Acts 13 by Jim Cymbala

honor to be here this morning good morning to everyone all as well you got your business meeting done and the rest of the time here this morning we can concentrate on what the Lord might want to say to all of us so that we would be more efficient in what we do for Jesus Christ you know the verse just came to comes to me on how the church in Antioch that we're going to read about today how it began it says certain men from cyprus and cyrene that's the Mediterranean and northern Africa certain men from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch and the hand of the Lord was with them and multitudes turned to the Lord I've often prayed and I expressed it to God all the time I'd rather live just six months with the hand of the Lord with me than to live ten years just struggling in my own strength do I get an amen for that because when the Lord is with you things happen lives are changed the gospel shows its power otherwise you just circle the wagons and you hold on to the faithful 40 or 400 or whatever and that's not why Jesus Christ came died resurrected and then sent the Holy Spirit so it's a real honor for me to be here and I have nothing to sell I have no vision to impart to you I have no formula because there is no formula there's only nothing works but God God works nothing else works and when we say something else works we grieve the Holy Spirit because he was sent to glorify Christ not a method or a church or formula so with that in mind I'd like to direct your attention to the book of Acts to chapter 13 which is a kind of turning point in the book of Acts a lot of things change once you get to acts 13 instead of Jerusalem being the center of attention and the focus of what the Lord is doing it now goes to Syria in Antioch which is where all these people are being killed right now in the civil war and unrest that's happening there but 2,000 years ago another revolution was beginning chapter 13 of Acts verse 1 in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers barnabas simeon called niger which means black he probably was a black man Lucius of Cyrene Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul Saul is not yet the Apostle Paul he's just saw and in fact in this little story his name has changed to Paul and while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said said apart from me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I've called them so after they had fasted and prayed they placed their hands on them and sent them off the two of them sent on their way by the Holy Spirit went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus so we're in the Mediterranean now this is by the way the island where Barnabas came from when they arrived at Salamis they proclaimed the Word of God in the Jewish synagogues and John that's John mark was with them as their helper they traveled through the whole island and they can't until they came to pathos and there they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named bar Jesus who was an attendant of the proconsul Sergius Paulus as a Roman government official the proconsul an intelligent man sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God imagine that he wanted to hear the word of God but elements the sorcerer for that is what his name means oppose them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith then Saul who was also called Paul filled with the Holy Spirit look straight at LMS and said you are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery will you never stop preventing the perverting the right ways of the Lord now the hand of the Lord is against you you're going to be blind and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the Sun immediately mist and darkness came over him and he groped about seeking someone to lead him by the hand and when the proconsul Sergius Paulus saw what had happened he believed no kidding for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord brothers and sisters let's do something that they call in New York City in the streets let's do real talk I want to talk to just straight to you because we're at a very critical hour in our country we're at a critical hour in the life of the Christian Church across the board the entire body of Christ my background was not seminary or Bible School but I was all City basketball player in New York City went to college on a basketball scholarship played in the NCAA tournament school I went to University of Rhode Island that I captain beat UConn in a playoff so we ended up going to the the Big Dance as they say there was a scoreboard up there we didn't play by faith alone we played by scoreboard and after eight or nine minutes of a game if the score was 22 to 9 the other team coach would call a timeout or signal to me and I would run over and call the timeout and we would go in a huddle and nobody would say like wow aren't our shorts nice and the gold trim on the on the pants and isn't this fun we're exercising and getting a good workout no we looked up at that score and we said we will turn this around we'll go to a zone press will go to a man-to-man press will speed the game up will slow the game down we'll go to a box in one but we will do something because they have 22 and we have 9 we will change you know Einstein's definition of madness is to do the same thing over and over again and think that there'll be different results so in sports and in business and in everything else the children of this world are wiser often than the children of light everyone's making adjustments and changing because they want to be more efficient but it's very hard in the church often to bring about any kind of real substantial change many years ago when my wife and I first came to downtown Brooklyn and had less than 20 people in the church and the first offering we took was $85 was the total tithes and offering so she had to get a second job I got a second job it is what it is it was what it was and here we were surrounded in downtown Brooklyn by no crack cocaine then but a heavy-duty heroin a lot of alcoholism prostitutes trolling the streets a block and a half either way when you walked out what a perfect place to see the power of the gospel operate but I had been around people who a lot of times growing up in and around church I wasn't a strong Christian in high school or college but I've been around church enough to know that there were certain people who lived off of what God did in the past and they were all talking about what God did in the past the Great Awakening the Second Great Awakening the Welsh revival would happen at a Susa street and they would harp on that and tell wonderful stories which are inspirational and true and have their place but I noticed that some of them went 20 30 40 years it was seeing very little fruit in their lives didn't baptize 10 people in two years and yet sinners abounding other people lived with the far-off future where before Christ comes again there's going to be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days I'll pour out my spirit upon all flesh which really began on the day of Pentecost according to Peter but I noticed that they too saw a very little fruit but we're always talking about this far-off day and I'm all for those things they have their place but but I mean here I was in downtown Brooklyn surrounded by god knows what no Bible school training and I had a Bible and I knew about the Holy Spirit so what do you do to see a change what do you do to make converts the hand of the Lord was with those men they had never been to seminary the hand of the Lord was with those men in Antioch and multitudes turned to the Lord their lives were changed they were transformed they were lost now they were found blind now they saw lost steeped in sin and now being sanctified by the Holy Spirit as they put their faith in Jesus Christ so how does that happen how do you do that more importantly how did Paul do that how did the book of Acts get written how without any New Testament being written you can hand out any literature with no buildings owned by the Christian Church they didn't own any buildings for 300 years no literature no money no connection with the government no no morality in the Roman Empire during the book of Acts men like Caligula and Nero where the Emperor's read about them they were perverts degenerate amoral madmen crossdressers and Jesus said pay taxes to those characters and yet you never see anywhere in the New Testament that Paul lifts up his hands and say what are we going to do I mean look at Nero's in charge of this thing never says a word about it's just like gets let's get this on let's preach the good news of Jesus Christ for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ it is the power the commentators are not sure