Faith In The Power Of God - Dr. David K. Bernard

[Music] [Music] [Music] well praise the lord everybody [Music] praise the lord everybody come on would you praise him in his sanctuary tonight hallelujah hallelujah [Music] welcome tonight to grace point church and our annual one service you know david declared in psalm 133 behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity it was on the day of pentecost where the church got together in one accord and in one place and when they did they were united together by the power of the holy ghost yes there is one lord yes there is one faith yes there is one baptism there is one god and father of all [Music] but there is also one and there is also one people a people who are called by his name and if we as one people of one name will humble ourselves together and pray and seek his face and turn from our wicked ways then god said i will hear from heaven i will heal their land and ask what i want god to do for us tonight so i wonder if the one people called by one name in one accord and in one place i wonder if you'd lift your hands with me right now and let's humble ourselves before the lord let's invite his presence into this house tonight heavenly father oh god we come to you god not as separate people not as separate congregations but god we come to you as one we come to you as one people called by your name and god we humble ourselves to you right now oh god we submit ourselves to you god let your spirit inhabit this place come and dwell in our midst god lord anoint everything that we do god fill us with your power and as you did on the day of pentecost god i pray lord that you would pour out your holy ghost upon your people one more time oh god we need you tonight we love you tonight visit us tonight god we pray in jesus name come on can an apostolic give god some praise in this house jesus name hallelujah thank you jesus [Music] we will not be [Music] he has overcome yes he has overcome we will not be shaken we will not be moved [Music] i will jesus die the resurrection power of christ is alive in me and i am free in jesus name [Music] i will not die the resurrection [Music] i will not [Music] in jesus name [Music] all right put your hands together like this [Music] we give you glory we give you water jesus cause you are fighting for us hallelujah [Music] god is fighting for us pushing back the darkness lighting up the kingdom that cannot be shaken in the name of jesus enemies defeated and we will shout it out shall say god is fighting for us [Music] jesus [Music] i will not die [Music] god is fighting for us pushing back the darkness [Music] [Applause] [Music] us [Music] lining up [Music] god is fighting for us [Music] and we will shout it out hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Music] make his face [Music] face toward you [Music] make his face [Music] gracious [Music] hallelujah come on lift it up and say hi man [Music] [Music] me [Music] the lord bless you the lord [Music] upon be gracious [Music] we agree come on [Music] um [Music] me [Music] ah [Music] thousand generations [Music] [Music] [Music] generations [Music] all around you is [Music] [Music] is for you come on [Music] [Music] and is children [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] me come on [Music] amen today [Music] go ahead and clap your hands to the lord and give him praise that he deserves god you're wonderful in this place you deserve our praise today you are mighty to save hallelujah hallelujah go ahead and lift your voice to him in your own way express your praise and your gratitude and thankfulness god you are great hallelujah [Music] bless the name of the lord what a awesome awesome presence of god we feel in this place and it's so wonderful to see everyone here tonight this is truly a blessed event a blessed gathering and it was about i believe six years ago 2015 when we held the first one service for the cincinnati area and we are thankful for fellowship around the world really with the united pentecostal church and other organizations that are represented but we felt like we could gather together in cincinnati we've got amazing churches amazing pastors in the cincinnati area and we felt like unity was better than having our own churches all the time and doing our own thing and i'm thankful for the blessing that that has been over the last number of years these services have been marked with the power of god these services have been marked with miracles miracles and i believe that tonight is going to be no different very honored to have brother and sister david bernard with us and uh i know pastor ursian will introduce them in a little bit but i just want to appreciate them for taking time to be with us here in cincinnati we're very honored he's a leading apostolic scholar and a tremendous leader and i know we are thankful for his leadership here at the united pentecostal church before we continue to worship i want to do just a couple of things i want to make a quick announcement that we are looking forward to the start of a new semester for a purpose institute the cincinnati area has two campuses for purpose institute purpose institute is a ministry training organization that if you're looking for a ministry trainer you're looking for an opportunity to grow your knowledge in the word of god and in leadership we have an english-speaking campus and a spanish-speaking campus some of the pastors that are going to be speaking this semester and leaders our own reverend diana reed from the calvary church pastor dean lundsford pastor todd greene pastor joel erson will be speaking this semester and brother raymond woodward will be speaking this semester as well we have a host of of great leaders pastor ken dillingham as well and in the spanish campus we have missionary lonnie burton i think i saw him in the back wave your hand missionary lonnie burton is going to be speaking in the spanish campus pastor perez pastor josh stewart as well and missionary aaron anderson will be with us as well and so we're looking forward to that it's one weekend a month starting at the end of september and it's not too late to sign up for that and you can find more information in the foyer about that tonight we are going to take up an offering and this offering is going to go completely to a wonderful family from the cincinnati area they have invested in cincinnati they started a church here in cincinnati they have ministered in our churches they have taught at purpose institute they are a tremendous blessing and the vestal family is going to the country of malaysia and we are happy for them to do that and so tonight we're going to take up an offering and whatever comes in for that offering we are going