Moving forward in the will of God – David Bernard – UPCA Conference 2014

thank you and praise the Lord everyone amen you may be seated I'm asking my wife to sing or testify and let me say that we certainly appreciate the wonderful hospitality unfortunately I think I've gained weight in Australia from all the good food and I know my suitcase has gained weight as well from all the gifts and we are spiritually blessed as well to see the progress of the church in Australia and of course the surrounding nations as well tonight I want to preach to you I feel to preach it on my heart I I dedicate this message to our missionaries home and global and our Bible College graduates but I hope it's for all of us tonight but I want to speak directly on the things that we've been talking about all day long of the need to evangelize to plant churches and to take what God has given us and share it with the world around us but ultimately I can just come as a guest a visiting preacher but I can't really apply it to Australia that's your job so I'm going to try to preach the word give into your hands your superintendent your board your pastors you as individuals it's up to you as how you're going to do it but I have confidence that you are going to do great things in this nation amen it's truly an honor to be here with you and it's been wonderful to feel the presence of the Lord and I've traveled with brother Bernard and I've heard the messages that he preaches but I sit in the chair and I ask God to bless me and let me hear the word because I want to always give him my all and you may know this song and if you do you feel free to sing along with me in the secret place of the Most High it's where I abide it's where I am more and more I long to be by his side it's where I hide it's where I desire you in all I do my soul is for you I give my Oh oh I get my I give all I give my I swear I love I long to be by your ha do you hide I do my solace for you I get my all to you I get mine I give I give you my give you my what appraisal may not appraise your name but I praise your holy name what I praise your name Lord I praise your name Lord I pray but I'm pretty sure Oh I can I raise I give you my is that your air give you my give you my I give you my would be one more time as we worship the Lord together hallelujah praise the Lord praise the Lord praise God reading from Joshua chapter one and verse six Joshua chapter one and verse six this is a new year and we're asking God to give us direction in this new year so reading from the words of the Lord to Joshua shortly before Israel entered into the promised land the Lord spoke to Joshua chapter 1 verse 6 be strong and of a good courage for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swear unto their fathers to give them I want to preach tonight moving forward in the will of God and you may be seated God has given us great opportunity we have been challenged today I've tried to do my part to challenge you to step into the great revival of the eleventh hour we've heard from our home missions of the great need and opportunity to evangelize our nation and we've seen the graduates who have prepared themselves and dedicated themselves for the purpose of serving and evangelizing and so what are we going to do about it I think it's time to move forward in the will of God now the words that I just read to you were not new to Joshua actually if you go back to Deuteronomy chapter 31 Moses the previous leader had twice commissioned Joshua personally you can read it in Deuteronomy 31 and seven also Deuteronomy 31 23 to say Joshua be strong and of good courage I found that when God speaks to us it usually doesn't come out of the blue as something complete the shocking and unknown but usually we recognize that God has been dealing with us for some time as he tries to reveal his will to us and typically God will use spiritual leaders in your life your pastor or some Minister may speak a word in preaching or in personal conversation or guidance and you discern that God is giving you direction so rarely does God's Direction just come out of the unknown but God has many ways of trying to deal with us and I'm believing that many of us have come to this conference to hear from God that God has already been working in our lives and speaking to our heart and putting a burden upon us but somehow it all needs to come together I believe that some people here are seeking definite direction from God and I pray that God confirms that direction in this conference and perhaps even during this service so we find that the leader first spoke to Joshua to prepare the way and to give direction but it is also necessary for each individual to hear from God for himself or herself yes we must have spiritual leaders who give us guidance and direction but in the end we must have a personal relationship with God we must hear from God for ourselves we need that direct encounter that personal experience of consecration that personal experience where God speaks to our heart and so we find in Joshua chapter one that even though God had already spoken to Joshua through Moses now God speaks directly to Joshua if you go back to verse one it says now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of nun Moses minister saying Moses my servant is now therefore arise go over this Jordan now and all this people unto the land which I do give to them even to the children of Israel it's interesting how he starts it seems perhaps a little bit negative he says Moses my servant is dead well Joshua already knew that what is the point I think the Lord was saying now it's time to move forward you cannot move forward if you're dwelling in the past you must recognize there's been a great loss Moses was a unique leader he could not really be replicated or duplicated he was the one who led Israel out of Egypt he was the one who confronted