"Faith to Finish" - Pastor Nathaniel Urshan

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] let's give that praise to the lord this morning he's worthy let's magnify the name of jesus hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah are you thankful to be in the house of the lord this morning are you thankful to be in the presence of the lord this morning hallelujah lord we've come to magnify you we've come to worship your name we've come to give you praise somebody give him some praise he's worthy oh somebody open up your mouth and give him praise the lord is worthy to be praised we serve almighty god oh hallelujah jesus thank you lord for your blessings are you thankful for his blessings are you thankful for his mercy are you thankful for his grace oh hallelujah somebody praise him with all your heart give the lord a hand clap and give him [Music] praise [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] praise the lord [Music] i just came he has never let me down he changed my life and turned me around he gave me hope when i was lost and now i've come to lift him up oh i just came to praise the lord i came by the lord praise his holy days [Music] i just came to praise [Music] [Music] he gave me life a brand new start and now i've come to magnify and praise the lord with all my heart i just came to pray i [Music] praise the lord [Applause] [Music] foreign [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] in my is he's worthy upon my praise never let the rock cry out in my place cry out in my place he's worthy [Music] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] he's worthy [Applause] [Music] worthy of all my friends [Music] cry [Applause] he's worthy of all my praise he's [Music] i just hate to praise the lord oh hallelujah come on oh i love the word i love the words of that song i'll never let a rock cry out in my place because jesus didn't die for that rock jesus wasn't buried for that rock and he didn't resurrect for that rough he did it for me because my righteousness was as filthy rags but when he rose up he put on a vest for me to praise upon me oh hallelujah i feel the holy ghost on a sunday morning does anybody feel the holy ghost does anybody feel the holy ghost right now i want somebody to lift up your hands and say never i'll never not even know no matter how i feel on a sunday morning i'll never get a rock cry out of my place [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh never will the rock cry out in my place he's worthy of all my praise never [Music] [Applause] [Music] i just came to praise [Music] oh hallelujah the bible says don't quench the spirit i don't want to quench the spirit on a sunday morning i want the holy ghost to flow i want the holy ghost to touch me and to fill me i want the holy ghost to fill my mouth with praise and with joy and with gladness oh somebody lift your voice for just a moment let's praise the name of the lord hallelujah hallelujah the writer said that our righteousness was as filthy rags and when he hung on that cross he took my filthy rags and he gave me a vestment of honor of grace of favor and i don't ever want to forget that oh i'm scared this morning by the blood of jesus are you thankful for the blood of jesus this morning hallelujah hallelujah don't ever forget church where the lord has brought you from hallelujah and i thank the lord for the local church who's allowed me to come in and to experience this wonderful presence and to experience the holy ghost if you don't have the holy ghost you can receive it this morning if you've been looking for joy you're in the right place if you've been looking for peace you're in the right place if you're looking for your children to come back to church you're in the right place hallelujah if you're looking for your marriage to get strength and you're in the right place are you thankful for the presence of the lord one more time lift your hands and lift your voice let's thank him let's thank him let's thank him this morning oh we serve a good god we serve a god that blesses hallelujah [Music] i'm not sure how to love someone like you how can you so great and holy receive the worship of someone like me all i have seems insignificant and small but i freely give it all to you i'm not sure how to love someone like you you're so brave [Music] is to you [Music] here i am i am [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] i'm not sure how to love someone like you how can you so [Music] all i had [Music] holy [Music] [Music] is [Applause] here i am are you [Music] is [Music] [Applause] oh do you feel that way this morning oh hallelujah if we could only see ourselves to the eyes of the lord we're insufficient god made us deficient so we could depend on him he made us he made us to lack certain things so that we could so that we have no choice but to lean on him and not to lean on our own understanding [Music] hallelujah let's pray right now for some needs that we have here at the pope let's pray for anna and ray who need a home they need a home church and he needs a job so let's pray for anna and ray let's pray for sister vicky out who needs a touch of healing brother jerry arp who had a stroke he was hospitalized but his home now and needs a touch from the lord let's also pray for paxton watkins who has a fever of 103 this morning oh aren't you thankful that we serve a deliverer [Music] aren't you thankful that we serve a savior that even even though he knows how many times we fail how many times we fall he still looks down upon it and says they need a healing they need a touch he knows where we've messed up he knows where we've come short but when you lift your hands by faith i want someone to lift your hands right now and say god touch me let's pray for these needs right now lord i want you to touch these needs thank you for being so merciful lord and hearing every name that we have mentioned here this morning god we pray for your healing touch and your healing power to rest upon them god you're all together wonderful you're all together [Music] somebody lift your voice and thank the lord somebody thank him for what he's done for what he's going to do that's it somebody thank him thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus for loving me so much that you would listen to my prayer thank you for loving me so much that you would listen to my voice i recognize that i need you my need for you is greater than my wanting in my yearning for you oh that's your church all across this building let's love the lord hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah someone give the lord a hand clap of thanksgiving [Applause] praise the lord please remain standing as our the young people and some brothers go back to their seat and on your way to your to your seat why don't you greet somebody tell them that it's good to see them