May 4, 2014 - Carter Conlon - Finding Strength In The Fire

praise God I want to talk to you this morning about finding strength in the fire finding strength in the fire mark chapter 14 please if you'll go there Gospel of Mark chapter 14 and I would like to speak to those that are going through a fire at the moment and you're wondering where am I going to find the strength to get through this how am I going to I've been there I know what that feels like so I'm not just bringing you something that's just strictly theological but I've lived through this I've known what it's like to have despair tug at my heart and to wonder where the strength is going to come from to get through tomorrow and it's also for us as a body collectively because I do believe that it's about a fired about to break out throughout this world as this world launches its all-out assault against Christ and everything righteous there's a fire it's about to break out in every society and you and I are going to have to have strength to get through we're going to need the strength that only God can give we're going to have to find it now very very hard to find that strength in the midst of a time of panic you need to find it beforehand get oil in your lamp now my brother my sister lord I thank you God for this word I thank you God for the strength that you give Lord to stand to represent you I've never ever stood in my own strength God you give always more than we're able to bring to you and you take the little we have you multiply it and then you begin to feed thousands of people with it this all belongs to you this is your word unless you quicken it it's just information you're the only one that can make it burn and live within our hearts you're the only one who can speak it and cause it to create life it's you Jesus the glory goes to you god almighty keep us from ever even thinking that we have any more part in this than being invited by you by grace on this journey I thank you God that you take us in our foolishness and our weakness in our nothingness that you might become everything the testimony might be of you Jesus and not of us and so today we give you the glory even before your word is spoken for every heart that will be strengthened every tactic of the devil that will be destroyed every set of eyes that will be opened God Almighty every victory that will be won we give you the glory now before we even go into the battle we thank you for it God with all my heart in Jesus name mark chapter 14 finding strength in the fire beginning at verse 32 and they came to a place which was named gasps Emma knew and he said to his disciples sit ye here while I shall pray and he took with him Peter and James and John and began to be sorrow and to be very heavy and he said to them my soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death tarry ye here and watch and he went forward a little and fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from him and he said I have a father all things are possible unto thee take away this cup from me nevertheless not what I will but with that will and he came and found them sleeping and said to Peter Simon sleepest thou couldst I'll not watch one hour watch you and pray lest you enter into temptation the Spirit truly is ready but the flesh is weak and again he went away and prayed and spoke the same words and when he returned he found them asleep again for their eyes were heavy and neither wished they what to answer him in other words it basically it says they didn't know they had no more excuses they didn't know really what to say and he came the third time and said to them sleep on now and take your rest it is enough the hour has come behold the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners now I want to read to you just from Psalm 127 verses 1 & 2 you don't need to turn there but the scripture says except the Lord builds the house labor in vain that build it except the Lord keeps the city the watchman weak but in vain it is vain for you to rise up early and sit up late and to eat the bread of Sorrows for for so he gives his beloved sleep now what in the world could the psalmist be talking about are we not supposed to take up our cross are we not supposed to share in the labor of Christ on you and I'm not called to weep for the lost why would the psalmist call it vain or mean without purpose or empty or meaningless what what is it on our part that he could be referring to why does he say it's it's vain for you to sit rise up early and sit up late and knead the bread of Sorrows or if God's not building the house your work is for nothing if God's not building the testimony inside of your life if it's you that's building it if it's you're staying up late if it's you're eating the bread of Sorrows if it's human effort that's trying to build this testimony it's in vain it will never really amount to what God has destined it to be and we can understand what the psalmist meant in Psalm 127 when we go to our opening text and we realized that it was it was preceded by sincere people they're making sincere boasts of sincere loyalty to Jesus it was a type of when you and I first came to Christ and we go to an altar we hear a message on something and we said God don't none go with thee still I will follow and we really mean it I've meant it I remember he's singing it as a young Christian though none go with thee still I will follow you that's what Peter said in verse 29 of mark 14 though all be offended yet not will I everyone may opt out in the time of fear and when the going gets tough but you can count on me God I will be with you I will walk with you I said those