Snakes Come Out After the Storm | Tim Dilena

if we choose if we choose to get through every door around the world with the gospel then i have to tell you and i want you to get this today then one of the things that god began to speak to my heart is and we're going to share this that snakes come out after the storm snakes come out after the storm after 18 months of getting through what many thought to be the hardest battle that the church around the country and around the world has faced in this 21st century i want you to listen very carefully our job is not done since we opened up the front doors of the church our job is not done now we are preparing i believe and i'll explain what i mean for snake strikes as we seek to see every door around the world open up the enemy will not allow this to go unchallenged can i can i give you something to rejoice about since last week can i tell you people that are joining us right now not just watching a service but connect groups around the world are now in argentina brazil canada colombia dominican finland france ghana great greece haiti honduras hong kong israel jamaica nicaragua panama philippines spain sweden russia and the ukraine hallelujah [Applause] so let me tell you this time square church before we pray here is something i saw in a church in in atlanta georgia that says this god always promises a safe landing but he never promised a smooth flight so here's what i'm going to tell you buckle up turbulence is ahead and let's pray father in the name of jesus i pray that you would speak to us this morning i believe that you are going to challenge us i believe that you're going to encourage us today i believe that god those that are listening here in this building around the country and around the world oh god are going to understand that that that greater is he that is within us than he that is in the world and we believe that today in jesus name and everybody said amen hallelujah i want to share with you today it was on july 20th 1985 that one of the most amazing discoveries were made just off the florida keys it was the spanish gold ship was discovered the atoca right off florida the cargo that they saw some decades ago was estimated to be over 400 million dollars in fact they said that the treasure had 24 tons of silver coins and bouillon 125 gold bars 1200 pounds of silverware but the thing that interested me as we're gonna begin to dive into today was another treasure that they found on this boat the atoca you ready for this they found 400 year-old seeds like plant seeds in the airtight container seeds that been has been sitting on the bottom of the ocean for 400 years think of it seeds in a container on a ship in the ocean ocean floor no oxygen and four centuries and some scientists asked in 1985 this question can these seeds grow after 400 years in a container in the ocean on a ship at the bottom of the ocean and folks they took those seeds after everything was against it and over in the uk they planted 400 year old seeds and you know what they found there was still life in those seas and they began to grow that regardless of the conditions they were put in the power of life in 400 year old seeds began to grow a storm couldn't stop them the ocean couldn't stop it a shipwreck couldn't stop it 400 years couldn't stop it and can i just remind you today matthew 13 says god's word is called a seed and i want you to understand this god's word has staying power it keeps growing regardless of the adverse conditions it is put in let me just remind you you can try to shut it down you can try to vote it out you can try to remove it but you're dealing with the word of god it will grow it will get large it will spread you can't stop the word of god today i want to take you to another ship though this one is not off the florida keys this one is in the mediterranean and this one is not found in 1985 but it's found around around 230 or 40 a.d and it's found in the mediterranean ocean and it's acts chapter 27 and god spoke his word his seed in adverse conditions and it didn't stop what god had to speak see in acts 27 there was a prison transport that with 200 the bible says and 76 prisoners on board but there was one very famous prisoner that was on that board and amongst them that man was the apostle paul he was part of those 276 prisoners the boat was going to rome but it also was getting ready to go into a storm and eventually not just a storm but it was getting ready to go into a shipwreck and in fact it would be so bad of a shipwreck that they were going to have to float on the pieces of wood to even survive and they did they floated all 276 of them to shore on pieces of wood and before they can catch their breath the cold weather cold conditions came they started to build a fire and a snake comes out and bites you ready for this only one of them only one of the 276 convicts was bitten by a snake guess who it was the apostle paul of all 276 i have a strange feeling that that was orchestrated by the enemy himself but he is not the apostle paul is not supposed to die in a shipwreck he wasn't going to die from the cold or from the venom of a poisonous snake because there was a seed that god put inside of him he was supposed to go to rome and there was a seed that word that was going to come out of him that was going to begin to spread around the world and we're going to get to what that seed was in a second but that word was going to survive a shipwreck it was going to survive frigid temperatures and it was going to survive venomous snakes