"Become What You Believe" Part 2 - Pastor Raymond Woodward

I worship you Jesus amen jumping in at a feast in Chapter 1 and verse 11 in whom in Jesus in him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will now we're jumping right into the middle of everything let me catch us up real quick Paul has already used the word according four times in this first few verses of Ephesians he's used it in verse 4 according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world he used it in verse 7 we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace he uses it in verse 9 he's made under known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure and and now he uses it again in verse 11 that we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will you can watch that little word according in Ephesians you'll see it more in this book than anywhere else it is the same root word from which we get our English word cord as in a musical chord the singer sang in harmony tonight if they didn't sing in harmony if you didn't notice I would notice it's painful to me to listen to somebody sing off-key or even just slightly off-key that sets my teeth on edge I've got enough musical background in me well the word according means they are acting something is acting someone is acting in a harmony with someone's pleasure purpose and power and in these cases Paul's using it in reference to God that our lives our salvation our works everything about us is acting in accordance it's acting according its act in a harmony with God's pleasure his purpose and his power let me say at the outset tonight we're not strong enough or smart enough or even spiritual enough to do this all on our own we are living according to God's pleasure his purpose and his power without Jesus we're just another building without Jesus were just another group of people but with Jesus in our myths spiritual miraculous things can be accomplished by the church and so he's talking about our inheritance and he says this that we have been predestinated according to his purpose and on basically predestination does not mean that God picks out six or eight people and says you're going to heaven doesn't matter what you do and he picks out another six or eight and says you're going to hell it doesn't matter what you do that's not what predestination is talking about that's a false interpretation of the word predestination here's what predestination means it means before you ever knew God before you ever came to God before you ever worshiped God before you ever prayed to God God knew you would be here he knew you would love him he knew you would serve him he knew you'd be part of his church and before you ever had a clue that you'd ever be a Pentecostal talking in tongues God already paved the way for you to walk with him that means you can make it all the way to the rapture because he already predestinated you to be part of his church predestination doesn't mean that you're chosen and you can't mess it up you could mess it up it doesn't mean that you're chosen to not be in God's family because he doesn't love you everyone whosoever will can be in God's family but predestinated means that God acted first before I ever knew he existed God was already working on me in my mother's womb when he knit me together God ordained for many of us that somebody in a previous generation of our family that they would know God and they would pass that truth on to us thank God for a heritage like that but here's what else I thank God for there are people in here that nobody in your family tree ever name the name of Jesus or ever serve God or even went to church but guess what devil it was predestinated that you would open your heart and you'd have an opportunity and thank God you took it so you're the first one in your family tree but can i prophesy to you you're not the last one in your family that's gonna serve God because God's gonna use your witness and your prayer to touch other people in your family wow man oh that's half the first verse let's see we can get the other half done tonight we have been predestinated according in harmony with his purpose watch this who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will that's worketh with an e th on the end that's King James for constantly working so God is constantly continuously without fail without stopped he's working manipulating moving maneuvering and he's arranging all things in your life according to his purposes nothing happens at random to the people of God you say but pastor we just have prayer and we were praying for people who are sick in their body well sickness comes on this earth because of the curse of sin which includes sickness but can I tell you something nobody in our church who has suffered through sickness recently that didn't take God by surprise and so many of them if you listen to them talk you'll hear this that God's been faithful and their faith is even stronger than it was before they went into that time of sickness because nothing not even the stuff happens at random to the people of God you saying God causes sickness no I'm saying he doesn't sin cause sickness but here's what I'm saying when the devil does his worst and when the physical realm throws its worst at you and you're feeling sick and you're feeling down and your situation has turned inside out nothing catches your God by surprise he can take the worst day of your life by the time God gets done with it you've got a testimony that's blessed ten thousand people God can take the worst