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[music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music and singing] [singing] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music and singing] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Come on, I ask of this church this morning, why don't you raise the temperature in the room? For the next [music] few moments, why don't you clap your hands into the Lord and begin to lift your voice with a praise on your lips.
[music] Why don't you lift up the name of Jesus? Oh, we worship you, Jesus. [music] Oh, we praise your name, Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You're a mighty good God.
>> [music] >> Why don't you turn to somebody right now and just tell them he's a mighty good God. And there [music] is no telling what God will do in this place. I've come with an expectation. If this is your first [music] time here, we are excited that you're in service with us. We invite you to participate with the worship, the singing, [music] the preaching, and just let the Lord do what he wants to do. Church, are we ready to let the Lord move this morning?
>> [music] >> Come on, why don't you lift your hands in surrender to him today? God, we believe you. Oh, [music] do what you want to do. Yes.
>> [music] >> There is revival [music] right here and now. [singing]
>> [music] >> There is a fresh wind. I can hear the [singing] sound. Something [music] truly wonderful is happening. There is a difference deep inside [music and singing] of me. More than a feeling, this is [music] prophecy. Something really powerful
>> [music and singing] >> is happening. Darkness Darkness [music] bound
>> [singing] >> down to the ground. Mountains get out of my way.
>> [music] >> Breaking out [singing] of yesterday. Got a new thing coming. Tell this giant in my face, you're not greater [music] than my faith. Just believe me when I say, I got a new thing [music] coming. I got a new thing coming. I got a new thing coming. I got a new thing coming. I got a new thing coming. I got a new thing coming. I got a new
>> [music] >> thing coming. There is noise [music] to the sound of your voice. Tell every strong you got to let me go. You got to let [singing and music] me go. Something really powerful Something really powerful
>> [singing] >> is happening. There is a freedom [music] that I've never known. [singing] I've never known. All of this shadow
>> [music] >> All of this shadow is over thrown.
>> [singing] >> is over thrown. Something
>> [music] >> really powerful Something really powerful is happening.
>> [music] [singing] [music] >> Darkness bound down to the ground. Mountains [music] get out of my way. Breaking out of yesterday. Got a new thing coming. Got a new
>> [singing] >> thing coming. Tell this giant Tell [music] this giant in my face, you're not greater than my faith. Just believe me when I say, I got a new
>> [music] >> thing coming. I got a new thing coming. Darkness bound down to Mountains get out of my way.
>> [music] >> Breaking out of yesterday. I got a new thing [singing] coming. Tell this giant in my face, you're not [music] greater than my faith. Just believe [singing] me when I say, I got a new thing coming. I got a new thing coming. I got a new thing coming. I got a new
>> [music] >> thing coming. I got a new
>> [singing] >> thing coming. I got a new thing coming. I got a new thing coming.
>> [music] [music] >> And I can see it come. Every wind rain. [music] And it looks like revival [singing] is cutting all [music] the way. And I can see it come.
>> [singing] >> Every wind
>> [music] [singing] [music] [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music and singing] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Now is the time to lift up your eyes.
>> [music] >> To open your ears. For the time draws nigh. You believe that this [music] morning? Why don't you just extend your faith with your hands?
>> [music] >> Come on for a few moments, let's just extend our faith.
>> [music] >> God, I believe. Come on, take your eyes off of those circumstances around you this morning. [music] God, I lift my eyes just a little bit higher.
>> [music] >> I see what you're doing. God, I see that you are moving.
>> [music] [music] >> If you believe that this morning, why don't you give the Lord a hand clap of praise in this house?
>> [music] [music] >> Good morning and praise the Lord, everybody. It's good to be in the house of the Lord here to lift up and glorify the name of the Lord. It feels good in this house today. [music] I believe the Lord is going to do some wonderful things before it's all said and done. [music] I want to say a great big welcome to all of our guests that are here today and we've got a whole host of people who have come to
>> [music] >> just bless us with your presence. A few things I love coming back coming to church is is number one, most of our services right here, you can really feel the presence of God. I love to feel the presence of God. And [music] second thing I love about coming to church is I get to be around some of my favorite people. And the third thing I love about this church is there's always a chance to meet somebody new every service.
>> [music] >> And so we're in a good place and we're going to have a good time. I want to take just a minute to call our attention to our giving. This is something that we do as part of our worship routine. We bring God the tenth, the first tenth of our increase, that's our tithe. We give offerings above and beyond that and as you know, we typically don't pass the plate here. [music] We can give online or down at the drop box there in the east lobby. Uh but one of the areas of giving that I think it's important to give attention to, [music] my wife and I have tried to do this our entire married life, is every time we get paid
>> [music] >> and every time we go to give our offering, we give something to missions. Now we don't take our general offering and give it to missions cuz we have to take care of home first, but we want to put something in there for missions because there is a blessing [music] in taking the gospel beyond the borders of our local church. We give our tithes and offerings, that comes back and it benefits us because we get to receive from the ministry [music] here, but when we're giving to places overseas [music] and giving for the purposes of getting churches planted around our country, that's something that goes outside of our borders and God blesses it. And as you know, one of our
>> [music] >> recent mission efforts is sending brother Tony Pimentel to Malta. That's where Paul was shipwrecked. And [music] just a little while ago today, I got a picture from brother Tony, put that up. He is standing out there. This is the same sea where Paul was shipwrecked. Baptized this good brother in the wonderful name of Jesus. The gospel [music] is going out of this church. It's because we have been willing to [music] put the effort into it. The gospel's going forward. Good things are happening. God bless you as you give. Promises. [music] We're standing on his promises. In him we [music] have our confidence. He won't fail.
>> [music] >> He will go before.