because god's word i'm just going to tell you let's just update it for a second god's word can make it through shutdowns pandemics and whatever comes our way god's word can make it through here's the point i want you to understand if the devil can't stop the word with a storm then he's going to attack it with a snake and that's exactly what the apostle paul that on the other side of a storm was a viper but it didn't stop the word of god let me give you here's here were paul's words and the conditions that they came in i want to show you this is paul's words like the seeds and the atoca the acts 27 ship was going down but the ship but the word of god was going to begin to grow a ship was going down but that seed was about to go see in acts 27 it was the bible says that that ship was at the mercy of the high winds listen to the adversity it was going to be up against there was no ability it says that there was to have steer the ship violently being storm tossed they threw everything overboard it said it was so bad they couldn't even see the sky and verse 21 says all hope was abandoned of even survival and a word in those conditions adverse conditions comes to the apostle paul i want to read to you that what the apostle paul said here's where the word comes the seed that was going to be the container was paul the seed was the word of god and here's what paul said he said for this very night what night the night we couldn't see the sky the night we couldn't control the ship the night that we threw everything overboard the night that high winds went contrary to us and the night that the ship started breaking apart he said on that very night an angel of god to whom i belong and whom i serve stood before me here comes the word of god saying do not be afraid paul you will stand before caesar right in the midst of the cracking of the wood hearing the rain begin to come upon that boat he says don't be afraid you're going to stand before caesar and behold god has granted you all those who are sailing with you he says those are the ones that are going to be able to say that we survive dave paul says because i survive everyone here is going to survive and i want to read to you the end of the story acts 28 14 right in between snake bites and shipwrecks the bible says in acts 28 14 we came to rome he said nothing could stop us if the word was there there wasn't frigid cold there wasn't a shipwreck there wasn't floating on an ocean or a snake bite that can stop the word of god if god said you're going to stand before caesar and you're going to go to rome then you're going to do that because god's word cannot be stopped i love what the the 18th century 18th century uh american and english evangelist george whitfield said listen to these words he said this i am immortal until god calls me home let me say that again i am immortal until god calls me home which means no man no storm no virus no snakes no plane no pandemic decides what my death date is god determines that god determines that you are immortal until god calls you home i learned that i learned what this passage meant firsthand i was flying down some years ago to louisiana to go preach i didn't know what god wanted me to say and i felt that god put a word in my heart for the church that i was going to i felt that god dropped something in my spirit now to get to louisiana and where i was going you couldn't fly direct and i was here living in brooklyn and you couldn't get down there so you had to go through atlanta and then fly into into louisiana when we were flying it was during hurricane season and while we were flying i'm telling you folks it was the worst turbulence it was the worst weather and that plane was going up and it was a small plane it was going up and down and i'm telling you i didn't realize how many christians were on that plane because everybody kept saying oh jesus and so i was going this must be a christian plane this is what makes this absolutely amazing and it's going up and down oh jesus oh geez i'm going like this we could have church right here with the oh jesus people but here's what i knew i knew god put a word in my heart that needed to be delivered to that church so while everybody else was saying oh jesus i knew that that plane needed to get to the ground because god put a word inside of my heart i didn't do but i should have said all of you get to live because i'm getting ready to preach a word in this church and you're welcome that's where the apostle paul was everybody gets to live on the ship but let me talk to you about the other side of the storm times square church just when you thought the storm was over something else that we have to face and this is where i want to start today in acts 28. the bible says this that when they had been brought safely through then we found out found out that the island where they shipwrecked on was called malta listen to those words again safely through which means they made it now just wait because soon as you catch your breath here comes verses two and three you ready for this as soon as you go we made it the bible says the natives showed us extraordinary kindness you're going like okay thank god the storm is over because of the rain that it set in because of the cold they kindled the fire and received us all and then it says this in verse three but when paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand look up here for just a second those that are watching online i want you to listen to this last sunday we were able to open up times square church after 