words I meant those words I was young I was in my 20s when I got saved and I was sincere to the core of my whole being I meant every word I said until you get to the point in your walk with God you can't go on I remember how angry I got a god and I accused him of somehow betraying me somehow leading me on this goose chase of thinking I could serve him only to take my strength away not realizing that he was leading me to something a place where I was going to find strength in the midst of my own fire though all though all should leave you yet will not I and yet even the others actually in in Matthew 26 35 he even took a deep reset those I with you yet I will not deny you anybody here ever said those words thank you for your honesty I really really appreciate you racing your head though I should die with you though you know folks you and I don't know what we would do facing a firing squad easy to say that sitting in Times Square Church and having a choir like this and momma may sing and the way she does and I mean it's any one of us could come to the altar and say though I should die with you I will never betray you I'll never run from you until the guns come in the door or we find ourselves at work with the very angry red-faced bossing are you a Christian if you keep speaking it's going to cost you then suddenly the powerlessness of our boasting comes to the surface they were clearly warned that their own strength was insufficient clearly told that the future was going to demand something of them that they didn't have but they still held to this belief which was very sincere at the moment verse 31 he says Jesus told him in verse 30 you're not even going to get through the night before you deny me you're telling me that you're not going to run you're not going to be offended you're and of course if you add Matthew into that you're telling me you're willing to die with me in Jerusalem but I'm telling you you're not going to get through the night before you deny that you even knew me and then verse 31 says he spake more vehemently no that's not true now keep in mind it's God that's telling him this and he's arguing with God because he he was sincere I was sincere you were sincere I felt I had the strength to get through and to finish this journey with everything the resources that I had at the moment though I should die with you I will not deny you and all of them said the same thing all around the table John who was going to run from the garden James we don't even know what happened to him or where he went when it came time to where he really needed his own disciples and said I'm so troubled by this moment there's such a weight upon me there's something being asked of me that's so difficult I need you now to pray with me all of them said the same thing we'll be there when you need us we'll stand for you when the moment gets hot you see we sincerely want to believe that we're more loyal than we actually are or more capable than we actually I was very hard for Humanity because you remember the essential sin of the of our nature is that we can be as God's we can know good and evil we believe that we have a strength that we don't have we believe that we're more loyal than we really are we believe that we have a capability that we actually don't in ourselves possess and so Jesus comes out of this season the Prairie takes Peter James and John now Peter is making the boast and leading the gang Peter's the one who's actually leading the room to disagree with the son of God when you look at it it's actually quite incredible and John who's leaning on his at the Last Supper is leaning on his chest this is so loyal so loving so devoted let me hear your heartbeat Oh God you know it's amazing he's gonna flee naked out of the garden very very shortly so he takes Peter James and John into this inner place this intimate place is not everybody else can fully ever understand because he needs to teach them something you realize that you know James is going to have an John are going to have leadership key leadership positions in the church as is Peter and he said to the mind I'm in a place of sorrow and the sorrow is is leading me to a place of death so stay here with me and watch in other words hell is against me there's I'm in a fierce battle and he fell and he prayed and he came out in verse 37 and he found them sleeping and he said to Peter Simon sleepest thou could you not watch with me one hour now I've heard this preached on and I have preached on it this way sad to say myself in the past it's almost like a condemnation it's almost like Jesus came out and and condemned him for not praying I've heard preachers take this passage the scripture and condemn the people for not praying an hour a day could you not pray with me one hour how deep is your loyalty that's not really what was happening here you have to see it in the context of what came before it just just hours before they're at a table and Peter is boasting of his loyalty and is his inner strength that he thought he had and you see what Jesus is saying to Peter could you not even muster up one hours worth of strength in yourself you remember your boast Peter you remember how you you talked about how you'll go with me everywhere I go and you'll be there when I need you don't you even have an hour's worth of strength in you that's really what he was saying to Peter he was not condemning him for not praying he was trying to get him to understand that in himself he does not have the strength to finish the journey he has an inner desire remember the the Spirit is willing to the flesh is weak he has a desire like you and I have I I want