INCREASING SPIRITUALLY- PASTOR MENSA OTABIL: SUNDAY SERVICE, ICGC CHRIST TEMPLE, 23RD JANUARY, 2022
SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE BY DR. MENSA OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) CHRIST TEMPLE, ACCRA GHANA)
TOPIC: INCREASING SPIRITUALLY
DATE: 23RD JANUARY, 2022
TEXT: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-3
Let’s rise up together as we take our DECLARATION OF INCREASE in this Year of Increase:
Are you ready? Say with me:
I confess today that Jesus Christ is my LORD and Saviour. In Him I have life, His Abundant Life.
The Lord is my Light and Strength. As He is, so has He made me. By His Spirit I Increase in Word and in Wisdom. In Faith and in Favour.
The Lord has said: “In Blessing, I will bless you. In multiplying I will Multiply your Seed.”
So, I can boldly say: My God shall Increase me more and more. What I Place in God’s Hands grows into Overflow.
Though I begin small, my end shall Greatly Increase.
In this Year of Increase, I grow in Grace and in Strength. To be all that God wants me to be.
In Jesus’ Name – AMEN!
We are talking about “INCREASING” in every areas of our lives. And last week we established that God is the GOD OF INCREASE.
… Somebody say with me: GOD IS THE GOD OF INCREASE.
So anytime we talk about Increase, God is at the center of it or Jesus Christ is at the Center of it.
We don’t just Increase by ourselves or by our own Will; we Increase by His Strength and by His Power.
And today I am talking about: INCREASING SPIRITUALLY.
If we want to Increase in any area of our lives, the first Place we start is our our SPIRITUAL LIVES.
And last week when I spoke about The God of Increase, we looked at 1 Corintians 3, we listened to the Apostle Paul talk about he Planting, Apollos watered and he said God gave the Increase.
Today, what I am going to do is to take us a little earlier – before he made that Statement.
We we are still in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. Here Paul is speaking to the Church in Corinth and listen to what he says:
1 And I, Brethren, could not speak to you as to Spiritual People but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
2 I fed you with milk and not with Solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
3 For you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere Men?
I like that last Part – … Are you not carnal and behaving like mere Men?
That phrase “Mere Men” means juts like everybody else – Like Unbelievers.
So Paul is writing to the Church in Corinth.
The Church in Corinth was a Church of different shades:
I. They were very enthusiastic and zealous when it came to Spiritual Things.
II. They spoke in Tongues, they liked to operate in their so called Spiritual Gifts.
But apart from that, everything was wrong with the Church in Corinth.
So Paul is writing to them and he says when he was with them – And Paul had stayed in the Church in Corinth for eighteenth (18) Months.
When he Planted the Church he stayed in Corinth for eighteenth (18) Months – Teaching them, exalting them, encouraging them on the Foundational Doctrines of Christ.
Now Paul says when he was with them, he couldn’t teach them many deep things because they were carnal People and they were babies in Christ.
… So Paul gives us a clue as to who a Carnal Christian is.
WHO IS A CARNAL CHRISTIAN?
There are two (2) things he says about a Carnal Christian – He says, “I could not speak to you as to Spiritual People but as to carnal.”
- So the Carnal Christian cannot receive Spiritual Things.
Now Paul does not say that the Corinthians are not Spiritual. That’s not what he is saying.
But he is saying that he could not speak to them as Spiritual.
Because this is the kind of Church where People spoke in Tongues very, very enthusiastically.
When they went to Church, People would Speak in Tongues for the whole Service. Sometimes even the Preacher would Preach in Tongues.
And somebody who is supposed to lead in Prayers (as we do here). In the Church in Corinth, you will start speaking in Tongues and we wouldn’t even know the Prayer Topic.
… So these People were very enthusiastic when it came to Spiritual Things.
But Paul says, inspire of all that show of Spirituality, he couldn’t speak to them as Spiritual People.
And that’s very important! – Because sometimes we can appear Spiritual and not be Spiritual.
Sometimes we can exhibit something that seem to imply that we are Spiritual People, but in reality we are not!
And Paul is saying that he couldn’t speak to them as Spiritual People – They couldn’t receive Spiritual Things.
- The Second thing, he said in Verse 2 of our Text – He said that: “I fed you with Milk and not with Solid food.”
So Carnal People cannot receive the Solid Word of God.
… They can only receive Milk.
What’s the difference between Milk and Solid Food?
Milk is for “Baby Christians”, while Solid food is for “Mature Christians”.
So Paul is saying – When I started teaching in Corinth, I was just giving you Milk. I couldn’t give you much – I couldn’t give you Solid Food because, you were not able to receive it.
