Holy Spirit Directed Ministry by Jim Cymbala

there's a lot of causes and organizations and all of that and I really believe so much in what God has raised up Daniel Henderson to do with the six-four fellowship because if we can't agree on those things I don't know what we could ever agree on you're not going to get Calvinists together with our minions you're not going to get some image evangelicals together with people charismatic leanings but if you can't agree that we should give ourselves to the word in prayer I don't know what Bible we would be reading am i right can I get an amen here are you all allowed to say Amen in Texas here okay I'm not sure so I want to talk about that I want to talk about the combination of prayer and the word but mingled together with the missing element that we have to keep in front of us which is the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is the one who inspired that word he wrote the word this Bible was written by the Holy Spirit and he's the only one who can teach you the word the only one who gave us a spirit of Revelation so that we read and understand what is the meaning of it is the Holy Spirit he's the author and the interpreter when it comes to prayer you can say prayers but only the Holy Spirit can really teach you how to pray Paul tells us first-person plural including himself how about that for we know not how we ought to pray but who helps us the spirit helps us us come on Paul you now to pray you saw the Lord on the road to Damascus you're writing a third of the New Testament you don't know how to pray nope I not a safe prayers I learned that when I was a Pharisee but to really pray from my heart with faith with verbum see that takes the Holy Spirit so leading a church pastoring doing what God's called us all to do takes that balance again that only the Holy Spirit can give of the word and prayer and the gospel of Jesus Christ and a band you listen you know it's like it's like one of those chords pastors it's like one of those chords let's hope this thing is on if it's not it's okay but it's like one of those chords it's like one of those beautiful chords that my wife we'll hit and sometimes she's writing a song and I'll hear her hit this beautiful chord and I go to the behind her and she's writing a song and she's playing maybe four notes with her right hand and then a bass note with her left and that chord you know I can't play the piano but it's a beautiful chord so what is that chord you can't just take this note and say that's the court no that's one note in the chord that's only one note no then it's this now that's just one note in the court know it then it's this no that's just one note the beauty of the chord is you have to hit them all together at the same time and that's why Paul tells Timothy to do a lot of things at once first of all I meant want men everywhere to pray preach the word be instant in season and out season do the work of an evangelist find people who are apt to teach and train them so they can become leadership watch out for the widows and the people who are vulnerable take care of them well which are we supposed to do all of them and most churches I'm afraid we fall into the practice of being a 1 or 2 note Church I'm into praise and worship well that's great we need to praise and worship shouldn't we how many love to praise and worship just lift your hand up but that's only one note if you just have praise and worship the people will never learn the Word of God no we're not into praise and worship that's too emotional we're another word we're going to teach the word well that's good but without prayer that becomes very intellectual and heavy and dry am i right so all of us we got to root for each other and pray for each other that we hit all the notes do I get a witness here all the notes I'm struggling with that today all the notes but certainly prayer the word and dependence on the Holy Spirit is the substance of the New Testament church as we find it in the Bible now what American version we come up with or what we might need in England or anyplace else that's another matter but if we want to go by the outline given to us in Scripture we know that the word the preaching of the word the good news of Jesus teaching of the word surrounded by an atmosphere of Prayer energized all of it by the Holy Spirit that is what those fishermen and tax collectors started with I owe everything to people who pray I just turned to my friend Homer towns who I'm honored to know as a friend and told him that I'm so encouraged my wife and I that last night she called me today and told me that in the choir practice last night there was such a sweet time of prayer that got really ministered to the choir she has about 300 voices but on Tuesday night I was there and there were about 2,500 people there for the prayer meeting and all my goodness the Lord was there and we prayed and there was no choir and there was no big sermon there was nothing there was just calling on the name of the Lord men ought always to pray and not give up amen and if we pray like that you mean God's not going to do something come on now be real let's do real talk we're going to call on God and pray and say God you call us in the ministry we have to present the gospel in an alien culture and God will not help us know then that you got to throw away the Bible then throw away your Bible that's impossible no one has ever pray and sought the Lord and and God has never had not responded that has never happened blessed is the man who puts his trust in the Lord he'll never be ashamed right ask and you shall receive not going to chil be open seek and you'll find right but we have to be convinced of that just like we know the Lord is going to come again how many believe the Lord Jesus is going to come again just like that amen we got to get we got to know these things what I'm going to share with you here you got to believe this like the back of your hand you got to know this like it's an instinct you just know no God will do that that's why he put this story in the Bible when my mom and dad got married they had a she got pregnant and later on therefore in the first year of their marriage and she gave birth to a son my older brother and then she got pregnant about two years later 18 months later and she gave birth to a baby stillborn and he died while they wanted to have another child she couldn't get pregnant my mother's polish my father's Ukrainian my late father so now time months and months years went by couldn't get pregnant and they didn't want just one child so they were Christians fairly new Christians and they prayed and my mom said they prayed and said God I get they thought because of the complication of the loss of that second child that maybe she couldn't have any more babies they said God give us a baby and before that baby is born we give the baby to you we dedicate the baby to you and then I came along later on there was a sister born my sister I was the least of the three of them in terms of behavior wasn't a strong Christian troublemaker my dad started drinking I used that as justification for a lot of stuff then couldn't come in the house because was hellish a lot of violence stayed out in the parks and the playground shooting hoops that was my life that was my world wasn't strong Christian in high school wasn't a strong Christian in college but I'm in the one in the ministry and I can only yeah I know God is sovereign and he chooses these things but I got a link it to my mom and dad saying please God give us a baby and before he's even born we give him to you for your purposes how many believe God