Righteous Invasion of Truth

Dr. Abel Damina: Glory! Glory, glory, glory. Glory to God. Are you excited this morning? Lift your right hands to heaven. Father, we rejoice that we have another opportunity to come before your holy, precious, written word.

Thank you that the mighty Holy Spirit lives on our inside. Revelation knowledge is gifted us this morning. The eyes of each one's understanding are flooded with light. Our minds are renewed by your word. Your people are equipped, built up, and edified, and we decree that Jesus is glorified.

Every sick body, we rebuke infirmity, oppression, pain, and discomfort. We command you to cease in the name of Jesus. God's healing power goes forth through the power of his word. He sent his word, his word healed them, and his word delivered them from all their destruction.

So as your word goes forth this morning, thank you that our bodies are corrected. We rejoice that by the end of this service, we will all be the better for it. In Jesus' name we pray, and every believer says a powerful amen.

Glory to God. Lift your right hands above your head. Let's release our faith together as we say these words: I am born of God. I am born of the word. The word of God is my nature. I do not struggle to do the word. I do the word naturally. Therefore today, I will understand the word of his grace. I will be built up. By the end of this service, I will never be the same. Never, ever be the same again. In Jesus' name, and every believer says a powerful amen.

Glory. Grab your pen, your notebook, and your Bible. You can be seated with your sweet, smart self this morning as we get into the word of his grace. Glory. We are still examining the church of God in service.

We are looking at why you must be in a local church and be committed there. We are looking at what the scriptural reasons are for why I must belong to a local church. Sometimes in these little instructions and insights lies our spiritual growth or our Christian growth.

Why must I attend all services? Why must I attend service on Wednesday? Why must I attend service on Sunday? Why must I attend daily services in July, 30 days of glory? Why must I be here during homecoming and just be part of the fellowship throughout the week? Why must I be in church all the time?

For some of us, church is like an option because you are spiritually insensitive. You don't know what is going on. That is why this series is to enlighten and open you up to understand God's plan and purpose for the local church and for you in the local church. Matthew chapter 16, verse number 18.

Guest (Male): And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Dr. Abel Damina: I will build my church. The word "church" is the word "ecclesia." I will build my ecclesia. That is the Greek word for church. The word ecclesia means a coming together of people who are called out.

Then Jesus said to Peter, "Upon this rock." The word "rock" there is revelation. Which means you cannot have church without gathering. When the word church is used, a gathering is required because the word church means a coming together of people who are called out, the ecclesia.

When he says, "I will build my church," having defined what the word church is as ecclesia, it will be: I will build a coming together of the people I call out. I will build a coming together of the people I called out, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. In Ephesians chapter one, Brother Paul lets us know what the church is. Ephesians chapter one, from verse 17 to 21.

Guest (Male): That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.

Dr. Abel Damina: To the church. What is the church? Next verse.

Guest (Male): Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

Dr. Abel Damina: So the church is called the body of Christ. The church is the body of Christ. He is given to be head over all things to the church, which is his body. The church is the body of Christ. That is a very important term. It means that Christ and the church are one.

Christ and the church are one. Calling the church the body of Christ is identification language. It means Christ and the gathering are one. That is why Matthew chapter 18 says, "Where two or three are gathered together." Did you see the double use of the word there? Gathered together. Emphasis.

"I am there in their midst." Where two or three are gathered together, I am there in their midst. That is the church. We understand that the church refers to people gathered together. That is what it is. The church is people gathered together.

It means that the church and Jesus are one. My identification with the church is my identification with Jesus. I cannot say I identify with Jesus and I don't identify with his body. Ephesians chapter 3, verse 14 calls it a family. "I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named."

The church is called a family. In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 18 and 19, the church is called the household of God. "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God."

In Galatians chapter 6, verse 10, it is called the household of faith. "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." The church is actually a family.

The church is a family because we have one heritage, one Father, one Lord, one baptism, one Spirit, and one faith. That is what Ephesians chapter 4, verses 4 and 5 says. The church is one body. The church of Jesus Christ is one family.

If the word church is ecclesia, which means a gathering of people, that means when we come together like this, like we have come this morning, that is actually the demonstration of our identification with Christ. This gathering this morning is our practical demonstration of our identification with Christ.

You came here this morning in spite of the rain and in spite of the discomfort because you know that the body cannot be separated from the head. Where the head is is where the body is. Where two or three are gathered, I am there. So I am part of that body. I cannot afford to be absent where my Father and the siblings are gathered.

Our coming this morning to church is our identification with Jesus Christ. I was just commending Jesimiel, my daughter, in the car this morning. This morning she woke up and she sent us a chat. She just came in late last night, so she said, "This morning I don't feel like being in church physically, but I will be following online, maybe join the second service or so."

Before I got down, she was ready and in the car. I said, "You know you're a Christian, you're a child of God. You cannot be where the church is not." Even in America, when they were in school, she's the one that would wake everybody up. "We have to be in church this morning. Mommy, daddy, everybody get ready. We have to be in church. We cannot afford to be late to church."

