Transcription
world to live again. Hallelujah. Oh, hallelujah. Oh, hallelujah for all. One more time. Hallelujah. Oh, hallelujah for all you've done. Praise the Lord. Amen. Praise God.
It feels wonderful here tonight. And here we are again. God is going to help us. And I believe we are going to meet with God this week. I really do appreciate all of you that made the effort to come and be here in travel, making arrangements, setting aside time, and it means a lot. I want to add my welcome Pastor Jesse gave. It's a, it's a great blessing.
Before I go into the word of God, I want to make sure that you are able to listen. I know that there are a number of people here that, uh, you have physical conditions that bother you, and I want to make sure you hear the sermon. And so there are some things that God has spoken that he wants to heal. And there are a number of people here that you have broken your tailbone. There are others that you've fallen and bruised your tailbone. It's difficult to sit. Stand up to your feet. And I want to pray for you. I want to pray.
There's somebody here. You have a, a leg injury and the whole time you're sitting there, you have to keep extending because of the pain in your leg. If you'll stand up, I want to pray for that. There's someone here. You have a, a hip injury. Already in this service, you keep shifting, shifting, shifting. You're trying to find a position to get comfortable, and that's a hip injury. I want you to, to, uh, stand up. I want to pray for you. If you're watching online, that applies. God will touch you as well.
There's someone here that, uh, I don't know if you have an ulcer, but right here it feels like fire. There is agonizing pain. You're sitting there, but the pain, it, it's burning right now. Stand up. I want to pray for you. I'm believing God is going to heal you.
There's somebody here. You have a back injury and when I was coming up, you were thinking to yourself, "I hope he doesn't preach long because of the pain." And that's how you'll know it's you. Stand up. If that's you, you were just thinking that. Stand up. I want you to be healed so I can preach really long. Amen. No, you know I never do that.
And then any type of injury that makes it painful to sit, stand up right now. If it's painful for you. And then there are the, finally, the final thing is there are some people that your injury, once you sit, it is very difficult to stand up. If you'll stand up right now, before I even pray, God is going to heal you. I want you to stand up right now. Any of those conditions that applies to you. I want you to pray right now. Let's believe God for these people. In the name of Jesus, I rebuke those injuries, backs, hips, whatever is the problem, I rebuke that problem. Indigestion that causes pain. I command it. Leave right now. They will be able to sit. They'll be able to sit without pain. That is going to be healed right now in the name of Jesus. Be healed. Be healed in Jesus' name.
Let's praise God together right now. God, we thank you. Thank you, Jesus. Now, if you can check it right now, if you can check that, whoever that was in the digestion, press right now. Push. I want to see what happens. If it's difficult to sit, sit down, stand up, whatever you got to do, I want you to be healed right now. How many of you right now, you already know that God healed you? Lift up your hand. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Thank God for these. Thank God. Thank God. God bless you. God bless you. Amen.
Turn in your Bibles. Let's go to the word of God. Turn in your Bibles right now to the book of Genesis 12. In science, there have been men. They had theories they believed could help people. But the problem was it was dangerous because it hadn't been tested. So there have been men that first tested their theories on themselves. Have a man, they're going to put up a photo. This man, Verivorce Forceman, he performed the first heart catheterization. What that meant. Verna Forceman, he believed that you could access the heart through the vein in your arm, but no one had ever done that. And so he personally inserted a catheter in his arm, threaded it up until he believed it was in the right atrium of his heart, got up, climbed two flights of stairs, went to the X-ray department, had an X-ray taken of his chest to prove that he had reached the heart. He proved that you could reach the heart through the veins. That was in 1929. Absolutely unheard of. He wasn't even a surgeon yet.
Just out of curiosity, how many of you here, you have had stances put into your heart? You have. Okay. Some of you are alive today because Verer Forceman went into the unknown. That is what we're going to read in our text. God shows us a pattern of having relationship with him that always involves going into the unknown. And I want to preach a sermon called "Into the Unknown."