>> [music] >> He will be with us. He will not fail us. He will [music] not forsake. [singing] He will go before. He will be with [music] us. He will not [singing] fail us. He [music] will not forsake. So we will Trust in the Lord with [music] all thine heart. So we will Trust in [music] the Lord with all thine [singing] heart.
>> [music] >> Neither be dismayed.
>> [music] >> So we're standing today on His promises. We're standing on His We're standing [music] on His promises.
>> [singing] >> Oh, we trust And in Him we have our confidence. He [music] won't fail.
>> [singing] [music] >> promises. We're standing on His promises.
>> [music and singing] >> And in Him we have our confidence. He won't [music and singing] fail. But I trust in you,
>> [music] [music] >> He will go before [music and singing] us. He will be with us. He will [music] not fail us. He will not [singing] forsake. He will go before. Make a way. He will be with
>> [music] >> Yes, He will. Yes, He will. He will not fail us. He [music] will not forsake. So I will trust Trust [music] in the Lord with [singing] all thine heart. Oh, trust in the His [music] word won't His word won't Trust in the Lord with all thine [singing] heart. His word won't
>> [music] >> His word won't Trust in the Lord with all [singing] thine heart. His word won't His word won't
>> [music] >> Trust in [singing] the Lord with all thine heart. His word won't His word [singing]
>> [music] >> Neither be dismayed.
>> [music] >> We're standing on His promises. We're standing on your promises. We're standing [music] on His promises. And in Him we have our confidence. Yes, we trust in He won't fail.
>> [music] >> promises. We're standing on His promises. [music] And in Him we have our confidence. He won't fail. [music and singing] Mountains are moving. Ways made straight.
>> [music] >> In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name.
>> [music] >> Mountains are moving. Ways made straight. [music and singing] In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name.
>> [music] >> In Jesus' name. Somebody shout it out.
>> [singing] >> Mountains are moving. Ways made [music] straight. God, you're fulfilling your
>> [music] >> In Jesus' name. God, you're fulfilling your In Jesus' name. Mountains [music] are moving. Mountains are moving. You're [music] performing your word. Ways made straight. You're performing your word. In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name. [music] In Jesus' name. promises. [music]
>> [singing] >> We're standing on His promises. We're standing on your promises. And in Him we have our confidence. Oh, we trust in you.
>> [music] >> He won't fail.
>> [singing] >> Mountains are [music] moving. Ways made straight.
>> [singing] >> In Jesus' name.
>> [music] >> In Jesus' name. Mountains are moving. Ways made straight.
>> [music] >> In Jesus' name. In Jesus' [music and singing] name. Say it one more time. Mountains are moving. Ways made straight. Ways made straight.
>> [music] >> In the name In Jesus' name. In Jesus' [music and singing] name. Mountains are moving. Mountains are moving. Ways made straight.
>> [music] >> In Jesus' name. In Jesus' [music] name. Trust in the Lord with all thine [music and singing] heart. His word won't fail. Trust in the Lord with
>> [music] >> all thine heart. [singing] His word won't fail. Trust in the Lord [music] with all thine heart. His word won't fail. Trust in the Lord [music] with all thine heart. His word won't fail.
>> [music] >> Neither be [singing] dismayed.
>> [music] [music] >> How many received that word this morning? Don't be afraid. God's got control of this. We believe you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Well, it feels [music] good in the house of the Lord this morning. I want to encourage you right now. Why don't you take a step across the aisle, find someone, maybe [music] greet two or three folks in Jesus' name.
>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Welcome to our Sunday morning service here at Christian Life. We are excited you're here with us. We have a few announcements to share with you at this time.
>> [music] >> Next Sunday morning, we're continuing Resurrection to Revival because life gets better from here.
>> [music] >> You weren't called to sit. You were called to go and God never sends you without power. Be here. Discover [music] your purpose. We want you to join us at the table for hibachi chicken, fresh stir-fried veggies, and rice all served with desserts and refreshing drinks. As scripture reminds us, they broke bread together and shared everything in common.
>> [music] >> There's something powerful about sharing a meal and enjoying fellowship with one another. The price is $10 for adults and $5 for kids. Bring your appetite, your friends, and your heart and let's celebrate community, connection, and God's provision around the table. You're invited to join Life Kids on May 2nd >> from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for a family picnic. It's happening at the Pine Lake Pavilion in Shelby Farms. >> Bring a sack lunch and a friend and get ready for a fun time together. See you there. Here at Christian Life, we're getting things ready for the One Life service happening on May 1st at 7:00 p.m. We're going to have an awesome night of worship, food, and fellowship and the fun doesn't stop till 1:00 in the morning. We hope to see you there. Bloom exists to cultivate a place where women are spiritually nourished, purpose is awakened, and lives are transformed by the presence of God. It is a call for women to rise in faith, bloom in their calling, and find divine fulfillment in the place where God has planted them. Believing that every season carries purpose and every stage holds the potential for growth. Join us for a powerful evening on May 8th at 7:30 filled with worship and testimony as guest speaker Bethany Jennings shares an encouraging word on the purpose, the calling, the influence of godly women. Following the service, enjoy a meaningful time of food and fellowship in Life Hall. Registration is open to ladies ages 12 and older. Bring a friend and register by April 30th to save $10 per registrant. Ladies, you won't want to miss this. This concludes our announcements for this morning. Be sure to stop by the lobby and grab an invite card for eight-week [music] series Resurrection to Revival because life gets better from here.
>> [music] >> And invite someone to join you. Now, please continue to worship with us.
>> [music] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music and singing] [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music and singing] [music] [music] [music] >> Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong [singing] and mighty. Who is this [music] king of glory? The Lord [singing] mighty and God. Who [music] is this king [singing] of glory? The Lord of hosts, the king of kings.
>> [music] >> Who is he in all his glory? He's knocking at the [singing] door. Knocking at the door.
