Harold Hoffman - Bethlehem - Judah | Church ONLINE

[Music] [Applause] [Music] good morning first church why don't we just lift our hands right now and lift the name of jesus he's the king of kings the lord of lords and he deserves all of our praises [Music] i see the faithfulness of god [Music] i trust the power of your [Music] beyond the ocean away i will not be [Music] here is i will is is is uh foreign okay oh you jesus god you're so worthy we thank you that you're in this place god we are thankful that you're gonna move that you're gonna do great things god hallelujah [Music] thank you jesus so i just wanted to pause you for just a second i know we sing this song all the time and we're actually going to go back into this song in a minute but when i was getting ready for this i felt like i needed to say something at some point today and when i felt that i told god i said god i cannot speak lord what if i mess up or i stumble over my words god or whatever i forget something that i'm supposed to say which may happen and so i was so nervous so i started listening to this song not afraid and i got to that place in the song where it says i stand before the giants and i began to think to myself i said what are my giants and so i'm just gonna be transparent like i was this morning and i'm gonna admit to you that one of my biggest struggles has always been fear and this fear has caused insecurity in me self-doubt and it's hindered me in a lot of areas of my life for a very very long time and you know we all deal with giants we all deal with struggles maybe your giant is fear just like mine or maybe it's anxiety or depression or maybe it's a battle that you're facing right now a trial that you've been going through for a while and you don't know what's going on you feel like everything's crumbling around you you feel broken maybe discouraged or alone and that giant just seems so big it seems so much bigger than you but i'm here to tell you no matter how big that giant may seem how much bigger is the creator of the universe who holds you up in the palm of his hand the scripture says in isaiah 43 1-3 and i'm reading in the esv version it says but now thus says the lord who created you o jacob who formed you o israel fear not for i have redeemed you i have called you by name you are mine when you pass through the waters i will be with you when you pass that when you are through the rivers you they shall not overwhelm you when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not continue for i am the lord your god the holy one of israel your savior so that's your reassurance that you know the sun goes on to say i stand before the giants declaring [Music] [Music] and you don't know where to go or where to turn i dare you to speak out the name the precious mighty name of jesus hallelujah is my thank you god that you're making a way when there seems to be no way we put all our trust in you thank you god thank you lord that we can speak your name over every situation everything god that seems to surround us god we can speak the name of jesus the name above all names hallelujah hallelujah [Music] the atmosphere is changing nothing stays the same [Music] is [Music] feel the skies [Music] mountains [Music] is the name of jesus is make the sound we lift him high is [Music] jesus we're nothing without you jesus we need your power we need your presence god cause strongholds are broken i've been made free yes i am forgiven is breaking everything anything can happen so sing on his name oh jesus oh of jesus jesus we continue to lift you up jesus cause you're mighty you have a power thank you jesus thank you jesus strong are broken i've been made free i am forgiven fear has sing it again [Music] a gloriously day is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] you're so worthy god thank you for the move that we've already seen god we just want you to keep moving god we just want your glory we want your spirit god we need you in this place lord whatever we need lord we know it's all in you it's all in you so we are here for you [Music] hallelujah [Music] that wonders are still what you do [Music] and yes we can see that [Music] hallelujah [Music] we are here [Music] what do you do [Music] oh [Music] we is [Applause] oh we need to move [Music] when you move healing is coming in this room miracles happen when you move [Music] we're feeling it [Music] is foreign is [Laughter] [Music] you is come and do what you do [Music] we are here for you come and do [Music] cause we [Music] this is the move right here you've already taken a step oh this is the move can you sing with me this is the move right here when you stepped out in faith that's when god began to work so that's all that it takes is one stop that's all you have to do that's all you have to do and he'll do the rest you don't have to be afraid you don't have to be discouraged because [Music] [Music] i just want to explain real quickly what's going on right now god is moving among us right now and you sense that right now in our in our service but let me explain to you why very quickly in the old testament the church in the wilderness was israel they would watch that that cloud by day that that fire by night and when it started moving they would follow it okay god was moving and they followed where god went we're a church that believes in practices and what happened in acts chapter 2 when the spirit of god was poured out upon all flesh and thus lives inside of us okay your body is the temple of the holy ghost the temple of god himself and so pastor mike will you come here instead of pastor mike standing here and trying to look for god right god doesn't do that anymore says a still small voice this is what god says why don't you come up here colin god knows colin's dealing with something that he needs prayer about and god says still small voice go pray with power so now look what just happened god just moved and when god moves now those rivers of living water can be poured out of him and into him that's what's going on we're praying for one another and god is moving god is flowing out of you into somebody else so i'm going to challenge you right