Revival Night: Robert Madu

victory belongs to jesus victory belongs to him i can't get that out of my spirit [Music] victory belongs to jesus victory belongs to him when they were singing that song so crazy they would pick that song of all songs to sing because i felt like some of you at the beginning of 2021 you want to get excited about what god is doing still carrying the disappointment of 2020. you feel like the children of israel like who we got our freedom but now you got the reds here in front of you and pharaoh's coming back behind you and i don't know who this is for but i want to say to you what god said moses to moses to tell the people do not be afraid stand still and see the salvation of the lord i'm telling you he will fight your battles this enemy you see today you are not going to see again how many are you thankful you don't have to fight the battle because the victory belongs to jesus come on it is here somebody needs to give god some praise in advance for it tonight if you know that victory belongs to jesus stand still and see the salvation of the lord god i thank you tonight and we don't have to fight our battles thank you that you will fight for us lord would you teach us this year to trust you to fight the battle [Music] we lean not on our own understanding god but in all our ways we acknowledge you this year god i thank you that you're going to guide every single path in jesus name everybody say it come on everybody sin amen give god one more handclap of praise and let me get a table or a podium or something come on happy new year word of life anybody feel revival in your spirit on the first revival night of 2021 uh you can be seated you can be seated i am beyond excited and thrilled to be back this is a part of my new year's tradition is to come to word of life and preach the word and uh i'm so glad y'all aren't sick of me okay i've adopted myself into the family i hope you know that and uh it's just amazing i say it all the time because it continues to happen that every time i come back to word of life there's always some testimony of you growing of you expanding and here i come back in 2021 after a crazy year like we had and you got another campus and god is still building his church i'm telling you how many thankful to be a part of this house are you thankful i hope you don't ever take it for granted hope you don't ever treat it casual or lightly what god is doing i hope you don't ever take your pastors and your leaders for granted i'm so thankful for pastor joel and pepe for who they are for how they live come on would you let them know how much you love and appreciate them they're amazing kids i got so much joy watching y'all worship during service y'all are amazing please pray for my three little humans especially the youngest who is not saved amen but uh it's just amazing i love you guys so much and i'm uh i'm bringing you greetings still from the great country of texas uh my wife taylor says hello and i'm here with my father robert meduse senior my dad is here help me thank god for my dad i preach better when he's there praying for me and i don't want to assume anything and i know we got people watching online how many you've never heard me preach before can i see your hand you've never heard me okay quite a few of you okay uh quick disclaimer i'm a holla back preacher okay all right so for the next six and a half hours uh that we have tonight uh make sure whether you are in this room or you at home already in your pajamas watching make sure you are shouting and saying amen and you have some expectancy for god to speak to you tonight because i believe that he is i want to jump straight into the word i want to go to mark chapter 2 tonight mark chapter 2. and if you've got a bible would you wave it in the air i could just do care come on some of your bibles are glowing you charged up your bible appreciate you mark chapter 2 i want to look at verses 23 to through 28 and we'll also go into mark chapter 3 verses one through six when you're ready to read it say yeah if you're not ready you need some time to find it say hold on i heard that hold up i'ma wait for you bro i'ma wait for you mark chapter 2 starting at verse 23 and it says one sabbath jesus was going through the grain fields and as the disciples walked along they began to pick some heads of grain the pharisee said to him look why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath he answered have you never read what david did when he and his companions were hungry and in need and in the days of abe athar the high priest he entered the house of god and ate the consecrated bread which is lawful only for priests to eat and he also gave some to his companions and he said to them the sabbath was made for man not man for the sabbath so the son of man is lord even of the sabbath another time jesus went into the synagogue and a man with a shriveled hand another virgin says withered hand was there and some of them were looking for a reason to accuse jesus so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the sabbath jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand stand up in front of everyone and jesus asked them which is lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do evil to save a life or to kill but they remained silent he looked around at them in anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts and said to the man stretch out your hand he stretched it out and his hand was completely restored completely restored then the pharisees went out and began to plot with the herodians how they might kill jesus can you say amen is so much in this text that i'm intrigued with but you know the