>> [music] >> Lift your head, [singing] all you gates. Open up the door. He's all that [music] you need, all you're waiting for. Get ready to let him in cuz the king
>> [music] >> of glory is coming. He's coming. Lift your head, all you gates. Open up the door. He's all [music] that you
>> [singing] >> need, all you're waiting for. Get ready to let him in cuz the king
>> [singing] >> of glory is coming.
>> [music] >> He's coming. Lift your head, all you gates. Open up the [music] door. He's all that you need, all you're waiting for. Get ready to
>> [singing] >> let him in cuz the king
>> [music] >> of glory is coming. He's coming.
>> [singing] [music] [music] >> Who is this king of glory?
>> [singing] [music] >> The Lord strong and mighty. Who is [music and singing] this king of glory? The Lord mighty and God. Who is this king of glory?
>> [music] >> The Lord [singing] of hosts, the king of kings. Who is he in all his glory? He's [music] knocking [singing] at the door. Knocking at the door. He's knocking at the door. He's knocking at the door.
>> [singing] >> He's knocking at the door.
>> [music] >> He's knocking at the door.
>> [music] >> Who is this king? Jesus, king of all kings. Jesus, [music] who is this king? Jesus, what's his name? Jesus, who is this king?
>> [music] [singing] >> Jesus, king of all kings. Jesus, [music] who is this king? Jesus, what's his name? Jesus, who is
>> [music] >> this king? Jesus, king of all kings.
>> [music] >> Jesus, who is this king? Jesus, what's his name? Jesus, who
>> [music] >> is this king? Jesus, king of all kings. Jesus, who is this
>> [music and singing] >> Jesus, what's his name? Jesus, who is this king? Jesus, [music] king of all kings. Jesus, who is this Jesus, [music] what's
>> [singing] >> his name? Jesus, who is this king? [music] Jesus, king of all kings. Jesus, who
>> [music and singing] >> is this Jesus, what's his name? Jesus, who is Lift [music] your head, [singing] all you gates. Open up the door. He's all that you need, all you're waiting for.
>> [music] >> Get ready to let [screaming] him in cuz the king
>> [music and singing] >> of glory is coming. He's coming. Lift your head, all you gates.
>> [music] [singing] [music] [music] [singing] [singing and music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music and singing] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Amen. Well, let's just remain standing together. [music] Thank you, choir. And I believe the Lord is coming back again.
>> [music] >> Scripture tells us that. You know, we're living in the end times, wars and rumors of wars. Things that we see unfolding on a geopolitical stage [music] right now are a direct fulfillment of what the Bible said would be in the end times. So, what that means is the coming of Jesus is close upon us. I personally believe that [music] many of us that are in this room right now our ears are going to hear the shriek of the trumpet. We're going to look up at that eastern sky one day and we're going to see the Lord coming back. Be a part of the rapture of the church. I want to remind you you only have one chance to make the rapture. One chance. And so, we want to be walking with the Lord carefully, be ready for His coming. If you have your Bibles, let's go to the Gospel of Luke chapter 49. Luke 49 and we'll read a companion text from Acts chapter [music] 1 following that. We are working through our series on Sunday mornings from resurrection to revival, tracing the story [music] from Easter to the day of Pentecost. And we're going to explore some of the key text and passages that have to do with that time period because it has a lot to say to how we live in the church. We're living the resurrected life right here. While you're turning there in the scriptures, I want to mention that my wife and I uh very unexpectedly have been called upon to minister [music] out of town this evening. And been gone two different Sundays in the last month and as you know, I make it a priority to not miss service here cuz in my opinion, this is the most important church in the world. And this is where our heart is, but there are occasions and times and the way [music] it's unfolded, it just kind of stacked up. This one was quite unexpected, uh but I feel like it's right. So, we'll go out of town. [music] We will be back tomorrow afternoon back here in Memphis. Uh but tonight Brother Tofik Azar is going to be preaching and it's going to be good. We're going to have Holy Ghost church right here in Memphis tonight. Luke chapter 24 and verse number 49, Jesus said, "Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high. I'm sending the promise. Wait on it." You ever notice God oftentimes has us wait on things? Lord, if you're taking notes right now, I don't like that. When I want something, I want it right now. But that's not how God does things. He many times has us wait and but he said, "If you wait and the promise comes, you will be endued or filled with power from on high." One more verse, Acts chapter 1 starting in verse 4, "And being assembled together with them commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father which saith he, 'Ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.'" And from these writings, I want to preach a little bit about the promise. Can you receive the word of God with an amen? God bless you. You can be seated. If you have hung around a Pentecostal church for say about two or three minutes, you've heard somebody talk about the Holy Ghost. Or you might hear somebody talk about the Holy Spirit. And I'm going to be talking about the Holy Ghost and I'm also going to use the term Holy Spirit a little bit while I'm preaching. So, let me just clarify this. A lot of churches uh use the term Holy Spirit. In fact, you can travel around the world and mission fields, uh you're not going to hardly go anywhere that say Holy Ghost per se. Uh so, why do we in the Pentecostal church often use the word Holy Ghost instead of Holy Spirit? Well, when you go to the original language that the Bible was written in or the New Testament, it was Greek. And anywhere the word ghost or spirit shows up on the pages of the New Testament, both the word spirit and ghost come from the exact same word in the original text and that was the word pneuma, which means breath or blast of air. Think about a pneumatic hammer. Uh it it has the the idea of a spirit, of a force. Well, when the King James translators were working through converting the Greek manuscripts over in the English back then, it was very common for them to use the word ghost because to them that spoke about the spirit of a departed one. And they reasoned that Jesus is departed from us and so the word ghost seemed like it fit best in their context. And that still works today. I personally think it's probably a little more clear and accurate to say Holy Spirit, but just in case anyone is wondering, if you hear us talk about Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, we're talking about the one and the same spirit of the almighty God. We're not talking about different things. It's just different ways of saying the same thing. And so, the scripture talks a lot about the spirit of God and how he works amongst his people and what he does. And I would suggest that amongst all the topics that are covered in the scripture, the topic of the Holy Spirit is probably one of the most important ones in the Bible. It's very, very important. And it has a lot to do with our salvation. And as with any of the core truths that are found in the word of God, over the centuries, there has