Hello and welcome to the House of Faith Ministries. I'm Lisa Kaine and I'm recording this on Thursday, June 27th, 20124. Welcome. Let us open up in a word of prayer. Father God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the power and the authority of your name and your presence, Father God. And we thank you for making mighty men and women of God who have served you who has spoken your word and shared your word throughout all the generations and to the world. Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord. Prepare our hearts and minds as you work in us to do the same and to follow in the footsteps of your son Jesus. Thank you. and by the powerful mighty name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Welcome. I'm in uh a series called Women in the Bible. I've been doing this now for a handful of weeks. I will continue to do it. There are a lot of women in the Bible. Now, I'm not going in any particular order. No, I'm just letting the Holy Spirit direct me. And it was interesting the last I attend a Bible study on Tuesday nights and Wednesday nights. And uh both Bible studies were talking about the uh women's role in leadership in the church. And uh so here I've been in the women of the Bible series and for whatever reason I kept waking up and it was like the Lord kept telling me speak about Lydia, Lydia, Lydia. So I went and did some homework. And so we're going to be talking about women in the Bible and we're going to be talking focusing on Lydia, women in leadership. That's the title of this message. So let's go to this opening scripture. Luke 19:40. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that if these should hold their peace or refuse to speak, the stones would immediately cry out, croak, scream, cry out. Now let me explain why I'm using this scripture for opening. I want the purpose of this particular teaching is to show you establish parameters in the past and the transformation of those parameters in the present time in scripture. So this is going to be really really neat. Now the reason I bring this scripture up and this scripture here talking about the stones would cry out. This is when this is Palm Sunday. Jesus is riding on a colt and they're laying down their clothes and palm frrons and all that and they are shouting praise to Jesus and the the Pharisees and the Sadducees are telling Jesus, "You need to tell these people to stop." And Jesus Jesus is the one who's talking. He's the one who says if they hold their peace and the stones would immediately cry out. In other words, God is going to use anyone and anything to speak to us. This is why he uses the stars to speak to us. See, he shows us in the different ways of how he can communicate with us. That is very important. And I want you to see that and I want you to understand that. So, we're going to be talking about Lydia and I'm going to be bringing you through a little bit of history through the word to show you how the transformation takes with what Jesus did through dying on the cross, rising from the grave, and redeeming us. Amen. So we're going to start here in Acts. Acts 16:14 and 15. And a certain woman named Lydia, seller of purple, a female traitor in purple cloth of the city Thotira, which worshiped, revered, adored God. And by the way, just to pause for a moment, when you see the scripture on the screen, and there's a bolded word with parentheses afterwards, the bolded word is the original text it was written in. The parentheses are other words that the author could have translated or the translators that uh translated the Bible into English and so forth, they could have used these other words to translate with. So, I'm just adding those extra words in because it gives us a bigger picture what we're looking at in scripture. So, anyways, uh which worship revered, adored God, heard us, whose heart, which is our thoughts or feelings, the Lord opened that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized or fully wet and her household, so her and her household were fully wet, she besought us, saying, "If ye have judged or distinguished, decide me to be faithful, trustworthy to the Lord, come into my house and abide, stay there." And she constrained or compelled us. So this is very interesting. So we have a woman of God. She became a believer. Uh she um heard the word taught to her by Paul. She's a successful businesswoman because she trades in purple cloth. Now, understand this. She's the one dying the cloth. She's got her team of workers. Purple cloth can only be afforded by the rich. So she had a very expensive commodity and was selling to the rich, meaning she was well off providing purple commodity or purple cloth and that expensive commodity. She knew how to run her business. She had been doing it fine and she was organized and successful. A successful businesswoman in the time of that Paul lived. Now I want you to see something here. When Paul brings other people up in the ministry that he's in and where he's at and what he's doing, he's always mentioning uh usually the male and sometimes the wife's name and only depends of how much of the role she's in. So like Priscilla and Aquilla, he worked with that couple. He mentioned both their names. So they were both heavily involved with Paul in the ministry. Well, here he mentions Lydia but no husband. I don't think she had a husband. And in fact, because she deals in purple cloth, she doesn't have a husband in another who had to take care of her in another job. So, she had to have a job in order to be successful. We don't know any other history about her. We just know that she is a successful businesswoman ministering or re um