sickness you've ever been in and he can turn it into a miracle that astounds doctors that's our God he's constantly working verse twelve that why that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ you know why God does all of that it's so we can give him praise for it don't ever let a miracle be done in your life and you not give God a praise for it don't ever let God turn a situation around and you'll be so unthankful that you wouldn't give him a testimony and a praise every time we come together if God's ever healed you and we talk about healing you need to get your hands in the air and say God that may have been 15 years ago but I still thank you for the day you healed me we get talking about the Holy Ghost you know what you need to say God it's been 40 years since I received the Holy Ghost but I've still got it and it's still got me and I'm gonna give you a praise for it mm-hmm verse 13 in whom ye also trusted after that you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom also after that you believed oh this is good you were sealed with that holy spirit of promise now that's a legal term you remember if you've read Bible dictionaries or anything like that anything about Bible customs you remember that in Bible days they used to take a legal document they'd write it on a scroll and they would roll it up and then they would pour hot wax on the the part where the paper coiled together and then they would put an imprint usually some kind of signet ring and they would seal that hot wax and that meant that it had been signed legally by the king the monarch the Emperor whatever it was sealed now watch what God is saying through the pen of Paul Jesus is the one you trusted in he's the word of truth that you heard he brought the gospel of your salvation and you believed it and when you believed it you were sealed it became legal it became binding as far as heaven is concerned you're a child of God and there's nothing that the world or hell or the devil can do to alter that you're sealed and how are you sealed with that holy spirit of promise it is incontestable you are God's child because you were sealed with the Holy Ghost how do I know that unsealed with the Holy Ghost well God didn't want to leave that to guesswork so when you receive the Holy Ghost something supernatural happens in you and you who can speak English or French or Spanish all of a sudden you begin to speak in a language that you have never learned we call it speaking in other tongues that's the Bible terminology what is that that is God saying something supernatural just happened inside called the new birth so I'm gonna let something supernatural come out through your mouth so you'll know on the outside what just happened on the inside and that is the seal it is incontestable you can't do it by human means but God does it by super natural means this is why in the book of Acts the household of Cornelius they agreed to baptize them they didn't go they're planning to baptize them Peter went because God made him go he sent him three visions and then three men showed up at his door three servants of Cornelius so when Peter went to this pagan household of a soldier a Centurion named Cornelius not anybody in that party Peter took six men with him nobody among that seven thought that they were going to end up in a baptismal service that day Peter went and did exactly what he was instructed by God to do which was preach the gospel he didn't even believe you watched the reaction in the next chapter nobody believed that Gentiles would ever receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost they were not expecting that nobody ever expected to baptize Gentiles in Jesus name my goodness I'm glad Acts chapter 10 is in the Bible because if it wasn't none of us would be here none of us would be in the church but here's what happened when Peter began to preach as Peter yet spake these words who that's not in the Bible the Holy Ghost fell on all them that believed the word and when they saw the seal when they knew that God had just sealed that group of Gentiles like he had sealed them on the day of Pentecost them being Jewish they said we've got to baptize him now God just put his seal of approval on these people his legal seal the Holy Ghost is more than making you respond with your emotions on a Sunday night on a fast song when everybody's going full-tilt the Holy Ghost is the divine seal of God on your life it is power from on high it is Christ in you the hope of glory it's the earnest of your inheritance that's what he says as he keeps on going he says in verse 14 it is the earnest the Holy Ghost is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession that's us all unto the praise of his glory it is the earnest what's that mean it is the down payment what Jesus said oh my goodness when he gave you the Holy Ghost is I am putting a down payment of my spirit in you it's just the down payment it's just the earnest and if you think you feel good when you get talking in tongues on a Sunday night please remember that's just the down payment of what you're gonna feel like when the rapture happens that's just the down payment of what you're gonna experience when your footsteps on streets of gold for the very first time it's just the down payment you know what Jesus is saying every time he feels somebody with the Holy Ghost this is my possession this is my down payment and so if I put a down payment on it I'm coming back to get it and when I come back to get it I'm gonna pay the rest of it the