ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIER – HOLY GHOST CONGRESS 2024 – (DAY5 MORNING SESSION) – PASTOR STEPHEN RATHOD

RCCG HOLY GHOST CONGRESS 2024 (27TH EDITION)

THEME: ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIER

MINISTERING (DAY 5 MORNING SESSION): PASTOR STEPHEN RATHOD (SENIOR PASTOR, COVENANT FAMILY CHURCH, TULSA, USA)

TOPIC: MOVE, MOUNTAIN MOVE

DATE: 13TH DECEMBER 2024

BIBLE TEXT: MARK 11:23-24

I bring you Greetings from Covenant Family Church.

Greetings from my Wife, our children and grandchildren.

I Pray: All is well, in Jesus’ Name – Amen.

This Morning, I was given the Subject: MOVE, MOUNTAIN MOVE.

Which means, Mountain get out of my way! And if you won’t get out of my way,, I will do something to get rid of you.

Our Theme for this Holy Ghost Congress is: ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIER.

So, what I will try to do is to stay under the Main Guideline, “Onward Christian Soldier” and try to hook up the Subject “Move, Mountain Move”.

Anytime you talk about moving a Mountain, first of all, we will go to Mark 11:23-24, where Jesus Christ said:

23. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this Mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye Pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

The bottom line is this; to move a Mountain we are talking about Faith.

Faith should be in Two (2) Places:

I. It should be in your Heart, and

II. It should be in your mouth.

Some of us, we do believe in our Heart, but we don’t say so with our mouth.

Some of us, we talk with our mouth, but we don’t believe in our Heart.

So, moving a Mountain is a Faith Statement, from the Heart to the mouth; then to the Mountain.

How do you get saved?

Romans 10:9-10 says, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine Heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the Heart Man believeth unto Righteousness; and with the mouth Confession is made unto Salvation.

Meaning What?

From the Heart to the mouth, you must make a Confession.

Because Luke 6:45 says: For out of the abundance of the Heart, the mouth speaks.

The great Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:13, We having the same Spirit of Faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

… I have believed in my Heart, just as I have spoken with my mouth: Move, Mountain Move!

A CASE STUDY OF DAVID

I want to talk about Mountain – And you can find this in the Life of a Young Man called David.

David was chosen by God. After the Lord rejected Saul, He chose David, for one (1) reason only – Because he was Pure in Heart.

… His Heart was Pure towards God.

1 Samuel 13:14 says, But now thy Kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a Man after His own Heart, and the LORD hath Commanded him to be Captain over his People, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD Commanded thee.

And Acts 13:22 also says, And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave Testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a Man after mine own Heart, which shall fulfil all my Will.

The Lord said, I have Chosen a Man after my own Heart.

When you look at David, he was a Teenager – A Young boy.

But it doesn’t matter, because the Lord said, I have found a ‘Man’ – He did not say a boy. He is a Man in his Heart.

When Samuel came to pour Oil, he looked at David’s brother – Tall and handsome. But the Lord said to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as Man seeth; for Man looketh on the Outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the Heart.

Don’t look at the Outward appearance.

Men look at the Outward, but I the Lord, look at the Heart. And I have found this boy.

Guess what? David was not even there – He was out there in the bush.

Do you know what? God chooses those who are sent out and forgotten.

God chose David.

The Word of God says in 2 Chronicles 16:9, For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole Earth, to shew himself Strong in the behalf of them whose Heart is Perfect toward him.

Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:27, But God hath Chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the Wise; and God hath Chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are Mighty;

When we talk about a Commando for the LORD, it is David.

Samuel anointed him – Isn’t that interesting?

After Samuel anointed David, guess what he was doing? He was keeping his father’s sheep.

How many of us, when we know we are going to be King, will still be keeping sheep? None!

But David’s Heart was right. And the Lord chose him because of certain things.

Do you know, when we read the Story of David in 1 Samuel 16:18, it tells you why God chose David.

Let me break it down for you;

Then answered one of the Servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in Playing, and a Mighty Valiant Man, and a Man of war, and Prudent in matters, and a comely Person, and the LORD is with him.

Before we talk about moving the Mountain – Move, Mountain Move; we need to find out, “What was the situation that was going on with David, that made the Lord to choose him?