to use it to help them get to malaysia and so we're believing for great things for them they were not able to be with us tonight but we told them or we wanted them to know that we are supporting them the city of cincinnati and section 6 is going to support them in a great way so as we prepare for that offering our ushers are going to receive that offering but i want us to pray and ask the lord to just bless the right remainder of our time together we're so glad that everyone took time to be here tonight and let's pray together lord we thank you for your goodness we thank you for your faithfulness your kindness to us lord we don't take for granted the opportunity to gather together god we are thankful for the the body of christ here in the cincinnati metro area lord that god is hungry to see a mighty work done here and around the world i pray that you would bless this offering i pray for the vessel family i pray you had strengthened them help them lord as they navigate these next steps lord we look to you tonight to let your presence and your power be measured in this place in a wonderful way we thank you god and we give you praise in jesus name and everyone said amen amen how many in here knows what it feels like for jesus to just wrap his arms of comfort around you no matter what you're facing no matter the people that may leave you no matter what's going on in this world you are not alone i'm gonna say that again you are not alone jesus is there at the mention of his name and i'm so thankful that i can call on that name in the name of jesus he goes before me defender behind me [Music] foreign [Music] sing hallelujah [Music] he's my jehovah's alone [Music] always guides me [Music] mercy and goodness [Music] [Music] glory [Music] oh [Music] he's behind me he's beside me [Music] [Music] your spirit is within me [Music] of the holy [Music] is [Music] [Music] somebody open your mouth [Music] [Music] oh [Music] sing hallelujah [Music] oh let's bring the music down let's declare that together sing hallelujah [Music] hallelujah make it personal say you're my comfort you're my comfort with one voice [Music] [Music] let's give him craze across the sanctuary with one voice and in one accord hallelujah we do not serve a god that does not have ears that he cannot hear we do not serve a god that does not have eyes that he cannot see we serve a god that is touched by the feeling of our infirmities and that is a ever-present help in the time of trouble he is nigh unto those that have a broken heart and a contrite spirit hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah i wonder if somebody could just whisper his name oh it feels good somebody whisper his name it's okay why why don't you just think about a circumstance you're facing and just look at that circumstance and now say that name to that circumstance come on say it to the circumstance and hallelujah now why don't you think about a testimony about where god has brought you from and why don't you declare that name jesus hallelujah hallelujah there's power in the name of jesus all glory to god glory to god [Music] hey hey hey when we say in the name of jesus it's not just an abracadabra it's not just something but we are declaring where we exist and have our be inside the name of jesus the tower of refuge and strength baptized in his name hallelujah hallelujah jesus i feel his presence in this place we're going to reach way back way back to the roots of the pentecostal church and we're going to consider jesus for just a minute who go with me let's sing together hallelujah hallelujah [Music] put your hands together i wonder if you know jesus the mighty god is jesus the prince of peace is he he is [Music] [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] do you know him tonight let's rejoice in the presence of the lord [Music] [Music] [Music] redemption [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] perfection is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] i need your help we're gonna declare his name in this place every infirmity every sickness has to bleed [Music] it's all about jesus jesus jesus jesus jesus jesus [Music] jesus [Music] jesus [Music] jesus i [Music] oh yeah [Music] [Music] from the top of my head to the top [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] is [Music] [Music] how [Music] hallelujah if you need healing in your body jesus is here right now ministering to the hearts and minds of his people hallelujah hallelujah our god for whom we wait in will be the glad refrain you all know that day i'm talking about of israel recreated when jesus comes again oh he will come and save us our king and priests to be help me sing forgive himself [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] hey yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah oh bless his wonderful name are there any one god jesus name holy ghost-filled believers in this house who thank god for the mighty god in christ reconciling the world unto himself hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah i wonder i wonder if there's anybody in this house who's thankful to god that it was god manifest in the flesh hallelujah is there anybody here who's thankful hallelujah that when you get into a bind you don't have to stop and consider who you need to call on you don't have to stop and consider whether you need a deliverer or a healer or a savior or a redeemer you just call that name i said you just call that name and when you call that name he's your savior he's your healer he's your redeemer his name is jesus his name is jesus and at that name every knee shall vow and that that name every tongue shall confirm [Music] you know what we didn't get to have one service last year we've got some making up to do i wonder if we could take a moment and give him a two years in a row kind of pray i'm gonna take a moment and say somebody ought to give him a he brought me out kind of praise oh he set my feet [Music] it's all in him [Music] is is [Music] yes [Music] on all across this building from the front to the back from side to side up in the balcony everywhere let's give god a high praise a high praise oh my my you ought to praise him right now for the healing don't wait till the battle's over shout now i said don't wait till the battle's over shout now [Music] we received the word we received a word that brother terry williams brother-in-law was taken to the hospital this afternoon as we were leaving service but when we started giving praise to the mighty name of jesus we received a new word he was being released i believe god can release you tonight i said i believe god can release you tonight [Music] oh hallelujah come on let's lift up our hands unto the lord all