Resurrection Sunday | #theEncounter Worship Experience

[Music] praise the lord everybody it's easter sunday is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of our lord and savior jesus christ come on lift him up worship him give him praise come on open up your mouth give god the glory this morning give him all the praise and the honor that is due to his name for our god is great and he is greatly to be praised come on lift up our resurrected savior he died for our sins he rose from the grave and he is now seated at the right hand of the father thank god for a victorious savior thank god that you have the victory bless his name right now that you have the power in your hands thank god for the holy ghost thank god right now for your salvation it is resurrection sunday and i don't know about you in the middle of all this covet and all these things that are going on we need to remember that we serve a resurrected savior come on and praise him give him a resurrection praise give him some resurrection worship and give him all the glory we bless the name of god we celebrate him for all that he has done for us we're getting ready to pray for you we're getting ready to believe god that this resurrection sunday this day of celebration this day where we thank god for victory this day that we thank god for new life through jesus christ we're believing god for you that you will be saved if you need to be saved you will recommit your life to the lord if you walked away from him you will connect to this church if you need a connection that if you are saved you will be healed delivered and set free that you will experience the resurrection of dead things we're getting ready to believe god for you for total restoration total resurrection and total revival we're believing god for you that the same god that rose jesus from the dead is the same god that's working in you right now let's get ready to pray let's get ready to believe god together let's get ready to worship him get ready to thank him come on let's pray father we thank you again for this moment we appreciate you for this time we thank you lord for this great day that you have given to us we appreciate you for this great moment that you have allowed us to experience thank you for being the god of our salvation the refuge in the time of storm the god of our help we give you praise today for being our great savior for being our messiah and not only that but being the soon coming king and we give you praise for that we thank you lord for all that you're doing in us and through us we appreciate you that the same power that rose jesus from the dead is the same power that's going to raise us up also we thank you lord for the holy spirit we thank you lord for resurrection power flowing through our veins bring us out of some things this morning resurrect us up out of some situations this morning deliver our hearts and minds set us free by your power and by your spirit holy spirit we need your power holy spirit we need your glory we thank you for what you're doing and we believe you to do great things we believe for a testimony that's going to come today by your great power and by your great glory and we pray this in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit amen y'all get ready for worship get ready for the word of god get your praise on keep your praise on high alert ask god to increase your faith and watch the lord do tremendous things we're getting ready to go into worship y'all get ready [Music] [Music] is [Music] me [Music] all i want is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] from the inside from the inside [Music] cause i want [Music] is [Music] is [Music] me [Music] [Music] to come fill us up so that's all they see is them come on [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Applause] is [Applause] is [Music] my [Music] that's all we wanted [Music] [Music] is [Music] all i want is [Music] all i want [Music] is [Music] give god excuse me is everything okay lady i'm in a shelter do i look like i'm okay well no but i was a little concerned seeing you lying out here is there anything i can do to help you now unless you can give me my life back let me guess you must be new here right how'd you guess lucky guess but listen i know that you probably think that this is the worst time of your life right now and you probably feel like you know things are hopeless for you and that there's nowhere to turn but i want you to know that i'm here for you and i can help you what are you one of the counselors here or something not exactly but i knew i do know that i can help you lady nobody can help me i can't even help myself if you haven't taken a look around it's pretty hopeless i'm hopeless man i went from a three bedroom house to a shelter so unless you can help me with that then i know i mean i don't think i can help you fix that problem but i do know that there's help for you wait i got something for you no no no no no thank you i'm good i already have one of my own that i have absolutely no use for i used to read it all the time till all this happened so you mean to tell me that you just gave up on your faith because of a rough season well if that's the case you need this more than i thought you did look lady that book is the last thing that i need right now all right matter of fact i really don't even know why the repo man didn't take that when he took everything else i had so how is that book or my faith supposed to help me now listen i think you can find exactly what you need in here you just got to know where to look look we can read it together if you want and look i've even i've even highlighted some passages that are important to me look look you know what i know what you should read psalms here it is it says never seen the righteous forsaken lady lady lady i know the verse all right i know that whole book but i'm not trying to hear that right now all right because if you haven't taken a look around clearly i have been forsaken so that verse is dead to me no no no you're wrong you have not been forsaken yeah you may be struggling right now and yeah you may even be suffering but as a christian you have to know that you are loved and cherished by god and as a christian you have to be able to look past all your troubles and know that you are still blessed blessed what are you how can you say look at me lady how can you possibly say that i'm blessed this is all i have this past year took everything from me man everything first i lost my job then i lost my car and just when i thought