beginning of every year especially when i was growing up in church the declaration for the new year always had to rhyme with the new year you remember that like like in 2005 you were coming alive uh in 2006 you were going to get it fixed in 2007 it was the year of open heaven come on do i gotta go through all of them 2008 god was gonna make you great 2009 you were gonna be fine in 2010 you were determined to win come on 2011 you were gonna get the heaven that you're supposed to get in 2007 but you had some things you were working out 2019 i mean all these rhymes and i don't have that rhyme today but here's what i truly believe i believe that 2021 hear me is going to be a year of restoration a year of restoration is that anybody says there's some things that i know have to be restored to me this year a year of restoration and i want to preach today using this as a title where restoration starts where restoration starts if you do me a favor just look at somebody next to you say neighbor come on just look at them right in their face say neighbor we're restoration starts look at the other person you completely ignored in the room or in your living room say other neighbor you need to know where restoration starts if you're believing god's going to restore some things would you give them some praise in advance father thank you for your word thank you for your presence god i pray you would speak god i pray that you would heal our land god we need you god we cannot do life without you so lord just at the beginning of this year we posture ourselves for all that you're going to do in us and through us in jesus name everybody said well restoration starts a restoration starts they say that hindsight is 20 20. as we stand in the early weeks of 2021 how many you know hindsight is literally 22-22 i don't know about you but 2020 taught me some things it taught me some lessons a myriad of lessons the first lesson i learned in 2020 as we were sheltered in place with my six-year-old my four-year-old and my three-year-old first lesson of 2020 is that our school teachers are grossly underpaid i'm gonna say it one more time our school teachers are grossly underplayed send your stimulus check to every school teacher immediately that's first lesson i learned in 2020 another lesson i learned in 2020 is that your greatest ability really is adaptability oh god can use you if you have adaptability if you are not stuck and married to things as they always were that you don't know how to pivot and transition into what god is doing you will never become who god has caused you to be if you don't know how to adapt that was a lesson from 2020. another lesson i learned from 2020 is not really a lesson but i was reminded of it and that is that the church is not optional the church is essential oh come on somebody i learned that the church is absolutely essential i'm telling you i can deal with a bad barber i'll just have a bad haircut i can deal with a bad dentist i'll just have a toothache i can deal with a bad plumber that's fine my house will flood but i cannot have a messed up church we need a living breathing vibrant church in the times in which we live the church has never been more necessary than it is right now oh it is not optional it is essential and i'm thankful for technology and shout out to y'all watching online but i'm also thankful for the ability to gather together and lift up the name of jesus oh i'm telling you i love worship with y'all some of y'all was singing off key like me but that's cool because there's something about worshiping god together the church is essential and i think i took it for granted the ability to gather together and lift up the name of jesus but something interesting i also learned and i'm thankful especially to be in here and see your faces even if you've got a mask on i can see your eyes some of y'all are smiling at me it's amazing to see you in this room but uh what's also interesting is that uh although it is lonely on this stage it's pretty lonely it's just me a couple of guitars but it's not as lonely as it was during the pandemic when i was preaching in empty sanctuaries looking into an abyss of darkness just hoping what i was saying was resonating on the other side so i'm thankful to have people sitting in the sanctuary today but i was thinking about where you're sitting i was thinking about how i have a vantage point that none of you have right now because i can see you you can see me if i look at the screen i can see me but what i find intriguing is you can't see yourself like you have no idea what you look like right now you know what you look like before you left the house you know what you look like you stopped in the bathroom before you came into service but you don't have a clue what you look like in this present i do but you do not know what you look like look at you the nerve the audacity timeout 20 21 new year new me you can't even see you you don't know what you look like in this present moment i'll take it further you ever experienced the phenomenon of having kale salad at lunch trying to do right and then about 6 00 p.m you get to your house and you go to the bathroom mirror in your own house and see the biggest piece of kale lodged in between your teeth and you're thinking to yourself wait a minute i had lunch at 12 o'clock it is 6 45 i talked to at least 30 people did nobody want to tell me that i had a big old piece of kale in between my teeth because isn't it crazy the things you miss when you can't see your self this is why every change that happens in your life must first occur with self-awareness oh here we are in 2021 and some of you talk about new year's resolution