now i'm going to challenge you we're going to go before god and focus prayer there's going to be things behind me on the screen but i'm challenging you if you know of somebody who's in a storm if you know of somebody that needs a healing i'm telling you to move right now i'm challenging you to get out of your seat find somebody to pray to because when you move god moves lord jesus we thank you for what you're doing right now lord your power is here your glory is here but i pray over each and every person in this room i pray for every situation god on the screen behind me mighty jesus lord you're the only way you're the only hope the god you designed to operate through your people so mighty god right now we move with the understanding when we move that you would be magnified that you would be glorified forever and ever oh jesus in your mighty name we pray [Music] is [Music] is [Applause] for you to take the steps this is [Music] [Music] thank you for the lives that you're changing god [Music] this is this is [Music] he wants you you [Music] are [Music] [Music] so [Music] the we are here for [Music] you [Music] we need [Music] this is the move we are the moon i felt a few mondays ago in in monday night prayer sometimes god just speaks to you with that still small voice and i just sincerely as i know how to tell you god spoke to me and said i have taught you for years how to walk in the spirit now i am getting ready to teach you how to operate in the spirit that's what's going on right now god can only move [Music] when the vessel that he lives in moves we can have the revival we all want but it comes through you it comes through your bible study signs wonders and miracles comes through your prayers when you lay hands on your neighbor or somebody in the store god will teach us how to operate in the giftings of the spirit and we're sensing this is just the beginning of it and if we give ourselves to prayer and consecration god's gonna take us and become the church that we're supposed to be in sterling heights and in this world there will be a dequinda road revival where cars will be lined up and down this street waiting to get baptized in the name of jesus christ god didn't give that to two of our elders to tease you and i he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him so seek him today with your whole hearts while he can still be found oh jesus what an amazing just an amazing time of prayer with you all as you make your way back to your seats if you are a guest with us today you stepped into a church where god still moves where god still acts where god still heals and restores and repairs and rebuilds that's available today and we are delighted that you are here with us if you're a guest with us online we thank you so much for being with us we want to say hi to our first church family in canada thank you for being with us if you have any questions about who we are about what just went on about something you've heard or something you've read maybe you have a prayer request we have something we call a connect card and uh it's found in our guest reception desk in our lobby for those of you online it's found on our website first church sterling heights dot com fill out one of those connect cards and we'll make sure that somebody from our pastoral staff will reach out to you this week to answer any questions or concerns that you may have we'd love a chance to connect with you tomorrow night is monday night prayer and we are very very excited when we gather together corporately for prayer but tomorrow is a very special monday night prayer we actually have rhema duncan will be with us through a video and god has given him something very specific for our church um is just an incredible powerful man of god he was here a few weeks ago with our youth department and did an amazing job so look forward to that tomorrow night monday night prayer seven o'clock we have two everybody say two two more weeks of life groups and if you are not connected into a life group you can go ahead you can still sign up it's not too late uh go to our website and sign up for a life group life groups are just an amazing thing that we do here first church where we gather together outside of these walls to live life with one another we go grow relationally and spiritually together uh get connected with a life group make some friends and be a part of the body of christ here in first church we love serving there are so many people they've got their here to help shirts on so many different people behind the scenes that go into making a sunday worship experience possible and we want you to join up on our teams because god has given you a special gifting and a special talent to make sure that you can use that for his glory and for the growth of the kingdom of god so growth track happens on the third and the fourth sundays of every month just two classes found in our hospitality suite and once you go through growth track we'll get you connected and plugged into a serve team and you can help us with the mission of sterling heights with reaching our city reaching our nation and reaching our world before i go ahead and set a service expectation here at first church we like to celebrate the wins and today we had a great great win this was gabby thompson's first time leading worship today did a fantastic job so i want to say publicly gabby you did an amazing job it was fire and uh we're excited we're blessed to have you blessed to have you uh that being said i do want to set an expectation for the remainder of the service pastor has an amazing message that god gave him look forward to that it's very very powerful we're going to go ahead and return a tithing and an offering have a three-minute time of connection so there's a few guests in here you know if there's somebody that maybe you don't have a name for haven't met yet just go say hi to them let them know that you are glad that they are here um and and then at the end of the service pastor's gonna go ahead and invite everybody up to the front and this is what just happened right now god did something amazing but the praise and the worship portion of our service that's for