Victory Outreach Cape Town

SUNDAY 22ND OCTOBER, 2023

PREACHER – PASTOR GEORGE

TITLE: GOD’S NOT DONE ✅ WITH ME YET

EPHESIANS 4:1-8, 11-13 KJV

4 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, ² With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;³ Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ One Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

⁷ But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. ⁸ Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; ¹² For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

¹³ Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

• God’s not done ✅ with you yet
• You are still a work in progress
• So don’t write yourself off and refuse to be written off
• You deserve a chance.
• For you are still under construction ?
• The Church of God is under construction.

• God is the project owner while the Holy Spirit is the Civil Engineer (the chief contractor)… Project Boards are often placed at construction ? sites

• We are at the construction site of God, so we must beware of things falling and dropping –  Caution is required.

            Some Caution ⛔️ Signs at a construction site ?;

• Warning Construction Site/Keep Out …
• Safety Helmets Must Be Worn On This Site …
• PPE Must Be Worn In This Area. …
• All Visitors and Drivers Must Report To Site Office. …
• Warning Deep Excavations. …
• Danger – Scaffolding Incomplete  …
• Warning To Public. …
• Safety Starts Here Sign.
• Fire ? assembly point
• Stop ?/Go Sign ?…..

• Every project begins with the end in mind – a preconceived end result.

• Unity of faith, Perfection (Completion and Maturity) and Fullness  is the end goal in the mind of God – The Edifice-The Masterpiece.

THINGS WORTHY OF NOTE:

1. Everyone has been given gifts ?
   
   Generally in Scriptures, the word “gift” has three senses:

                    –  gifts men give to men;

                    –  sacrificial offerings presented to God; and

                    –  gifts God gives to men, especially in connection with  salvation, righteousness, and His grace.

• We all have been gifted–Graced-Empowered for:

                    (I) – A Purpose,

                     (II)- The Body of Christ.

• This is much like our HANDS ?? are gifted to touch, hold, point, write ✍️ etc. …..
• Our MOUTH with all its components is gifted to talk, eat, shout etc…..
• Our EYE is gifted to see, to read etc.

2. Both leaders and followers are still a ‘work in progress’:
   
   No one of us is a finished ✅ work yet.
   We are all still works in progress
   We all bear the CAUTION ⚠️ Sign on us.
   Therefore we must acknowledge this fact and allow space and room for some short-comings in our relationship with one another.

• These ‘shortcomings’ are developmental signs ? they are the marks of  ‘a work-in-progress’ which, is the bane of a construction ? site.

• So, we might miss the mark here and there and give off some negative attitudes and vibes every now and then.

• We must not give up on each other and we must give each other a chance because WE ARE ALL STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION ?
• God’s not done ☑️ with us.
• Philippians 1:6, Psalms 138:8

3. We must continue to evolve into a higher version.

Acts 2:41-42;

⁴¹ Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

⁴² And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Note: – The above happened on Pentecost day after the advent of the Holy Spirit.

– They did not get stuck in the victory and fanfare of the Pentecost Experience but pressed to see the move continue.

In order to SUSTAIN the move of God which was birthed at Pentecost, the Apostles and the people continued steadfastly in ;

 DOCTRINE – The ministry of the word. Have an appetite for the Sound Teaching of the word. Matt. 4:4

 FELLOWSHIPS – Worship Service. The Gathering of the Saints. Church attendance is very important…Hebrews 10:24-25

 BREAKING OF BREAD – Connecting in small groups. Dining together from House2House and having communion.

 PRAYERS. 1 Thess. 5:17, Luke 18:1, Luke 9:29

• A prayerless Christian is a powerless and potentially a defeated Christian.
• This is very important especially after such a powerful time at the prayer summit.

THE RESULT:

VS46-47

⁴⁶ And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

⁴⁷ Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Here’s The Heart of the Matter;

Everything I have said above is hinging on four disciplines:

1. Continuing Steadfastly (continuity)

2. Diligence in service (Diligence)

Proverbs 22:29

29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

 “MEAN MEN”:

 Low rank officers

 Ordinary men

 Obscure men.

3. Forbearing  with one another (Forbearance)

4. Striving  for growth (Maturity) —- 2 Timothy 2:5

The ultimate goal is to:

• evolve into a higher version of us.
• become all that God has called and ordained us to be.
• reveal Jesus to our world ?
• bring glory and honour to his name here on earth.