BREAKTHROUGH | 10/3

[Music] [Applause] [Music] and we will praise him with our lives and proclaim our love for him cause he has paid the highest price he has proven his great love for us and we will praise him with our lives [Music] and proclaim our love for him and proclaim our love for him cause he is faithful he is glorious and he is jesus and oh my is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] come on let's give a shout [Applause] [Music] out god we just celebrate you today you are so good you are above and beyond every expectation the fact lord that you've decided your kingdom is one of righteousness and peace and joy is overwhelming to us [Music] let the joy of the lord be in this place today thank you lord let your beauty eclipse everything we might be going through let the things of the world grow strangely dim as we look at you today and find joy in you jesus we say together all our fountains are in you god you are the only source oh jesus [Music] oh jesus just begin to set your eyes on jesus today just begin to lift your heart just begin to give him what you came to give him today just begin to worship begin to worship today jesus [Music] in christ my hope is found he is my light my strength my soul this cornerstone this solid ground firm through the fiercest drive against what heights of love what heights of love what depths are when fears are still when striving sees my comforter my all in all here in the love of christ i'll stand [Applause] in christ in christ who took on flesh fullness of god in hell this gift of love and righteousness sworn by the ones he came to sing it up until on that cross as jesus died the wrath of god for every sin of him was laid here [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] there in the ground lifted up today church there in the ground his body led [Music] and as he stands in victory since curse has lost its grip on me for i am [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] no guilt in life lift it up no fear in death this is the power of christ in me from life's first pride to final breath jesus commands my destiny no power of [Music] his hell till he returns or calls me home [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] sing no power of hell no power of hell no scheme of a man could ever [Music] till he returns or calls me home [Music] [Applause] [Music] until he returns or calls me one more time till he returns [Music] yes [Music] so [Music] one with god the lord you're hidden glory in creation now revealed in you are christ's what a beautiful name it is what a beautiful name it is the name of jesus christ my what a beautiful name it is nothing compares to this what a beautiful name it is the name of jesus [Music] he didn't want heaven without us so jesus you brought heaven down my sin was great your love was greater what could separate us now what a wonderful name it is what a wonderful name it is the name of jesus christ what a wonderful name it is nothing compares to what a wonderful name it is the name of jesus what a wonderful name it is [Music] for all my days all my days i choose you will be found in you jesus [Music] silence [Music] [Applause] the praise of your glory for your eyes to life [Music] forever god [Music] what a powerful name it is the name of jesus christ [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] you what a powerful name it is what a powerful name it is the name of jesus christ what a powerful name it is [Music] [Music] easiest [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus jesus oh just sing the name of jesus to sing the name of jesus to sing the name of jesus sing the name of jesus there's power in the name of jesus this power in the name of jesus this power in the name of jesus come on people who god lift the name of the name above every name jesus jesus jesus oh jesus jesus jesus jesus jesus what a beautiful name is what a beautiful name it is the name of jesus christ my king what a beautiful name it is nothing compares to this what a beautiful name it is the name of jesus [Music] is is causing you pain is it despairing this is something you feel you cannot come through this is something you feel you're stuck in the middle of like the eye of the storm but you're not stuck in that storm of sickness and despair and brokenness and harmony i am the eye of that storm you're in and i am the one that will raise you up and i am the one that will securely hold you close within my arms and i am that i am [Applause] we just never want a word from the lord to go by just unnoticed the bible talks about a word of prophecy that might come from among us that's when the lord just desires to speak to us right here in real time there's nutrients in the words of god [Music] i just i'm just going to ask you don't don't let that word go by without you getting the nutrients take it in say yes to the holy spirit today he's speaking into the storm that you're walking through he's telling you he's right there in the midst of it [Music] he's telling you that he's not surprised that he's not overwhelmed that he's got you [Music] can we just receive that word today those who are in a storm today just receive and just take it in on the inside just say yes lord yes jesus i am in your hands the bible says i can lay down my head in peace for you alone make me dwell in safety [Music] there's not a storm that can pluck me from your hand jesus [Music] thank you god thank you [Music] let's just lift this together because [Music] i can face tomorrow [Music] because all fear is gone [Music] because i know [Music] just [Music] because let's lift that again together because [Music] [Applause] [Music] i can face tomorrow because [Music] all fear is gone [Music] because i know [Music] he holds the and life is worth the living just because he lives yes life is worth the living just because he lives thank you lord god we just rejoice today in you that with you all things are made new that with you we have peace [Music] that with you we have safety and security in your loving arms [Music] jesus i just pray that we would be a people of hope that lord as we leave this place that we would be a people of hope that we would be a people who believe all things and bear all things and hope all things i pray that you would right now holy spirit just begin to stir hope where there has been no hope right now in the hearts of those here today who are struggling to hope father we just pray together for them right now that you would just stir up hope like never before we pray that hope would be their defining characteristic in this season lord just release it over them father let it not be something they need to conjure let it be a gift that lands on them right now holy spirit in this moment a hope that will not be quenched a hope born in you jesus [Music] father we thank you for this time of worship we ask that you would make us people of worship 24 7. and we pray lord that you would give us hearing ears today to hear what you would say to us and let us be not only hearers of your word but doers help us leave this place give us the diligence give us the boldness give us the empowerment of the holy spirit that we might walk it out today we love you lord