answers prayers like that can you lift your hair oh yeah so I'm the least of all of you but God has put me in the ministry and I want to talk to you about something so important but you gotta we got to believe this starting on the ministry I did not believe is like I believe it today but I want to believe in more you got to believe this this got to be instinct like when the doctor says sin and he taps your knee and then and your foot goes up by that it's got to be an instinct in us it's got to be absolutely rock-solid you can't be pulled away to the left or to the right you have to believe that God put this story in the Bible for a reason and I'm talking about the story that's found in acts 13 my friend Daniel Henderson and I were talking about this chapter over some barbecue last night now there were in Antioch in the church there as prophets and teachers barnabas simeon named Niger Lucius this Iranian Manson who was herod the tetrarch foster brother and Saul at Saul of Tarsus while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting while they were worshiping the Lord communing with the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said separate me said set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I've called them so after fasting and prayer and the laying on of hands they let them go they therefore being thus sent out by the Holy Spirit notice what's in there the church sent him out but now it says the Holy Spirit sent him out well who sent him out both the church and the Spirit they went down to Seleucia and then sailed to Cyprus having reached Salamis they began to announce the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews and they had John that's John mark as their assistant when they had gone through the whole length of the island as far as pathos they they're met with a Jewish magician and false prophet bar Jesus by name who was a friend of the proconsul Sergius Paulus that's a Roman official the proconsul was a man of keen intelligence he sent for Barnabas and Saul and he asked to be told the Word of God the gospel but LMS or the magician for such as the meaning of the name opposed them and tried to prevent the proconsul from accepting the faith then Saul who is also called Paul this is by the way the place in the Bible where his name changes Luke tells us that was filled with the Holy Spirit and fixing his eyes on LMS said you are full of every kind of emptiness and unscrupulous cunning you son of the devil and foe to all that is right will you never cease to misrepresent the straight paths of the Lord the Lord's hand is now upon you and you will be blind for a time and unable to see the light of day instantly there fell upon him amidst and the darkness and as he walked about he begged people to lead him by the hand then the proconsul Sergius Paulus seeing what had happened he believed no-kidding being struck with amazement at the teaching of the Lord now this story is put in the Bible for a reason you know we have so little of Jesus's life all the things he said and did John said it would fill up the whole world with books all that he said and did we have very few fragmentary things that Matthew Mark and Luke are repeated so many of them then John has some other unique ones but Jesus ministered for three and a half years day-in day-out morning noon and night think of all the things that he did that we don't know about and in the time of the book of Acts just think of all the things that happened to Paul and Peter that we don't know about and the other apostles God chose not to reveal it to us we don't need to know it he doesn't tell us what we want to know he gives us what we need to know so when you do find a story like this in the Bible it captures your attention that the Holy Spirit would anoint Luke and have him tell that story out of all the stuff Luke researched he's led by the spirit and inspired by the spirit to put this in the in Scripture now this happens in Antioch and it's right around this time where the whole focus of the book of Acts changes from Jerusalem to Antioch in chapter 11 of Acts we find out that from the persecution of the Christians people were flying about everywhere sharing the gospel and certain men from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Syria Antioch and Syria which is undergoing all this stuff in the news now all this killing and a church was begun there why because the hand of the Lord was with them oh my goodness would I love the hand of the Lord with me like that why was there a church because certain men didn't give us the names they weren't into hero pastors or hero evangelists back then they just said certain men from Cyprus - Cyrene went there but the hand of the Lord was with them and multitudes turned to the Lord I've often thought I'd rather live just a few years with they handled the Lord with me powerfully than live a long life just struggling in my own strength anybody here with me say Amen so that church begins and then Saul of Tarsus ends up going there and Barnabas ends up there from Jerusalem now that's a heavy weight staff in a church you got a pole you got Saul of Tarsus you got Barnabas and others prophets and teachings and now they practice what six-four is all about they begin to seek the Lord and worship the Lord remember praying always has to be mingled with praise and thanksgiving or it can get very very depressing I wish that caution the people in our church okay remember now no matter what how your heart is broken and what you're asking God for always being mingling some Thanksgiving remember Philippians 4:6 be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving make your needs known to God sometimes I hear people's prayer and it's just such a laundry list of negativity and problems that it overwhelms you you get depressed hearing a guy pray but you throw in some praise and thanksgiving it builds your faith because God who is how God is faithful isn't God faithful isn't God faithful God is so faithful so as they're ministering to the Lord and waiting on God and praying and not rushed Oh brothers and sisters pastor listen to me you can have instant potatoes you can have instant coffee you can have instant a lot of things you can have instant God they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength and the idea of a rush service with a with a with a line of what's going to happen every minute I was just somewhere recently at some large conference and they said okay pastor Jim they mic me up and they said okay here's the thing for the service the not the menu the script for the service so okay the praise and worship is going to go exactly 12 and a half minutes and then we're gonna have a guy come up and he's going to share something for three and a half minutes and we're going to have a special song by the worst by the choir the song is four and a half minutes then if someone's going to come up and prepare for the offering that's going to take one minute he's going to pray for another minute before they offer the offering song is going to take four minutes then they're going to introduce you you have twenty-one minutes to speak okay then we want you not to lead people to pray as we know you want to but we're we got to keep our eye on the clock here so then we're we're going to we want to turn it the choir is going to do an anthem god Bless America or something so and there the whole of me thing was lined up and then after they gave it to me and I said whatever because where you go someone you just want to serve amen you serve you go with the program then they began to pray Lord Holy Spirit come and move among us