that i couldn't possibly lose anything else i lost the virus took my wife and because i had no job of course i couldn't afford the bills on my own so right after that i lost the house and after all that you would think that my friends and my family would have my back right nope instead they turned their backs on me so you can believe that david was talking about me in those verses all you want to but as for me i have absolutely no idea how i can pretend like i have not been forgotten or i haven't been forsaken how can i you know because everything may have been taken from you except your life you know every morning that you wake up that's a reminder that god has not forgotten about you and every day that you get man that's a blessing a blessing yes that's easy for you to say you know what why am i even bothering talking to you you can't possibly understand what i'm going through you probably live your nice little life in your nice little house in your nice little neighborhood and then you go to church every single sunday and then you praise god for all of the nice things and blessings that he's given you you have a whole lot to feel blessed and thankful for and then you come here and then volunteer for us the forsaken and then try to shove that you're so blessed crap down our throat i'm trying to hear that knowing good and well that you at any point in time when it becomes too sad or too rough or too much for you to bear to come in and see us like this you can just retreat to your little sub sanctuary in the suburbs you probably don't even live nowhere near here do you actually i live a lot closer than you might think like where some uh cozy condo in cherry hill some swanky little townhouse in in voorhees oh no you know what just by looking at you you look like you got one of those sprawling estates in morristown or something am i right man you know my face with that you know what i actually am the third door on the left down the hall the room right next to yours wait what you you live you live here yep and i've lived here for three years in those three years i mean i've pretty much been through everything that you've been through i mean i lost my job my home my friends i lost everything but even in that you know the one thing that i i still i never lost what my faith yeah it was my faith that kept me going when i felt hopeless but but but but how like how did you do that i'm actually glad you asked that and there's no better time to answer than this resurrect resurrection season that we're in right now you see when i think about the hopelessness that i experienced these last three years i think about those disciples and the hopelessness that they must have experienced right after the crucifixion their savior the one who came to redeem them had been snatched away how devastating and then how could things get any worse with no help in sight or so they thought and i often think about those disciples because despite of how things look three days later their help returned so those three days they symbolized my three years because i know those three days had to have felt like three years to them but in both cases god brought us through just like he's gonna bring you through so i know that i can sit here and i can tell you that this is not the end of your story i can tell you that god has not forgotten you he still loves you but anyway this is my last stay here i actually found a nice little apartment that's close to my new job really it's not much but it's it's a start to the life that god wants for me and i know with my little god can make that into so much more so surely if he did it for me i know he'll do it for you and you know god never promised us that we wouldn't go through troubling times but he did promise that he would be there to pull us through if we just reached out our hand and had the faith never seen the righteous forsaken huh i'm living proof maybe i am too hey bethany family desiree here to remind you all make sure that you join us for the recap every monday at 5 30 where you have kev doing the moderating you have myself dick and anton maya and reverend white make sure you come back so we can recap sunday service and we can have questions and comments and interact with you guys one on one so make sure you see us 5 30 monday good morning bethany family is kevin here and i want to invite you guys out to this tuesday to the focus singles ministry at 7 p.m you know uh pastor nick is always dropping them gems so make sure you invite someone out to join us this tuesday at 7 p.m and then we want you to come back on wednesday at 7 p.m because you know we get fed on sunday and we get fed on wednesday for word impact at 7 00 pm so make sure that you invite someone share it and let them know that we're on for word impact 7 pm with the dynamic duo i'll see you in the comments hey fresh family desiree shania and kevin here letting you know that we have a fresh friday panel coming up this friday with some exciting topics right kev here you know we have the the foolishness you know we have the fellowship and we also have that shade that some people like to throw but you know what time can they join us this friday you guys can definitely join us here on facebook or youtube starting at 7 p.m sharp no later than 7 we will be here ready to speak with you guys letting you guys know about all the different topics whether they're going around in the world or what we just think biblically you know what i mean so we hope to see you there in the comments on friday see you family [Music] please [Music] holy [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] me [Applause] [Music] me [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] hallelujah [Music] god [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Applause] yes [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] yes [Applause] cause you are [Music] no one else bigger [Music] no one else greater [Music] yes you are anybody know him to be a healer you can stand with us at home call him what he is he's my [Music] guess what he's the reason and declared i am [Music] praise the lord uh we just want to take a quick moment and pray for you all as when we're usually open on sundays we have altered prayer and uh what a great time for us to come together for a quick conversation with god this is holy week we've been praying for you all week long and had a prayer service last night at six o'clock and uh of course we're always receiving prayer requests and we just want to connect with you by faith virtually