if he spent even three months some of them in Thessalonica and he founded a church and ordained elders how'd he do that haven't you ever wondered about that we're complaining about a hundred different things and he's just rocking and rolling for Jesus in Thessalonica turning the world upside down so we got to do real talk get away from all denial and all rationalizations and face it is it is what it is why this moment is so critical is that in a recent book called the great evangelical recession the author whose conclusions I don't agree with but his data at the beginning is irrefutable five major polling agencies three Christians two secular one is Pew Research Barna is one of the Christian ones they did a survey in America of how many people are really Christian using a definition of not right-wing conservative flag waving things or or or born-again errs who now that phrase has become part of the culture it's people who believe it wouldn't matter Jesus or Buddha or whatever I'm just born again I hadn't experienced some emotional experience not Protestantism but people who have been born again claimed that Jesus Christ believed he's the only way of salvation no other name is given whereby we must be saved they they regard the Bible as the only rule of faith and doctrine they go to church regularly practice prayer and they all came five of them so you know they're on target within four points of each other the high number was nine percent the low number was six percent that's in America know that is what it is it's not faith to talk fantasy faith never deals with fantasy you face what it is this is what's happening in our country in our cities major Christian denominations in America have been in numerical decline for the last ten years the latinum largest denomination in America I just recently spoken a couple of their gatherings are and are in decline over the last ten years and this is after 9/11 this is after America has been put on notice that life can be disappear in a second now has God lost his power has the gospel lost its power it's ridiculous to talk about secular humanism or demonic powers and principalities or the White House or Obama or Bush or the Democrats or the Republicans that's totally irrelevant to the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ come on can we say Amen of that by putting our hands together if they build churches if they build churches in the book of Acts in the circumstances I just mentioned what possibly could stop us if we do this the right way the problem is never with the culture the problem is the church has to be the church which is what I want to lead us to pray about today brother wood has been kind enough to invite me which is an honor and and I want to I want to do something I want I want to pray with you I want to call on God with you because God said my house shall be called not a house of singing not a house of preaching but my house shall be called what a House of Prayer the disciples never asked Jesus once teach us to preach but they did say teach us to pray as Spurgeon said that his weekly prayer meeting was the engine that drove his church so looking at this story what do we learn about this account of this turning point in the book of Acts because now from chapter 13 on almost exclusively the focus of Luke is going to be on the Apostle Paul going out with Barnabas on his first missionary journey then coming back to Antioch reporting to the church resting up then going out on his second missionary journey with Silas coming back no more Jerusalem Judaizers have gotten in there have got in there and legalists were spoiling a lot of the work that was done by the Apostles in the early days no it's now Antioch which is the first place also where you have both people mixing Christianity at first was thought to be a Jewish cult an offshoot of Judaism because Jesus was Jewish all the apostles were Jewish but now in Antioch you're getting Gentiles and Jews mixing together worshiping having a new life in Jesus Christ first thing we find out from this story is this here's a meeting wouldn't you like to been there they have the drama of it the spiritual emotion of it a meeting is going on and and they're seemingly have shut things down and they're just fasting and worshiping the Lord you know sometimes it's good in our churches just shut everything down and seek the Lord because if preaching we'd done it by itself we would had already seen it done we have multiple translations of the Bible we had a lot of positive things new praise and worship courses every day but still there's something about just reaching out to God and saying God open the heavens and come down while they're worshiping the Lord ministering to him and fasting the Holy Spirit said almost certainly through the gifts of the Holy Spirit in a public meeting imagine the drama of it names two people in the meeting imagine if that happened today two names were picked out separate me Barnabas and Saul Saul of Tarsus been a Christian just a number of years less probably than five or six separate me Barnabas and Saul to the work that I've called them to do and then they lay their hands on them and they sent them out and then it says being sent out by the Holy Spirit they started on this journey notice the indefinite nature of of the command the Spirit gave notice the personality of the Spirit separate me Barnabas and saw to the work that I've called him to call them to do notice where when how long will it last I got a you know get this in my calendar no there's nothing just go yeah but what will happen just go you'll find out when you go if we're control freaks and we want to control them every service and every facet of the church you can control it but you won't have the Holy Spirit guiding you at the same time you cannot control the mic and have the Holy Spirit move at the same time come on can we say amen to that there has to be direction there's leadership there's words of excitation and teaching that are needed but if you're so organized I was recently at a conference somewhere so they had me in the green room the large conference and they said so pastor Jim so here's the deal and they had the script of the meeting so they're gonna have praise and worship for 14 minutes and then they're gonna have announcements in the video about emissions project that's gonna go seven minutes then the choir is gonna sing two songs once four minutes and 15 seconds the other ones 3 minutes and 40 seconds and they got it all lined up like that then they're gonna take the offering a lady's gonna come up and sing that offering we'll take a minute to set up and and a half and then the offering her song is three and a half minutes and then the guy's going to come out and introduce you do you want us to introduce you with any sway certain way I know whatever just say my name I walk out there no then introduction will take about a minute okay then you're gonna preach for twenty two minutes then you got to turn it back to us because don't lead the people to pray we don't do that here but we had a patriotic number that's gonna last four minutes and ten seconds and then we dismiss is that right Bobby is that right bill we got this down okay so here let's go into the meeting now let's and then they pray Holy Spirit come down and move among us and blow like a mighty wind we're how there's no time for him to get in there [Music] now listen listen I know where there's multiple services sometimes you have to watch a time of his service we have 9 12 and 3 o'clock services about 10,000 people coming every Sunday to our church but we space them so we're not crunched as best we can but the reason that meetings have been shortened is not multiple service is that a lot of pastors have figured out the folks don't want to be there for very long they don't mind if the NFL game goes into overtime know better and they don't mind out in the movie they rent or watch I don't care how long that is but church you got to keep it shorter folks are gonna find another place to go and how is that going to look when you're running less than you were running last year that's the way the game is played you know it and I know it but that good knowing that bother us when that bother you if you were a pastor in its presence there's fullness of joy but folks don't want to be in God's house why would they want to go to heaven if there's nothing up there but his presence just think of that when that wouldn't that wouldn't that effect your preaching wouldn't that keep you awake at night folks who come and sit under my ministry don't want to be in the house of God for a long period of time but other things in this world they don't give a hoot about how long it is wouldn't that just stop you unless you're living delusionally unless you're in