QUALITIES OF DAVID

According to 1 Samuel 16:18, there are Six (6) things the Bible wrote about David:

1. He was Excellent:

David was Excellent at what he was doing.

He was a Young Man, but he was Talented – Excellent in Playing the harp.

Wait a Minute! He was out in the bush keeping his father’s sheep. But he was Excellent in using his God given Talent to Worship God and God alone.

He Worshipped and Praised God even when Nobody was there except the animals.

David was Good with the harp.

2. He was Courageous:

David was a Mighty Man.

In the Natural, he was a boy. But the
Word of God says he was a Mighty ‘Man.’

He was a Courageous Man, because the Bible says, when he was keeping his father’s sheep, a Lion and a Bear came.

And guess what? He took care of them – He destroyed them.

• He was Excellent;
• He was Courageous.

1. He was Brave:

David was a Man of war – A brave Warrior.

In other words, he had no fear.

… If you are wondering why God chose David:

• He was excellent at what he was doing.
• He was courageous.
• He was brave.

1. He was Responsible:

David was responsible, taking care of his father’s sheep.

He had Good Judgement.

5. He had Self Respect:

David was a Well Vroomed Young Man, with self respect.

I mean, you are keep your father’s sheep, you don’t need to shave.

Not David! He said, I am God’s Man, so I must look Good.

Like me; it doesn’t matter where I am, I always dress well.

Why? Because the Bible is full of so many Scriptures about how a Man of God should dress.

David knew this.

… And the best of all the Six (6) Qualities;

6. God was with him:

• He was excellent at what he was doing.
• He was courageous.
• He was brave, had no fear.
• He was responsible.
• He was a well groomed young man.
• God was with him.

And these were the Reasons God chose David.

Now, let us go to the Topic: “Move, Mountain Move.”

Let’s talk about this one. David was keeping his father’s sheep. He was anointed to be King – He is not King yet but he still respected his father.

He could have said, “what kind of a father are you? You’ve got to send my brothers and leave me alone: now I am anointed to be King, I won’t obey you.”

No! David still said, what would you have me do, father? His father said, son, take this basket of food, go serve your brothers who hate you. See why God loved David?

Before you can kill a Giant; before you can move a Mountain, you need to take care of your Heart.

He said, yes Daddy, I will do it. So he took the basket of food to his brothers.

And for forty (40) days this Mighty Man (Goliath) – Somebody said he weighed up to about 500 to 600 Pounds. The Israelites were all moved by what they saw – His height.

Forty (40) days, Morning and Night, he was just talking, defiling the Army of the Lord God of Israel; and they were scared.

Why? Because of the words from the mouth of a Man called Goliath, fear came.

But David said, no way! “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

So David went over to him and said, I am not moved by what I see; I am moved by the Word of God. I am moved by the Faith in the Son of the Living God.

2 Corinthians 5:7 says, (For we walk by Faith, not by sight:)

He went down to the battlefield, he heard this Giant making a noise. David said, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that defiles the Army of God? We won’t allow this.

Then he came to his brothers and said, here is your food. And they said to him: why are you here? What did you do with the sheep?

But the Bible says, before David went to take the food to his brothers, he gave responsibility to one of the Shepherds. He said, you take care of the sheep whilst I go to see my brothers.

The brothers discouraged him – They said, why are you here? We know you have come to see the war.

What war? The People were hiding, including King Saul – The tallest of all. He was hiding. But David said, no way!

He remembered what the Scripture says in Hebrews 11:6, “God is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

So he said, I’ve been seeking God. In the bush, I have been worshipping my Lord, my King, my Saviour, Provider; my Protector. And this guy is speaking trash.

So he left his brothers, went to one guy and asked: Please, what is the Reward for killing this man?

That one said, “you don’t know?” No, I don’t!

I. King Saul is going give the fellow so much Wealth.

II. He is going to give his daughter to be the wife of the man who kills this Giant.

III. The fellow won’t have to pay Tax for the rest of his Life.

“What? I will kill this Giant.”

And everybody said, No, you cannot.

His brothers said, you better go back home.

He asked the guy one more time: What did you say is the Reward again?

You know, in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), we talk about Holiness and Sanctification – Let me tell you the reason we do that.