across this house and give him a high praise for the lord is good his mercy is everlasting his truth endureth to all generations there is none like unto the lord our god there is none like unto the lord our god we bless the mighty and the matchless name of jesus oh hallelujah hallelujah i'm talking to some people who know the power of that name hallelujah [Music] glory to his name glory to his name hallelujah the one service we we're so thankful that you are here tonight this is a very special year and of course it began as a as a desire of three churches that at one time were were one church and they had a shared history and the lord just said why not share a destiny amen not just a history but a destiny and we're so thankful for every apostolic pastor and church that has gathered here today god bless you in the name of jesus and year after year we come together to celebrate the name of jesus but you know it's not just one time celebration but this is indicative of what we're doing all year long in our respective parts of this great metroplex reaching the lost with the gospel of jesus christ amen i love that we are collaborating together to do something great for the kingdom of god and we're so thankful that you are here and we are so grateful that we have with us today some very special guests and we had invited them to be with us in august of 2020 and they were not able to be with us and we were not able to have the service anyway and so it worked out that they are able to be here in 2021 and when we talk about a champion for the oneness message amen everybody in this house has been blessed by the writings the teachings the ministry the leadership of dr david bernard and and we are so thankful that bishop and sister bernard are with us tonight he preached in this pulpit this morning a masterpiece of a message people who know god hallelujah they are strong and do exploits amen we were in london england with brother and sister bernard and we flew in for the conference and we're so honored to be there for the conference and of course bishop and sister bernard were honored guests at that particular meeting and you know how it is when you land on another continent you kind of come in limping with jet lag and i couldn't wait to get to that first service and then the next day i was going to try to rest up a little bit bishop and sister bernard were not going to do that they were going to catch a plane to nairobi kenya the next day and they gave such uh total commitment in that service that night even looking to the next day where they would be on a different continent preaching the gospel of jesus christ i stood in all then and so many times that the commitment of this couple as they travel the world leading the international body of the united pentecostal church international millions of apostolic believers around the world and we are so grateful that they have taken the time to be with us in cincinnati ohio we love them and we honor them and we are so grateful they are here bishop and sister bernard god bless you thank you let's do receive them with a warm hand clap of appreciation praise the lord everyone oh can you give the glory to god hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah we praise your name amen amen if you'll just remain standing for another minute i'd like to read from first corinthians chapter 2 while you're standing it's certainly great to be here in cincinnati at the one conference pastor ellis and are you the president brother ellis and also pastor ursian and then the host pastor pastor sizemore it's great to have fellowship with all of these men of god and their wives and their families and all of you it's just it's great to have fellowship i think this past year has shown us technology is great but nothing replaces fellowship with god's people live and in person praying with one another amen amen i'm glad my wife is able to be with me tonight and i'm going to first corinthians chapter 2 verse 4 and verse 5. the apostle paul's writing to a church he started on the continent of europe greece first corinthians chapter 2 verse 4 and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom but in demonstration of the spirit and of power that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of god i want to preach tonight faith in the power of god let's have faith that god will demonstrate his power by pouring out the holy spirit in this place tonight would you believe with me amen amen you may be seated now before i get into the heart of my message i want to say in this time of uncertainty and struggle and fear and doubt division polarization conflict socially politically racially every way medically you name it it seems like it seems like the devil is inciting conflict and if we're not careful that can creep into the church we must be intentional about loving one another regardless of the differences real though they may be what unites us is far greater than anything that should try to divide us we are the people of the name of jesus we are the people of the spirit we have one destination in that's heaven and when we get to heaven we'll all be gathered around the throne people of every nation nation every language every tribe every race the book of revelation depicts it all of our individuality will not be obliterated into one neutral color we'll be who we are but yet all of our differences will be united into oneness of worshiping one god we have only one god therefore we should have a vision of one people of god now we can worship in different congregations even in different organizations but as far as worshiping god in spirit and in truth preaching the new birth message pursuing the life of holiness we must be one people of one god praise god the united pentecostal church international which i serve as the general superintendent we're not the body of christ we believe we're part of the body of christ we're part of what god is doing in these last days but i just want to commend you i mentioned it briefly this morning but each of your congregations thank you for your prayer for your financial support for supporting your pastors as they minister beyond the local church as they participate in conferences and mission trips as you participate in sectional and district events and purpose institute all the things that we do together it is making a difference as we win souls locally and see churches grow locally what we are also seeing is god moving internationally so we are now in 198 of 210 nations plus 34 overseas territories 232 nations and territories we have some kind of church present a presence witness believer even in afghanistan pray i can't even be specific but pray for our contacts in that nation so god