I said to her it is because she is a child of God. Children of God want to be in the church. They love the church. I didn't hear a good amen. When you go to a country, the first thing you are looking for is not an eatery, it is: Where is the church? Where can I worship? Where are my brethren in this city? Where are my siblings in this community?

I love the church. I love the church of God. I love the people of God. Glory to God. I'm teaching good this morning. Our coming this morning here is our demonstration of our identification with Christ. You cannot claim to be a Christian and you do not gather in a church.

What kind of Christian are you? That is an impossible definition of Christianity because you cannot have Christianity without the gathering. The gathering is the church. The gathering is the church. Again, the gathering is the church, or what we call ecclesia.

The word ecclesia refers to three things. Number one: a people. Number two: gatherings and the assembly of these people. Number three: those who are called out. That is the ecclesia, those who are called out. First of all, we are called out, that is, we are saved.

In 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 10, we are called out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. That is the church.

In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 to 6, we are called out of the world, quickened together, raised together, made to sit together in the heavenlies. It is very clear that we are now new creatures. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17. We are born of God. We have overcome the world. 1 John chapter 5, verse 4.

Having said that, the church is the gathering of these people, the assembly of these people. We cannot have church without gatherings. In 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 15, Guest.

Guest (Male): But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Dr. Abel Damina: The church of God is the house of God. That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth. That you may know how you ought to behave.

What is the house of God? The house of God is the gathering. When we come together. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 16, it is called the temple of God. Know ye not that your body is the temple of God? In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 21 to 22.

Guest (Male): In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Dr. Abel Damina: Builded together for a habitation of God. Together means you and I. You and I make us together. So we are together. We together form the house of God. You cannot have the house of God alone. The house of God must be with people.

All of us together form the house of God. The church is with people. We said it last week that Brother Paul had four major teachings. Number one: Soteriology, the study of salvation, where he said to Timothy that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:15.

Peter said the same about Brother Paul in 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 15. He said we know Brother Paul, how that it was given to him an insight concerning the long-suffering of God, which is salvation. So Paul's doctrine was salvation. In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8, he says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."

So Brother Paul's doctrine was soteriology. Then we also said that Brother Paul's doctrine was pneumatology, the study of the spirit. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 1, "Concerning spirituals, brethren, I would not have you ignorant." Brother Paul talked about the Spirit and he talked about God.

Then he taught about eschatology, the study of the last days. Then the fourth major teaching of Brother Paul was ecclesiology, and he was major on ecclesiology. Brother Paul taught a lot on the church, I mean the gathering.

It is not just who we are in Christ, what we have in Christ; he majored on who we belong to, how we belong to one another, and how together we form the church. Brother Paul taught that throughout his epistles, and I will take you through some. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7.

Guest (Male): But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

Dr. Abel Damina: Given to every man to profit withal. He taught exhaustively on the church. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 12, 13, and 14.

Guest (Male): For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.

Dr. Abel Damina: The body is not one member, but many. He is telling you that Christ has members. So if you are born again, you are born into a family. Please write that down. Salvation is into a family. You cannot say or lay claim to salvation while you reject relationship with the body.

The body of Christ refers to the gathering of believers. Read for me again that 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 27.

Guest (Male): Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Dr. Abel Damina: You are the body of Christ and members in particular. In Romans chapter 12, he writes about the church, Romans 12:4 and 5. So it was a major doctrine of Paul, ecclesiology. He taught a lot about the church.

In Galatians 6:10, where we read this morning, he called it the household of faith or the household of believers, the family of faith. That is why in Galatians chapter 6, verse 1, he says, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye who are spiritual restore such a one." He is talking about the church, the gathering, the brethren. "Restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

You can't be restored if you don't have people whom you relate with. It is that relationship that we find in the church that people are restored to. Many Christians suffer in their Christian walk because they have not identified with those people who can help them when they have challenges.

They just isolate themselves, and the Bible says he that isolates himself rages against all judgment. The Bible says woe to him that is alone. It is not good for a man to be alone. He brings the solitary into families. Salvation is a birth into the family of God, the physical family of God.

Many Christians don't maximize the call of God upon their lives because they refuse to situate themselves in the center of God's plan for their lives, which is the family, the gathering in the local assembly. You see, you need to be identified with the gathering of believers.

We saw that in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 21 to 23, that the church is the body of Christ. We saw that in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 18 to 19, where Brother Paul is teaching about the household of God. We saw in Ephesians 3:14, he calls the church the family of God.

In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 4 to 5, he says one spirit, one faith, one Father, one family. In verse 11, he begins to talk about how he gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, in view of the work of ministry, that the body of Christ may be edified. So he talks about the church. Brother Paul majors on gatherings.

Brother Paul's doctrine on the gatherings is very strong. Look at Colossians chapter 1, verse 2.