in the house of the lord if there's a visitor sitting next to you give them a big colgate smile and tell them it's good to see you thank them for coming praise the lord you may have us healers worship the lord with this song as he [Music] the other sings he looked at me and he said so many times i've seen your kind before [Music] he said you can't do this you can't do that you're bound [Music] you christians must have heard [Music] anything that turns the i can party your night until the sun comes up but there's better things in life i he looked at me and he said so many times i've seen your kind before he said you can't do this you can't do that you can't do this and you can't do that you're bound by all these rules and restrictions what a dream [Applause] [Music] i looked him in the eye and i said you're wrong i can do anything that hurts me owners [Music] [Music] things oh you see i choose to be a christian i choose to be like him ain't nobody holding a gun to my head this is how i choose to live will you decide for you and i'll decide [Music] [Music] to be a christian i choose to be like him ain't nobody holding a gun to my head this is how i choose for you and i'll decide for me and since the choice you have a choice this morning choose you this day who you will serve the choice [Music] this is how i choose [Music] to [Music] i i want to know on a sunday morning how on earth that this is bound it doesn't make sense to me that this isn't what it means to be free there's freedom in the house of god there's liberty in the house of god this isn't bound this is free hallelujah can you clap your hands to the lord and just give god about 15 seconds of free worship [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah [Music] look at your neighbor and say there's no chain holding me to this pew [Music] so you might as well move on over and give god some praise [Applause] hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah [Applause] amen amen amen [Music] there's liberty in the house of the lord amen amen there's a beautiful spirit of god in this place amen and if you don't know that freedom yet you can leave here with that freedom this morning amen amen amen [Music] amen as you make your way to your seats turn to someone greet them thank them for being in god's house amen we're so glad to have you in the presence of the lord amen amen you may be seated as our ushers prepare to come if you need an envelope for ties or offering just slip your hand up and they're going to come see you and bring you an envelope if it's your first time today we welcome you to first pentecostal church amen we're so glad to have you and we want to give all of our guests a special gift this morning so if you've not already filled out an information card you can pull your cell phone out and you can text the word welcome to 919-364-5236 and we have a gift for you this morning we want to thank you for being here several exciting things going on tonight after service is a seed money dinner this meal is prepared by sister gayle ingle the meal is roast beef it is nine dollars a plate it's a roast beef dinner everyone is invited and we want you to make plans to stay have dinner and dessert with us and support the kingdom of god also for those that are interested and signed up for home bible study training tomorrow night at 7 00 pm here in the sanctuary pastor urshan will be teaching the first of four sessions of the bible study training if you are able do your best to attend all four sessions that's going to be a good time and then this wednesday night we will not have open gym we're having focused prayer this is open to anyone who would like to join us excuse me you can choose one hour between 7 and 10 pm and come pray with us in the prayer room the focus for wednesday night is the restoration of our backsliders those who are dear to us and are away from god we're going to be praying for those needs and we want to unite and lift those names up before the lord in prayer amen also peak youth conference is coming up our young people are excited it's going to be a good time it's going to be a week of no sleep but lots of fun amen and and we're going to have a good time the dates are july 21st through 23rd our young people and chaperones plan to that go to rather our young people and chaperones that are planning to go to peak need to see sister christian martinez to pay their fees the full payment is due by july the 11th amen it's difficult getting through that with a cold amen but god's good we're excited for the word of god coming forth in a few moments this morning amen and we're going to pray over the service and this offering would you pray with me lord we call on your name this morning asking that you would reach to where we're at and strengthen us by your word minister unto us god lord we've come to worship you and declare you and glorify your holy name we pray your blessings over each person in this place and over this offering we pray in jesus name amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] forever he shall reign he's alive [Music] victories he's alive [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] victory [Music] is glory oh oh is is [Music] [Applause] we put them oh [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is is if you're thankful he's alive why don't you lift your hands to heaven this morning anybody excited that he rose from glory with all power and authority oh glorify him today he's alive he's alive jesus is alive oh let's worship him in this place let's magnify him in this house somebody lift your voice right where you are right where you are i want you to lift your voice to heaven i want you to give thanks to the god of heaven and earth which made all things [Music] the one that ascended and descended [Applause] the one who holds the winds in his fist hallelujah what is his name and and what is his son's name oh let's give the lord a handclap of praise this morning hallelujah turn to the person next to you and welcome them to the house of the lord we are so glad you have come to lift up jesus christ amen go ahead and give him a handcuff of praise he's worthy of praise that's very biblical clap your hands clap your hands a few people that are very emotional clap your hands people that are easily excitable that's not what he said he said clap your hands all ye people [Applause] hallelujah there is power in our thanksgiving and our praise amen god bless you you can be seated if you're visiting with us we're glad you're here we're glad you came to worship god with us and we invite you to worship god with us here's what i will promise you if you will open your heart if you will give praise to god god will start to work on you that's a promise that's not a promise from pastor urshan that's a promise from god himself the bible says whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord the same shall be saved if you'll start calling on him he'll start showing up if you'll start speaking his name he'll go to work don't let the devil talk you into sitting back and folding your arms and observing and waiting on something oh no no no i was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the lord hallelujah he'll move in the house of the lord he'll save in the house of the lord and he will deliver in the house of the lord praise god praise god well i just feel like there's something good going to happen today praise god praise god it's good to have with us florence and marjorie visiting with us they have not been here for a little while and they're able to come today we're so glad that they could come god bless you we're glad to have you here good to have the albritton family with us today visiting with us glad you can be in the house of the lord good to have chesla smith with the martinez family ray and anna deles they are first time guests and i believe they've just relocated to this area so welcome to the house of the lord we're glad that you all can worship god with us it's good to have sherlock graham haynes visiting with us also beverly snow and austin walker and denise ragland and her children here with us and if we have missed your name if we haven't met you yet welcome welcome to the house of god it's a good day to give god glory if you're online if you're watching this online if you're at home if you're out of state or or even out of country we welcome you to fpc of durham and if you can't be here in body you can be with us in spirit amen god is a spirit amen and he can reach you right where you are and and i just believe god's going to do great things today we're excited about it we're excited about wonderful things that have been happening we have recently been to little rock arkansas and had a wonderful conference a wonderful time of worship several of our people were there i saw you i could see you out there there was a lot of people there a lot a lot of apostolic folks and they they were having church there was one moment on sunday night where i thought now be a good time for god to come just right just levitate up jump up one time just don't come back down praise god i'm looking for the day jesus comes back and when he comes back i want to go just like that don't you weep for me when i'm gone hallelujah when i hear that last trumpet sound my feet won't stay on the ground that's how the old-timers used to sing it i don't want to lose that today i'm looking for his return i'm anticipating his return hallelujah i'm in love with jesus this morning praise god praise god praise god [Music] and i trust you enjoyed the ministry of brother rodney saunders and brother spencer jordan this last week didn't they do a fabulous job amen i thank these young men i'm excited about the generation that god is raising up we had a lot of people in arkansas and so people that stepped up and helped us during that time thank you there's a lot of moving parts there there's a lot of people who are very committed and dedicated and i thank god for every single one of them i looked up mother tim and i saw your wife over there on that keyboard and she was playing and she was just holding it together for us thank you sister angela we love you we appreciate you very much everybody has done such a great job three new people baptized and two baptized on sunday night and last sunday and one baptized at gear street for a total of six baptisms this last week and i'm here to tell somebody that god's just getting started [Music] [Applause] does anybody believe that i god is just getting started there are great things in store there are wonderful things and i believe god praise god let's stand together in the presence of the lord i believe god this morning whoo brother troy you could have just kept on singing that praise the lord i love god's people and i love the praises of god's people and it's it is the hour of the apostolic pentecostal church i'm going to talk about that this morning because i think god wants to be exactly who we're supposed to be [Music] not back up not minimize not be ashamed nobody else is ashamed of who they are he might as when you've got the greatest thing in the world why in the world but you will ever allow yourself to be backed into a corner praise god hebrews chapter 12. verses two and three i'm glad my family is here with me i came home a little earlier we we packed up a u-haul truck and we loaded up the last bit of our furniture and possessions from memphis mississippi and we drove home that closed the final chapter it took that long to do it and i thank my wife and my sons and my precious daughter-in-law for putting up with all the chaos and dealing with it and we got it done and we are officially fully here in jesus name i praise god now i know i've been here but but that chapter's closed and there's a good chapter that has opened and i'm excited i am excited hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2. if you have it say amen looking unto jesus the author and finisher of our faith everybody say the finisher the author and the finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and to sit down at the right hand of the throne of god for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds and i thought early this morning as i was feeling after god god begin to share some things with me and speak into my heart i want to share what god gave me to this congregation in a day when people are skeptical in a day when people are increasingly going into more insanity than ever before i want to preach a message i'm entitling faith to finish [Music] faith to finish amen let's lift our hands one more time in this place let's ask god to help us this morning jesus [Music] jesus we love you we thank you god that not only have you begun a good work but you're going to finish this good work we love you god we magnify and we glorify your great name touch the hearts of those that have gathered here touch those that have lifted up their hands and their hearts to you minister to those that cannot be here minister to every backslider minister to every person dear god that you can hear and that you know needs you in jesus name and everybody said amen god bless you you can be seated i want to start out today by saying i believe god i believe i believe in the fact that there is a god and not only a god but in order to distinguish it i'll use the same words that were used repeatedly in the bible the one true living god i i was listening to a debate between two of the leading minds in the world of atheism and in christendom and the man who was debating on behalf of atheism had some very sarcastic things to say when they asked him if he believed in god he said which one which one and he wanted to list out all the names of all