some kind of denial if they really know Jesus why wouldn't they want to be with him why wouldn't they want to be hearing the Word of God why wouldn't they want to wait in his presence this is not dinosaur talk this is not new school old school that that's silly people say no I'm doing Church in a new way the old way there's no new way there's nothing new Under the Sun the Bible says if it's new it's not true and if it's true it's not new for there's nothing new Under the Sun it's not new school or old school it's Bible school we got to look in the Bible and say can you imagine when Peter is preaching someone saying no we got to go the chariot races are beginning we got to get out of here now can't be watching all this wasting time in church minister a very very very large Church in Dallas told me when the Cowboys are playing or on the East Coast even if they're serving communion the folks are walking out he told me they're walking out they're gonna see their boys play they're gonna see those Cowboys play while you're serving communion would that be anything to do with the religion of this Bible is that ever anything to do with Christianity have we created an American hybrid something that is so far removed from the the Christianity handed down to us that we're not even recognizing it here's the first thing we learn let me do this the first thing we learn about this as the Holy Spirit sends out Saul and Barnabas is this you can't conduct Church work unless you're led by the power and the person of the Holy Spirit you don't follow marketing tactics you don't invite business people don't know God to dictate what you do we're not selling computers we're preaching the good news of Jesus Christ and the Bible still tells us that without the help of the Holy Spirit were hopeless Samuel Chadwick the old Methodist preacher in England said Christianity without the Holy Ghost is hopeless that's not old school that's true it's not new school without the Holy Spirit's help how are you going to do this when Jesus said it's better for you that I go because unless I go I can't send the spirit but when he comes it'll be a better day than me here physically because I've been with you but he will be in you this is why Jesus chose 12 disciples who would be fishermen and tax collectors and zealots why he could have chosen 12 rabbis who knew had a reason biblically and and were gifted and rhetoric no he chose losers like Peter and James and John why because when they started they will have nothing else to trusten but the power of the Holy Spirit and the gospel of Jesus Christ that's why he chose them on the day of Pentecost if you had just denied the Lord three times 50 days earlier who would you be depending on when you preached think of that we wouldn't even have Peter come and preach in our meetings I could see me introducing him at the Brooklyn Tabernacle so folks let's give it up heaters in the house and he walked with Jesus for three three and a half years and recently he denied the Lord three times and cursed the third time he did it but everyone has days like that so let's give it up for Peter come on he's going to come and bless us and yet they were pricked in their hearts when he spoke why not because of his eloquence look read this sermon a first-year Bible seminary student could do better than Peter sermon in acts 2 what's that quoting a bunch of verses and telling people about Jesus we've made it into an art form we've made it into cleverness and stand-up comic routines but who's that going to change who is that going to change I'm asking you who's that going to change look at the decline in Christianity we're living right now in the largest decline in Christianity in our country's history we're down in 9% or 6% of the population every month in America fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry fifty a day today while you're meeting 50 are going to quit and it's across denominational more than 50% of all the ministers who are in the ministry no matter how they pound the Bible in the pulpit and put on their the minister routine more than 50% of them Barner tells us would leave the ministry next week if they could only get a job that would pay the bills for their family so imagine the level of discouragement I didn't Didem district meeting in one of the states of this United States and great men and women and went to the altar and saw men 30 40 50 years old crying and broken and I said how can I help you I have preached and how can I help you how can I pray how can you help me I haven't baptized ten people in the two years had pentecostal distinctives but no fruit just because you speak in tongues doesn't mean you're automatically gonna have fruit am i correct or not I'm all for speaking in tongues I'd love to be able to say I speak in tongues more than all of you I believe that practice that but I've been to many places and so have you where if you think that's the magic one you're wrong but we can't go on without the Holy Spirit leading us helping us to make decisions how did bar Barnabas and Saul go on that missionary journey because the Holy Spirit said go think of the decisions we make think of the paradigms that pastors are following today it's as if God is dead it's as if God is dead and I'm talking about all denominations it's as if God is dead they follow these paradigms of churches that are spiritless no Bible being preached Jesus not being salted no mention of sin and that's what you're going to follow how could that possibly be there is almost like a madness blanketing the body of Christ a madness my son-in-law has to al Toledo just recently went to a church in a southern city to one of these Church growth gurus 15 minutes before the meeting began it started with 15 minutes of secular music great band great singers secular music no mention of Jesus because you know you got to relate you got to make people feel comfortable I don't find that in the Bible but this is the reasoning but it's like what Jesus said about the Sadducees you knew even neither know the Scriptures nor the power of God you neither know the Scriptures nor the power of God how would the Holy Spirit be invited in if you're not singing about Jesus then praise and worship well done but about he guess one or two percent participation brothers pastors listen you got to be careful appraised and worship it's not a concert you got to get everyone to say it's not about somebody doing a gig up on the platform it's all the people are supposed to sing most of people are just standing and watching that's so typical isn't it now nobody's singing nobody entering in but they're all hyped up on the platform and doing their songs and the key changes and the whole thing and that's great but if the people aren't singing what are we doing it for God is the audience in praise and worship we're not the audience so wait wait I don't have that long wait so then the guy got up to preach who everybody runs you know got to hear what this guy said and he's doing a series after the offering he's doing a series on wasn't it stupid how we grew up in church that's the series you know like when the preachers would say the purpose of Prayer the power of prayer and they'd rhyme everything would peak it was so stupid remember that lady would get up and sing and and her vibrato would be her you know and like and this guy's father is pastoring in the same city you just you would think he'd be embarrassed and this is who they're flocking to no mention of the Bible for the first 20 minutes my son-in-law promised me no mention of the Bible and then a remote little reference to the Word of God and then no mention of Jesus or the presentation of the gospel and if you want to know more as we dismiss because I know you got more important things to do and then as we dismiss if you want to know more visit our website and like yeah boy we did church that's sad you need to know the Scriptures nor the power of God this is why ministers are quitting I know this I've been doing nothing but pastors conferences the last five or six years I've done my own anecdotal study on this you know the guys do they do Willow Creek for a couple of years they follow this other guy for a couple years then they tried this for a couple years and then when none of it works they go you know what I must not be cut out for this I'm out but they don't try Jesus and the Word of God they don't try the power of the Holy Spirit they don't get on their faces before God and say God either use me or take my life listen when I was I'm not saying this for melodramatic reasons when I came to the Brooklyn Tabernacle and was in this so dismal situation it was so depressing I didn't want to go to the church and I was in charge and that's never a good sign one Tuesday I was walking back and forth in the