Pharaoh with miraculous deliverance he was the one that received the law on Mount Sinai God no one else would be able to do those things and so no doubt there was a great sense of loss and probably a great sense of inadequacy that how it would it be possible for Joshua to lead the people in the absence of Moses so God tells Joshua what you need to acknowledge the past is the past Moses my servant is dead stop pause reflect have a funeral consider it but at the end of the day after you've carefully thought it through you've got to move forward in the will of God Moses is dead now go and the same is true of us today some of us can look back on the past and see great victories but if we're not careful we will live in those victories of the past and it will inhibit us from moving forward today but we've always done it this way let's continue to do it as we've always done actually I respect the good things of the past the traditions of the past but it is not true that if we keep doing what we've always done we can continue to expect the same results as the church grows you get to a point whether it's a local church whether it's an organization where you outgrow the structure you outgrow the methods if you continue you to stay in the same old pattern even though they brought you to the point where you are now you will be inhibited from moving where God wants you to go next the principles remain the same but the methods must change growth requires that cultural changes require that diversity of population requires that and so even if we've seen great victories in the past even if we are very thankful for what's happened in the past we cannot live in the past we cannot be changed to the past yes the doctrine of the past is still right today yes the life of holiness of the past is still the life of holiness today yes the principles of God's Word the principles of revival the principles of Christian living they never change but today we're in 2014 we have never been in 2014 before what worked in 1954 is not necessarily the same it's what's gonna work in 2014 as far as methods are concerned so we've got to put our victories in the past also most of us can look back and see defeats in the past disappointments if we're not careful those past defeats those past disappointments can also us and hobble us and prevent us from inheriting what God wants us to inherit we think about what could have been what should have been what might have been regret loss sadness sorrow but at some point you have to close the door at some point you have to close the book and say the past is done whatever I should have done or could have done it's too late now but I can do the will of God in 2014 I can have victory today Moses my servant is dead for good or ill / it's done with you can only stay there so long eventually you've got to move forward into what God has for you today amen moving forward in the will of God Moses is dead now get up and go that's what the Lord says verse 3 every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon that I have given unto you as I said unto Moses from the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river the river Euphrates all the land of the Hittites into the Great Sea toward their going down the Sun shall be your coast there shall not any man be able to stand before the all the days of my life as I was with Moses so I will be with thee I will not fail thee nor forsake thee and here we see God proceeds to give promises to Joshua now I think it's amazing and wonderful God's grace always gives before it requires God's promises always precede his commands when God saves us he doesn't require us to live a holy life for six months before he decides to wash away our sins and poped spirit but God will redeem us in the midst of our sin his promises come first his grace comes first and then he asked us to commit our lives into his hands according to his grace what a wonderful God that means anyone can do the will of God God will never ask you to do anything unless he's already given you the grace to do it God will never require you to do anything unless he's already establishes the promises whereby you can succeed and hear God's promises are threefold number one he promised a possession I will give you the land number two he promised power whatever enemy rises against you to hinder your possession I will give you power over that enemy so that you are well able to possess the land and thirdly he promised his presence I will be with you every step of the way I give you a position I give you a power and I give you of my presence what more do we need to have victory in Jesus thing all of Australia is ours it's our position and we have the power and God's presence will go with us whether we go from Darwin to Hobart are somewhere in the middle of the Pacific God's presence will be with us hallelujah Oh hallelujah notice everywhere you put the sole of your foot upon I will give it to you now if someone from the government called you up from some department in Canberra and said you have been selected of everyone in the country we're going to give you a piece of land you name the city and you take some vacant land as far as you walk and as far as you if you will encompass that tract of land it will be yours free now how would you respond would you sleep in get up about 10:00 a.m. to go walking in your dress shoes take a break for lunch have a nice leisurely meal stroll along a little bit while get a little tired and the weather is a little warm and it's 30 degrees and you're sweating a little bit and you know so I don't want to strain myself so you quit mid-afternoon and you go home if you are promised every place that your feet touch will belong to you I don't know about you but I would start out early in the morning and I would start walking I would have my sack lunch with me I would have water with