the gods and he thought that was funny and he thought that would get a rise out of people when he got done the other presenter on the side of faith said it's true of all those gods that you have said that people have worshiped them but there's only one who has endured there's only one that has been the same all the way through and there's only one that is the same yesterday today and forever amen amen i need somebody to know today he's one and i need somebody to realize that he's true and he's not made out of stone or gold or silver he's not being scoured away by the wind and the sand somewhere hallelujah but he's the living god the one true living god hallelujah alpha and omega beginning and in first and last he is the god of heaven and earth and let me just say that not only do i believe in god i believe in the devil if you're going to have faith you might as well have it all the way don't selectively choose where you're going to apply your faith and i know a lot of people who have gotten a lot more sophisticated with their sin and they don't have sin anymore they have issues they're good people they're great people but they just have issues so give me a therapist let me pop another pill let me let me sit on a couch and tell somebody my problems and just because we have draped it in the robes of education and we have modernized it doesn't change the fact that there is a devil and there is a hell and there are demons amen and you got to have faith to understand how all of that works amen there is a heaven to gain and there is a hell to shine amen and i came to live for god this morning i came to believe anybody anybody in this room feel like you can grab ahold of that say i came to believe i came to put my faith in the things of god i came to put my confidence in him in his word now you can say i don't have faith pastor ursian i'm i'm educated well i'm glad you're educated i went to a class or two myself and i think that we should get an education praise god and if you're here and you've got a few letters after your name thank the lord but don't let all that smart learning rob you of your faith education was never designed to take away from faith it was designed to strengthen faith and i know i know what it is i know why people struggle with it the more you get the harder it is to believe the more you acquire the more possessions that you have the the greater your education becomes what that does is it strengthens self it strengthens the individual to where they can move through life and they can acquire the means to prosper they they make a little more money can you remember how you used to praise god when you didn't have anything praise god can you remember what it was like when you praised him and you didn't have two nickels to rub together [Applause] amen and and many people come to god in that way and the bible says it like this how hardly shall a rich man enter into the kingdom of god it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god it's because the more self-sufficient you are the harder it is to know that there's a god in heaven maybe you think that you have power that you have the answers if i ever start believing that i'm how i got here i'm in a dangerous place ladies and gentlemen i if god gives me a couple extra dollars i want to keep on praising matter of fact matter of fact i want to praise him louder then [Applause] you got a college degree you should run the aisles more than anybody you've got a doctorate you should be out dancing and giving god glory because you know better than anybody how great god is god didn't give you education to rob you of your praise he gave you education to enhance your praise and to give him glory amen let my vocabulary increase to talk about how good god is [Applause] and i never want to get so smart that i don't talk in tongues it takes faith to speak with other tongues and i know one reason why god chose speaking in tongues one reason he chose speaking in tongues is because it is one of the premier expressions of faith you have to believe and when you believe with all your heart and you yield yourself completely you can sit in this room and not be yielded completely you can sit there and hear this and and your body is here and your your hands can clap and they can be raised you can even come down to the altar but that doesn't mean you have the kind of faith i'm talking about right now you can tell your body body move because my wife will get mad at me if i don't you can say pastor er she's going to think something's wrong with me if i don't give god praise but but i'm not sure i believe in all this holy ghost business and while the outward goes through the motions the inward can remain unconvinced and full of doubt and unbelief but when god touches you with the holy ghost and you allow him to take full control of your life the last the last little bit of you that holds out gives way and says god i believe you with every fiber of my soul i'm gonna give you my heart my mind my soul and my strength i'm gonna love you with the wholeness of me and you yield your tongue and you start to speak with other tongues as the spirit gives the utterance that's it that's when the laws come down that's when the power fills you that's when you cry abba father and he gives you the spirit of adoption praise god i'm excited to have that kind of faith i believe in a god that is able to save to the uttermost somebody say amen i'm talking about faith it's going to take that kind of faith there are many people matter of fact i'll just say it this way every body has faith the atheist has faith just because you don't believe in god doesn't mean you don't have faith it just means you have misappropriated your faith it means you have faith in you it means you have faith in science it means you have faith in the workings of men and women in the hand of man it is the it is the essence of humanism that says god didn't do this man did it and that word humanism has man tucked away right in the middle because it is about man where man is the end all and we got here by ourselves and we came from from the mud and from from an amoeba or some might have come from a virus however they want to say it and we evolved and we we just just rolled around in the soup there for a little while for a couple billion years and if that didn't and and if you sit down and speak to a mathematician and and you deal with someone who deals with statistics they will tell you that it's physically impossible for there to be enough years to account for that many mutations just thought i'd throw that out there for all the smart people everybody that remains unconvinced just because i praise him doesn't mean i'm ignorant doesn't mean i'm superstitious i just know that god did this i know that god is in in control and he's in charge amen education and faith can walk hand in hand and