to glorify God all of my life I want to become everything that God wants me to be but one of the things that the Lord has to do in each of our lives is lead us to a place of understanding that you don't in yourself have the resources to finish this journey you think you do in a time of peace you think you do when you're sitting at a table and all as well and the bread is there and everything is simply just theological at this point but it's not practical yet you've studied the fire you've talked about the fire you know everything you've gone to fire conferences you you know all this stuff about fire but you've never been in the fire yeah it's only when we get in the fire that you and I really find out what really is in us and when you and I truly get in the fire I'll tell you right now what's of me is not going to stand what's of me is gonna burn what's of Christ is going to remain their failure was obvious look at verse 40 says when he returned he he more or less tries to get Peter to come into a place of reasoning James and John would have heard it as well then he tells them again watch and pray your spirit of the Spirit is ready but the flesh is weak and he goes away the second time and when he returns he found them asleep again for their eyes were heavy the battle was intense it was deeper than anything that they had ever faced before and they had no more excuses they had no more boast of loyalty in other words verse 40 says they didn't know what to say Matt said this way they had nothing left to say suddenly their powerlessness of their former profession is in ashes at their feet each man now had a choice do I hold to my former self image or do I finally admit to my own inability to go forward without divine help to hold to my self image to hold to the thought that in myself I can do these things you see that's the essence of a religious spirit and it only survives by condemning everybody else around when you're in if you're in a place of a religious spirit there's a there's a condemnation towards others that comes into your heart that basically says well they may backslide but I will not they may deny you but I will not deny you and there's a pride that gets ahold of the human heart but let me tell you something there's a fire coming to this whole world that is going to refine all of that stuff and we're going to find out that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God there's not one righteous not even one we're going to find out that you're no stronger than I am and I'm no stronger than you are left to ourselves we're all going to run and we're all going to fail them it's only that which is of Christ in us that's going to cause us to stand in these last days praise be to God I have no problem admitting my own inability to finish this journey it's part of my prayer every day God you know I can't make it to the finish line but you can you are within me and I believe that in Christ and through Christ I can do all things I can run this race I can finish it but not in my strength in your strength being lived out with inside of my life and when it comes out the third time verse 41 he says to them sleep on now take your rest it is enough the hours come the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners sleep on now in other words I'm making a way for you now from this day forward to enter into where strength really is found you finally see that it's not in yourself you're going to find out as the Hebrew boys did one time that you need the fourth man in the fire you're not going to get through it let me read to you from the book of Hebrews chapter 4 let us therefore fear lest a promise being left of entering into his rest any of you should seem to come short of it fraud to us was the gospel preached as well as unto them but the word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it now this faith has got to be in in the work of somebody else not our own work for we which have believed to enter into rest as he said as I've sworn in my wrath if they shall enter into my rest although the works were finished from the foundation of the world for he spoke in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise and God did rest the seventh day from all his works and again in this place if they shall enter into my rest seeing therefore it remains that some must enter their end and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief again he limited a certain day in David sang today after so long a time as it is said today if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts if Jesus had given them rest and he would not have afterwards spoken of another day there remains therefore arrest to the people of God and here's the key verse verse 10 chapter 4 of Hebrews for he that has entered into his rest that's the rest of Christ he is also ceased from his own works as God did from his he has ceased from trusting in his own strength is ceased from leaning on his own resources he has ceased from trying to figure out his journey from his own thoughts he has ceased from trying to pray in his own strength he has given up the rights of his life to another and he has allowed the spirit of the Living God to come into his body or her body and be allowed that place to become the temple of God and has yielded the rights this is God I give my strength because it's worthless but God by your promises I lay hold of your strength which is my life you're going to carry me Oh God you're going to you're going to expand the borders of my courage you're going to expand the borders of my mind you're going to expand the borders of my thinking I turn to you as the source