Genesis 12:1-4. "Now the Lord had said to Abram, 'Get out of your country, from your family, from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and I'll bless you and make your name great. You shall be a blessing. I will bless those that bless you. I'll curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him. And Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran into the unknown."
I want to talk about the voice of God. Our story here, Abram's story begins with the voice of God. Verse one, "Now the Lord had said to Abram." I want you to know this. Listen to me clearly. God can speak. God will speak. 220 times in the Bible, it says, "The Lord said." 46 times, "God said." 144 times, "The Lord spoke." 13 times, "God spoke." 424 times in the Bible tells us about God speaking. And in our text, God speaks as a pattern.
When God speaks, he reveals his will for our lives. Now, he may do that in many different ways. Sermons, prayer, need, gifts of the spirit. He may speak through a pastor, opportunities, offerings. I believe that God just spoke through Pastor Campbell in the offering. But however it is, absolutely all through the Bible, God speaks. And everything changes when we hear from God. Abram heard from God. It began his relationship with God. He became the father of the faith when he heard from God. A man named Saul was saved when he heard from God. Every person here who is born again, you are saved because you heard the voice of God. Whether that was witnessing, preaching, or an altar call. Peter, his ministry to the Gentiles began when he heard from God through a vision. Martin Luther was a Catholic priest and he heard God speak, "The just shall live by faith." And that triggered the Protestant revolution that affects us today. We are Protestants. We protest the doctrines of the Catholic Church. But that happened by a miracle. He heard God speak.
In our text, God is revealing Abram's destiny, God's plans for him to make impact in the earth. Verse two, "I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing." And verse three, "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." His future was triggered when he heard from God.
Mark 1:17, Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." I am here preaching tonight. That is a miracle because I never wanted to be a preacher. I had no plans of being a preacher. But in a discipleship class in Perth, West Australia, my father was doing, he was teaching how to put together sermons. And God spoke to me and said, "That's what I want you to do." Altered the future of my entire life. We have a fellowship today. A church exists in Prescott because my father was called to preach. God spoke, called to come to Prescott, called to go to Australia.
Now, there are Christians, they, whether they are Calvinists or some of them they call themselves cessationists, which means to stop. They do not believe that God can speak today. In fact, they say God does not speak. The only way that God speaks is the Bible. He will never say anything outside the Bible. They, those are cessationists. One of these cessationist pastors was talking to a Pentecostal pastor. He was arguing and he said, "We have the Bible. God does not speak today except for the Bible." And that wise Pentecostal pastor said, "Then tell me, how was it that you were called to preach?"
Abraham is called the father of the faith. His life forms a pattern for us to follow. Everything in serving God and doing the will of God depends on us hearing from God. We must contend for a dimension where God can speak. In the Old Testament, there was a tent, a fancy tent called the tabernacle. It housed the presence of God that was contained in the ark of the covenant. But the tabernacle was called the tent of meeting. You could go there and meet with God. That is what must happen in our churches. This is why we have prayer meetings before church because we want God to speak to us. We want God to speak to others. No doubt there are pastors here, you have experienced where a dimension of God was there. Someone comes to you afterwards and they say, "That sermon was just for me." And the next person in line tells, "That sermon was just for me." How can it be for you if it was because God was speaking a dimension of God? That is why I need you to pray tomorrow morning. I need you to pray before the services because God must speak. This is what conference is all about. It is not just getting to meet up and have meals with friends. It is not just about getting to dress up on a Thursday night. We are here to hear from God. How many of you came to hear from God? I'm curious. How many of you, you were called to preach in a conference? Lift up your hand. In a conference, you heard from God. Thank God. Yes.