me I would have my wife ride along beside me and if she needed to to to give me some extra water if she need to fan me if she needed to wipe my face I might take a moment's rest but then I would get up and go and I might be tired I might be weary my muscles might be worn out but I would think I can do this for one day I can do this for one day I can rest tomorrow I can take a week's vacation if I need to but I'm gonna claim my territory everything that I can possibly touch I'm gonna touch it today before midnight because that's my promise it's time to move forward in the will of God and then after these promises we have the statement which I started my message with be strong and of good courage for under this people shout out divided for inheritance the land which I swear to their fathers to give them verse seven only be thou strong and very courageous that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee turn not from it to the right hand or to the left that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest now I want you to notice twice he says be strong and courageous have you ever had the experience you come to church Sunday morning and you're a message you come back Sunday night or the next Sunday and it seemed like practically the same message and you think well the pastor really didn't study very much he's just saying the same thing over and over maybe God wants to tell you something if every message sounds the same maybe God is trying to get that message through to you so that you will obey it sometimes God is repetitious it's on purpose he wants to make sure we get the the information not just carrying it in our head but we will act upon what we have heard and so obviously God is trying to emphasize something if you are going to accomplish the work I've called you to do if you are going to inherit the promises you must be strong and courageous so he repeats himself for emphasis now if you've carried the story from the beginning Moses has already told these words twice to Joshua now God personally tells the same words twice to Joshua this is four times he's heard the same message it must be important he's be strong that command indicates there must be some obstacles in the way right if there are no obstacles you wouldn't have to be strong it should not shock us when we go through trials our human reaction is this we get inspired by a conference such as this we go home we're gonna win the world we're excited we're thrilled we're making new commitments and a week later we're frustrated by all the obstacles god I'm just trying to do your will oh god I finally decided to go ahead and do what you said I thought it would be easy from here on out just the opposite what's going on it should not surprise us that the enemy will fight us every step of the way that's why God says be strong you must be strong because there are obstacles in the way you will not win without a fight you will not be victorious without being standing up and being strong facing the difficulties and the struggles and persevering to the end he also says be courageous that indicates there is an enemy that indicates there is active opposition if there was no enemy you wouldn't have to be courageous would you we should not be shocked to find the devil is fighting against the kingdom of God we should expect it there sometimes you've just got to be strong there sometimes you just got to be courageous sometimes people arise against you but as I mentioned in one of the meetings today remember people are not our enemy the devil is our enemy some people are used unknowingly some may be knowingly but don't get tracked a trapped or tricked into a fight against people don't descend into arguing and continuing and attacking people they are not the enemy the devil is the true enemy but you must recognize sometimes people will oppose your leadership sometimes the devil will fight against you in those times you've got to be courageous you've got to stand for what's right you've got to stand for truth you've got to stick with God's playing you've got to move forward in fact did you notice I said it was repetitious but there was one slight change the first time God said be strong and courageous the second time he said be strong and very courageous sometimes you have to be very courageous sometimes you have to stand when you don't think you're capable of standing and if it were not for God's grace truly you would not be able to stand sometimes you don't understand sometimes grief will overwhelm you sometimes opposition overwhelms you sometimes you just don't know what to do when you don't know what else to do keep doing what you know to do when you've done everything you can Paul says just stand if you can't do anything else just stand if you fall down on your face get back up and stand if you can't move forward right now at least you can hold on until the answer comes keep fighting the fight of faith keep praying keep interceding keep believing keep standing on God's Word keep preaching the truth keep loving souls they may not love you back but keep loving them anyway when you don't know what else to do keep on doing what God has told you to do hallelujah let's worship Him right now hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah oh I believe the Lord is talking to somebody here tonight the Lord is speaking some may have heard me or read the testimonies but my parents were the first missionaries the dyani Pentecostal church of the country of Korea they are appointed in 1963 as our family was traveling on the highway the just a brand-new automobile so to drive around the u.s. in Canada which is raise money this was before the days of partners and missions so there was no guarantee of support the foreign missions division at that time would set a budget but they would depend on general offerings coming in to headquarters and they