18 months we celebrated what god has brought us safely through but i wish i was over there where our deaf ministry is interpreting standing right over there and i wish you could have seen what i saw the first time those doors were opened and what it did for my heart the line they said started at 7am to get in here at 10 am the line went down and then we we we just opened up the front doors and you couldn't fit everybody in the lobby and then at nine o'clock when these doors opened up folks i saw people coming down and i'll never forget the sight after 18 months people came in crying singing rejoicing running down they came like captives out of babylon back to jerusalem and to worship god i watched them come down and i was going like hey this was a pandemic this wasn't nebuchadnezzar this was this was a moment and i watched it 18 months of a storm and last sunday as we sang we rejoiced we shouted and we were safely through but listen get it now but we got safely through but buckle up because though the storm is over the snakes come out because then our ship landed on monday and oh is there a monday all of a sudden we started to hear and started to pray from from covet cases that we we started to pray and go god we're gonna pray healing i'm just being honest with you and we started to pray and then on tuesday i got footage that came in of um from elder chris and our security team that there was a knife attack right here on two i'm going like we just got through and now you got coveted and knives you have things that are starting to come up and and all of a sudden you're starting to think then what you're faced with that as we're sitting here i'm once again i'm reminded god's promise is a safe landing but not always a smooth flight but let me tell you this about this journey times square church i want to encourage you that we are going to be victorious that though the viper will strike this is what it says i love these words listen to that verse three again a viper came out hear these words say them with me those last four words because of the heat you know the way i could say this the fire awakened the snake and here's what i want to tell you if times square church is on fire snakes come out let me just tell you don't get on dead churches the enemy's not interested in let the fire of god fall down in this place go ahead and announce that i'm not ashamed of the gospel of jesus christ i'm telling you it's a heat that will await the snake but i want to tell you just like the apostle paul that greater is he that is in you that when that snake latches on i love what the apostle paul did he didn't rebuke it he didn't cry out to the devil he didn't look and rebuke anything else he just shook it off and kept going on that sometimes you just got to go you know what i've got these hands i just got to shake this thing off and let god do what god wants to do hallelujah we will be victors but satan will not allow us times square church to get into every home on this planet without putting up a fight the enemy knew he needed a viper to stop the apostle paul why we'll get to that in a second but if our goal is not only to open up the doors on 51st and broadway but to open up doors around the world the snake will come out after the storm once we open up these doors we have got to get ready because the heat is going to awake the snake when i see countries and states connecting that's fire and where there is fire there are snakes and i want to prepare us just for two thoughts today i want to encourage you and i want to prepare you today i want to prepare you for the snakes after this i want you to write down these two things because i want to walk you through this that i see in the life of paul and here's what here's the first thing we and i'm gonna explain this is better than me let me say that again we is better than me those that have walked with me on staff here for the last 18 months have heard these words that words matter and one word in this passage is really important let me read it to you it's acts 28 1 that we read already but sometimes we can miss this small little word listen to this word it says when they had been brought safely through then here comes the word we found out that the island was called malta pastor tim why is that important get this down now the we passages in the book of acts show that luke the writer and the doctor is present with the apostle paul these occur in such important spots in the book of acts it's where paul is not alone but he's walking with somebody through some of the toughest times it is the we passages are evident in in acts but this is where luke inserts himself as the writer is found in acts 16 when the gospel goes to europe that's where you see another we passage in acts 20 remember the upper room where paul preached a really long time and a kid falls through the window eutychus falls down and dies the it was it was luke that says we were there to see that resurrection of that young man it's in acts 21 when phil when there's going to see philip and they hear a prophecy that whoever wears this band is going to go to suffering in jerusalem luke heard that prophecy and then again here in acts 28 that little word we tells us a lot we means luke and i want you to get this luke is on the ship luke is there at the shipwreck luke is on the ocean floating with paul on a piece of wood luke is on an island when he sees his companion gets struck by a snake here's what i began to realize even the most spiritual man on the planet needed someone with him on his