SPEAKER_01: God is good and all the time and that is his nature.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Allow me to go straight to the reading of the word of God now that we are standing and we are reading from the book of Revelation, chapter 12, verse 7 to 11.
SPEAKER_01: It's projected in the NIV version, but allow me to read from the ASB version, the Africa Standard Bible, the Africa Study Bible.
SPEAKER_01: So verse 7, the Bible says, Then there was war in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels.
SPEAKER_01: And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: This great dragon, the ancient serpent, called the devil or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world, was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
SPEAKER_01: Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, It has come at last, salvation and power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ.
SPEAKER_01: For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth, the one who accuses them before our God day and night.
SPEAKER_01: And verse 11, and they have defeated him by the blood of the lamb and by their testimony.
SPEAKER_01: And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: We may have our seats in the presence of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: All the women in the house.
SPEAKER_01: Do we have women in the house?
SPEAKER_01: So the Sheikh Conference is coming Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
SPEAKER_01: I'm told there is a dinner on Friday.
SPEAKER_01: And then on Sunday, the climax is the Mother's Day.
SPEAKER_01: And I believe it's going to be a great time.
SPEAKER_01: And senior pastor said we'll be celebrating all the mothers, single mothers, double mothers.
SPEAKER_01: I've just borrowed from you.
SPEAKER_01: And so in Jesus' name, please, women, take note of that.
SPEAKER_01: There was also an announcement about membership.
SPEAKER_01: And the the the item on membership is whether you are a registered member of Parklands Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_01: Some of us have come to Parky for many years, and you have never been a registered member.
SPEAKER_01: There are many other things you've done.
SPEAKER_01: You were baptized here by immersion, you've done your wedding here, your children are dedicated here, you've been coming even for 20 years, but that still doesn't make you a member.
SPEAKER_01: You have to go through the membership process and get ratified.
SPEAKER_01: And so if you are the kind of person I'm talking to, we have the membership classes starting as soon as you have seen from the announcement.
SPEAKER_01: Kindly walk to the Connect Tent and register yourself.
SPEAKER_01: Which season are we in, church?
SPEAKER_01: These guys seem to know.
SPEAKER_01: Which season are we, church?
SPEAKER_01: We are in the season of Jubilee.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: And this is a very special season for us as Parklands Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_01: And there are a number of things that are already going on.
SPEAKER_01: One of the things that is going on is that we are mobilizing ourselves for prayer and we are plugging into the Jubilee anointing, the Jubilee season through prayer.
SPEAKER_01: And we don't want any of us to be left behind.
SPEAKER_01: And so we've started the Jubilee 24-hour prayer chain.
SPEAKER_01: And each one of us is invited to just pick an hour where you dedicate yourself to say, This particular hour is my Jubilee hour.
SPEAKER_01: It is my plug-in hour.
SPEAKER_01: And as you as we pray, we are going to plug into this great anointing.
SPEAKER_01: We've said it is a time of celebration, it is a time of consecration, and it is a time of connection.
SPEAKER_01: Celebrating the past, what the Lord has done over the five the past 50 years, consecrating ourselves, preparing ourselves, listening to the Lord, being ready, because there is a next phase, and we want to connect to that future through prayer.
SPEAKER_01: So if you haven't yet connected and picked an hour, register yourself.
SPEAKER_01: You can see the connect, the what are these things called?
SPEAKER_01: The QR codes that are hanging all over.
SPEAKER_01: You just need to scan and you will register.
SPEAKER_01: We also have a jubilee tent outside.
SPEAKER_01: Please, you can also walk there and you know register.
SPEAKER_01: We will be calling upon us to participate actively.
SPEAKER_01: We want every individual to participate.
SPEAKER_01: You can participate through your talents.
SPEAKER_01: We have those seven areas that have been mentioned that we need your expertise.
SPEAKER_01: Bring in your talent, your expertise as we prepare and as we plan for this conference.
SPEAKER_01: You can also give your time.
SPEAKER_01: We have teams that are meeting different hours, different times, and putting in a lot of hours just to prepare for this season.
SPEAKER_01: And so you can donate your time, but you can also donate your treasure.
SPEAKER_01: This will require financial resources.
SPEAKER_01: And so we are inviting each one of us that the resources that we require, they are in your pockets, even right now.
SPEAKER_01: They are in your wallets, they are in your bank accounts, and the Lord is calling them forth in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Now, as I shift to the word of God, allow me to also bring greetings from my kate.
SPEAKER_01: She's been away for some time, attending to her sister in um uh South Africa.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we are expecting her tomorrow, and we thank God she sent greetings and and says, Greet the church.
SPEAKER_01: You receive her greetings.
SPEAKER_01: I know she's also following this service online, the overcoming testimony.
SPEAKER_01: This this is the title that I'll be addressing this afternoon: The Overcoming Testimony.
SPEAKER_01: This month is the month of liberating power of confession, testimony connected, and I just want to zoom in on that aspect of testimony by speaking to us this afternoon on the subject the overcoming testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Bless you.
SPEAKER_01: Now, when you go to the legal fraternity in the legal world, and thank you for that reminder because this afternoon, as I continue preaching, time and again, I have decided that I will be coughing.
SPEAKER_01: So when I cough, just excuse me, and then we continue with a sermon.
SPEAKER_01: Amen?
SPEAKER_01: Now, when you go to the legal world and especially on matters court, one of the tools that our learned friends, the legal minds, advocates, and lawyers, when they come to the courtroom, one of the tools they depend on to win their cases is the testimony that their witnesses carry.
SPEAKER_01: And so that testimony is very important for the advocate.
SPEAKER_01: Whether he's representing the plaintiff or whether he's representing the defendant, their testimony, the quality of their testimony, to a large extent determines whether or not they stand a chance to win that case.