all of us coming together to intercede to fulfill the mission being a house of prayer for all nations for everybody for all people do me favor and join me in a quick prayer for resurrection and for restoration for revival for god to reverse some things divine renewal we put our faith in that that the god who did it before can do it again get the prayer requests on your mind the thoughts on your heart and connect with us in prayer now father we thank you for who you are and we appreciate you for allowing us to come to you in conversation come to you because you are the god that has created everything we saw from the very beginning how you organized chaos and how you spoke until things came to pass we bless your name that you're still that same god there are some things that are off in our lives some things in a ray but father we pray that through your word and through your spirit that you would begin to organize some things in our lives those things that are out of whack that you would bring them together i appreciate you today for divine restoration for divine reversal thank you for renewal make us over again just like you did in genesis 1 be that creator and that maker come down into the dirt of our circumstances and begin to shape us one more time again put your hands on us one more time lord continue to shake that image in us that image of your son continue to speak until our environment around us is productive and father i pray on this easter resurrection sunday that you would do it again let the faith of old begin to be manifested in our lives today i appreciate you today and we appreciate you for what you're doing lord you know the thoughts that are on our hearts and the things that are concerns to us and i pray that you would move on our behalf that father as we come together together as a collective body that lord as we intercede for each other i pray that you would answer our prayers that lord you would begin to show us who you are i thank you for resurrection power that same resurrection power that's flowing through jesus flowing right now i pray that you would renew that you would refresh and you would revive that you would bless the rest of this service that by the time it's over on this fasting period that lord will experience the power of your hand keep your hands on us lord touch us one more time continue to shape and make us and let the wind of your spirit blow life into us spirit of the living god blow on us now breathe on us now that breath of life that revives in the breath of life that renews and we believe it to be so we accept it and we receive it in jesus name amen praise the lord it is absolutely impossible to exaggerate concerning god [Music] he has been so good to you that those terms like good and merciful don't fully measure who god is because he is so extravagant because it is impossible to thoroughly describe him what we can understand is where he's brought us from the extremes that he had to rescue us from where he found us and where we are today only an extreme god could have captured us could have blessed us could have loved us in the extreme circumstances that we found ourselves and because of that our hearts should be moved towards him because faith does not come from your intellect faith comes from the heart believing in your heart that god had raised him from the dead and this heartfelt faith ought to be expressed with gratitude thankfulness if you begin to think about how far he's brought you where he's brought you from what he's taken you through what you're presently navigating at this very moment in your life it is impossible to think about him and not feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude god you have indeed been good and now we're in this easter season where he shows his unlimited love and his unlimited grace and mercy for you and i by sacrificing his son but not leaving him in the grave but on the third day he rose again resurrected just so he could come back and be the executor of the new testament which is his will and testament for you and i i am so glad this moment and the service has come that we get to do more than feel gratitude or think of gratitude as a concept but our gratitude now was pressed into action in our giving the bible is clear luke 19 offers the saint an opportunity to do with what god has given them what god has instructed that there is an opportunity available to us today that is only available to kingdom citizens you and i in christ and that opportunity is to give because there's something god has for you that is not yet seen that can only be possessed only be received by an act of faith the bible says very clearly we must tithe all the first fruits of our increase and that by doing so we honor god we show him how thankful we are for what he has done right now on this resurrection day i want to give you the opportunity go to the icon and release an obedient seat of faith called the tithe in the offering not because you have to but because you want to because god has been so extraordinarily good to you he's been kind to you he saved you he delivered you and now positions you and i in his power to receive that which our eyes have not seen our ears have not heard nor hasn't entered our hearts the things that god has prepared for them that love him go to the icon right now release that tithe bring it to him he says bring it because it belongs to him you cannot bring something you cannot give something to someone that belongs to them you bring it to them he says bring it joyfully bring it with gratitude bring it with a thankful heart go to the icon right now release your tithe and your offering now don't get confused later on i'm going to come back and talk to you about uh the first fruit for the resurrection seed but now we're giving god that time that he always expects from us and gratefully the tithe that you want to give today god bless you anticipate the response from heaven god says i will supply all your needs amen blessings this resurrection sunday we ask you to join us for the reading of the word of our lord and we are meeting in the book of john chapter 20. we're reading verses 15 through 18. john chapter 20 15-18 jesus saith unto her woman why weepest thou whom seeketh thou she supposing him to be the gardener sayeth unto him sir if thou have borne him hence tell me where thou hast laid him and i will take him away jesus saith unto her mary she turned herself and saith unto him rabbani which is to say master jesus saith unto her touch me not for i am not yet ascended