The Bible says in Psalms 91:1-2: He that dwelleth in the Secret Place of the Most High shall abide under the Shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

So, we Preach Holiness, knowing that when this Life is over, we will be rewarded.

Remember this – Reward is God’s idea, not ours.

We live Holy lives because God said, when all is said and done: I would say, “Well done, thou Good and Faithful Servant.”

David went to King Saul; by the way, King Saul was hiding.

As a matter of fact, he had taken his armour off, hung it on the wall.

And David comes in, said ‘King.’ Yes!

David is a Young Man, but he says he is going to take Goliath out.

“Say what?” Everybody is hiding; this guy is different? He says, “I am going to take him out!”

Because Goliath had said, send me a Man, one-on-one – If I take him down, you all will be our Slaves; if you take me down, we all will be your Slaves.

So David went to Saul. The King said, Boy, what are you doing here? He replied, “I will go out there and take him down.”

Saul replied, “you can’t do that, you are a boy. But he has been a warrior from his Youth – He is a Champion.

David said, Champion or no Champion; I am going in the Name of my LORD. The One who helped me kill a Lion and Bear. And I am going to take him out.

Why? Move, Mountain Move, in the Name of Jesus – Amen.

Saul said, wait a Minute! I see you only have a staff in your hand. Look, you need an armour.

Now watch this: Saul is disturbed because David is a small boy. He tried to put his own armour on the boy. But David couldn’t walk in them. He said to the King: Sir, with all due respect, I cannot use your armour.

Why? Because I have only one armour! One armour on Sunday and the other days of the week. I don’t have two (2) armours.

So, I will wear the Armour of God, like Ephesians 6:11 says: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Saul said, okay! May God be with you.

Watch this: Saul said, “May God be with you.”

Why? Because God had left Saul.

David said, Yes Sir! I am going.

So David went to the battlefield with just a little staff in his hand.

He went to the brook where the Soldiers were hiding. And he took five (5) smooth stones, put them in his Shepherd bag and then he went to confront Goliath.

Somebody may say: “Why did he take five (5) stones?

Some Preachers say it’s so that if he missed one, he would use the next – That is nonsense!

In 1 Samuel 21:15-22, the Bible says Goliath had four (4) brothers – So David was not an ignorant boy. He said, I will take you down; and I am going to take your four (4) brothers down also.

David said, I am going to take all of you down, that is why I am taking five (5) stones. Not that if the first stone fails I will use the next. No, “you all are going down!”

Here is Goliath, he saw David coming, he stood, saw himself Mighty. Hence, he made fun of David, intimidating him. He said, I asked for a Man to Challenge me. What are you doing here, little boy?

Hey boy, are you here to see me? Oh! You’ve got a stick in your hand. Do you think I am a dog?

David said, look here Mr. Man, dog or no dog: I have killed a Lion and a Bear and a dog is no Problem.

Now, most of us just read this Story, we have forgotten this part.

But guess what? Here is a Goliath, just smiling, and the little boy took him down!

Listen, I am going to Prove it to you: Goliath sat down, he said, “Get out of here boy. I don’t have time to waste on you.”

We saw that later on in 1 Samuel 17:48; And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the Army to meet the Philistine.

The Bible says Goliath rose when David started Challenging him.

Move, Mountain Move!

So Goliath was sitting down.

In our Church, I always give Five (5) Points to every Sermon I Preach.

What did I say at the beginning?

• Faith should be in your Heart, which should also be right towards God.
• And then use your mouth to speak the Word of God, which is a two-edged sword:

I. One edge: when God speaks.

II. The second edge: when you speak the same thing.

… That’s when it becomes a two-edged sword.

THE FIVE (5) CONFESSIONS OF DAVID.

Let me talk about the five (5) Confessions David made:

The moment Goliath said: “Boy, get away from here, else I am going to kill you today. I curse you in the name of my gods (idols).”

Here are David’s Responses: His heart was filled with the Word of God, hence he wrote in Psalms 119:11 – Thy Word have I hid in mine Heart, that I might not sin against thee.

I have kept Your Word in my Heart that I might not sin against You. I stay with You, my LORD and my GOD.

He said, Goliath, you come to me in the name of all these dumb idols (God’s);

1. “I come to you in the Name of the True and Living God.”

I come to you, not in my Strength, but in the Name of Jesus – the Almighty God.