and we trust you in jesus name and everyone said amen praise the lord what a beautiful wonderful time of being in the presence of god amen to lift our hearts and praise and in worship i'm so glad that all of you are here in person of course all of you are aware of the fact of a battle that diane and i navigated through so we had to watch the services for four sundays online not here in person but we loved it we were in our living room we were praying with you rejoicing with you worshiping crying lifting our hands falling on our knees it was great but there's nothing like being right here in person though i'll tell you so again for all of you that are here praise the lord but if you're joining us online awesome i know the experience on the other side of the camera i know what it feels like for diane and i to receive in our living room but i'll tell you there's nothing like actually being here in person if you could join us do it uh when i was leaving actually this morning i was so excited i couldn't wait to get to service because i knew i had the opportunity of getting up here and sharing a message from the heart of god and as i was leaving diane just started saying something to me and what i heard was she said don't forget your teeth i thought that was rather unusual and i tried to listen again i said what she goes don't forget your teeth my teeth i don't have dentures what are you talking about and then i got a little closer i said sweetheart what are you saying to me she goes don't forget your keys don't forget your keys yes i didn't forget my keys to get in but i'll tell you that says something doesn't it about relational proximity you got to get close to make sure you get the right message so please as i deliver this message to you i'm going to ask you to come close listen to my heart and listen to the heart of god so that you hear what he wants to speak to you so you don't hear don't forget your teeth you hear don't forget the keys listen it is uh of a heavy heart to share with you that one of our real warriors uh terry sullivan he's a deacon in our congregation his precious wife grace a deaconess their four uh tremendous sons terry went to be with the lord this past week and uh terry was just an incredible leader tremendous believer he served this body for many many many years in so many different ministries and just recently serving as a deacon and also serving with the missions board assisting them and going on outreaches serving on the school board serving on the combined board and most of all his dna was a soul winner he was always sharing his faith so he leaves a tremendous example i know that inspires all of us to do the same to be bold to be courageous to share your faith with others he had the opportunity to give expression to that in his profession as a as a public school teacher there in center reach and so there are many students many faculty that are grieving but also reflecting on the witness that he shared with all of them so please keep the sullivan family in your prayers there'll be a service this evening and also tomorrow morning the message that the lord placed upon my heart has to do with breakthrough now we use that we know that that word is used in a variety of different contexts even with covet but i'm going to invite you to think of it in the most biblical context breakthrough breakthrough that god wants you to experience in the context of your life as well as mine he just indelibly wrote this message upon my heart it burns within me along with a prophetic word and then some challenges and then an anticipation yes an expectation within your heart to expect a breaking that god wants to author right here now in this moment i'll deliver the message we're going to sing a song that's unfamiliar to all of us but it complements the message perfectly the lyrics and i felt in my heart that the lord said as we lift that song in that moment in that environment in that milieu he's going to do a breaking a good breaking of removing something so that we can soar to a new place then we're going to have communion together and and then i want to share with you a very special personal announcement breakthrough by its very definition is it's achieving an overwhelming success or victory in a given area of your life impacting you and of course it translates into a horizontal impact upon others breakthrough i want a breakthrough in every area of my life that is authored by almighty god through the work of this holy spirit a breakthrough in your life in that specific area of your life and no one knows it better than you an area where you want to lift your heart and say oh god i need a breakthrough in that area i want to achieve i want to experience this sense of an overwhelming success and victory in that area of my life so that i can give you the honor and the glory and the praise the scripture says in second corinthians chapter nine and verse eight and god is able in the original tongue of the new testament the greek language it's dunamis that means god is filled with power and authority and might and strength god is able that's the focus god is able to make all grace abound unto you grace is far more than a theological construct or some doctrine it has to do with god's empowering presence god's empowering presence that fills you and flows through your life so that you can be everything he's called you to be and do everything he's called you to do your heart your disposition your aspirations your dreams the internal part of you your attitude that god shapes that and fashions it so it's in direct harmony with his will and his purposes and then of course not only what you are on the inside but how that manifests and is put on display on the outside your actions your conduct your behavior and that's why it says in philippians in chapter 2 and verse 13 god god almighty at work in you both to will and to do that internal environment and then your external environment god his grace on the inside of you so it isn't simply willpower it's an empowered will and that's more than a conceptual distinction that's a biblical truth it's more than just your willpower it's an empowered will and that comes by the grace of god empowering you to be what he's called you to be and to do what he's called you to do to make all grace abound to you that you always having all sufficiency in other words you'll have everything you need but then it goes on it says in all things so this is more than just finances even though contextually it's dealing with a monetary expression it transcends that when it says but in all things in every area the totality of your life you'll have sufficiency but then it goes beyond that it says may have an abundance that means you have an overflowing aspect to you for every good work so it's not just you that this breakthrough impacts it's others you know i've shared this with you for many many years that always look for someone to help today not tomorrow today look for someone to help as diane and i had the honor of rearing our children we would deposit that into them look for someone to help today break the back of selfishness and that is a part of my heartbeat even as i was sharing with my granddaughters yesterday my