you can give thanks to the god of heaven and earth believe god trust god i don't know what you're going through i have no idea what happened before you walked in here but i know the god that has all things in the palm of his hand i came to preach faith to somebody this morning i came to tell somebody that it's going to be all right praise god how can you say it's going to be all right pastor you don't know what i'm going through i don't i don't know what you're going through and just because i say it's going to be all right doesn't mean that you're going to be happy or that i'm going to be happy there's been many times where bad things happen to me and and i never fell into the trap of charging god foolishly just because something bad happens to me doesn't mean i i lose my faith where could god be where is god listen to me everybody dies let's just get very plain about it right now every time i walk out that door i'm facing death every time my children get into a car there's a side of me that says in the name of jesus keep your hands on them watch over them and god forbid something happens to my wife or my children or or to myself if those things happen it doesn't mean that there's not a god it means that we live in a world of cause and effect it means that there's a god in heaven and there's a devil in hell and these things happen in this world that doesn't mean we lose faith it doesn't mean we leave church it doesn't mean we stop praising what it does is it makes us thankful for every moment that we have here don't get don't get angry don't shake your fist in the face of god what you ought to do is say this is the day that the lord has made and i will rejoice and i will be glad in it i know the funeral's coming that means i'm gonna praise him with everything i got right now matter of fact you should praise him like you might die tomorrow i got news for somebody you might so love him like you never loved him praise him like you never praised him shout like you never shouted and walk walk walk by faith i came to preach somebody out of depression this morning i came to preach somebody out of unbelief i came to preach somebody out of adversity praise god have faith in god hallelujah i'll go ahead and say that closely related to faith is hope faith and hope praise god faith hope and charity these three i want to talk a little bit about hope right now because the bible says faith is the substance praise god of things hoped for it's the evidence of things not seen i'm going to make a statement here and this is for everybody that that is living in this show me world in this this world driven by outward empiricism that's a big fancy word that means you got to see it and i actually believe that faith is what holds the cosmos together that's right and and if you get down to it i believe that the the actual thing that holds it together in and of itself is jesus jesus is what holds it all together in every sense of the word i believe that the molecular structure of that bench you're on those chairs that you're sitting on the clothes that are on your body that even comprise your body i believe that stuff is held together by jesus and in one sense of the word it is jesus how can you say that pastor orson because because in the beginning was the word you are a dna sequence you are a molecular structure you are data and that is word they can put they can put your skin under a microscope and they can sequence your genome they can find out what you're made of they can identify you by your dna that is word everything is held together by the word and the word was made flesh the knowledge of god the wisdom of god the mind of god was made flesh and dwelt among us that's the invisible world that's the evidence of things not seen it's what's holding it together praise god just because you can't see an atom or a molecule doesn't mean it's not there it's there and when you have faith it is god's way of reconnecting us to what we were before sin we tap into that word we tap into that relationship and things happen when you have faith the bible says of faith it's the evidence of things not seen romans 8 and 24 i wrote it down says of this concerning hope for we are saved by hope but hope that is seen is not hope for what a man seeth why doth he yet hope for i know you want to see it first everybody wants to see it first but god chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise he created this world on invisible things the bible says the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and godhead there's a reason why the hebrews worshiped an invisible god he was a god that would be built on hope that would be built on faith doesn't sound like much does it where's your god at well he's here where i don't see him is he over here under this chair is he is he over there behind the curtains is he where look look at our god we got a big god he's right there we made him out of gold he's got eight arms like an octopus and and he's got three heads and then we bow down and we worship him and where's your god the hebrews were an anomaly they were different from everybody and they the nations had their gods of silver and gold and wood and stone gods you could see and it seemed so more much more real because you could watch it walk walk up to it you could touch it see look look look there it is right there dagon the fish god half fish half man look there's diana there's ashtaroth there's there's molek bale and the gods of those people you can touch them you carve them and those gods they represent who we are because our hands formed them somehow it made it seem more real because they had made it the problem with that is that people have a tendency to make their gods in their own image they they make things the way they see things they're contrived in the heart of a man in the imagination of a human and the problem with that is man doesn't make god god makes man the bible says having eyes they see not having ears they hear not hallelujah praise god and and and it looks so real in that ancient time and here's these little hebrews and they don't have anything to show for their god except the word and faith seems so flimsy brother newton it seems so easily discarded oh faith what is faith what is hope now fast forward five thousand years and tell me where those gods are that they're subject to the wind they're subject to acid rain they're subject to pitting and scarring and theft and vandalism and so it is with everybody that lays up treasure on this earth where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal but now look at faith it hasn't been tarnished one little bit it hasn't it hasn't rotted no thief can get his hands on it it can't be stolen you don't have to excavate it you don't need an archaeologist you don't need to dig for it it never went anywhere it's the substance it's the evidence