SPEAKER_01: And therefore, what are the qualities of a good testimony?
SPEAKER_01: I am not speaking this from an expert point of view because I know we have quite a number of learned friends in the house and they can easily poke my statements, but I want to base it on my observations.
SPEAKER_01: What will die if I were to be a lawyer consider a solid testimony to depend on for winning a case?
SPEAKER_01: Three characteristics.
SPEAKER_01: One, it must be grounded on in facts.
SPEAKER_01: It must be grounded in facts that whatever the witness is saying is not out of imagination.
SPEAKER_01: They are not chasing non-existent goose, geese, and wild rats and all that, but they have a testimony that is based on facts.
SPEAKER_01: These facts must be solid facts.
SPEAKER_01: These facts must be accurate in every way.
SPEAKER_01: Any slight inaccuracy in those facts, they are going to be celebrated by the other lawyer because he's going to poke holes based on any slight inaccuracy and capitalize on that inaccuracy.
SPEAKER_01: It can be just as small inaccuracy as he was wearing a dark blue shirt.
SPEAKER_01: So you said it was dark blue.
SPEAKER_01: And they will start by asking you, did you say that it was dark blue?
SPEAKER_01: Yes, it was dark blue, but I think it was somehow blackish.
SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01: Then you say, you know, dark blue and black area no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: Did you say it was dark blue?
SPEAKER_01: That small item can be capitalized upon.
SPEAKER_01: And so it must be verifiable, it must be beyond reasonable doubt.
SPEAKER_01: But the second quality is that it must be consistent.
SPEAKER_01: Whether the circumstances change that testimony to be one that can be relied upon, it must be consistent.
SPEAKER_01: And so during cross-examination, then a lawyer or an advocate will ask, you say this.
SPEAKER_01: But now you are saying this.
SPEAKER_01: Now the moment they establish that your testimony is inconsistent, then it becomes a very weak testimony, even if it is founded on facts.
SPEAKER_01: But not only must it be grounded in facts or consistent, but also the witness must be a credible witness, must be a witness who is confident, must be a witness with clarity, must not be a hostile witness, must be a cooperative witness.
SPEAKER_01: And so the quality, the credibility of the witness is also part of the characteristics of a good testimony that can be relied upon in a court to win a case.
SPEAKER_01: Brothers and sisters, I submit to us this morning that we have two kinds of believers.
SPEAKER_01: We have believers who seem to be overwhelmed by life, and we have believers who seem to be overcoming in life.
SPEAKER_01: When you meet these believers, some are overwhelmed by the circumstances and the issues of life, but there are some within the same circumstances and issues, they seem to be overcoming daily.
SPEAKER_01: The difference is not that both of them are not going through difficult situations, the difference is not the absence of battles, the difference is not the absence of the challenges and temptations that come with the world.
SPEAKER_01: Brothers and sisters, the difference is in the quality of their testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Is it grounded in facts?
SPEAKER_01: Is it consistent?
SPEAKER_01: Are they, as believers, credible witnesses?
SPEAKER_01: The passage that we read this afternoon, of course, many times when people read the book of Revelation, they are faced with these imageries and and things that are mentioned there.
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes we miss the very obvious that is on the surface, and we want to spend time digging to understand.
SPEAKER_01: So, what do the seven horns, the ten horns and the seven crowns and the seven heads mean?
SPEAKER_01: And and we waste a lot of time on that while there is a message that is very clear.
SPEAKER_01: When you read this passage that we just read, from verse 7, we are first of all told there was a war in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Tell your brother, sister, there was a war in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: That doesn't require interpretation.
SPEAKER_01: Kulikwa na vita, ma lumbano, ma pambano.
SPEAKER_01: There was a song we used to sing in crusades.
SPEAKER_01: Nimapambano Nashetan.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know why we used to sing that song, by the way.
SPEAKER_01: Was it even theologically correct?
SPEAKER_01: But we sang it, and people came to Christ because Nimapambano na.
SPEAKER_01: So there was Mapambano in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: There was a war.
SPEAKER_01: That's what the Bible tells us.
SPEAKER_01: And then goes on in verse 7 to say that this war was between two sets.
SPEAKER_01: One was Michael and his angels on one side, the parties to the war.
SPEAKER_01: And on the other side was what the Bible is calling the dragon and his angels.
SPEAKER_01: And goes ahead to tell us this dragon is the ancient serpent called the devil or Saturn.
SPEAKER_01: So we are very clear, this war is between Satan and Michael, and Satan has his angels, and Michael has his angels as well.
SPEAKER_01: And we are also told that on that day when there was this war that was witnessed by John, who was a credible witness.
SPEAKER_01: John tells us that Satan was defeated.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: Satan was defeated, he was beaten, 10-nil.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says in verse 8, the dragon lost the battle.
SPEAKER_01: Not only did he lose the battle, but he did not surrender like a gentleman.
SPEAKER_01: He was actually kicked out of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't surrender.
SPEAKER_01: He was kicked out of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: But we are also told that there was a proclamation.
SPEAKER_01: And this proclamation in verse 10 is that there has been salvation and power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of Christ, and that the accuser of brothers and sisters has been thrown down.
SPEAKER_01: It is very clear there was a proclamation.
SPEAKER_01: And verse 11, then we are also informed that brothers and sisters in Christ they overcame him, they triumphed over this Satan devil.
SPEAKER_01: They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Their testimony, the word of their testimony.
SPEAKER_01: There are three things that then I would like to bring to our attention that are the qualities of this overcoming testimony.
SPEAKER_01: And this testimony must be credible, as I said earlier.