Holy Ghost is awesome and wonderful and being baptized in the Holy Ghost will blow your mind and feeling the Holy Ghost in your life that's incredible but it's only just a little taste of what we're going to feel on rapture day I know it's Bible study but this is Sunday night preacher I know it's just a little tiny taste of what we're gonna feel when we experience what the Bible calls the catching away of the bride the catching away of the Saints you think talking in tongues is a trip you just wait till you take that trip that one day your foots walking on Main Street and the next day it's kicking loose in God's clean air and then all of a sudden in heaven forever will Jesus Christ then you'll experience the full payment of what now is just a down payment I know it's Wednesday but I think we could give God at least a Sunday night praise on that one that's mine I put a down payment on it they're my possession and if I put a down payment I'm coming back together what a day that's gonna be when God redeems see that's what that means I put a down payment on it but I'm not cheap I'm not gonna forget I'm coming back to pay the rest of the price and the rest of the price includes heaven for you I wish you'd just give God a praise I don't care whether you stand or sit it doesn't matter but I wish out of your innermost being would flow that River see that River is the down payment that's the Holy Ghost that's the earnest of your inheritance I [Applause] worship you Jesus I worship you Jesus bolos oh la caja Mayan de la que suba I worship your Jesus I worship You Jesus I worship you Jesus [Music] Ricardo baccara mohabbat acacia the holy ghost says your sickness isn't the end of your life even if you die with it it's not the end the holy ghost says you've got a down payment paid for you the down payment that's in you says that this trial is not going to kill you this trial is not going to take you out if you'll stay in touch with Jesus if you'll let the Holy Ghost work through you and live through you this trial is not stop saying there's going to be the death of me it's not going to be the death of you because after the death of you there's going to be eternal life for you you've got the earnest of your inheritance living right inside of you better move on which is the earnest the downpayment of our inheritance until somebody say until until the total redemption of the purchased possession and it's all unto the praise of his glory somebody said it years ago the New Agers have conscripted this statement and used it to mean something else but it's a Bible statement it's a Bible concept I should say I am NOT a human being having a spiritual experience see a lot of people that's what they think churches well I'm a human being and I live here on earth and I pay my bills and I have a job and so I'm gonna go to church and this human being is going to have a spiritual experience that is not what's happening no I'm a spiritual being and I'm having a human experience meaning I've got eternal life in me right now I'm not waiting till the rapture to figure out if I've got eternal life I've got eternal life in me right now the rapture is just the doorway to get me from here to there and so when you add it all my human experience is only a few years at best but my spiritual experience is still going to be going a million years from now I'm a spiritual being I've been filled with Holy Ghost I've got Jesus in my spirit and I'm having a human experience so there are days that the human experience is not very pleasant there are days when other humans having a human experience get on my human nerve my last one there on my last nerve I'm down to my last nerve yeah but you know what that doesn't last that's the human experience there's something in you precious people of God that transcends it's greater than it goes beyond higher further deeper wider than anything you will ever experience in this life I know some of you have been through valleys I know some of you have experienced traumatic losses in your life I know some of you have been maligned and attacked by the devil himself trying to do you in and make you throw up your hands because what a triumph that would be for him to get a spiritual being filled with the eternal power of God to throw up your hands and give up and walk away from Jesus what a triumph that would be for him but look out devil I don't intend on doing that because I figured it out that my human experience is only about that long but my spirit experience that's gonna go forever and forever and there's nothing L can do about that wherefore I also Paul says verse 15 after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and I heard about your love unto all the saints because I heard how good you're doing for the kingdom I ceased not to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers and here's what I pray for you Paul prayed specific prayers I'm prayin that the god of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory here's what I'm praying that he'll give you an easy road not that he'll take all your pain and your trials away I'm praying that he may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation not just random wisdom not just college wisdom no I'm praying that he will give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him wise Paul pray for this well he knows that a lot of people even in the first century they prayed for God's power they prayed for God's mercy but Paul said I'm praying that you'll experience God's wisdom and revelation