today wind of God breathed upon where would he fit it he's not even in the agenda he's not even in the script how would he get in you think the meetings back in the book of Acts were the way we had him no I'll be honest we could be real you think they were oh but brother that will lead to fanaticism no you could say anything you want I'm asking you a question do you think Paul was constrained by that and what troubles me and bothers me let's just take this city this great city in this great area strange to me that pastors tell me they can't hold the people but for an hour an hour and 10 minutes they get you get itchy I want to leave but if the Cowboys are playing and the game goes into overtime nobody complains nobody complains or they watch a movie or go to a movie or watch a football game nobody complains like wow this game is going long nobody says that but but church is going long pastors if that's the kind of congregations we have maybe we better check ourselves what are we producing and would heaven be heaven to these people no games no movies no no cell phones no texting I mean wouldn't the world we're going to do up there how many are looking forward to being in the presence of God without n but if we're not training people and seeing the Holy Spirit acclimate their hearts to a loving the presence of the Lord something must be wrong something got to be wrong I'm not legalistic I don't want to judge anyone but that just doesn't sit right with me Church let's get out of here but in his presence there's fullness of joy well then how come you want to get out so quick am I wrong or right brothers and sisters so that that's probably not a good good a good symptom that's not a good sign so here they were taking time to wait upon the Lord to seek the Lord and the spirit moved and we're going to see the word preached but here's what I want you to notice whenever your church or my church or you and your staff however whenever we seek the Lord and wait on him whenever we part our hearts to God and go back to primitive religion couple pastors on my staff went recently or a couple years ago to one of these Church growth gurus and went to the conference and you know people going they were there two and a half days and they came back and they had learned some interesting things but mostly technique in style not not much substance and they mentioned one thing that did bother us pastor was in the two and a half days we were there and we went to every session there was not one meant given to prayer not one minute not sixty Seconds and there was not one verbal reference to the Holy Spirit now what would they were two about lights how to do PowerPoint how to utilize your space better what colors on the walls are more comfortable to people is that what this is all about that's why Christ died on the cross that girl that I've mentioned in the past is earlier today in my church that we're fighting for a fourteen-year-old who's cutting herself and take trying to take her life now it's set two or three times but she wrote with a knife on her inner thigh help heelp lights are going to change them now dead serious what world what world of those people live we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities you think principalities and powers care about the lighting I'm all for lighting use the best lighting you know change whatever colors you want have Power Point use whatever you want to use but don't tell me that's what the Christianity is about can we all say amen to that it's interesting to me it's interesting to me Ravi in Rouen Sakurai's my friend and I were talking about this it's interesting that Christianity is now going over and through the most massive decline probably in history right now in America probably real born-again evangelical by believing Jesus is the only way of salvation Christians part of the population see the nine percent or as low as six that's from five different Christian polling agencies it's interesting that we're having the most books written and most conferences about church growth and church to grow at which church is in decline we have the most books and conference about leadership and pastors acquitting at a record rate and more than fifty percent say they would quit the ministry next week if they could only get a job to pay the bills that's from focus on the family so behind a lot of the posturing and the pulpit and God is on the throne and praise God all the time and all that there's a lot of defeated people no I don't know what to do and every time they try to redefine the church or go to a new church growth scheme or strategy they get further discouraged because it doesn't work brother this is I want to declare to you nothing works God works no song works no mood works no church no church formula works don't copy anyone get we got to get in touch with God for for for your own sake don't copy any church don't go and copy anyone learn the influence but don't copy anyone God wants you to be that way he would have made you that way and isn't it interesting that the church the country that now has the most Christians in the world is is mainland China Ravi and I were over in Hong Kong ministering to underground church leaders home church leaders half of whom had been in jail I felt so unworthy didn't even speak to them and all that we're teaching is a is a necessity to have Church they wouldn't even know what you're talking about they're meeting in secret they don't even know the names of other Christians in the city because if somebody got arrested they might give up names and they're multiplying multiplying multiplied to depending on the word of God the gospel prayer they have no lights no power point of nothing but they have everything they have Jesus they have Jesus so the early church is ministering and here's what will always happen when you and I give ourselves to this prayer that Daniel Anderson six fours is encouraging us to you give yourselves to the word in prayer and you're open to the Holy Spirit this is what we'll always have it will always happen listen to me now I've made more mistakes than all of you put together I feel but I want to tell you this you can take this to the bank this is what will always happen when you seek the Lord number one you will give Holy Spirit guidance and direction if anyone's here today and you're facing you don't know what to do you're not sure what the next step is if we seek the Lord give ourselves open ourselves to the Holy Spirit give ourselves to the Word of God because you can't pray effectively unless you fill with the Word of God like George Miller said faith comes by hearing hearing by the Word of God and you need faith when you pray as they're waiting on God how about being in that service as they're waiting on God and worshiping and fasting the Holy Spirit says probably through one of the gifts of the Spirit out loud separate me Paul and Barnabas Saul and Barnabas for the work that I've called them to do talk about drama talk about Holy Ghost hysteria wonderful edifying the Holy Spirit speaks not in an audible voice but through some problem had to be someone in the congregation and the word the the names are we would say that's ludicrous that's impossible but that's our lack of faith that's in the Bible that we're pounding and we want to argue with agnostics no this is the Word of God this is what that Word of God says that as they gave themselves to the Lord and the presence of God and the word and to seeking the Lord the Lord said separate me Paul and Barnabas to the work that I've called them to do and every time you and I will seek the Lord and really give