you need a new year's revelation you need new year's recognition of the things in your life that god wants to transform that god wants to restore that god wants to breathe a life into but how many you know you cannot see it unless you become aware of it all change in your life starts with self-awareness and this is the challenge of life because you cannot see yourself i'll never forget talking to an influential leader and i was asking this leader so many questions about leadership and this leader said to me he said robert there's actually a question that i ask that helps my leadership i said what's that question he said well i asked this question of my wife he said i asked this question of my kids he said i ask this question of every single person that i love and i lead i said what's the question he said here it is i asked them what is it like to be on the other side of me what is it like to be on the other side of me he said i asked that question because i don't have perspective on that i don't know what it's like to be on the other side of me he said so i asked the people that i love and that i lead he said then i have to pause and take some humble pie and listen to what they say and not get offended and not get mad and listen to what they say in case there are blind spots in my life because i cannot see me maybe you're watching this message you're like oh i'm done i'm bored i don't need this word i'm good in 2021 i'm a good husband how do you know you've never been married to yourself i don't know what's wrong with these kids they need to get themselves together i'm a good parent i know that you saw christmas i'm a good parent how do you know you've never been a parent to yourself i don't know what this corporation is going on in here i'm a good boss i'm a really good boss how do you know you've never worked for yourself you ought to put an intercom in a break room you'll see what people really think about you and what it's like to be on the other side of you i'm just saying in this new year if you're really gonna have change your prayer needs to be god help me to see what i cannot see so i can change what i need to change and don't let me live my life seeing what everybody else needs to fix in their life then i never take inventory of the things in me that need to be changed come on is there anybody that says i cannot repeat 2020 going through the same cycles of dysfunction but i need god to reveal the things i cannot see so their restoration can come oh it's easy to look at what everybody else needs to change but never see what's wrong with you and herein lies the problem in my text and the problem with the pharisees the pharisees the pharisees were so proficient at seeing what everybody else needed to fix in their life but they could never see what was wrong with them this is the pharisees problem that's why i call them the fair i see there i see because they could always see what was wrong i see i see what's wrong with you they could always see what was wrong with somebody else but they could never see what was wrong with them they were real good at microscopes they could see in finite detail what was wrong with other people but they were real bad with mirrors they could never look in the mirror and see what was wrong with them here's what i love about preaching about the pharisees is that nobody ever thinks especially in church that they're the pharisees in the text you ain't never in your bible reading life type cast yourself as the pharisees come on every time we read the bible we're the person that's broken we're the person that's hurt and it's like oh i'm the one with the blind eyes i just need vision lord help me you know we never see it isn't it funny the people that regularly come to church never see themselves as the people in the bible who regularly went to church so maybe another question is not what is it like to be on the other side of me maybe another question is is there some pharisee and me the pharisees were real good at microscopes horrible with mirrors they could never look at themselves and jesus had a way of revealing themselves to themselves and showing them who they really were oh they had issues with jesus they had so many issues with jesus let's just go through their issues with jesus because they had a lot what issue they had with jesus was they were just simply jealous of jesus they were just jealous that's really what it was they were jealous of jesus because jesus was stepping into his purpose the reason for which he came and i need to warn somebody in 2021 whenever you step into your purpose how many you know people are going to be jealous of you people are going to criticize you people are going to have something to say you may as well just get used to it if you don't want criticism then say nothing do nothing and become nothing but i'm telling you when you start stepping into your purpose you will have people who are jealous of you you will have people that will criticize you i'm telling you it comes with the territory you may as well just toughen up your skin and get ready for the jealousy it is a part of doing what god has called you to do i love what one writer said he said jealousy is the trophy that mediocrity gives to excellence i'm a rwandan so you can tweet it jealousy is the trophy that mediocrity gives to excellence when you're doing what god has called you to do people will be jealous they were jealous of jesus another issue they had with jesus were the claims that jesus made because jesus claimed to be the son of the living god and they knew his address they knew where he came from they're like boy please son of mary and joseph you'll build them