I wonder what Paul would say about the Church in Ghana (Nigeria) if he came to examine us – Whether he will call us Spiritual or he will also call us Carnal People who cannot receive Spiritual Things or the Solid Word of God.
So, for us to Increase this Year, our Spiritual Life must be something we Pay attention to.
Let’s look at – THE MARKS OF CARNALITY.
In Corintians 3:4, Paul says: For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
In the Church in Corinth there are People who say: “As for me, I belong to Paul.” Others will say “I belong to Apollos.” And he says isn’t that carnal?
Then when we go to 1 Corithians 1:12-13, he expands on this Notion – What he says is so important;
Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas (that’s Peter),” or “I am of Christ” – Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
So what is it about this Church in Corinth? And what are they doing wrong that Paul calls them “Carnal Christians” or “Baby Christians” – Who cannot receive the Things of the Spirit of God?
And he tells us what they are doing wrong – Some say: “I belong to Paul, I belong to Peter, I belong to Apollos, I belong to Christ.”
So what are they doing wrong? – Two (2) Things they are doing wrong;
- First, they are making the Servants of Christ equal to Christ.
In the same breath they are saying – “I belong to Paul, I belong to Peter, I belong to Christ.”
For them; belonging to Christ, to Paul and to Peter is about the same thing.
They are making the Servants of Christ equal to Christ – They saw Christ the same way as they saw their Pastors.
… That’s what they were doing!
They saw Christ on the same Level with their Pastors. They never saw belonging to Christ as more important than belonging to a so called Man or Woman of God.
So, in the Church in Corinth, the Man of God was equal to God – The Preacher is equal to Christ. And they mentioned the Name of Christ and the name of their Preachers in the same sentence.
And Paul says, that’s Carnality – That’s amazing!
Sometimes you get the feeling that we are in Corinth (in our Nation). The Church in Africa is like the Church in Corinth; where Christ is reduced to the level of the Minister.
- And not only did they put the Preachers on the same level as Christ;
They were actually replacing Christ with the Servants of Christ.
… They were replacing Christ!
So Paul asked them Historical Question – Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Instead of Placing their Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they Placed their Faith in the Men of God – In Paul, in Apollos, in Peter. They believed in these People more than they believed in Christ.
And Paul says listen, was I the one who died for you? Was I crucified for you? Why do you want to Place your Faith in me when I didn’t make any Sacrifice for you on the Cross?
And we see some of that in the Church today – When Preachers undermine the Scriptures and say things to shift People from the “Written Word” to the words they are Preaching.
You here People say for example – “Put the Bible aside and listen to me.”
Put the Bible aside?
Or they would say – “We want the Spirit, we don’t want the Word.”
.. That’s Corinth!
And Paul says that is not Spiritual. That is actually Carnality.
And sometimes you see Preachers exhalting their own words above the Scriptures. And they would say things like: “This is not in the Bible – but I am telling you (by whatever Anointing is upon them)”.
… If it is not in the Bible, then it is not valid for the Christian.
So the Problem with the Church in Corinth is that – They had this “Outward Appearance” of Spirituality, but the Foundation is all wrong.
… And these days I see a lot of that!
And you better watch out for out for that. Because if we are going to Increase, the One Who gives us the Increase is God.
We cannot Increase in God when we are undermining His Words.
People Pray sometimes in the name of their Man or Woman of God – They would call the name of their Man of God and the Name of Jesus. And so we make the Man of God and his so called Relationship with God the most important thing.
They would say well, in the Bible there is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And the God of Elijah. Because they don’t understand the difference between the New Testament and the Old Testament where God was known by a few.
And in the New Testament, as many as led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God.
That is why Paul calls them Brethren – He doesn’t even call them Sons of God. He says you are my Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Your God is my God. And our God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. One God, one Faith, one Baptism.
There is a lot of “Pseudo Spirituality” – So called Spirituality, but that has no Foundation.
That was the Problem with the Church in Corinth because sometimes People want to make Carnality seem Spiritual.
And the saddest thing I have seen sometimes is Pastors Perpetuating that!
A Pastor is Praying and he says:
I. “I Pray under the Mantle of (and then they mentioned the name of their Man of God)”.
II. “I operate under the Grace of (the name of their Man of God).”
Are you crazy? You operate under another Man’s Grace? Who taught us this nonsense? That Pastors operate under the Grace of their Senior Pastors or Bishop or whosever.
No! We operate under the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ! – We all stand by His Grace.
…You don’t Pray in the name of a Man of God!
That is what they were doing in Corinth – “I am for Paul, I am for Peter, I am for Christ.” They put Christ on the same level and the Man of God was their God.
And Paul said, shut down! Listen, it’s not even Spiritual – You are babies. Because if you are truly Spiritual you would know Who your Father is!