and there's more people serving jesus christ today than there ever has been in the history of the entire world faith and hope faith and hope they are more powerful than any physical thing the world has ever seen [Applause] god chose it he chose it and so i know you want to see it i know you want to see a miracle i know you want to see something happen the bible says that which a man seeth why does he yet hope for it and that which is seen is not hope so god demands hope i hope in the lord i have faith in the lord i i want to point out that every generation has had an obstacle to their faith and for that day and that time it was a big deal goliath might not seem like a big deal to us today he was a big deal he was the biggest deal haman might not seem like much here today safely ensconced in the ancient scriptures but but when esther and mordechai had to deal with it it was lit it was large it was all they could see and it seemed so hopeless i can go down the list i could talk about hannah's barren womb and the fact that she couldn't have a child and that peninnah could have children and the impossibility of the moment seemed overwhelming i want to preach to somebody here today that you can feel overwhelmed sometimes it's hard to hang on to your faith when the moment is right in front of you when your worst thought and your worst fear is standing in front of you and he's 12 feet tall and he's got a spear and a shield and a helmet and he looks impregnable he looks uh indomitable and it looks like you are going down right now there are people coming against faith all over the united states of america and there's people that are doing exactly what they did back then they're running and they're hiding behind the rocks they're hiding behind the bushes they're running away from the challenge at hand but i want to talk about the heroes of faith i want to talk about the people that grabbed the hold of the word of god and said wait a minute i walk by faith and not by sight my eyes are looking at something much greater than myself and goliath's not big enough haman's not devious enough my barren womb is not impossible enough to stop me from believing god hope in god believe in god trust in god god is not just the author of my faith but he's the finisher of my faith this is what the bible says in the book of james it says that we count job happy to have endured but do you think job felt good in the moment when the when the wind came and blew the house down and crushed his children when the marauders took his livestock and took his his possessions and when finally his body betrayed him all of those things require faith to endure just because god doesn't do it in your life doesn't mean it's not true if you read hebrews chapter 11 it says that though they receive not the promises yet they endured i didn't come here to see what i'm going to get out of this i didn't come here and put god to some kind of a test and say all right god it needs to show up in about three or four months that's what i'll give you if i don't see a change then then we're moving on oh you got to have stronger faith in that you got to believe in god you got to trust in god give yourself to god praise the lord you know one of the things god told him to do he gave them two ways to try him when and there were two mark marked of the scripture the first one was this thing called the sabbath day sabbath day and it was on saturday it was from 6 00 p.m on friday night to 6 p.m saturday night and god said you'll do no work in that day it was an old testament principle and we now live in a new testament world and that sabbath day is the holy ghost but in that day in that day they did not have a god they could see and touch and who spoke audibly to them usually and so he said six days you will work and on the seventh day you'll rest as the lord rested what a strange thing it's hard to do that when you're trying to get ahead when you're trying to survive when your whole life depends on the crops and it depends on the rain and it depends on the harvest you could have your harvest out there in the field but if it's that seventh day you lay down your sickle and you walk home and over on the side there's the moabite or the ammonite or or the philistine and they're working on that seventh day and they keep working and they look at you like you're crazy there are people that would look at you like what you're doing right now is crazy they they'll think that they'll tell you that going to church doesn't matter and and that that you're going on into that place to worship what do you hope to accomplish and and people of faith have always had that they've always dealt with that there was a second way for the latif that that god would allow them to see his glory he said give the tithe and the offering unto the lord prove me now herewith if i will not open the windows of heaven over you that you would not have room enough to receive it and i will rebuke the devourer for your sake praise god it requires faith and here they were i'm going to take the 10th and then i'm going to put an offering on top of that 10th and i'm going to take it to melchizedek or i'm going to take it to the priest and and that's going to keep the work of god going and all the while the philistines going over you must have lost your mind you know how hard it was to make that money you know how you're going to take a day off to do nothing and you're going to go give your money to nothing and somehow that's gonna make that that's what god wants and that's exactly how a lot of people in this world feel about that and it shows that they have no faith in the things of god now here's the beauty of it when the end of the year would come the people that went to the house of god had more than the people that worked every day and had more when they gave the tent and they gave their offering and when they came to tally it up the philistines looked and had to have to say there's no way that's possible how in the world are you winning these battles how in the world are your barns bursting out with plenty how in the world are you making this happen what is your secret what is your magic ladies and gentlemen it's not magic it's the power of god it's the power of faith i believe him i believe in giving my tithe given my offering i believe in praising his name i believe in coming to the house of god hallelujah that other way is humanism it means i control everything and if you count the things of god the house of god giving to god we we count that as our chief objective i came to give it to god before anything in my life amen for everybody that thinks there's another way there's a there's an interesting thing that happens you'll find out that addiction breaks out you'll find out that that criminality breaks out you'll find out that perversion breaks out you want to talk about wasting money