been a lot of effort that I believe ultimately comes from Satan to influence uh liberal theologians to take what the Bible clearly says about a given topic and put little subtle twist to it to reduce it and somehow over time theology start to develop that are very different than what the Bible presents. And so what that means is here in the Memphis area most of us have some sort of a church background. Uh you you may not have always been around a Pentecostal church but uh most of you at least had a grandma that talked to you about the Bible or you went to Sunday school or you were had exposure to the Christian faith in a broader sense and so what that means is that when people come into the church I find that they oftentimes have a lot of ideas about what the spirit of God is and how it works but many times the ideas that people have that they sincerely formed because that's all they've heard or taught are ideas that don't totally square with what the scripture says. So there are a few ideas that float around about the spirit of God that that have morphed that really aren't biblical. One of those ideas is the the suggestion that the Holy Ghost is the third member of a trinity and that the Holy Ghost is a separate person from Jesus Christ. And that was made popular by the Catholic Church starting in the late 2nd century and fully developed in the 3rd century. The original apostles never even thought of the concept of a trinity. The word trinity is nowhere found in the Bible. In fact, the idea of God consisting of three separate persons is not only is it not in the Bible, it goes against the Bible because the Bible tells us that there is one God but in the book of Galatians it said that God is one. God does not exist in a trinity. The idea of trinity is totally a man-made fabrication that has been later imposed upon the text of the Bible and people have tried to twist scriptures to make them to say something that it does not. So when the Bible speaks about the Father, it's talking about a specific uh specific manifestation that God feels. When we read about the fatherhood of God we're reading about his creative power. When we read about the Son, we are reading about the flesh that that God indwelt, the person of Jesus Christ and when we read about the spirit, many times the spirit is simply speaking about God working in the church or through his people. So Father, Son, and Holy Spirit refer to three separate manifestations of God. They do not refer to three persons of God. So it's important for us to understand that when the Holy Spirit comes, that is the same spirit as God Almighty. It's not a part of God Almighty, it is God Almighty. Now there's another idea that once again doesn't square with the Bible but I I want to address it up front because it's pretty common in Memphis and that is the idea that receiving the Holy Spirit is a good thing but it is not a necessary thing. There are people that will when they get around us and they'll say, "You know what? You I know you people believe in getting the Holy Ghost." Or as one person said one time, "Catching the Holy Ghost." I I We had a person receive the spirit here a while back and they so excited and they said, "I caught the Holy Ghost." And I said, "Praise God. That's a great thing to to catch the Holy Ghost." And uh And so they the the people will say, "Well, you know it's it's a good thing and we're not against that but I just don't think that is for everybody. Some of us love God but we have never experienced that and I just think we all go to heaven anyway if we love God. We may not have had that particular experience of receiving the Holy Ghost and but but we still love God so we're still going to go to heaven." Well, we're going to let the scripture answer that here in just a moment. And then another uh idea that is pretty prevalent once again in the Memphis area is that receiving the Holy Ghost as we see it described in the book of Acts it's the idea that that is obsolete. There are theologians within 1 mile of this church. Trust me, I know. Within 1 mile of this church, there are theologians, there are congregations that openly and actively say that God no longer pours out his spirit like they did he did in the book of Acts but that that was something was just for the era of the apostles. They say that since we have the completed Bible, we no longer need the Holy Ghost and we do not need to be filled with the spirit and that we are trying to promote something that God no longer does. It is obsolete. Once again, I disagree with that. I can make a strong theological case for why the doctrine of cessationism is not right and not true but I don't even need theology to refute that because you're looking at a man that at the age of 13 in the year of September in year of 1990 in September, the 9th day of September in a little community called St. Mary's, West Virginia in a little white church house, I received the Holy Ghost and I spoke in tongues for 1 hour after receiving the Holy Ghost. I'm just simply here to tell you it's real and it does indeed happen and on a regular basis right here in this sanctuary, people receive the Holy Ghost and they speak in tongues. So you've come too late to tell me it doesn't happen. I am a living testimony that it does happen. And I wonder, do we have any other testimonies in this house? That the Holy Ghost is still poured out? Thank God. So there's a lot of ideas there but I think it's important for us to spend some time really understanding what the Bible teaches about how the Holy Ghost works. The first thing that I want to spend just a moment on is the fact that before Jesus rose from the dead going all the way back into the Old Testament era the Holy Ghost was at work amongst God's people but he worked differently in the Old Testament than what he does in the New Testament era. The Holy Ghost would move on particular people to empower them for special assignments. For example we see this often in in the story of Samson. We know Samson uh man, he was stronger than Popeye. And he didn't even have to eat spinach to get strong. Some of y'all don't know what Popeye is. You I'm talking about fried chicken. If you're over 40, you might know. But Samson was a guy that he was given supernatural strength in the sense of muscular power. He did things that were only you could only say they would they happened supernaturally. But the Bible would tell us that Samson when he was in a moment that he needed to lift those heavy gates off the walls of the city or he was single-handedly fought a thousand Philistine warriors the scripture would say this. It says the spirit of God came upon him. The spirit came upon him. And over and again when somebody would be used of God we see this phrase the spirit of God came upon him. King Saul when he prophesied, the Bible said the king the spirit of God came upon him. The spirit of God came on David when he fought Goliath. When Elijah worked miracles, the spirit of God would come upon him. But this whole idea OF THE SPIRIT OF God coming upon them shows us that the Holy Ghost although it was an active force it was something that was working from the outside. The spirit of God did not live in the hearts of the people in the Old Testament era. The spirit was with them but not in them. And the spirit of God would empower them for special moments of service and did not dwell permanently with his people. But when Jesus comes on the scene, Jesus started foretelling that there was going to be a change in how the spirit worked. He speaks to this several times. John chapter 7.