to my father but go to my brethren and say unto them i ascend unto my father and your father and to my god and your god mary magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the lord and that he had spoken these things unto her blessings over this word [Music] this song is a song of to strength us of the victory during the test things will work out for me hallelujah [Music] listen to these words yes [Music] whatever [Music] however however [Music] god as long as you're in control [Music] is [Music] and we know that things will work out because your troubles and trials say [Music] to make you strong pay to make and the word says i reckon that your present suffering [Music] [Music] you but i'll just stand strong on faith [Music] [Music] for the good [Music] they work together work together for the good of him [Music] defy your situation and say he's working [Music] [Music] hey [Applause] because sometimes the it situation make sense but my brother gary said it doesn't have to make sense it has to make faith so why don't you get strong in your plate and lift your hands exhale all things work together all things say [Music] [Applause] for the good of them who love the lord [Music] [Applause] [Music] no matter what it looks like no matter what it seems like they're going to work together for the good of him for the good of him as long [Music] things will work [Music] i don't have to stress because as long [Music] things will work [Music] why don't you lift your hands wherever you are and say as long as you're in control [Music] why don't you bless them right there if you know [Music] things will work out praise the lord as long as he's controlled he's working it out for you with a marvelous promise and a marvelous reassurance that no matter what the circumstances appear what they present your god is in control and as long as he is things will work out for you i'm so glad you've joined us on this resurrection sunday glad that you have joined us for this encounter on this national holiday for the church celebrating not only the death burial but the resurrection of jesus christ our lord if you can right now i want you to share with some people and tag five or six people and let them know join us right now as thousands around the world join us at this present time to share in this resurrection message but also to get a revelation from god for what this day means to you and the type of warfare that you have been assigned to win not just the fight but every battle now before we get started i want you to get ready to sow our resurrection seed our first fruit offering at the end of service i will remind you to join us once again for our communion encounter tonight at six a communion encounter tonight at six o'clock join us so we want to get ready for first fruit at the end of service as well as join us at 6 p.m tonight for our communion celebration now without further ado as we continue and i'm amazed how god has worked this out in our chestnut checkers series but bringing it to bear upon this easter season i want to draw your attention to two verses of scripture and then i'm going to pray your salvation and then we'll start the word of god matthew chapter 13 as we look at what's going to be a part of our conversation for this resurrection message matthew 13 beginning at verse 27 the bible says something like this so the servants of the householder came and said unto him sir did not thou so good seed in thy field from whence or from where then hath it tears why are there tares present he said unto them an enemy hath done this the servant said unto him wilt now then that we go and gather them up but he said nay lest while you gather up the tares you root up also the wheat with them let both grow together until the harvest and in the same tent at the time of the harvest i will say to the reapers gather you together first the tares and bind them into bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn now go to john chapter 20. john chapter 20 as we take a look at verse 19 through 21 which now encompasses uh in a focused way our theme for this resurrection sunday john 20 combined with matthew 13. watch what it says verse 27 and verse 19 and john 20 says then the same day at evening being the first day of the week when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the jews came jesus and stood in the midst and said peace be unto you and when he said so he showed unto them his hands and his side then were the disciples glad when they saw the lord then said jesus to them again peace be unto you as my father hath sent me even so send i you our theme today is didn't i tell you didn't i tell you there are many of you watching us right now that uh absolutely have made a commitment to god you've been connected with god for quite a while now there are many of you also watching on this great easter day that have not yet come into relationship with jesus christ i think it's an incredible day not hypocritical at all that you would be moved on easter sunday to come into full relationship with god through jesus christ who died on the cross for you i think will be absolutely appropriate for you to decide today i'm turning the management of my life over to the lord because he's paid the price at calvary that i might have a life that i have not begun to live yet i think it's absolutely appropriate that today you make a decision in favor of god to lead the life you've lived behind and start searching for the life that he has promised you is yours there is a life that belongs to you that you can live an opportunity if you will an investment in yourself a spiritual investment in your future radically changing your present and therefore radically changing your future this is what jesus christ offers to you and i in this relationship he says i'm going to give you a renewed mind and that renewed mind repositions you to feel differently about the world around you but also about yourself all of a sudden with the renewed mind you begin to experience those things that god has said is impossible for those that don't believe a life a kingdom life begins to be the one that you have all the possibilities in jesus came as a human being to demonstrate for us what a human being could do in obedience and alignment with god he did not come to demonstrate what you were not going to be able to do he came to demonstrate what you and i were capable of in relationship with his father he said everything i do i do reflecting my father's will i don't do anything on my own so he limited himself in