him that's to magnify him and to glorify him that he would be pleased with my worship unto him and then the preaching of the word that's that's so god can actually teach us and and inspire us and correct us and and do whatever it is that god wants his word to do today for you but at the end that's when god responds to you he confirms his word after it's taught and he'll meet you in a powerful way around these altars so don't miss an opportunity at the end of the service to have a power encounter with the lord jesus christ with as the ushers come here first church we have a value that says we live modestly to give radically and i've been around long enough to know that this is very very true for us here first church pastor and sister hoffman are such amazing leaders every dollar that is returned to the lord gets spent with wisdom and with the gospel in the kingdom in mind that's why we've built bible schools that's why we've built um you know church plants that's why we've done so many works supporting missionaries and and helping other pastors in our area is because our pastor and his amazing wife are kingdom minded first and so just know that whatever's return if you're a guest with us we're not asking anything from you just you being here alone is your gift to us but if you do feel led to give something we're certainly not going to stop you just ask god whatever it is and just to be obedient to whatever god is telling you but that being said i'd like to say a prayer over this offering mighty lord lord i'm so thankful for the honor to be able to invest in the kingdom financially lord it's uh it's a great it's probably the best money i'll ever spend my lord knowing that that it's invested into the kingdom and you're going to use it to reach and find somebody who desperately needs you mighty god it's with joy and it's with a sense of gratitude that i return to you now what you said belong to you lord i just pray lord that that you would continue to give the leadership of this church wisdom to spend it wisely and properly as i know they will but lord i pray for the hearts the hearts that have yet to know you i pray that you would take out a heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh that they would be ready and prepared ahead of time to receive the gospel of the kingdom in jesus name i pray [Music] amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] time to go to work is that screen empty huh it is yeah well maybe jesus will preach here today said he said good morning compadre thank you all for being here god bless every one of you hallelujah well dralen is ministering in cleveland so we're grateful that that door is open to him but uh gabby and lauren and all the rest of the crew they did a great job and uh really grateful for that and uh it's just been you know we got addy addy's running the sound board valentina's helping us with sound screen so that's great grateful for all that last sunday was uh i can only speak from what i know but last sunday is the largest gathering since i've been here that we've ever had at this church and we're grateful for that so it's not a vision not a dream anymore last sunday you saw where we're going that's what we're after and you know that was good and uh so there are people that are doubting my counting ability but um that's just that was full and this berm over here was completely full and the next berm over there was full our parking lot was full both of dr palmer's plots were full there was lots of people it was just a it was a great day we baptized a lot of people they some of them were here the first service five different people came to me in the first service and said this is our church home now and we're grateful to be here and so it was good it was good yes yeah the noise oh oh that's good yeah you don't want dead church nothing worse than a quiet church robert i've asked people you know sometimes people come to church and say this is way too loud and i say well in in eternity what kind of noise would you like to hear you know hell's not going to be quiet hell's going to be very noisy talks about weeping wailing heaven's going to be noisy said they say holy holy thou art worthy so i guess you got to decide in eternity what kind of noise you want to hear and so uh we greet all of you that are here all the people online from canada to colorado to kempsy australia we've got people i was i did the indiana camp last week i don't know how many people came to me and said they never miss either the live stream or the podcast so you don't know where all this is going to are my amazing gifted cousin i enjoyed our dialogue this week and so we're grateful for all that stand with me this is the first verse of the book of ruth the first verse and it says uh came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that's important remember that that there was a famine in the land that's important too and a certain man of bethlehem judah that phrase is important went to sojourn in the country of moab that's important he his wife and his two sons i want to teach you something today called the blessing of bethlehem judah all right if you have a good attitude you can sit down amen amen is there anybody in this room that knows what the word judah means praise very good is there anybody that knows what the word bethlehem means house of bread very good wow i'm impressed these people live in bethlehem judah bethlehem house of bread judah praise it's a great old testament snapshot of what the church should be today jesus said man won't live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of god that's why he said he was the living bread the living word so in type bethlehem judah should be a picture of what this church should be there should be fresh word here not stale moldy old bread there ought to be fresh bread and there ought to be praise here there to be worship word and worship the bible said god is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth it's a theme all the way through the word of the lord this this man his name is elimelech is married to a woman whose name is naomi they have two boys me all of my boys were girls this