would split up the offerings according to the budget but since there was no money specifically designated it was purely speculative as if there would be enough money to cover each missionary so they made my father sign a statement saying I know this is my budget but I know if it doesn't come I absolved the foreign missions division of responsibilities I recognize that sometimes the money may not come how would you like to work like that your employer makes you sign a statement saying I will get paid so much a month but if we run short I know that my pay will be subtracted I will only get a portion of that and so that's the way the operated but going back to stage one they purchased a brand-new automobile to begin their travel we were traveling to obtain our passports and a drunk driver crossed into our lane we had a head-on collision the brand-new car was completely demolished my father's nose were broke was broken both of his arms were broken the nerve in his right hand was severed the doctor told him he would never be able to use his hand again and sure enough for about six months he couldn't use his hand he was afraid for many many times but in one service God instantly healed him he was able to go back to the doctor reach out shake his hand and give the doctor a surprise but that was in the future my mother's neck was broken the doctor said that she just came within a hair's breadth of being killed she had a brain concussion she was in and out of consciousness for six weeks I had a cut of the length of my head which was the least of the injuries except for my sister who emerged unscathed so my parents were in the hospital for a couple of months it was during Christmas and so we kids were placed with our relatives while my parents recuperated in the hospital my father couldn't use either hand either arm both of them were in casts so he couldn't feed himself it couldn't brush his teeth he couldn't do the simplest things he had to have someone to a system even after he regained par and we started our travel for a while he had to have a man a personal valet as it were to travel with him to fulfill his missionary engagements because he couldn't take care of himself he could preach but he couldn't brush his teeth couldn't put on his clothes couldn't feed himself couldn't do anything like that well in that condition believe it or not a neighbouring pastor a friend visited my parents talked to my dad as my dad later told me the story his pastor friend said God's trying to tell you you missed his will you're not supposed to go to Korea so my dad looked at him and said God only has to tell me one time what to do I'm going to do it we're still going to Korea sometimes you have to be strong you might be lying flat on your back and can't even feed yourself but sometimes you have to be courageous sometimes you have to be very courageous in that same hospital a nurse was tending to my father and somehow he was able to talk to her about the Lord he's good about that and he began to tell her about the Lord and she began to respond and right there in the hospital room she repented of her sins with tears he sent her to a church where she was baptized in Jesus name filled with the Holy Ghost I received an email several years ago from her son he said my mother has passed away but I wanted to let you know that my mother came into the church because of the testimony your father when he was in the hospital and through her our entire family came into the church my mother continued to live for the Lord until she died he said now I am a Pentecostal preacher and I just wanted to thank your father for sharing the testimony that saved our family just got to move forward in the will of God well I can continue that story that was only the beginning of interesting events 1965 we boarded a Chinese freighter to travel to the country of Korea a long story but Korea was a very poverty-stricken third-world country we had to bring our furniture our clothing for five years and a canned goods as much as we could to survive on and live on in those first few years we boarded the ship we got out into the Caribbean Sea the ship caught on fire we raced to the Panama Canal Zone they tried to load us in the lifeboats but the cables of the lifeboats were so corroded that they refused to be lowered so here we were standing on the deck and our lifejackets waiting again the lifeboats only to be dismissed and told to go back into our room we had to change rooms because our original room was so hot the paint was bubbling on the walls and so we had to move in with the crew where it was a little removed from the fire finally they got to the Panama Canal Zone which is that time under US control American firefighters are they able to put out the fire firefighters came to my father and one of the other passengers was a Chinese dentist from Hong Kong which shared our testimony in fact I was reading a new book called they speak with other tongues he was very intrigued by that and asked me what it was about and so I was able to share monie of how we received the holy ghost and speak in tongues so he was well aware that we are missionaries on our way to Korea the American firefighters came and told my father it was a freighter it that the the cargo some of the car was cotton and the cotton was on fire smoldering in the hold and on the deck was kerosene that they were transporting and the firefighter said we estimate that if the fire had been 10% hotter the whole ship would have exploded so he said you're fortunate that we able to get the fire in time at that point the Chinese Dennis pounded the table stood up and said we have been delivered because you are people of God your God has delivered you and we are all saved because of your God I shared that testimony to say sometimes the circumstances are against you you have to be convinced in your heart that you're