Guest (Male): To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Dr. Abel Damina: To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse. All Paul's letters were directed to the gatherings. If you were not gathering with anybody, you wouldn't have had access to the information that they had. You wouldn't have been taught the word of God. You wouldn't even be able to grow spiritually if you are not in the gatherings.

Are you growing by cooking in your kitchen alone, or are you growing by ironing your clothes? Spiritual growth will be experienced in the gathering of the saints. That is the atmosphere for growth. That is the environment for spiritual growth. Look at Philippians chapter 4, verse 15.

Guest (Male): Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

Dr. Abel Damina: So there were churches. No gathering communicated with me concerning giving and receiving. Which means there were different gatherings across the nations. So the church of Jesus Christ is a major concept of Christianity.

It is not just like a hobby, where you choose what you believe. It is actually part of your Christianity. It is not just an option to belong to the church. It is not just an option to come physically to a building on a Sunday morning and join the brethren.

I have told you there is nothing like church online. If you are online, you are not in church. Online is an emergency fix for people that had situations that did not allow them to be around a locality where there is a physical gathering for them to identify with.

Then we allow them to be online because they are part of this body, and when they finally are around, they are back to physical fellowship, or in the process of time, they mature where they also can provide oversight for others to grow spiritually. Online is not a substitute for the local assembly. It is actually one of the instruments that will help you to identify with a local assembly.

I am teaching good this morning. So when people say they don't go to church or they don't belong to a church, you just know that they are not Christians. Christianity has the local church as a major concept. It is not just like a hobby. Church is part of your faith. It is part of your Christianity.

You couldn't have had Christianity without the church. It is as important as any other issue in scripture. Look at the letters Brother Paul wrote. First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus. In First and Second Timothy, he was writing to a pastor concerning the church. In Titus, he was writing to a pastor concerning the church. Philemon, he was writing to a brother who had charity and love for the church.

Galatians, a letter to the church. Romans, a letter to the church. Corinthians, first and second, a letter to the church. Ephesians, a letter to the church. Colossians, a letter to the church. Thessalonians, a letter to the church. Even the book of Revelation is a letter to seven churches in Asia Minor.

Which means the context in which you will understand those books is by being a member of a local church. If you are not a member of a local church, you can never understand those books because those books are written to a people that are in the gathering. They are not written to freelance believers. They are not written to mosquito Christians. You know mosquito Christians, right? Who bite everywhere. They bite any and everybody.

They will bite people with HIV and carry it and transfer it to another person that doesn't have it. I didn't say mosquitoes transmit HIV, but there is a tendency. So mind the mosquitoes. If they are very fat, don't allow them to bite you because they may be carrying something that is bigger than a mosquito.

Glory to God. I said glory to God. When people say Christianity is a personal thing, I laugh because Christianity is not a personal thing. When you get born again, it is personal, but once you are born again, it is no more personal. After you are born again, it now becomes a family thing.

Some people say, "I am accountable for what I do." No, sir. You are not accountable for what you do. The Bible teaches us that the church is accountable for you. The church becomes accountable for you. You are accountable to the church of Jesus, and while the church is accountable for you, the pastor and the leaders will give account for your life. Look at Hebrews chapter 13, verse 17.

Guest (Male): Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

Dr. Abel Damina: For they watch for your souls because they will give account. That means they are accountable for you. Your pastor is accountable for you. That is why you cannot just stand up and travel anyhow. You cannot just move around anyhow because somebody is accountable for you. Somebody is watching over you.

When you move anyhow, you make my accountability have problems. The Bible says you should make it easy for us so that we can be accountable for you with joy, so we can be happy to be accountable for you. You can't just afford to live anyhow. Join the church when you like, leave the church when you like. No, you are not behaving right. You are not behaving right.

Even people who leave churches to come to Power City, when they come and give me their reasons why they want to join Power City, I still tell them: Go back to your former pastor, thank him, appreciate him, and let him know where you are going. That man was accountable for you until you met me, and I wouldn't want somebody to treat me like that either.

There is a way to behave if you are a child of God. Children of God don't behave anyhow like rascals. No, we are cultured people. We are disciplined people. We are taught. We are taught the word of God. Amen. I said amen. People are going to be accountable for your life.

When we get to the judgment seat of Christ, Jesus will ask for lives he has given to us. He is going to ask you about people. He is not going to ask you about your career. Jesus is not going to ask you how many degrees you had. He is going to ask you about lives. What happened to your family? What happened to that brother that was under your oversight? What happened to that sister that you brought into the kingdom and began to disciple?

He is going to ask you because the church is a major thing in salvation. In 1 Peter chapter 1, Brother Peter spoke to the church. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 1.

Guest (Male): Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

Dr. Abel Damina: He is writing to all the strangers scattered throughout. Then the church is in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. All those are churches. To know that they are churches, look at 1 Peter chapter 5, verses 1 to 3.

Guest (Male): The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind.