January of 2021, a, a number of Marines, they were coming to a conference from 29 Palms. One of their, uh, fellow Marines, he asked, "What, what are you doing?" They said, "We're going to Prescott for a conference." And a young man named Brady Raina, wasn't even saved. He said, "Can I go?" And so they, I don't want you to do this, but they snuck Brady into their room, didn't tell the check-in ladies. Brady, who was unsaved, came on a Monday night. He heard from God, got saved on Monday night. The next night he got filled with the Holy Spirit. Later in the week, a call was made for those who are called to preach, and Brady came up to Pastor Jake Snider and said, "I want to go. Will you send me?" He heard from God. And thank God later on now Brady and Alicia, they're pastoring in Lake Havasu City because he heard from God. Thank God.
How many of you were called to be missionaries in conference? Lift up your hand. Amen. Thank God. That's what happened to Lisa and I. We were teenagers in a conference watching a conference video that almost exclusively dealt with the Philippines. All the footage was from the Philippines. And in that conference video, God spoke to both of us and said, "I want you to go to Africa." We heard from God. It changed the course of our lives.
Pastors here, do not miss this. 1 Peter 4:11 says, "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God." What that literally means is that when you preach, God is speaking through you. A preacher comes from a word, a herald, one who declares the message from the king. That is the miracle. When you are faithful to the word of God and you declare the message from the king, then I have people who come, I had no idea what was going on in their life. And they say, "That is exactly what I'm going through, exactly what I needed to hear." Because preacher, you speak for God. God speaks through you. That is why, don't take this lightly, we must cry out to God to give us revelation in his words and his will. That is why when I pray and read my Bible, I am attracted to a word or a verse. I know, like Moses being attracted to the burning bush, God has a message for me in there. And then if I will obey God and mine the truth so that I can hear from God, like it says Proverbs 2:4-5, "If you seek her as silver, search for her as hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."
Listen to me, pastor. Do not get your sermons off the internet. Do not simply step into the pulpit with something you got off sermoncentral.com. Don't just borrow someone else's sermons. And God forbid, I have heard pastors be excited about AI. Did you know AI? You just say, "I want a Bible study on righteous," and he'll do it for you. Shame on you. You need to hear from God so the people can hear from God. Listen, our future, your people's future, the church's future depends on us hearing from God. Do you know that hearing from God is a measuring stick? Because hearing from God must be a current condition. Hearing from God must be up to date. God forbid if the only time God spoke to you was back 30 years ago. "I ever tell you about that time God?" I'm glad. But this is 2025. In our text, Abram is hearing from God. But then if you follow his life, there is a progressive revelation. God speaking again and again and again. Hearing from God is a measuring stick. Don't rest on past voices. Don't assume because you heard from God one time in the past, you're set for life. We're here in conference. What does God have to say to you this week? That is what is crucial. What attitudes does God want to deal with? Habits, approaches in ministry, giving. What does God want to say to you this week? You came to conference. Does God want you to do something different in ministry? Or some of you, you're going through problems. You do anything different. Does God want you to stay and fight it out? You need to hear from God. How long has it been since God spoke to you?
1 Samuel 3:1, "Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was rare in those days. There was no widespread revelation." You know what happens to people who are not doing well spiritually? They stop hearing from God. Now, they will try to put it on the pastor and the church. "I'm not being fed." You used to be fed. Same church, same pastor. That's not a good sign. You're in danger. If we stop hearing from God, our churches are in danger. Our ministries are in danger. I declare to you, we live or die by hearing the voice of God.
Photo, they can put up, you know, earlier this year in February, a Blackhawk helicopter crashed into a passenger jet in Washington D.C. One factor in why these, uh, aircraft collided. The tower was speaking, giving a warning of the approaching jet, but they had their thumb on the button speaking. And so they missed a crucial part of the message. And because of that, 67 people died because they didn't hear what they're supposed to hear.