guy's got sons maelon and chileon are their names it says it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land we have we still have the book of judges in the bible joshua judges ruth and if you read the book of judges there's only one famine in the book of judges and it tells the story of the this enemy army midianites they were known as they would come every year when the people were getting ready to harvest the crops they'd let the people harvest the crops lazy then they'd come in and swipe all of the grain that these people had gathered so they're going to starve through the winter it's a bad deal so you got this guy by the name of gideon who is hiding in the shadows putting uh i think it was a wine press so he's putting some grapes in here trying to make some sustenance for his family and the lord speaks to him and says thou mighty man of valor and it's like he goes and he said yeah you here here's this guy frightened but god calls him a mighty man of hour and he tells him i'm going to use you to build a mighty army to drive the enemy away hmm if you know the story over 30 000 came with gideon and then he said now all of you that are afraid i want you to go 20 000 left two-thirds of them gone then the lord said i want you to take them down to the river and tell them to get a drink of water and i want you to watch how they get a drink they gotta pass the water test some of them most of them just stick their head down there and start slurping but others would take the water and scoop it up but they kept watching while they were drinking the others just stuck their head down didn't care and the lord told gideon take the ones that lap water like a dog the ones that are always aware 300 of them amazing in order for you understand this story you've got to know about abraham and a lot abraham is a big deal in the bible he's massive i don't know how many verses in the bible are dedicated to abraham but abraham's wealthy and he's got a nephew by the name of lot abraham is sharing his herds and his flocks bible uses those phrases but a specific of a herd are cows flocks are sheep and goats abraham's got all three cows sheep goats sharing some of that bounty with his nephew in time the shepherds the herdsmen that were overseeing these flocks and herds for these two men started fighting with one another about you know who gets the best grass and the water and the wells and on and on and so abraham being who he was looked at his nephew and said look we need to part ways you choose whatever you want i'll take what's left over which is backwards that's what lot should have said to his uncle but it says that lot chose the well-watered plains of sodom abraham took the leftovers well you don't have to be a linguist even now the word sodom or sodomy it's pretty obvious what the problem was in genesis chapter 13 and verse 12 it says this and lot pitched his tent toward sodom which means he wasn't there but every day that he got up and opened up his tent door there's sodom it's the first thing he saw when he got up in the morning one chapter later in genesis 14 and 12 it says and lot dwelt in sodom five chapters later in genesis 19 and verse 1 it says and lot set at the gate of sodom that doesn't mean much to most people but back then cities were fortified with walls and they had gates in the walls the real estate around the gate is highly prized property jesus had one of the original 12 his name was matthew it said he sat by the gate at the receipt of custom which means matthew worked for the irs even back then they'd get you because everybody that went out of the city had to go through a gate everybody that came into the city had to come in a gate so it's a natural funnel and any property around that gate is highly prized so when it says that lot is sitting at the gate of sodom he's just not down there just you know spitballing with his pals he's involved in the politics of this city it's a progression he looks at it then he's living in it then he's really deeply involved it's a sad story the wickedness of those twin cities sodom and gomorrah became so great that god said i'm going to destroy it in his mercy he sent an angel to visit lot just looked like a man but it wasn't a man it was an angel the men of sodom gathered around lot's house and said bring your guest out we want to know him we're not talking about putt-putt golf here and um it says and adam knew his wife and she conceived it's the same concept they want to molest this man that's come to lot's house lot being the big gregarious daddy that he is having all of his principles perfectly aligned said i'll give you my daughters here you take my girls you molest my girls but leave my guest alone and i said no we don't want your girls we want the man that's in your house it so angered the lord that it said everybody around lot's house he made him blind it's one of the it's it's a powerful verse it says and stumbling in their blindness they still looked for the door they're they're living under the judgment of blindness that god put on them but they're still trying to get in lot's house that's how messed up this town is and the angel tells lot and his wife and his girls you got to get out of here now it said and while they lingered the angel grabbed them and literally ran with them out of the city and he said i just got i just got one very simple rule for you whatever you do don't look back don't don't turn around lot's wife turned around i'm just going to tell you what the bible says it said she became a pillar a statue of salt and it says she's still there to this day so somewhere out in that arid desert it's just just just a blob just a worn out little bump that used to be somebody's wife and somebody's mom i don't know who said it but i heard it years ago they got lot's wife out of sodom but they never got sodom out of lot's wife she had the look one more time they've lost everything they've got the clothes on their back it said they spent the night in a cave now you get an insight into how messed up the girls heads have become by living in this kind of an atmosphere they said we're never going to get married but we'd like to have