Michael Ngubane
We thank the Lord for this opportunity to gather. There should not be one person who does not devote themselves completely to the Lord - withholding nothing. We should not be like that soldier who kept his right hand out of the water while being baptised. He was a fighter and was not prepared to give that up. If we are soldiers of Christ, everything should be surrendered to Christ. We should belong to Him completely.
11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. Acts 4:11-14
This text touched me. I saw the faith and boldness of the apostles. If you walk with Jesus, you cannot remain as you were before. How is it possible that your life is the same as it was before you met Christ? Then there is something wrong. If your life is the same as before you met Him, your faith is dead. You cannot meet with Jesus without a change in your life. The boldness of these servants of the Lord is amazing. No one could stand in their way because of what they had experienced with the Lord Jesus. They could not be held back because of what they had received. They had to spread the message.
Satan thought he was destroying the gospel once and for all. He thought that people would lack the courage to speak about it anymore. However, he did not reckon with the fact that something had happened in the lives of the disciples. No one could intimidate them because they had met with something. They had experienced miracles in their lives, and they could not remain silent about it. This Jesus, the stone that was rejected by the builders, had become the cornerstone. Satan aimed to destroy the foundation of the gospel. Satan thought he had overcome the cross. He had put Jesus in the tomb. He thought that would be the end of Jesus and His followers. When the promise of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled, it was like oil on a fire and the gospel spread more than ever.
Satan looks to the church when he needs someone to work through. This is shocking. Who will the devil use next and how will he enter? What will he use to attack the foundations of God? Satan does not use powers outside the church to work, but he uses the lukewarm person in the church. Do not be surprised if the devil uses you. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were used by the devil. They were the priests, Pharisees and Sadducees - respected people. The devil used them to enter the church. The devil will make use of a lukewarm person.
What are the signs of a lukewarm person? They are carnal. They criticise. They are negative. They harm the work of the Lord. They are unconcerned whether people or the Lord’s work is harmed because their hearts are corrupt anyway. ‘You rejected this stone which has become the cornerstone.’ Those priests were supposed to be builders of the church, but they were not building the kingdom of God, but rather other kingdoms.
These young men, the disciples, were in Jesus’ school. They had been taught by the Lord and had received something that could not supressed. Something had happened in Peter’s life and he was transformed. Before, he had been timid and lacked the courage to go to the cross. He denied the Lord and said, “I don’t know this man, this Jesus.” A miracle happened in his life. He became courageous and he spoke courageously about Jesus.
There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. There is no one else through which we receive life but through Jesus. We cannot find refuge in anyone else but Jesus. These words were from the same lips of the coward, Peter. After the Holy Spirit had entered, he was full of courage.
As the Holy Spirit worked with them and inspired them, they received wonderful opportunities to testify about Jesus. Peter spoke boldly saying, ‘You killed Him, but God raised Him. You thought you had finished Him off, but God raised him.’ He knew what Jesus had done in their lives.
Satan is not asleep. He wants to destroy the church. He wants to destroy it through you. If a believer has given himself to God, it is important that the person must be filled with the Holy Spirit. A person who has not been filled is like a ship or plane without instruments. This could be the reason why you hurt people the way you do, and you care nothing about it. Therefore, you speak as you do – without control. You harm others. There is no discernment. There is no sensitivity. We thank God for His work at KSB, through the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of obedience to the Holy Spirit. We witness it in the lives of those who hear and obey the Holy Spirit. If you have not yet experienced the Holy Spirit working in your life and filling you, you are to be pitied.
These young men had met with the Holy Spirit and were filled with His power. What could God not do through them? We know what it means when the church is attacked - the work of the Holy Spirit is being attacked.
One day these men went to the temple to pray and at the gate, Beautiful, a man lay who was in need. He had been paralysed for years and was begging for money. These men came to pray and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The lame beggar hoped to get something from them. Peter said, ‘Look at us. We have no silver or gold but what I have, I give you. In the name Jesus of Nazareth, rise and walk!’ Peter took him by the hand, the man stood up and jumped around. It was a miracle. Everyone saw that. Everyone knew this man, and no one could deny that something extraordinary had happened. The enemies had to acknowledge that something had happened, and he could walk again. The enemies despaired. The man praised God for what He had done. They wondered how they would stop this work of God.
If you are fighting against the gospel and you oppose the foundation of the work of God and the revival, you will be brought to shame. If you reject the cornerstone, you will be put to shame. Those who are opposed to the gospel, oppose the confession of sin. They go against what God has ordained. Is there something better that can replace it? They go against the pure way of marriage. They want young people to visit one another and be given freedom. They want to return to Egypt - but we do not want to return there. What? Back to the world? Back to the devil? No! If this is your way, something is lacking. Your plane is without instruments and will crash at any moment.
The problem with the Sadducees and the scribes was their knowledge of the law. They despised those who did not have it. Will we follow their direction after having seen the light and been given discernment from the Lord, where we see what is right or wrong?
Do not forget that when God is working, Satan is also working. If you have not met the true gospel, you will easily be swayed and influenced. Young people, if you have not built on the proper foundation of the gospel, and you build a shack that does not have a foundation, it will not last very long. These religious people despised the true foundation. Who are you to go against that which was established by God? Can you oppose God? You were born yesterday, yet you have the audacity to criticise and find fault with things you know nothing about. Who do you think you are? A carnal Christian is a dangerous Christian. Many have the title of builders, but they merely demolish. There is a big difference between building and demolishing. You will know whether you are building up or breaking down. Your tongue is sometimes like a bulldozer, you steamroll everything in the way. You do not know how to build up, you only break down. When we build upon this foundation, we must build on top of it, then it will stand. This foundation is strong. It has a seal on it. Why do you want to start something new if the foundation is already there? Why do you want to do you own will when God’s will is there?