his divinity because we know he could do anything he was the son of god he is god in the flesh but he came down and limited himself to demonstrate for you and i what would happen if we would come into relationship with god and become committed to him and allow his spirit he told his apostles initially follow me and i will make you i'll transform you into fishes of men i'll take what you've done for yourself up to this very moment and transform it into kingdom work i'll take the skill set that you developed and that skill set now will become usable in the kingdom of god that is what god has in store for you today if you simply would give him your life say yes to what i'm about to say there are hundreds of you watching us right now may not know the lord at all i've got good news for you his arms are stretched out he already loves you he wants you to be in relationship with him he understands what you've come out of what you've come through and he loves you so much so that he says i want you i want you to be in relationship with me and you would be saying to yourself he may not want me he says whosoever calls on my name shall be saved i'll come into that relationship with them if those of you out there today got saved and perhaps there's been several easters but the lord has led you to join us today for this resurrection encounter and you are saying to yourself i don't know if he'll want me back i need you to understand he's been waiting for you to return something in you has been urgent letting you know the time is running out to make this decision to come back to him and today is the day that you can do that i'm also praying for those of you today who know the lord but absolutely know you need to be connected with a place where your identity will shift and you will become all that god has called you to be it is important to understand that in the kingdom of god nothing's grows to its maximum effectiveness without oversight that's what the gardener and the grapevine parable is all about it is under the hand of the tutelage under the oversight of the gardener that the that the bush produces more much more and more so today i want to suggest to you that you make a decision for the lord did you say yes to this invitation to come into relationship with god initially you say yes to coming back to god despite how far you've gone you haven't gone far enough that his love cannot reach you there yes you may have disappointed him but what's going to make him glad is your return last but not least you love the lord and you know full well that you've been searching for this type of ministry you've been following us doing the pandemic you've been watching us consistently participating in all the ministries you could and you realize now you know what i need to stop dancing around the edge of the pool and i need to get in the water i want you to say yes today come on let's pray god i thank you once again for this opportunity i thank you for those that have never known you those that know you and walked away from me i thank you for those that know you and love you god and are searching for a place to connect to a place to call home now in the name of jesus i ask that your spirit move on the hearts of those that have never given their lives to you never given their lives to you i actually put a yes in their hearts right now i asked lord that not only would you put a yes in their hearts concerning those who are coming to you for the very first time but you put a yes in those hearts of those that need to return to you today and what a great day to do so resurrection sunday i pray for those that have been searching for a church home and now realize i found it and now lord they're saying to themselves i've got it but i'm so far away lord we have a solution move them to connect with our connections church that's our virtual church worldwide and enjoy every benefit except the physical structure until you lead them to a local church i bless your name now all that you're going to do and i thank you for the yes and the yes and the yes in jesus name amen all right chess nut checkers didn't i tell you i don't know if you're aware of it or not but you are in an identity war that challenge that war began in the garden of eden the first clear example of an of a challenge to identity happens to adam and eve in the garden image and likeness activated by the breath of god activates makes alive the identity in the first two children of god in the garden of eden so identity is not just who you see yourself as but identity is also whom you are connected to we are when who we are with where we gather and the words we speak identify us and because we live in what i call an economy of attention where where things and and and culture and suggestion and questions are vying for your attention there's also a fanatical uh war for your identity now the formal definition of identity is the is the set of characteristics which a thing is recognized or known for the set of behaviors or personal traits by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group equality or condition as being the same as something else so i'm identified with something whether i understand it or not so god gives us his image gives us his likeness so we are if you will exhibits or is set we exhibit a set of characteristics that give an indication that we are with god and we will be recognized as belonging to him however during the time that we've been alive i've been alive there have been times when i have been involved in things and i became recognizable by those whom i was with and by the places that i was going so when we look at the garden of eden we see the serpent as a type of tear sown in the field where adam and eve live in other words they're sown among god's people or sown among the wheat the serpent represents not only a war of identities a war of worlds but also a war of words let me say that slower the serpent represents not only a war of identities but also represents a war of worlds or dimensions but also a war of words adam and eve are the first sheep of god's pasture all sheep listen to me closely all sheep have an enemy the enemy desires to tempt you away from your purposed context because context in life identifies you distract disrupt so you disconnect from your green pasture and it's by our own decisions so doubt is the tear in the midst of your faith doubt is the terror sown by your enemy in the field of your faith it distracts it disrupts so you disconnect from the identity from the purpose of god and from