ourselves to it be radical about it you know be like radical about it the Lord will always give us it has to happen sooner or later we don't know how long they were doing this before the Lord spoke the Spirit spoke notice the personality of the Holy Spirit their separate me Paul and Saul and Barnabas to the work that I've called them I the spirit the Spirit knows what you're supposed to preach on this Sunday even though you might have something else scheduled the Holy Spirit knows who in your church is the hand of the Lord is upon that you need to take time and develop the Holy Spirit is the only one who can direct us to a building program you do it without him leading you can get in a whole lot of trouble because nowhere in the Bible doesn't say I can do what I want and God's going to pay the bills that has not found anywhere in the scripture but when the Holy Spirit leads us to do something we know God is going to do it God is going to do it with the Holy Spirit lead us and then let us drop our problem is we make unilateral decisions without seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and that's very strong now in places that should know better people are mocking the idea that you seek God for his will I've heard that from young preacher older preachers you don't pray about these things just whatever you feel like doing God could care less where would you get that from scripture later on in this book Paul Paul is now called Paul and he's with his missionary team and he wants to go up into Asia remember that story to preach the gospel but the Spirit forbids him so then he wants to go to Bethany and the Spirit of Jesus stops him why doesn't he just what he wants to do like God could care less marry anyone you want oh how many believed that God who knows the number of hairs on our head he has the one we're supposed to marry how many believe that how many do you believe that lift your hand up if you believe that well of course you just marry anyone I want and then say God bless it I don't humble myself and say Lord lead me to the one that you picked out for me he that does the will of God shall abide forever but who the will of God in terms of moral teaching is found in the scripture you don't pray and say God can I steal this money from my job you don't pray about that the Bible says don't steal that's tempting God but there are a lot of other decisions in life you have no idea I have no idea what to do but the Spirit will guide us they didn't notice separate how would they know the separate Saul and Barnabas for a missions trip they didn't have a clue to do that no software is going to tell you that the Holy Spirit is going to tell you that and they didn't do a personality study is solve fit do they go together how will they do in foreign environments I mean come on how many I thank God for the Holy Spirit that might say amen to that I'm not being simplistic I'm not being simplistic and I'm not trying to be anti diluvian what I'm saying is this is what scripture tells us if you honor the Holy Spirit he'll honor you he'll honor me if you're if you and I feel we're too smart and don't need his help you'll say go for it but I'm not I'm not part of that by the way can I just suggest this also when you're preaching how many want when you preach you want the help of the Holy Spirit just lift your hand you won the help here's what I've learned if you mix anything except glorifying Christ the Holy Spirit will draw his influences if you want to show off yourself and have people think you're clever and smart you can do it but the Holy Spirit says no no no I was not sent to glorify you you're on your own good do it I was only sent to glorify Christ either you want to glorify your denomination like it's special you're on your own he was not sent to glorify any denomination because they don't exist to God there are no work but there are no Assemblies of God or Baptists or Calvary chapel's to God that doesn't exist the only has one body how could there be division in the one body so you and I bring up any pet doctrine or Brooklyn Tabernacle ism you want to just glorify anything but Jesus and you'll see it withdraw the Holy Spirit but if we want to just lift up Jesus what we could see the Holy Spirit too because when he sees them we only want to glorify Christ and have no agenda he'll come in rivers that we have never even imagined so you got a no today no this whatever you're facing whatever dilemma whatever decision with the staff if we seek the Lord he will direct our steps we will hear a voice saying behind us this is the way walk in scripture tells us all doctrinal matters you don't pray about that but there are so many other decisions like a building program like hiring a new person like who to lead worship like what songs to lead in worship like what to do when you get up and you feel the dry spirit in the church how many pastors here have noticed there's a different spirit in every meeting that we have in church am i right or wrong different atmosphere so what do you do if you feel like the whole churches are yeah they're like comatose what do you do the Holy Spirit knows how he Sperry knows what to do at all times and he was sent to help us build the Church of Christ if we seek the Lord the Holy Spirit will lead us and this terrible anti supernaturalism that's in so many churches that Mock the fact that God will lead us in guidance that's horrible that's Grievous that's why the Spirit of God is so not felt in so many assemblies because they mock his power they act like they don't need him look at me if I don't have the Holy Spirit help me what am i coming to I'm in downtown Brooklyn trying to do some good in the hood as they say got all these kinds of problems walking in the building and I didn't go to seminary without the Holy spirt well I do you're listening to me a migrate order no mice great preacher have a great speaking voice no so without the Holy Spirit what are my wife and i gonna do she can't read or write music and she's directing a choir not just amazing they sang at the they were invited in July long before the election was decided to sing by Senator Schumer to sing a new version that Carol made of the Battle Hymn of the Republic at the inauguration anyone see them sing there and and and I just thought to myself Schumer or Senator Schumer came by the church for the last practice he want to hear what they had put together massive orchestra arrangement very beautiful she's such a genius and she doesn't know what she's doing the joke in our church is she doesn't know what she's doing she just keeps doing it every Sunday and we're all happy and then just keep doing it even though you don't know what you're doing can't can't imagine written 130 40 songs and can't read the sheet music for any of the songs she's written won six Grammy Awards and now Senator Schumer came and said to them you're going to be singing to six to eight hundred thousand people live there but it's going to be televised to 1 billion people around the world a woman who can't read music was leading people who had fasted and pray because they wanted to glorify God and it so transcended the smallness of politicians and presidents and Republicans and Democrats what's that all about compared to God God is awesome can we say Amen the back in the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across this as he died to make men holy let us die to make men free as he died to make men holy so you and I can know this we will be led by God not maybe we will be led by God that's why this story is in there God will show you in the church the purse that the talent in your