selling to the rich, which means she has money. She's she's got enough. So she has a large enough home where she can accommodate Paul and those with him. Now when you read the rest of that chapter in Acts, we're going to read the last verse here in just a moment. You will see that this is the time where Paul and Silas went to prison and they were worshiping the Lord and the prison cell shook. All the walls fell and the centurion thought he was they were all gone. He was going to kill himself. And Paul said, "Hey, no, no, no. We're right here. Don't don't do that." Well, the next day Paul and Silas were released. Then if we in fact let's go to verse 40 because I want you to see that um that when she they were released look who they went to says and they went out of the prison and entered into the house of Lydia and when they had seen the brethren they comforted her consolation exor prayed them and departed. So they went to Lydia's house. So, she has this successful business where she affords a big enough home to accommodate Paul and Silas and whomever else is there with him. Uh, and and let me point out another thing here. She wasn't afraid to have prisoners or ex-prisoners in her home. She had Paul and Silas in her home who just came out of being in jail. So here she's a very interesting woman, a very interesting businesswoman, one who has her heart on God. Now she lived in a city called Thotira. Don't know if I'm saying that right or not, but I'm going to run with it. And it's believed that she started the church of Thotira. So there is a letter written by Jesus in revelation that John wrote on behalf of Jesus to the le to the church of the doterans. So let's go look at that letter because now I want you to see something that's going to help us understand the role of a woman in the church. By the way, the role of the man in the church as well because you're going to see what Jesus is pointing out. This applies to everybody. Male, female, uh, Jew, Gentile, free, slave, black, white, Asian, Indian, doesn't matter. It applies to everybody. So, let's go to Revelation 2. We're going to be reading verses 18 through 29. And unto the angel or messenger of the church, by the way, a church is a calling out, a meeting, a congregation. So in other words, her home was big enough where people could come to it because that's how they established churches in those days. They were in people's homes. So she had a good amount of people showing up to church in her home in Thotir. So he's talking to the church of Thotir, right? These things sayeth the son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass. I know thy works and charity. That word charity means love, affection, benevolence, and your service or attendance. And your faith, that faith is persuasion, credence, reliance on Christ, and thy patience, which is cheerful endurance, and thy works, and the last to be more than the first. So, pause here for a moment. Jesus is saying, I know all the good things you've been doing. Excellent. Thank you. Those are good. Then let's see what else he has to say. Because no church, no person is perfect. We have to rely on forgiveness with each other and with each church. We have to move in forgiveness to stop the fruit of the evil that is going on from prospering. No weapon formed against us shall prosper. How do you stop it from prospering? You forgive something and it just stops it right in its tracks. So, you're going to see what Jesus is going to point out here now in verse 20. Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee. Uhoh. See, there's always something. If you think you've made it, think again. Because you haven't. Jesus points out, "Ah, you got something else to work on. There always will be something else to do. Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee. Because thou sufferest, or you let be that woman, by the way, that woman is a specifically a wife person, Jezebel, which is a false teacher, which calleth herself a prophetus or a female foreteller, to teach, and to seduce, roam astray, my servants, to commit fornication, to act the harlot, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. I'm going to pause here for just a moment. I want you to see something here. This church is allowing a false teaching in here. Keep that in mind. We're going to get to this in just a little bit more. I give her space. I gave her space, time to repent, think differently, reconsider of her fornication, and she repented not. Okay? I want you to see something here with this false teaching. So, there's good teaching and there's false teaching. So, you got people that are in the word and you got people who are not in the word. I'm going to show you that here. Let's go to the next set of scriptures. Verse 22. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, a couch, bed for sickness, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, which is affliction, burden, pressure, except they repent of their deeds. In other words, I'll stop doing it if they just repent. But I'm going to put them in their sick bed. Verse 23. And I will kill her children with death. And all the churches shall know that I am he which searches the res, the kidney, the inmost mind, and hearts. the thoughts or feelings and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. Okay? In the church today and in the past, you had people who got sick and died prematurely. And you have people that don't. There's many people who live to be old. There's many people who die prematurely. Now, why this scripture answers that if you can believe that he Jesus is saying, "Listen, I'm going to put you in your sick bed until you repent.