of my strength my spirit has been willing but my flesh is weak God Almighty but I thought the Word of God says take up your cross and follow me Jesus didn't Jesus say if you're gonna be my disciple deny yourself and take up your cross doesn't it involve human effort to a certain point it does but have you considered have we considered that even Jesus Christ in his own natural physical strength could not carry the cross all the way to Calvary think it through for a moment if if the Son of God couldn't carry the cross then neither can you and neither can I mark 1521 the Bible says that God sent a man called Simon a Cyrenian to carry the cross of Jesus Christ the full distance because he couldn't physically carry it all the way and if Christ could not carry the cross then neither can you and neither can i he was enabled to go forward in his humaneness he was fully God but he was also fully man and in that part of him that was fully man he was enabled to go forward to that will that his father had for his life in the strength of another not just the Holy Spirit but that which represents the Holy Spirit to you and I God sending away to him to strengthen him so that he could finish his journey you and I find out that the kingdom of God always has been and always will be advanced by those who have found a source of strength that's not available to those who try to follow Christ by the sheer force of human will it's called walking in the flesh even if its intentions are good it will not get you the full journey you go far but you won't go all the way this fire comes to every life it might be the fire of discouragement disappointment betrayal I don't know what it is could be a physical fire could be a social upheaval like is happening in the Ukraine today it will be one or many of those things even combined that will finally get you and I to a place that's where we say if I'm going to finish this journey it's going to have to be the strength of another inside of me this is not a message can be heard by the spiritually proud it can only be heard by those who have the humility to admit that I can't make this journey in my own strength that's why the word says if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves before they even pray will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways and I see that as everything in me that tries to imitate Christ but it isn't Christ everything in me that tries to pretend it's holy that isn't God everything that in me that tries to pretend it's spirit but it's not finally by God's grace we die that we may live unless the seed falls into the ground and dies it abides alone God will not walk with those who walk in their own reasonings and strength until we get to an end of it until we're finally face down in the dust with our cross upon our shoulders and suddenly calls another one whom we sent called the Holy Spirit of Almighty god to pick that cross up and in the midst of our own weakness we find a strength that is not our own it's a strength of God hallelujah to the lamb of God glory to his holy name it's always advanced by those who finally come to an end of themselves oh God thank you I thank him every day oh God I praise him from the depths of my heart the Carter Conlan is dead and Jesus Christ is alive and my prayer is you see me and where he's not dead kill him kill him Lord put him to death I don't want this old nature governing me I don't want my thoughts leading me I don't want my strength carrying me because all these things are gonna fail me and they have repeatedly over the years all of these I don't want to try to figure everything out I just want to walk by the leading of the Spirit I just want to do what God calls me doesn't want to do anything more or anything less than called by God to do it is a marvelous place to be there's a strength here that's not found in youth I was preaching in Texas a few weeks ago and I said to the ministers in Texas there's only one thing in life I'd never want to be again and that's young I left that behind a long time ago thank God I left it behind me I was stronger than most I was more determined than most are I had a strong strong will I remember grabbing a guy who was always he was always drinking and falling and drinking and falling and he'd come to the altar and cry like a baby member grabbing him and say I give up drinking you can give up drinking too but he'd look at me in the eye in Christ I can't I can't I said yes you can until one day I went facedown on the road lost my strength by the grace of God it's amazing I remember the same guy after I had come back and found that I needed the strength of God to continue this journey he said pastor he still preached hard he said but I find such hope and you're preaching lately that I never found before I found that rather curious I am told today that he is walking with God now how do I know that I am still being led by my own inner resources and not that which is of Christ how do I know it well the answer is quite simple if I am being led by the force of human will and not by the Spirit of God I am still making promises to God if you are making promises to God you're going to fail but if you are living by the promises of God to you then you're going to be able to finish the journey that's why you came out of the garden and he said sleep on now and take your rest oh thank God I'm about to make a way for you to find the strength of another for your journey you're not going to have to make promises to me anymore but I'm going to make promises to you and my Holy Spirit is going to come down and the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead is going to quicken your mortal body and you're going to have strength that those who live in their own abilities are not going to have you're going to have thoughts that those who live by their own reasonings they're not going to have you're gonna have joy that those that live by their own successes or failures are not going to have because you're going to know inside that this life that you're living is not of your own making it's not of your own strength you don't have to make promises to God because we can't keep them you can't keep your promises to God so keep on making them until you finally face down in the dust and realize you can't be a better husband you can't be a better friend you can't be a better employee you can't stand in the fire there's so many things you can't do so stop saying you can you can't only Christ inside of you can thank God sleep on now sleep on now sleep on now Jesus said you you gave it your best try but when the fire came you found out you didn't have the resource you thought you had human zeal is not going to get us through listen to me those that are online human zeal is not going to get us through these coming days we're going into a fire we're going into a trial we're going into a battle almost unprecedented throughout time we're going into a fight we're living in the days of social rebellion against a holy God we're going into a time when it's going to be extremely unpopular to be a follower of Jesus Christ we're going into a time when many are going to flee because they have stood in their own strength their testimony is going to be driven into the ground they're going to find themselves without resources but all thank God we're living in a time when many prodigal are coming home many who took the results of God and went the wrong way with it they're going to come home and when they come home they're going to find the covering they're going to find an empowerment they're going to find the journey it's not in my righteousness it's not in my strength it's not in my promises there was a victory one for me on Calvary by God's grace I put to rest my promises I put to rest my boastings I put to rest any leaning on the flesh I put to rest leaning on any past record of victory because that's no guarantee of success tomorrow the only guarantee I have is Christ within me who's the only hope of glory that you and I will ever have it's my prayer every day god I won't have the strength to face what I know is ahead of me I don't have the natural strength to face it but oh god you do and you live inside of me so you carry me God you carry me help me to put my own reasonings and strengths to rest I love me to put it to sleep and give me the grace to enter into the victory that was won for me that the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead may now quicken my mortal body and give me the strength that I need to get to the end of this journey I will not stand in my own strength and neither will you there's no record of the past that will keep us in the days that you and I are about to face not too far ahead of us 2nd Peter chapter 1 verse 2 to 4 according as Peter says Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord according as his divine power his power has given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue I love that he has called us and he has given us promises and our calling is that word glory means that which is within us that brings the rep the name of God - reputation he's called us through his life within us to bring his own name to reputation now how's that possible if I can do it then that's not bringing his name to reputation if I can do it then you can do it then anybody else can do it and that would be our message we can do it we can all do it we just we just buck up we just encourage one another and we can do it that brings no glory to God anybody can do that no sir he's called us to something that brings his name alone to reputation think about the day of Pentecost when they came out of that upper room all of them having gone in their failures failures all of their boasts that come to nothing all their declarations of love and loyalty had melted into the sand and they had gone into that upper room now suddenly the life the promises that had been provided had become theirs and they burst out of that upper room into a hostile marketplace and they had an inner glory that could only come from God they had a testimony that only God can give and they were speaking of the things to come amazing we were called also to virtue that means moral excellence in a society that has been baptized in filth the television sets are just a sewer pipe into our society now even the G movies you ever notice they have to curse the name Jesus once that's the trademark of Hollywood now I've been praying God's sake that place God's sake that place and show them that they have offended a holy God whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature that means that the life of Christ by these promises that are given to us having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust putting away our promises putting away our pride putting away our boasting and turning to Jesus with all our heart and recognizing it doesn't matter how long I've been here in the church and part of the kingdom of God you're on level ground with me and I'm on level ground with you the hungry heart gets the power thank God for the simplicity of Christ Jesus said these words to his people we use them in evangelism but it's amazing these words were actually spoken to those who are supposed to represent his honor and glory on the earth