church he'll he'll lift Hill elevate them there'll be some sign he'll just show us if we get our churches pray and waiting on the Lord seeking God things will happen led by the Holy Spirit in all those realms where it's not a moral thing you know if there's no command to to build a building there's no command in the Bible not to build a building we got to be led by the Holy Spirit number two if you and I are seeking the Lord and giving ourselves to the word into prayer and we're open to the Holy Spirit you will face demonic opposition take that to the bank also God will not only direct you but the devil will come against you when they go to the island of Cyprus they get to Paphos and there they get to this very intelligent Roman official named Sergius Paulus and he actually want to talk about an open door that's another thing that happens when you pray you get open doors but with every open door there's opposition usually like Paul says the wider effectual door is opened for me and they're many adversaries so surges falls wants to hear the gospel now that's the bomb he actually wants to hear them tell to him about the gospel talk about an open door but there's this guy Simon bar Jesus Elemis who's twisting and turning against Paul and and Barnabas he's whispering into the ear and leave that chill this is a budget chunk don't you listen to them they're troublemakers they're against the worship of Caesar you'll get in trouble you believe that when you and I give ourselves to God and prayer we want to be used by God and we get radical and desperate about it we will be directed by the Lord but there will be satanic attacks that's something I notice I've been doing a series recently about it stop for a while we'll see where that goes but I've been thinking a lot about spiritual warfare it's very hard for Christians especially past us to talk about spiritual warfare because we live in such a weird day that if you even admit you're being attacked or that you're involved in it like don't you have the victory brother you're seated with Christ in heavenly places but isn't it something that Paul said first-person plural again we wrestle not against flesh and blood but our struggle against principalities power he's known about himself I've been doing this long enough to not only know spiritual warfare for myself in fact I've gone through a recent season now maybe it's connected to something I'm trying to write but Saints come in hot and heavy and years ago many years ago my wife and I were attacked through Satan attacking our oldest girl Chrissy and all the pastor's have talked to me and shared privately with me the attacks they go through of discouragement distraction temptation oh my goodness we should never say one unkind word about each other we should always be praying and loving each other you have no idea what the people go in the aisle you're sitting in right now they all look good you have no idea what anybody's going through here broken hearts bewilderment deep discouragement semi depressed fighting for the joy of the Lord these battles are hard it can be like Satan using a man to try to turn Sergius Paulus against the gospel or could be against your own spiritual person you know I'm reminded about what Ruth Graham said before she died dr. Billy Graham's wife you remember that they interviewed her in the 70s late 70s early 80s when dr. Graham was that you know voted every year at the most admired man in America and he was at the height of his ministry let's say in the 60s 70s and they interviewed her and they said wow you're married to Billy Graham the most admired person who's you know with these Crusades all around the world I would imagine you know you - the way you live and so close to God you never mrs. Graham you've never contemplated the divorce have you and she would never divorce murder a number of times I've contemplated murder because Billy Graham is attacked - everybody's attacked and it's a mark of the unreality among us that it's hard to get people to pray and even open up and say pray for me amazing that Paul says over and over again pray for me to the Christians you know this one guy who got made a mess of his life decades ago and became a byword in America just messed up his life and they asked him well when you were going through all of that why didn't you have somebody pray for you he said why because I pray for people they don't pray for me but how many in your ministry for the Lord as a Christian how many I felt your need of someone praying for you now and again lift your hand up huh I'm telling you you can pray for me I'm trying to write this book and it's like the hardest thing I've ever tried to do different than anything I've ever written I just feel like Satan sometimes trying to strangle me so when we give ourselves to God when we give ourselves to Acts 6 for and prayer and ministering to the Lord and being open to the Holy Spirit Satan is going to come against them don't think that if Satan is attacking you something's wrong usually it's something's right because if you were sleeping and you were a Deadhead he would leave you alone he would leave us alone but when he sees that somebody is ready to be used by God in a serious about God he comes in with his biggest guns just think are for Rick Warren what must Rick Warren be gone don't you know what the devil sang to him come on you chump telling people how great Jesus is and there's your boy committed suicide you don't think he's saying that too well of course he's the accuser of the men in the women the brothers and the sisters and it happens to all of us I know a well-known guy who had been used by by God to see many many drug addicts set free then his own son got hooked on on painkillers oxycodone oxycontin and all that stuff and the guy opened up to me and he said Jim pray for me because the devil just comes and says you helped all those people that's good because I got you a boy how do you think you think it's easy to get up and preach know we're all in the battle and we've got to be real about that and pray for each other so we're in a battle Paul was in a battle if Satan attacked Jesus and tempted him three times she'd think he's scared of us and remember not just those three times he would he waited for a more opportune moment who knows how Jesus was attacked who knows the scripture doesn't tell us about what we need to know so if you're here today and the enemies are coming against your church your ministry your preaching discouragement or whatever that's okay God's going to help you I'll tell you what else is going to happen I close when we give ourselves to the word in prayer when we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit when we try to have something more than American churchianity when we want to go outside the envelope and back to what the Bible talks about they'll not only be absolute direction from God there will be direction from God he will direct us in the way we should go just like he led the Israelites just like he led Jesus just like he led all he will lead us and there will be attacks from the enemy there will be attacks when Carol and I first went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle there were 12 or 15 people in it first offering was $85 total tithes and offerings she got a job I got a job second job made thirty eight hundred dollars the first year in the ministry fifty five hundred dollars the second year jumped to seventy two hundred I was in Fat City there in that third year seventy two hundred dollars but that was nothing it was like all hell broke loose we didn't know we didn't know anything I never thought