afternoon in the front and the altar area knowing that there'd be three or five or seven people in the prayer meeting when I was so burdened I was so conscious of my weakness my inefficiency I was just like you know the worst nightmare to me is to be a phony preacher to me that's the worst to me that's my like my ultimate nightmare be just changing my voice and acting praise God hallelujah pray not care about the people not be close to God and walking back and forth there I said to God God knows this I said I don't know how the words came out it they hadn't been thought through but it did come out of my soul I said God if you're not gonna use me then take my life Carol and I had one child my oldest girl Kristi she was little take my life because I knew God would take care of Carol I knew God would take her Chrissie but the thought of just being futile the thought of not seeing a breakthrough I couldn't take that just use me or take me home because I'm going to live forever anyway brothers and sisters what's the point where New Testament Christians we're not living in the Old Covenant we're living along life was a big thing it's better to live a short life and be effective then live a long life and just be hanging out because we're gonna live forever how many are going planning and living forever with Jesus in heaven all right so we're you got it we're living forever so while we're here on earth what's the point a long life or an effective life for Christ bearing fruit or just hanging out we cannot do this without the Holy Spirit you know part of the problem today that's brought us to six to nine percent is that the answers are the problem the answers we've been fed for the last 10 15 20 years they're the problem most of them are coming from spiritless people who are technicians and are getting their ideas of leadership from Forbes 500 not from the Bible they want to copy CEOs of Apple and and and whatever AT&T GE then they're not they're not God use me like you use those men that's like pass a hey Jim what are you nuts that's for another day isn't it interesting that in the last 20 years we've had more conferences on church growth than in the history of Christianity and the decline has been precipitous in America wouldn't somebody stop and say timeout what what's what what's that all about more conferences more books on church growth in the last 20 years than in all the history of America before that and the church is going like this down there's more books about leadership more conferences on leadership more like you know 10 ways to organize your ministerial life here's how you preach through the Bible more computer printouts and software to help us and ministers are leaving at 1500 a month a leader of the largest denomination in America told me Jim the truth is we are more empty pompous than the history of our denomination burnout personal failure just despondency discouragement I'm trying to talk the way it is brother and sisters faith talk and hype doesn't change anything that's like going into the huddle and it's 22 to 9 and you look up in the coach says look at the score and you say I don't receive that I'm not really receiving that I don't really say that hey yo yo its 22 to 9 you can receive it or not it's 22 to 9 so so a major Church in City where I'm in you know has I just learned of this to someone coming asking counseling for me because they were leaving that church out of discouragement good pastor godly guy but the church had that malaise offerings down attendance down no converts being made people not reproducing themselves sheep not bearing bearing sheep you know that that feeling of like something's wrong but what do we do you all know that feeling don't you oh come on so you know that malaise something's wrong so so they went out and everybody we're all going out to Montana North Dakota wherever there's some new paradigm they know how to do Church so they all whole out there the woman tells me with her husband they all halt out there you know five six years ago and they're gonna implement this because now you're gonna do Church those small groups that's the answer you don't even have a church unless you're doing small groups the way they do it they got DVDs they got study guides hey so he comes back everyone's hyped up he cast the vision have you ever thought about this people come up to me pastor Jim what's your vision for the Brooklyn Tabernacle I have never had a vision for the Brooklyn Tabernacle I don't have a vision now because it's not my church is Jesus's Church why would wait wait wait don't don't no say they why would I have a vision for someone else's Church I don't read that you died on the cross I thought he did as my friend Warren where's be said Jesus never said I will build your church he didn't ask you to build his church he said I will build my church and if the work with me will will see my name glorified on the earth that is really crazy people are getting visions for their church which are now depart from the Bible but it's all justified under that's my vision it's a new vision why would you have a vision for someone else's church that's a lot of hutzpah Tech takes a lot of nerve you have a vision for Jesus's Church he died he gave us the book of Acts first and second Timothy he gave us Titus but now you're gonna revise your revisionist theory of what the church should look like I don't think that's nice so they come back he cast his vision now we're really going to have Church listen I know this like the back of my hand and you know what I'm talking about - so then what happens I asked her and him are 18 months later two years later guess what church is going south more than it was before same malaise more people leaving tendons down you know more empty seats everybody's getting nervous but now there's a 900-pound gorilla in the room that nobody could talk about because everybody's secretly one asking yo I thought this was the answer is it's obviously not the answer so I said then what happened well after about 18 months two years you know of seeing all that now we're all going to a new paradigm when everyone's hauling out there and you know what the recommendations were listen to the two first recommendations that were given to this church in New York City now you all know a lot more about a lot of things than I do but I was born and raised in New York Brooklyn so I know a little bit about New York City after all of this stuff and analyzing and and having consultants come in because now you're gonna see a turnaround boy wait till you use our formula you know what the first two changes where brother would they spend $30,000 on different lights and changed the color of the paint on the wall of the sanctuary no stop listen to that again Jay changed the light so it would be like come on we're gonna get down with some lights here and they changed the color of the paint do you think any demons in New York City we got young people being recruited by the Junior Crips the junior Bloods at 11 12 years old we got crystal meth we got crack in the inner city every kid you meet they don't even have nine out of ten don't have a dad they can identify with if you teach them the Lord's Prayer and say our Father they go yo what's father mean and you think lights and a change in the paint color is going to have anything what world do you live in so this lady and her husband said we can't take it anymore no mention of prayer no mention of the need of a revival no no getting back to the gospel no saying God either come or we can't go on no no none of that we're gonna do this by cleverness and listen I'm all for lights have any lights you want and change the paint color every month if that's what you want to do that's not what's Christianity's about please don't do that don't say that that dishonours Christ that grieves the Holy Spirit you can't run the Church of Jesus Christ without direction from the Holy Spirit the only reason Barnabas and Saul went out there and you see through the whole book of Acts Paul wants to go into into Asia which we would call Turkey and the spirit forbids him and then he wants to go to both iniya because he can't go there and again the spirit of Jesus says no you can't so he doesn't know what to do and when you don't know what to do you just stop but then he has a dream at night and he sees a man from Macedonia saying yo come on over and help us the Spirit is going to guide us the spirit will lead us you mean God gave us his son to die on the cross while we were yet sinners and now we're representing him and he won't send his spirit to help us if we humble ourselves confess our sins if we lay out before God and crowd to God you mean God won't help Carolyn me I rebuke you if you say that to me of course not gonna help me God's not gonna help you