Infinite Fellowship Ministries

The Sons Of Manifestation (Part 5): Sermon By Bishop Gobanga

Then Jesus, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit. For (during) forty days in the wilderness (desert), where He was tempted (tried, tested exceedingly) by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, He was hungry.

Then the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, order this stone to turn into a loaf [of bread]. And Jesus replied to him, It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God.

Then the devil took Him up to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the habitable world in a moment of time [in the twinkling of an eye]. And he said to Him, To You I will give all this power and authority and their glory (all their magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, and grace), for it has been turned over to me, and I give it to whomever I will. Therefore if You will do homage to and worship me [just once], it shall all be Yours. And Jesus replied to him, Get behind Me, Satan! It is written, You shall do homage to and worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.

Then he took Him to Jerusalem and set Him on a gable of the temple, and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here; For it is written, He will give His angels charge over you to guard and watch over you closely and carefully; And on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. And Jesus replied to him, [The Scripture] says, You shall not tempt (try, test exceedingly) the Lord your God.

And when the devil had ended every [the complete cycle of] temptation, he [temporarily] left Him [that is, stood off from Him] until another more opportune and favorable time. Then Jesus went back full of and under the power of the [Holy] Spirit into Galilee, and the fame of Him spread through the whole region round about.

Luke 4:1-14 (AMPC)

Divine revelation carries an aura of prophetic tangibility. It brings the regeneration of all those that hear God. 

A testimony has the preceding word of God. The word of your testimony is the expression of the prophetic atmosphere. God’s word needs to be demonstrated by power.

[Even as my preaching has been accompanied] with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] by the power of the Holy Spirit. [The result is] that starting from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel [faithfully executing, accomplishing, carrying out to the full the good news] of Christ (the Messiah) in its entirety.

Romans 15:19 (AMPC)

The preceding word of God is His eternal purpose. The word of testimony is the embodiment of what was inferred in the beginning.

In every transition in your life there will be confutation and this confutation is terrestrial. The word of God will be resisted. 

And in the same way the ones sown upon stony ground are those who, when they hear the Word, at once receive and accept and welcome it with joy; and they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away.

Mark 4:16-17 (AMPC)

The enemy cannot topple what God has said successfully unless God is not the One who spoke. What was at work was not the voice of God but vain machinations and imaginations.

You cannot circumvent revelation. No matter how long it takes God’s word will come to pass.

God’s word does not compete with circumstances. God is the same today, yesterday and forever more.

We need to uncover the parchment of our existence in Christ even though we are complete in Christ. This is what creates a prophetic atmosphere or prophetic aura for the people around you.

This aura capacitates divine revelation to bypass human understanding therefore overcoming reason which may hinder the move of God in your life.  This is the very context for the miraculous.

The move of God is to move from the altar to the congregation.

As sons, we should ask God for understanding on the mystery of His Kingdom.

God wants sons to be part of His agenda and not the agenda of the world.

Sons understand the voice of God; they do not just hear the voice of God. When we understand the voice of God, we walk into the liberty that God has given us.

We should not always run away from trials since some are orchestrated by God. Temptations and trials should not scare us but we should embrace them for they create the image of Christ in us. They come to transform us.

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4 (AMPC)

In the face of temptation we need to tap into the heart and mind of God. What is He doing inside your being and what He is imparting and transforming in you?

The vantage point of process denotes development, progress, formation and growth. It does not mean suffering per se.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you.

1 Peter 5:10 (AMPC)

The enemy is under your feet. We overcome Satan by the power of Christ – by His blood and the testimony.

Trials allow us to grow from one glory to another.

The battles we have are not necessarily between the devil and man but between the false identity and the new identity in Christ.

We succumb to temptation because we have espoused false identity; a pass or fail mind-set does not apply in God.

The temptations Christ faced are summarized in one thing: identity. Satan’s temptation was in and around on Christ’s identity.

Then the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, order this stone to turn into a loaf [of bread].

Luke 4:3 (AMPC)

The enemy comes to tempt us immediately we have experienced a great move of God.

The two temptations of identity in a son’s life revolve around who you are as a son and who the Father is to you at that moment.

Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah).

Colossians 3:23-24 (AMPC)

The temptation will compel us to prove that we are of God. God does not need us to prove ourselves.

Our focus should be on God not proving a point. As sons we should be secure in our identity and not in performance.

When we are tempted, we try not to mess up so that we don’t fail before the Father but our identity is not based on our trying not to fail. Passing or failing does not describe who you are.

Even if you fail and fall into temptation, return to God like the prodigal son. Who you are is what matters not what you have done. Sin does grieve God but it does not take away His perspective of you.

In the same way, our relationships are to be based on who we are and not how much we have impressed each other.

The wilderness test is not about passing or failing but about self-discovery. It has to do with the unveiling of what we truly believe of God and self.

But the man who has doubts (misgivings, an uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats [perhaps because of you], stands condemned [before God], because he is not true to his convictions and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin [whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful].

Romans 14:23 (AMPC)

True identity is not in the process of learning but in manifesting what we have learnt. It is based on what we have gone through and overcome leading to function.

As long as we are learning we cannot manifest. Learning is for a season. Once we learn we must exercise it. Mastery precedes manifestation.

Sons know their work is to serve the purpose of God.

God wants us to move from learning to becoming. Anger at self and God is experienced when one is caught up in the process. These are the two issues we will deal with as we get perfected in process. Undertones of jealousy will be dealt with.

God looks at things from an eternal posture. We should not allow limits in the natural to cause us to see only in the physical. We need to see from an eternal perspective.

Jesus’ perspective was not based on performance but on what God thinks of Him. We should reject what God does not say about us.

You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:48 (AMPC)

In God’s eyes, we are perfect and complete. Perfection is about posture, not performance. It is the acceptance of the declaration of God about you; what the Father has declared over you from eternity.

Adam and Eve allowed for enemy to question God’s perspective of them. They were naked and not ashamed.  Sin removed the garment of glory and they became present to their shame and nakedness.

When we sin, we should run to God not from Him.

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].

1 John 1:9 (AMPC)

The intrinsic element of the son of God is the presence of God in the Spirit. We were created in His image and likeness; male and female.

God requires us to be in a spiritual context where we can be fathered in the Lord. This is orchestrated by the Spirit of adoption.

God places the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell; He leads the prisoners out to prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

Psalm 68:6 (AMPC)

Fatherhood and sonship is founded on relationship; not do’s and don’ts.

It is a two-way relationship where fathers and sons minister to each other in words and deeds.

Sons provide organic solutions for their generation.

Sons are the grandeur of their fathers. Fathers are revealed through their sons. Sonship is a spiritual identity of the family belonging to God.

For this reason [seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ], I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named [that Father from Whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name].

Ephesians 3:14-15 (AMPC)

God established fatherhood and sonship. He is a Father that manifested Himself in the Son, Jesus Christ. 

A good father is revealed through his sons.

Fathers send sons to their prophetic destinies.

Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the [very] works themselves. [If you cannot trust Me, at least let these works that I do in My Father’s name convince you.] I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father. And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I Am], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.

John 14:11-13 (AMPC)

Fathers birth sons.  A son needs a father and serves their father in the context of relationship.

Fathers raise and groom sons to become fathers also.