that there'd be a church of ten eleven thousand people coming in and out every Sunday I never thought of that never thought of the influence he would give my wife or that I would ever be able to write a book you're just trying to get through the day all kinds of crazy things happen guy threatened to kill me some guy wasn't wiring was bad up in his head came in this church knocked the door open right in the middle of the meeting had called the police I stalled until the cops got there then he called me that night after the cops had taken him out because I wouldn't press charges said he would kill me the next week just everything my wife had nine voices in the choir beginning to were tone deaf on top of that and they never left the choir they stayed in like for 20 years that's the truth now you get a test and you get a voice test you get an interview but back then if you could walk you're in the choir or get up here well one of the tenors got one of the Altos pregnant and when you go from nine to seven and you're in a little church everyone's to every kind of attack some fake Minister was sent from South Dakota tried to steal the church leadership of the church attacked me with his wife for like four or five hours in an apartment in the church like I was whacked by demons I was very young and strong then but but it put me on a couch or sofa in my living room like for two days because just just withstanding this demonic attack so if you're here today and you're being attacked in some way praise God God's going to do something why would the devil be so upset her Dave Wilkerson preached a great sermon in my church the adulteress seeks the precious life and he spiritualize it and said when Satan knows that God is going to use someone that's the life he goes after that's why God Saint went after Nicky cruised the way he did mother was a witch father was crazy couldn't speak Spanish got moved out of Puerto Rico to New York when he was just a kid then went in a grade school before he could learn English a teacher corrected them and he went and grabbed the teacher held him outside the window of the fourth storey building they kicked him out of school now he couldn't speak English or Spanish he still can't speak English respect he's my dear friend but I tell Mickey I have no idea what you're saying sometimes they dedicated him to Satan when he was little how would they know that how would they know that the one they dedicated Satan would be the great evangelist that God would use so if you're under attack today praise God because here's what when we're attacked if we're given ourselves to the Holy Spirit and a word in prayer God will give us holy spirit solutions Holy Spirit solution it's happening in an instant and now for no small reason does the Bible say and solves also call Paul filled with the Holy Spirit that means ie controlled by the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit indwells every believer but please don't try to convince me that every Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit controlled by the whisper that is impossible that is impossible otherwise Laodicea is a spirit-filled Church yet Jesus is going to vomit it out of his mouth one of the qualifications for a deacon was had to be known to be filled with the spirit and with wisdom Fijians 5 tells us keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit well if all Christians are always filled with the Holy Spirit why would Paul waste his time and say keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit we need we need the Holy Spirit every day to come and take control of us because I preached a lot of sermons not filled with the Holy Spirit trust me the Holy Spirit comes on saw who's called Paul we'll call him Paul now and he says how would he know to do this and if anyone did this in church we would probably call 911 fill with the Holy Spirit you son of the death full of mischief yo you're gonna be well he wasn't from Brooklyn he didn't say yo but a cloud is gonna come over you and you're going to be blind for a season because you try to pervert the good ways of the Lord how would he know to do that what's seminary taught him that well no seminary teaches you to do that the Holy Spirit shows you to do that he got an insight by the spirit of what God wanted to do because God never gives us the right to blind people because if we pastors had the right to blind people Oh there'd be a lot of churches just with people walking around oh my goodness the Deacon board would just be like wow no where where I'm going am I right or wrong but you studied the book of Acts they always knew what to do they always know what to do you put them in prison they knew what to do they know what to do because when you give yourselves to the word and the prayer and you're led by the Holy Spirit you get direction from God you get opposition from Satan but God gives you the word of Direction the word of solution I should say of what to do and the dude now is blind and Sergius Paulus says check this teaching of it this is knowable this is no God Apollo or Neptune or any of that stuff this is the real deal oh we need a demonstration of that kind of power of the Holy Spirit don't we okay so and he said it with boldness Christians who are filled with the spirit are never passive and scared for God has not given us a spirit of fear you're trying to please everyone oh they might leave and take their tithes and all of that that's a bad way to spend your life trying to keep some families in the church who are going to cause havoc anyway might as well just do it in love the right way but you got to be bold sometimes you gotta preach what God wants you to preach so this is true I close with it you can write it off as fanaticism whatever your theology tells you I'm just telling you and God will bear witness that this happened this way so back in the day before we moved in this present facility we were in a situation where we were looking for a new building we had a theater nice theater that could fit twelve fourteen hundred people and we went from I met you in that building it was and we could go we would packed almost 2,000 people in there we're using all other spaces and we went from two meetings to three meetings and then we realized they'd even though we were starting other churches we needed a new facility so I told the pastors look our time might be up here let's all take a week to fast and pray come back no no voting though unless we all feel it I'm not going in from the church if we're going to have to vote about this I'm not going with a 4-3 vote or 5-2 vote no no no if this is it God will show us all because we want to do his will right pastor as they all said yes they all came back and said our time is up we got to look for something else I said okay but I feel we should go to a fourth meeting so we went to a fourth meeting nine twelve three and six every Sunday each service two hours long when it was over they just got a body bag from me and sent me put a little stamp mail that mail that boy home that's why I looked so old I did that for six years I'm really 33 years old I just turned so so one of those days and I would go to an apartment change my shirt try to rest up I went through some dark tunnels in there boy Wow nerves emotions ministering to people praying for people is not easy I don't know how it is where you are but nothing's normal where I am everything's like crazy so one afternoon service the 3 o'clock service I see my wife when I walk in I said what are you doing today she said I'm gonna sing two songs I have just two songs the one I practice on Friday Friday I