dumb bird houses in your dad's carpeted shop you ain't no son of god no good thing can come out of nazareth you ever met those people whenever you step into what god has called you to they always remind you of your past and remind you of where you came from they could not stand the claims of jesus they also could not stand the people that jesus hung out with oh because you know jesus had a reputation jesus had a reputation for hanging out with people that had horrible reputations he was always hanging out with shady scandalous broken messed up people they couldn't stand that but hear me all of those issues are not what got jesus on the cross that was not their biggest issue we read it in the text the biggest issue that got jesus crucified was that he kept doing stuff on the sabbath that was their big issue that was the hot button issue all the other issues were peripheral the hot button issue was that jesus kept doing stuff on the sabbath and he wouldn't stop it and they could not stand it because they took the sabbath seriously oh i'm telling you the pharisees did not play with the sabbath they had been given a command to keep the sabbath holy all the way from the book of genesis when god spoke the world into existence and on the seventh day he rested he ceased from his word they did not play with the sabbath they honored it they added rules and regulations to the sabbath to keep it holy oh they didn't play with the sabbath at all that's what got them killed in fact i found out even today you know jews don't play with the sabbath they're serious about the sabbath i learned this the hard way i went to israel went to israel i went to the holy land a few years ago i'll never forget it and i'm i'm in the holy land i'm walking where jesus walked having an amazing time and it was hot it was hot so i was drinking a lot of water drinking a lot of water and i missed the bathroom break missed the bathroom break i think i was in bethlehem having a moment and i missed the bathroom break and we get back on the bus and we get to the hotel and i got to go i got to go so i jump off the bus and i run into the hotel i hit the elevator button i get on this elevator i'm on the eighth floor this elevator stopped on the first floor on the second floor stopped on the third floor stopped on the fourth floor i'm on the eighth floor it stopped on the fifth floor on the sixth floor i passed out i am dying stop on the seventh floor it finally gets all the way to the eighth floor i rush out of the elevator into my room i come back out get on the same elevator it stopped on every single floor all the way down to the lobby by the time i got to the lobby i had attitude i said no no i got to talk to a manager i need to speak to somebody i paid a whole lot of money to walk where jesus walked and they can't fix the elevator in this hotel this is ridiculous and i'm about to find the manager oh i was so mad i had an attitude and then somebody from our tour said where are you going i said i'm going to talk to the manager they need to fix that elevator it stopped on every single floor they said oh robert it's the sabbath i said i don't care what day it is they need to fix the elevator it stopped on every single floor they said robert you didn't see the sod that's the shabbat elevator i said i don't care if it's the shazam elevator they need to do something to make it go to the room that i'm on they said robert you understand it's the sabbath that's the shabbat elevator to push a button would be to work so that's the elevator they use on the sabbath i said ah i thought it was crazy then you should see what they added in biblical days oh my goodness they had added so many rules and traditions to the sabbath i won't give you all of them because it's a long list people you can only take 1 199 steps if you took the 2000 step you were working on the sabbath you could light a candle on the sabbath you couldn't write a letter on the sabbath you could look in the mirror on the sabbath because you might see a gray hair and pull your gray hair out and that would be work you couldn't wash on the sabbath because if you spill water you would try to clean it up there was all kinds of rules they had added on the self and you sure couldn't heal anybody on the sabbath and you sure couldn't restore anything on the sabbath and in all of those rules and all of those regulations and all of that tradition here comes jesus who splits eternity and steps into time and broke every single one of their rules because he cared for people and he came to seek and save that which was lost somebody ought to thank god for a savior that will break rules to redeem you oh i don't know what your image of god is but some of you think god is in heaven with some big old hammer waiting to knock you upside the head that is not the god that we serve i'm telling you he broke rules to pull you out he broke rules to restore you oh i'm telling you jesus kept healing people on the sabbath he couldn't help it oh can i give you a quick little bible study you remember luke chapter 13. remember luke chapter 13 there is a woman who has a spirit of infirmity this spirit of infirmity has caused her to be bent over for 18 years can you imagine 18 years not ever able to get yourself up 18 years constantly looking at the floor 18 years can't pull yourself together or get yourself up you know i love the new year because everybody's trying to get their self up on the new year and get themselves together and it's so funny we try to help ourselves we have self-help sections isn't that the funniest section in the entire bookstore self self-help how you gonna help yourself yourself is the one that got you