SPEAKER_01: It must be one that is grounded in facts.
SPEAKER_01: It must be one that is consistent.
SPEAKER_01: And it must be one where we as the witnesses are credible witnesses.
SPEAKER_01: What testimony is this?
SPEAKER_01: This testimony is that it is one that is grounded in a permanent victory.
SPEAKER_01: It is one that is grounded in a proclaimed victory, and it is one that is grounded in a practical victory.
SPEAKER_01: Brothers and sisters, as we come to this court, this arena where we have an accuser, as we come to this arena where the enemy accuses us, we are not coming with a testimony that will win our case.
SPEAKER_01: We are not coming to place a testimony that is going at the end of the day to deliver a victory for us.
SPEAKER_01: We are coming with victory itself as our testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Our testimony is victory.
SPEAKER_01: And so even when the enemy is showing up in this court, he does not show up with confidence.
SPEAKER_01: Because our testimony is number one based on a permanent victory.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says, tells us in the verse 7 and 9, it is bringing it to our attention clearly that this is a defeat that cannot be reversed.
SPEAKER_01: The defeat that was accomplished during this war is a defeat that cannot be reversed.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says, not only was the enemy defeated, but he was also kicked out of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: He has got no access.
SPEAKER_01: He is completely finished.
SPEAKER_01: Because we know this was not a symbolic war, it was a real conflict.
SPEAKER_01: The dragon is not weakened, the dragon is not coming from a place of negotiation.
SPEAKER_01: The dragon or the enemy has completely been cast down.
SPEAKER_01: He has completely been removed.
SPEAKER_01: He is completely displaced.
SPEAKER_01: And so even when Satan shows up, because he is still the accuser of the brethren, he doesn't show up before the Lord with confidence.
SPEAKER_01: He shows up without confidence.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, he knows that even though I am coming to accuse these brothers and sisters, I already lost the battle.
SPEAKER_01: And so how does he show up?
SPEAKER_01: In the morning, I tried to demonstrate that he doesn't show up with confidence.
SPEAKER_01: When he shows up in the courtroom of God, the devil shows up without any confidence.
SPEAKER_01: He shows us off from a place of hiding.
SPEAKER_01: Hey God.
SPEAKER_01: And we remember in the book of Job, the Bible tells us that he appeared before the Lord, but he did not appear with confidence.
SPEAKER_01: And so God calls him out and says, Hey, you Satan, you are there.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I am here.
SPEAKER_01: And God is asking him, Did you consider my servant Job?
SPEAKER_01: He says, Yes, I have considered your servant Job.
SPEAKER_01: And what do you think about him?
SPEAKER_01: And he says, You know, he is only faithful because of the way you have put an edge around.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't have the confidence to show up.
SPEAKER_01: The devil does not show up with confidence.
SPEAKER_01: He may show up with an accusation, but he has got no confidence.
SPEAKER_01: He is hiding.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know whether I sounded like the devil.
SPEAKER_01: He hides.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't show up before God to accuse the saints with confidence.
SPEAKER_01: And therefore, we cannot flee regardless of his accusation.
SPEAKER_01: We tell him, devil, bring your waste.
SPEAKER_01: Bring your waste.
SPEAKER_01: Because your waste cannot match the blood of the lamb.
SPEAKER_01: It could be your worsts in as far as sickness is concerned.
SPEAKER_01: There is no sickness that can match the blood of the lamb.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that by the stripes of Jesus Christ we were healed.
SPEAKER_01: I walk in healing.
SPEAKER_01: I am a healed person.
SPEAKER_01: I may have a cough, but I am healed.
SPEAKER_01: Because that cough was already taken care of.
SPEAKER_01: It is this small accusations that the enemy will do, will make.
SPEAKER_01: But in fact, even when the enemy decides to do his worst, which is basically saying, okay, take his life.
SPEAKER_01: He takes my life.
SPEAKER_01: And then God shows up and says, Oh, precious in my sight is the death of this saint.
SPEAKER_01: And so I show up in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: No accusation.
SPEAKER_01: Because he has no place to accuse me.
SPEAKER_01: That even in death, my testimony is a banner of victory.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: Somebody.
SPEAKER_01: You know, you know, you know, our I almost say dawah, but you will get it as we go.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: Some somehow we we we bury people at Langata, our family.
SPEAKER_01: Normally, I have not seen somebody who is buried anywhere.
SPEAKER_01: We bury people at Langata.
SPEAKER_01: So most likely.
SPEAKER_01: That's where they'll take me when that time comes.
SPEAKER_01: It is not coming soon, so stop looking at me like that.
SPEAKER_01: Tuko happa na nyini.
SPEAKER_01: Miyakamingi.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so so so it will be unfortunate.
SPEAKER_01: I hear in Langata we improvise, and you can you can be you.
SPEAKER_01: Can be on third floor.
SPEAKER_01: So kuna you leak the first floor, who ko chiligabsa?
SPEAKER_01: Kuna mutu ako second, kuna third, eh?
SPEAKER_01: Alright, so woe unto you if you will be on third floor and I am down there and you're not born again.
SPEAKER_01: Because even while I'm down there, the banner of victory is still doing like this.
SPEAKER_01: When that trumpet sounds, you have to give way.
SPEAKER_01: I will be my your you I will be your first destroyer as I come up because I must show up.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: Before you go to hell and you're burning there, I will have already passed with you into pieces.
SPEAKER_01: Because even in death, oh glory to Jesus, my testimony is a testimony of victory.
SPEAKER_01: I die a victorious man.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Because my accuser does not even have access to the court, leave alone any credible accusation that can carry the day.
SPEAKER_01: He does not have access to the court.
SPEAKER_01: You know, this victory is permanent because it is final.