your destiny in god when we look at matthew 16 jesus is having a conversation the context of the text and it's a test of knowledge faith and the wheat nites is a test of identity simply stated the lord asks his disciples to identify him let's go matthew 16. matthew 16. all right watch how this works now this is beautiful matthew 16 wanna go down to verse 13. you've seen it before we're going to look at it a little differently now we're talking about the war of identity when jesus came to the coast of caesarea philippi verse 13 and matthew 16. he asked the disciples saying whom do men say that i the son of man am and they said some say thou art john the baptist they've been in conversation with others who have other views on him and they've entertained that conversation some say you're elias and others jeremiah or one of the prophets and you might be saying well how is that proof hold on and he said unto them but whom say ye that i am simon peter answered and said thou art simon peter answered and said thou art simon peter answered out of all the apostles out of all the disciples simon peter answered and said thou art the christ and the son of the living god and jesus answered and said unto him look at the specificity in the text jesus is having a conversation it's about identity his watch this which we will reveal theirs because who i'm connected to if part of is part of my recognition recognizability in this world watch what happens here he says blessed art thou simon bar jonah for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto you but my father which is in heaven you've got a connection with god that is revealed in your knowledge of me which means you're with us watch how this works so jesus is having this conversation and it's a conversational test of knowledge it's a test of faith it's a test of identity simply stated the lord asked his disciples to identify him to shift from an opinion about who he is to knowing who he is so he begins with the conversation that has produced doubt in his own disciples hearts you've got to be careful about the words you entertain they're very quick to reveal what they have learned from others very quickly reveal what they've learned from others however jesus never has a conversation without a purpose this is going to be phenomenal who do you say i am if they don't know who he is they can't fully know who they are in his kingdom they can't fully understand who they are as disciples a part of your identity a part of your recognition is a part and parcel of whom you are connected to jesus understands this he testifies you can recognize me identify me because who i am connected to when you see me you've seen the father one disciple out of the 12 shows us the certainty and the inconsistency of identity at the same time the certainty and the inconsistency of identity at the same time simon peter identifies jesus correctly and is rewarded with keys of the kingdom of heaven this is amazing and the authority of a kingdom identity but a few verses later four verses later jesus calls him satan let's take a look verse 18 i say also unto thee thou art peter upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it and i will give unto thee the keys plural to the kingdom of heaven and what's a different keys to different doors to heaven access authority identity and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven then charge he he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was jesus the christ hmm so peter has a revelation they've been listening to other people their identity is questionable because they're in opinion and not faith and then all of a sudden peter says that and now they're ready to hear watch this because god rewards peter with keys to the kingdom now they're ready to believe watch what happened 21 from that time forth began jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go into jerusalem suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day so he starts teaching them reinforcing them consistently then peter took him and began to rebuke him imagine the nerve of peter rebuking the lord jesus saying be it far from the lord no way lord this shall not be unto thee now this is the guy that just a few verses ago was credited with having an amazing revelation that his brothers did not have was given keys at that particular time that his brothers were not given recognition and authority in the kingdom to bind and loose that his brothers did not have at that particular moment and then jesus turns around four verses later and says but he turned and said unto peter get thee behind me satan how do you slide from a full revelation of christ jesus to jesus himself having given you keys now call you satan let's take a look so peter has one revelation one moment and is now recognized as the devil himself he doesn't call him jesus doesn't say you're acting like satan jesus doesn't say you're being influenced by saying he calls him satan because he identifies not only what's driving peter but what peter's message his words are representing jesus calls peter satan recognizing peter is identifying with satan in that moment you need to hear what i said it is the strongest rebuke you'd ever want to get from jesus the lord jesus calling a believer satan peter the one with all the revelation of the moment in the same moment if you will is now recognized as the enemy to christ jesus and to the saints of god there is no stronger rebuke for a child of god than for the lord himself to call you satan jesus calls him satan merely recognizing whom peter is identifying with in the moment now this is somewhat understandable they have been living with the visible tangible touchable comforter then jesus says puts puts puts keys on the line he says this you are going to to need the cross of identity to be recognized as mine you're going to need the cross to be recognized as mine i'm going you have to take up your cross and follow me you're going to have to be recognized by the identifying structure called the cross the prophetic guarantee of jesus death is now a challenge to their faith to the future and to their identity let me say it again the prophetically guaranteed death of jesus by jesus is a challenge to the disciples faith to their future but also to their identity the persecution that he said he would experience comes just like he said go to john 17. john 17 the persecution comes just as the lord said watch what he says now john 17 beginning at verse 9. watch this now john 17 beginning at verse 9 i pray for them