in a mess in the first place anybody old enough or wise enough to know you can't help yourself you can't pull yourself up you can't save yourself come on that's why you needed a savior for 18 years this woman could not get herself up and here comes jesus full of grace and truth and he says daughter thou are set free you are loose from this infirmity and for the first time in 18 years she's able to stand up straight the problem was he healed her on the sabbath you remember john chapter 5 john chapter 5 there is a man who's been sitting by a pool called bethesda and for 38 years this man sat by this pool this paralyzed man and every so often an angel would stir the water and whoever got in would get their healing and for 38 years this man missed his moment you ever felt like you missed your moment some of you couldn't even get excited about 20 21 because the enemy's going oh no it's too late for you maybe maybe in 2015. you know you're too old now you two this now you have missed your moment for 38 years this man had missed his moment 38 years sitting by this pool until jesus comes up to him one day and says hey do you want to get well do you want to get well now i got to give a preacher confession okay because i preached this text when i was like 19 years old okay and at 19 i preached this text like jesus had an attitude with the dude okay because how you know we read the bible we don't get vocal intonation we don't know how jesus asked it so when i preached it at 19 i was like bro 38 you can't get your life together by 38 oh i don't have any compassion for brother man i'm like bro for real 38 years by 38 years you could at least roll yourself close by the pool i had no compassion so i said jesus asked him with attitude do you want to get well do you even want this as if jesus was annoyed with the people that he was about to heal oh but i'm turning 38 this year so i know what it's like to have some issues that you're still working with come on i have grace now now i know jesus didn't ask that with an attitude jesus asked that with new year's expectation saying hey do you want to get well i know you think you missed your moment but no no no no this is your day this is why i came to bring restoration oh you're too quiet for me for a revival would you give god some praise if you're thankful that even when you think you missed your moment even when you think your dreams and your hopes are gone god will step in and say do you want to get well he gets up and that man started walking for the first time only problem was it was the pharisees couldn't stand it john chapter 9 don't forget that dude who is born blind he's born blind and jesus and his disciple jesus and the church staff members see this man who is hurting who is blind and the church staff members ask the most ridiculous asinine question of jesus they said jesus um who sinned for him to be in this position him or his parents what a dumb question you see how narrow that question uh it has to be his fault or his parent's fault but who's saying for him to be in this position look at the dumb question that they asked look at how they have narrowed the reason for his suffering they said the reason he's got to be suffering is because of something he did or something his parents did oh i need to preach this to somebody coming out of 2020 because the enemy will come in your mind after a year like we had and make you think that your suffering is because of something you did or because of the consequences your actions and can i tell you that is not always the case it is not always the case that suffering is a direct result of your personal sin that is not always the case now sometimes it is hallelujah amen sometimes your suffering is a direct result of your choice and your sins so don't blame the devil that was you boo boo okay you responded to that dm okay that one the devil that was a decision but that is not always the case that is not always the case you cannot always reduce suffering to sin look at what jesus says he says neither you idiots he said this happened so the glory of god could be revealed in his life some things in your life are simply because god is gonna use it to get the glory out of it and that's why you can't quit and that's why you can't throw in the towel cause god's gonna get the glory out of it come on is there anybody that can testify this year that you believe in god's gonna get the glory out of these finances god's gonna get the glory out of this child i've been praying for god's gonna get the glory out of the church come on maybe that's why we're seeing what we're saying because the church has been apathetic and the church has got to wake up god's gonna get the glory out of it but you cannot reduce all suffering to personal sin so jesus broke all kinds of kobe 19 rules spits in mud and puts it right all in the dude's eyes told him to go wash the problem was he got his sight on the so the pharisees started making a connection and like he won't stop it when he sees broken people he's gonna do something about it he can't help himself this is what he does he restores so he said we gotta watch him especially on the sabbath make sure he doesn't break our rules so all of a sudden now i'm in my text oh that was my intro so they are in a grain field you got to see this they're in a grain field stalks of grain and they are following jesus and his disciple they are stalking they are literally stalking him they're shut awake some of y'all they're they're stalking jesus and he's decided like we got to see if he breaks the world they're literally stalking him and it made me laugh pastor joel because they don't like jesus they don't like him but