Turning Your World Upside Down by Apostle Michael Orokpo: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Turning the world upside down

Acts 17:1-6

One of the markers they used to describe Paul's ministry: everywhere he went, he demonstrated a capacity that could alter the whole operation of the system

He had the capacity to establish a new order everywhere he went. They considered him one who turned the world upside down

In Paul's days, two men could enter a city and alter the ideology and philosophy of the people. When they left, the city could no longer be recognized

The people were set on fire, so palpably that it affected even the economic structure

Now we have thousands of churches in cities, but it does not show that Jesus is Lord. Something has happened to the quality of Christianity we practice today

In the days of the apostles, individuals could take cities. Today numerous churches do not have the capacity to even affect the fabric of a city

We must return to the plane the apostles walked on, that gave them that level of witness and power. Without any iota of doubt, we have derailed from what the apostles carried

If we do the same, the same result they commanded will be commanded in our time

In Lagos, on Sunday morning the streets are empty. On Monday you wonder whether the name of Christ is mentioned in the city

We take pride in institutions. They took pride in the witness they brought to territories

This is not an attempt to undermine what the Holy Ghost is doing in our generation. It is a desire to place today's Christians side by side with the early church.

There is a massive deviation from the standard the apostles pedestalled

3 things that mark genuine Christianity

1. The standard of truth

   Luke 1:1-3

   It must be known, believed and imbibed. Christianity without truth is a charade

   This is what the early church called the faith. A body of truth that defined their ideology and their identity

   It was methodical and systematic. Everyone understood it

   This was the body of truth the apostles downloaded and committed to their followers, and handed to Theophilus

   If this truth does not define us, something will happen to the quality of Christianity we have

   They had an understanding about God, about Christ, about the Holy Spirit, and about the finished work of Christ (the gospel)

   They had an understanding about the ministry of angels, and how angels support the body of Christ

   They had an understanding about what the church represents. You do not just come to church and feel you have come to where believers are. There is a theology that defines what a church is

   They had an understanding about the end of life. Where you are going when you are done is a function of how you live your life

   That body of truth regulated a man's actions. He could not act outside it

   There was an expectation of you once you joined the church Acts 5:13

   When you say you are a believer, there is a code of conduct and a manifestation your life is expected to have.

   You cannot say you are a Christian and still look like the person in the world

   Christianity had a code, a signature, a token. The church had a recognition and an identity

   Today you cannot randomly ask a believer who God is, who Christ is, what the church is, or where he is going at the end of life, and get a clear answer

   The early church understood theology, Christology, pneumatology, soteriology, ecclesiology and eschatology. Christianity was an identity that could not be mistaken

   Jude 1:3-4

   The apostles fought to defend it. Every Christian had a definite identity because of the body of revelation given to them

   The first thing that makes you a proper Christian is coming to an accurate understanding of this body of revelation, until it defines your ideology, your conviction and your action

   Belonging to a denomination does not make you a man God can depend on

   You begin as a saved believer, you must graduate to a discipled believer, and then become a commissioned believer. Otherwise you have no use to God

   I am laying a foundation for why Paul, who was a murderer, suddenly became a man with so much impact that he could turn nations upside down

   It did not happen because Paul was special. It happened because of the foundation that defined the church in the early days

   Paul was not the only one with this credential

   Acts 8:5

   Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ. Demons cried out, the sick of the palsy walked, and the whole city was filled with joy

   Philip was not an apostle, he was an usher. That was a church that could send ushers to help

   They did not know anything like hard ground in the early church. They were fortified to be sent to hell, and even the devil would know somebody came

   They were beings of power, of revelation, of wisdom. They carried the oracles of God.

   They downloaded the mind of the Father until anyone who came into their sphere was convicted by the Holy Spirit

2. The demonstration of power

   Mark 16:17-18

   You cannot say you are a Christian and have no supernatural token that backs you up. These signs are not for evangelists only

   In the early church apostles and evangelists were trainers. Their major preoccupation was to disciple, to raise warriors and giants

   Today if a pastor casts out a demon you will see drama. Even the pastor is not sure the demon will obey

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   They were known by the demonstrations of power

   1 Corinthians 2:1-4

   If you are a Christian and cannot demonstrate the power of God, something is wrong with your genuineness

   The proof that you are a believer beyond doctrine is the force of the Holy Spirit that can address demons and change circumstances

   1 Corinthians 4:20

   They were people of power, known by power. Everywhere they went, they demonstrated power. Power is non-negotiable in this kingdom

   Power to transform. When Peter spoke, they were caught in their hearts. He spoke beyond their brain into their hearts. He was not a motivational speaker

   Acts 2:37, Acts 2:41, Acts 4:4, Acts 6:1, Acts 6:7, Acts 13:44

   3,000 were added, then 5,000, the disciples multiplied, a great company of priests became obedient to the faith, a whole city came to hear Paul

   When you heard them, you came into your identity in God and your purpose was born. Addiction died. Things that could not bring you into destiny were mortified.