is working behind the scenes as well as openly and i'm excited to tell you that we're seeing great progress over 42 000 churches worldwide we're seeing here in the u.s and canada our home base over 4 800 churches and almost i think it's 10 800 ministers at the present time and so we're growing year by year god is blessing us and some amazing things have been happening where madeline churches are declining and even big churches in covid have been struggling to maintain their operations god has blessed us with consistent growth and progress a sign of unity and strength several years ago the florida district set a goal to start 50 new churches and in two years they started 52 churches this year north texas district which is a relatively new district they had their meeting in dallas the spirit of god fell in a mighty way an appeal was made and a hundred ministers said they would either start a church or sponsor a daughter work they want to establish a hundred new churches in north texas and then they took up an offering to raise money to sponsor that and then in a few minutes of time they raised i think it was something like two hundred thousand dollars uh 262 thousand dollars to support those hundred new churches so something is happening and finance is not the main thing but it is a visible measurement especially in this time to show us what can happen and so our annual uh you know last year when covet hit we we didn't know what was gonna happen and so people were conservative and churches were hunkering down and trying to pare down their budget which is understandable and uh our offerings at headquarters went slightly down but not significantly but everybody's just kind of consolidating and retrenching but you know this year it seems like the church is saying you know what we're not going to be bound we're not going to live in fear we're going to give because what else is there to give for everything we value could be shaken but what is going to last is the church and our relationship with jesus christ so if we only have a little time left and only a little money left where are we going to vest invest it we're going to invest it in eternity in the kingdom of god and so when we took our annual christmas or christ offering which supports northern miss american mission church churches we establish in the midst of a pandemic an all-time record of six million dollars that's amazing and then this spring we had our annual save our children offering for children's ministry an all-time record right under 2.5 million dollars and then we just finished the ladies offering mother's memorial all-time record over 4.2 million dollars and so something is happening in the realm of the spirit everything the devil has done to attack the church god is turning it around and the church is advancing the church is stronger than ever people are united people are becoming aggressive saying we are going to have revival and it's interesting in 2000 i was appointed as the first president of urshan graduate school of theology which was going to be a new school in the st louis area and we started classes in 2001 we got accredited 2010 2012 we started ocean college undergraduate liberal arts and bible college combined and we got accredited in 2020 well that first year 2001 we started with 10 students this last fall just this fall i'm talking about this month we enroll 546 students you know in a day now i do believe in college but in a day where secular colleges are enforcing very secular liberal anti-christian values it's great to have some institutions of higher learning that are accredited that our students can go to and they'll get solid apostolic doctrine while they're being trained for ministry or even for careers so i'm just telling you the church is strong if you've been discouraged well be encouraged if you've been in fear and doubt rise above that i heard one bishop say everybody has fears and everybody has doubts but here's the key bishop morris golden he said don't believe your fears don't don't believe your doubts and don't doubt your beliefs everybody has doubts but don't believe your doubts and don't doubt your beliefs and you'll come out on top so if you've been frustrated discouraged in doubt and fear that's human that's understandable even we preachers sometimes have those same feelings but at the end of the day go to god in prayer and after you finish praying rise up and worship and after you finish worshiping go out and do the work that god has called you to do and you will be victorious praise god now that wasn't even that message that was just extra but my message the apostle paul writing and he had started the church in corinth corinth was a very pagan secular immoral city and he reminded the people when i came to preach to you in fact if you go back to to first corinthians chapter 2 and verse 1 he said and i brother when i came to you i came not with excellency of speech or wisdom declaring to you the testimony of god he said i did not try to persuade you with eloquent speech i did not try to persuade you with human philosophy i came with a testimony of what god can do and i just want to tell you right now if you're a brand new convert or whether you're a seasoned saint you don't feel like you're capable of matching wits with the intellectual geniuses of our day you don't have to worry about it if you've got a testimony and you've got the word of god that backs up your testimony then you can share the gospel with anybody everybody at any time have you been baptized in jesus name well that's in the book have you received the holy ghost speaking in tongues that's in the book you've got what the word says and you've got your testimony that's all you need to convince a lost and dying world of the of the gospel of jesus christ and paul said i just tried to come in fact verse two i determine not to know anything among you save jesus christ and him crucified i decided that everything i preached would focus on jesus that sounds simplistic it's simple but it's not simplistic it's actually profound if everything you preach focuses on jesus then what are you going to preach you're going to preach there's one god he created us to worship him and have fellowship with him but we fell into sin we broke the fellowship seemingly thwarted god's plan but god had more plans than that and so jesus christ the son of god who was actually god manifest in the flesh was born into this world as a human he died for our sins was buried rose again to reconcile us back to the one true god back to himself so that's the good news if you preach jesus and him crucified you'll preach there's one god who loved us and that one god came in the flesh as jesus to save us but you won't