you get a couple different child support cases with several different women you'll find out what waste and money is all about you get a couple lawyers after you where you got to take all of your salary and put it towards it and to make bail and you tell me who's giving their money to the wrong thing you cannot you cannot get away from the fact that this world has a system and god has a system and you're not going to find me out on a friday night or a saturday night running the streets you're going to find me coming to the house of god having church i will my god have mercy i wish i could bottle up what was in that church in arkansas and pour it out in this room right now because there's power in that there's joy in that there's hope in that you don't need to depend on vodka you don't need to depend on beer you don't need to depend on marijuana or cocaine or whatever it is god's got something far greater and it's called faith [Applause] faith is the greatest investment [Applause] prove me now here with [Applause] somebody needs to prove god today prove god today put god to the test god will show up god will show up [Applause] that's right so the world takes their money and they buy their cigarettes they buy their marijuana that's their tithe that's their offering they'll they'll buy their pornography they will live a life of illicitness and addiction they will they will go to their rehabs that's their answers they will go to their ball games that's their churches they will worship their gods who run up and down the floor run up and down the field there's they have their faith and their faith is in where they put it it is given to every man a measure of faith i came to put my faith in one one i came to put my faith in the invisible god of heaven and earth i came to put my faith in praise and worship don't clap your hands for the sports icons don't clap your hands for the entertainers clap your hands all ye people and shout unto god unto god unto god with the voice of triumph glory belongs to god [Applause] so they worship their idols they worship the image and it is an image it is an image now they're on the silver screen they're a talking head they move and they talk they have special effects they cause fire to come down from heaven and all men wonder and worship the image whereas the god of heaven and earth when you worship him you won't see him until you get there until you get to the other side but you will see him in you why why is that pastoration because you are the image of god it is why idolatry is such a sin why it's such a grievous sin i am made in the image of god you are the only representation that is supposed to reflect the glory of god not stone not wood not silver not pixels on a screen but jesus christ who is the express image of god and you and i who are molded into the image of jesus christ he lives in me he talks in me and the invisible god shows himself through you so just keep watching just keep watching as i praise my invisible god and that word will become flesh that that invisible will become visible i'll manifest attire [Applause] hallelujah god started it and god's gonna finish it god began a good one he that out began a good work in you is able i'm closing i'm trying to close but i'm talking about faith and the finishing power be very careful with how you treat people that come to the house of god because you can look at the beginning and discount it but he's not just the author he's the finisher [Applause] he told up i might be an alcoholic right now but don't look down your nose at me don't mock me don't don't discard me because god's just getting started my family may be in chaos right now but but hold on he's not done with me he's still writing my story he's still lying upon light precept upon precept hear a little and very little the author is at work the author i came to tell somebody it's not the end of the story it's just another chapter and the author's not done i said the author's not done [Applause] service by service prayer meeting by prayer meeting verse by verse chapter by chapter i'm being conformed to the image of god [Applause] and five years later check back is that the guy who couldn't hold down a job is that the guy who was divorced several times is what in the world am i look that's not the same guy what in the world happened to the invisible god manifested himself down into my heart and it's not an idol and it's not an image of men it's the image of god [Applause] come on i know you can feel that i can feel it i can feel my holy ghost doing jumping jacks on the inside of me right now i can feel something doing flip-flops on the inside of me right now hey i'm talking about faith i'm talking about hope i'm talking about the finished work of god [Applause] if you saw if you saw peter if you saw him as he rebuked jesus if you saw him at the campfire as he denied jesus until the cop crew three times if you if you could see him at his lowest moment you would say that is the head of the church that's the great savior this is the one that holds the keys to heaven he doesn't look like much but just give god a chance give god a chance because chapter by chapter and book by book god's doing a work on the inside of that man and it's not much later that on the day of pentecost peter stood up with the eleven and he preached jesus by faith the elders obtained a good report remain standing with me this morning musicians can come the good report hallelujah i've had people come to me and they say pastorship i love you so much thank you for being honest thank you for preaching steadfastly and and thank you you're kind i i'm i want to be loved like anybody wants to be loved but but if i were were honest with you i'm human you're human and if you went back 20 years god help us but i got a god in heaven who keeps working on me who keeps molding me who keeps shaping me it's not a man making a graven image god's chiseling on me god is forming me and shaping me and hammering me hey and the truth is brother it's not pastor ocean you love it's the god in pastoration that you love it's the truth it's the righteousness it's the patience it's the grace that's not me that's him [Music] it's the image of god [Music] and there there are certain men there are certain there are certain bishop godairs that come into this world there are sister goat heirs that come into this world that have taken so much of his image onto them that when they walk people get healed when they when they touch things they're blessed when when they speak they speak with grace i love them you really love him and you're looking at his son and at his daughter so when god forges righteousness when he forges and he shapes mercy and he forges and builds and and and carves all of that image into a man or a woman over the years you see god in the person the invisible becomes visible and