>> [clears throat] >> He's at a feast and people are there and and and and and in a moment of prophetic utterance in verse 38, Jesus lifts up his voice and he says, "He that believeth on me as the scripture have said." This is Let me chase a tangent right there. You can believe on the Lord but you can believe on the Lord wrong. You got to believe as the scripture has said. Your belief in him needs to be squared up with the Bible. "He that believeth on me as the scripture have said, out of his belly." That's old King James for saying that the spirit gets inside of you and then will flow out of you. So here we see the spirit is not something external that comes upon us for special moments but now the spirit is internal and dwells on the inside. Verse 39, the Bible said, "But this spake he of the spirit which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Ghost watch this now was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified." Now, when the Bible says the Holy Ghost was not yet given, that doesn't mean that it didn't exist because we know that it did. But it simply meant that the Holy Ghost as an indwelling permanent fixture amongst the people of God did not exist. There was about to be a change in the way God dwelt among his people. Jesus again speaks to this in John chapter 14 and verse 17. The Bible said, "The spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not." You see, the world wants us to quantify everything. "Prove to me that the Bible's the word of God. Prove to me that God created the universe. Prove it. Prove it. Prove it. Prove it." We got to see it. If I can't see it, I won't believe it. Well, you won't go to heaven then cuz the mere essence of faith is believing in something that you can't see. So the world says, "We can't receive it because we can't see him." But Jesus said, "It's not only that." He said, "They don't know him." But then he looks at his people and once again he's talking to his apostles and this is before the day of Pentecost. Jesus said, "But ye know him for he dwelleth Watch this now. He dwelleth with you. NOW, IF SOMEBODY'S WITH ME, that means they're on the outside. But he said, "SOMETHING'S ABOUT TO CHANGE. THE ONE THAT IS DWELLING WITH you shall be in you. There is a difference between having God with you and having God in you. I personally believe that the spirit of God will come alongside people to this very day that still aren't completely saved. I believe God will let people feel joy. People will sometimes be worshipping the Lord and feel goosebumps as they feel the presence of God. There are times when people that have never received the Holy Ghost pray prayers and those prayers get answered. And I think there are times when people could say, "Looking back, I know God was with me in that moment." I have no argument with that. I believe that God will still come down out of his grace and he will be with people even before they get saved. But Jesus never intended for his spirit to just be with us. But it is the plan of God for his spirit to be in us.
>> [applause] >> When Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, the Bible tells us that he was glorified. Now, the whole topic of glorification is one that is strongly emphasized there post-resurrection. The Bible lets us know later on in the epistles that we share in this glorification. I was uh I was doing some study and discussion on the topic of glorification this week and I'm almost 49 years old. I'll be 49 here in just a few days. And I've been raised up in church and so that means for almost five decades I have been hearing sermons preached like every week. And some weeks five or six or seven sermons in one week. You hear a lot of preaching. I preach a lot of sermons. To my recollection, I have never not one time ever in my entire whole life heard anybody preach a sermon on the subject of glorification. So consequently, when you talk about being glorified, we all kind of know that means something spiritual but you know, we'd be hard-pressed to say what that is. But when you look at Jesus in his glorified state, there was a few things that stood out. But one of the things was that in his glorified state, he transcended natural limitations. For example, there's that story that right after Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples were in a room and they were scared. You remember that story? The Bible said the door was locked. Why did the Bible tell us that the door was locked? It could have just said they was hiding out in a room because they thought Jesus was dead. But the scripture The scripture puts details in in the text for a reason. Every detail in the Bible is there for a purpose and you don't need to ignore it. They were there. Jesus had just rose from the dead. The doors was locked. AND WHILE THEY were in the room, the doors being locked, Jesus in his glorified state walks into the room without unlocking the door and without opening the door. He walked through this barrier that had been constructed. Now, that's important. There's other examples in his glorified state, he was doing things that he did not do prior to his resurrection. And the fact that we share in his glorification through the spirit says to me that we can transcend natural barriers and limitations when we are glorified with him. The devil would like to lock up the city. The devil would like to drop every barrier possible to stop the kingdom of God from growing and the church from reaching new souls. But I'm here to tell you that this not only a spirit-filled church, but we are a glorified church which means that we go against the laws of human possibility and we do things that people would look and say are not possible. I'm glad for it. I'm here to tell you nothing can stop the people of God. Nothing can stop you when you are in alignment with God's word and God's mission because he glorifies us. But here was the big difference in the New Testament. In the New Testament, when the spirit was poured out, it was given to the entire church community. Everybody that's in the New Testament church gets filled with the Holy Ghost. The Old Testament, it was select people. You had David moved upon by the spirit. But there was a lot of people in Israel that didn't get moved upon. You have Elijah and Elisha. You have Samson. There were select people that would have the spirit of God come upon them. But now in the New Testament, it's not just a handful of people that have the spirit of God come upon them, but it's every single New Testament believer is given the promise that the spirit of God will come within them and work through them. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. The promise is given to everybody. It's to you and to your children and to them that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. So, let me just boldly stand in this pulpit and say that if everybody would receive this, everybody can be filled with the Holy Ghost. I am preaching to people in this room right now that you've been a little bit skeptical about speaking in tongues. You've been a little skeptical about this Holy Ghost business, but can I preach to you that your skepticism does not offend God and it doesn't stop God? I'm here to tell you it is real and it is for you and it is God's plan and it's God's will and it's God's intention that everybody under the sound of my voice be filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Right now, I'm preaching online and people listen from all around the world. I don't care what country you're in, you can get the Holy Ghost. You can get it in your car, you can get it in your living room. The spirit of God transcends every geographical boundary. It is for everybody. You believe that? Clap your hands and worship the Lord together. Practically speaking, what this means is instead of a few people doing great things for God, we got a whole bunch of people doing great things for God. Cuz we got a bunch of people receiving the Holy Ghost. Let me very quickly give you three reasons why everybody needs to get the Holy Ghost. Three reasons. There's a lot of reasons, but I'm just going to give you three important ones. Number one, you need to receive the Holy Ghost BECAUSE RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST is essential to the new birth. Receiving the Holy Ghost is what puts you into the body of Christ. Let's let the scripture speak. Nicodemus came to Jesus and he asked Jesus a question. He said, "What do I got to do to get into the kingdom of heaven?" And this is what the Lord said to him in John chapter 3 and verse number 5. Jesus answered Nicodemus. He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he might not enter the kingdom of God." Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not wearing my glasses. Did I misread that? Let me try again. I'm I'm I'm I'm getting at the age right now I got to back up to read. Anybody else have to hold your phone out like this? Yeah, yeah, some of y'all feel my pain. I think I misread that. Let me try again. Except a man BE BORN OF WATER AND SPIRIT, HE PROBABLY won't enter the kingdom of God. Y'all have to excuse me. Let me try this again. Oh. Except a man be born of water and the spirit, HE CANNOT NOW, THAT'S STRONG MEDICINE. THAT'S EXCLUSIVE LANGUAGE. HE CANNOT enter into the kingdom of God. Now, I got to think, what does that mean? Without giving a too technical answer, to me that means that you probably need get the Holy Ghost if you want to go to heaven. No, probably Let me state that. You've got to get the Holy Ghost. Cannot even get in the kingdom without being born of the water and the spirit. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the Bible says, "For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, bond or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit." This appears to be saying to me THAT IF I WANT TO BE PART OF THE BODY OF CHRIST, the only way I get added to the body is to be baptized in the spirit. You can shake the preacher's hand and still not be part of the body. You could even go to membership class and fill out membership application and not BE PART OF THE BODY. YOU COULD BE A PERSON who prays and reads the Bible and loves God and not be PART OF THE BODY. YOU CAN BE A PERSON THAT TRIES TO KEEP keep the 10 Commandments and has a fear of God in your heart AND STILL NOT BE PART OF THE BODY. All of those things are good, but you know what makes you part OF THE BODY OF CHRIST? It's being baptized in the Holy Ghost. Everybody needs the Holy Ghost because it is essential. Reason number two that you need the Holy Ghost. THE HOLY GHOST EMPOWERS us to live in victory over sin, worldliness, and Satan. You need the Holy Ghost because you need power. And I don't mind telling you, living for God and doing what's right is not easy. In fact, just to be fully transparent, I don't have it in me to do it. My flesh nature, my fallen inclinations are are bad. If Caleb Adams just follows his own heart, he will lie, steal, be full of pride and arrogance and lust. I will break every commandment in the word of God if I follow my own heart. The scripture tells me that my heart is desperately wicked. My heart is evil. AND THE BIBLE [screaming] ALSO SAYS THAT I CAN'T EVEN KNOW my own heart. That means that when I think I'm doing right, I'm doing wrong because I'm self-evaluating apart from the word of God. SO, IF I AM GOING TO BE SAVED, I'VE GOT TO HAVE A power that comes from somewhere beyond my OWN WILLPOWER. I CANNOT serve God through grit and determination. I need an indwelling power. I need the spirit of God who puts a new nature and a new desire WITHIN ME.
>> [applause] >> PAUL SAID IN GALATIANS CHAPTER 5 and verse 16, says, "Walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." So, in other words, if I'm walking in the spirit, I can say no to myself. I'm full of the Holy Ghost and I'm walking with God, I'm going to be able to deny the temptations. And can I just take a minute and preach a little bit of pastoral stuff? If you've been giving in to your flesh, the reason you're doing it is cuz you are not walking in the spirit. You can come to church and not walk in the spirit. You can play music on the platform, sing in the choir, you can work in the media booth, you can work in the hospitality ministry, you can teach Sunday school, you can preach in the pulpit and not walk in the spirit. But walking in the spirit is you've got to pray and you've got to get your heart humble and broken before God and you've got to have the renewing of the Holy Ghost. AND WHEN THE HOLY Ghost is working in you, you can say no to yourself. This means that late in the evening when I'm all by myself, I get a temptation to look
at something I shouldn't look at on my phone, I'm walking in the Holy Ghost. I say, "No, flesh. Not doing it." I get tempted to get angry and pop off and let stuff come out of my mouth. If I'm walking in the spirit, the Holy Ghost puts a little check right before I act out. Says, "You ought not do that." And if I'm walking in the spirit, I just hold my peace and keep from making a mess of things. That's what it means to walk in the spirit is we walk right. Brothers and sisters, without the Holy Ghost, you can live right some of the time, but you can't live right all the time. Without Ghost, your willpower will reach its limits, and you will succumb to some form of fleshly sin. But this word tells me that if I walk in the spirit, if he is in me, I do not, and you do not, have to fulfill the lust of our flesh. We can live right, we can live clean, and live in victory.
First John chapter 4. He said, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them." Speaking about worldly society. "Because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." Now, let's just, it's just us here today. So, let's talk about this. If you start serving the Lord, if you start coming to this church, you're going to have people against you for doing it. I've watched for years people come and get converted in this church. They never darken the doors of a church, and usually their life is all messed up and and dysfunctional, and none of their family have a thing to do with them. But the minute they get baptized, get the Holy Ghost, all of a sudden their auntie that has never tried to get them to go to church with her, she gets all sort of a burden and she doesn't [snorts] want this person that just got converted to Christian Life Church to go to a Pentecostal church. You can come to my church. At my church, you, we don't have to do all that stuff. At my church, it's just different. Yeah, it is different. That's why you couldn't help them before.