SPEAKER_01: And and and just to help us understand, you know, in our country we have we have several courts.
SPEAKER_01: We have a magistrate's court.
SPEAKER_01: You can take a case to the magistrates' court and they give a verdict.
SPEAKER_01: And if you're not satisfied with the verdict, what do you do?
SPEAKER_01: What do you do?
SPEAKER_01: Do we have some learned friends here?
SPEAKER_01: What do you do?
SPEAKER_01: You appeal, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, same way at Jamalisa, I am appealing.
SPEAKER_01: Let's meet in court tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01: Wait, which court now?
SPEAKER_01: We don't go back to the magistrate's court, we go to the high court.
SPEAKER_01: And the high court will set a hearing and they will listen to your case.
SPEAKER_01: And you know you can also lose in the high court.
SPEAKER_01: You can lose in the high court.
SPEAKER_01: Now, what when you lose in the high court, what do you do?
SPEAKER_01: You still do what?
SPEAKER_01: You still appeal, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01: Now you appeal to the court of to the is it the now to me to high court?
SPEAKER_01: So you go to the court of appeal, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01: And there they set uh a bench.
SPEAKER_01: You know this one mostly mostly will be two or three or four people, they set a bench.
SPEAKER_01: This is a weighty matter.
SPEAKER_01: You are defeated, you can still go back to the court.
SPEAKER_01: Which court this time round?
SPEAKER_01: This time you go to the supreme court, supreme court now.
SPEAKER_01: When you get there, whatever verdict is given there within this jurisdiction, it is not appealable.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot appeal it.
SPEAKER_01: But brothers and sisters, we have a court that is greater than the supreme court.
SPEAKER_01: We as the children of God can still make a further appeal, and the appeal is in the supreme court of heaven, and in that court we walk with victory because it is permanent.
SPEAKER_01: Our testimony is a testimony of victory.
SPEAKER_01: But secondly, the testimony we walk with, brothers and sisters, is not a testimony that is hidden, it is not a testimony that is in some archive somewhere, it is not a testimony that is not known.
SPEAKER_01: Because we are told that there was a declaration, and so the overcoming testimony is one that is grounded on the proclaimed victory.
SPEAKER_01: Not only was there uh uh a victory in heaven, but that victory has not remained silent.
SPEAKER_01: Heaven continues to proclaim.
SPEAKER_01: John tells us in verse 10 of this passage that we are considering.
SPEAKER_01: John tells us, then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, and this is what the voice said it has come at last, salvation and power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ, for the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth, the one who accuses them before our God, day and night.
SPEAKER_01: Our victory is not a silent victory.
SPEAKER_01: Every morning there is a proclamation, every moment there is a proclamation in heaven that says, Now we have power has salvation and power and the kingdom of our God.
SPEAKER_01: This heavenly announcement is an announcement that is saying that your salvation is already accomplished.
SPEAKER_01: Now, your salvation will not be accomplished.
SPEAKER_01: Your salvation is already accomplished, your healing will not be accomplished, your healing is already accomplished, your prosperity will not be accomplished.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that Christ became poor.
SPEAKER_01: So that's I I I'm not hearing you.
SPEAKER_01: So your salvation is already accomplished, but also not only is your salvation accomplished, but your power is established.
SPEAKER_01: Your power is not standing on shaky ground.
SPEAKER_01: And yesterday we did agree that we need power as we evangelist, as we disciple, that through the power of the Holy Spirit, no wonder then the Bible says that when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you shall receive power.
SPEAKER_01: Acts chapter 1, verse 8.
SPEAKER_01: It says, You shall receive power.
SPEAKER_01: And so when the Holy Spirit is upon us, we have power.
SPEAKER_01: And what does that power convert us into?
SPEAKER_01: It converts us into credible witnesses.
SPEAKER_01: No wonder then the Bible says, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my what witnesses.
SPEAKER_01: Now, a witness must have a testimony.
SPEAKER_01: A witness cannot show up and say, I was only coming to observe what is happening.
SPEAKER_01: A witness must show up and say, I have come with a testimony.
SPEAKER_01: We are witnesses.
SPEAKER_01: Not only are we witnesses because we have that power, but also we have the authority that belongs to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew chapter chapter 28 and verse 18.
SPEAKER_01: This is what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_01: He says, All power and authority, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew 28 and verse 18.
SPEAKER_01: All 28, that is 8 verse 28.
SPEAKER_01: Give us then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
SPEAKER_01: And so we know that our Christ, who sends us as his witnesses, is the one with all authority.
SPEAKER_01: And therefore, our power and our authority is already in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: But we also know that the accuser has been silenced.
SPEAKER_01: The accuser has been silent, silenced.
SPEAKER_01: This is not in the future, this is the now.
SPEAKER_01: Your accuser, the one you fear most, is silenced.
SPEAKER_01: He has got no voice that can stand in the court of heaven against you.
SPEAKER_01: When we were praying for our sister the other day, you know, you know, sometimes things come and and uh and you know you think it's a it's a cold, it's just something small.
SPEAKER_01: So so you you you just pray, and not a very powerful prayer, you know, no, no, well, it's a powerful one, but but uh you are not thinking in your heads this is uh uh something that you really need to bother God so much.
SPEAKER_01: But then the things quickly escalate and you realize, yeah, we we are we are not we are not joking here.
SPEAKER_01: And so I remember one of the prayers we made as a family, we said, Lord, if there is any accusation that the enemy is having hold of our sister Dharmaris, now by the blood of Jesus Christ, we render it null and void to the extent of its accusation.
SPEAKER_01: Null and void.
SPEAKER_01: So that whatever you may be trying to hold on and say, anyway, I still have a I have a camouanya that I can go in.