you won't see your church turn around how could that be then throw away the Bible call upon me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you've never seen before but it's like the Sadducees we've been invaded by a spirit of Sadducees you need to know the Scriptures nor the power of God a lot of sermons are becoming just comic routines I'm all for a sense of humor and laughing but I mean is that what this is about Christ died on a cross so we could entertain people and make them laugh they're not supposed to leave the building pastor saying wasn't he good that's a sign the meeting was a failure someone leaves and says what wasn't in past a symbol of good or wasn't that choir the bomb that means that the meeting was a failure I wanted to leave saying surely God is in the midst of those people I don't know what's going on in there can we all put our hands together and in front of God say amen to that don't ever be intimidated by these technicians who are slick and all of that because the statistics are the statistics the data is the data we're going down quickly here in America and someone scible for this number two would you just notice with me as I try to wrap this up then as they prayed for them when they sent them out God gave them an open door this is something you got to pray for pastors is something we're going to pray for today an open door Paul mentions that in his epistles you know pray that God might open the door for the gospel pray that the gospel might run and be glorified there are open doors that only God can give you so that you can spread the gospel and in this case Sergius Paulus the Roman official says hey I wanted you to talk to me tell me more now that's an open door that is an open door we got to teach our members in our churches to pray for open doors to witness to other people someone just gave me a statistic at breakfast 2% of all the Christians who go to church share their faith with anyone - it's becoming Spectator itis folks sit in the church everybody performs on the platform I want to hear that choir I want to see the ministers and then keep it short now because I got things to do but then I'll come back next week so most people are thinking now that Christ died for them and they're born again so they go to church once a week that is the prevailing thought not I'm a member of the body I got a function God can use me my goodness Philip and Steven were just handing out food to widows in act 6 and the next thing you know they're being mightily used by God why can't he use me why can't he use every member in your church why can't we lead them to a place in God where they get boldness to open their mouths and talk so they prayed for an open door now notice what happens whenever you have an open door whenever God is with you and working with you I'm in the middle of the night like God woke me up I'm supposed to tell you this and for somebody here who's ready you know you're discouraged I've been there done that I tried to quit the ministry twice in the early years and God blocked at both times because I was just so beat down whenever God is with you and he opens the door there will be an attack of the enemy there will be an opposition there will be a mountain in front of you remember what Paul says in one of his letters the I'm staying here for a while because there's a great open door for ministry but many adversaries whenever there's an open door there's adversaries and in this case it's this which this Simon bar Jesus this Elemis is Brujo is which and what he's doing is he's turning Sergius Paulus away from the gospel so here an open door Sergius Paulus wants to hear from Barnabas and Saul but then you got a guy close to him and saying don't believe that they're against Caesar or did this is a crazy religion and and and these are troublemakers and they're disloyal to the Empire whatever he was doing whatever trash he was talking it was being effective and then notice saw who was also called Paul full of the holy spirit here's what I want you to know whenever God opens the door there will be a huge huge block there will be an adversary there will be an attack there will be something that will want to discourage you you must realize that that will always happen don't throw up your hands and say what's going on it means you're in the fight we're in the fight brothers and sisters all I've ever known all my light is to fight that's all I know all my wife and I have ever known is one discouragement after another that's what it's about Paul didn't say at the end of his life I have danced a good dance he said I afford a good fight Christianity is not about dancing it's about fighting we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against people like that so don't don't throw up your arms I'm amazed younger pastors are like I love God and he called me but look what's happening it's supposed to happen that way but God the Holy Spirit will always show you what to do because he showed Paul what to do by the way isn't that remarkable how God worked Paul out of that situation you talk about not being user-friendly seeker-sensitive oh my goodness Paul says to LMS you son of the devil yo Paul we thought you're a man of God you son of the devil full of mischief you're always perverting the ways of the Lord what's up with you guess what and the Holy Spirit had showed him what God is going to do because God doesn't give any of us power to make people blind if he did there'd be a lot of blind folks in our churches walking right no the Holy Spirit many times shows you before what God is going to do and then you work along with the spirit with God what a powerful witness he always shows you what to do he will always show you what to do I don't care what you're facing today ask the Holy Spirit for his guidance he will show you what to do in no problem Division prayerlessness lovelessness racism in your church people are talking smack about Jesus and the gospel and all of that and then they don't want people of another color coming in their church got to deal with that Holy Spirit will never help you you got to race his church no no no no and that goes for black racism too just as ugly or a Latino racism you got to deal with that but how that's the block God's with you but now there's this block the Holy Spirit will always show us what to do he's always giving answers study the Bible pause always running into problems in prison not in prison kicked out of a city always knowing what to do for what people mean for evil God works for good if we follow the directions of the Holy Spirit notice it says full of the Holy Spirit you know since the Holy Spirit is a person he's not a gas or a liquid when it says full that word means controlled by demon possession is the counterfeit of spirit Filner's demon possessed people are controlled by evil spirits spirit-filled people full of the holy spirit are controlled by the holy spirit and then you find out it says there must have been some special anointing and control or fullness Paul saw was calls Paul full of the Holy Spirit why would Luke add that because God wanted us to know the Spirit was working through Paul and helping him he'll always show you what to do I don't care how deep the discouragement is mmm have I face some discouragement sometimes it's to do something other times it's you know one day let me just give you two quick instances one day years ago I was preaching a sermon and the Lord was really helping me all this happened in our previous facility a theater we're in a new theater now in last 10 years that was built in 1917 the largest theater in North America when it was built 4,100 seats bigger than any theater on Broadway and it's right downtown Brooklyn where the subways and buses come as good people can get in and out quick because more than half our people don't have cars so I'm in this previous facility and I'm preaching and the Lord is helping me and I close my eyes to make an invitation and I'm half praying and half pleading with the people I preached about the love of God and I'm people are saying to people don't fight off this love don't fight off his love come now come to Jesus now not join the church never lift up your denomination that grieves the Holy Spirit if you bring any of those elements in the Holy Spirit goes oh no no I wasn't sent to lift up your personality or the Brooklyn Tabernacle your denomination I was only sent to glorify Christ if you glorify Christ oh I'll help you now you're gonna lift up Jesus you're gonna lift up that this is why a lot of ministers are not anointed like they can be because they're mixing elements that you don't find in the book of Acts study Peter in acts 2 acts 3 acts 10 and Cornelius's house Paul in acts 13 Impa city and Antioch in the synagogue Paul in acts 20 with the