Let's talk secondly, "Into the Unknown." When God speaks to Abram, he's living in a city called Haran. Haran was a city in the area called Mesopotamia. This city was absolutely filled with idolatry, the worship of idols. And just of minor interest, one major god was the moon god called Sin. Idolatry. One mark of idolatry is the desire for control. Literally, this is what idol worshippers do. You choose a god to worship based on what you feel that you need. What do you need? I need money. Then I worship a money god. What do you need? I need power. Then you worship the god of power. You need, you know, children or, then you worship the fertility god, on and on, the sex god. Whatever it is that you feel that you, but you're the one who decides and you're the one who picks the god. And so worshiping idols, if you fulfilled some element of worshiping the idol, then the idea is that God will give me what I think is best. So you're worshiping a god, but you retain control. That is what was going on in Haran.
The problem is that is how many people approach Almighty God. They approach God the same way. I will worship God because I want him to give me what I want and what I think best, and I want to retain control. Manoah and Jacob both met the angel of the Lord, literally God in visible form. And they asked God the question, "What is your name?" Because this was an ancient belief, if you knew the name of the God, then you could make that god give you what you wanted. You could control that God. And there's something in the human heart that we crave security, free from danger, free from threat. Some people hate the feeling of not being in control. They hate feeling out of control. Maybe that was their past. Maybe you suffered abuse, abandonment, poverty, relationship breakdown, a point in time when your world was in chaos and there was nothing you could do. So there are people, they hate not having security or control.
In a photo in France, they had huge protests. Actually, this has happened a number of times because they will try to pass a law saying if you're under 26, we can fire you in the first two years of your contract if you're not working well. Millions of Frenchmen protested in the streets holding signs that said "Against Precariousness." That sign said "Kill Precariousness. Kill job insecurity." But this is how people are. I want to serve God, but I want to kill insecurity. I want to make sure that I stay in control. We want God to operate on our desires. We want God, "All right, God, if you want me to do something, I want you to clearly spell out what's going to happen every step of the way. God, you have to get pre-approval from me." Our idea of blessing. "God, use your power to give me what I think is best, what I want, what I'm comfortable with." As a matter of fact, people get offended with God when he doesn't do things the way that they think is best. Some people come to church and they are angry at God because, "God, I had it all worked out. I told you what you should do and you didn't run the universe the way that I thought best." John 6:66, "After Jesus said this, many of his followers left him and they stopped following him."
So back to our text, God called Abram to leave Haran, the city of idolatry or controlling the gods. Listen, built into having relationship with God is this element of the unknown. Genesis 12:1, "Now the Lord had said to Abram, 'Get out of your country, from your family, your father's house, to a land that I will show you.'" I wish I had a video of this conversation with his wife. "Honey, God spoke to me today." "Oh, what did he say?" "He wants us to move." "Move where?" "He said he'd tell us later." Do you think that she just ought? Wow. Like, don't, don't she smelled his breath? Like, what have you been drinking? Like, you want to move without knowing where we're going? Listen, there are things in life, if you're going to serve God, they're not meant to be in your control. God wants us to do things and he doesn't tell us every detail. He's telling us to leave. Abram, leave what is familiar. What will it be like if I do the will of God and God says, "I'll tell you later"? Leave what is comfortable. What are the conditions like there? And God says, "I'll tell you later." Because built into serving God, we are called to risk. That's a risk. He leaves family and friends and everything that is comfortable and familiar. We don't even know where we're going. That is risky.
Psalm 107:23-24, "Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep or in deep water." 1 Samuel 14:6, Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Let's go to the camp of the uncircumcised. Maybe the Lord will help us." That is powerful. There's no guarantee. Maybe we might win, we might not, but we're going to risk. So really, what our text is actually saying then, serving God is all about surrender. Surrender means to give up or to hand over control to another, which means we hand over control to God. Abraham, Abraham and Sarah, they were surrendering their lives and their futures to God. "God, we will go where you lead. Wherever you decide, we'll do what you say." I pray that tonight in the offering, you said, "God, I'll give what you want me to give." Moses and Joshua, they were told, "Take off your shoes." "But, but God, if we do that, we'll be vulnerable." God is saying, "Leave the future with me." Philip was carried away by the spirit. It was beyond his control. You know the old story, a man was just stirred and he wanted to show God how much he loved him. So he wrote on top of a piece of paper, he wrote, "Things I'll do for God." He started listing prayer and getting involved and get, he made quite a list. At the bottom, he signed it. He was feeling pretty good. He started praying, kind of showing that to God. He felt God speak to him. "Tear that up. Get out another piece of paper and write, 'Things God will do for me.' Leave it blank and sign it." And God said, "I'll fill it out for you." That's called surrender.