If you go read my prayers in the empowering prayer under houseof faith ministries.org, you will find that those that are blaspheing the Lord, even though I forgive them and I ask the Lord to forgive them and I'm hoping to give them another chance to repent, but if they continue not to repent, I ask the Lord to put them in their sick bed. That's scriptural. That's what he does. He's telling us straight up he does this. So, if there's somebody in the church that has cancer, for example, they're believing in some sort of false teaching and they don't even know it's a false teaching. They don't. That's scary. But the you've got, let's say, Lydia who became a believer in Christ and knew what to do and was able to established the church. Now, keep in mind as the stat the church grew and she got older and eventually passed away, men took over the church because that's what had happened. Men became the dominant pastors. And keep in mind that Paul, Peter, James, Timothy, they were provided instruction on how to establish the office of pastor, the office of elders. And it always talked about pastor being married with his wife and their children under control. It talked about the elders the same principle where their household was in order with God. All of them were following God. And that's how you became a pastor or an elder. Now a pastor is someone who has to meet the needs of every individual in his church. So these mega churches, those pastors can't do it. So what they're doing is they're they're farming it out to others. That's not right. You're the pastor, not others. And maybe what you should do is make more pastors and split the church up into different congregations everywhere. And that those pastors will minister to th that little bit of congregation there. That way you're following scripture. Now, because they're talking about a role of a husband and a wife, and we know that Christ is head of the church, and husband is head of the church, we know that a pastor has to be a male. We know that because that is the established parameters. But keep in mind, look at Lydia here. She's a founder of a church. She had no husband. And yet, look at how much the Lord blessed her. God can use anyone. If he can use the rocks, he can use women, too. So, women, don't you give up. You stand strong because it's by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, by the fruit, that they're going to see your ministry. And they will know by your fruit who you are with Christ, not contaminated by false teaching. Because if you're always sick, you're, you know, when we moved out here to Missouri that first year, which we just had our yearly anniversary a few weeks ago, I we were sick. I think five or six times I finally went to the elders of this new church we're attending and I said, "I need you to pray over me," which is scriptural. See, I'm going back to the scripture. I'm not believing in whatever false teaching. And I believed it was an attack against me for doing what we did with the Lord because he opened the doors to do this for us. And next thing you know, I was fine. I haven't been sick since. You know what? I praise God and give him the glory and I'm taking holy communion regularly. This is awesome. That's how God works. That is how God works. Amen. Amen. Let's continue on to verse 24. But unto you, I say, and unto the rest, as many as have not this doctrine and instruction, and which have not known the depths of Satan, the accuser. And see, there's one clear um item that you can see in the church is the accuser. Who is the accuser? the devil. How many people want to get up and co gossip men and women alike in saying something in the way of did you see so and so? That's a form of accusation. He just took up the devil's role for him. He don't even have to do anything. You did it for him. By the way, that's false doctrine that you're walking in. And if you're wondering why you're sick, it could be your mouth that's in trouble. What is it that you need to do? Repent. Remember Jesus forgave you. Ask you forgive yourself. Go back to the power of the cross. What Jesus did because he forgave everybody on the cross by dying on the cross, redeeming us, raising from the dead. Then you go and take holy communion and that's going to remove your sickness and you won't be sick anymore. So if you, this is a tailtale sign. If you are walking in some sort of sickness on a regular ba basis, go back to the cross. The power of the cross. Amen. as they speak, lay forth. I will put upon you none other burden, weight, or load. So mean, if you're not following the accuser, you're not following, you're you're actually well and doing good, you're in the ministry and all's looking good, the Lord is not going to put on you any other burden. You won't be burdened anymore. So those that have a heavy burden, there's another tail sign. These are things that the Lord is showing you. I need you to get out of that doctrine. I'm putting this pressure on you so that you can realize what's happening so I can teach you to be right and get out of that. Amen. That's what Jesus is doing. Verse 25, but that which you have already hold fast seize retain till I come. He says, hold on to what you got. You're not sick. You're walking in goodness. You're walking in right. That's because you are going to God. Yes, you're walking in righteousness. Yes, you're walking in the word. You're looking at the word. You're living by the word and not by false doctrine. And because of such he tells you, hold on to it till I come. And he that overcomemeth and keepeth my works which were keepest to watch and guard it my works until the end. To him will I give power over the nations. And we're not done. He said, "And he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers, even as I received of my father. and I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. Tailtale signs here, my friends. Tailtale signs. These are signs that tell you whether you are walking correctly in the church. It has to be scriptural. This is why I don't believe personally that a woman should be a pastor. It needs to be a husband and a wife. But if the husband was a pastor and he has gone home to be with the Lord and the wife has left, she has every right and every authority to take the role of pastorship at that point and then she can divvy it out or she can just be there with the Lord and let the anointing be upon her because she should be equal with her husband because they both were in ministry unto the Lord and she followed the direction of her husband and through Christ. So she should have the knowledge there. You see how this works? depending on the circumstance and the history and where it's at. That is the power that we see God use in people in ministry. Amen. Now, to show you the transformation of things from old to new. This is why women don't count yourself out because you are a big important part of this. I'm going to go to Psalm 8 and four. uh 84 and5 What is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him? For thou has made him a little lower than the angels and has crowned him with glory and honor. Now look at this with the extra words. What is mortal that you're you remember you mention him by the way the word mindful means also full of mind. He's f God is fully con thinking of man of you and I at all times. He knows how much hair we have on our body at any given moment in time. He is so mindful of us. He says and you visit him, you care for him, you avenge him, you bestow him, you oversee him. You made him a little lower than the angels. And these this word angels is gods on the ordinary sense difference and has crowned you encircled to protect from attack him with glory and honor. This is how we're established. Okay? A little lower than the angels. But I want you to see something very very important of what Jesus did. Watch this. I just taught on this recently. John 20:16-1 17. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself and saith unto him, Raboni, which is the same master. She's at the tomb. And she sees that Jesus is not there. And so Jesus is now revealing himself, "Hey, Mary, this is me. I'm right here." And then he says this. Jesus saith unto her, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my father and your father, and to my God and your God." Do you see what just happened here? We're made a little lower than the angels, but Jesus is the son of God. Jesus is telling Mary and Magdalene here, "Hey, I'm going up." And by the way, check this out. He just rose from the grave. He's got a billion souls behind him that he took out of paradise. He's on his way to his father and he stops.