the finished work is in the person one day one day he's going to take us home hallelujah one day the work's gonna be done one day there's gonna be a finished product hey cola will show you but what if i don't get the answer i want brother urshit keep on praising because you'll get it one day what if i don't see it like i want to see it keep on praising because you'll see it one day some of you see the hope of far off you keep on traveling you keep on praying you keep on believing i'm talking about the kind of faith that kept brother go there when when nobody came when when he didn't have anybody to play the keyboard when when people talk bad about him when they walked away when some if you if you give up by living according to your emotions you'll never make it you've got to allow the finisher to do the work that he's going to do and and and i don't think the best days are here yet i don't know if brother goder will see all of it but he kept on and he kept on and the day will come hey taya moshaya the day will come when my sons and my grandsons will see things that i always wanted to see because the finisher was still working oh somebody lift your hands to heaven right now don't you give up don't you dare give up don't you dare walk away from god he's a finisher i'm going to open this altar somebody somebody come and lift your voice [Music] somebody let him work on you this morning [Music] he's still working on me oh somebody come and lift your voice buy it the elders obtained a good report by it the elders obtained a good report against hope they believed in hope they staggered not at the promises of god but was strong in faith [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] believe god believe his purpose believe his plan [Music] in the name of jesus somebody speak his name [Applause] hold on to your face hold on to the promises of god oh that's it somebody lift your voice right now god's bringing back my faith god's strengthening my faith in the name of jesus hallelujah in the name of jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] somebody speak that name [Music] [Applause] now somebody hang on to your faith [Music] somebody hang on hang on to your faith hang on to your faith hey [Music] [Applause] in the name of jesus i'm speaking a word of faith in this house i'm speaking a word of faith [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] go ahead [Music] [Music] holy word somebody needs to know he's never felt [Music] [Music] trust in him in the name of jesus see we've come this far leaning on the his lord word [Music] we've caught this heart [Music] his holy word say it one more time we've come this far feeding [Music] his on word [Music] trusting in his holy word he's never felt [Music] we have one that wants to be baptized in jesus name is there anybody else that wants to be baptized in jesus name anybody in this room want to be baptized in jesus name god will wash away every one of your sins and we can baptize you if you want to be baptized make your way right over here to this door our ministers will meet you we will baptize you in the name of jesus christ [Music] hallelujah there's a cry [Music] there's a cry that's going forth right now from the united states of america and around the world and in that cry you're going to hear skepticism you're going to hear sarcasm and you're going to hear rage and they're saying the world the world is unreliable you lied to us [Music] and the terrible thing is many times they're right politicians lie and and power groups lie and governments lie in this world can be an ugly and a nasty place there's never been a better time for the church to stand up and begin to speak the word of faith into this world that that the system of this world will never save you but we know one who will we know one who is able we know one who is ready we are [Music] speaking faith [Music] hallelujah praise god praise god praise god we need some brethren to help us pray right now hallelujah amen we have people that need to touch from god right now they need healing in their bodies they need a touch from the holy ghost somebody speak a word of faith right now speak it out speak it out the bible says it's the word of faith which we preach somebody confess somebody confess somebody believe god that's it that's it in the name of jesus go ahead and speak that name of jesus he's the healer he's the healer he's the provider in the name of jesus [Music] hallelujah yes that's it that's it come on i can feel faith rising come on somebody help me pray somebody help me call on the name of the lord whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord the same the save the savior no you don't understand you don't know how bad i am brother hershey you don't know what i've done you don't know how many mistakes i've made the same shall be saved [Music] that's it lift your voice lift your voice lift your voice in this house [Music] yes hallelujah lift up your voice in the middle of the chaos lift up your voice in the middle of the storm lift up your voice in the middle of the addiction lift up your voice in the middle of the dysfunction lift up your voice in the middle of the chaos hey [Music] [Applause] hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah [Music] [Applause] [Music] now somebody give him a shout of praise on a sunday morning somebody give him a shout of praise come on believe god believe god believe god believe god hallelujah believe him enough to dance for it believe him enough to shout for it believe him enough to leave for it believe him enough to call on the name of jesus [Music] go ahead go ahead speak it out speak it out what am i speaking speak faith but i don't see it yet doesn't matter we're walking by hope we're walking i've got the holy ghost [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] when you leave this place leaving faith take this faith with you amen service starts at six o'clock tonight brother spencer come dismiss us with a word of prayer amen amen what a word from god can we give a hand clap unto the lord thank you jesus thank you jesus hallelujah amen amen let's pray god we thank you for that word we thank you for the keeping power of your word we thank you lord for all that you've done and for your spirit that has met us here and for those that have gone down in the waters of baptism you've been so good to us and we give you praise and we glorify your holy name in jesus name amen amen amen god's been good what a word i'm looking forward to being in the house of god tonight to all of our guests thank you for being at first pentecostal church greet each other in jesus name [Music] [Music] you

Channel: First Pentecostal Church of Durham

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Id: 59W-lAbR8Wg

Length: 114min 50sec (6890 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 13 2021