journey even the most spiritual man on the planet needed somebody with him on this journey i want to ask you a question time scripture i want to ask you online no matter where you're watching from and that's this do you have someone that will go through shipwrecks storms and snake bites and adverse conditions with you listen i don't need a golf buddy i don't need a fantasy football comrade i don't need someone to go with me to the brooklyn to the barclay center or the bronx to yankee stadium i need to know someone can float on wood with me i need to know that when a snake bites and strikes my home that you're there that you're going to be walking through with that folks i think we try to get the wrong comrades in our life because what we need is i want to know can you float on wood in the middle of an ocean when it's really cold that's what we're looking for proverbs 17 17 says this a friend loves at all times but a brother is born for times of adversity or one version says it like this friends love through all kinds of weather whether it's stormy or whether it's stunning i need people to go through that no matter how spiritual you are you need people on this spiritual journey with you that's why these connect groups are so important church that's why we're challenging countries around the globe that i'm telling you there are people here that will go through storms with you that will float on wood with you that will help you shake off snakes that if you're watching today and you're going i feel alone in this country i feel alone in the middle east i feel alone in in in this nation in northern africa i want to tell you there are believers around the world that are going to say if you're floating will float with you if your bit will shake it off with you and if you need a word from god we're going to pray with you that god will give you that word we want to believe for god to do because i'm just telling you i can't do this by myself i need godly people and you better make sure you have a we and your we is a serious christian because the wrong we will mess up your life don't raise your hand because you may be sitting next to your we let me tell you a story of someone who found their we that we were given permission to tell this happened last week it's elizabeth's story i i elizabeth's story is incredible this came to us on monday elizabeth was here for the 1pm service last week but a journey to times square church wasn't on the docket for her to come to 1pm at times square church she was on her way to central park from new jersey to play her guitar in central park while she's on a new jersey transit bus she's sitting next to an older filipino woman who is watching the 10 a.m service on her phone on her way to the 1pm service so elizabeth the central park guitar player asked the older filipino mom here comes the we asked the older filipino mom what concert are you watching this is awesome filipino mom looks at elizabeth and says i'm watching worship at my church in fact i think you should come to church with me elizabeth and now instead of going to central park by herself now elizabeth turns from a me to a wii and this filipino mom walks elizabeth into times square church last week at 1pm and not only you ready for this not only did elizabeth come to church when it was time to be born again elizabeth raised her hand and not only did elizabeth raise her hand when our prayer teams prayed for people at the end elizabeth came down to be prayed for and not only did she get prayed for our hospitality team took her next steps not only did elizabeth go to next steps but elizabeth got connected with our next gen and our college ministry that's there because if elizabeth is a me she ends up playing a guitar in central park and going back to the same life but because there's a we and her we wasn't luke the doctor it was a filipino mom who sat on that bus watching that and who knew i just couldn't see listen i'm just guessing i couldn't see that filipino mom with earbuds on so i had i have this sense that filipino mom had the volume up watching that thing on that bus but let me tell you something elizabeth's me turned into a we and that we is one day going to be rejoicing in heaven because elizabeth became born again on that day let me close with this and watch where the snake fights because it may tell you something watch where the enemy is going after because snake strikes are strategic satan strikes ares get this down satan strikes areas that god wants to use let me say that again satan strikes areas that god wants to use okay side note here the storm is over and it left paul and luke in a place that wasn't on their itinerary they weren't they didn't know they were going to end up in malta they didn't they didn't realize that and here's what i started to realize when this new york city storm this global pandemic ended i know there are people that we don't see anymore because they're living in a different place because the storm changed so many different things physically and some spiritually and some both but god has a way of using storms to get us to the place that we're supposed to be or i love what one person said she said this sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together that boat fell apart because god was about to do something on the island of malta see god has a way of using storms to bring us to places in our lives that we wouldn't have gone to on our own and i think that happened with us here see it's called the providence of god if i had to define the province