   They had power to subject you to the refinery of the word until you were transformed

   They also had power to cast out devils, work miracles and change circumstances

   They were carriers of power, custodians of eternal heritages in God. In their families and in their workplace, power manifested

   Changing your world upside down is not just "I came to church." When you return to the bank tomorrow, something shows that heaven came with you.

   In the marketplace, something shows that God came with you

3. The testimony of a transformed character

   Acts 11:26

   The apostles spent time discipling people at Antioch, and at the end the world saw them and realized they were identical with Jesus

   If truth, power and character cannot be traced to you, something is wrong with your foundation

   It does not matter the gutter you came from. Paul was a murderer, but in a short time he carried so much of the testimony of Christ that he became a city taker

What turning the world upside down means

It is the impact of Paul's ministry. Everyone who is commissioned and represents Jesus must command impact

There is a scale of impact where, when your life begins to command, men take note of you. The same testimony they had for Paul, they will have for you

Components of Paul's ministry that made them say he turned the world upside down

1. Enormous signs and wonders

   Everywhere Paul went there were miracles, signs and wonders. Those were the factors they referred to when they said Paul turned the world upside down

   We must also become carriers of signs and wonders

   Acts 14:3

   If you want your story too to be that you turned the world upside down, your life must be accompanied by signs

   If your life or your church does not command signs and wonders, you cannot come into this class. The people who turned their world upside down are people of signs and wonders

   Acts 14:8-10

   A man at Lystra, lame from his mother's womb, had never walked. Paul perceived he had faith. How did that faith come? By hearing Paul. Faith comes by hearing Romans 10:17

   Paul commanded him with a loud voice, and the man leaped and walked

   Paul did not turn his world upside down just by talking. He did it by the demonstration of miracles

   Do not be satisfied that you belong to a denomination or a unit in church. All of that is important, but this is the Christianity to contend for

   Acts 19:11-12

   In Ephesus, handkerchiefs and aprons taken from Paul had devils cast out, by people with no understanding of demonology. There was no city Paul entered without a miracle

   Acts 20:9-12

   In Troas, Eutychus fell down and died while Paul was talking to the elders. Paul fell on him, and the next day he was up

   This was the Christianity they practiced, one synonymous with the move of signs and wonders

   Acts 28:3-5, Mark 16:18

   In Malta, after the ship was wrecked, a serpent fastened on Paul. He shook it into the fire. The people thought he was going to die, but he was not hurt

   Your Christianity should graduate from "I attend this church" to "when there is a need, call me"

   It is unfortunate that we are still motivating Christians to come to church.

   We are talking about a Christianity where, when anything happens, people in his area gather around an ordinary brother and say, help us

   If someone is sick, they call you to lay hands. If there is an emergency, they call you to speak

   If people want to hear God or need direction, they look for you

   You are the Christian in that office for more than a religious logo. In the bank, in the market, signs should accompany you

2. The anakazo power

   Everywhere Paul went there was an attracting power.

   When you have something of value, people scavenge for it

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   Micah 4:1-2

   Nations should gather at our feet

   It is not you looking for relevance. You carry something so significant that people trod to hear what you have to say

   Acts 13:44, Acts 14:1

   When Paul spoke, men were commanded to listen. You could not despise or gainsay the utterance of Paul. Cities gathered to hear this man

   I am not saying you must preach the gospel as an apostle. I am saying that in whatever area you are commissioned to, you should be the commander and the leader there.

   You should raise leaders

   Over time they should realize you speak a wisdom that is out of this world. When you enter anywhere, you disrupt the balance and they readjust the structure to accommodate the weight you bring

   It is a type of power called anakazo. Every genuine believer should command it

   You cannot be in photography, banking or media and be lost. You are light, and light cannot hide

   John 1:5

   Our mentality is wrong. We enter a field hoping and praying to succeed. The time to pray to succeed is over

   Psalm 1:3

   It is already a prophecy that whatever you do will prosper

   The sons of the bondwoman go with a takeover mentality. They tell you, "In 30 years we will take over this city." The believer goes to America or England and all he gets is accent.