kids let's lie with our father they made him drunk now you get incest and they got their wish both of them are pregnant they produce two boys one of them's name is ammon the other boy's name is moab they both grew into large extended families and both of those tribes ammon and moabites they are a royal pain in the backside to israel all through the old testament moab is such a lousy place that three times in the book of psalms it says this moab is my wash pot moab's where i do my dirty dishes it's where i do my dirty socks now you go back to the first verse that i read to you elimelech takes his wife and his two boys out of bethlehem judah and they went to moab first lesson whenever you leave word and worship you're going to the wash pot whenever you walk away from a place where there's praise to the lord and fresh word being taught you're only going one direction you're going to the dirty dishes it's never it's never a positive sign second lesson i've said this to you for years we cannot afford the luxury of one bad service usually churches have a midweek service and a sunday service then midweek service is usually always the stepchild we've never tried to approach that here we've always tried to make every service as good as we can possibly make it we want the worship to be good the music to be good the word to be good i don't want any service to be oh it's just bible study i don't ever want that i want every service to be right because you never know who's going to show up you never know and we cannot afford to have a famine in bethlehem judah because people make lousy choices when there's a famine in the church this guy leaves and goes to moab at the mean at the same time there was a famine in the land during the time of the judges now we go back elimelech naomi and her two boys are down in moab while they're there gideon pops up on the scene with his 300 guys basically he gives them all a flashlight they get a torch they put up a pitcher a flower pot over the lit torch and he gives him a trumpet he said now we're going down there at night and when i give you the command break the pitcher blow the horn so here all these midianites sleeping all sudden they hear the loudest racket because trust me everybody's not a trumpet player all right i've been in pentecost all my life every pentecostal boy said i'm going to be a drummer trust me everybody's not a drummer but what they lack an ability they make up an amplitude they can make noise it's like painters i've seen how many people do i can paint no you can there's a guy that's in this room right now and i'm not going to tell you his name but i painted with him one time when i saw him paint i knew oh boy this dude knows what he's doing when i get done painting it looks like i've been in a mud wrestling contest i don't care what kind of jeans i have you give me a couple months i got paint glue shoes britches shirt it doesn't matter i just it's like shrapnel out of a grenade i'm gonna get it on me this guy paints this wall perfect quickly no drop cloth no splatter and i went oh you've been holding out on me and this is what he said don't tell anybody pastor that i know how to paint because then everybody asked you and he said i'm sick of peyton i don't want to paint no more it's the same way with trumpet players trust me there were very few skilled trumpet players that day but what they lacked in ability the old boys made up in noise and if you're sleeping at three in the morning and some dude that don't have a clue starts blasting on a trumpet you will wake up they stumble out of their tents joshua said all right boys crack it bam break the flower pot torches there's only 300 but in three o'clock in the morning stumbling out of bed it looks like they're surrounded by kabillions the midianites get confused in the darkness start running bumping banging into one another they think it's the enemy they start fighting among themselves and they all kill themselves it's beautiful with a trumpet and a flashlight you wiped out this amazing army god got the glory gideon was exalted here's my problem elimelech could have been one of those 300 guys if he would have just stayed still if he would have stuck it out in bethlehem judah he could have possibly been one of those 300 that had this great victory because i can't find anywhere in the bible where elimelech ever prayed should i go to mo abernath let me explain something to you right now there's no such thing as peaceful coexistence with satan you understand i i taught a lesson years ago whenever people thought it was so strange it was called the christian virtue of hatred and people thought that was so strange but my text is jesus in the temple i mean it said he drove out the money changers i mean manny he he's he's they they have turned the church into the starvation army it's like it's it's it's it's like a yard sale and he's dumping in open cages and the 50 cent spotted ones are already flying and the 75 cent white ones he's about to let go and he's letting cows go and sheep and there's hay everywhere and all of a sudden this young rabbi comes up and said wonder where do you think who are you and he says well i'll tell you who i am uh i'm the resurrection and the life who are you this is my father's house it's supposed to be a place of prayer you turn it into a barnyard and what's what it's it's it's a powerful powerful lesson there be because elimelech if you would have stayed you could have been one of those 300 guys but without praying at all i'm going to go to mohab let me answer you let me ask you don't have to pray whether to go to moab or not the answer is no i don't care how bad it gets in church stay because a pentecostal service at its worst it's better than the bar at its best you're going to leave here today no guilt nobody's going to cuss no no no nobody's taking their clothes off nobody's smoking dope nobody's doing anything stupid you're going to leave here today with your spirit fed having been surrounded with wonderful men and women your kids have been involved with other great kids you're going to hear the word of the lord you've been exposed to great worship we're going to have