don't feel we should sing that today I'm going to do two other song as I said fine oh I'm on the platform we introduced the choir to singing for some reason I felt prompted to go sit in the front row and there's you know two hundred and fifty voices let's say back then singing two hundred something I want to sit in the front row and watch them sing rather than be trapped up there and be a distraction to the people so the first song is sung by a former crack addict we used to disappear we're just talking about him in the car today weren't we passed a cry but my friend late friend and Calvin hunt who used to disappear for four or five days get his check and disappear for four days in the crack homes where construction made good money but his family never saw his God was cracked so he's going to sing the song about redemptions power and I go and sit down there and I'm sitting in the first verses halfway through minding my own business not looking for any trouble from anyone and suddenly the Holy Spirit comes upon me just like by the Elmer town said he was somewhere and and the Lord spoke to him and just he felt the presence of the Lord you know there's the manifest presence of the Lord we know God is here today right we know the Lord is here where two or three are gathered sometimes God makes himself known the Holy Spirit makes themselves known in palpable waves discern by the spirit so high Spirit comes upon me I feel and says get up go quickly go tell them I love them go call them to me now go quickly go now I go nowhere this is the devil tempting me to do something weird I made that serious here I know it sounds funny but that's what my thought process was no no go go now go quickly go up tell them no lord I can't preach the gospel now we haven't take the offering yet don't you know how these things work I mean you have praise and worship you do announcements and the offering try to you know understand how we do these things isn't that so typical the way we think we think so strange but we think it's normal but it's so strange no you go now and I have this aversion in me to being weird and you know a lot of people who want to act like they're led by the Spirit they're just weird but they think by acting weird that that's very like mystical you know but some folks are just strange and and I didn't want to go up and do something because I have a lot of faults look at me I have a lot of faults but one of them is I take serious what I'm doing right now what I'm speaking what I do in Brooklyn I take that serious no go now go now and now it's a battle inside of me Danny I just I got like a knife sword this piercing they go now so he's singing the verses the chorus second chorus key change my heart is pounding in fact right now it's just speeded up a little bit every time I think of this I remember how nervous I was then because I don't like to judge you know you're doing God's work you just this is we're not selling computers here we're presenting Christ you can't fool around with it this is serious this is life and death so the song is just resolving the last chord I come jolting for flying out on my seat I woke up on the steps of the platform my wife is directing as she's resolving in and she looks at me as if to say you know I said two songs what he coming up here now and I go and I grab the microphone and I hold Calvin and I say Calvin you got 60 90 seconds till tell everybody quickly what Jesus did in your life he stands there takes the microphone meat from me like he knew I was going to do it and he says oh yeah here's how I was my god was crack my god it was not Jesus that I was saying about my god was crack I was about to lose my wife my children I made this money that was my god I disappeared in there I ended up living in a dog house in the yard watching the drug dealers stuff which he hid in a dog and a big doghouse I lived there in squalor and filth and that was my god and he just take 90 seconds I take the microphone from him the choir standing they know something's going down and I grab the mic and I present the gospel in what four minutes for five minutes if it takes longer than that you're not preaching the gospel you know except you become like a little child you can't enter the kingdom of heaven some people's presentation of the gospel you need two years of college just to understand what they're saying how could that be the gospel of Jesus when people are illiterate all over the world I've been in the mountains of Peru I've been all over South America I've been in I just can't last year was in Bangladesh and all of that and and we're talking about stuff that should well anyway I preach the gospel I make an invitation choir still standing there people now come flying out of their seats people coming down from the balcony coming from down from downstairs choirs just standing there my wife's behind there she goes - keyboard begins to play and and I see this white kid about 18 he's crying like a baby over there I see a mother I see some children I see husband guys coming down look like they been on drugs or whatever has happened and it's just just only something God could do and we Minister and I pray with them I leave them in the sinner's prayer they pray out loud I say okay look we're in the middle of the meeting now I don't know what exactly we're going to do but but once you go back to your seats and then we have literature for you for you and we want to get your names we can't do it now so what should we do and I'm thinking out loud so you know what we'll take the offering a little while let's take the offering now and the choir will say hey folks don't want to show if they want to show let me go to Broadway we're going to church you want to meet with God what would you want to show for some smooth things seamless transition like transition and all that is that what people need the guys battling smoking weed in downtown Brooklyn do you think he wants to show what's a show go to go to Broadway they got great ones we want to meet with God so meeting goes on I preached a little shorter the choirs just beautiful service I go up change my shirt rest to come back do it again at 6 o'clock go home and a bodybag just so tired so Monday is a day off I just recuperate Tuesday I'm in church this is what I'm about to tell you the truth before holy God so my daughter sue my middle daughter working in tapes and orchestrations the music department she walks in my office the middle of the and I could tell she had been emotional and I said what's wrong she said daddy god it's awesome I said what do you mean she said daddy goddess Hoss I said I know so what what happened she said I just got a call from Dallas that and a man got on the phone and he said I want the Sheep use it for a song you sing in your church she said what's the song he told her she said I'm sorry we don't have sheep easy for that song he said no I want you singing in your church I want I want the sheet use it for it she said well no look when our choir makes a CD they make a choral book out of it and that music is sung in a lot of different places but the song you just mentioned we don't we have never recorded unless it's recorded we don't get no I want that song young lady I want the song I want the sheet music I want that song that song is just so precious to me and then she slipped and she said well you know what I'll tell my mom and next time she does a CD maybe she'll include that song he's what do you mean your mom who are you she said my name is Susan symbol of Petre I'm the pastor and Carol's a middle daughter he said okay and once you tell your daddy so that's how they say