Young girls, for how long have you been seated at the feet of Jesus? For how long have you been taught about the foundation of the gospel? Is there is marked difference in your life? These men only lived with Jesus for three years but there was power in their lives, there was a difference in their lives. What is it like in your life? Adults, how long have you been at Jesus’ feet? Is this evident in your life? Is there a fire burning in you that cannot be put out? The enemies of the gospel thought that they were stopping the gospel and warned the men to stop speaking - but it had the opposite effect. They were more zealous than before. If we would be busy with the work of the gospel, we would not have time for sin. Some people confess the same sins over and over. Why? They do not hear anything from this Jesus. They do not hear the gospel. This message should be visible in your life.
There are many people who must continually be corrected. ‘Don’t speak like that.’ ‘Christians should not speak like that.’ Some ‘hit’ others all over and are unconcerned about who they hurt. There are some people one is hesitant to speak to because they are so prickly. If you try to help them, you will be the one to get hurt. They look at you up and down. They disregard what they are told.
These young men proclaimed the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They stood on this name and said there is no other name through which men can be saved. Jesus teaches us how we should walk, how we should speak. He controls and directs our lives. You cannot just do as you want. The Sadducees, Pharisees and religious officials did not know how to stop the message spreading like wildfire. They charged them not to speak about the name of Jesus.
18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
They had met with something. They had experienced something amazing, which is why they could not remain silent. They said judge now, should we obey you or God?
What does God say to you today? You met Him many years ago - what does He reveal to you about this message. Are you getting the message? Will you remain silent or is the message something one cannot remain silent about? What have you heard about Jesus? What have you seen? Child of God, have you heard anything? Maybe your ears are plugged with wax. People speak but you cannot hear. Your ears are sharp to the things of the world but to the things of God, you are stone deaf. What is Jesus speaking to you about? Does He have an opportunity to speak to you? Jesus said, “I stand and knock…’ The door is closed. Jesus wants to enter your heart. When will you open your heart? There is something He wants to help you with. He wants to save you from living in sin, from destruction and from sin - but He wants you to open and allow Him to enter so that the ear wax can be removed.
Is there anything you have heard or seen? These men said that they could not but speak about what they had seen and heard. Are you ashamed to speak about Jesus? Are you ashamed to pray with those you live with? Are you afraid to thank for your food? You are afraid of the laughter of others. These men were determined. They could not be stopped. They could not be moved because they knew what they had seen and experienced. Jesus is the stone, which was rejected by you, the builders. This is the cornerstone on which we should build. It does not matter from which nation you are or what you have been stuck in, here is this stone. Whoever builds on Him will live. If you do not build on him, you will fail and it will collapse. You will end up in things you could not even imagine – the occult. He is the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except by Him. We need to draw nigh to the rock and build upon Him. What have you seen and heard of him? Peter and John said, we are going forward, and we will speak about what we have experienced, seen and heard.
Jabulani Dube
As I listened my heart burned within me. This is gospel that we should be united with. This is the true gospel. People go against the confession of sin, yet in the Bible it says confess your sins one to another and pray for each other that you may be healed. (James 5:16) If people oppose the way of marriage in purity, what else should we go to? What is better than that? I pity you if you oppose the word of God. If you oppose the work of God, why are you still here? If you have left and oppose the work of God, know that you poke your finger into God’s eye because you are driven by evil spirits. We hear what you say when you oppose God’s word daily.
Like Peter, we saw with our eyes, and experienced things in this revival.
What do people notice in our lives? What do people recognise in us? Whether you are part of this congregation or another, do people see that you have met Jesus and have experienced Him? Do the parents see it in the children’s lives and vice versa. This gospel does not compromise. Do you experience your heart burning within? If you have felt nothing, you are ice cold spiritually. I pity you. Will we let go of such a gospel? Is Jesus still working in your life? Do you go to bed without praying, eat without praying? Examine yourself to see how you walk. Do you expect an angel to come down and do it for you? If you do not hear after a message like this, how will an angel do anything for you? The gospel washes us of our sin, it is truly wonderful. What has Jesus does for you? What has the gospel done for you?
It confuses me when a person returns to his sin constantly. When sin comes, hate it like you hate a mamba. Would you sleep with a mamba in the same room? Regard sin in the way as you would regard a mamba. Separate from sin completely. Have you done so? You cannot sing in a choir or preach, while you still defile yourself with your own hands. You cannot stand before the congregation if you look at porn or anything similar. Your hands are defiled with blood. You have the guilt of blood on your fingers. You dare not have hands and fingers stained with blood. If God should return while you are defiling yourself, you will be swallowed into hell. Separate from that sin so that everyone can see that you have changed. I do not like it when a believer lies.
8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.” Rev 21:8
If you lie, the end is in the place of fire and brimstone. To lie is a serious sin.
7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. Rev 21:7
The overcomer will be a son. In heaven there is no female and male but if you overcome sin, you will be a son of God. Do not say, ‘I was tempted and went there and did that.’ Have you received the Holy Spirit? He has left you if you commit sin. Confess your sin, take out the root so that the Holy Spirit can return.