SPEAKER_01: We are saying it is sealed in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: The accuser is silenced because the accuser shows up to say, You are not good enough.
SPEAKER_01: Have you heard those voices?
SPEAKER_01: Oh, you are not good enough.
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes you even start confirming to yourself, and yeah, for sure, I am not good enough.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, even when I look, you now you now start operating on circumstantial evidence.
SPEAKER_01: There is evidence called circumstantial evidence.
SPEAKER_01: You start saying, You know, even in my in my, I remember my grandfather, he never succeeded on that one.
SPEAKER_01: You know, even that other uncle never succeeded on that one.
SPEAKER_01: Circumstantial evidence can be nullified by the heavenly testimony that it is permanent.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't matter what your grandfather did and your grandmother did, your situation is different because it is based on an overcoming testimony.
SPEAKER_01: But number three, as I bring this to a close, it is not only on a permanent victory, not only on a proclaimed victory.
SPEAKER_01: But John tells us something in verse 11.
SPEAKER_01: He now tells us that now we have moved from heaven, heaven things are done, the enemy has been defeated, it is permanent.
SPEAKER_01: We are not going back there.
SPEAKER_01: We have now even moved to proclaiming.
SPEAKER_01: We are no longer fighting, now we are proclaiming victory.
SPEAKER_01: We are saying victory, victory, victory.
SPEAKER_01: But he's also saying here on earth the believers are also participants in this victory, and therefore the overcoming testimony must be a practical based on practical victory.
SPEAKER_01: Not only shall you say we have a victory, not only shall you know, but you need to have your life now demonstrating that you are actually victorious.
SPEAKER_01: It is the demonstration based on how you live your life, and this one is based on a testimony.
SPEAKER_01: It is the quality of now having a personal testimony.
SPEAKER_01: It is now you proclaiming and saying, I am more than a conqueror.
SPEAKER_01: It is you now saying I am healed, it is you now saying I am set free, it is you now saying I have been forgiven.
SPEAKER_01: It is you now saying that the past don't no longer defines me.
SPEAKER_01: And a very good example, somebody did mention, I think it was uh dramatized earlier by our very able brother and team.
SPEAKER_01: They they they they they dramatized the Samaritan woman.
SPEAKER_01: By the way, is what you kwar they dramatized the Samaritan woman, and one thing about the Samaritan woman is that after she had a personal encounter with Christ, she had a testimony, she had a test of the permanent victory, she had a test of the proclaimed victory, and now she started walking in the practical victory.
SPEAKER_01: She had a personal testimony, and she stepped out and went back to Samaria and she started proclaiming.
SPEAKER_01: She just showed up from nowhere, and with a loud voice she said, Hey, come and see, I have met a man, come and see, I have met a man.
SPEAKER_01: And maybe the Samaritans showed up and said, After all, this is the seventh one.
SPEAKER_01: We know your character.
SPEAKER_01: But she said, No, this one is a different man.
SPEAKER_01: This is a man that you must hear about, because this man has told me everything that I ever did.
SPEAKER_01: And when she said he has told me everything I ever did, could he be the messiah?
SPEAKER_01: The men started listening, the women started listening, and in the morning, we we together with the council here, we demonstrated what a personal testimony looks like.
SPEAKER_01: And so my sister and cancel, if you could follow me, she started shouting.
SPEAKER_01: The some yeah, the Samaritan woman is saying, Hey, I have met a man.
SPEAKER_01: She's in Samaria.
SPEAKER_01: This is Samaria.
SPEAKER_01: You see the way they're not believing quickly, because they are wondering, hey, after all, this is the normal, you have always met men.
SPEAKER_01: She said, No, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: I have met a man, he he has told me everything I ever did.
SPEAKER_01: Could he be the Messiah?
SPEAKER_01: Then they started listening, and then one by one, because of her personal testimony, they started following her.
SPEAKER_01: This is the power of a personal testimony.
SPEAKER_01: When you tell people what Jesus has done for you, look at men are following.
SPEAKER_01: So let me go there, be Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: They keep following so that that she's coming back with them to the well where they left Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And so Jesus is chilling, but look at them, they're still following because she has said, Come, I show you a man, come, I show you a man.
SPEAKER_01: This man healed me, this man changed my life, this man loves me the way I am, this man is not a normal man, it is not the seventh man, this is a unique man, and they kept following.
SPEAKER_01: Some of them didn't have confidence at first, but now you can see they have started having more confidence and they are following the man, and soon enough, a whole village was at the well where there was an encounter of permanent victory, where there was an encounter of the proclaimed victory, and now the victory is being lived out.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah, somebody.
SPEAKER_01: Now you can see they still don't have a lot of confidence.
SPEAKER_01: Can you see some of them are struggling?
SPEAKER_01: They are wondering why are we following this woman?
SPEAKER_01: And and and and we know her character.
SPEAKER_01: It is a character of of having men.
SPEAKER_01: Why are we still following them?
SPEAKER_01: And then Jesus started speaking to them, and he told them about the permanent victory in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: He told them that Saturn has been defeated, he told them that heaven has already proclaimed, he told them that he is the Messiah, and then look at their faces.
SPEAKER_01: They have started having confidence, have confidence, have confidence.
SPEAKER_01: They have started having confidence.
SPEAKER_01: Look like people with confidence, start nodding.
SPEAKER_01: Nod, you are accepting, they are accepting, yes, yes, this woman has told us the truth, and then they turned to the woman and they said, Now we believe, not only because you told us, not only because your testimony was personal, not only because you made your testimony public, not only because your testimony was powerful, but now we have also received our own testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Now it is our personal testimony.