called of God that you're preaching the truth that you're doing God's will if there's a question go back and ask him and renew your commitment ask him if you need to change something but at the end of the day you've got to get a confirmation and once you have that confirmation you've just got to keep moving forward in the will of God don't turn to the right the scripture says don't turn to the left it says if you look there in verse 7 and then also verse 8 this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that that'll make us observe to do according to all that is written therein for then shalt thou make that way prosperous and then shalt thou have good success and so in verse 7 and verse 8 he says the key to doing God's will is to obey the Word of God take all the Word of God seriously don't pick and use the parts that you like but everything and I would apply this to the church today everything is applicable to us we understand much of the Old Testament consists of types and shadows but the principles apply and the fulfillment applies the New Testament most of it is written to the church and we should take it seriously a teaching on sex for money it's not just a first century opinion it's for the church today the teaching on modesty it's not just one man's opinion it's the teaching for the church today we cannot pick and choose which part of the teaching of the church we want to follow do not deviate but obey all of it don't turn to the right and don't turn to the left I say this in America you probably don't have as much problem in Australia but in America we have some who've left us saying we're too strict if we just relaxed our teaching we can win the whole world most of them some have a degree of success but most of them their churches don't even survive the transition but fall apart in total disintegration so some say we're too strict so they leave others say we're not strict enough and so they leave and the irony is some of them without fellowship in isolation get stricter and stricter and stricter until it seemed like nobody safe and then they'll flop to the other extreme and abandon everything and here we are just plugging along the same as always what I learn don't veer off to the left don't veer off to the right just stay on the road if you want to get to your destination you got to just stay right on the same Road keep following the map keep following the road don't go to the right and don't go to the left don't try to preach it too strict and don't try to compromise it just preach it just preach the word just stand on apostolic truth be God has called us to be and you will be prosperous you will be successful there are some mega churches in America that they're all about success and prosperity and their message sounds good as far as it goes their message is something like if you have a positive attitude you will be prosperous you'll have good health you'll have lots of money God will bless you everything will be okay just love Jesus but they never talk about sin they never talk about repentance they're very ambiguous as to what if anything would ever be required you know a positive mental attitude is better than a negative mental and to you but it only so far yes you can get ahead in life with a positive mental attitude but sometimes you need more than a positive mental attitude when you run into a brick wall all of your positive mental attitude won't get you through that brick wall when the devil attacks all the positive mental attitude cannot overcome the attack of the devil sometimes you need the power of God sometimes you need deliverance sometimes you need healing sometimes you need transformation you don't need a attitude adjustment you need a victory you need a miracle you need the power of God so yes God does want a supplier needs yes God doesn't want to bless us but he's not really that interested in us being rich and famous and popular and successful according to worldly standards if you want to know what God considers prosperity and what God considers success it's right here keep the word obey the word preach the word teach the word follow the word in God's plan you are successful you are prosperous that's how to have a prosperity church it's preach the Lord verse 9 have not I commanded thee be strong and of good courage be not afraid neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest so for the third time God says be strong and be courageous it's the confirmation of his promise and the confirmation of his command God does not want to leave you and doubt as to what his will is he'll confirm his promises and he'll confirm his commands he says just keep moving forward in my will as you read to the end of the chapter Joshua shares all of this with the people and they respond in verse 16 through verse 18 now this is the Old Covenant I'm not Moses or Joshua brother Downs is not Moses or Joshua we're not trying to apply this in any direct way but we are taking the principle because God operates by principle and if God will work with his people in the Old Testament certain ways God will work with his people in the New Testament in certain ways because he's a God who does not change his character his ways of operation his His grace is the same in every age and so the people answer Joshua all that thou command us us we will do and whithersoever thou send us us we will go according as we hearken unto Moses and all things so we will hearken unto thee only the LORD thy God be with thee as he was with Moses whosoever he be that doth rebelled against thy commandment and will not hearken unto thy words and all that thou commandest him he shall be put to death we're not under the Old Covenant so I'm not going to apply that tonight don't worry only be strong and of a good courage now notice the response of the people they said we will follow you as our leader just as we followed