great prayer today who knows what god's going to answer in our prayers at the end of this service this is a better way to live all right if there wasn't a heaven if there wasn't a hell it's a better way to live i uh honest to goodness i've seen people go across this country and leave this church for a job that pays five dollars more an hour and never ever call ahead to see if there's a good church there i've seen her i have a very dear friend named stan gleason who pastors in kansas city i told this story years ago but his his great grandfather in the middle of the depression we're talking 31 32 1931 his his great grandfather got a letter you are the only surviving heir to a fortune however there's one caveat you have to live in the ancestral home for at least one year after one year you can sell the estate and the lands you can come back to america but you have to live in that ancestral state for at least one year it was in scotland he called did everything he could the estate was i forget how many acres but i remember the money was three million dollars in the middle of the depression he does letters does everything he can with telegrams can't find a church anywhere close to what effectively was a castle wrote them back and said give the estate to someone else i'm not coming now fast forward it to where we are over 82 of the relatives of stan gleason have either been pastors pastors wives missionaries missionary wives or involved in some aspect of the work of god because he said i'm not going to make a spiritual decision based on money that's the truth that's the truth they get down there the boys get married elimelech dies so now naomi's a widow the two boys die now we got three widows naomi it says she heard that there was bread in bethlehem judah again she heard the report my kids could go to school and hear fifty thousand good words hear one cuss word can't wait to come home and take that dude out for a drive amazing do you know this is that joshua chooses or moses rather joshua was one of them moses choose 12 spies to spy out the land of canaan they send them they come back all right joshua what do you say we can do it boss no problem caleb what do you say give me this mountain we can do this number three um look i love joe and cave but i gotta be honest with you most i felt like i was a grasshopper over there they got giants over there number four i'm with three what about you five number six what do you say seven what do you say nuke eight nine ten wait sorry boss can't do it let me ask you a question is there anybody in this room that's ever heard the name i gal paultai nebul oh these are well-known names in christianity those are just three of the ten that said i don't think we can do this but if i mention the name of joshua and caleb most of you if not all of you have heard those names before and know that they're powerful great leaders in the old testament you don't remember the names of the other ten nobody remembers their names if you ever go to washington dc they don't build monuments to guys that said i don't think we can do this they say when they signed the declaration i thought it was benjamin franklin but it was one of those guys that said fellas we better hang together because if we don't hang together we're going to hang separate. zig ziglar was the first one i ever heard say it but he said the people that say we can and the people that say we can't they're both right if you think we can't do it you won't if you think you can with god's help i'm not talking about positive mental attitude here i can do all things through christ which strengtheneth me that's what i'm talking about i mean i've got to go into a meeting this evening and and about a proposed district where we're we're we we have plans to build another building on this adjacent property let me explain something to you right now there's a difference between the spirit of unity and the unity of the spirit okay you go to a tigers baseball game they're unified look at the tower of babel it said the people's hearts were one god wasn't anywhere close to it but they were together just because you have unity doesn't mean god's there so there's the difference between the spirit of unity and the unity that comes from the spirit that when the holy ghost brings us together that's a whole we're not talking about amway here we're not talking about some rally here we're talking about something that the holy ghost has brought us together we can't do what we're about to do without the unity of the spirit we can't just give me a j give me an e give me an s it's going to be more it's got to be a legitimate understanding inside of our heart that we're building something for people yet unborn for faces we've never seen yet for for for phone numbers and addresses and emails we don't have yet they're out there i know that because i saw them sunday i never had i just one my wife and i are going with the rest of the staff just shaking one after another i didn't even know you people were here one lady said i'd like to make a donation i said no we didn't do that because of money we just wanted to do something for the community she said i know but this ain't free can i give you some money i said yeah sure i'll take your money it was just something that she realized she said this is wonderful she said look around here nobody's drinking beer she said nobody's smoking dope she said look she said look at all these kids she said i'll be back i'll be back they're there the harvest is ripe already white that i don't mean right that means about to get rotten that's what that's that's this community we are blessed to be in a community that's open to the gospel do you understand that last week kids came from all over the country into this church and brother thompson whose pal is the youth president of west virginia and is the national coordinator for ayc american youth congress and just or youth uh the the hour they were in dearborn and they spent last week in dearborn handed out knocking doors inviting people right in the center in the belly of the beast that's where they were friday night we had a worship service hassan butros preached