2. Then he said, “I am going to kill you.”

Wait a Minute! Goliath is standing there – a 9-feet tall guy. Weighing close to 600 Pounds without his armour. And there is an Armour Bearer, carrying a big shield in front of him.

Yet David said, “I am going to kill you” – Move, Mountain Move!

You don’t talk about how big the Mountain is; you talk to the Mountain about how big your God is.

That was the Problem with King Saul and his Army. They were saying; “the Man is so big, we can do nothing to him.”

While David said, yes he is big, I can just close my eyes; with my sling I’ll shoot at him and I will not miss him.

• I come to you in the Name of the Lord.
• I will kill you today.

1. “I will take your head off.

With what? David did not even have a sword in his hand. But he had the Sword in his mouth – Move, Mountain Move!

With the Heart you believe; with the mouth you speak (DMC NOTES: Romans 10:10)

“Today, I come to you in the Name is the Lord; Today, I will kill you; Today, I will take your head off.”

4. And I will feed all the birds of the air with your flesh.

Not only with your own flesh; but all of you are going down today.

The Greatest Confession of all is: Today, I come to you in the Name of the LORD.

• I come to you in the Name of the Lord;
• I will kill you
• I will take your head off.
• I will feed you and your Army to the birds and the beast of the field.

1. That all of you will know there is a GOD.

I come because there is a Need!

Remember, at the beginning David said: “Is there not a cause?” This guy is defiling the Army of the Lord – It is about God’s Name, His Glory, His Honour, His Reputation.

And as long as nobody is ready to do that, I am going to do it alone.

So let’s bring our Teaching today to a Conclusion:

Now watch this: Goliath is sitting down, saying “I am not going to waste my time with this little boy.”

As soon as David ran towards him, he is standing up now.

David took one stone, put it in his sling; that stone went out like a bullett, hit Goliaths right on the forehead, and he fell.

The Mountain was moved by what was in David’s Heart and by what he said.

Listen to this: Don’t just defeat your Giant without killing him, and cutting his head off. Because if you only defeat him there is the Possibility he might get up again.

David said, “today I will kill you, and then I am going to cut your head off.”

David had no sword but he spoke the Word.

When he saw Goliath hit the Ground, he ran towards him – Isn’t that interesting?

What happened to the guy who was carrying a Shield in front of Goliath – His Armour Bearer to Protect him?

David bypassed him; took the sword of Goliath, cut his head off; brought the head with him back from the Mountain.

So, my Message to you today is:

• Use the Mountain as your Trophy.
• Use the Giant as your Trophy.

So David brought the head of Goliath with him, to let everybody know, “God fought my battles” because:

• He knows my Heart; and He showed Himself Strong because my Heart is toward Him alone.
• And that the Word of God is in my mouth always.

The Giant fell, David killed him and destroyed him, by cutting his head off.

Now, let me talk to you for a few minutes: Move, Mountain Move.

Onward Christian Soldier, any Mountain that stops you from marching forward, you’ve got to take it out.

The only way to take it out is that your Heart has to be filled with the Word of God.

And that your mouth speaks only the Word of God.

Like the Centurion said: “I am a Soldier, I am a Man under Authority.”

David was under the Authority of his father, under the Authority of King Saul and he did what needs to be done.

So, let me ask you a Question:

• What is your Giant?
• What is your Mountain?

Is there Guilt?

Are there Worries?

Is there Fear?

Is there Discouragement?

Are there Loneliness, Anger, Divisions, Doubts, Failures, Hurts, Pain?

What is your Giant?

What is your Mountain?

Let me Pray with you!

CLOSING PRAYER

Father Lord, we Thank You for the Revelation.

We were taught about the Story of David and Goliath but the Eternal Truth behind it is this:

We are all Commandoes for Christ – Onward Christian Soldier.

We want to move when You move; but there are things standing in our way.

So, as a Man of God, I Stretch my hand towards you:

Whatever your Mountain is, you have to keep the Word of God in your Heart.

Speak the Word of God – Command Mountains to move!

Amen!

And let me Conclude with this:

• Do not just defeat your Giant.
• Kill him and take his head off;
• And put the Trophy in your Tent.

You are a Christian Soldier, take the Trophy with you in your Tent.

May God Bless You – Amen!

Thank you so much for staying all through to read.

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