Dr. Abel Damina: So these people scattered abroad, and he mentioned the cities where the churches were. Remember, it is one letter. He now said to them, "Feed the flock of God which is among you," because that letter was written to pastors in the churches. Flock of God. You can't find anybody in the New Testament not write about the church. Look at 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 17.

Guest (Male): Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Dr. Abel Damina: Love the brotherhood. Love the brotherhood. Who are the brotherhood? The church. You must love the church. In James chapter 2, he writes about our conduct in church, that when we come to church, we should not segregate between the rich and the poor. The rich people are given a particular section, while the poor people are put somewhere under the gallery.

I am not talking about you here now. Well, if you are under the gallery, it is your choice. James says that is not supposed to be the church of God. The church of God has no rich and poor. We are all rich in Christ.

So when you come to the church of God, remove your regalia of societal class. Drop it at the gate. Come in as one washed by the blood of Jesus. Come into your family. Then when you are going, you can collect your garment on the gate and wear and continue to be who you are in the society. But in the church, we are all bonded by the blood of Jesus, and all of us were purchased with the same price. Glory to God. I say glory to God.

Then in James chapter 5, he now begins to talk about conduct in the church. He says, "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church." So if you are not in the church, which elder will you call? James is also talking about the gathering. He is talking about the ecclesia.

When you see a Christian get into trouble and nobody is there with him, he was not behaving right in the church. When a brother is in trouble and nobody checks on him, nobody looks for him, when he was also healthy, he didn't behave right. There is no way you will have behaved right with brethren in the assembly that they will not look for you when you need them.

There is no way. He that wants friends must show himself friendly. There are some of you in this church, back in the days when we used to do weddings on Saturday. The reason why I moved weddings from Saturday to Sunday, the reason is because some weddings, when we come on Saturday, only the man, his wife, the father, and the mother and a few village people that came from his village and we on the pulpit. Finished. That is all you have inside here.

He will be feeling like this church doesn't like him. But it is the way he behaved that nobody came. Then some people, on their wedding, the church is packed to the outside. No way to gather people because they have good interpersonal relationships with people. When you relate with people, the seeds you sow will prepare the harvest you will have.

To some of you that are feeling too much, you are feeling too much. One day is coming when you will feel very, very small, not just small, tiny. That day is coming because everybody in life will need people. Nobody dropped from a tree. We all came through families. Whether you know your father and mother or not, there was a father and a mother, and there was a family where you were born into.

Whether you know them or not, nobody just appeared. That is why children cannot be produced until two people. So two, husband and wife, and the third being the child, I am there in their midst. I am teaching good this morning. That is why a man that cannot take care of his family cannot take care of the church of God, because pastoring begins with you and your wife and your child. That is where you start pastoring from.

God is a family man. God loves families. I am teaching good this morning. Let him call for the elders of his own church and let them pray over him. Remember, the church in Philippi were committed to the needs of Brother Paul. We saw that in Philippians 4:15. Just like the woman who broke her alabaster box.

If you're not committed to your church, there's a level of commitment you will have to use in the local church. She broke her alabaster box and poured the oil on Jesus in worship, genuine service. Jesus said anywhere they preach the gospel, her name will be mentioned because she has given of her resources. She has given of her treasure.

She has poured it. She has prized my body better than her treasures. She has prized my death, burial, and resurrection better than her treasures, and anywhere the gospel of my resurrection is preached, her name will be mentioned for a memorial. Are we not mentioning her this morning? Yeah.

So your commitment will bring you a harvest of commitment. Your commitment in the local church will bring you a harvest of commitment. We have people who are very committed in church, and they get commitment from us naturally. Some people, no commitment. They come in like strangers. Four years you are in church, you are still a stranger. Isn't something fundamentally wrong with you?

Even three months in a church, you shouldn't still be a stranger. You should have acclimatized and you should mix and mingle with the brethren. Glory to God. Because the church is a family, and when you are in a family, you need to show faith and commitment. In Jude verse 3, he said contend earnestly for the faith that was once delivered. So if we're going to contend, it means it is a collective work.

In 3 John, Brother John writes concerning Gaius in the church. You need to belong and you need to be committed to the local church. Attending services, attending services, being in all the meetings, being in programs, and being in all the services. The church is a gathering where you must belong.

If you are spirit-filled, you will give radically to your local church. I am talking about money now. You will give radically to your local church if you are spirit-filled. If you are spirit-filled, you will be submitted to your local church. You will invest time, money, and resources into your local church if you are spirit-filled.

Your level of giving is your level of commitment. Your level of giving is your level of commitment. Please, that's very important. Your level of giving is your level of commitment. Because Jesus said where your treasure is, there your heart is. Where your treasure is, there your heart is.

Your treasure includes your money, your resources, your time, and your precious things. If you cannot commit them for other lives, then you are a hypocrite in worship. If you cannot commit your treasure for other lives to be affected, then you are a hypocrite in worship.