SPEAKER_01: We have received it the power of proclaiming our victory.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: So we cannot walk like chicken that are rained on, that are just ready to be eaten and nothing else.
SPEAKER_01: We must walk like representatives of the Lion of Judah.
SPEAKER_01: We must say, like Paul, I know whom I have believed, I know whom I am believed.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, things are going down, but I know whom I have believed.
SPEAKER_01: I know even if I die, I will rise again, I will live again.
SPEAKER_01: But see, there was another spiritual one that we sang in crusade.
SPEAKER_01: We said, You know, as as uh remain with me, uh, remain with me, just remain with me, encourage me, hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: There is a story I had.
SPEAKER_01: Pastors hear many stories.
SPEAKER_01: So one of the castories I had one time was that this pastor who came to a congregation, a gathering with very powerful lemons, and then he said, Yesterday night, God spoke to me, he gave me a word, and he said, He came with a feather, he said, I have this small feather, and God said, I should just blow it in the air, and whoever it falls on shall be with him in the kingdom today.
SPEAKER_01: And the church said, Amen, hallelujah! And some of them even started praying, oh yes, may it, but they're also opening their eyes, may it land on me, I receive.
SPEAKER_01: And the kafeather started roaming in the sanctuary.
SPEAKER_01: The first place it showed up is in the worship team.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, and the worship team wakanza kuwondo care.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, wanna talk at is like they are dancing, but they are not dancing.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, but they are running away from there.
SPEAKER_01: The kafeather, it went to the women's guild, the women of impact, and they have their uniform, Pastor Felista.
SPEAKER_01: And these ones they did not run away from it, they started blowing it.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, they were not ready to join the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, it went among the elders and the deacons, the men and women who hear from God early in the morning before everyone else.
SPEAKER_01: But even for them, they started looking at each other.
SPEAKER_01: Is it you or is it I?
SPEAKER_01: Whom shall we release, you or I?
SPEAKER_01: And they moved away from the feather.
SPEAKER_01: Brothers and sisters, if that message comes to us today and we know that we have an overcoming testimony, one that has permanent victory, one that has proclaimed victory, we will say, Lord, come, Lord come, because we are ready for you.
SPEAKER_01: I pray, you know, there are some two feathers that fall from somewhere there.
SPEAKER_01: I pray that as I'm speaking, none falls because the cancer may take off, yet we need them, we need them, we have just commissioned them, brothers and sisters.
SPEAKER_01: We need you, but let me just address you, my brothers and sisters.
SPEAKER_01: Not only are we looking up to your personal testimonies as individuals, because each of you must uphold their personal testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Not only are we looking at that, but today as a church, we have actually entrusted in your hands the testimony of Parkland's Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_01: It is a higher calling, it is a higher calling that will require wisdom, it is a higher calling that will require that your mouth are measured.
SPEAKER_01: It is not every opinion that you have, you will have to make it public because it has to be measured, because whatever you say or do shall be interpreted as a testimony of Parklands Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_01: And you're on camera.
SPEAKER_01: May the Lord give you grace that wherever you will be, whatever you will be doing, your testimony, people will look at your testimony wherever it will be, and they will say that church is a God-fearing church.
SPEAKER_01: May it not be said of you that if that is the church of so-and-so, we won't come.
SPEAKER_01: That is the number one thing: the testimony.
SPEAKER_01: You are holding that higher than anything else.
SPEAKER_01: May the Lord give you grace.
SPEAKER_01: Because the Samaritan woman made it.
SPEAKER_01: May villagers come to Parklands Baptist Church because of you.
SPEAKER_01: May we take the city this season because of your testimony.
SPEAKER_01: May we take the nations this season because of your testimony.
SPEAKER_01: That because of your testimony, people will come to say, We want to go there.
SPEAKER_01: Where Christ dwells.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: As I bring this to a close, brothers and sisters, the past uh three or so weeks have been very trying for us as a family because of uh the sickness of our sister, the sister of my wife, Damaris.
SPEAKER_01: And and that's why my wife is there, just to support her together with their mom.
SPEAKER_01: Our mom, they are there to support her.
SPEAKER_01: Damaris lives and works in South Africa.
SPEAKER_01: And and while there, she she left, she was here uh over the Easter holiday.
SPEAKER_01: And on 11th, we were with her, that's when she left.
SPEAKER_01: The week before she had been here with us, spent a good time.
SPEAKER_01: She was very jovial, very bubbly, nothing unusual looking.
SPEAKER_01: You know, and then on the 11th, she leaves for South Africa back to work.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, 11th is a Saturday, tells us she has arrived well, Sunday she's in church, Monday, uh, she's uh wherever, Tuesday she attends a conference that she was supposed to attend.
SPEAKER_01: And on that particular day, she's given an opportunity to introduce her team.
SPEAKER_01: And when she does so, uh, while doing it, she feels some uncomfort, discomfort on her throat.
SPEAKER_01: And so she excuses herself to go outside and cough.
SPEAKER_01: And when she stepped outside, she coughed.
SPEAKER_01: And the cough came out with blood all over the place, her mouth, her nose, and she was bleeding.
SPEAKER_01: And so, what is this?
SPEAKER_01: Where has it come from?
SPEAKER_01: Somebody who was introducing her team is now a medical emergency.
SPEAKER_01: And so she was rushed to the nearest hospital.
SPEAKER_01: They took some samples, she stopped bleeding, gave her some medication, said we will give you the results later.
SPEAKER_01: She went to the hotel room.
SPEAKER_01: She didn't go back to the conference.
SPEAKER_01: Later that evening, Tuesday evening, she calls us on uh video, a video call.
SPEAKER_01: And when she appears on our screen, the girl is bleeding.