Ephesian elders later in Jerusalem when they almost kill him study every sentence of those gospel messages see if that's the gospel you're preaching it's not joined my church ISM it's not right-wing republicanism it's it's not black culture it's not white culture it's not the Dallas Cowboys it's not a good old boy gospel it's not a revival gospel it's not a prayer gospel those things have their place but it's not in what they preached it's not sell out and give everything to Jesus or you're not really a Christian that's not study those messages there's nothing none of that has found their spirit deals with people later on as we walk with the Lord but that's not the good news it's not what my denomination has an inside track on truth you will not see any of that in there God dealt with me about this some years ago I and don't go into the Old Testament and preach some verse in the Old Testament less you're going to get back to Jesus the demons are not afraid of Jehovah or God the Creator those names do not bother had them at all it's Jesus I was determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and him crucified well-known preachers have told me Jim you're right I've made forays into the Old Testament and never got back to Jesus well then what are we most followers of Moses the law came through Moses grace and truth came through Jesus Christ what are we preaching the only name that can change anyone is Jesus we better be preaching Jesus every sermon my late friend Dave Wilkerson told me before he died and in a public meeting the last time he preached in my church at a pastors conference with Tony Evans and Franklin Graham and and brother Dave said listen I don't listen to a lot of my older sermons because I didn't get people to Jesus I was preaching Old Testament always looking for verses in Habakkuk or Zephaniah somewhere there well that's great it's all inspired but you better get to Jesus God in sundry ways and divers manners has spoken in the past through the prophets but in this day he has spoken through his son what God is saying today is Jesus come on can we put our hands together he's saying Jesus not join my church Jesus so I'm calling people to the to come to the Lord and some crazy guy in the back draws a gun out puts it on me aims it at me and starts walking down the aisle with a gun drawn on me and my eyes are closed and my wife is playing the piano behind me and this guy is walking up security didn't get him and she's playing the keyboard and she sees him coming but like a good pianist in the church never stopped playing and she's playing and she yells Jim Jim but I'm lost I'm telling people come to Jesus meanwhile I'm on my way to Jesus and I just didn't know it and she's playing and he walks up on the pauper now he's coming at me with the gun drawn on me here's a Jewish dude that someone I mess with his girlfriend he went out and got a gun he was going to take care of this guy and then by the Providence of God he came into Church and he heard the gospel and he heard about God loving him and his wires weren't good upstairs and he just said I got to give this gun up who can I give it to I'll just give it to the preacher but it didn't look like that he had it he had it drawn on me and it was loaded 45 and you know they told me later I laughed so hard when they told me my wife she got so afraid it really shook her up a week she had a battle with that God had to deliver her from that fear she said to me we're security is this the way it's gonna end for us all these meetings downtown here it's gonna end the guy's gonna walk up I thought he was gonna blow you away and then turn on me but they told me later she got so nervous because it was happening she kept sinking down down so all you could see was her hands on the piano still courting you can't even make that up you can't even make it up just where is she the guy throws the gun down on the pulpit I hear the sound my eyes fly open there's a gun in my pulpit I mean what bible school tells you what to do in a situation like that I grab I look at the gun and then touch it and I see him he's like learning off like this and going well Naomi and I run after him I'm just reacting I don't know what to do so I tried after him and I go no no no don't run don't go and he goes off the side and he goes down the aisle and he falls in the heap and the security people are jumping on him and I said no don't hurt him don't don't do any and he's crying out I need you Jesus help me Jesus well now everything's going crazy in the service some people had had their eyes open and saw him coming they almost had a heart attack others just like what's going on Majan the first-time visitor how was church at the Brooklyn chair oh it's a great a guy with a gun came up and almost shot the minister I went to the pulpit just not knowing what to do Holy Spirit show me what to do please and I took the gun I hate guns and I held it up and I said look what look what the love of God can make you give up what does he want you to give up and suddenly people are running to the altar we baptize wait we baptize like 1718 people just from that meeting every time there's an obstacle every time there's a problem every time there's an attack the Holy Spirit will always show us what to do and sometimes the thing is to do nothing but to hold on when we were in this building project which involved dozens and dozens and millions of dollars and I never raised money once I knew it would disenfranchise a lot of the people in our church who live hand-to-mouth mostly I'd signed away all the royalties from my books before I wrote the first one to the church and then fresh wind fresh fire one book of the year and and all this money was going to church and then Zondervan gave me an advance of two million dollars that I was able to give the church and even alone and everyone it was just we have to find money another way you know I'm all for budgeting but if you have no money it's very hard to budget my wife and I've never known to have money we've never been around that so as we're entering into this project 700 club Robertson without me asking gave us a million dollars we took that as a sign from the Lord go go ahead buy this thing Holy Spirit are you saying this all the pastors we fasted we prayed and they said this this is what God wants us to do but the renovation all H you know all just new heating air conditioning just everything the the place was just a disaster they had turned it into a quad Cineplex but it was one of the grand theaters the three stooges played their life that's one of our claims to fame very few churches have had the Three Stooges there so the building was in such disrepair friends of mine came and saw it they thought I had lost my mind rats running around in it because big rats with out of shake cases New York Times underneath their arms that's never good and well anyway an organization a godly organization approached me and said we want to help you well we'll lend you a lot of money we'll lend you money we believe in what you're doing they called me I never called them so I said Wow we prayed about it and we said yeah that's this going to be great help so they made the purchase of the building really possible and the initial stage so we gave them plans and we're moving ahead but we're doing this by faith that's the only way I've ever known to live I never had access to a lot of money so then one day I'm on my way to Argentina for 10 days of ministry to poorer pastors feed them try to encourage them and a guy from the denomination calls me a number numbers cruncher and he goes hey pastor Simba we just did some analysis and I think we made a mistake it's like even if we lend you this money for you to get in that building stage 1 and be operational you're short 6 million dollars that number will get your attention so I said what do you mean he's know what I just told you how are you going to get to 6 million because you're gonna have the building not done and you'll be in it and and we'll let I mean lend you the money you won't have enough the building will be half-baked what are you gonna do I said well look I didn't call you you called me and I told you how we're doing we're doing by faith he said ok what are you gonna like trust God and pray I went yeah he said that's great now how you gonna get this six million dollars I said no don't you get it sir I don't know how I'm gonna get to six million dollar that's that's how you do it by faith so what are you gonna do like shut down the service on Sunday sometimes and just stay in the whole building all day and fast and pray and have the congregation called to God yeah we do we do things like that yeah that's great but how are you gonna get the money I said he was starting to move me toward a place I didn't want