The New and Living Way Church, Ikorodu.
Meeting: Sunday Service
Date: 30th May, 2021
Minister: Pastor Laide Olaniyan
(Acts 11:19-30) The first public ministry to the gentiles happened in Antioch. Before God privately reached the Gentiles, there was no public ministry under the gentile church.
The Lord had preordained that there should be a spread of the gospel, but it wasn’t initiated until the scattering (Acts 11:19). Then, some got to Antioch and by grace, began to preach to the Grecians; and a grace came upon the church in Antioch because some people, by Providence, found grace to align in the spirit. Before then, the gospel was boxed in to the Jews.
The Lord signified to the Apostles that the gospel was meant to go beyond the Jews but there was a barrier – they could not break into the spirit. Certain unnamed disciples began to preach to the Gentiles and a grace came upon the church. When the apostles heard that the Gentiles had started to turn to the Lord, they sent forth Barnabas to go as far as Antioch (Acts 11:22). When Barnabas saw the grace in Antioch, he must have picked in the spirit that Paul needed to be there. Before that time, Paul must have preached and had encounters. He had gone to the wilderness of Arabia, had gone to Damascus and from there to Tarsus and stayed there probably waiting for the next direction and instruction in the spirit. Immediately Barnabas saw the operation of the grace in Antioch, he went and called Paul from Tarsus.
Barnabas must have felt that Paul had a principal grace and lot in commissioning the gospel, as God opened things to the Gentiles. They stayed there a whole year ministering and preaching. It was after Barnabas brought Paul to Antioch that the grace multiplied. The Bible records that believers were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26). Grace multiplied rapidly in the Antioch church.
The people that went to Antioch church weren’t Apostles, but they found grace to grow stature by alignment. The church in Antioch followed more of spirit and allowed for men to grow more. They learnt to follow spirit quicker and moved more in the Holy Ghost. The church in Jerusalem had more manifestation and the church that proceeded out of Antioch also had manifestations. But the Antioch church inclined more to the Spirit such that they were able to respond to the nudgings of the Spirit regarding the Gentile church and found grace for multiplication. This multiplication is not in numbers but was more by stature.
When Paul came to Antioch, he was brother Saul. But in Antioch, he grew with other believers and they became prophets and teachers. Even Barnabas grew, he was described as a good man, full of faith and of the Holy Ghost (Acts 6:3-5; Acts 4:36). However, before Antioch, he didn’t even have any ministry gift. Barnabas must have picked on Paul’s mandate in the spirit.
The church in Antioch grew by staying in the Word for a year. A prophet by the name of Agabus visited Antioch. Churches grow as people grow. Agabus came, ministered to the church and grace came. This happened because they received him and his ministry and the imprint of that ministry remained upon them. When God orchestrates for graces to visit churches, it is not a small thing. It is not necessarily for ministerial offices but for stature.
(Acts 13:1) We can see here that they have started to come into statures of prophets and teachers because they stayed in the Word. Paul didn’t become an Apostle overnight. He was just a believer like anybody who was fervent in the Word, who stayed in faith and in the Holy Ghost. They found a profitable soil of grace to grow, they found an atmosphere of the Spirit where the Lord will have them flourish.
Every soul has been allotted somewhere to flourish. Barnabas never left Antioch, not just because they were blessing people but because they found grace there that even accelerated their personal growth. By the reason of the work they kept doing in Antioch, the word of the Lord spread so much that the brethren that believed were named Christians (that is people who owned the life of Christ).
Jesus’ physical ministry never got here to the regions of the gentiles but because the disciples ministered to the Lord something burst forth here (Acts 13:1-3). This church did not only grow in the Word, they also grew in the Spirit. It’s in Antioch Paul learnt his Word culture and became an ardent teacher of God’s Word. The Lord must have appeared to him several times in Antioch just as He did at Damascus and in the wilderness of Arabia. They developed a Word culture and a Spirit culture i.e a life that is dependent on the Spirit and devoted to seeking the Lord.
While they ministered to the Lord and fasted, they were not asking for carnal things.
How do you minister to the Lord?
The ministration to the Lord is not any physical thing we give and it’s not by eulogizing but it’s seeking what’s in the heart of the Lord. When Joshua was Moses’ minister, he waited on Moses for anything he wanted to do. The art of ministering to the Lord is the art of waiting on the Lord, to know what the burden of the Lord is just as Moses’ minister did. In the process of waiting, we can bring forth songs (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19-20) – this is not praise and worship: It is bringing forth eulogies and an agreement with His commandments. The ministration is unto the Lord. The foundation of this expression is the Word of God. I am speaking myself to the Lord, the end product of that is lights are coming to the Lord whether of myself to the Lord or of one another to the Lord. In the speakings, in the songs, the hymns, I am being presented to the Lord such that whatever I do I am the Lord’s via understanding. The ministration unto the Lord is not just a physical service to the Lord but by the Spirit, we are presenting ourselves unto the Lord.