Moses we will follow you I hope they're people here today ministers who will say we will follow our general superintendent and our national board I hope their saints of God who will say we will follow our pastor but notice we're not asking for unconditional allegiance they said only the Lord be with you as he was with Moses so all we're asking follow your leaders as they follow the Lord follow your leaders as they follow God's Word follow your leaders as they are filled with the spirit but there is a commitment that people should make to follow their leaders if we if the UPC of Australia and if your local assembly is going to do the work work of God we must agree to follow spiritual leadership that's right and then notice the very last phrase only be strong and of a good courage isn't that interesting twice Moses had stated it to Joshua three times God stated to Joshua and now the people were stating it to Joshua and I think in this context the implication is we will follow you Joshua but we need you to be strong and courageous if you're strong and courageous we'll be strong and courageous if you'll lead us we will follow but as the people of God we ask you be strong and courageous isn't that true saints of God across this building do you want your leaders to compromise God's Word to seemingly make it just a little easier here there and the other or do you want your leaders to be strong and courageous to preach the Word of God without compromise to stand for truth to lead you forward yes it will mean sacrifice yes what wing commitment but isn't that what you want don't you want leaders who will stand up for holiness who will stand up for truth who will stand up for the name of Jesus who will stand up for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost we don't need a watered-down experience we need the anointing of the Holy Ghost we need preachers who will preach we need teachers who will teach we need leaders who will lead we need strong and courageous leadership to move forward in the will of God hallelujah so there's a commitment to follow God's word a commitment to follow leaders as they follow God's Word a commitment to be strong and courageous on the basis that the leaders will also be strong and courageous I can tell you many great revival stories I'll tell you just two recent things in November I was in the Amazon the Amazon basin of Brazil where we have a missionary by the de merchants who flies a seaplane my wife and I had the privilege of joining him he's been a missionary for I think 48 years 72 years of age should probably already be retired he's in good health his wife is struggling with poor health but they they carry on and when we were there in the conference outdoor service in Manaus 8,000 people in attendance I think a hundred and thirty Bible college graduates something like 30 ministers ordained what a great victory praise God but it took someone who is strong and courageous he told me the story many years ago we had a single missionary sister Margaret Calhoun who joined them to help as a teacher her her family was not Pentecostal they were opposed to her conversion and even more opposed she as a professional woman a teacher with a master's degree going to a remote country a third-world lifestyle they were opposed completely they were in the plane brother de Merchant told me later what happened that he had some some fuel tanks that he used for fuel and unknown to him some of the national people had borrowed the tanks and used them for water because they didn't want to haul so much water so they took a shortcut and used the tanks unknown to him there was a residue of water in those tanks when he filled them water got in the fuel line they took off and the plane crashed because of the water in the fuel line and the plane turned over in the river he was able to immediately kick his way through the door and come out but sister Calhoun and a national person were trapped in the back and there was no way out he dived to try to find but he was not able to break through door and they drowned it seems just a complete tragedy no human explanation but all I can say thousands of believers in the Amazon today it took sacrifice it took commitment some things we won't fully understand this side of eternity but you got to move forward in the will of God and so brother de merchants keeps on flying keeps on going we we went with him to remote area he has missionaries in to the Indian tribes of the Amazon we have some of the largest missionary works there of all the tribes and we picked up one of those missionaries we flew 30 minutes to a remote village on one of the rivers picked him up flew him back to the conference it would have taken him two days by boat to come he and his wife but it took 30 minutes plane ride to come to the conference so we rejoice in the great victory of over I think almost two hundred thousand 150 to 200 thousand believers in Brazil with the United Pentecostal Church of Brazil with the more than half of them in the Amazon region and as I said one conference eight thousand people in attendance what a great story of victory but it doesn't come just with the snap of the fingers it doesn't come just preaching a positive message it doesn't come through compromise it comes through sacrifice through labor going through every obstacle being strong and courageous to do the will of God in October I've visited Bethel Alaska which is the gateway to the Eskimo communities particularly Drive and they're in Bethel they we had all nations Sunday we had you pick Eskimos Inuit Eskimos Apache Indians Koreans which surprised me until I realized Korea is closer to Alaska than than it is to where I live in the US and so I preached one night in Korean and had a good time with the Koreans but there was a young ministerial couple they work a full-time job and they participate in the church in