here's why because Paul had an experience on the Damascus Road where he got a revelation of Jesus and that revelation made him a powerhouse for the kingdom of God so he said I'm praying for all you people that you'll get a revelation of the God you're serving because if you ever get a revelation of the God you're serving if you ever get wise concerning him if you ever get a revelation of him you don't need so much power to get through life because you can go through the worst trial that hell ever devised to defeat you and you realize that the devil is not the final authority over my life he doesn't have any say over what happens to me in eternity and if I get a revelation of God like that I can wade through Hell itself and come out the other side with my faith intact so Paul said I'm praying for you dear people that you get a revelation of this Jesus that you're serving don't just ask him for power ask him to reveal himself to you we're so quick to pray for deliverance from something we're so quick to pray God get me out of this and we hardly ever pray God show me why I'm in this because if we could ever get that revelation we might learn some incredible incredible things about God Paul said here's what I'm praying verse 18 I'm praying that the eyes of your understanding would be enlightened that you would know what is the hope of his calling watch this now this is sleight of hand linguistically here and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance now that would all be about heaven except for the last three words in the Saints see we think we're going to know our hope and the riches of his glory and get all of our inheritance when we get there but Paul he said it's not just about there I'm praying that you'll understand that much of it is right here I'm praying that you'll understand that there's the glory of God and the power of God and the revelation of God and it's right here in the Saints that's why church is important that's why collective corporate worship and prayer is important because something happens when the Saints get together I love that we're humble in Atlantic Canada and I really genuinely believe that we are but humility and inferiority are not the same thing and and you want to be humble before God but don't you go around acting humble before the devil you don't have to act humble before him that's acting inferior you are not inferior to the most powerful demon in hell greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world so you have a right to push back you have a right to speak up you have a right to insist on God's will being done in your life it's not just all wait until we get to heaven its power right now in the Saints we're all spraying you know God I want to know what I have in you and God saying I want you to know what's already resident in you you're not looking for more of me you've already got all of me if you've got the Holy Ghost verse 19 here's what I'm praying Paul said notice he's not praying I'm praying that you'll get out of trouble I'm praying that you'll have it easy I'm praying you know healing and deliverance and all that he said no here's what I'm praying he's praying big prayers and I'm praying that you'll know what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us word toward us who believe there's that word again according in harmony with the working of his mighty power Paul said I'm praying that you'll understand that you've got inherent power in you its power that's already in your possession but it's dependent on you releasing it activating it using it this is the lifelong task of every pastor preacher evangelist missionary with the dear people of God is to get us including us who stand behind the pulpit to understand what God's already put in us when we activate what God's got in us people can be healed right here in our midst people can be filled with the Holy Ghost right here in our midst often it takes like we've seen in the last few weeks it sometimes takes a fresh voice to come and remind us that hey you're apostolic you can do this and we say oh yeah I'm apostolic I can do this what in the world would happen if we just lived in that revelation every day yeah I'm apostolic I can do this I can punch a hole in hell I can see exploits done in the name of Jesus I can pray prayers that God's interested in answering I can't survive and more than that I can thrive living for God I wish you'd lift up your hands for a moment and instead of just doing the typical response I wish you'd go to prayer for a moment and say God help me to see what you've put in me that's a simple prayer but it's a powerful one god help me to see what you've put in me god help me to understand what's already in there God helped me to be to get the revelation of what the Holy Ghost is and what the Holy Ghost does for me mmm just push that a little bit would you I know it's Bible study I got that I'm doing my best but a Bible study is not a lecture a Bible study is getting the Word of God into and getting it activated you've got enough power in your prayer to circumvent anything the devil is trying to do in your life because you can pray in the Holy Ghost and you're praying according in a harmony with God's will and pleasure and purpose in you there's Revelation in this chapter there's revelation in the word for us tonight but we've got to activate that revelation revelation is not about believing the correct doctrines we already do that revelation is letting those correct doctrines bring an understanding to us so