These people found grace to learn how to minister unto the Lord. The culture of ministering to the Lord must not be lost amidst us. (2 Corinthians 8:1-6) We cannot minister to the saints without ministering first to the Lord. They wanted to minister to the saints but first gave themselves to ministering to the Lord, then gave themselves to the authority of the Apostles by the will of the Lord, then now ministered to the saints. This is how grace grew such that even beyond their power they could work.
(1 Timothy 5:1) We can see one of the qualities of a widow is ministering to the saints. You can minister to the saints without having ministered to the Lord. But a more excellent way that the Macedonian church was shown was not as the Apostles hoped, but first, they gave themselves to the Lord (2 Corinthians 8:5). The natural course is that people will start from outwards ministering to the saints but this church was different, they first gave themselves to the Lord then unto the ministers by the will of God.
We cannot truly come into the order of Ephesians 5:19-21 if we have not ministered to the Lord. When people struggle with submitting, they have not ministered well to the Lord. (Galatians 1:15-16) There was something revealed in Paul that was first revealed to Paul. He learnt the Spirit and the Word. Paul said he will not boast of things that God has not wrought by his hands (Romans 15:18). The things he wrote are things Christ had done/revealed in him.
Kenneth Copeland said he hasn’t seen any serious believer who minds God’s things that does not end up a minister. We should not be scared of ministry if we love God.
Many of us ran away from the commitment of growth because we did not want to be a minister. God always first calls for intimacy before ministry, but the fear of ministry drives us away from intimacy because of the fear of what we think will be a greater burden. We should not shortchange ourselves. The best person to ever work for is God. Now, we shouldn’t be thirsty for ministry but, if it means we would end up there, then so be it.
The season is coming upon us and we mustn’t shy from responsibilities. For some ladies, I (Pastor Laide) perceive the Lord is waiting on you to agree for ministry before He brings the man.
Even though our goal isn’t primarily to raise ministers in this place, everybody must be ready to be one. Our goal is to grow up into God in all things but you must be ready if it is necessary. We are not to set our eyes on ministry as though it is the end of all things but the fear of it must not stop us from journeying upwards. This admonition is for men and women alike. We will be given all out to God. Amen.
That thing that doesn’t like the things of Jesus too much, God will take it away from us. God wants to give sisters His sons and wants them to allow the man to be all God wants him to be. So God needs to break us, and we must love Jesus to that point where we can let our husbands go. God doesn’t want us to be a clog in His way. God needs women who can be help meet indeed.
We must love Jesus such that anywhere He leads we are willing to go.
We are looking at the church in Antioch, how they learnt to grow in the Spirit, how they grew in stature by the people therein staying in the Spirit, staying in the Word and coming to stature. We saw in Acts 13 how when Paul and Barnabas and the rest got to Antioch, the Lord began to go to the gentiles. They started out just as brethren, holding faith. Likewise, we also must hold faith and hold the Holy Ghost. This is the foundation and we must hold faith and hold the Holy Ghost very well. We must stay in the Spirit.
If we have learnt the culture of the Word and the Spirit and learnt to stay therein, then the Lord can communicate expressly. Every church must be given to the Holy Ghost.
1st Tongues and Interpretation
Voices… Voices… Voices…
Raising voices in your midst.
Have I not said it even in your midst before this time that fathers will arise?
Fathers that will culture nature, that will culture the harvest that I am bringing upon you saith the Lord.
People will come into graces and capacities. You are at the threshold where capacity will be increased even upon this assembly.
Graces into offices, graces to nurture souls because harvests are coming, and I am raising you not just for yourself. That is why I am increasing the pace of my demand at this time. It is because of the harvest that is coming.
I am culturing you to be fathers, raising many fathers even in this assembly that will nurture the souls that are coming, that will nurture the harvest.
Many will come into many graces. There is a multiplication of graces even upon this assembly.
It is time you come into my prophecies upon this assembly. It is a season that men will come into prophecies and graces.
Graces to nurture, graces to culture souls according to this order.
I increase capacity and grace to culture the harvest.
Even at this time that some of you are running, I will catch you like Jonah.
There’s nowhere to run to, I will catch you.
2nd Tongues and Interpretation
Come into ordinations.
I am everywhere.
Even before you think the thoughts, I see the thought.
Remember I am God.
Come into ordination.
Come and wear your garment.
No one drinks even of this fountain and runs away.
There is a covenant upon your fathers and I have tied their loins to this water.