"To a land I will show you." That is the issue we have to face on the first night. Will you go? Will you pioneer? Will you go overseas? Will you stay if that's what God wants? Will you send? Will you release? Will you give? Because to surrender is trust that involves faith. Hebrews 11:8, "By faith Abraham obeyed God's call to go to another place God promised to give him. He left his own country not knowing where he was to go." To surrender means you have to have the faith that God loves you. Listen, God has your best interest at heart. He is not dreaming up ways to make you miserable. You got to trust his love. You have to trust that God is wiser. I know you've told God again and again how to run the universe. Why don't you let him run your life? Because he is wiser. He knows what will be best.
Next photo. James Calvert and his wife Mary, they went as missionaries to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands. On the way there, the ship captain tried to turn them back, saying, "You will lose your life and the life of those with you if you go among such savages." James Calvert said to the ship captain, "We died before we came here." That's surrender. We died before we came. We already settled that issue. They spent 17 years and James Calvert and his wife, who were surrendered. The most powerful chief in the islands was converted, changed the course of Fiji because they were willing to go into the unknown by surrender.
Let's look finally at leaving Haran. Our text says, "The Lord had said." You understand that God apparently had spoken before they started the journey, and they stopped at this place called Haran. Haran means crossroads. Scholars say it was located at at the crossroads of different trading routes of Mesopotamia. Haran was a good place to secure your financial future, crossroads cities on trading routes. That's a good place to make money. But Haran was a crossroads city. There were roads going in many optional directions. You could go in many directions from Haran. But the Bible says Abram left Haran. Verse four, "He was 75 years old when he departed from Haran." He left, which means he obeyed God. Verse four, "Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him." I am praying and I'm believing that God is going to speak tonight and God is going to speak this week. But if God speaks and we don't do what he says, it does no good. But he acted on what God said. He did what God told him to do. Some of us this week, it has to be a week of obedience. "God, I'm going to do what you're telling me to do."
The Bible says he left, which removed his options. Verse four, "He departed from Haran." He departed from the crossroads. You know what that means? He chose one road. That means he left other possible roads. Let me ask you a question. Is the will of God just one possibility for your life out of many other options? Are you keeping your options open just in case the will of God doesn't work out? Abram left Haran. He chose one. That is what releases destiny.
What happens when you leave Haran and obey God? The first thing is that the will of God will unfold for you. Some of us, we would love to have all the details. "One year from now, you'll go and you'll turn left on it." There is so much that God did not tell Abram on the day he said, "Leave Haran." Later, God would tell him the dimensions of the land. Later on, he would learn of the nature of God, the God of the ages, God of fruitfulness, God our provider. But God's will is only revealed by obedience. Matthew 25:29, "To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance." That word "has," it's talking about using or acting on what you have right now. You will never have more of God than you will obey. But if you will obey, God will unfold his will for you.
Second thing is you become the friend of God when you leave Haran. You know God is pleased when people obey him enough to obey, believe him enough to obey. James 2:23, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God." You know, there are people here tonight, you're watching online, you are not seeing all that you want to see, but you are obeying. You have left Haran. Can I tell you something? You are the friend of God. God is pleased. Please don't, don't think that the pleasure of God is related to numbers, noise, and nickels. Yes, that may come in time, but there's something God is pleased with. There are people, you are battling it out, but you're doing it in obedience to God. You are the friend of God.