And your Father is not a Man of God – Your Father is God Almighty.
Jesus said when you Pray, say – “Our Father Who art in Heaven.”
I understand Spiritual fatherhood, but I think we are stretching it to bizarre levels – Where even Pastors cannot lead Prayer without referring to their Senior Pastor.
And People want to assume that is Spirituality.
That, according to 1 Corithians 1:12-3, is Carnality. And if you do that, you cannot receive from the Spirit of God.
1 Corintians 2:14, But the Natural Man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are Spiritually discerned.
… The Carnal Christian cannot receive from the Holy Spirit.
If you want to receive something this Year (2022), you have to receive it from the Holy Spirit.
You can’t receive it from me – I can talk to you about your Father and your God; and I can explain His Words to you. But your Faith must always be with God.
You cannot receive from God if you don’t even know Who you are Worshipping.
So 1 Corithians 2:9-10; But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of Man the things which God has Prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God
I. The Carnal Christian cannot See, Hear nor Discern God’s Purposes.
When we behave like mere Men, we cannot receive from God – We can’t receive from God!
II. And not only can they not see, hear or discern God’s Purposes;
They cannot receive what God has freely given to them.
There are things that God has freely given to us by His Holy Spirit. And they don’t come from our Men of God, they come directly from God.
His Grace is sufficient for you!
Men of God have no Grace that is your sufficiency – If you want to tap into their Grace, you are a “Miserable Person” living a “Miserable Life”.
How did we get to this Level – Where Christ has been marginalised and the Man of God is at the Center?
And there are Preachers who love it so. And that is why we are getting so may “Baby Christians” who cannot Stand any adversity. When their Faith is tried they either go to the Occult or to a Psyche.
They cannot trust God because their Faith is in a Man of God. But when we Place the Faith of the People in God, then in the Midnight Hour of their lives, when the Pastor is not there, God is there.
They know how to trust Him and they know how to depend on His Words and they know how to depend on His Promises.
That is Spirituality – Yes!
HOW DO WE INCREASE SPIRITUALLY?
Hebrews 5:13-14; For everyone who Partakes only of Milk is Unskilled in the Word of Righteousness, for he is a babe. But Solid Food belongs to those who are of Full Age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both Good and evil.
So how we Increase Spiritually? – Three (3) Things:
- GODLY APPETITE.
Having an intensed desire for the things of God.
This is where our Spiritual Growth starts from – An intensed desire for the things of God.
Jesus Christ noted that in His Sermon on the Mount – Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness, For they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6).
Having a hunger for God – That I may know Him (Philippians 3:10).
Lord I want to know You; Lord I want to understand Your Words; Lord I want to serve You.
When your heart Pants as the Deer Pants after the waters (Psalms 42:1). Your heart Pants for the Lord. When your heart desires God. When from the depth of your being you want to be all that God wants you to be.
… That’s where it starts from -There has to be a Deep Appetite, a Strong Appetite for God.
- GODLY WISDOM.
Having a deep understanding of God’s Word.
Not shallow understanding of God’s Word. Not just knowing the Bible and some Bible Stories, and some Ideas you heard from a Preacher.
Because, for most of us Christians, everything we know is what we were told – We haven’t discovered anything for ourselves from the Scriptures.
But if we want to grow, we have to discover Truth from the Scriptures.
And every Christian must invest in their Spiritual Growth. You must have more than one Bible. “Baby Christians” have one Bible (I’m joking)!
But I am serious! It is a joking serious (laughter). “Baby Christians” have one Bible. We need to have many Versions of the Bible. I use the New King James Version, but I have so many Versions of the Bible.
… And of course I am a Pastor and I must invest in that!
But if you are not a Pastor, at least get another Version – maybe NIV (New International Version). Or get other Versions. So that when you read the Bible, you can read it in three (3) Translations to get a better sense of what you are reading.
Get a Good Bible Concordance; get a Greek Concordance and get a Hebrew Concordance because you have to learn the Scriptures yourself. Your have to learn it!
You know, when somebody is a Carpenter, even if they work for a Carpentry Company, they have their own tools as well – They have their Saw, Plane, Hammer (Just for Emergencies).
If somebody is an Electrician, apart from the fact that he works in a Company, the Company Provides him with tools, they have their own Screwdriver and they have a couple of other things.
If somebody is a Musician, they have their own Instruments.
So when you are a Christian, apart from coming to Church to be taught; you must have the Tools of your Faith – You must have it!
So when you are having your Bible Study you can at least do some basic Greek Study and basic Hebrew study. Not as deeply as I would do because that’s my Full-Time job.