   They think takeover, the Christian thinks survival

   City takers. When they show up, they take leadership, because you are the head and not the tail

3. Territorial transformation

   They had something to add to territories. The values they teach have capacity to transform nations

   We are not just talking fire. We teach honesty, integrity, love for one another, mutual respect, dignity of labor. These are learned as you walk with Jesus

   No territory is transformed without these value systems. They form the foundation of civilizations

   No institution in the world teaches righteousness, holiness, humility, brokenness, truth, sacrifice. It is only in the presence of God that these truths are communicated

   Acts 13:49

   They published the word of God until they submerged the whole region under the influence of the word

   Acts 19:8-10, Acts 19:19

   Practitioners of witchcraft gathered their curious books and burnt them. The worth was 50,000 pieces of silver, destroyed in one day. People changed their philosophies and ideologies because they encountered Paul

   If such a man enters a city, those in darkness are troubled, because where he comes, power has come and transformation has come.

   There will be a campaign of calumny to discredit him, because if he stays long enough he will take over the city

   If you are in a family and there is no transformation yet, those smoking are still smoking, those lying still lying, those fornicating still fornicating

   And you say you are light. That is a poor kind of Christianity.

   You must build value and communicate value

4. Economic implication

   Acts 16:16-18

   Paul cast the demon out of the slave girl who practised divination. She brought much fortune to her masters, and when the demon left, the money flow stopped

   Through value they raised honorable people who can take over the economic industry and redirect finances for the benefit of the people

   Through the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit they channeled resources from wicked and unreasonable people

   It was in Ephesus that Paul brought down Diana. People stopped buying items of witchcraft and the economy of darkness crashed

   Through value they redirected finances into the hands of the right people. Through power they cut off the income of wicked men

   If a Paul comes to Lagos today, he will publish the gospel to a level where bribery and corruption stop. Those whose business survives on corruption will go bankrupt

   People should hear you and suddenly the banking industry is sanitized, the market is sanitized, the government is sanitized

   A senator hears you, and next time they share money, the fear of God hits him.

   He returns the money and develops the constituency, not because EFCC is sent but because the word of God has become a government of its own

   Society is still bastardized because the quantity of Christianity in the early church has not yet visited us

   Study church history. See how these guys conquered kings and rulers of nations

   Acts 26:24

   Agrippa told Paul that too much knowledge had made him mad. Paul reasoned with him on righteousness, conscience and the age to come

   Fear hit the king, and he said he did not want to hear again

   If you hear them after a while, you either repent or you are judged.

   We have turned the gospel into motivational speaking, yet it was the weapon this man used to change civilization

5. Authority to destroy the powers of darkness over cities

   Paul shut down Diana in Ephesus

   Every physical city has a spiritual dimension, and the spiritual dimension regulates the physical. Egypt is first a spirit before it is a territory. The spirit of Babylon exists before there is a Babylon

   Speaking truth alone is not enough. You need power through priesthood to shut down the demonic constellations over a city

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   There is a dimension the minister carries, and a dimension that requires a quorum of believers. We need to raise people who understand priesthood

   While we teach values, we also deal with the spirit. We say to the spirit in Lagos that makes corruption look like the only way to the top, let it break

   Luke 10:18

   After Jesus saw Satan fall, he sent 70 men, and all of them came back with results

   He had dismounted the structure of the spirit over the territory. They went just to receive spoils of war

To be marked as one who turns the world upside down you must have:

• Miracles, signs and wonders
• The anakazo force that attracts the attention of territories
• Capacity to install values that bring territorial transformation
• Competence to influence economic structures
• Authority to dislodge the forces of darkness

What Paul stood on

Paul was not special. Look at what he said

2 Corinthians 4:13

Paul is telling us that what is happening with him is not because he is special. There was a spirit of faith he activated in his life.

There were things Paul stood on that made him command that level of impact

When you enter the same frequency as Paul, you can command the same result. It does not matter if you are young or old, male or female, white or black. What are you standing on?

1. The centrality of the gospel

   Romans 1:16

   1 Corinthians 15:1-4

   Everyone Paul built, he built them standing on the gospel

   You think the gospel is weak, that is why you are not commanding results.