i pray not for the world but for them which thou has given me for they are thine talking to god and all mine are yours god and you are mine and i am glorified in them and now i am no more in the world but these are the in the world i come to thee holy father keep through thine own name those whom thou has given me that they may be one as we are one while i was with them in the world i kept them in thy name wow those that thou gavest me i have kept and none of them is lost but the summer perdition judas that the scripture might be fulfilled so he intercedes because he's dealing with identity in the text god wants to get glory out of our lives on earth people should see jesus in us jesus christ prophesies i'm going back i'm coming back to my father then he says in verse 12 something amazing none of mine is lost except one the son of perdition that scripture might be fulfilled now go to john 18. all right so watch what happens now let's start at verse 1 when jesus had spoken these words he went forth with his disciples over the book cedron where was a garden into the which he entered and his disciples so jesus and his disciples are getting out of the hustle and bustle of ministry for a moment going aside to pray they're going to relax and judas also which betrayed him knew the place for jesus often resorted there with his disciples watch what happens betrayal can only happen on the platform of intimacy betrayal can only happen by someone who is close to you strangers obviously can't betray you but someone close to you who knows your habits knows what makes you tired what makes you strong knows your strengths knows your weaknesses those individuals can betray you judas knew jesus so well he knew where to find him if he happened to be missing from the public watch this now verse 3 judas then having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and pharisees cometh there with lanterns and tortures and weapons hmm jesus therefore knowing all things that should come upon him went forth and said unto them watch the words done who are you looking for whom seek ye then answered him jesus of nazareth jesus said unto him i am he and judas also which betrayed him watch this stood with them stood with the people with the weapons with the torches that had come to arrest jesus so now jesus and his disciples are standing in one group and judas is standing with the group of the adversaries he has now switched identities based upon who he is connected to i hope you're getting this now watch this verse 5 again they answered him jesus of nazareth jesus said unto him i am he judas also which betrayed him stood with them as soon as soon then as he had said unto them i am he they went backward and fell to the ground god in heaven spoke through jesus christ and the enemies were slain in the spirit not dead alive watch how this works then ask hear them again who are you looking for and they said laying on the ground jesus of nazareth watch the word watch the prophecy didn't i tell you jesus answered i have told you that i am he if therefore ye seek me let these go their way he prophesied of all that are mine i should lose no one except the son of perdition judas that that the saying might be fulfilled which he speak of them which thou has given me have i lost none do you all see this thing so judas is with the chief priests and the pharisees they come with the lands and the torches and all jesus can say is didn't i tell you judas now identifies with the enemy this is the one who shared the meal this is the one god gave a chance to turn it around jesus speaks he breathes on his enemies the wind of the holy ghost leaves his body knocked all of them backward slain by the spirit just to declare you're not taking me i'm coming with you judas now stands with them recognizable as the enemy of christ imagine that identities so recognizable that no one is mistaken today that judas was not recognized not by jesus but by the enemies of jesus and then jesus says let these go away because i told you i lose nothing did not tell you i lose nothing that belongs to me didn't i tell you i lose nothing that belongs to me now this obviously was a disappointing day for jesus judas betrays him not long after peter at a critical moment of faith denies him judas betrays peter denies go to john 18 24 let's take a look now annas had sent him bound unto caiaphas the high priest didn't i tell you simon peter stood and warmed himself they said therefore unto him are not thou also one of his disciples he denied him and said i am not one of the servants of the high priest being his kinsmen whose ear peter cut off said did not i see you in the garden with him then peter denied him again and immediately the crew my goodness didn't i tell you you would deny me peter they convict and crucify him and they bury him the disciples hide but there's this woman named mary right here let's go to chapter 20. john chapter 20. let's see go down to verse 11 watch what happens now it's very important for your understanding but mary stood without a deceptical weeping as she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre she looked into the tomb and seized two angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of jesus had lain that's an old testament tabernacle illustration of two angels guarding the holiness of god and they say unto her woman why weep is thou and she saith unto them because they have taken away my lord and have not i know not where they have laid him and when she had thus said she turned herself back and saw jesus standing and didn't know it was jesus jesus said unto her woman why are you crying who are you looking for she supposing him to be the gardener says unto him sir if you have borne him hence tell me where if you've taken him somewhere tell me where you laid him and i will take him away then jesus said unto her mary she turned herself and said unto him rabboni which is to say master then jesus said something amazing to him because obviously she's reaching for me he says don't touch me for i am not yet ascended to my father but go to my brethren and say unto them i ascend unto my father and your father and to my god and your god and mary magdalene watched this came and told the disciples that she had seen the lord that he had spoken these things unto her my goodness so mary magdalene tells the disciples in hiding watch what happens she goes same day look at verse 19 now then the same day at evening so from morning to evening time is the time lapse being the first day of the week