it in Texas right not your father there are you daddy I want you to tell you daddy something I'm a businessman my wife and I have a 17 18 year old kid who's as far away from God even though we raised them in the things of God he's as far away from God as you can get wrong friends dabbling in bad things so my wife and I we've been praying for him but we can't get through so we made a strategy I told him listen son I'm going to New York on a business trip you come with us I'll do my business on Friday you'd be with your mom on Saturday we'll go to a Broadway show we'll take you to a great restaurant and then we'll go home on Sunday but our whole thing was we were going to bring them to your church the trap like a Holy Ghost strategy so we have the weekend we check out the hotel we get jump in a cab we're heading to your facility I take out my itinerary and I go oh no my secretary blew it she didn't put us on the late flight to Dallas she put us on to this other flight I never noticed that oh no we're not gonna be able to stay for the whole meeting and we spent all this money brought our son here been praying killing ourselves leaving God for him so so we came on Sunday to three o'clock service knowing that we had a lead you know well maybe we could hear that choir we do play that music and my son half likes it so we're in the in the balcony we got a seat way up in the balcony somewhere and then the choir gets up to sing and then out of that after the first song I'm watching my clock your dad jumps out of the seat like he was shot by some kind of gun and he runs up on the platform and he grabs the mic and hands it back to this guy was a crack addict and he tells him testify and he shares about how he used to live in a dog house and he'd gone into crack houses and then your dad grabs the microphone back your daddy grabs the microphone back and he starts preaching the gospel and the meeting isn't even a half hour old and he makes an invitation and when he does my son is the first one to get up and he comes down to the front your daddy looked over at him and so I'm crying and weeping and my wife and I are just looking at each other like what and then he prays over everyone and he sends everybody back to their seat and we're waiting up in the balcony in a minute he gets there we grab our cats and coats and we go out the door we grab a cab and we get to LaGuardia and we get on the flight back to Dallas and while my wife and I are sitting tell your daddy that while we're sitting the airplane we look across the aisle at our boy and it's not the same boy we came with it's a boy the boy that we raised come on let's let's do put our hands together so they pray we were by the grace of God open to the Holy Spirit in the church you say to me would God change a meeting for a 16 17 year old boy yep how many believe you change your service yeah and what is the order of service and what is the order of service the Holy Spirit is the order of service let's pray somebody Plitt come and play if you're here tonight we're going to sing he you are stronger worship team come on up all of you you did so good we're going to sing that song triumphantly you are stronger God you will lead us in the way we should go when Satan comes against us like a flood you're going to raise up a standard no matter how you he attacks you're going to help me you're going to help my brothers and sisters for we are more than conquerors through him who loved us and when the enemy does come and we're not sure what to do you're going to give us Holy Spirit solutions no matter how crazy it gets we're not going to be discouraged we're going to be encouraged thank you for calling us into the ministry and giving us the Word of God and the throne of grace and the power of the Holy Spirit [Music] if you're here today and you're facing a decision of some kind layperson pastor's wife pastor leader whatever but you need a word from the Lord you need some direction from God in two hours days weeks months to come you want God to show you what to do you don't want to make a mistake there's some decision you got to make in your ministry your church whatever your finances whatever just get up out of your seat and come up and stand with me we'll sing together with you at least just come anybody got to make a decision I believe what you preached I want God to know lead me Holy Spirit lead me Holy Spirit come and stand here don't kneel and if you would mind just come and stand make more room for more people become anybody here under attack by the enemy and you don't mind admitting it the enemy is trying to pull you away distract you discourage you trip you up make you feel pity for yourself a victim victimization get up out of your seat and say pastor Jim like you have had so many times I am under an attack by the enemy but I know that I'm calling on God he's gonna give me the victory I'm gonna resist the devil he will flee from me he will flee from you can come up out of your seat I know that takes a little more extra grace and humility but you come finally is there anybody who needs some Holy Spirit solutions to dilemmas that are facing you and they're time sensitive they are time sensitive you need God to help you like right quick get about your seat and come like something good just blow up just ruin everything [Music] they're gonna lead us in a second and that's how we'll conclude the meeting tonight but I did want a chance to pray over you not that I'm anybody God knows but we have power through the name of Jesus only would you lift up one hand a little bit with me just lift up a hand as a sign of worship and it's a sign of need and as a sign of faith just lift up a hand that's biblical Old Testament and New Testament lift up holy hands father god I thank you that you have called us in the ministry and I thank you that when we give ourselves to you to prayer to worship to be led by the Holy Spirit when we ask to be filled with both your word and your spirit you promise God that you would direct us in the way that we should go so I'm asking from my brothers and sisters who are facing a fork in the road show that which way to go don't let any pastor here make a decision based on human intelligence but let him be led by the Spirit of God don't let him copy what another church is doing let him be led by God don't let him copy the denominational model but let him be led by the Holy Spirit of God I pray for anyone and every one of us that is under special attack of the devil in the day of evil that you'll be able to stand God the Holy Spirit strengthened us in the inner person and make me and make my brothers and sisters strong in the inner person Lord be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armor of God and Lord whoever is facing some emergency right now with their own child what do i do what do I say how do I react to this God give Holy Ghost solutions to what we're facing and we promise tonight God we will give you the praise just like I gave you all the praise for what you did in that meeting Lord we will give you honor and praise and others will praise and adore you for your goodness as we share it more so just know that you'll get all the glory Lord you'll get all the praise forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one [Music] we love you Lord and we pray [Music]

Channel: SermonIndex.net

Views: 56,257

Rating: 4.7436762 out of 5

Keywords: Revival, Character Of God, Free Sermons, Video Sermons, Jesus Christ, What Is The Gospel, SermonIndex, What Is The Truth, Jim Cymbala

Id: PIgllS6mchY

Length: 68min 52sec (4132 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 27 2016