SPEAKER_01: She's bleeding from the nose, she's bleeding, and uh we can tell she's struggling.
SPEAKER_01: And so as she was walking, we kept encouraging her, told her, just keep going, just go as as close as you can to the to the reception.
SPEAKER_01: She got to the reception, a gentleman showed up, we said, give that gentleman the phone.
SPEAKER_01: We said, Hey, please call an ambulance for us.
SPEAKER_01: Said, yes, yes, yes, I am calling an ambulance now.
SPEAKER_01: Let me do it very quickly.
SPEAKER_01: You know, South Africans have an a very anointed uh accent.
SPEAKER_01: And so, anyway, she does that.
SPEAKER_01: And by God's grace, Damaris gets to the hospital.
SPEAKER_01: And when she gets to the hospital, doctors are wondering, what is this?
SPEAKER_01: And and anyway, the treatment begins, the treatment begins.
SPEAKER_01: That was a Tuesday, she's there for a whole week.
SPEAKER_01: They are still trying to figure out.
SPEAKER_01: Of course, later on they figured out that she had pneumonia and the bleeding was happening internally in the lungs, and so it becomes life-threatening.
SPEAKER_01: And so, what happens on Monday?
SPEAKER_01: They want to get something through the mouth.
SPEAKER_01: There is that thing is called there is a name for that ka thing, yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Endo it has a scopy at the end, so they want to do that scopy, it goes inside with a camera, they try to see, eh?
SPEAKER_01: Endoscopy.
SPEAKER_01: Endoscopy, they try to see what is happening, but that day she really bled.
SPEAKER_01: And the doctor said, Now this one is life-threatening, and we have to paralyze her completely.
SPEAKER_01: And so they sedated her and said, Now you're not going to wake up until we figure out what is your problem, until we are done with you.
SPEAKER_01: And so, one of the things that she did, of course, now they called us that Tuesday and Wednesday in the morning.
SPEAKER_01: My wife had to be on her way to South Africa.
SPEAKER_01: When she arrived there, one of the things she took a photo.
SPEAKER_01: I told her, please, when you get there.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, we were praying.
SPEAKER_01: Because they did they they were not like telling us what exactly is happening.
SPEAKER_01: You know those things you don't tell people, you want to tell them when they arrive.
SPEAKER_01: And so I was praying, but I but I continued calling and said I need to know exactly the state so that I know by the time my wife arrives there, what are we dealing with?
SPEAKER_01: Of course, they arrive there and they find her in the ICU, and my wife took a photo and sent to me.
SPEAKER_01: Now, on that photo, I noticed something.
SPEAKER_01: She told me, actually, this whatever you are seeing her hand on is her Bible.
SPEAKER_01: That was very interesting to me.
SPEAKER_01: It was in a polythen bag, but her hand, though she was completely asleep, sedate sedated, she held her hand on her Bible.
SPEAKER_01: And so yesterday I asked her, Why did you ask for a Bible?
SPEAKER_01: Because now she's out of hospital, she is out of hospital.
SPEAKER_01: So I just needed to know why did you ask for a Bible?
SPEAKER_01: Why are you seeing Abraham saying, Come?
SPEAKER_01: Or was it Peter?
SPEAKER_01: Or who was it who was beckoning you to come home?
SPEAKER_01: And she said, You know, this is now what she told me.
SPEAKER_01: She said, When I was sedated, they took my phones, book, and Bible, which were on my table, to pack them away in my drawer with the anesthesia.
SPEAKER_01: I I I I realized I was fighting to wake up.
SPEAKER_01: So she felt she was in a fighting mood.
SPEAKER_01: I felt like I am being forced to sleep, but I want to be awake.
SPEAKER_01: And I had no words to pray.
SPEAKER_01: I couldn't read the Bible, of course, but what I believed was if I just have the Bible beside me and rest my hand on it, then God's presence is with me and will fight to the end.
SPEAKER_01: That was her belief.
SPEAKER_01: Now, now the power is not in placing the hand on the Bible, the power is in the testimony.
SPEAKER_01: That she had a testimony.
SPEAKER_01: I know God is with me.
SPEAKER_01: And this symbol is a symbol for me of assurance that this God is with me.
SPEAKER_01: And then she says, now I really struggled to get the nurses understand what I need.
SPEAKER_01: Because now she's in that, she's in that state of sedation, eh?
SPEAKER_01: So she's struggling.
SPEAKER_01: And so she says, My fingers and mind was still active and I could hear sounds.
SPEAKER_01: So every time I used my hand to tap the bed, a nurse would come.
SPEAKER_01: I try to write on my tummy using my fingers the word Bible.
SPEAKER_01: And most of them will not understand and they will just go.
SPEAKER_01: Until, oh, when a testimony is active.
SPEAKER_01: When a testimony is active, even heaven, uh, you know, you are aligned to heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Until a nurse got keen and she followed keenly how I would join the letters until she got it right and said Bible.
SPEAKER_01: The moment she said Bible, I gave her a thumbs up.
SPEAKER_01: She brought it and she placed it next to me.
SPEAKER_01: I placed my arm on it, and that's where it stayed throughout.
SPEAKER_01: And that is the moment she surrendered herself to the anaesthetia.
SPEAKER_01: She stopped fighting, she stopped struggling because she stood on her testimony and said, Whatever happens, God is with me.
SPEAKER_01: And she stopped struggling.
SPEAKER_01: This thing you can't even struggle with it for long.
SPEAKER_01: She stopped struggling.
SPEAKER_01: And she was there the whole of Monday, the whole of Tuesday, the whole of Wednesday, and finally Thursday night.
SPEAKER_01: She was taken to the theater, and today we have a big testimony of what Christ has done.