they're following him they don't like him but they're still following him some of y'all gonna get it in about three minutes they don't like him but they're still following him this is what i don't understand about our world today and social media if you don't like me then why are you following me you know you can push on follow isn't it funny from jesus days to the day that people won't like you but they still following you trying to say and i want you to see i want you to see i want you to see religion look at him looking all constipated let's watch religion versus relationship look at jesus with his disciples the disciples are walking through the grains and fields them about man jesus man we love hanging with you man you are preaching today man they serve it on the mountain that was long you long winded but boy man you can preach man we didn't even get to eat jesus come on man i'm glad we're in this grain field man i'm hungry she's like get you some you know what you're just having a good time eating grain and stuff and laughing you do know that the kingdom of god is a kingdom of joy of happiness of joy joy is the fruit of the spirit something you need to determine in 2021 you're gonna get your joy back oh get your joy back this year joy has nothing to do with your circumstance joy is a decision now they are having a good time eating as soon as they grab some of that grain here they go the pharisees pop up ah i see jesus y'all been following us the whole time they're like yeah we have we saw it and i can see i can see the disciples still got grain in their mouth like like don't even know dude and i can see jesus going don't even worry about it don't peter calm down keep eating keeping i got you i got you don't don't say anything i got you because how many know this is the season in which we live in you got to be careful and have wisdom to know what to respond to and what to ignore what to speak to and what to be quiet about jesus like don't keep eating i got you he looks at him and says have you not read where david was hungry and he ate some of the bread that was consecrated only for the high priest to eat have you not read when david did that even though it was unlawful for him to eat and when jesus asked that he's throwing shade because he knew they had read it they knew the word they had the first five books of the old testament memorized they knew the word but it's a difference between knowing the word and knowing the author there's a difference between knowing the letter of the law but having the spirit of it and they had lost the spirit to the point that they had elevated their code of conduct above compassion and their tradition was trampling on people and he said you have missed what i came to do i came to seek and save that which is a loss and you don't get to elevate your programs over people they were left stunned because jesus shut them down leaves the grain field and goes into the temple and starts teaching on the sabbath and he left him in the grain field just dumbfounding like well let's follow him into the synagogue and i see him walk in worship team join me and i see them in the sanctuary looking for broken people because they know he's going to do something about it i can see them scanning the crowd going oh oh they good they're good no she's fine she got both her legs yeah she's oh man i can see them looking because they know that if there's broken people he's gonna do something about it this is why there has to be some broken people in the church i don't know when the church turned into this museum for perfect people how many know this is a hospital where hurting people should be able to come in no matter what their issue is i love a church got some people smell like they've been smoking something before they walked in i love a church got some people that might say hallelujah and because they still working through some stuff that's what the church is supposed to be and i can see them scanning looking for messed up people i wish you could come to dallas and come to social dallas me and my wife are leading we literally meet in a rock venue and people come off the street hi is there a cover charge we like now y'all come on in supposed to be hurting and broken people in the church and i can see them scanning looking looking where he's going to do something if somebody's heard oh oh hey hey we got one we got one there he is who third row on the back third row in the who is that you know willie really yep really with the withered hand that's him willie here comes willie walking in late hide in his hand it's funny how you laughed at me calling him willie with the withered hand that's not in the bible i gave him the name really but i'm i've noticed that people often will identify you by your issue they will define you by your dysfunction oh we do it today oh you see kelly yeah she's on her eighth husband oh you see fred oh yeah he's he's the meth addict it's funny how people would define you by your defect they called him really with the withered hand the man with the shriveled hand they didn't call him the man with one good hand not the man with two good eyes no because people will define you by a defect they'll label you by a mistake you may some of you right now if it's not other people is you you define yourself by one moment in your life and your issue is not your identity who is this for today you are not your issue greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world if anyone be in christ you're a brand new they creature him by his defect and i don't think willie came in to get healing that day oh he was not expecting to get healed oh come on every person that encountered