and he said to his own people come to me all you who labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest he wasn't talking to people who thought they were sinners he was talking to people who through the law and they had access to God through the law people who had given it their best effort to be holy the best effort to be good the best effort to be godly the best effort to preserve truth on the earth but they were so tired they were so overwhelmed and suddenly the Son of God stands and speaks to his people just as I believe he's speaking in this generations every Christian who's read every book on how to do this and how to do that and how to be this and how to be that seven steps to this sixteen steps to that you've read about enough steps to get you to heaven if you put them all together and you tried them and they don't work oh you were a wonderful husband weren't you four seven eight nine days until she tried to tell you something about your character then you found out I wonderful you really were didn't you how much you had truly changed how much you were truly going to be given to your wife as Christ loves the church until she had the audacity to tell you that you were arrogant come unto me come unto me all you who labor and are heavy-laden tired of trying to be holy tired of trying to be godly tired of making promises to God that we can't fulfill I'll give you rest take my yoke upon you learn of me I'm meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls in other words you you don't find me in a high place of human pride you'll find me in a low place where you finally get to the point of saying I I don't we don't have anything to say we we tried to pray we tried to be there when you needed us we we tried we they were speechless we they had no more excuses that's why I said take your rest now my yoke is easy and my burden is light I found it folks I'm not making an idle Boston I'm doing more now than I've done in years with less effort there's an there's a joy inside now because I need it as much as you need it and I am I don't have the luxury of strength to do it my own way so I'm way ahead of something here today in that regard some are still strong and you still feel you can do it you want to make your mark as it is in in this world you're gonna make it you're gonna hit a brick wall leave the imprint of your forehead in it that's going to be your mark and then once you've made your mark then remember that he gives his beloved rests it is vain for you to rise up early it is vain for you to stay up late to knead the bread of Sorrows for if he doesn't build the house it doesn't get built if he's not the one who's changing you you don't get changed it's vain for you to stay up late and cry hot tears over your failure vain for you to think you can enter into the work of God in human strength oh you can I've done that I know what that's about you can go a great distance too as well before you run into the wall but God's mercy will not let human effort represent his kingdom and one of the ways he gets rid of that is he sends a fire the fire will purify his house the fire will purify my heart will purify yours times are coming that will prove the worth of my testimony and yours times are coming on all of us some of you are going through it now but we're all going to go through it in the days ahead this world is unraveling very very quickly scripture is being fulfilled right before our eyes Christ is coming it is going to be a difficult day but for those who are willing to come to an end of our own strength you will find the strength that only God can give and let me tell you it is awesome to walk in the strength of God it is incredible to not make promises that God because we can't keep them it is wonderful to let God build the house this is the house unless he builds it we labor in vain we make our boasts at the table we make our promises in the garden but until God builds the house what a difference from the Last Supper to the day of Pentecost when suddenly nobody's walking out with a plan they're walking out with the person of Christ in the form of the Holy Spirit inside of them they're walking out in the strength of another can you imagine if they come out with a survey what will it take you to come to church how foolish it would be to be reading that in Scripture no we're gonna finish where we started you and I are going to need each other we're going to need the strength of God as pastor Williams so Abele said in the communion service today we're going to need him we're going to need each other we're going to need the courage that only God can give and I thank God he's willing to give it to us abundantly more than you can I it can even ask David remember the King David he says you prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies not not like on the other side of the valley he's right smack in the middle of the enemy army you prepared a table for me and my cup overflows amazing isn't it right in the midst of all the anger and everything that wanted to crush the testimony of God God prepares a table of the strength the table is the strength of God he found it he in spite of his failures in spite of his own struggles and trials in spite of the the obvious things he did wrong he found that table and he found that goodness he found the mercy of God that follows him all the days of his life he found the promise that he was not going to finish a failure and he didn't even though he did fail he didn't finish a failure thank God for these things thank God I'd like to give an altar call this morning for those who have come to an end of your own