eyes but in their own eyes they have a sin conciousness because they have been taught that way year after year. If you have been declared righteousness by God but you impute sin to yourself then you live as if you are not even saved. You are saved and you are going to heaven. If you owed a debt to someone and I came and paid that debt for you but in the company of that person you owed a debt you looked at them with fear and had no confidence, I would be insulted. Because you are acting as though my payment of your debt wasn't enough or that I had some ulterior motive.

If the Bible is clearly teaching throughout the New Testament that God is not counting your sins against you as a believer and that you are righteous in Christ Jesus through a gift - but you impute to yourself sin conciousness then you are in disagreement with heaven and you are insulting the gift of grace and you are agreeing with the devil and disagreeing with the Holy Spirit who is convicting you that you are righteous and you agree with the Accuser of the brethren who accuses the brethren day and night. Now put the Holy Spirit and the devil in the same class to accuse you of sin is bordering on blasphemy.

If Jesus Christ - the Father through Jesus Christ - imputed righteousness to you but you choose to impute sin consciousness to yourself then you will live a lifestyle just as if you are not the righteousness of God. Let me tell you what follows sin consciousness - guilt and condemnation. Chronic fatigue, nervous breakdowns, condemnation, sickness because the immune system breaks down. I am not saying all sickness is because of that but you know what I am saying. What follows sin consciousness is many of the modern diseases of our day.

What is most sad to me is that the Christian population is no different to the unsaved population - you know why? Because although they live in Christ with all the benefits that brings they have been trained and conditioned by spirits of witchcraft and have been bewitched to disagree with the Holy Spirit and to agree with the Accuser - the devil. They push light away and embrace darkness. God imputed your sin to Jesus and imputed Jesus righteousness to you but if you impute your sin to yourself when God has already imputed it to Jesus then you are in direct disagreement with God and thinking yourself to be wholly morbid about your sin and beating yourself up with your sin, then you are actually in disagreement with the God of truth who imputed your sin permamently and everlastingly to Jesus and imputed eternal and everlasting and unconditional right-standing before the Father to you.

Now I have preached this again and again and see lights constantly coming on! You can go out there and fast 40 days for revival and you go and fast for signs and wonders but until the Church gets a revelation that we are the righteousness of God then we will not know the power of the resurrection because the power of the resurrection is knowing that I am the righteousness of God. I have seen Unity movements and intercession movements and spiritual warfare movements bombard the heavenlies for decades for revival and you go to those places and there is no revival there. But beaten up Christians who think about devils and powers of darkness keep bust up. Good news! The devil has been disarmed at the Cross and the powers and authorities were disarmed!

Preach the Gospel because in the Gospel there is a power of "solterio" - provision, protection, wholeness, health and the Gospel is a demonstration to those who believe they are the righteousness of God - the power of resurrection will come into whole communities and whole cities! Paul went into a city and preached this message with no months of fasting, no territorial mapping and simply preached this message and there was a riot and a revival at the same time! The powers that were disarmed by the Cross were shaken and there was nothing they could do about it. Now what we are in thousands of years after that and a mixture of Old Covenant and New Covenant teaching and conditioning we are contending to get the Church back to the Book of Acts and the apostle's teaching in the 1st Century Church. Who is trying to stop that? The demonic powers! They know that if this Gospel takes root in City Church International and through our website then he knows that we are going to put a whole lot of people out of their jobs!

People who have been praying for revival for decades when the Gospel preaching has been recovered that we are the righteousness of God and the Holy Spirit is not condemning us, the Holy Spirit is for us and if God be for us who can be against us?! If you turn around and do the opposite to what I have just said and say; "Father today I feel like imputing sin to myself because I have just sinned and messed up but I am going to agree with My Word - you imputed this sin to Jesus past present and future and Father I thank You that my sin was imputed to Jesus and His righteousness and His perfect obedience was imputed to me! Father I thank You that I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! I am righteous Lord! I am righteous! I am righteous! Heaven did you hear that? I am righteous!". The Holy Spirit says; "Yes I have been trying to tell you that for years - you are righteous!". "I agree with your Word - I am righteous!".

You know what will start happening? Strength on your body. Life quickening your mortal body. Do you know that 430 years before the Law arrived to convict people of sin, the Law only came 430 years after Abraham not to save anyone but to show us how much we need saving. So before the law came God came and showed up to a pagan man who was an Iraqi - a pagn worshipper of demons who was old and in his 70's. His wife was aged too. Without warning God turned up to a pagan man living in absolute sin and manifested Himself as "El Shaddi" - "I am the God Who is enough". It even includes the heart of a nursing mother with a robust, masculine anointing - a tender hearted love. He turned up to a pagan who was disobeying and yet said; "Abraham I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and I will make you a blessing and you will be a blessing to all nations".

Abraham didn't argue with God! He hadn't been in Church! He hadn't sat under a denominational spirit of control - he wasn't under the constipation ... I mean constitution! He hadn't been to a cemetary ... I mean seminary!

I am serious - it would be better for some people if they had never been to Church - controlling churches. Churches where the pastor smiles and is flattering but is political and controlling. He controls people with stuff, other agendas. It is seriously wrong.