his first message last friday night sunday we had a great crowd and we just didn't it wasn't just hot dogs and fireworks we had church we baptized i forget how many people at least four that i remember and on the grass it's just i i live with you i i haven't done a good job with this through the years i haven't but it's obvious to me this city is open to the gospel they just need to know where are you we need to make them aware we're here and we want to build something in this city that glorifies god and it's just it it's when when when those there's 10 of them that said no joshua and caleb said yes read what it says in the book of numbers it said when the spies brought back an evil report it doesn't say it was negative it said it was evil because when you say i don't think god can do this that's evil there's no faith anywhere what are you saying pastor i'm saying don't be a schoolyard child that you hear one cuss word and you can't you can't wait to use it what are you talking about don't get fed don't just just hear one negative story and latch onto that and treat it like it's fat don't be so quickly disposed to go to the negative let's believe god for something mighty let's believe god for something amazing let's believe the report what what kind of report are you going to give ah the hot dogs were cold i've seen better fireworks down there on the river yeah they only spent three million dollars down there okay but the fire the fire marshall fire marshal who hates fireworks came and told james they're here steve meadow's here i'm not making this up steve meadow's here james hagman's here the fire marshal came and said this is the safest display that i've seen in this community you guys are doing a great job it was a great witness it was a great witness for our church and it it just remember this is isaiah 53 isaiah 53 is powerful because that's the one that says he grew up as a tender plant when the root became the branch you know he was wounded for our transgressions bruised for iniquities some of you have heard this some of you haven't watch how exact the word is a wound is when your skin is broken and blood flows on the surface of the skin bruise is when flowed blood flows beneath the surface of the skin but a transgression in the bible is an open obvious sin that people see that we have committed but iniquity is always a sin of the spirit it's a secret thing between you and god watch how exact the word is he was wounded the blood flowed outward that everybody for the transgression for the stuff that we did that everybody saw us do but he was bruised for our iniquity and that blood was shed for our secret sins of the spirit so he'll deal with the obvious and he'll deal with the clandestine that's how powerful isaiah 53 is but this is how it begins who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the lord revealed you know if you want god's arm you read about the arm of the lord in the bible if you want the arm of the lord revealed you've got to be willing to believe the report you've got to stay positive i'm not just talking about i'm talking about faith here i'm talking about not arrogance it's talking about confidence that we're trying to do something for god ladies and gentlemen if we're not going to attempt the impossible why do we need god if we can do it by our own ability and our own money and our own it we don't need god we're trying to do something here we can't afford something that we can't pull off but we believe it's right to do something in this community to reach more people so here's naomi with her two daughter-in-laws they get out on the edge of the city they're all bowing and squalling orpah she says you know what i love you but i i i'm going back home july 24th 1980 i heard these words in st louis and treat me not to leave thee for wherever you go i'm gonna go your people are gonna be my people your god's going to be my god wherever you are buried i'm going to be buried beside you that's what ruth said to her mother-in-law naomi it's what my sweetheart said to me 41 years ago now very soon in the basement of those awards will always be very precious and very special to me we didn't get to go anywhere on our 40th anniversary so don't be surprised if renee and i don't bug out of here in just a little while because that pandemic kind of messed up my plan look at look at the look at the typology your church is going to be my church your god's going to be my god however you get baptized which is burial i'm going to get buried and baptized the same way you do it's it's all typology it's all pictures i'll show you later on a couple weeks from now about how much prophecy is involved here so naomi and ruth make their way back to bethlehem judah listen listen to this verse in ruth chapter 1 and verse 21. she said i went out full whoa whoa whoa it says you people left because of the famine she said i didn't understand how much we really had back then i was really full and didn't even know it because an apostolic church with a famine is more full than that empty world out there in the worst part he said we're going to sojourn in the land the word we don't talk like that today but the word sojourn means i'm just going to stay for a little while let me tell you about sin sin is going to take you further than you ever thought you'd go it's going to keep you longer than you ever thought you'd stay and it's going to cost you more than you ever ever expected it to cost he dies there boys are dead naomi comes back and they go i know you you nail me oh she said no no no don't don't don't don't call me that you call me mehra because man we made a he said it's been a bitter time ladies and gentlemen going to hell ought to be hard not serving god the way of a transgressor is supposed to be hard don't say oh it's so hard living for god the other way is supposed to be hard but it can be so glorified and so magnified but i've seen where all that leads i could tell you story after story after story after story but i'm not going to violate anybody's but i will tell you this you can go back you can go back to bethlehem judah and there's an old poem that says when you get back to where