People are going to make fun of you. They're going to come against you. AND LET ME JUST TELL YOU, ALL OF US ARE WIRED TO want to fit IN WITH SOCIETY. I WANT THE APPROVAL of society, and you do, too. That's in human nature. We could not have a functional society if we didn't have that feeling. But the problem with that feeling is that society is degenerating. Society is getting worse and worse. Society is becoming more and more corrupt. And in order for us to really fit in, we have got to endorse their corruption, and we cannot speak out against it. We have got to go with their flow. But when I get saved, that means my life turns around, and I'm going against the flow of society. And if I'm going against the flow of society, they're trying to push me away from God, trying to push me out of church. They're mocking, they're making fun, they're doing everything they can to push me backwards. That is why I have to have the Holy Ghost. That's why you got to have the Holy Ghost, because when you have the Holy Ghost, you can stand strong and bold, for greater is he that is within you than he that is in the world. I can overcome the world. The world might be corrupt, the world might try to tempt me, but through the power of the Holy Ghost, I can overcome it. I can rise above it.
And I came to pulpit, I planned to preach very brief today. I thought 20 minutes or so. And I've almost done that. Can I have just another moment? Can I have 22 minutes? Slip on back to the music. Talked to you about the promise. The Old Testament, the spirit was with them. Select few people. In the New Testament, the spirit comes on the inside. It's transformative, and it's for everybody. And there are three reasons you need the Holy Ghost. One is because it's essential. One is because it gives you the power to overcome sin, Satan, and the world. But the third reason you need the Holy Ghost is you need it because the Holy Ghost is a comforter.
John chapter 14 is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible in explaining to us how the Holy Ghost works. Jesus said here in chapter 14, verse 18, he looked at his disciples and he said, "I will not leave you comfortless." The word comfortless means helpless. Cuz the word comfort, in the biblical sense, means help. He said, "I WILL COME TO YOU."
NOW, this was not in my notes, but if you could, Brother Alex, flip back to scriptures. You're in John chapter 14. We're getting there. Play music during the awkward silence. We're fixing to see something powerful. Pray the Father, verse 16: "And he shall give you another comforter." "He may abide with you forever." Verse 16. Trinitarians say, "Well, look you there. You got Jesus speaking. He's talking about the Father." And he said, "I'll give you another comforter." That right there proves there's three. There's a trinity. Does it? Verse 16. 17: "The spirit of truth." "World can't receive it, sees him not, neither knows him, but you know him." "For he dwelleth with you and shall be in you." Verse 18. "I will not leave you comfortless." I WON'T. "I [screaming] will come unto you." Who's talking there? Is that Jesus?
So, WHEN JESUS IS FORETELLING THE COMFORTER COMING, HE IS NOT SAYING THAT GOD NUMBER two is going to send God number three. I'm going to get back up to heaven and I'm going to talk to the person of the Holy Ghost and say, "Go go be with the people." No. Because there's only ONE SPIRIT. ONE SPIRIT. AND THERE'S ONLY ONE GOD. AND THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD DWELLED IN Jesus bodily. Jesus said, "When the HOLY GHOST COMES, THAT'S me coming. I will come unto you." Hallelujah.
>> [music] >> Go to verse number 26. John 14:26. "But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name." Can I tell you when you get the Holy Ghost, you get the spirit of Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes in the name of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is not a separate part of God, BUT IT IS THE ENTIRETY OF GOD. And the good news is everybody can have it.
Can we stand together?
>> [music] >> Now, God's going to confirm this word today. We'll have, we'll have prayer. And here in just a minute, I'm going to invite congregation to come to the front, and once again, here this church, we don't do anything but arm twisting and embarrassing. We want you to be comfortable. Here, maybe first time here, you're not under any pressure to come pray at the front. We don't judge you or look down if you don't. Just get that out of the way.
But we got three groups of people in this room right now. Three groups. Group number one: we got church people that are full of the Holy Ghost and that are walking with God that need a refreshing [music] from the Lord. That's me. It's, it's a lot of us. So that group needs to come because receiving the spirit, that's not just something you did years ago, it's something that we [music] need to constantly have that stirred up.
Group number two is we have people in this room right now that have a heart for God, but they have never yet received the Holy Ghost evidence of speaking in tongues. Could be a lot of reasons. Maybe just hadn't heard much about it. Maybe they've been skeptical. Maybe they just really haven't fully repented yet. And group number two, people's never received the Holy Ghost, you can get it today. [music] We could have 15 or 20 people right now that get the Holy Ghost that's never happened before. It's just really all you got to do is come up here and just get to really repent and, and just telling God, "I [music] I I'm going all in." I'm ready. I'm wanting it.
We need people in this church that'll help pray in [music] the altar. We're not just going to pray for ourselves. We're going to pray for one another.
We got a third group of people here in this room. This is people that used to walk with God. Used to be full of the spirit, but over time your experience has just gotten cold. Still come church. Intellectually speaking, you still love God. It's not you don't want to go to hell. You want to go to heaven. But there's just been a lot of life that has happened. A lot of water under the proverbial bridge. You be honest, it's been a long while since you have really been refreshed and renewed in the Holy Ghost. Today is your day.
And I think that if we'll come around this front and we'll have a season of heartfelt and intense and fervent prayer, you know what's going to happen? That river is going to start flowing. The refreshing of God, the joy of God, the strength of God is going to start flowing. Thank you, Brother Smith. Man, I need a renewing in the Holy Ghost just like you do. How many of you all come join me and Brother Smith up the front? I want to open this up for everybody. We've got a big room full of people, so we got to make room. Come up close. Don't let there be any empty carpet in front of your feet.