grandchildren we've got seven of them now five girls and two boys but i was sharing with them i said listen you've got to look for someone to help today they said well grandpa how how can we help them i said you can help them with a smile maybe a word of encouragement you can put your hand on their shoulder and pray a blessing you might give them something financial you know money some of your dollars you can make some cookies for someone give me just look for someone to help and most of all share how much jesus loves them and i said because you don't want this to be all about me me me me even when we talk about breakthrough it's not just me me me me me me has to do with others so look for someone to help then my granddaughter said you know what you're right grandpa she said i'm going to kick selfishness right out of the house i said where did you get that terminology i said say that again she goes i'm going to kick selfishness right out of the house i said that you got it you got it we want there to be an abundance in our life for every good work yes it impacts you god wants you to have victory but that has to translate into helping others reaching to others ministering to them so you snap the back of self-centeredness and inordinate preoccupation with self being narcissistic and self-focused you you want to be able to reach and touch others like it says in romans chapter 12 verse 2 that we would know the perfect good and acceptable will of god that's good and let it manifest through us now when we talk about breakthrough this is a rhetorical question but you reflect on it in your own heart and again who knows it better than you what area of your life do you need a breakthrough an area in your life where you want to experience overwhelming success in victory that you can give glory to god that the accolades would not be uh draped upon you no that you would say yeah to god be the glory he's achieved that in me but i'm so glad its impact is upon my life and others where is that is it for you with your thought life that you find your thoughts going in the wrong direction always becoming anxious or fearful or discouraged or even depressed your thoughts just don't seem to align with god's thoughts and his will and his ways and what holy scripture teaches us is it your thought life your mind that comes under torment and oh how you'd love to have a breakthrough there you're perplexed things are so complicated and convoluted confusion just surfaces all the time you'd love to have a breakthrough in your mind with your thinking even in the context of your emotions emotions that get the better of you like sometimes anger that becomes destructive and hurts others instead of your emotions serving you they're mastering you and again they get the better of you they envelop your whole being and you give expression to those emotions and your actions and you just know this is this is a place where i want to experience a breakthrough maybe it's a breakthrough in a relationship perhaps it's a friendship or in the workplace with a colleague or your own marriage you're crying out to god i need a breakthrough here my goodness it's like we exist together we're really not living together we have it best a weak marriage but i wanted to be strong and successful and significant and impactful upon others maybe for you it's your your finances you just want a breakthrough not that you want to hoard things or to stir up a materialistic spirit you just want to have enough to provide for your family and to to be able to give to a ministry or a church so that it can advance forward maybe you're wrestling with an addiction in your life an addiction that you so want to gain victory over for you maybe it's a pill maybe it's a drink maybe it's a drug maybe in the in the sexual realm it's a fantasy that just gets the better of you and entangles you and snares you creates captivity and bondage and you say you know what i want breakthrough i'm getting desperate i want breakthrough in that area of my life now listen when it comes to breakthrough if i were to synthesize a study from both the old and new testament you'll find it gives itself expression in two different ways one is punctiliar in other words it's immediate it's instantaneous it's within a moment maybe some biblical examples would be like david with goliath yeah there was a breakthrough it was instantaneous god did it within a day the sun didn't even set god brought it forward or daniel in the lion's den yes that was a little bit of a process but for the most part it was momentary instantaneous immediate it happened right then it was in now punctilior or maybe for example in the new testament paul and silas when for both of them as they lifted their praise to god he he expressed his appreciation probably started tapping his foot and the result was an earthquake and it opened the jail doors and the chains dropped off it was an instantaneous breakthrough even when you look at the gospels you'll find it's primarily the gospel of mark that seems to portray everything that happened in jesus's life as instantaneous he'll use a reoccurring word immediately this healing happened immediately this miracle happened immediately immediately immediately now the other side of that punctilior expression of god's breakthrough is the process side it's not a moment it's a journey it may not be hours or days it might be weeks or months or even years there's a process that's involved in that you see that when you read the gospel of luke it's quite different than mark it's a process unfolding in the context of jesus's life he grew in stature in wisdom in favor with god and men it's recorded in luke 2 and goes on very detailed accounts very concrete accounts that gave you the sense of process you could also think of noah building the ark it was a process over 120 years to bring that breakthrough 120 years or moses the great exodus bringing deliverance and and liberty to the people of israel out of the hand the strong hand of the egyptians but that was a process that breakthrough was not instantaneous it was a process joshua the conquest of the promised land when you read through the book of joshua you take a gleaning understanding from the book of judges you realize it was definitely a process it was not instantaneous the battles went on long and so when you're looking at breakthrough you might say oh i'd love to be the candidate for a breakthrough that is instantaneous in the moment in the now the present here just do it lord that way on the other side that issue of breakthrough being a process we might be a little resistant but a lot of times it causes it to go very very deep and you sustain it sometimes much much longer because it's been a process but if there's anything that you can say from the bible about breakthrough breakthrough has a prerequisite it has a requirement a precondition and that is something has to get broken something has to break in order for a breakthrough to occur so even though it might manifest in your life as a a moment or a process instantaneous or a journey there is a breaking now this is how it relates to you and me right now because i felt so strong and i'm going to read a prophetic word that god gave