If you cannot give precious things, that means you're not serving with all your heart. If you cannot give your money, and I am talking about very important money to you, money that means a lot to you, money that you are planning for something important, yet when you see a need in the local church, you give it. Not because you have too much, but because you prize what Jesus has done more importantly than what you want to do for yourself.

In the kingdom, we don't give because we have too much. In the kingdom, we give because kingdom giving is a priority in our lives, because we know what the kingdom has done in our hearts. I am teaching good this morning. And that's what the church is about.

Ecclesiology is the study of Christian relationships founded on the local church. Ecclesiology is the study of relationships, Christian relationships founded on the local church. You can't just be hanging around the church wall. No, sir. You have to belong and you have to be committed to a local church.

In Acts chapter 4, it says they went to their own company. You will always need people you can call or who can call for your help. You will always need people. The richest man on earth is a man that has people. The richest man on earth is a man that has people.

When you have people and those people are your people, they and all that they have are yours. That is the richest man on the planet, a man that has people. Ask yourself this morning as you're sitting down here, if I shout now for help, how many people can immediately come to my aid? If there is nobody, you're living a bad life, a very bad life.

You must be somebody that if you just complain headache, half of the world will gather in your house. Just headache, because you're a blessing to people. People can't afford to hear that something is wrong with you. They will show up unless they didn't hear. They will show up.

But there are people for whom nobody shows up. Even when they roll on the floor and cry, nobody shows up. Even when the neighbor shows up, it's to call the police to come with their pickup and carry them so it can be a government problem. You're not living a good life. Living on earth requires knowledge. Living on earth requires wisdom. Otherwise, you will go through this earth with regrets. There is wisdom to live on earth and live well and live happy.

So when you are in the church, be committed. When you need help, you will see how people will show up because you have relationships you have built over time. Building relationship is expensive. Building relationship is like building a business. There will be a lot of investment, a lot of investment, and a lot of investment.

But after a while, you have a lot of lines of investment in people's lives. You can pull on any line to supply the help you need. I can never be stranded anywhere in the world because I have relationships, relationships with people I have affected radically all over the world. Anywhere in the world.

All I need to do is just raise my voice and say, "Glory!" and you see four or five people coming. "I am hungry, I want to eat." They will give me money. That's how you build relationships in life. That's how you build relationships in life. You can't afford not to be someone who invests in people and affects people and has relationships all over your life. I am teaching good this morning.

A millionaire is not one that has millions. A millionaire is one who has affected millions of people. A millionaire is not an accumulation of money. A true millionaire is one whose life has affected millions of people. He may not have anything in his account, but when he needs it, it will show.

You will always need relationships. Write that in capital letters. You will always need relationships. You will always need relationships. Nobody can survive without the local church. We must know the urgent importance of these Christian relationships. We must understand the urgent importance of these Christian relationships that are founded on the local church.

All my major relationships are built in the church, all through my lifetime. I have no serious relationships outside the local church. I don't keep friends who are not Christians. I don't. I do not keep close friends who are not committed to the local church. I do not keep serious friends who are not involved in the work of ministry.

No, now what are we discussing? What are we going to discuss? It has to be ministry-related, kingdom-related. It's been my way of life. It's been my way of life. Me and Mama got married because we were hanging out to do ministry together. It was in the course of ministry that I noticed her. I didn't have to be looking around, thinking which sister will I marry? No, you don't marry like that.

It is people you're involved with in doing life together. It's in the camp of that that you pick a husband or you pick a wife, because you know that two of you are already finding excitement and joy in doing it, so doing life together will be a continuation. It will not be that you came into obstructing my life. No.

This is what we've been doing all our lives before we even knew marriage. I didn't get close to Mama to marry her. That was far from my mind. I wasn't thinking marriage. We were just thinking ministry. We will fast and pray from morning till evening, then we will go for crusade, and we will go for all-night meetings.

We will meet, I remember one time we went after all the preachings and everything, and Mama slept while we were all praying. She's laughing because I'm sure she remembers. She was so tired in the night because we would do all day, then we would come and do all night. We used to work like Jacky all day. The way you see me working is not today, it is a regiment.

We will do all-day ministry, and then we will come and pray all night. So one of those all-night prayers, we were busy praying all over, Mama got tired and sat down in one corner and slept, and we allowed her to sleep because she's a woman, and we're men. We were Jackying. Then after all the prayers, she now opened her eyes and said, "I have a vision."

I just shook my head. Oh Lord Jesus. And one of the men we were praying for was standing there when Mama said, "I have a vision." I'm like: You just woke up from sleep. So tell us your vision. As she was saying the vision, the man said, "Correct, correct, exactly. That is exactly how it is." So I said this vision is from heaven.

I mean, she told the man everything about his life, and the man was confirming everything and she never knew that man before. So while she was resting in Jesus, she saw a vision. We who were praying saw nothing. She has the gift of vision. If Mama decides to see a vision on you, she will see a correct, accurate vision. I'm not joking. A serious gift of visions.