Bethel but every Saturday morning they get on a little plane and fly 150 miles and I went with them this this Saturday they fly to the very edge the very coast the the the western coast of Alaska the Bering Sea a little island off the shore called tucks at bay a village an Eskimo village it is the westernmost of the United Pentecostal churches because it's further west than Hawaii when you go past that you're coming to the International Dateline and that then you're east so I think it's probably the West westernmost I don't know there may be some islands by for this but certainly in North America and here they come to this little village and so they spend an hour to going around visiting everyone rounding them up for church having service in their church taking the afternoon plane if the weather is suitable which oftentimes it's not and they have to spend the night in the church as we watch the rain and the fog come in I wondered if I was gonna get stuck several days in that little village but they managed to take off we managed to get back to Bethel but weekend week out work Monday through Friday have church pastor and took us at bay on Saturday come to Bethel and support the mother church on Sunday commitment sacrifice but you know what they love it because they're involved in winning souls and to see those 15 people in service praising God from the Eskimo people it's just warms your heart so whether it be thousands of people at a conference or whether it be 10 or 15 people in some remote village it's all about doing the work of God and I want to challenge you tonight what is God telling you to do maybe you're fully involved and you just need to hear keep on keepin on do not be discouraged do not be weary and well doing just keep on doing but maybe God is challenging you to step up maybe God has challenged you to make a new commitment to renew your commitment maybe God is opening a new door or maybe God is simply asking you to consider the possibility that when you go back home new doors might suddenly appear so let's stand together I'm going to let you preach the rest of the message but I'm going to ask you four questions and I want you to consider them carefully and prayerfully and and I hope that we can all come or many of us can come and pray all of us can take some time it's still early I'm actually ending earlier than the other nights but I have four questions first question what should you put behind you what is back there that's holding you back that's holding you down that you have not been able to let go of what do you need to put behind you in order to do the will of God in 2014 second question what decision do you need to make are you at a point where you need to make a decision what decision is God calling you to make what is he asking you to do question number three what obstacle are you facing maybe consciously or subconsciously you're intimidated or at least you're halted by obstacles you assume it can't be done you've had glimmers of thinking of what might be but you wrote it off because well there are too many impracticality it cannot happen nothing really can change so I ask you what are you facing what opposition do you see evaluate it but then stand up be strong courageous hear from God and don't do what the obstacles seem to dictate that you must do but do what God says you kan'u so what are you facing what's stopping you entering you and then the fourth question what does God want you to possess where that you personally is individual Saint in a local assembly or you as a preacher or you as a pastor or I'll apply this to the UPC of Australian whatever you've been discussing in your board meetings recently what does God want you to possession your home missions your overseas missions what are those goals and visions what is God been leading your leaders to think and to project what does God what the United Pentecostal church of Australia to possess when we come back this time next year if the Lord tarries in 2015 what do we want to see accomplished that has not been accomplished yet what new church do we want to report what you feel do we want to report what new city can we report that's open there ought to be some definite victories that we can bring back here in one year and everybody can rejoice and say we've opened five new churches and preaching points we open a menu city in Queensland or do South Wales are you pick it out we've opened a new church here we've opened the new island in the Pacific we started the UPC in the Cook Islands or whatever I don't know that's up to you but I'm asking you it may be your neighborhood it may be your suburb it may be right where you live what does God want you to possess it maybe your school where you're a student it may be your job what does God want you to possess I feel the Holy Ghost speaking tonight ha ha ha see if you feel God is speaking specifically would you come right now if you feel God is talking to you dealing with you about something come on I expect preachers and priests or spouses will want to respond but really I'm open to everyone if somebody needs the Holy Ghost you're welcome to come too because certainly God wants you to possess the Holy Ghost if you haven't received the Holy Ghost speaking of tongues it is the will of God ask someone to pray for you come forward receive the Holy Ghost but all across this building would you apply this message your own way what does God want you to possess and then move forward with strength and courage moving forward in the will of God

Channel: UPCAustralia

Views: 13,642

Rating: 4.8709679 out of 5

Keywords: UPCA, Conference, Jesus, Pentecostal, UPCAustralia, United Pentecostal Church of Australia, God, Gospel, Preaching, Reverend David Bernard, Moving forward in the will of God

Id: nw4Adwp1xI8

Length: 54min 44sec (3284 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 06 2015