to me in relationship to this issue of of breakthrough i believe right now for you here or those of you watching online that the holy spirit's gonna visit you with something instantaneous i believe it's going to happen when we lift the song to the lord and i'm not saying that arrogantly or presumptuously i'm saying that with confidence that i heard what he instructed me to do in this service with this sermon with this message and the direction from him when i was alone preparing this message he did it with me you see i i knew there was an area that had to break in me an area that i didn't necessarily think it was associated with the breakthrough follow me you might say oh god i want a breakthrough in my marriage i want it so desperately i want a breakthrough but then over here the lord says okay we're gonna deal with it but i have to break something in you and that's pride and you might say pride has nothing to do with my marriage can we get back on track that's not the language i'm speaking i want breakthrough in my marriage i want breakthrough with my finances i want breakthrough in this area and the lord says yes we're gonna see breakthrough happen there but this is what i have to break out of you and it almost seems like a polar opposite area in your life and so it was for me experientially as i was preparing this message i felt i was saying lord a breakthrough over here i want to see a breakthrough here the lord said i'm going to break something in you and as he began to deal with me i thought of an area in my life that i said lord i don't feel strong there i i'm weak in that area of my life and i visited psalm 18 verse oh if you ever read a passage that will inspire you because of the transparency of david in there he says this psalm 18 verse 17. he says this enemy is so strong do you have a strong enemy in your life i don't mean it's necessarily a person it might be fear anxiety it might be depression it might be lust it might be a foreign appetite to him might be greed or self-centeredness or jealousy or bitterness or pride but do you have a an enemy that you wrestle with insecurity a lack of confidence question marks about your salvation always susceptible to condemnation do you have an area in your life where it just seems so strong that you would you would match and mirror the statement of david when he said this enemy is so strong he says it psalm 18 verse 17 and then he goes on to say something that doesn't sound like faith at all but again i applaud the transparency because that many times in my walk with the lord i need that i need someone to be real and he said and this enemy is too strong for me not only is this enemy strong but this enemy is just too strong for me david says that and i was at that moment when i said wow lord you're zeroing in on this and you're wanting to break this and so it was almost like i could see a with a mind's eye i don't say i was having a vision it was just with my mind's eye i saw a steel bar it was like i grabbed on to that steel bar i knew it was reflecting the idea of something where i was in prison and i said lord i feel like this i use everything i can muster within me everything my zeal my passion my knowledge my maturity counts everything i'm trying to break it but i i feel like i'm one with david it's it's strong this enemy is strong it's a steel bar i can't i can't bend it little don't break it said lord and it's too strong for me maybe someone else could snap it i can't it's too strong for me you have that area in your life you have that area and then this is what the lord said to me in that moment he said gary you know i'm omniscient i said yes i know i know this is too strong for you i said lord that's a sad commentary i know it's too strong for you but you're strong enough to give it to me i said what you're strong enough to give it to me because in your hands it is a steel bar but in mine it's like a stick it's a twig and my strong hand can snap it so who do you want holding this and i said lord i want you i tr i transfer this over to you completely and it was in that moment it was like as i handed over look just like this to me now i believe with all my heart the lord said i wanted you to experience that because i want every single one of them to experience it every single one of them there would be an instantaneous break now there are three four things i'm going to tell you you got to do to engage your heart this was at that moment you can't become an automaton you can't disengage you can't sit on the sovereignty providence and supremacy of god and say okay you're going to do it no there's something where you have to cooperate and be in partnership with i'm going to share those in a moment but i believe if you purpose right now not tomorrow i'm talking about right now in this service god the holy spirit is here right now in this service that you would say lord i want to turn this steel bar over to you and experience an instantaneous breaking that will then launch me into the process of breakthrough in my life and here's the prophetic word he gave to me to share with you with that please hear it you know i never take lightly when i give a word that i believe he's given to me maybe just close your eyes and hear this from the heart of the father to you my precious sons and daughters as you look to me with a heart of desperation and purpose to cooperate with my revealed will i will with a strong hand and in a moment break this steel bar like a twig and unleash a mighty process of breakthrough in your life a journey of overwhelming victory to impact you and a multitude of others i know that that's the word of the lord to you if you have ears to hear god knew you'd be here those of you online god knew you'd be listening right now and that's his word to you now i do believe there's four i don't want to say steps it sounds too sterile but four ways you've got to engage with that the first desperation the scripture says in matthew chapter 8 and verse 25 then his disciples came to him and awoke him lord save us we are perishing we know the story well i'm not gonna belabor it we know they were in the middle of a storm in matthew chapter eight it reveals it luke chapter eight mark chapter four in the synoptic gospels same story all of them indicate that not a one of them of the disciples had any faith operating but what was pulsating in their being was desperation desperation can sometimes lead you down a dangerous path it depends and is contingent upon the direction that you're looking if you'll adhere to psalm 121 it says where does my help come from my help comes from the lord and you look in his direction that's getting you in a position of god doing something significant in you even with the absence of faith that what is what amazes me you can allow yourself to become [Music] so despairing that your desperation causes you to look in the wrong direction and you'll fall into despair and hopelessness hopelessness however you say that word so can i encourage you to say lord in this moment i'm desperate i'm looking in your direction i might not have the hands of faith to grip this but everything in my being is looking to you to bring resolution and deliverance from your hand