If you want vision, just look for Mama. Sow seed, let her touch you small, you start seeing. After all, I said to her, all of us gathered said, "You, you dey sleep you dey see vision. We wey dey pray we no dey see vision." She started laughing. She said, "No, I'm serious, I just saw a vision." I said, "No, it's correct. You saw the man, the man's problem has been solved for life."

So what I'm saying is that all my relationships were built in the church. I don't have any serious relationship outside ministry and outside the kingdom of God. I don't. I do not keep close friends who are not committed to the local church or involved in the work of ministry, because the church is my family. I have no dual identity. I just have one identity: I'm a Christian. In and out, I'm a Christian. I can't pretend to be otherwise.

And we said it very clearly last week, right? Hello, why are you looking at me like that? Are you in the house? Are you getting blessed? Glory to God. Commitment to the local church destroys selfishness. We said that last week. Many of you not committed to Power City are just selfish and self-centered. Many of you who are not committed to Power City are just selfish and self-centered.

That's why when it comes to praying, serving, or attending the house church, your answer is no. You don't come early to church to help us set the place because you're just a selfish person. There are people who came to church this morning at 5:00 AM, cleaned everywhere, set up everywhere, and they are even now in church with us. But some of us, even coming by the time service is starting, you still have a reason to be late. That's how selfish you are.

If everybody were like you, there would be no church because you're only thinking about yourself. It's funny how you sit and others minister to you in praise and worship. You sit on the chairs that others committed their resources to buy. You enjoy teaching on platforms that others paid for with no value added from you for others.

It's so funny. You read what others wrote and you're edified, and you do nothing to edify others. You're just a selfish, self-centered person. I'm waiting so it will sink. We've said commitment to the local church destroys selfishness. It destroys what? Selfishness. You know, selfishness is the opposite of sacrifice. Selfishness is the opposite of sacrifice.

Jesus died because of sacrifice. 1 John chapter 3, verse 16.

Guest (Male): Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Dr. Abel Damina: We ought to lay anyone who has benefited from the life of Christ ought to also lay down his own life for the brethren. We ought to. You see people complain about everything in church. They are just selfish people. "I don't like the way the light is. I don't like the way the chairs are. Did they see me very well? Who is supposed to?"

They complain about everything, meanwhile you yourself have added nothing. You've added nothing. You are just a selfish, self-centered person. They just want to live for themselves. But the Bible says we now live unto Jesus. We lay down our lives for others. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 15.

Guest (Male): And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Dr. Abel Damina: That we should henceforth live, that we should not henceforth live unto ourselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. Ask your neighbor: Are you selfish? Don't be afraid, ask your neighbor. Ask your neighbor again: Are you committed to the local church?

Commitment to the local church destroys selfishness. You want to spend your money on yourself, or you want to spend your money on somebody you want to get something from. So it's all about self, self, self. You don't want to spend your money on others. You don't want to use your time on others. Most times or most things you want to do, including prayer, is for you.

If the prayer is not for you, your voice is low. "Let's pray for the crusade in Ibiono." "Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I ask you if you like save them, if you don't like don't save them, that is your business." "Now pray for yourself that you have direction." "Father!" You are a selfish person. And that's why you don't come to prayer cruise, because prayer cruise has no selfish prayers. They are all kingdom-oriented prayers. Prayers for the kingdom, prayers for salvation, prayers for the pastor, prayers for our ministry, prayers for soul, and prayers for revelation knowledge. Kingdom.

The local church destroys the seed of selfishness. We will always need one another. Turn to your neighbor and say: I will always need you. We will always need one another. In Acts chapter 2, verse 44, as people were getting born again, look at the outcome of it.

Guest (Male): And all that believed were together, and had all things common.

Dr. Abel Damina: They had all things common. Look at the next verse.

Guest (Male): And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Dr. Abel Damina: They sold their properties and brought the money to the church for distribution. Don't allow the pressures of media and the things people say on social media and all the different media to kill your generosity. Don't allow it. Kill your generosity, kill your love for God's people, and kill your love for the church. Don't allow it.

Everything that this world creates has a touch of the spirit of this world with it. So you must be careful. They gave lands, they sold their lands, and they brought cash for the work of ministry. As you grow in the knowledge of Christ, remember, others will also need you.

You can't afford to remain a big baby in Christ. You are five years in Christ and you're still complaining, "Nobody visited me. Nobody visited me." Still carry your feeding bottle all over the place. We're trying to collect it for new babies in Christ. I like the way you laugh, bro. Let that laughter enter somebody.

In Acts chapter 2, they sold and brought things to the church. It's part of our salvation to love the brethren. The church of Jesus is communal. People want to be around you and you too need to be around people. In Ephesians chapter 1, verse 15.

Guest (Male): Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints.

Dr. Abel Damina: Your faith and your love unto all the saints. Colossians 1:4.