It is not their will that they are framed in this direction but it is the ordination of heaven and because you have drunk of their waters, you will be framed according to this order.
Their work raised you and your work will also raise generations.
It is the labour of their fruit you’re reaping, saith the Lord.
The harvest is plenty and I will raise labourers even according to the ordination of heaven.
Even separate me for the work at this time.
I am separating men at this time, I am bringing even grace for ordination.
Submit yourself to the mighty hand of the Lord.
Do not say within yourself they are not talking about me.
It is not your work, it is my work.
It is not about your capacity. I like the weak estate. I want to use your weakness because it is by my strength and not your weakness.
Things will begin to turn around at this time for you even for this ordination.
It is time to come into this ordination.
I am talking about you.
It is not by your capacity, it is my capacity.
This is the season that it has pleased the Father to reveal the Son in you.
It is God that will reveal the Son in you, it is not by your strength.
I am bringing a mighty hand upon you because it is time for harvest.
Submit yourself to my grace, even submit yourself at this time.
3rd Tongues and Interpretation
Cell… Cell… Cell…
My gene is within your loins.
I am bringing so much help to pull you out from your hidden places to come and wear the garments of heaven. I am bringing you out because you have my gene in you. You have my loins in you. You are girdled with my garment. I am bringing you out.
The reason for all these leadings and orchestrations is for you to come and occupy a position whereby you can live according to the grace by the walk you have come to.
I am bringing help to swear you into offices, even to place offices upon your head.
I will begin to bring promptings and stirrings upon your heart for departments, for things to do.
Do not ignore my own stirrings saith the Lord.
You will not come by your own accord but I will bring you there.
I will bring you there even by my stirrings.
I bring great help even for people to occupy offices.
Even great garments of the Lord.
4th Tongues and Interpretation
Some of you say within your heart that great suffering is in ministry.
You don’t know what suffering is.
There is pleasure in the things pertaining to God.
Your full expression is in this place. Your full expression is in these things.
There are great pleasures in heaven and this is where you will find your expression.
Without coming into these offices and these positions, you cannot find your expression as a person, even in My lot in this life. You cannot find your expression but in the presence of God there is fullness of joy.
I have pleasure.
I have pleasure.
There is pleasure in things pertaining to me. There is pleasure in my things.
There is pleasure in the things pertaining to this Word that is constituting fear in you.
Have I not said in my Word whoever follows me receives a hundredfold of what they have left and in me, they will gain eternal life.
There is a fear that is spoiling your soul even against my wish but I say to you at this time, I am destroying that fear.
I am breaking that middle wall of partition.
There is pleasure. There is nothing you are losing at this time that you will not gain a hundredfold, even when you follow my order, even when you follow my ordination.
There is nothing to fear.
Just throw your hands even into my care.
I care for you.
I know how to nurture you,
I know how to nurture you even more than the way you think you can nurture yourself.
There is pleasure even in my ordination.
5th Tongues and Interpretation
Ku si ife, ku fe…
Mo ni ko ku si ife, ku fe…
Even this ordination is a speedy way to turn out darkness from you.
Without this ordination, some darknesses will remain.
Some darknesses need this ordination for them to go.
Even without this ordination, darkness will remain.
Oh, say to yourself make me an offering, make me whatever you want me to be.
I want you to be at a threshold whereby I can sacrifice you freely.
I am not seeing any fear of Me in you, even any fear of coming into my allocation in you.
Say to yourself not my will but your will.
Say to yourself I am ready to die at this altar, ready to follow whatsoever the Lord wants me to be.
Die to selfish ambition.
Die to selfish future.
Die. Die. Die
Mo ni o ku si be.
6th Tongues and Interpretation
I am the one that formed you, even created you and I know what befits my creation. For I am the one who formed you, you did not form yourself.
You did not create yourself, I am the one who formed you and I have charted a path, even carved out a path for you to walk and come into perfection.
For there is a path in me for every one of you. For when you walk in them, you will attain perfection, you will attain that which I have predestined you to come into.
That which I have predestined you even before the foundation of the world, even before the whole world was formed, there is a path I have charted for you, a path in me for you in the day that you were formed, that you were made, that you were created.
And I say to you that as I bring this path to you, do not reject it in your heart, do not disobey this path. Do not disobey this commandment. Do not disobey this light that I am shining even to your path. For it is your path to your perfection. Your path to sonship, your path even to end up in Me.
For it is your path that I have carved up in Me.
Harden not your heart.
Harden not your heart. Accept in your heart and in due time and due season, I will bring you step by step until the daystar arises in your soul, saith the Spirit of the Lord.
7th Tongues and Interpretation
Holyspirit poured forth wine, poured forth my spirit.
I’ve poured forth wine.
Pour it Holyspirit.
Pour it Holy Spirit.