i'm looking to you with a heart filled with desperation every single one of us can do that you might say in your maturation and the cultivation the development of your faith it's at a certain stage and it's just a little weak right now forget about that right now and you know i'd never dismissed the importance of faith jesus rebuked them and critiqued them on their absence of it but what's amazing is he still the storm because they brought to the table desperation are you desperate that steel bar in your life that appetite that addiction that struggle that weakness that gets the better of you not just for a couple days or a couple weeks or a couple months it just almost seems to define your life you seem to form the conclusion this is both nature and nurture the nature the sinful nature the the the the nature of genetics i inherited this this propensity within my personality my whole being i got this from my parents or you might say well it's nurture because of the way my parents or my siblings or my friends or the environment reared me apart from that it doesn't matter at this point it's just desperation i want this out of my life god be it your nature or nurture or whatever's contributed to its presence in you you know it's an environment of captivity and bondage and you want it to be broken and god wants that more than you do for where the spirit of the lord is there's liberty and it was for freedom that christ set you free and whom the son sets free is free indeed our world our nation is desperately looking for sons and daughters that are filled with strength and freedom from god that they could live a life that's filled with light and life and liberty and really impact others the second is your participation isaiah chapter 40 and verse 31 but with those who wait on the lord shall renew their strength there's something at this moment where you just wrap yourself around him the derivation of the word wait in the hebrew language means literally to wrap oneself around so it's not an invitation toward passivity it's active obedience it's something that you do you activate your will and say i'm gonna wrap my weak will around your strong will i'm gonna wait upon the lord that's not to be paralyzed or passive it's action of obedience i will wait upon you lord and wrap myself around you thirdly i want you to engage your heart with understanding there's a substitution that goes on here a transfer a handing over as i told you in that moment when i said lord this enemy is too strong for me this steel bar is something i can't bend or break in my own power but i had to come to that place of not independence or self-reliance or justification or suppressing or ignoring it or pretending stop and say no i want this out i'm tired of having this as a part of my emotional life my thought life my actions and behavior i'm tired of defining who i am by this even my past and for you to be able to say lord i come to you and i want there to be a a substitution a transfer i want to hand this over to you i may not be strong enough to deal with this but i'm strong enough to hand this over to you and the scripture in an interesting way defines that as a good godly slavery says this but now having been set free from sin and having become slaves of god you have your fruit to holiness that's wholeness romans 6 22 but now having been set free from sin in the context of romans 6 it talks about being a slave to sin and the greek word that's used is doulas not the akhenas the akanas you can translate as servant i know that seems more palatable but it says no you're a doulas of sin hermitia you are a slave you are owned by this and then you would think that the antithesis of that would be then god's saying oh you'll become a diaconaze a servant a bondservant of the lord but it doesn't it uses the same greek word here now you've become a slave of god a doulas of god that's why the apostle paul will say in ephesians chapter 3 he'll say i'm a prisoner of the lord and then he repeats it again in chapter 4 and says i'm a prisoner of the lord the lord owns me now i know that might seem almost inappropriate to think god i'm your slave but in the beauty of it the difference between slavery to sin is you are absolutely captivated and controlled and in bondage but here your slavery to god you transferring over to him you come under his ownership his lordship though it's paradoxical you inherit absolute liberty and freedom the most beautiful manifestation of your personality and your will not a loss of will but the proper alignment of it not the loss of identity but the proper expression of it because you're finding it in him and it's not a chain it's a choice it's not bondage it's a commitment so to the outside they might look on and say oh my goodness christianity i don't want anything to do that you have to become a slave of god i'd rather be a slave of sin oh my what foolishness one speaks with a slave of sin or a slave of god where you can say boldly and confidently god owns me god owns my life fear doesn't own me anxiety doesn't own me lust doesn't own me greed doesn't own me self-centeredness doesn't own me god owns me i come under his jurisdiction i come under his lordship i come under his protection and what does that result in liberation for the weapons of our warfare are not carmel but mighty in god for pulling down strongholds pulling down strongholds if the worship team will come up we're going to lift a song now again that you're not familiar with but i believe with all my heart please listen to this prophetic word that i believe is for you if we were the only ones right now in this room if i could look at you eyeballed eyeball i know this is a prophetic word for you i know this is a moment that god wants to give to you if you purpose in your heart and say i'm desperate i don't seem to have faith but i have desperation i do i'm tired of this owning my life dominating my life controlling my life dictating to my life you fill in the blank you know it better than anyone else if you say there's not only desperation but i want to participate with you god i want to move close to you i want that relational proximity i want to wrap myself completely around you i want your will more than anything else my will's weak but yours is strong and i want to wrap it around you and lord i want that substitution i'm tired of defining that well this is who i am this is my personality this is just my makeup you gotta understand i have the propensity toward this and a struggle with this this weakness are you gonna go to your grave with that kind of language that kind of talk or do you wanna say no no i'm not gonna be a slave of this anymore no i'm gonna see that substitution that transfer that's shifting over that handing of that steel bar to god and putting in his hands and saying lord i'm asking you now to do this in my life to break this i want to be your slave if people look on and mock it if they say oh that's too harsh you lose your identity no no paradoxically i'm boned by him i'm liberated i'm free oh no i'm free he owns me i'm a prisoner of the lord i'm a slave of god i'm a slave of christ i'm a slave of righteousness and what does that mean oh i am free free free oh yes i