He did not say; "God how can you bless me - I have done nothing righteous!? God how can you want to bless me with such abundant blessing - I have still got stuff in my life that is not sorted out! How can You want to bless me Lord, I have not done one obedient thing!". Abraham had not been programmed by religion - Christian religion - thank God!

It says he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. His faith - as righteousness! Doesn't that question come into your mind - God didn't promise Abraham righteousness! He promised him blessing! But because Abraham believed that this living God desires to bless us - the fact that a man said; "I believe you are a good God and You want to bless me despite the fact that I am a pagan!". Because he believed God is a God who wants to bless, God says I will credit that faith as righteousness.

Today throughout the Church blessing is conditional on your performance. We see a few nice gifts here and there but we don't see the power that the apostles saw - signs and wonders, the dead being raised, and nations being shaken and the lost being saved by the millions! But we will see that and in the not-too distant future!

Turn to Romans chapter 4. Let's read (v13) - "It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring" - we are the offspring of Abraham by the way because we are in Christ. "Received the promise that he would be the heir of the world but through a righteousness that comes by faith". So you will have global influence by righteousness that is a gift. "For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless". You want to live under law then your faith will have no value and the promise of being an heir of the world and all the other promises are worthless". (v15) - "And where there is no law, there is no transgression". Now I can take you through all the Scriptures which say the Christian has died to the Law and we are redeemed from the law. We are not under the law. That means no wrath and no transgression. God is not counting our sins against us. We are the righteousness of God! We can approach God with boldness.

You say well what happens if we sin? We are the righteousness of God. This message when it gets into people's hearts, makes them sin less and less.

When I see a Christian who is sinning a lot, I don't have any judgement any more. I say that they do not have very much faith that they are the righteousness of God. The more you realise who you are, the more you start living out who you are. But if you have got to be forced into holy behaviour by threats of hell and disapproval from God or the Church then the holiness that you go into is false and is based on control and dark demons, demons of witchcraft that will lock you into a formal setting so you can sit in Church - the frozen chosen - and you cannot celebrate because you are frozen with demonic powers.

With sin conciousness and guilt and envy and jealousy and the works of the flesh! But those who walk in the Spirit and know they are the righteousness of God will get more and more victory over sin and when you do sin you do not go into sin conciousness. When someone is in this revelation and make a mistake - and let me say again I am not preaching this message to give you or I license to sin. It is stupid that I have to say that! Just check my life out! I am married 33 years to the same wife, no adultery, no affairs, haven't split a church, haven't stolen money, haven't lied or deceived or controlled the body of Christ and loved Jesus with a passion. That doesn't mean I am a perfect man - of course not. I have made my mistakes and been stupid. You cannot fellowship with someone who believes the Holy Spirit is condemning you and you are under the law and you get condemned. It is unreality! You must believe we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!

We don't need ministry to be important or to be doing things to be worth something! We are righteous! We are important! We have identity! And the more secure we become in our identity in our righteousness, the more ministry He will give you! Everyone in this room wants to be used by God and do you know why? Because in this coming wave of the glory God will use every Christian who deals with the control spirit and gets it off their life and stops controlling others and deals with condemnation and gets it off their life. Those who get equipped will be ready for this next move! Those who do not open to the message of righteousness will not be ready for the next move!

This is not a pastor speaking today - this is a prophet speaking today by the Spirit of God. Let me say this - when you find yourself weeping and become irritable (because condemnation and guilt makes you irritable) and God finally comes and says; "What are you doing?". "I am confessing my sin!". "Well why don't you put sackcloth and ashes on?". "No sackcloth and ashes is what they put on under the Old Covenant".

"Exactly! You are acting like you are under the Old Covenant! You are acting like I am counting your sins against you! You are acting like I am beating you up and telling you how sinful you are - you are under the Old Covenant and you are listening to the devil but I want to tell you that he has been defeated at the Cross and disarmed and the laws and rules were taken away at the Cross and I gave you My righteousness and you are not under law and there is no transgression and no wrath! I am happy with you! I love you!".

Holy Spirit - go back and convince him! He is the righteousness of God! No son or daughter Rob has been speaking out of My Bible - I am telling you that! When Abraham and Sarah believed that they were the righteousness of God without any works - their bodies began to rejuvinate and at 90 they conceived a child. Sarah was so beautiful that the Pharoah wanted to kill Abraham and take Sarah as his wife! Now was he a perverted man?! When resurrection power begins to operate in your life - when you believe you are the righteousness of God - something begins to change!

(v22) - Did you know that Abraham had revelation of resurrection power? Did you know that anyone who comes into revelation of righteousness automatically goes into revelation that you can carry resurrection power!?!? The Bible says in Hebrews 11:19 that Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead. In other words Abraham reasoned that if his son Isaac was sacrificed then God could raise him. Abraham knew that he was carrying divine resurrection power. Why? Because Abraham had a revelation of righteousness far greater than most Christians have. Because God cut a covenant with Abraham that Christ redeemed at the Cross. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law that the blessing given to Abraham may come to the Gentiles by the promise of the Spirit.