stop with him dead on the cross because jesus is not hanging on the cross today he was buried and he rose again he turned death into life defeat into victory by his resurrection he won victory over death hell in the grave and he brings that same victory to us today but you won't stop with what jesus did 2000 years ago you will apply it to your life as the apostle peter priests on the day of pentecost we die with christ we're crucified with christ in repentance we're buried with jesus christ in water baptism we rise to new life through the gift of the holy ghost god's spirit to dwell inside of us and give us new life and power so if you preach jesus you'll preach the gospel but you'll also preach the new birth experience as our response to the gospel but you won't stop with being born again that's the beginning not the end in the book of galatians paul says i'm crucified with christ i'm crucified to the world i'm crucified to the flesh what does the crucifixion of christ mean for us today not only the initial time of repentance but it also means that we live a new life that we no longer are going to follow what the world says we're not going to let the culture dictate to us we're not going to let our own flesh dictate to us but instead we're going to follow jesus we're going to pursue holiness we're going to have a new life it's going to change everything about us from the way we dress to the way we talk to what we say on social media it's going to change our relationships it's going to change how we treat one another because we are crucified to this world we're crucified to this culture we're crucified to our own sinful desires and we're alive unto god through the power of the holy spirit so notice if all you preach is jesus and him crucified you'll preach the one true god you'll preach the almighty god in jesus christ you'll preach the gospel of his death burial and resurrection you'll preach the new birth of repentance water baptism and the holy ghost you'll preach the life of holiness it's all wrapped up in jesus so then paul goes on to say in the text that i read he said i was verse 3 i was with you in weakness fear and much trembling and my speech was preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom you see he knew that if he came preaching with eloquence or preaching clever philosophy and convince people he was right and gained some followers by those human means that six months later a year later somebody else would come it's even clever sounding philosophy even more smooth and polished speech and all of his converts would be turned away but instead if his converts were established by the power of god then nothing whether it be a pandemic or a hurricane or an earthquake or a political upheaval nothing would cause them to turn away from truth because their faith is not in the ability of humans their faith is in the power of god and that's what we need tonight [Applause] now don't misunderstand some would say well paul put a premium on ignorance paul was against education knowledge training not at all if you study his own life he was trained at the feet of gamaliel the foremost rabbi of the first century when you look at what he preached to athens in acts 17 to the greek philosophers he could quote from memory from greek philosophers and poets he must have spent a lot of time studying his secular culture in a day when books were handwritten very rare and costly he got access to them either through a formal course of training his home city tarsus was one of the foremost in cities for for secular learning in the world and so he may have gone to school there or he may have taught himself but he took time to learn his culture you might say well why would you study pagan books well he wanted to relate to the people of his world so he had advanced training in theology and in secular wisdom so he was not putting a premium on ignorance what he was saying was this no matter what you have you need to dedicate it to god don't rely on your wisdom your eloquence your talent your ability but submit all of those things to the will of god because what's going to change people's lives is not your education not your talent not your ability what's going to change people's lives is the anointing of the holy spirit now we were blessed by the singing and the music today that took practice that took skill that took training i commend them they didn't just get up here and say hey what are we going to sing tonight they planned they practiced they trained they spent hours i commend them for that but at the end of the day don't just expect to come out here with your talent and perform as a show but you better pray that god anoints your singing and your music because only god's anointing will change the hearts of people [Applause] i don't have to guess but i know sitting on this front row you've got some great preachers teachers and pastors can i get an amen but i'm pretty sure they don't just get up sunday after sunday and say what am i going to preach what's what what scripture should i use uh hey get just give me a verse over here now if you did that they probably could come up with a pretty good message but i'm pretty sure they study and they pray and they take notes and they ask god they need to do the hard work of reading praying studying but at the end of the day if they just come out with a polished manuscript and read it word for word that's not going to help you what they need is the anointing of the holy ghost that's what paul was saying now we've got a beautiful building here it's wonderful and pastor urson you're building a beautiful building there that campus is is going to be amazing we have the best that that we our society affords and that's great i've just told you how excited i am about the united pentecostal church international but don't get me wrong i'm not trying to get you to have faith in a beautiful building i'm not trying to get you to have faith in the great bernard great urchin great ella's great sizeable or great buller i'm not trying to get you to have faith in great names i'm not trying to get you to have faith in the upci no i'm preaching your faith must be in the power of god there's only one who is worthy of our worship the lord jesus christ there's only one who can change your life it's jesus christ there's only one who can heal you there's only one who can forgive you there's only one who can deliver you put your faith in the power of god oh let's worship him right now [Applause] what we need is the demonstration of the spirit and the power of god in the next few moments we're going to see god pour out his spirit somebody's going to receive the holy ghost somebody's going to be healed somebody's going to be delivered