am and the intellect might mock that reason might mock that aristotelian logic might mock that but you know experientially you are free you know it you know it i'm encourage everyone now would you stand now let this be an isolated moment between you and god if you're at home and you're in your living room your kitchen if you're driving just pull over to the side this is a moment you don't want to miss it because i know the holy spirit has promised me gary as they lift this song as this song is heard and sung i'm going to move upon every one of them who've chosen to engage themselves in this area of desperation and participation substitution and they're going to experience that liberating power of me instantaneously in this moment breaking that just breaking it absolutely breaking it and then yes i told you earlier there's a process with breakthrough it will initiate it'll initiate that process just close your eyes hear this prophetic word i want to speak it over you one more time and then we're going to sing this song [Music] my precious sons and daughters as you look to me with a heart of desperation and purpose to cooperate with my revealed will i will with a strong hand in a moment break this steel bar like a twig and unleash a mighty process of breakthrough in your life a journey of overwhelming victory to impact you and a multitude of others so let it be i welcome you god the holy spirit i know you're with me now be with them in this moment in the name of jesus [Music] we're at the end of ourselves and we know it we need you waiting in this moment waiting in this moment for you [Music] we are desperate in this moment desperate in this moment for you [Music] oh come lord do what only you can do you can't do anything anything you want to come lord you can make the mountains move you can do anything anything you want to this is the heart cry of our generation oh we need you we need you we're on the edge of a wave that is breaking oh we need you oh we need oh lord do what only you can do you can do anything anything you want to come lord you can make the mountains move you can do anything anything you want to do only you can do you can do anything anything you want to call or you can make the mountains move you can do anything anything you want to do [Music] we're desperate for you we are lifting our lives to you believing [Music] for breakthrough [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] believing for [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] may the power of the lord break that in jesus name as you place it in his hands let the lord snap it in jesus name may you experience now deliverance in the hand of god and the power of the holy spirit over your life your life in this moment by the power of god his breaking his power his authority you will be free [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] his grace is sufficient it's here for you but you've got to turn it over to him with all your heart of desperation [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] we're lifting our lives we're lifting our lives to you jesus we're believing for [Music] breakthrough breakthrough come lord do what only you can do you can do anything anything you want to come lord you can make the mountains move you can't do anything anything [Music] you can do anything anything you want to [Music] we welcome your work lord we thank you for your strong hands oh what i see in my heart is so many of these steel bars that were turned into branches and twigs and snapped by the hand of god over your life his deliverance is real his spirit is authentic god's love is deep and he touches you in the immediate moment then to initiate a process in your life that god will do to bring forth day by day month by month overwhelming power and victory that you will be not only free but strong in the lord and in the strength of his might and work in you both to will and to do according to his good pleasure let this be sealed now in every heart and life now i'm going to invite you to do something we're going to shift gears and move into a moment of communion i'm going to tell you why that's so relevant and so important at this you could just be seated you received the communion elements when you came in we're going to partake of communion together because i'm going to say this to you i've learned in my own walk i've learned as a student of the bible god's manifested presence as you experience that will bless you initiate something inside of you that is instantaneous god's manifested presence will truly bless you it's his abiding presence that will sustain you that's the everyday walk with him communion is our reflection upon that truth our opportunity to say lord i know you've done something here but i don't want it to just be here i get in the car and it's over i know that it can be sustained by my relationship with you any deliverance must always be sustained and maintained through relationship relationship with him so would you just focus your attention right now on the bread the bread is a symbol a sacred symbol of christ in his body your relationship with the lord that which will sustain your deliverance scripture says in first corinthians 11 and verse 23 the apostle paul under the inspiration of the holy spirit will say this for i receive from the lord that which i also deliver to you that the lord jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed he took bread just lift that bread a little higher before your eyes and when he had given thanks he broke it and said now take eat this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me more than remembering your sin your struggle your weakness or your past which opens the door to condemnation remember what he did what he did at calvary for you that opens the door for strength that comes from him let's partake together of the bread the sacred symbol of his broken body [Music] now as you take the cup before you and open that up gingerly the scripture says in verse 25 in the same manner he also took the cup after supper saying now this cup is the new covenant in my blood that juice symbolizes it's a sacred symbol though a sacred symbol of his shed blood that washes you clean that says lord i want to live with you 24 7. your manifested presence just broke that in my life but it's your abiding presence that will sustain me maintain me and strengthen me in the same manner he took the cup this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood and as often as you do this remember me for someone maybe it's your past it speaks loud just muzzle it say no no i'm gonna remember what the lord did more than what i did i do this in remembrance of you let's partake together of the jews the sacred symbol of his blood [Music] now it's called eucharistia which means the giving of thanks which is just in your own heart to say lord i thank you thank you for what you're doing in my life thank you for what you've done here lord you've drawn me close to you you've brought deliverance to me you broke it to initiate the breakthrough and i thank you and i praise you in jesus name amen i'm going to hold you here just for a moment longer if i may because i want to make a very important personal