   The day you understand that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is not history but the power of God, your life becomes a wonder

   If you believe Jesus died, your condemnation is lifted. If you believe he rose, you have been ushered into the realm of immortality, and nothing in you can suffer corruption

   The gospel deposits power upon the heart of everyone who believes. Paul understood this

   Galatians 3:1-5

   Leaving the gospel is a bewitching, because you are about to lose the advantage

   Paul painted the picture of the cross so clearly it was as if they were standing there when it happened. On the strength of that truth, miracles broke out among them

   The miracles of Paul were a product of the gospel. I may not have a title, but if I carry the gospel everywhere I go, I will see the same miracles

   You want to show people your Harvard certificate and your 50 years of experience. The demons we deal with were here before the earth was created.

   Your 50 years is like a dot in the sand of time

   Experience can motivate people in a context of mentorship. But for the demonstration of power and the representation of the kingdom, you must stand on the gospel

   If I preach the gospel to you, I can command the lame to walk.

   The moment faith is born in your heart, the power to address the situation is in the message and the faith formed in your heart, not in me

   Illustration: preaching among older ministers

   I preached among men who were preaching before I was born. I did not go with my experience.

   I went with the power of the gospel, because Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

   The power of God was all over the place and it could not be denied

   Build your life on the gospel. I am justified not because I live right. I am justified because Christ died for me and declared me justified.

   Now that I am justified, the Holy Ghost gives me power to live right

   I can command a demon, "Get out," and tell the blind, "See," not because I am special.

   When Jesus rose from the dead he opened the economy of immortality where sickness does not exist, and gave me the license, using his name, to appropriate that immortality

   When I see corruption in the likeness of sickness, I can command it to get out and it will get out

   This was the consciousness of Paul. He built his life on the centrality of the gospel

2. Continually filled with the Holy Spirit

   Acts 9:17

   Ananias laid hands on Paul, he was filled with the Spirit and his eyes opened

   Acts 13:9-12

   When Elymas the sorcerer tried to hinder the message, Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, spoke to him

   Everywhere Paul went he went filled. The problem with us is that we go out empty. Every day you must add another layer of infilling

   Acts 2:1-4

   The apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit

   Acts 4:29-31, Acts 4:33

   After the Sanhedrin flogged and threatened them, boldness depleted. They knew they needed another infilling. They prayed for signs and wonders, were filled again, and the place was shaken

   Manifestation of wonders is not for special people. There is a technology that works it. First, stand on the gospel. Second, stay continually filled with the Holy Spirit

   This is why we worship and pray in tongues. Of ourselves we can do nothing. It is the infilling that provokes what flows out of us

   John 7:38-39

   Be so full of the Spirit that the overflow changes your world. Do not come half cup or half filled.

   Come filled to the overflow

   What makes a difference around you is the overflow of the Spirit

3. The authority of the name of Jesus

   Acts 16:18

   Paul commanded the spirit to leave the slave girl in the name of Jesus

   They had merit with God by grace and service, but they could not spend from that merit. Everywhere they went, they went in the name of the Lord

   Acts 3:6, Colossians 3:17

   The problem is that you are doing things in the name of your friend, your father, your pride, your experience. That is why you have not commanded enough impact to turn your world upside down

   Your confidence and audacity must be in the name of Jesus. I fast, I pray, I worship, but I do not declare in the name of fasting, prayer or worship.

   I declare in the name of Jesus

   When you declare in the name of Jesus, what God hears is that Jesus is the one asking, not you. If God cannot refuse Jesus, he cannot refuse you.

   Standing in the name of Jesus means you are functioning in his stead

This is not a mystery. This is why you too can turn the banking world, the academic world and the media world upside down.

You must stand where Paul stood to command the result Paul commanded

Other foundations of Paul's ministry

I had 12 things I wanted to give you. What we cannot teach, we communicate as a body of impartation

If I had time, I would have shown you the place of:

• Prayer, fasting and consecration
• Identity, calling and the guidance of the Holy Spirit
• Effort and deliberateness in the missionary enterprise
• Sustained teaching and discipleship. Paul raised men and structures, he did not function in isolation
• Teamwork and multiplication of effort, laboring with colleagues like Barnabas and Silas
• Stewardship and practical financial management. He created governance around church funds and mobilized money from city to city so what was needed to push the gospel was present in every territory
• Integrity and financial accountability. No coin was taken or diverted for anything other than the work of the kingdom
• Perseverance, endurance and sacrificial living

These defined Paul's ministry, and any territory Paul entered, he had power to shut it down

God wants to exalt your horn and bring you to a place where you too will shut down systems and territories until Jesus is exalted as king and as Lord

Impartation

There is a spirit of influence that God puts on people. Suddenly your name becomes bigger than you. When people see you they say, "Are you the one?"

Psalm 92:10

There is an oil that causes horns to grow