Guest (Male): Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints.

Dr. Abel Damina: Faith in Christ and love for all the saints. 1 John 3:14.

Guest (Male): We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

Dr. Abel Damina: We know we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother is still abiding in death. Say with me: I am passed from death to life because I love the brethren. So it is proof that you're a child of God when you show love to the church.

You cannot claim to love my head and hate my body. You can't love Jesus and hate his church. Jesus said whatever you did to the least of these brethren, you've done it for me. You say, "I have a strong prayer life," and you don't come to prayer cruise. Selfish.

The local church destroys selfishness. You must identify with God's children. That's why when people decide to study their Bible by themselves and browse the internet, they end up in crazy error. Crazy error. Because that's not how God's protocol is.

God's protocol, if you're writing, write this down: God's protocol is for you to find a local church and be committed there. Get a pastor, and the pastor will take you through spiritual discipleship. That is God's protocol. Local church, get a pastor, and the pastor takes you through spiritual discipleship.

You don't choose how to do it. You've got to believe the word of God and do the word. So let me ask that question that I asked last Sunday: Can I attend any gathering? No. It would be terrible if everybody in the body goes everywhere on Sunday morning.

Somebody said, "I will only attend a church close by." Really? How come your workplace is not at your backyard? How come your children's school is not on the street by your house? You don't want anyone to be responsible for your spiritual development. You're out of order. You travel far to get to work.

So it doesn't matter where the church is. They went to the bush to go and hear John the Baptist. They went to the wilderness to go and hear Jesus, including a boy who took a lunchbox. They traveled to go and hear Jesus. There are two critical reasons for finding a local church. Parameters that are very critical for you to employ in finding a local church.

So when I say you must belong to a local church, I am not saying stay in any local church. How do I know which local church God wants me to stay? There are two reasons. And you need to know what the conditions are for staying in a local assembly.

It's critical. Amen. I said it's critical. You must locate the conditions and you must know what they are. Belonging to a local assembly is of such great importance that that is the first thing you introduce somebody to after he receives Christ. It is not read your Bible and pray every day. It's that immediately you are born again, you need to come to church.

You take him to the church where you also have been built up. You don't tell him to find a Bible-believing church. Every church is a Bible-believing church. All of them, including Mormons, including wickedness, including all of them. They are all Bible-believing churches. Even a prayer house is a Bible-believing church because they have a Bible there and they believe the Bible.

So don't tell them to look for a Bible-believing church, because you didn't look for a Bible-believing church. You looked for a church where you will have sound teaching and grow. I am teaching good. Glory to God. What a series, man. When did we start this series? Was it January?

So since this year started, that's all you're hearing. It's good for your health. What else do you want to hear? My father, my father? Or my prophet, my prophet? No father, no feather. How to hire your boss and fire your boss? Zero to hero? Is that what you want to hear? The local church is God's idea. Glory to God.

Tell your neighbor: I am glad we belong to the same family. God called us out of darkness and brought us into his kingdom to serve his purpose. And it's just a joy that both of us are planted in this house. We will grow here. We will bear fruit here. We will raise people for the kingdom of God.

Tell your neighbor: They that are planted. How many of you have seen a planted tree moving around? Have you ever seen a planted tree moving around? They that are planted in the house of God, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. God put you in a local church to be planted. If you're not planted, you cannot flourish. You cannot bear fruit.

So God brought us here to be planted so we can bear fruit and serve his purpose. And the reason why God put you here to be planted is because this is where you belong for the rest of your life. This is where you belong.

In the next service, I'm going to talk about what to look for in identifying with a local church. What must be there if I must stay there? What must be in that church? On what condition should I leave a church? I'm going to show you all of that in the next service. On what conditions. And then I'm going to show you, when I am planted in a local church, am I supposed to be there until I die?

I'm going to show you with biblical examples in the next service. The next service is going to be very, very rekatobata. So you don't want to miss it. If you're not going to be physically here, follow on radio and follow online. But it's going to be quite some great service. Amen. Amen. Are you glad you belong to this family?

Well, stand on your feet. Walk to four or five people. Tell them: We're members of the same family. You're my brother, you're my sister, and I am glad we belong to the same blood, the same family, and the same spirit. Here in this house of the Great King, let's sing it, Power Voices! Oh, glory to God! I have found where I belong, I am a living stone. Go ahead and greet somebody. Tell them: I love you, and I am glad we're here to serve God and we're here to do life together in the kingdom. We're here to carry the mandate of God to the nations of the earth. Glory to God!

How many of you have been blessed in Power City? How many of you wouldn't have looked for anything else other than Power City? If you're here, go ahead and celebrate being in this church family! Are you guys ready? Let's do it, let's do it, let's do it! Glory! Make sure you put up the lyrics for us. Let's go! Glory to God!