that we're not just beat around with every little wind of trouble and trial but we stand like an oak tree in a strong breeze and it doesn't even faze us that's what revelation does Paul said now how did you get all this revelation well verse 20 how do we have hope that we can be strong and mighty and powerful here's how he already did this we're just activating it we're just using what he already did watch this which he wrought in Christ when yesterday no way back 2,000 years ago when he raised him from the dead you got power because Jesus has a resurrection power and he set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places if you go back all the way to the old testament the defining moment of deliverance the defining moment of God's power in the Old Testament was the crossing of the Red Sea it's where they came out of Egypt it was a boundary line that marked their deliverance and God literally defied the laws of nature and opened a pathway through the sea it was their defining moment of God's delivering power and that's why in the Old Testament you constantly see Israel you constantly see the psalmist and the prophets and you see God himself constantly referring back to that moment of deliverance when they came over they came through the Red Sea everybody refers back to that why because that's the moment when God defined his power and he marked them as his people that had been brought out of bondage come to the New Testament in the New Testament the moment the defining event of God's delivering power is when Jesus Christ came out of the grave under his own power he took the worst enemy you will ever face and that's your death and he defeated your worst enemy as job number 1 if God has already defeated your worst enemy first there is nothing that life can throw at you that God hasn't already proved he can conquer and that's why everything we are everything we have everything we do it refers back to that defining event not the crossing of the Red Sea that's Old Testament we refer back to the moment Jesus came out of the grave because if he lives we shall live also if the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwell in you it'll quicken your mortal body we live risen like he is risen over the power of death in our lives this is amazing because death is the greatest enemy we will ever have to confront and God's already dealt with that one and knocked it down that means that sickness trial opposition persecution none of it compares to that last great enemy that we face and Jesus already conquered it and because he did this he now has given us that kind of power he said him at his own right hand in the place of power in the place of authority in the heavenly places verse 21 far above all principality and power and might and Dominion and this Jesus you've been worshiping tonight he's far above every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come and he has put all things somebody say all that means everything in your life that means every temptation that means every trial that means every opposition and he has put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church which is his body what are we we are his body the fullness of him that filleth all in all now we've done this before I won't take a long time here but this is pretty easy if you're his body and everything including the power of the devil is under his feet then you know where that puts the devil he'll the world in relationship to you the devil is not here fighting you he only pretends he's here fighting you he's there fighting you that's why he has to be the father of lies that's why he can't tell the truth because he never told the truth about his position relative to you you'd laugh at him so the devil tells you he's big and strong and all that the devil tells you he can wipe you out and knock you down and kill you and all that foolishness and the devil is lying through his teeth to your face he's already been defeated and humiliated and embarrassed he's been led captive by the crucifixion of Jesus he's been humiliated and triumphed over by the resurrection of Jesus and Jesus has put you in his body and has put the devil under the feet of his body and it's right there plain as day black and white ink so here's what we need to realize the devil may tell you he's gonna wipe you out this week and if you believe him you'll let him but if you'll stand on the Word of God the devil is under my feet trials are under my feet sickness is under my feet you say but yeah aren't you showing some symptoms oh yeah I've got symptoms here in my physical body but here's what you need to know devil I am NOT a human being having a spiritual experience so sickness doesn't defeat me I'm a spiritual being and I'm having a human experience so if my body's sick this week that doesn't mean one thing as far as my triumphs over you you're still under my feet when I've got a migraine headache you're still under my feet when I'm undergoing treatment you're still under my feet when I'm laying in a hospital bed you're still under my feet if we could just realize who we are what we are what we have and what the devil has lost and where he is we wouldn't ever let the devil knock us down ever ever again I wish you clap your hands just because it irritates hell and lift your voice just because it terrifies hell and give God a great praise in Bible study tonight rebel lucius Mendel of Malaysia Sabah I worship you Jesus rebel local hotel about you Sabah local rabbi yes Sean de Labarre some of you might be