Third thing is you release the blessing of God. The Bible's an honest book. He speaks here about curses, people who curse you. You do the will of God, it's not going to be smooth sailing. There are going to be problems. But at the same time that God is honest about problems, he gives four words, four promises. He says, "I will show, I will make, I will bless, I will curse." Verse two and three. Two times God says, "I will bless you." It's a picture of prayer. It is adding something supernatural to your life. We see a good picture of it when Jesus broke the bread and the and the fish, and he blessed it. He added something supernatural and suddenly it was more than enough. God is saying if you will obey, if you're willing to leave Haran, God said, "I will supply whatever is necessary to help." It was Hudson Taylor who said, "All God's giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them."
What happens when you leave Haran? The fourth thing, it has to do with what you can become. And I am speaking about the significance of your life. Abram's life, if he stayed in Haran, his entire life likely would have revolved around caring for animals like a shepherd. That would have been the sum total of his life, is animals that are not going to live forever, earning money that will not last. But if he stayed in Haran, he and Sarah would have no wider impact. Scholars say very likely Haran was only 20,000 people max. It was probably a few thousand up to 20,000. If they stayed in Haran, they would have lived, made money, died, and have been forgotten. But when you obey, you connect your life to the purposes of God, eternal purposes in heaven. Verse three, "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." When you obey, you connect your life to what Almighty God is doing in the entire earth. Think about this. Abram and Sarah. He's 75. His wife wasn't a spring chicken. As they leave here, when people saw this older couple traveling by, they probably were not impressed. They're just an older couple traveling through. But what they didn't know, Abraham and Sarah, that was the most significant couple in the entire world. They didn't realize that couple would determine history. Some of you saw news today that is playing out because of the lives of Abraham and Sarah. Their lives became significant.
There are people here, I don't know what you do for a job. I don't know what you plan on doing in life, but there are people, it may be that God is going to call you. He's going to tell you his plans. And if you obey that call and cooperate, it may be that people in other cities, in other nations, their lives will be transformed. They will be saved from hell forever. And then you could make disciples that would impact the world simply by leaving Haran and obeying God. And every single person, not every person here is called to preach, but every single person here and watching online, if you are born again, when you got saved, God saved you in a local church. And please, I want you to understand something. You became part of changing the world. Listen.
I want them to put a photo up. I want you to see this photo. This photo was taken last year. This is not everyone, it's just who happened to be there on a Wednesday night. But these people were in the church saved in 1978 in Prescott, and they are still in the church today. Amen. Okay, it's wonderful longevity. You can stay saved. That's great. But let me tell you why that is powerful. Because by the time this photo was taken in 1978, we had already from Prescott planted a church into Mexico, into Holland. And in 1978, we planted a church in Perth, West Australia. Many of the people in that photo, they gave in offerings. They tithed. They were faithful. They prayed. Just those three churches. Let me tell you the impact. Mexico now has 436 churches in 16 nations. Holland has 124 churches in 21 nations. From Australia, there have come 432 churches in 34 nations. That group of people, their lives are, as of tonight, there are 992 churches in 71 nations. Amen. Thank God.
Next photo here is 1985. And now you see more people. God has saved them, added them to the church. And the reason why I'm showing this is by 1985, in addition to all the churches planted in the three that I just said, we planted churches in the Philippines. And the reason why that is important is as of tonight, there are now 927 churches in 10 nations from the Philippines. Thank God. That is when you commit yourself to a local church that is reaching the world. I can be a Christian in another church. Yeah, you could. And do what? Help with a soup kitchen, knit blankets for homeless people. That's fine. I'm not, I'm not against it. God bless. I want the homeless to be warm. But I want to reach the world. Amen. And that's what it takes. That's why it's powerful in every local church. Every local church comes under assault. Every local church has ups and downs. But thank God there are people who say, "God saved me. I'm leaving Haran. I'm leaving the options. God called me. I'm going to commit myself to the will of God." And then there are people, "God has called me and I'm going to fulfill the call of God. I will leave Haran and I want to be a part of reaching the world." How many of you, that's what you want to do in the will of God?