to go in my heart because I was born in Brooklyn I was like come on we'll talk about this let's see so I go to Argentina and then when the last days I'm there I'm in a city called Mother Plata and boy this number was getting to me shouldn't I be back home should not be raising money who do I know that has a lot of money no one I'm being a bad steward I'm not a good leader what should I be doing six million dollars then the devil starts whispering to me you are chump you're a chump you're talking all this smack about Jesus and God and faithful and and you're gonna have half a built building and run out of money and oh boy fear attack me I'm not usually fearful the fear it got me I said to Carol I'm going out for a walk to talk to Jesus I went out for a three hour or something walk walking is a good way to play isn't it I can't fall asleep you can't get stiff and I'm walking and I just start crying out to God God you you got me into this they gave us that million dollars we all felt this was you know god what do i do should i race back early what should I do and I'm all stressed out about it six million dollars is a large number and I just called on God wept I could see myself walking down near the water in Mar del Plata and just calling on God and then the Lord speaks to me and says I got you covered don't worry about it stop worrying Philippians 4:6 don't worry about a single thing but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving make your needs known to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds Christ Jesus suddenly the Lord just baptized me with a peace oh that's so good if you're all stressed out today let me pray for you that God will baptize you with peace just peace if he sent his son how much more will he give us everything we need to do his work I go back overnight flight from Buenos Aires I go into the office we get in 6:00 in the morning I just turn around quick shower shave and go into the office I got emails text messages every kind of thing piled up my secretary says you got a whole bunch of stuff so I get there at about 10:30 11 o'clock and I start opening stuff and talking to pastors I've been away 10 days at 12 o'clock I open a letter from a man in Chicago businessmen who I had met once or twice but I wouldn't know him if he had walked in don't know his face and he says you know what I visited your church the aquire sang a song and one of the lines in that song was the Lord the Holy Spirit just made it so real to me and stopped me from doing something an investment I was going to make and it turns out I would lost everything all the money from my family so God spoke to me I'm gonna give you a million dollars so I run over to the people who could finance and we were watching over the project I said God just gave us a million dollars they're rejoicing we're high-fiving praise God I go back ten minutes later I'd not open another letter from a woman I've yet to meet to this day she wants to remain anonymous yet to meet her didn't know her never talked to her in my life she's understanding yeren been in the project and our foundation just wants you to know we're giving you five million dollars so wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait in ten minutes God provided not four million not seven million the exact amount that that guy said to me hey pastor don't you get it you're short six million dollars in God amazing come on let's put our hands together so if whatever you're facing today whatever you're facing today don't worry about it God's gonna take care of it and boy guess guess the first number I call on that phone yeah like hey guy how you doing sometimes the Holy Spirit tells you to do something sometimes he tells you to stay put but you can't do it by copying another Church please I plead with you don't copy any Church that's an insult to God that grieves the Holy Spirit find out what God wants you to do don't copy someone else that's that's corporate America who's making money how do they sell their products will copy them that's that's corporate America that's the wisdom of this world that's not the wisdom that's from above let's learn from who we can but that's not what Christianity is about so now let me end so we can pray so the best part of this story is this not that the guy was blind that the miss came over him not that the apostles were mightily used of God the Angels don't rejoice when God uses me don't you get it the Angels don't rejoice when we speak in tongues and that's an important thing to do don't you get the payoff of the story and then Sergius Paulus believed the hardest thing to do in the ministry is to make converts not rob people from other churches not get people who are half-baked and not converted and that come to come have them come to your church and then keep away from any subject that would offend them so that they can you know keep coming so that it makes it look like you're successful God doesn't want you to be successful he wants you to bear fruit and that's the hardest thing in this world that's the hardest thing right now in New York City hardest mission field in New York City I think it's the hardest mission field in the whole country young urban minority youth or or Caucasian but poor minority youth full of anger joy is going to come into piano [Music] how do you reach people running out of money people discourage people being abused by churches they've gone to so then the devil uses that to just make them all like save churches not the answer now brothers and sisters look we're all in on this thing aren't we how many are all in for Jesus you you listen we're gonna see God do something in our churches or what how many say Amen now listen he always saves the best for last remember the widow the wedding in Cana of Galilee the best wine came last so God has the best thing waiting for us and he's going to help you he's gonna help me what are you kidding me but he's not gonna help us he sent his son to die for us and now he won't help you if you ask for his help that's ridiculous have faith have faith in God I don't care what you're facing today don't give me your environment and what's gone in the church and the board and all of that God has an answer for every single thing he didn't put us in the positions were in to go under but to go over to be effective to see souls one to preach the good news of Jesus do not preach your church if you want church membership and that's a subtle cursive thing if you want to have a big church the Holy Spirit will pick up on that and you won't have his influences no he won't he does not glorify churches or denominations or past a symbol or the Brooklyn tab or five-point Calvinism or Arminianism read the Gospel message that they preach in the book acts none of that stuff is in there just Jesus your life can be changed then wherever God leads you go to church that's cool I don't care if you come Brooklyn Tabernacle or not God didn't send me to build the church it's to build his kingdom then God will take care of your church there'll be lines outside your building it's gonna start with us ministering to the Lord and saying god I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired the same old same old I want to break through don't you want to break through I said don't you want to break through in your ministry I don't care how young you are how old you are there's no retirement with God he wants to give us a breakthrough I need a breakthrough in the Brooklyn Taverner we baptized something like almost 400 people in the last four or five months that's nothing think of a city think of a city I'm trying to help this girl we're not doing very good right now but I'm not gonna give up praying for her she started cutting herself and a lot of the kids they're pulling their hair out these clumps of their hair this girl's cutting herself tried to take her life twice now we told her you're gonna end up in a mental institution they're gonna medicate you then we won't be able to love on you I'm not gonna be able to help you once they lock you away but she's so desperate and needy that she took a knife and in the end part of her thigh she wrote help heop help now what do you thinks gonna change her some lights some joke I tell serving Starbucks in the lobby do you think that's going to change anybody I'm all for it you want to do it go for it go girl go guy do it but that's not that's not Christianity only God can change that poor thing and he can he do it come on can you do it you can do it let's close our eyes let's close your eyes if your pastor pastor's wife official leader of any kind in the body of Christ and you want to just spend some time up with me here praying why not have a little prayer meeting sounds biblical to me I've often believed that a sermon that doesn't lead to