SPEAKER_01: What is your testimony?
SPEAKER_01: What is the quality of your testimony?
SPEAKER_01: Can your testimony stand every circumstance?
SPEAKER_01: Is your testimony grounded on facts?
SPEAKER_01: Solid facts.
SPEAKER_01: Whether I am getting the job or I am not getting why?
SPEAKER_01: Because I know my provision is not through a job.
SPEAKER_01: My testimony is that he will supply all my needs according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And are you able to say, I am not giving anything because I am standing on a solid testimony?
SPEAKER_01: Are you that credible witness?
SPEAKER_01: Are you that witness that when people look at they say they want your Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: They say they want to know where you go to church, they say they want to be with you.
SPEAKER_01: Are you that credible witness that you are actually winning those court cases for Christ because of your testimony?
SPEAKER_01: On Christ does so Lidro Christand, oh lather ground sinking sand.
SPEAKER_01: So on Christ the soul.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for your support in this word today.
SPEAKER_01: God bless you.
SPEAKER_01: Go ye and serve the King of Kings, be a great testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Salamba ke yesu ke yes.
SPEAKER_01: Quoi key yes, quake yesima?
SPEAKER_00: Why don't we put our hands together to the living God?
SPEAKER_00: We sure can do a lot better than that, can't we?
SPEAKER_00: Has the Lord done it for you?
SPEAKER_00: That yes, sounds a bit wanting.
SPEAKER_00: Has the Lord done it for you?
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna make it public.
SPEAKER_00: Turn to your neighbor and tell them, I'm gonna make it public.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna testify.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna shout about it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to sing about it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to testify of the Lord's goodness in the land of the living.
SPEAKER_00: Come on, somebody, celebrate the living God.
SPEAKER_00: You know, Pastor Felista, we are entering an amazing week.
SPEAKER_00: The She Conference.
SPEAKER_00: Let the redeemed, let the redeemed of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And so as we finish, ask your neighbor, and this is not a rhetorical question.
SPEAKER_00: Look them straight in the eye, ask them, Are you the redeemed of the Lord?
SPEAKER_00: They need to answer you.
SPEAKER_00: Are we together?
SPEAKER_00: If their answer is not in the affirmative, take time to pray with them.
SPEAKER_00: Because it says, Let the redeemed of the Lord, those whom he has rescued from the hand of the enemy, for they overcame by the blood of the lamb.
SPEAKER_00: That's where it all begins.
SPEAKER_00: The blood of the lamb.
SPEAKER_00: Then the next is the word of your testimony.
SPEAKER_00: Why don't we appreciate God's servant, Pastor Kennedy?
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Ascofu.
SPEAKER_00: God bless you.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_00: Take a moment, pray for yourself.
SPEAKER_00: Just tell God, thank you for your word.
SPEAKER_00: Pray that I will not be a hearer of God's word only.
SPEAKER_00: Appropriate by faith that which God has deposited in your spirit.
SPEAKER_00: And make a choice this morning.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe you're here this wonderful afternoon.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot confidently say, I am the redeemed of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: We want to give you that opportunity.
SPEAKER_00: With our heads bowed, our eyes closed, you're here.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot confidently say, I am the redeemed of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: You can shoot up your hand, shoot up your hand in the sanctuary.
SPEAKER_00: You're not born again.
SPEAKER_00: You do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
SPEAKER_00: We are here to stand with you and to welcome you into this great victory.
SPEAKER_00: Anyone, anyone, anyone at the pavilion, be it online, we want to pray with you.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: We don't want to miss you.
SPEAKER_00: May that be your testimony.
SPEAKER_00: And so, Heavenly Father, we thank you for the power of your word to transform lives.
SPEAKER_00: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the power of your word to anchor our lives in the victory that was won for us two thousand years ago.
SPEAKER_00: And Heavenly Father, as your children go out today, they go to testify of your doing, they go to testify of the wonders of the works of your hand.
SPEAKER_00: And so, Heavenly Father, we thank you.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you that this victory is permanent.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you that this victory is not a secret.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you, Jehovah God, that this victory is irreversible.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you, O Jehovah God, that you want us to participate in the gospel story.
SPEAKER_00: For indeed we have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
SPEAKER_00: And so, church, may you lift up your hands this wonderful afternoon, even as we release you.
SPEAKER_00: And so may the Lord bless you.
SPEAKER_00: May the Lord do you good, may the Lord lift you by the power of his name, may the Lord surround you with his shield like a favor.
SPEAKER_00: May his song be upon your lips, may his melody be your melody in the midnight hour.
SPEAKER_00: May you testify of victory in the name of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Indeed, may the Lord fight your battles because he says the battle is not yours by the but the Lord's.
SPEAKER_00: It is not by power, not by might, but by the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: And so, Father, we say thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Jehovah God, bless your children in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And so we decree and we declare that this victory is yours on Monday.
SPEAKER_00: This victory is yours on Tuesday.
SPEAKER_00: This victory is yours on Wednesday.
SPEAKER_00: This victory is yours on Thursday.
SPEAKER_00: On Friday, you are walking in this victory in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: On Saturday, you are walking in this permanent victory.
SPEAKER_00: And indeed, on Sunday, we are coming to dance, to celebrate, and testify of what the Lord has done.
SPEAKER_00: And so we command and we release this blessing upon you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: And God's people said, Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Come on, another round of celebration to the living God in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Come on, Parklands Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_00: Celebrate the living God, the living King.
SPEAKER_00: Come on, come on.
SPEAKER_00: Let there be shouts of victory.
SPEAKER_00: Let there be shouts of victory in the name of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore.
SPEAKER_00: And God's people said, Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Shalom.