Let's bow our heads. Thank God all across this place. Thank God for all of you that are here. I appreciate you listening. Before we do anything else, there are people that are here. You are not right with God. You're not born again. You've never experienced salvation, leaving your sin, being forgiven, God transforming your life. Then to you, I want to speak. First of all, how many here you're not born again, but you want to get right with God? Tonight, God has spoken about your sin. You believe in Jesus that he died on the cross. You want to pray tonight and be saved. If that's what you want, lift up your hand so I can see it. How many would there be? Hold it up so I can see it all across this place. At the back, you raise your hand. "I want to be saved." Thank you. Thank you. Numbers of others, lift your hand right now. God is speaking to people. You need to respond to what God is saying. Thank God. Thank you. Thank you.
How many of you are backslidden? You were saved. You went, turned back on your commitment to God, but God has not given up on you. Backslider. Lift up your hand. Thank you. Thank you. Some people are responding. God bless you. Lift up your hand. I want every one of you that raised your hand, stand up to your feet. We're going to pray for you. Stand up right now. Don't wait. Do it now. We're going to do some other things. You want to get right with God. Come here. Come here to the front. Get out of your seat. Come down right now. Get out of your seat. At the back, you lifted your hand. Come right now. We're going to pray for you. We're going to ask God to do a miracle inside of you. Thank God for these people. They're being honest. You want to get right with God. Kneel down. God bless you. God bless you. Kneel down. Thank God. Thank God. People are coming quickly. You come while God's dealing with you.
Then I want you all to stand to your feet. I'm trusting that God has spoken to you. We need to hear the voice of God and we need to obey. The altars are open. I want you to come find a place to pray. Tell God this week, "I want to hear from heaven and I will do what you tell me to do." Thank God. They're going to sing while people are coming and doing business with God.
Come Holy Spirit. Oh God, help us. Father God, I thank you, Lord God. [Music] Oh God, speak to us. Give me strength and help me. God, I pray that you would speak destiny. [Music] Speak direction. Lord God, deal with us. God, I pray that you would call people into the ministry. Oh God, let there be surrender. God, we surrender our plans. [Music] Oh God, I thank you, Lord God, for your faithfulness. I thank you, Lord God. You're a faithful God. You are faithful to speak. God, encourage the downhearted. Bring deliverance to those that are under assault. [Music] God, I pray that you would call people, speak to people about giving. Speak to them about obedience. [Music] Oh God, I need you to minister right now. Be out. [Music] Oh God, open the windows of heaven. Come down. Speak, God. Help us. Give us courage, God. Give us confidence and faith. Oh God, I pray that you're going to help people to obey. [Music] Help us to obey. [Music] God. We trust your love. [Music] We trust your wisdom. [Music] Oh God, we surrender. [Music] Help us, Lord God. Open the windows of heaven in blessing. Come Holy Spirit.
Thank God. While we're here at the altar, I want to give a challenge. And that is, while I was preaching, there are people that maybe God spoke to you, or maybe he spoke to you in the altar about calling, about preaching the gospel that he wants you to preach the gospel. If you have never responded in the past, but tonight you feel that God has spoken to you and you are willing to preach the gospel, I want you to signify that. Lift your hand and stand. Stand up and lift your hand. Say, "I believe God is speaking to me. I am willing. I am willing." Thank God. Thank God. Thank God for that. Amen.
Then there are people that are here that I'm sure our brothers later in the week, they're going to give a challenge for the nations. My wife and I, we were called. God told us to go overseas. We're teenagers. Weren't even a preacher. We're kids. But God spoke and said, "I want you to go to Africa." There are people here while I'm preaching or in the altar, altar call, God is speaking that he may want you to preach overseas one day. If you've never responded before, stand up right now and lift your hand. Say, "That's me. I'm willing to preach the gospel in another nation." Thank God. Thank God. Thank God.