somebody's going to get an answer to prayer in the next few minutes not because of who's preaching not because of what building you're sitting in but because god is in this place if you'll worship god if you'll have faith in god there's no limit to what god will do if only you will believe oh yes believe him right now i want you to focus your faith on what needs to happen in your life in the next few minutes or your friend or your family or your church or someone who isn't even here what needs to happen in the next few minutes have faith in the power of god now we make faith more complicated than it needs to be if you get a headache you say okay lord touch my headache but if there's cancer what we're going to do i don't have enough faith for that maybe even my pastor doesn't have enough faith in let me go find a radio preacher tv preacher internet preacher some famous person of faith that's all wrong because the power of faith is not in your head or not in the preacher's head the power of faith is in the object of your faith which is god now think about this for a minute i was raised in korea my parents were missionaries there i've gone to the buddhist temple and watched sincere people stand before the giant statue of buddha they'll bring incense to light candles they'll bring offerings of fruit or flowers they'll stand there very solemnly with all of their knees raise their hands high above their heads and they'll kneel down until their forehead is touching the floor they'll stand up i'll do that 50 times that's faith but you know what i've watched every single time they turn around and leave with the same sad expression no healing no deliverance no forgiveness the same problems or awaiting them at home why because they didn't have any faith no they had faith the problem was the object of their faith was a man who died thousands of years ago and he still did and he's in the grave the object of their faith is a giant metal statue that has eyes but they can't see it has ears but they can't hear so all the faith in the world produces no result but now tonight let's say if everybody in this room you have the least amount of faith you say there's no way i have faith like my pastor is there's no way i have faith like these wonderful saints okay let's just say you're the person with the least faith in the whole building but you had enough faith to come here you do have faith you're listening nobody hit you over the head and dragged you here so and even if you're online if you're still listening there's some faith well think about it if you had just a little bit of faith but you put it in the almighty god couldn't you receive an answer to prayer yes you could because the power of faith is not in you the power of faith is in the object of your faith the god whom you have faith in and when he's the all-powerful one then something could happen so all you need to do is start using whatever amount you have in fact matthew 17 20 tells you how much faith you need to have a man came to the disciples he had a son that was possessed with an evil spirit he was afflicted by seizures he was a great risk of falling into the fire or the flame and be injured or killed and so this man in desperation brought his son and asked the disciples to heal him the disciples prayed but nothing happened then jesus came on the scene jesus and you can read the whole story the man approached jesus and asked for help jesus took authority he cast out the demon he healed the boy a miracle the disciples took jesus aside and said how come we couldn't do that he said because of your faith he said in matthew 17 20 because of your unbelief if you had faith as a grain of mustard seed you could say the mountain be moved and it would be moved and nothing shall be impossible to you now what in the world did he mean if you had faith like a mustard seed the mustard seed was the smallest seed that the farmers in palestine were aware of it's the size of a head of a straight pin if you want to visualize it just imagine i've got it here that's what it looks like it's inconsequential if you hold a seed in your hand even a grain of rice or wheat or corn one seed can't feed you one seed is basically of no value one seed can sit in your hand or sit on a shelf or in a box or a bag for years and for all intents and purposes did useless what's the value of a seed the only value is when you put it in the ground when you put in the ground that one dead seed suddenly starts living it could produce a plant that could have hundreds of seeds you could reap those seeds and replant them and you could end up with enough grain to feed you and your family for the rest of your life from the law of sowing and reaping so the lesson is don't measure your faith or lack of faith by what it looks like at the moment don't compare with one another now i'm not telling you to have little faith i'm just saying start with whatever you have don't measure it but start putting it to work so if you only have faith to show up for this service if you only have faith to pray if you only have faith to come to the front that's enough to get you started you put it in the ground and it will grow it will produce a crop it will produce a harvest and nothing will be impossible to you that means every single person listening to this message could receive an answer to prayer you've got to put the seed in the ground now why do we call people the front do you have to come to the front to be touched no you could be touched in the back you could be touched at home why do we lay hands on people it's not essential but it symbolizes god's authority why do we anoint the oil it's not essential but it symbolizes the holy spirit what these things are as means of focusing our faith at a moment in other words if you only have little faith you zero in on this one spot this one time this one prayer and then that makes the connection that's how simple it is it's not a formula it's just trusting god now i could give you examples all night long but i'm thinking of one i remember years ago when i was pastoring in austin we had a full-time outreach director he was a great man of faith he was the kind of guy he had the gift of faith so somebody was sick he goes laid his hands at them and they're healed somebody's struggling to receive the holy ghost people pray and pray and pray this guy goes over he starts laying hands and boom they received the holy ghost so you know pastor ursula i'd like to sometimes i'd be praying people getting to repent i'd say hey come over here and he'd come over late heads of them it just seemed like it just they just could believe well suddenly he was stricken with feigning spells he would just fall out unconscious he couldn't he