jesus that knew he had miraculous supernatural power if they wanted healing they said something if they were blind they said lord son of david have mercy on me if it was a woman with the issue of blood she pressed her way through because those were desperate situations and they knew jesus can't miss he is ten for ten he will always bring healing and restoration so any person that had a desperate need knew that if you ever get in the proximity of jesus you better open up your mouth and say something if you need something but not really you know why because a withered hand is not like a blind eye it's not like a deaf ear you can live with a withered hand you can have some mobility you can do some things a withered hand is the thing that you have learned to live with it's the thing that you've lost hope because you said god you can't fix they got up i i cried out for you to heal this last year and the year before that so i'm not even going to pray about it this year it's the thing you have learned to live with and god sent me all the way from dallas texas to mississippi to tell somebody he wants to restore the thing that you have learned to live with the thing that you have given up on he wants to bring restoration to that that marriage that you think is over that relationship you think can't be redeemed those finances you think can't be salvaged i'm telling you that's what he wants to bring restoration to the thing you've learned to live with he wasn't expecting to get healed so imagine imagine when all of a sudden the pharisees notice him and then jesus notices him and the pharisees noticed jesus notice him and jesus notices the pharisees noticing him noticing him and the pharisees are looking at him like you better not heal him it's the sabbath all this is happening with their eyes you better not heal them mr sabbath and jesus looking at them like oh you don't think i'll heal him on the sabbath [Music] really huh stand up in front of everyone [Music] yeah brings him to the front and then he turns to the pharisees now god has all power he can heal any way he wants you know this right he could have healed that man anyway he didn't have to bring him to the front he could have spoken the word to him he could have snapped his finger to heal him he didn't even have to be in the proximity of the people that he heals he can just send healing that means every miracle is a parable the way he heals is teaching you something about the story and about his character so he says stand up in front of everyone and then he looks at them and asks them a question is it lawful to do what is good or evil on the sabbath to save a life or to kill oh look at the simplicity of that question only one way to answer that question is it lawful to do good or evil to save a life or to kill a life do you see what jesus is doing he's taken the most complicated religious people because that's what religion does it makes that which is simple complex but guess what grace does grace makes that which is complex simple he said let's forget all the rules and all the regulations i want to know simple answer is it lawful to do good or evil save a life or destroy a life you know what he's doing this is the law crashing into grace because grace always makes the complicated simple this is what our god does aren't you thankful that he took it from ten commandments to two and said just love the lord your god with all your heart soul mind and strength and then love your neighbor as yourself cause grace makes the complicated simple which one is it isn't it funny they came to set up jesus jesus flipped the script and set up them which one is it they remained silent wait a minute pharisees you don't got nothing to say you were real loud about them picking heads of grain but you don't have anything to say about somebody who's broken who's hurting it's the problem of the pharisees spirit and don't forget you can't see yourself is that pharisees are loud about certain issues but they're real quiet about other issues they'll scream from the mountaintop about certain issues but other issues they will be silent about and they said nothing and jesus is showing that the same way that that man's hand has become shriveled and hard and rigid [Music] same way your hearts have become hard and cold and rigid because you do know that your heart and your hand are connected anything that you are going to reach out for with your hand it first starts in your heart your heart and your hand are connected and here we are in a new year wanting god to fix the external but how many know god always heals you from the inside out he was trying to get the pharisees to do with their heart what he ultimately asked that man to do with his hand he said stretch forth your hand stretch forth your hand i could see that man going jesus how you gonna ask me to stretch forth my hand if i could stretch it i would have done it i don't know how he said stretch forth your hand jesus i can't if i could stretch it out i would have done it before he said no there's a difference i am commanding you to stretch forth your hand and how many you know anytime god commands you to do something within the commandment will always come the empowerment for you to do it i'm going to say that again when god commands you to do something within the commandment he will give you the empowerment that you need to do it come on if he's telling you to start that business and it looks scary he's going to give you the strength to do it because he's telling you to do it because he'll empower you to do it is there anybody's thankful that anything god asks you to do he's going to give you the power and the strength to