But you must do something yourself, to learn the Scripture. Because if we want to grow Spiritually and receive Spiritual Things, there is no lazy way to do it but to go into the Scriptures.
… We must desire it.
… So, Godly Wisdom! And finally;
- GODLY DISCERNMENT.
Having a keen awareness of God’s Will.
Able to discern between what is Right and what is Wrong. Knowing the Will of God for us at everytime!
Many Christians are not able to tell the difference between a Person who operates by the Spirit of God and a Person who operates by an Evil Spirit.
I am amazed at how many Christians allow People to breakup their Marriages and destroy your Relationship with their Parents because somebody says your husband is a wizard or your wife is a witch! Or your mother wants to eat you up.
And a Christian has no way of discerning the Spirit that is speaking – Whereas everything Supernatural is of God.
No Sir! There are lots of Psyche Spirits – No Spirit of God gives devilish information to People.
Couple of days ago I heard about a Pastor whose Marriage was almost collapsing. And then I got to understand why his Marriage was almost collapsing.
That some Young boy so called Prophet, who doesn’t even know the Scriptures told him – “Pastor, your wife is a witch.” And the sad thing is, this so called Prophet (when he was confronted with what he had said) went to apologise, that he didn’t know what he was doing.
When you are a “Spiritual Baby”, People would Play you like football because you have no ability to discern what he is speaking to you.
When Paul was in Philippi somebody was following him saying: “Here are those who Preach to us the Word of Truth.”
… All intent and Purposes – That is a Good Spirit.
Paul discerned, although it is saying the right things, the Spirit behind it is wrong! And Paul rebuked that Spirit.
Just because somebody told you the Serial Number of the Money you are holding, or the Car Registration Number you have, does not mean it is from the Spirit of God.
And they are messing up your lives! And some of you are at the verge of giving up because a Psyche lied to you.
And you know why you believed? – Because you don’t know how to discern the Will of God.
And why don’t you know how to discern the Will of God? It is because the Word of God does not dwell in you richly.
And until we get to that Point, our whole Christian Life would be manipulates.
And that is what Paul is telling them – He said to the Church in Corinth: “I couldn’t tell you anything because you are babes.
Why are you babes? Because you say “I am for this, I am for that.”
You don’t even know levels of Spirituality. You don’t know that Jesus Christ is one level Totally Unapproachable by Paul.
And some of you think a so called Man of God, his word is equal with Jesus.
You know sometimes People say something and I say “but the Scripture doesn’t say so.”
They say: “Put the Scripture aside.”
And I hope none of you is in that “Nice Sunday Church People.”
You are going to take the Word; you are going to learn the Scriptures because you are going to be responsible for your Spiritual, my Increase and Spiritual Growth.
It is when you have Increased Spiritually, that you can discern the things of God – So God would speak to you about your Destiny.
… God is not in the business of telling People about you when He has access to you.
If God is going to tell People about you, He would already have told you about them because you are His Child.
And any father who cannot speak to His own children, and goes to the neighbourhood to tell People about his children is not a Hood one.
If your father did that, you would say “he is not a Good father.”
And why do you think your Heavenly Father – You sit in front of Him to read His Word; and Pray and listen to Him. And He doesn’t talk to you, and go somewhere to tell People about you.
This year (2022): GET TO KNOW YOUR FATHER – Get to know His voice, get to Understand Him. And allow Him to Pour Himself into you.
… That is how we Increase Spiritually. AMEN!
HALLELUJAH!
Well I want to give you a chance to make a Commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are here this Morning and you say – Pastor, I want to grow Spiritually. I want to be a Spiritual Person.
The beginning Point of Spirituality is to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life!
Sometimes we call it being Born Again, or being saved, or receiving Christ, or repenting of your sins.
Whatever term we use; it means one thing – It means that Jesus Christ comes to live in your heart.
And it doesn’t happen automatically – We have to make it happen. We have to invite Him to come into our lives.
So if you are here this morning, or reading now on the Label of DMC – You say Pastor, I want Jesus to come into my heart; I want Jesus to come into my heart.
If that’s your desire, just lift up your Right Hand wherever you are. Rise up, just Stand up wherever you are and put your hand upon your heart.
God bless you.
I am going to lead you in Prayer and all of us are going to Pray with you as you make Jesus Christ the Lord of your Life.
Say with me: Heavenly Father, I come to You today just as I am. I am a Sinner, I cannot save myself. But I Thank You that Jesus died for and rose again from the dead to give me Life. And today I receive Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and my Saviour.
I Thank You Father for accepting me as Your Child.
I Declare today that I am a Child of God. I belong to Jesus. I am Born Again. And I Thank You Father for New Life.
In Jesus’ Name – Amen and Amen!
GOD BLESS YOU – AMEN.
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