aware if you're really astute and you've you know watched very closely some of you might possibly maybe be aware that I have two grandchildren if you're really sharp and you've really watched you might be aware of that Clara and I were in the office just before service tonight and for the four thousand eleven hundred twentieth time whatever we were watching some of her songs on the computer and one of them is a Sunday school song if you're happy and you know it say Amen if you're happy and you know it clap your hands yeah you're good you do it when we sing that well maybe we need to make that part of the agenda for Sunday night if you're happy and you know it stomp your feet it just occurs to me that stomping your feet might be a very appropriate praise action because the devil is under your feet and no I'm not just joking around The Devil's under your feet stop letting him tell you he's over your head or you're over your head in your situation he's under your feet and every time the devil dares to lift his slimy hand against the people of God it shouldn't make you run and hide and tremble and cry it should make you mad and indignant that he would dare and so go after him I'll just let that hang and we'll keep on going we're talking about become what you believe we need to stop saying the devil's under our feet and we're more than conquerors and greater is He that is in me and then live like The Devil's large and in charge and we're just victims being beat around by all the forces of life you are not a victim don't act like a victim you're not a victim you are a child of the Living God you're filled with the Holy Ghost which is the seal the downpayment the earnest of your inheritance mm-hmm chapter 2 we made it to chapter 2 oh my goodness Wow a whole chapter and you hath he quickened that's that word if the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwell in you it will quicken your mortal body and you hath he quickened who were once dead in trespasses and sins now he's going to paint a bad picture here but it's an accurate picture you were dead see death in the scripture is separation and we were dead in the most significant way see when your spirit is separated from your body in death we have your funeral your body can no longer function because your spirit has separated from it that's physical death but we were separated from God in a way worse than that our spirit was separated from his spirit your body can't function in the physical realm without your spirit but can I tell you something your spirit can't function in the spiritual realm without God's Spirit in you and so Paul said you were dead and Trust wherein in time past you walked according or was a according so there's that word again you were in harmony with you were in agreement with you walked according to the pleasure and the purpose and the power but this time it's not God's pleasure and purpose and power he said in time past you walked in harmony with the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air the devil the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience Paul said just like when your spirit leaves your body that silence is your body but when God's Spirit is not in your spirit your spirit is silenced you can't function and so we were walking around Paul said but we were dead we thought we were living but we were dead we thought we were alive but there was no life in us we were just doing according to the Prince of the power of the air the atmosphere where human beings live and and it's the same spirit Paul said that right now is working in the children of disobedience these are are people that are non-compliant with the will and the Word of God he says in verse three among whom also we all somebody say we all you might have been a good sinner or you might have been a bad sinner but you were still about you were still a sinner we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh we fulfilled the desires of the flesh and of the mind and we were by nature not by deeds this is important you're not a sinner because you do sinful things you do sinful things because you're a sinner it's a big difference there let me run that by you again you don't you're not a sinner because you do sinful deeds that's not why you're a sinner you do sinful deeds because you were born so you have a sinful nature this is what Paul's saying it's not that you make a list and you say oh that guy's a bad one he must be a sinner no you're a sinner because you have a sinful nature look at what he says he said you were by nature before you ever grew up to the terrible twos of the treacherous teens you were by nature the children of Wrath even as others you were warring and angry and seething against all that is holy or godly you were your own little God you serve the God of self and that's why he said you fulfilled the lust of the flesh and the desires of the flesh and the mind you fulfilled every carnal desire and every carnal inclination and you say that's not very nice it's not meant to be he's painting a picture of how ugly sin is in our lives before we know God it's an unbelievably pathetic picture now listen Satan was supernaturally powerful and he was much smarter than we were we'd been around for a few years he'd been around for 6,000 years of human history and then who knows how long before that he was more powerful he was smarter he was crafty and then we had the world system surrounding us from our birth and then not only that we were imprisoned in our own carnal sin nature hopeless