We see resurrection power coming on the body and giving mortal life so that youth is renewed by the eagles. (Romans 4:22+). I am getting actually drunk in the Spirit here!

*At this point Rob becomes consumed with laughter! (1:01)*

Sometimes when you believe this message your own heart can condemn you and you have to reassure your own heart because you must not assume that what you feel in your heart is from God because of your mistakes or sins. There is an Accuser who accuses us night and day and who is defeated at the Cross and has no authority to do what he is doing but if you know truth then he cannot confuse you and the truth sets you free. Any time you have condemnation in your heart, John says; "But God is greater than your heart". You have to take responsibility for your heart and if you feel condemnation in your heart then you have to take revelation and reassure your own heart until you are convinced again that you are the righteousness of God because Jesus has gone to the Father.

(v22) - "This is why it was credited to him as righteousness ...". Notice (v25) - Justification means to be given righteousness. When God justifies you, He declares you righteous. So Jesus went into the grave with a body that was saturated with our sin. Once heaven was satisfied that the price had been paid, Jesus was raised from the dead without any of our sin left. That means your and my sin - present, future and past - was totally obliterated and does not exist anywhere in the universe anymore.

But if we continue to impute sin to ourselves then it still exists in our own conciousness and will have the same effect. There is strong medical science in the world today that when you believe something strong enough, every cell in your body will talk to the other. Scientists have found that cells talk to each other and when you believe in something strong enough and you believe God is imputed sin and disapproval to you then every cell will say; "We had better give him what he deserves - burnout, chronic disease, chronic fatigue, exhaustion, sickness". But when you say you believe you are the righteousness of God then every cell will say; "This guy believes he is the righteousness of God! Let's give him what he deserves and then the Holy Spirit agrees and says yes let's give him solterio - youth, energy, power through his mortal body!".

Now one more Scripture and then we are going to worship. Romans 8 and this is just a warm up for the good stuff. Glenda, I and Bonnie are flying out to Sydney and are going to do a whole week of meetings there at the "Glory and Grace Conference". Registration has gone right through the roof and they had to knock out a back wall to get us all in. People coming from all over the world but mainly from Australia. We are going to have an Aussie riot. I have already seen things happening in my spirit that I wish you could be all there to see. I wish I could take you all to watch and see. All the hundreds of people that are coming all want the power of God. They are not religious - they are not reserved - they are not putting the breaks on. It is the easiest thing to move in the power in those contexts.

City Church International is going to get there! Amen? The visitors that are going to come won't be able to hinder anything because we will all be so released in power that the visitors will be released and healings will just take place. Then I am preaching in Sydney and will be under Bill Johnson for a few days. Then I am cutting my ministry trip short. Glenda and Bonnie are going down to see my eldest son in Adelaide for a few days but I am coming back directly because I feel God says come back and I will be here the following Sunday and we will have a riot. I want to teach the good stuff! This is just the fairly good stuff but we are going to the good stuff! Then the next week Joshua Mills will be here and I will be preaching Sunday morning and then Sunday evening - Joshua Mills! How many of you know that we are going through the window?! God is opening doors!

I want to leave you with something practical now. How do I acquire this? I want to go deeper and deeper - many of you in this room are changing rapidly now. There has been an accelaration in the revelation factor! People are rapidly getting this revelation factor. Three verses. (Romans 8:1) "Now". Not when we get to heaven! Now. (v6) - The mind of sinful man. The Greek is saying there that it is talking about the mindset of the flesh. The Greek word for flesh means "human effort". The mindset on the flesh or human effort or legalism through law. "For the mindset on the flesh is death". How many of you know that the opposite to death is resurrection? The mind of a man set on the flesh is death but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. If your mind is controlled by the Spirit of revelation that testifies that you are righteous then the devil is judged and your mind is at peace and there is no condemnation and total peace!

(v10) - "If Christ is in you then your body is dead because of sin yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness". It is primarily Adam's sin he discussed in Romans 5, it is Adam's sin that brought death to the whole human race. From the time Adam sinned, every human being was born dying from the moment they arrived. You were aging the moment you arrived. Then at some point you got born again and your spirit became the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and your spirit is no longer dead but alive and knows God and can hear God but your body is still suffering the effects of fatigue, sickness and aging. That's not a good place to leave me!

(v10-11) "But if Christ is in you then your body is dead because of sin yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness and if but if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you".

Now some people want to put that off till the resurrection! Read the chapter in it's context! "As many as are led by the Spirit are the sons of God!". He is talking about living and moving in the Spirit and having a mind controlled by the Spirit that has got life and peace and now is talking about a physical body that has the Spirit come upon it and life will be given to your mortal body! Elijah under that anointing outran the king's chariot with the best horses leading it! Samson pulled up the city gates and destroyed an army with the jawbone of his mother-in-law ... sorry an ass! You may say oh well that's because he was a big, strong man! No if he was they would have known that was the secret of his strength! He was a small man and they didn't know that the secret was the power of God coming on his mortal body.

We are going to come into signs and wonders and into a day that is so miraculous!