couldn't drive couldn't work couldn't sleep couldn't he was distracted confused went to the doctor they diagnosed him with an enlarged heart and they diagnosed him with um a narrowing of the blood vessel that would at just any time shut off blood to his brain so that's what was calling the blackouts and they said it's incurable once your heart is enlarged it'll never shrink back it'll never go back to the muscle size it was before and once you have this particular it's a genetic condition once you have this constriction here uh in your blood vessel it can never be opened up no surgery no medication so they were given a medication to help him but they said no driving so this had this went on for like three months and he tried to work as much as he could but it was just hard to focus and i felt impressed with the lord during that time i said you're a great man of faith you have a ministry of faith i believe god will use this trial to give you a certified miracle a medical miracle with evidence that will increase your ministry of faith from now on that's easy to say but when you're the guy enduring this incurable condition that changed your whole life but one night we had one of the services like we're having tonight such awesome prayer and i just felt led to go over and lay hands on him he told me later when he felt my hands on him he felt like a current of electricity shot through his body and he told me i'm healed he went to the doctor the blackout stopped and never came back he went back to work he went to the doctor the doctor says there's no evidence of an enlarged heart there's no evidence of a constriction of blood vessels you don't have either of those incurable conditions his doctor was a muslim so he said doctor and i i have in my files the two the two different diagnoses the the first one which in medical terms says he has these two incurable conditions and three months later i have the the doctor's report that says you don't have these two conditions and so he said doctor what does this new printout mean of my condition he said what it means is divine intervention [Applause] that's the muslim doctor's testimony now if the preacher tells the doctor it's a miracle okay that's one thing but when the doctor tells the preacher it's a miracle that's a miracle i'm telling you folks have faith in the power of god have faith in the power of god let god be god put your faith in him matthew 7 7. do you know it you got it memorized if you don't you're going to memorize it before you leave tonight 7-7 the perfect number of completion right you can remember that matthew 7 7 it says ask what happens if you ask it will be given seek what happens you seek you'll find knock what happens do you knock it's open if you've never noticed that ask ask seek knock you just memorize the verse many times james says we don't have because we don't ask so tonight we're going to ask you say oh i've asked brother bernard nothing happened well don't give up seek that's more aggressive isn't it you can just ask by holding out your hand but seek you have to get up and move so in prayer don't quit don't give up just keep on praying he said i've been doing that still nothing happens don't give up knock that's more aggressive yet isn't it now look if the doors open you usually don't knock you just walk in you knock because the door is closed how many times god leads us but then we get to a place where the door's shut so we just shrug our shoulders we give up okay must not be god's will i've had some problems so obviously if it was god's will i would never have problems the door shut hey maybe god wants you to knock on the door maybe god wants you to try the door handle maybe god wants you to push don't give up so easily because of the circumstances of life you've got a knock until the door opens don't give up now you've come this far by faith god's done a miracle to bring you where you are now don't you think he'll bring you a miracle the rest of the way ask seek knock until it happens you say what if i die and i still haven't got the answer well when you wake up on the other side you'll have your answer you can't lose when you're living for god you are going to win let's stand together faith in the power of god what does the lord want to do tonight have faith i remember another man in our church she had throat cancer they did radiation chemotherapy it knocked out his immune system he got an illness had a stroke went into a coma it was at the point of death midweek service i get the call he had a heart attack they shocked him back to life but the doctors told the family you know he's going to keep having these heart attacks just sign this statement do not resuscitate let him die because what's going to happen we don't know if he'll ever come out of the coma he could just be like this forever or if he comes out of the coma he'll probably be brain damaged so the best thing to do is when the next heart attack hits just let him die so i visited the hospital and prayed with him before the night service the doctor says he only has a 10 chance of making it tonight if he does make it we don't know the outcome after that could be in a coma could be brain dead could be disabled so i felt something in my spirit that night i went to the church i said no look this man was in his 40s i said we need to pray for our brother now we know eventually there's a time when god takes everybody we understand that so if we pray and god takes him we accept it but our job is not just to say okay whatever god whatever whatever whatever no that's not our job our job is to pray for healing and then god does whatever god does but our job is to have faith so i said let's turn the tables on the devil the doctor gave me his best medical advice and i respect that so there's only a 10 chance he's going to make it i said what if we pray tonight and he's healed then i could go back to the doctor and say hey doctor you gave him only a 10 chance so 10 chance he got lucky but 90 chance he must have been healed that'd be a pretty good testimony 90 chance it was a miracle so we prayed he came out of the coma he came out of the hospital he went back to work it's almost 20 years ago he's still in church today and he runs the aisles and praises god he has a right to run the isles he has a right to shout he has a right to praise the lord because god is still healing and delivering today have faith in the power of god close your eyes with me right now it's just a simple message but grab hold of it there's somebody tonight and we'll respect social distances do whatever you're comfortable with wear a mask or or ask to be separate or or pray where you are kneel or stand where you are whatever you feel most appropriate