do it if he's telling you you can walk on water it's because you can if he's telling you to lift up your staff that means the red sea is going to split if he's telling you to shout that means the wall is going to fall down it's not your job to figure it out it's your job to trust him and do what he told you because whatever he's commanding you to do he will give you the power to do it and as he stretched as he stretched restoration came to his hand what he did with his hand he was trying to get the pharisees to do with their heart where does restoration start starts in your heart starts in your heart what you be asking god for in 2021 a new house a new car new job maybe but i would ask him for a new heart because if he can get to your heart your hand everything external will take care of itself but he wants to give you a new heart that's where restoration starts starts in your heart would you stand to your feet all over this place today just bow your heads and close your eyes father [Music] would you give us a new heart a new year [Music] god 2020 [Music] for many of us broke our hearts [Music] there was disappointment [Music] some dreams were lost hope seems like it was completely deferred [Music] god i pray right at the beginning of this year we would not let the disappointments of the past come into the present god help our hearts believe again help our hearts trust again [Music] jesus give us a new heart this year god give us a heart that desires you more than anything else [Music] god maybe that's why some of us went through the stripping is because our heart got so much affection from other things but god would you take us back to the simplicity of our hearts just wanting you god as you heal our hearts i thank you that you're gonna restore our hand the thing you've called us to do brings strength to our hand and god i thank you that the strength comes through the stretching god as we stretch out you're strengthening us start in our hearts heads about eyes are closed [Music] i don't know who i came for today but i know this message is for somebody god says this is the year of restoration but the restoration is gonna start in your heart some of you there's bitterness there's unforgiveness that's been in your heart towards somebody you've been holding and god says i want to bring restoration there you've been asking me to fix something external your hand but i want to start in your heart some of your honors you've been angry at god [Music] god says would you allow your heart to become soft again to believe me again heads bowed eyes closed and even those of you watching around the world online right now if you say man that's me i need a i need a new heart for this new year you just lift up your hand as a sign to say god that's what i want bring restoration in my heart you know this is for you just lift it up and put it right back down thank you jesus thank you god thank you god anybody else that's me i need a new heart for a new year hallelujah can we sing that victory belongs to jesus i believe god wants to do heart surgery [Music] come on can you lift up your hands and just begin to sing this victory belongs to jesus [Music] victory belongs to jesus [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] i want to do one more thing just before pastor joel uh comes but could just bow your head and close your eyes one more time i want to give somebody an opportunity on this revival night and right at the onset of this year to say jesus my life is yours i can think of no better time right here at the beginning of a new year where so many people are making resolutions for a new them that are going to be broken in two weeks there can actually be a new you and that new you will not be predicated on something you do but it's based upon something that has been done for you when jesus lived the life that you were supposed to live and died the death that you were supposed to die on the cross come on you can't fix yourself you cannot save yourself [Music] that's why god sent a savior because he knew we needed one a head's about in this room and wherever you're watching this right now god's presence knows no limits it knows no bounds he'll meet you right where you are there's a reason you haven't logged off yet because you know god's speaking to you but in this room or wherever you're watching this from you say you know what 2021 i need to begin this year by surrendering my life to jesus giving him my life if that's you would you just lift up your hand just as a sign and say god i'm giving you my life this year yeah thank you god thank you god thank you jesus yes anybody else i see these hands i see these hands thank you god come on let's pray this prayer we're going to pray there's one big family especially those of you who responded can we pray this prayer with those who responded and say dear jesus thank you so much for loving me enough to pay the price for my sin jesus i believe you are the son of god you died for me you got it from the grave for me you're coming back for me jesus i admit i cannot do life without you i need you forgive me of my sin make me brand new i am not defined by my dysfunction my issues are not my identity i am a child of god [Music] from this moment forward i'm walking with you in jesus name amen amen amen come on if a man what you pray come on can we celebrate and give god some praise today come on word of life you can do better than that come on can we give jesus some praise tonight you

Channel: Word of Life

Views: 1,238

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Id: 2YRr5BguZ2Y

Length: 55min 17sec (3317 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 08 2021