without hope not a chance the world says a very crude expression not a chance in hell we didn't have a chance of avoiding hell how in the world do you escape from odds like that how in the world do you ever end up a child of God when you've got all of that stacked against you the world the flesh and the devil here's the only way you can do it verse 4 but God that's the only way you can do it but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us you were born dead but Jesus made you alive you were born in sin but Jesus forgave your sin you were born just a human being without a hope but God gave you an eternal hope but God who is rich in mercy the biggest danger for those of us that have been around for a while is that we would forget that's why the Bible keeps telling us remember don't forget be thankful because if there's a danger of us starting to think that we've done this long enough that we're really we got it down without the mercy of God there's not one of us that could make it one more week probably not one more day but because of the mercy of God the by the psalmist said that I come into his house surrounded by His mercies you have bodyguards when you came to church tonight and no it wasn't your mother-in-law you had bodyguards when you came to church the mercies of God surround the people of God and when you walk to your job today and you walked up the escalator and you walked into that office and you're among sinners all day long and some of them cursed God's name openly and often but over at your little cubicle over in your little office what they couldn't see was your ears and your mind your heart and your spirit we're surrounded by the mercies of God some of you you've driven on a high way maybe it was a New Brunswick winner and you've passed an accident and said oh how terrible that is and some of you have said my goodness if we just got here a few minutes earlier that could have been us do you know what that was you weren't driving that car alone you were surrounded by the mercies of God I got a good one for you you might come in here and feel like I've messed up so many times I'm not worthy to go to church I'm not worthy to lift my hands I'm not worthy to go to the altar and you would be exactly right except we have a God who is rich in mercy and when you came to the house of God tonight God didn't look at the long laundry list of your sins dragging behind you on the floor you know what he saw he saw you walk in surrounded by the mercies of God you know why that words plural in the Old Testament it's because we needed a whole lot more than one experience with the mercy of God we needed the mercies of God I wish somebody lift your hands and thank him I'm not trying to give you a Pentecostal worker I'm trying to let you see what we have who we are what we've got in Jesus we should be so grateful would you put your voice up in the air with those hands would you thank God publicly out loud in front of everybody else you're not to a senior in your experience you don't have it all down we all need the mercy of God I'm so grateful Jesus for your mercies if it wasn't for your mercy I wouldn't be here I couldn't be here I shouldn't be here but I thank you that you are rich in mercy Rama Yoshi indelible osseous Arabic or Rama yes Jean de lavit I take Asia more than just a moment of praise would you give God some great praise in this room Karuppu Yasuko Talib Arikara dia Shakur ABI talib Asiata Enrique ha ha ha ha shunned Arabic erode Allah Basava if you're already standing you can remain standing I don't want anybody else to stand just for a moment but if you're already standing you're fine but in just a moment I'd like all of our X everything if you've got strength in your body I'd like you to stand we've got X angry people and your anger caused chaos in your family maybe wrecked a marriage maybe hurt your children we've got ex drug addicts here we've got ex alcoholics here we've got people that used to have an addiction to pornography here we've got people that your life was a total mess we've got people that that your sin includes sexual sin all kinds of mess so I wouldn't ask you to stand one by one or group by group I like everybody that's X anything to stand and give God a praise and if you're X if you say well I'm not X anything that means your ex religious everybody's got a reason to give God praise and if you think it wasn't you well it was probably your daddy or your mom or your grandpa somebody in your family tree was so messed up you shouldn't have ever been here you shouldn't have ever been a Pentecostal but God who is rich in mercy thank God that he made the difference in your family tree thank God that he made the difference in your life Erica revelatory carabeo Sunday Milotic a OSA laboratory Korea the Reebok or Emmaus Abba I worship you god I worship you Jesus I worship you Jesus I worship you Jesus thank you for responding church Ryan come back and play something I don't know that we're gonna sing but when people become Apostolic s-- one of the hardest things to do for all of us is to retrain ourselves not to operate according to the world but to operate according to God's purpose and plan it took God only one night to get Israel out of Egypt but it took him 40 years to knock the customs and the grumbling and the murmuring and complaining and sin and idolatry of Egypt out of them it took him one night to get them out of Egypt it took him 40 years to knock Egypt out of them that's the big task it takes a long time to switch from