prayer is not a true sermon sermon supposed to be an arrow to get us to God the throne of grace therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace never says let us come boldly to the church or let us come boldly to the sermon let us come boldly to the throne of grace if you're hungry here today like these people have come before I could even ask them if you are desperate and hungry and say God I know you have more for me this is not I am not living in the full blessing of the Holy Spirit I'm not you just get out of your seat and come whatever you have to do God do it in our lives cut out the stuff in my life and in their lives Lord that shouldn't be there create faith to replace discouragement take away fear and give us boldness take away complacency and give us fervent burning love help us to love all the people help us to see people the way you see them help us to feel what you feel God how can we do your work unless we see them the way you see them unless we feel what you feel let's lift up our hands and open our mouths and just begin to praise them before we ask him for anything come on let's minister to them praise them for calling you in the ministry praise them for saving you praise them for filling you in the Holy Spirit praise him out loud come on open up your mouth and praise God we bless you we praise you Gloria to nombre send your Gloria to numbers and your glory up to numbers and your we bless you we praise you we magnify you come on lift up your voice on the bottom of your soul let out all that frustration and all those questions God we're crying out to you we worship you we worship You God we worship You God we worship You God we worship You God we praise your name come on lift up your voice lift up your hands lift up your soul to God as they ministered to the Lord and trade and worship the Holy Spirit broke in and did something new and wonderful [Music] j-just God changed me [Music] Changez hallelujah we praise you we praise you we magnify you we glorify you we honor you Jesus we honor you holy spirit let Jesus be glorified in our lives in our churches in our ministry in our sermons in our youth department in our seniors department in our praise and worship [Music] mean I know Jen to say my [Music] sing everyone [Music] pass me by lift your hands and your boys say say [Music] sing that chorus again save her let God here and everyone sing out say [Music] they almost said no they almost said y'all [Music] we pray see the other [Music] look up here for a second everybody here's what I want us to do for the next five minutes I'll tell you when to stop I want every woman when I tell you to turn and just face one other woman every man find one man face him join hands in front of you and then at the same time don't pray for yourself pray for that system God will honor that if you pray for someone else you pray for that other brother out loud pray at the same time God will hear everyone come on everybody find a partner now I don't want hear any other sound but the sound of praying come on my house shall be called a house of prayer when you call I will answer come on I will answer ask and you shall receive seek and you'll find knock and it shall be opened for God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him [Music] and they lifted up their voices and they prayed in one Accord and the place where they where was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God with boldness [Music] pray out loud pray out loud I should have no señor I should have now sent you [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah I need the [Music] join somebody's hand and sing it look up here [Music] every eye [Music] Oh Blair me now mice like [Music] let's lift up our hands everybody as a sign of faith and surrender we need me we need let's sing we [Music] we [Music] Oh bless us down [Music] by we come [Music] how great acapella is our God sing with me how great is our God Oh we'll see how great how great is our God sing louder how great is our God who sing with me how great is our God Oh we'll see how great how great is uh name above all names he's the name above all names are worthy brain my heart will sing how great is our [Music] let's put our hands together and just praise them out loud while we're clapping you can shout or whistle or yell or give God a hallelujah we bless you Lord shout unto the Lord with a voice of triumph [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] father God I thank you for the privilege the honor of being with my brothers and sisters today thank you for your word oh are we encouraged today Lord now I come against any and all attacks of discouragement in this place I pray that the Holy Spirit will encourage every single man and woman of God here and they will go back to their place of ministry encouraged full of faith looking forward to seeing the great things you're going to do in and through us I come against all fear here fear of finances fear of failure fear of I don't know what to do next we come against that in the name of Christ for God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and power and a disciplined mind and boldness through the Holy Spirit so we come against discouragement and fear and Lord we commit our churches and our ministries to you in a new way today we dedicate ourselves like Hannah dedicated Samuel in Shiloh all those years ago speak Lord your servants are listening show us what to do lead us by your spirit help us to preach better with more clarity with more power let let our preaching not be with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit so that people's faith will not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God we dedicate our churches to you let them be holy ghost' hospitals where people of all backgrounds and all problems can come in and be loved not judged not judged loved embraced we have no target group except everyone who Christ died for we don't want any age group we want every age group every color every background we say no to the wisdom of men and we say yes to the power of God today Lord and I pray that every church lord I pray personally in every church represented here today give him the best Sunday this coming Sunday give them a visitation of your spirit give them something that can come only from heaven I pray that in Jesus name and why wouldn't you do it God if you don't work with us how can we do this if we only have words only and not power we can't do this Lord that things are so horrible out there in this world it's a wicked and perverse generation but we're glad that we can shine for you and greater see that's in US and the one that's in the world we thank you for that we pray for finances to be provided for that one who's here today who's ready to quit because he doesn't know how he's going to get the money for his project or the money to live on God take that fear away and provide like you have done from me and so many of us a thousand times do it again and God we promise you today by your grace that we will give all the glory to Jesus no church name no denomination they know pastors name save us from all of that let all those names perish let Jim symbol in the Brooklyn Tabernacle named parish but let Jesus be glorified and praised and exalted help us to love one another break down all barriers between us if there be any divisions here in this room how can we minister the love of God if we're not full of love how can we hold up the fact that God is love and that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son if we're not walking in love take away harshness from us take away critical cynical words and thoughts Lord help us make us sweet make us sweet make us kind just make us kind and sweet to everyone today save us from that professional clergy trap and just make us just regular people in love with Jesus in love with the world we ask all these things in your name born look at me for a second it's been an honor to talk to you and I love you if you come to New York I'll buy your cheesecake if you want to come come at Junior's cheesecake that's right so can we dismiss the way we do it in our church in Brooklyn can we dismiss this way so I want all the ladies to hug no hand shaking now on every lady hug about ten ladies and give her your favorite verse just whisper and then hear her favorite verse every brother hug ten brothers no handshakes don't be cool don't be macho just hug somebody come on everybody men with men ladies with ladies

Channel: SermonIndex.net

Views: 50,239

Rating: 4.7687073 out of 5

Keywords: Revival, Character Of God, Free Sermons, Video Sermons, Jesus Christ, What Is The Gospel, SermonIndex, What Is The Truth, Jim Cymbala

Id: gsURPIH6OFE

Length: 94min 43sec (5683 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 09 2017