you left you might really be able to see it as it truly is for the first time there are people that walk away from church don't think nothing of it samson was so stupid that he said if i lose my covenant with god the worst thing that's going to happen to me is i'll be like every other man every other man wasn't blind every other man wasn't grinding out mill and flower and just there are people that think i could i'll just walk away from church i'll be just like remember what wife don't remember her for her education don't remember her for her beauty remember her for one reason she looked back and the bible said if you look back you're not fit for the kingdom but guess what even though you aren't fit he'll still take you you can come back and here's the good news you don't have to come back alone when i said that in the first service when service was over i was praying with people by the altar and greeting people that had come and there was a man here and he said he just started crying he said it's me it's me and i said he said he said it's like you've been walking with me for the last four years he said i'm the guy that used to come and i walked away and he said i'm telling you it's been a brutal experience not being in the house of god and being in this church but he said i came back here's my wife our kids are being taught with the sunday school he said i'm so glad to be back [Applause] ladies and gentlemen never forget the blessing of bethlehem judah never underestimate it never never take it for granted if i'm talking to somebody today that possibly you made you got some bad information you made a bad choice welcome home we're glad you're here come come come worshiping around the altar come worshiping around the heart lord jesus hallelujah don't don't don't stop worshiping lord jesus we're believing you for healing right now jesus people are in this room right now amen have been involved in the worship have listened to the word now jesus we want miracles signs and wonders you said that that would follow follow the lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following we've done the best we knew how to do this week lord to serve you and to live for you there are people in this room they're weary they're tired but it's a good tired because we did it doing what was right tried to take care of our families tried to do the things that were honorable amen we're in your house right now you said when we are weak you are strong and boy you ought to be powerful today because i feel really tired and i'm fatigued and i'm weak but lord jesus in my weakness you are made strong i don't ever expect to never ever want any kind of credit and being in the position that i am in right now physically and mentally there is absolutely no way i could heal anybody so anything that goes on right now around this order has nothing to do with me and everything to do with you lord jesus i'm asking you to heal if there's cancer in this room kick it out like the trash and like the hobo and the squatter it truly is if i'm preaching to somebody whose family is under attack right now i'm asking you lord to begin to build a foundation beneath them put a hedge around the bottom put a canopy over them i'm asking you lord to give me men godly men i'm grateful for women thank you lord for every godly mom and every godly wife and every godly grandmother with what i'm after lord jesus i've got to have some priests i've got to have some priests of the home i'm asking you for godly men godly daddies godly husbands godly single men i'm asking you lord to help us to understand the value of men that will be willing to lead and worship and praise holy god right now protect these homes protect this family we got these kids that have just graduated they're going into work they're going to college we're going to have to release them lord whether we like it or not whether we think they're ready or not we're going to have to release them lord i don't want to lose any of them out of one of them they've been in this church many of them for years lord it's not right for them to walk away it's not right for anyone to fall off the end of the planet right now i'm asking you god right now before the decision is ever made to pack up and go to moab but just one just just for one more time just just to pray and say god should i stay or should i go because i'm confident your word is going to speak to them get some root downward and you'll grow some fruit upward i'm asking you lord right now let some root grow deep get something something deep deep in the word deep into prayer deep in the ministry deep into serving lord oh jesus god of healing god of wholeness god of god god of harvest god of holiness i'm asking you lord right now precious people that are watching online lord that river and that bridge is a barrier to me but that river and that bridge is not going to keep the holy ghost out of windsor right now i pray for brother leonard and i pray for aileen and i pray for chris and i pray for sponsor and i pray for their little girl i pray lord amen for nathan i pray for their lord children i pray for you gets daughter i pray lord amen amen amen oh lord jesus i pray for nathan's mom i pray for those precious people i got friends i got relatives lord splashed all over this planet that are watching this state right now i'm asking you god would you use this ministry and use this method amen i can't clone myself i can't be in two places at once but you can because you know no better you know no boundary you're the god of space and time i'm asking you lord i'm the present one el shaddai the god who is more than enough i'm asking the lord right now heal the liver hallelujah hallelujah yeah just like that that's right [Music] not to hallelujah here we go [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is this is [Music] [Music] is [Music] you is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] we are here [Music] we need [Music] you

Channel: First Church Sterling Heights

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Id: SFkGa_wy-Gs

Length: 99min 21sec (5961 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 11 2021