announcement from both me and diane i find that it helps to let you know the timetable immediately so this is not something that's going to happen today or tomorrow or this week or month but over the next nine months over the next nine months so just frame that out as i share this with you i've had the opportunity of being in ministry for almost 42 years i've had the wonderful honor both me and diane to serve this congregation for 32 years and of those 32 years we've had the opportunity to serve this congregation as senior pastor and first lady for the last 22 years what a great honor a great privilege a great joy to both of us but the lord began to unfold a new direction in my life in diane's life and just began to reveal that to us gradually and and slowly and i began to hear very clearly and directly from him about an a season that was going to end and a new season that would begin for us and for the church it's in ecclesiastes chapter 3 and verse 1 that many times i'll visit when i'm going through a season of transition because there it will say very clearly in holy scripture that there's a season that comes to an end and then a new one begins the closing of one chapter only that a new chapter would open and so i also meditate on ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verse 13 that says what's the whole sum of an individual's life except that they would fear god and obey him fear him respect him and his voice and obey him that's married to the scripture that's always been a very important scripture for me when discerning the guidance and direction of the lord and that's in psalm 32 8. where the lord says i will lead you guide you and direct you in the way that you should go with my eye upon you that the direction that comes from god is not an index finger pointing in a given direction that but that my eyes are focused upon him and he begins to write indelibly upon our heart his direction and his guidance it comes out of intimacy with him in proverbs chapter 4 and verse 18 another very important scripture when diane and i are navigating through a decision it says the path of the righteous in other words those who say i want to do what's right i want to be in harmony with your will god the path of the righteous will grow brighter and brighter even to the noon day that there'll be that progression in god's direction in one's life and so for us as we meditated on the reality of a season ending the reality that we need to give expression to our fear of the lord and obedience to him the reality that in this progression of guidance the lord was beginning to shape a new direction for us it's kind of as scripture we'll speak about the alpha and omega moments something is beginning and then there's a season when it ends you always want to make sure in ministry that you end in an oasis and not a desert 22 years ago when the lord spoke to my heart he said gary you're going to be here longer than you think but not as long as you think it was a bit of a riddle i wonder what in the world does that mean but i never forgot it you're going to be here longer than you think if i were to conjecture speculate when i was launched into the wonderful tremendous position that i've had the honor of serving in as senior pastor along with diane that i thought maybe 10 years i kind of reflected on my predecessors those who had served this body you see this year is the 70th year of smithtown gospel tabernacle 70 years it was in 1951 that a man by the name of harry ring came and just began to form the smithtown gospel tabernacle as a church plant from salem gospel tabernacle and in that formation he functioned basically as the senior pastor for three years on the heels of that pastor wes brayton came and he served the congregation as it continued to grow he served for four years then after that pastor morris anderson came and he had a longer stay he was here for 18 years leading and guiding smithtown gospel tabernacle i always often found it interesting that he was installed in june of 1958 when i was born in chicago heights at st james hospital i just came out of the womb and he was the senior pastor at the time in june of 1958. after that they had an interim pastor for one year that was par pastor carl johnson he went on to be with the lord but he was younger and they just felt like they were processing through the decision it was taking a little longer than anticipated so they had an interim pastor for one year and then after that pastor robert forseth who served for 23 years then after that i was given the honor to serve for 22 years and then having served for 32 on the staff as well so it was longer than i thought i thought it'd be ten years and it became 22 and actually at the church 32 but one of the things that the lord made very clear to me when i was selected a senior pastor is i went out to california i had just been selected i felt very insecure and very intimidated i wasn't sure how i was going to navigate through those waters i had never been a senior pastor before i was always an associate pastor and prior to that i taught for 10 years at a at a bible college so i was very very intimidated by that i went out to california i met with about 25 senior pastors and i just wanted them to mentor me come under their tutelage speak into my life help me i was wet behind the ears i didn't know exactly what i was gonna do and uh pastor jack hayford as well when i was there after one of the sessions i i went out and i i just said so lord why did you pick me to be the senior pastor now i was i guess i was hoping he would say because you're so good-looking or intelligent or experienced or none of the above you know what he said to me i could hear it clearly in my heart i can count on you not getting in my way that was it you can count on me not getting in your way and at that moment i made a pledge and a covenant with god i said i promise you in my position here lord i'm going to do my very best because we all wrestle with our flesh and personality and preferences you know that i promise you i'm going to do my best for me and diana not to get in your way so as he was beginning to download this new direction i started hearing very clearly in july and he visited that because i want you to know i love being the pastor here i do diane and i love being your pastor what a tremendous honor and privilege god has given to us and you know some some people might say you know what's the real reason you know what's the real reason you know that's going to come up but i want you to know there's no other reason in the direction of god there's there's no there's no issue of some hidden health issue or some buried scandal or that i'm in conflict with the leadership i love the leadership of this body they are incredible men and women of god i have loved working and ministering with them all these years nothing to do with any of that so don't conjecture speculate i know that's always going to happen but i'd say to you that are part of this church family please trust me and the authenticity of what i'm saying to you it's only the leading in the direction of god and when he spoke to my heart he said this to me this past july i had already shared with the uh the