And then there are no doubt many others that God has spoken in the past, but you want to renew that call. You say, "God, I am still willing to do what you told me before." Stand up to your feet. Stand up. "I'm willing. God, I have not forgotten." For some of you, that may mean you're going to now leave Haran. You're going to leave your options. But whatever it is, we are standing before a holy God that we have heard your voice and we want to do your will. I want to pray right now. God, every person here, you have spoken. God, there are cities, there are nations that are weighing in the balance right now. Oh God, oh God, seal this. Let this be a marking point. God, we go on record again. We heard your voice. We will obey. Help us. Every person that is here, Lord God, help them to do the will of God. And I thank you for it in Jesus name.
Let's praise the Lord together right now. Hallelujah. Lord God, [Applause] [Music] Oh God, thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Oh God, thank you Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Lord God, my reach. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Praise God. Thank God. Thank God.
I want to pray for the sick. I'm going to pray for everyone in a moment, but, uh, just some of the things that God spoke to me that he wants to heal, and this is, uh, to encourage you. There are some people, uh, that you very recently you went to the doctor. You were really hoping that they were going to give you help, but the doctor said to you, "I'm sorry. This can't be fixed." But I want to tell you, God can fix it. And God is going to heal that. I want to pray.
There's someone that you have, uh, a detached retina. This has been the problem, and that's very dangerous for your vision. I want to pray. There's someone that you have a condition and how the doctor describes it is your blood is too thick. That's how we describe it. It's almost like, uh, oil that is too thick. It doesn't flow properly, and that affects your, uh, strength and whatever. You have to take medicine to try to thin your blood, and God wants to heal that. I want to pray.
There are a number of people that you have an injury. Some are in the hip, some are in the shoulder, but the doctor said this is a torn labrum. That lining has been torn, and God is going to, uh, heal that. And then finally, uh, there are, uh, there's at least one pastor and wife. You've been going through some things in the church, and at times during this service, you'll close your eyes and you will feel hands choking you. But when you open your eyes, there's no one there. That is from hell. I have personally experienced that. I'm going to tell you, God's going to break that off you. That is a demon, and he has no right to torment you. Praise God.
How many of you here, first of all, I know some of these are online. How many of you, any of those things that I just said? Lift up your hand. Torn labrum, detached retina, doctor told you it can't be fixed. Lift up your hand. Back there. Back there. Yes. Yes. Yes. Pastor and wife, you're the one that's tormented. Lift up your hand. Thank God. Then if you have any other physical condition, sickness, injury, disease, lift up your hand. You're going to, we're going to believe God for you. I want you to put your hand on your body where the problem is. If you have more than one, put your hand on your head, and God knows where the need is. We're going to pray right now in Jesus' name. I command healing power to flow, a miracle dimension. I command that retina, you will be attached right now. Perfect vision. That blood is going to be normal thickness, normal amounts of iron. God, that torn labrum in the hip and the shoulder, it's going to be repaired. God, what the doctor said can't be fixed, you fix it right now. I speak healing power. I rebuke infirmity and I command life to come in Jesus' name.
Let's praise the Lord right now. [Applause] Oh God, thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Praise God. Then if you can, I want you to test it right now. That was the torn labrum. Move your shoulder, move your hip, whatever it was. If that was the eye, the detached retina, I want you to look right now where there was pain. Press where there was pain. Whatever motion you couldn't do before, if you had difficulty in hearing, check that right now. I want to know what God has done right now. You're going to test it right now. How many of you already, you know that God has touched you? Lift up your hand. Thank God. Thank God. Praise God. Praise God. All across here, thank God. God is a healer. Praise God. And God's going to help us. I would ask if you can send me testimonies. I always, there are people watching online, send a testimony to the website to encourage other people about God's healing power. Thank God.
We are in for a great week. God's going to help us this week. Amen. I'm asking, I'm asking that you come in the morning, and here, once you get a seat, come. Let's lay hold of God. Let's ask God to speak to us, and God's going to help us. God bless. You can be dismissed.