Guest (Male): Here in this house of the great King

We've come together now to worship Him

This house is built on Christ the Rock

Cannot be shaken, cannot be shaken

Here in this house of the great King

We've come together now to worship Him

This house is built on Christ the Rock

Cannot be shaken, cannot be shaken

God is awesome in this place

We know, we know His presence we see

There is power, there is glory at the assembly

Of the Great King

God is awesome, He is so awesome

God is awesome, He is so awesome

God is awesome, He is so awesome

He's the Great King

I have found where I belong, I'm a living stone

In this house I will grow

I have found where I belong, I'm a living stone

In this house I will grow

There is power, there is glory at the assembly

Of the Great King.

Dr. Abel Damina: Glory! I have found where I belong. I am a living stone, and in this house, I will grow. Glory to God. Glory to God. Father, thank you that your word is life and your word is spirit and your word is building us up every day. Your word is equipping us to serve one another and to serve our world with the truth of the gospel.

So selfishness is dead in this house. Selflessness, sacrifice, and service become the order of the day. Christ died for us, not to live for ourselves, but to live for him who loved us and gave himself for us. Thank you, Lord, that grace abounds in this house. Needs are met supernaturally. Your power is in operation here.

And thank you that through this house the gospel is proclaimed more than ever before. Thank you that your people are willing in this day of your power. And we rejoice for the blessing, and we thank you for healing and miracles in this service. We give you praise. In Jesus' name we pray, and every believer says that amen on a note of finality. Go ahead and give the Lord the greatest celebration!

I said the greatest celebration! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Tell your neighbor you don't want to miss the next teaching: How to identify the right church and stay there, and on what condition you leave a church. That's very important. Glory to God.

Grab your honor offerings. Let's give this morning as we worship Jesus the risen Lord. Radio audience, for your offerings, you want to give and support what we do as a church, you want to support this vision and the mandate of God. Online, the banking details are scrolling. And on TV, the banking details are scrolling.

Everybody in the building, grab your offerings and lift them up in the campuses and all over. Let's lift our offerings up as we give. Father, we rejoice that this morning we have the singular honor of honoring you and worshipping you with our resources. We and our money and all that we have, we were delivered from darkness to serve you with everything.

Our money, our resources, our strength, and our capabilities are all to serve your purpose. So we rejoice that as we give this morning, our money and our resources are a sweet smell before you and they are enabling the advancement of the gospel like never before. Thank you for answered prayer. In Jesus' name we pray, and every believer says a powerful amen. Glory to God. Church, here, the baskets are before us. Hit the music, let's do it as we worship Jesus the risen Lord. Glory to God!

Oh my goodness, the word of God is life. The Bible tells us the entrance of God's word giveth light, and it giveth understanding to the simple. As you keep listening, the light of God's word rises out of the rightly divided word of truth, illuminates your mind, illuminates your heart, and brings you face to face with your realities in Christ Jesus.

In Ephesians chapter three, verse three, Brother Paul, speaking about the mystery of the Old Testament, says, "Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ." So there is a knowledge in the mystery of Christ. The word mystery is the word mysterion in the Greek. It means that which is concealed.

And then he says how that by revelation—the word revelation is the word apokalypsis, it means that which is revealed—the revelation of the scriptures unveils the mysteries. Revelation is the New Testament. Mystery is the Old Testament. But it will take reading and learning to come to a place of full understanding, precise and accurate knowledge.

Brother Daniel will say, "I understood by books." So there's a place of books in equipping you soundly with the message of Christ. Brother Paul will write to Timothy. He says to Timothy, "Till I come, give attendance to reading." Jesus, speaking to those Jews, says, "You do err because you know not the scriptures, nor the power of God."

Often times, Jesus will say to the Jews, "Have ye not read?" It is the word anaginosko in the Greek. It means: Are you reading and not paying attention? I want to quickly recommend for you a plethora of books I have written. They are written with an intent to bring you doctrinal clarity, answer your questions doctrinally, and bring you to a place of accurate understanding, a precise knowledge of Christ and you in Christ.

I want you to order those books today. The number and the list of books available will be read to you right now. And if you call today, we'll be glad to make sure you get a copy or more copies of the books so you can enrich your spiritual life and enrich your walk with God and build a quality relationship with Jesus Christ, where you are also able to teach others the same truths you have learned to liberate them and bring them to the fullness of God. Glory to God.

Guest (Male): Dr. Abel Damina has authored several insightful books that bring clarity to the foundational truths of Christianity. These include: Understanding the Spirit, Soul, and Body; Winning the War; Money with a Mission; Understanding Relationships, Marriage, and Family Life; Prayer That Works; Higher Life: Redeemed to Reign in Life; and The Priesthood of Jesus. To order, please call 240-367-6201 or email pciusregion@gmail.com.

We trust you've been blessed by today's message. For prayers, counseling, or to obtain the complete teachings and books, please call 404-789-7207, 404-670-2085, 404-453-5562, or 240-367-6201. We look forward to having you with us again tomorrow. Remain in his grace and be blessed.