when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled to fear for fear of the jews came jesus and stood in the midst and said on them peace be unto you and when he had so said he showed unto them his hands and his side just so you guys know didn't i tell you then were the disciples glad when they saw the lord so they're crowding all around him yo jesus you're back didn't i tell you i was coming back and he says peace be unto them because their peace had been disrupted by the challenge their identity you need to hear what i'm telling you watch what happens then say jesus unto them peace be unto you as my father have sent me even so i send you didn't i tell you i would rise from the dead i told you i would rise again because this is chess this ain't checkers i told you that i would come back and redeem i told you that when i got to heaven i would send the holy ghost what you need to understand in the context of where we are right now in the context of where we are at this present moment in this phenomenal part of the gospel is that the lord left in the morning went to heaven because he says i have not ascended mary don't touch me but the same evening he returns to the disciples and they are able to embrace him so it didn't take a month for him to go up he went up immediately captivity was set free the captives were set free he led them out to a place of peace he went back to his father presented the blood in front of the father got received from the father and then turns around and comes back to finish his assignment on earth and now he's touched he sees timothy later timothy says i'm not going to believe it till i stick my hand in the womb he allows him to do so because the ascension had already been accomplished the victory was now complete he already gone back and sat on the throne sitting next to his father he was now at the right hand so he had occupied the seat but he came back to complete his service we're in a war of identity we're in a war of words i told you i would rise again i told you i would heal you i told you i would deliver you i told you that i would answer your prayers jesus never ever taught unanswered prayers because none of his were ever unanswered i told you i would answer your prayers in my name didn't i tell you that if any man believes on me i saved him did not tell you that i would give you the holy ghost didn't i tell you that i would be your redeemer your savior your deliverer your healer your strength your support didn't i tell you i'd be all that to you didn't i tell you i never leave you nor will i forsake you what an amazing savior what a monumental god we serve i am honored that you've taken the time to share this great resurrection day with us and that you need to know what god has done he will do what he has done he will do read his word connect with his history and find out what he's going to do in your future so now we come to the part of our easter celebration easter encounter where we bring our first fruit to the lord proverbs tells us honor the lord honor the lord it comes from that gratitude i talked to you about earlier in the service treat him like he is to you who you say he is honor the lord with thy substance and give him the first fruit of all your increase had a personal revelation a while ago and and many many children of god are operating underneath the privilege because not only do they do do they not tithes many don't die but they want the blessing of god when as a good father he'll provide but he can't bless because we won't give him permission to bless salvation's by grace favor is earned so so jesus comes along and the bible comes along and begins to teach us about what we have to do and i had this personal revelation that saints were struggling either they weren't tithing or they were giving god the net in other words they were they were having a meal didn't finish it or didn't want the rest and gave the leftovers to god imagine on one hand saying how good god has been to you and then giving him whatever you think is right when he's commanded us to do so he says i want a tenth of all the first fruit of all your increase watch the revelation first fruit is connected to increase i'm going to increase you if you release the first fruit i cannot be released to win the war in the spirit you're restricting god from defeating the adversary he says but if you give me that first fruit give me that tithe i'll defeat the enemy for you so right now thousands all over the world are bringing an additional time to the lord as prescribed in exodus 23. three times a year the bible says we should call for this and when some people would wonder well why would i do such a thing i do it gladly because i remember where he brought me from i remember he brought me out of bondage with an incredibly mighty hand and i give it gladly i give it with gratitude i get it i give it thankfully because he's done so much so go to the icon right now and join us all over the world as we release these first fruit offerings to the lord for those who have been nailing it thank you for mailing i've already prayed over them for those of you that are releasing through electronics today do it we will pray over those also i am declaring that philippians 4 13 you can accomplish all things through christ philippians 19 as god's reaction to your sowing into his kingdom he shall supply all your needs according to his riches his extravagance in glory today is the day you pronounce over your own life an intentional breakthrough by giving god what he requires that's the first fruit of all your increase god bless you thanks for joining me today on our easter encounter our resurrection encounter here at bethany church the transformation church of lindenwald new jersey i want you to make a decision today give your life to christ come back to the lord connect with this great ministry connect with this anointing site you're on send us a note one of our workers will get back to you as soon as possible tell you what the next steps are i look forward to seeing you in class seeing in bible study seeing in lifestyle ministries so look forward to your engagement with the kingdom with your new identity in christ and in the house of god stay strong and stay safe and remember faith acts like a thing is so even when it's not so that it might be so have a blessed resurrection sunday you

Channel: Bishop David G. Evans

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Id: kuY2nGuqWek

Length: 88min 46sec (5326 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 04 2021