elders i told them i'm kind of sensing that i'm potentially in transition it could be next three to five years but that was shared with them maybe a year and a half two years ago so you see now it came to fulfillment what the lord had told me he said you're going to be here longer than you think but not as long as you think longer than you think but not as long as you think and in july is when he said gary i've always counted on you not getting in my way he said but if you go beyond june you'll be in my way and it wasn't a rebuke it was just the reality a new season was unfolding and i said oh father i hear you mean it's over he said oh but it's not there's so many great things i'm about to do through smithtown gospel tabernacle and it has there has to be a new senior pastor to do that i've got a different call now in your life and diane's life we're not really sure what it is to be honest with you we aren't really sure i do know we have a tremendous love for missions traveling overseas investing in pastors from various nations love it i love voice the martyrs and working with those who are being persecuted intensely but it's that's again speculation conjecture we're not really sure but god will our path will grow brighter and brighter so i'm with excitement and sorrow mingling of both knowing that diane and i will be heading out and after june and wondering what the lord will do in and through us i'll be 64 so i'm not ready to retire especially after pastor rich's message last week if you were here to hear it but i know that the worst thing is to get in his way because god is about to do something great at smithtown gospel tabernacle now i'll be here another nine months i know sometimes at work you think you turn in a two-week notice i'm giving a nine-month notice that's kind of long but it takes some time for the leadership to process through who would then serve as the next senior pastor and one of the things i want you to know is just like my predecessor and before that we will always the present senior pastor always steps completely away from that completely i am absolutely completely disconnected from that decision-making process our constitution indicates that our combined board will form a committee which they've already done because i announced that to our leadership this past week the combined board will form a committee of 11 or 12 individuals representing our congregation representing the leadership there'll be elders and deacons and deaconesses and trustees and members at large that make up that group and they'll begin then to look internally and externally for a variety of different candidates as they go about this not just with human reason but discernment and prayer and these are godly men and women that you can be confident that they're going to discern the mind of god and they'll go through that process as a committee and then when they narrow it down to a few candidates that those candidates will then be interviewed by our combined board that's a lot of individuals you know we don't make any decision here without a lot of good godly input in the multitude of council there's wisdom and so then the combined board will arrive at that one candidate and then that candidate will be voted on and then presented to our membership the membership then will determine if that individual will serve as the senior pastor now this is real good and healthy for all of us including myself as we all disconnect from the process and empower those that are in leadership to discern the mind of god so they can say what seem good to us and the holy spirit i'm trusting that as i'm being obedient to god as diane and i are being obedient to god according to deuteronomy 28 with obedience comes blessing the congregation will be blessed will grow and surge and go to a whole new place and i also believe a promise i have from god is when he said gary if you'll stay out of my way i'll make sure that no one gets in my way in this selection process that i will choose the individual that i have ordained to serve as the next senior pastor of this congregation so there's a confidence and a and a joy in my heart to know god is going to be so strongly involved in this and no one individual no one committee no one board nobody including myself nobody is going to get in the way of god's will being fulfilled amen and so as as they process through that i just encourage you to stay disconnected and committed into prayer don't give your tongue to gossip and listen all of us are gonna naturally orient toward our own thinking of preference yeah okay next senior pastor i'd like him to be a little taller a little smaller i'd like him to be of this ethnicity i'd like this education uh i want this or that i want him to be an expositor teacher or maybe a preacher listen we all have our preferences i get it i've got my own right i remember when i became senior pastor this uh person came up and said i'm sorry i love you pastor zarlingo but you just don't look like a pastor and i looked and i said and you don't look like a congregant so we all listen we all have that it's natural it's understandable but keep it in prayer and trust that god will have his way amen all right now i want to pray a blessing upon all of you and then we're going to have our membership meeting and in the membership meeting we'll identify who the committee members are and the whole process that's involved with this but let me pray a blessing over all of you father we thank you that all of us and lord you know it's in my heart that i want the greatest sermon i could ever preach to everyone here is now with my lips but my feet following you and being obedient to you so help diane and i to do that with everything in us thank you for the exciting things that are ahead the joy of ministering together throughout all of the thanksgiving christmas easter season into our convention and such but we pray heavenly father as a congregation grant discernment and wisdom to our leadership to know your mind to not get in your way to bring forth that senior pastor that lead pastor that you want over this wonderful beautiful precious church family i pray this blessing on every single one of you at the the breaking that god did in your life would be sustained and maintained as he launches you into this amazing process of breakthrough so that you can impact others with the freedom and the deliverance and the strength that god gives to you i pray this blessing in the name of the father and son and holy spirit in jesus name upon your heart and your life would you say i receive that god bless you thank you so much those of you online thanks for being with us and all the church family you can exit except those members if you'll remain as we begin our membership meeting [Applause] you

Channel: Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle

Views: 616

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Smithtown (Location), Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle, SGTchurch, SGT Church, SGT, Church, Church (Type Of Place Of Worship), Sermon, Jesus Christ (Deity), God (Deity), Gary Zarlengo

Id: WrGFl-pFbhk

Length: 90min 20sec (5420 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 03 2021