thinking acting responding reacting according to the things of the world and to start acting according to the Holy Ghost that is in you every once in a while you need to look in the mirror maybe after you've been reading your Bible or had a good session of prayer and you need to think about some of the things you've allowed in your actions your reactions your responses sometimes you need to look at yourself in the mirror and say you're better than that you're filled with the Holy Ghost start acting like it see there's always going to be a battle between the new man and the old man but you're not dead anymore you used to be dead that's it you're not dead anymore so don't act like a dead person don't act like a sinful person don't act like a bound person you're not that person anymore if you could ever understand who you are where the devil is and what you've got inside of you it changes everything pastor's done teaching I would really like us to take about four or five minutes not just four or five seconds here and respond to the Word of God tonight some of you the Holy Ghost has laid his hand on on something in your life where you just kind of constantly go back through that cycle of defeat he'd like to lift you up out of that tonight you don't have to do that you're a new creature sinners sin because of their sinful nature Christians sin because they choose you don't have to make that choice would you lift up your hands your heart your voice your attention everything you got would you lift it up to God and it will help everything in this room if you'll just pray out loud I'm not asking you to confess anything out loud you can do that in your mind but I am asking you to talk to Jesus out loud God I am more than a conquerer the devil has no claim on me I have been purchased by your blood and I have received the downpayment of my inheritance which is the Holy Ghost and I am in covenant with your name through my baptism the devil has no right he has no room he has no authority he has no privilege to come into my life and do what he wants but Jesus you have every right you have all authority I grant you access to me I grant you access to me sir a terrible arriba arriba your son the mulatto sir Raymer a Telecom Robertson today Dibakar ideas show kora Mohammed economics so deliberate that I could read the Karabakh shake I'm just gonna say it this way if you need I'm not gonna define this if you need a special touch from God tonight for some reason would you lift both your hands right now I need a special touch from God I don't know what that is but you need a special touch from God I see some people all the way through now church could I get your help please there's all kinds of people here that know how to pray would you keep your hands up for just a second I'd like you to look around and if there's anybody near you that needs a touch from God would you just go lay your hand on their shoulder and we're gonna all pray pastor's gonna lead us but would you just make a connection with them somebody that needs a special touch from God there's all kinds of people here that that you could do that for me just find somebody that's got their hands lifted and I want you to touch them right now [Applause] I know it's Bible study but the Holy Ghost is moving in Bible study Lord Jesus right now I speak in your name I do not speak from a position of wishing or hoping I speak from a position of authority because you have put the devil under our feet because he is under your feet I speak from a position of authority and in agreement with your word we are more than conquerors you heal all our diseases we are the head and not the tail when we fall we will arise you will bring our sons from far and our daughters from the ends of the earth we will be saved and our house you have sent your word to heal us god I stand in agreement with your Holy Word tonight I speak a restraining word against the devil and all of his attacks his temptation the grief he tries to bring I speak a restraining word against him but I speak a releasing word to the people of God release your people to live in victory to live in peace release your people to live in health to live in freedom release your people to be the ones that you have called them to be and to do the works that you have called them to do in the name of Jesus I speak it and God help us to walk out of this room understanding the words that we've read and studied from Ephesians this is not pastor Raymond giving a little pep talk this is your word oh god it is forever established it is settled forever in heaven and it works on earth let us leave this building not the same as we came into this building I speak it in the name of Jesus and now unto him that is worthy of all your praise would you give him at least some of your praise he's worthy of all of it we can stay for a week and never get to the end of it but would you give him a suitable praise that's good but would you give him a suitable praise his name's worthy his name is worthy give him your best and Allah Allah Karim Allah Sobhan a case so Deborah double-rocker Nadella boss Issa I worship you Jesus thank you God [Music]

Channel: Capital Community Church

Views: 8,556

Rating: 4.75 out of 5

Keywords: pastor, raymond, woodward, become, what, you, believe, part, two, ccc, capital, community, church, apostolic, pentecostal, upc, upci, preach, preaching, sermon, bible, study, ephesians, series

Id: S8SMmt6lDJA

Length: 59min 0sec (3540 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 20 2017