We can make this very comical. Everybody bumping back like, "Whoa, why did Jesus just stop? We're going to the father." And Jesus stops to talk to Mary Magdalene, a woman. He stops everything he's doing to talk to her, to share this most important thing. We're no longer a little lower than the angels.

Jesus, his father, is our father.

Do you see that? He says, "My father, your father, my God, your God." Oh, something changed. Something changes. Go to Romans 8:14. For as many as as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. You see, we're no longer a little lower than the angels, my friend. A change from history to Jesus took place where now man is with Christ. Now understand this. Yes, we're still in our flesh. So the flesh isn't there yet, but our spirit which has died to this flesh is up there with Christ standing next to Christ as joint hes right before our heavenly father. Oh, let's look at this. For ye have not received to take the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, the whereby we cry, aba, father. The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children then hes of God and joint hes with Christ. So if so be that we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together. Oh hallelujah. I hope you guys are seeing this. We're no longer

under the angels. We're next to Christ. Which means when he says go into all the world and preach the good news, who is he talking to? male, female, Jew, Gentile, free, slave, Greek, black, white, Asian, Indian, whoever you are, male, female, whoever you are, you're called to ministry. Look at me. I'm not a pastor, but I am called to teach and preach the word of God. And those that catch this, by the way, continue to watch because they know by the fruit and the manifestation of what's being taught to them and how it grows in them. That is what the calling is. I don't have to be a pastor of a church to teach. Pastors do teach, but really they have the office to minister to their their congregation. If a person in the church gets into the uh the emergency room, they go they go there to be with them. They're praying with them, but they're to keep the church on the doctrine of the word of God and not allow false doctrine in to pray with them and get them back right at the power of the cross. That's the role of a pastor. And he has to do it with his wife because the two work in tandem because they are completed in an image of God. We are created in his image. male and female. I taught that when I talked about Eve. So now, even though I believe that women can't be pastors or elders do the requirements established by Paul and Peter and them in scripture, I believe women are joint hes in the church with Christ just as much as men. And if men falter or fail or they go home to be with the Lord, then God will use woman or whomever is ready and willing that is listening to him speak. I hope you get this. Hallelujah. Be ready. This means you need to get back to the power of the cross. Remember the redemption. This do in remembrance of me. Take your holy communion. If you think you've been too sinful, ask God to forgive you. He will forgive you. And ask him and then say, "Lord, I forgive myself." You see, once you let go and realize the sinner and the wretched, decrepit person that you were, you got to let that go and move forward in the calling of the spirit of God in your spirit. So his spirit will rise in you and you transform, change, you renew your mind. You think differently. You turn back and say, "Wait a minute." But the word of God says, "I'm not supposed to be sick. Why am I sick?" So you begin to follow what scripture tells you. You look at James 5. You go get prayed over by the elders. You forgive yourself. You forgive those around you. Forgive you the history of your genealogies. You forgive your children, your your grandchildren. You forgive them all. You walk in the spirit of forgiveness. And once you do that, God has forgiven you. You are forgiven. Sickness must flee because Christ is rising up in you. And sin and Christ don't mix. Diseases, sickness, and Christ don't mix. They both cannot reside in your body. And if they are, you're in a church that where you're sick and you've been told you you have cancer or this or that. Well, guess what? That's when you say, "Nope. I believe in the true word of God. And if I messed up here, Lord, forgive me. I'm going to I want to get right with you. How do I do it?" And the first thing you do is you ask for forgiveness. You get in your word. You spend time with the Lord. and you begin to find out what the Bible says, not what others say, what the Bible says, because now you get back on the right track with God. Amen. That's how it's done, my friend. Let's close in a word of prayer. Father God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the revelation. And I pray that the enemy does not take this word out of our hearts or minds. That we do not forget the power and the authority of your word, but that we apply it to our lives. that we get right back in right standing with you, Father God. And I thank you for showing us women that we can be more with you and that we know that your Holy Spirit can work through us. We can pray for the sick. We can minister online. We can minister at Bible studies. Father God, thank you. Help us be stronger in your word. And Lord, push us aside and let your Holy Spirit manifest within us, within the woman and within the man, so that we're serving you, giving you all the glory because you are King of glory. Hallelujah, Father God. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. God bless you. Next week is Fourth of July on Thursday. I'm going to take the entire week off and enjoy my vacation week. So, there will not be a teaching next week, but will resume the following week. God bless you, and I'll see you in the next message. Bye-bye.