>> [music] >> Why don't you lift your hands when you come up here and just, just let God know, "I want to be fully surrendered." Did you just start telling God in your own words, "I need you?" "I can't do it without you." Oh, there's already a prayer meeting that's getting started right now.
>> [music] [music] >> God, we stand here to humbly confess that we've been far, but we're ready to come near. Oh, I feel God just working in this >> [music] >> in this vein of prayer right now. Lord, it's been a minute since I've really felt your spirit move upon my [music] soul. God, I've been busy and I've had you pushed out to the sidelines. But [music] today, I'm coming with a desperate heart. I desperately need you.
>> [music] >> Can you pray like a little child and just let God know [music] you need him so bad? JESUS, I NEED YOU. I WANT YOU.
>> [music] >> I need you. I need you, Lord. Oh God, I need you.
>> [music] [music] >> While you're praying, why don't you just ask God to forgive you for every sin?
>> [music] >> God, right now I'm, I'm just going to stand here and confess my pride. Confess my greed and my envy and my jealousy. I confess [music] my lust. I confess words I've spoken that I shouldn't [music] have. I've done things that were wrong. I've looked at things I shouldn't. [music] God, I'm confessing. I want you to wash me in your blood. Make my heart clean.
>> [music] >> Make my heart clean. God, I don't want to walk out of here walking after my flesh. I want to walk in obedience.
>> [music] >> Hallelujah.
>> [music] >> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Okay, we're about to take it up one minute. We've prayed, and it's time for the Holy Ghost to move. Now, I want you everybody to lift your hands, and we're going to go into a time of worship, and altar workers, I need you to be aware and pray right now.
>> [music] >> We need altar workers to work. It's time for the Holy Ghost to settle down in this room. Hold your hands up and tell [music] God, "I'm ready to receive the Holy Ghost." God, I pray over this congregation [music] right now. I pray that the winds of renewal would blow over this church. God, I pray for every heart that's been cold. I pray that your [music] spirit would visit them right now. God, I pray that with people would receive the Holy Ghost right now.
>> [music] >> I take authority over fear and intimidation that is withholding people from praying. I pray that the [music] Holy Ghost would visit. That's it. That's how to pray. Visit this [music] place right now in the name of Jesus. God, there are many souls that [music] need the Holy Ghost in this room. I pray that you would fill every one of them.
>> [music] >> Let that heavenly utterance come upon them in the name of Jesus. Oh, let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Why don't [music] you pray until that heavenly language is flowing out? Pray until your lips are stammering [music] and that other tongue comes upon you.
>> [singing] >> It's a time for receiving. It's a time for being renewed.
>> [music and singing] [music] [music] [music] [music and singing] >> Pour it out. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire.
>> [music] >> Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire.
>> [music] >> Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send [music] the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire.
>> [music and singing] >> Send the fire. Send the fire.
>> [music] >> Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Burn [music] in me.
>> [singing] >> Burn in me. Fill [music] this place with the fire from heaven. Burn in me.
>> [music] >> Burn in me. Fill [music] this place with the fire.
>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [singing] [music] [music and singing] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> We've already [music] had another one get the Holy Ghost. You pray just a little bit more, you get it, too. There's more in [music] this room right now. Get everything you get from God.
>> [music] >> Hallelujah.
>> [music] >> Burn in me.
>> [music] >> Fill this place with the fire from heaven. Burn in me. [music] Burn in me. Oh, let it burn! Burn in me. Come [music] and fill! Fill this place with the fire >> [music] >> from heaven. Burn in me.
>> [music] >> Burn in me. Fill this! Fill this >> [music and singing] >> with the fire from heaven. Burn in me.
>> [music] >> Burn in me. Fill this place >> [music] [singing] >> with the fire from heaven. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the [music] fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send [music] the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send [singing] the fire. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send [music] the fire. Send it down, Lord. Send the fire. Pour it out. Send the fire. Pour your [music] fire. Send the fire. Pour it out, Jesus. Send the fire. Send [music] your fire. Fire. Send your fire, Jesus. Send the fire. Send your fire. Send the fire. Send [music] your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire, Jesus. Send the fire. Send the fire. Send [music] your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire.
>> [music and singing] >> Send the fire. Pour it out. Send the fire. It's like a flood of fire. Send the fire. Pour it out. Send the fire. Send your fire.
>> [music] >> Send the fire. Send your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire. Send the fire. Send [music and singing] your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire. Send the fire.
>> [music] >> Send your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire. Send [music] the fire. Send your fire. Send the fire. Send your fire. Burn in me.
>> [music] >> Burn in me. Come and fill this place. Fill this place >> [music] >> with the breath of heaven. With the fire from heaven. Burn in me. [music] Burn in me. Come and burn in me.
>> [music] >> Burn in me. Heal my heart, Lord. Fill this place.
>> [music] >> With the breath of heaven. With the fire from heaven. Breathe [music] on me. Breathe on me. Breathe on me. Breathe on me. Fill this house. Fill [music] this place. With the breath of heaven.
>> [music and singing] >> Breathe on me. Breathe on me, Jesus.
>> [music] >> Breathe on me. Oh, send the fire. Fill this place. With the breath of >> [music] >> Say, "Rain on me." "Rain on me." "Rain on [music and singing] me." "Rain on me." "Fill [music] this place with the rain from heaven." "Rain [music and singing] on me." "Rain on me." "Fill this place >> [music] >> with the rain from heaven." Burn in me.
>> [music] >> Burn in me.
>> [music] >> Fill this! Fill this with the fire from heaven.
>> [music] >> Burn in me. Burn in me. Fill [music] this place with the fire from heaven.
>> [music] >> Burn in me.
>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music]