strength and you're ready to receive the strength of God for people to just come say Lord I just give up making promises to you I can't I can't I can't I can't even promise my loyalty I come to church on Sunday and I make this great bowls we sing these songs and I really believe it and then I go to work and I'm a mouse I can't even open my mouth and I promise you I'm gonna do better but I can't I need a source of strength that is not my own and so I've come to an end of myself the big the admission of failure folks in the Church of Jesus Christ is the beginning of the supernatural the unwillingness to admit our condition is to carry on in the flesh and it produces rigidity it produces judgment it produces joylessness the older brother member said to his father you not even give me a goat that I can celebrate with my friends and here this boy that came home and made a masters you've killed the calf and you've struck up the band and here you are dancing thank God one day we are going to dance in this church the whole service like I feel it coming I feel it coming praise God I want to in God's stead I want to call those who just you've come to an end come to an end of trying to figure out how to get through your fire you've come to an end of your own promises because they're worthless and you just are willing to receive the strength of God come to me he said all who are trying to be holy or trying to get through your trial and you're heavy your relationship with me has become heavy it's not meant to be that way it should be joyful you should be carried by God it shouldn't be carrying God you should be carried by God he said come and learn of me my yoke is easy my burden is light I'm meek and lowly in heart and you will find the rest you've been longing for and so if that's you today we're gonna stand and balcony good either I'll come make your way down the annex to sanctuary and the same in North Jersey campus as well and those that are watching at home just come just find the strength that God is willing to give you we're gonna worship for a little while join these that are on their way down already and let's pray together father I'd pray for my brothers and sisters at this altar please God give us the strength or the courage to embrace these words Lord lead us to that place of rest where we have ceased from our own Labor's as God did from his bring us into that perfection of what you did for us on the cross lead us to the strength of your Holy Spirit give us hearts God to believe your promises to us thank you Lord that it's not our life it's not our strength it's not our promises you died to save us from these things Lord God thank you for this new life that you promised us through Jesus Christ thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit to raise us from the dead and to give us that new life that is miraculous its sovereign it's supernatural it's God breathed into us the way you breathed into Adam and he became a living soul Lord you breathed into us again because of the cross and we have come back to what was lost thank you for favoring relationship thank you for strength thank you for walking in us through the fire and carrying us when we can't carry ourselves and giving us peace when everything around us is shouting for us to be afraid thank you God for giving us that fragrance of Christ as we walk through the world which is a testimony in itself the peace in our hearts that Christ is alive thank you God that you've caused us to this glory you've called us O God to walk in a way that brings glory to you not to human effort but by that which you alone can do in us thank you for the privilege of yielding to you and admitting that we don't have the strength to do this thank you God thank you Lord for what you eventually did with Peter and James and John thank you for what you did in these three men of God and great they did represent you on the earth but not in their strength Lord in yours thank you Father give us understanding of these things don't let us put it away as just another theological lesson in our library help us to embrace it help us God as we as we ate of the bread and drank of the communion juice Lord today help us to eat and drink of these words that they might become part of the very fabric of who we are in Christ don't let us put it away God don't let us say that was interesting and let it fall through our fingers save us from ourselves O God and bring us into the life that you've bought for us bless my brothers and sisters god bless those online bless those in North Jersey God Almighty bless those that are visiting today bless our coming in and a going out Magus of people of rest of people that can put away our own labors and enter into the labor of God father we thank you for these things we praise you we bless you God with all of our heart today let this be a great day for the kingdom of God let us be a great day in each of our lives we thank you in Jesus name hallelujah to the lamb of God thank you lord thank you God thank you God can you give them a shout of victory today give a shout of victory hallelujah hallelujah glory glory what's that song shouts of joy the bound and the tense of the righteous shouts of joy shouts of joy for those who are walking with God who lay hold the price there's something that comes into the heart that makes us lift our voices and give glory to God let's do that one more time give glory to God god bless you

Channel: Times Square Church

Views: 20,856

Rating: 4.9017015 out of 5

Keywords: Carter Conlon, Sermon, Times Square Church

Id: FRWlPxevLBQ

Length: 44min 57sec (2697 seconds)

Published: Fri May 09 2014