but if you feel god drawing you and you have a definite need in your life i want you to come to the front right now i want you to invite somebody near someone nearby you and say would you like to come with me together and let's pray together might be your husband or wife might be a friend if you need healing if you need deliverance if you need to be forgiven of your sins if you need to receive the holy ghost if you're needing confirmation for a major life decision if you've been depressed and discouraged maybe somebody here has contemplated suicide i want you to know the lord can deliver you tonight i feel a witness of the holy ghost would you make your way right down no big hype no pressure no manipulation but if the word of god is speaking to you plant the seed in the ground just step out by faith just kneel or stand just ask a preacher to lay hands on you plant the seed in the ground and something is going to happen have faith in the power of god there is power in the name of jesus so much power in the name of jesus there is power in the name of jesus to break every chain break every chain break every chain break every chain break every chain break every chain lift your voices say [Music] [Music] to break every train break every train break every chain to break every chain break every chain break everything sing it again there is power in the name there is power in the name of jesus [Music] so much [Music] to break every chain break every chain break and reach it to break every chain break every chain break sing it again there is power in the name of jesus [Music] we call your name jesus [Music] to break every chain in our life [Music] to [Music] there's an army [Music] rising love [Music] rising [Music] [Music] are you a part of that army [Music] there's an army [Music] [Music] to break every chain break every [Music] [Music] there's an army [Music] break every change [Music] i hear those shames falling i hear those chains falling [Applause] [Music] come on [Music] is [Music] i see you move [Music] we walk by faith and we know that god is coming through for us hallelujah i see you move you move the mountains and i believe i'll see you do it again you laid away when there was no way and i believe i'll see you [Music] you made away when there was no way [Music] i'll see you do it again [Music] [Applause] [Music] i believe [Music] i'll see you do [Music] [Music] and i believe i'll see you do it again [Music] and i believe [Music] i'll see you do it again i'll see you do it again [Music] i'll see you do it again [Music] [Music] [Music] i believe [Music] i believe i'll see you do it [Music] i'll see you [Music] [Music] when there was no [Music] again i'll see you do it again i'll see you do it again [Music] you move the mountains and i believe i'll see you doing again [Music] is [Music] do it again see you do it again [Music] [Music] i'm telling you that miracles are happening all over this building right now as the body of christ we need to be sensitive to what the holy ghost is doing right now there are miracles and waiting all around you don't hesitate to reach out and declare the name of jesus just as brother bernard preached tonight come on that's it reach out your hand to somebody hallelujah even if it's reaching your hand out to god but there are miracles happening come on up there in the balcony begin to praise him for the miracles happening in this house all over this building in the name of jesus in the name of jesus we take authority over fear we take authority over doubt in the name of jesus christ there is no room for it in the body of christ god has declared his word to you put your faith in his word put your faith in his power hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah [Music] [Music] you made a come on that's it i believe you'll see it do it do it again [Music] i believe [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] i'll see you do it again [Music] your promises [Music] that's it let it rise let it rise come on if you have a need let it rise don't don't hold back let it rise that's it in the name of jesus god's getting ready to deliver somebody right now god's getting ready to deliver somebody right now come on let it rise let it rise come on cry out unto god that's it cry out unto god cry out unto god hallelujah from the depth of your soul cry out unto god hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah this is a miracle-making moment god is among us and he's doing a mighty work i receive it in the name of jesus i receive it in the name of jesus people are praying all over this house but if you're standing there today in need and you don't know what to do i want you just to lift your hand you have a need lift your hand come on all across this house look around you come on body of christ look around you for those that have their hands raised come on look around you for those that have your head their hands raised we're gonna agree and believe in the name of jesus hallelujah we're going to agree and believe in the name of jesus come on look around you'll walk out of your seat if you have to hallelujah we're going to agree and believe in the name of jesus for the miracle working power of god to be done whoa hallelujah if you've got your hands raised i want you to begin to lift your voice unto god right now lift your voice unto god come on lift your voice unto god in this house yes lift your voice unto god in this house [Music] come on if nobody's come by to lay hands on you lay hands on your own head like we heard about today lay your hands on your own head and plead the blood of jesus and declare the name of jesus [Music] hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah [Music] now i don't want you to wait i don't want you to wait till it happens i want you to praise god for it right now don't wait for the symptoms to leave praise god for it right now come on praise god for it right now [Music] your promises stands great is your faithfulness faithfulness i'm still in your hands this is my confidence [Music] you'll never fail me yet this problem still stands promising [Music] this is [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] this says this is [Music] i'll see you too [Music] there was no way [Music] i see [Music] i say [Music] see [Music] fade away [Music] i say [Music] [Music] i see you again i'll see you too [Music] your promise still stands [Music] [Music] [Music] your promise steals this is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] do so [Music] you

Channel: Tree Of Life Church Cincinnati Ohio

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Id: XVpS87cmhdc

Length: 113min 31sec (6811 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 22 2021