of god and this is important for me just to take a little side note here providence is god using circumstances to direct our steps and get us in the right place i believe that these last 18 months god brought us times square church to a malta where we wouldn't have gone on our own it redefined us of what we're supposed to do just with with connect groups and technology and not just open up doors of a church but open up every door around the world and that's providence it's the providential hand of god going like you thought it was a shipwreck and you thought it was a snake bite but i was going to do a whole bunch more through that i i love the story i mean god can use anything i was reading the story of a pastor who pastored a storefront church in the midwest and this is important the pastor's church just a little small church the name of the pastor's church ready for this was almighty god tabernacle of our savior and lord jesus christ apostolic church of god in christ i think there are more words than there were people in the church let me read that again because this is important almighty god tabernacle of our savior and lord jesus christ apostolic church of god in christ i'm so thankful for times square church i'm just gonna tell you that saturday night this pastor went to that storefront church and was preparing his message for sunday and as was as always is what he did here's providence 10 pm is usually when he calls his wife and says i'm on my way home and the pastor said he got on the phone called his wife and no one answered the phone and he let the phone ring many times but it was odd that she didn't answer because it was always a phone call honey i'm on my way and she didn't answer he hung up and then he tried again and his wife answered immediately and he just goes why didn't she answer the first time she said it never rang the phone never ran so he just brushed it off as just simply as a fluke and went on his merry way and but always remember the providence of god god working out circumstances here's what happens this pastor told the story that the monday after service the pastor received a call at his church office from the phone that he used saturday night and a man spoke and said why did you call my house on saturday night at 10 pm the pastor couldn't figure out who this guy was and what he was talking about and then the guy said it rang and rang but i didn't answer and then the pastor remembered he goes oh my goodness that was me i hope i didn't wake you that was my fault and the pastor profusely apologized and the man said that's okay let me tell you a story here comes providence get ready the man said i was planning to commit suicide on saturday night but before i did the gun was loaded and ready to go i prayed god if you're there and you don't want me to do this give me a sign he said i have on my landline a caller id and your church couldn't fit on that except the first couple words which was this god almighty he said at 10 a.m at 10 p.m the phone rang and it was god almighty rescuing me that night come on jesus all right back to the island i have to say this you know what i loved about this story is now remember that they're building a fire you know what i loved is remember who's gathering the wood the apostle paul isn't it amazing that the greatest christian on the planet saw the gathering sticks was still a worthy task instead of him going like i'm the apostle this is my third mission this is me instead of him going like i don't do sticks let me just tell you something here at times square church we serve so we do we do greeting we do nursery we do online we do this don't ever think that you're sitting in a chair makes it unworthy if the apostle paul can pick up sticks we can serve in the house of god but don't ever think that something is an unworthy task that was for free that's a side note okay here we go the snake will bite the area where we serve god in the greatest capacity this is what i want to close with here it comes look at acts 28 first three but when paul had gathered a bundle of sticks laid them on the fire a viper came out we read this because of the heat it fastened itself on his hand when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand they began saying to one another undoubtedly this man is a murderer and though he has been saved from the sea justice has not allowed him to live however he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm here it is hear the words and fastened itself on his hand church watch where the snake bites because you may learn something here's my question why did the snake strike his hand you ready for this because paul was supposed to write four more new testament books why would he strike his hand because he had four more new testament books that needed to come out what paul was about here comes the seed you can't hold that seed down folks what paul was about to write would not just be available for the churches but that in that first century it would be available to every person on the planet for thousands of years later because it is the seed the word of god can i give you just a sneaky personal thought that i have here i have this sneaky suspicion about the snake bite i think number one it was his writing hand i really do i think paul was putting sticks there and that certain went on that hand that was so if he was a righty i think it hit his right hand because that was the hand and i think he this is total this is total supposition i also believe not only is writing him i believe he had two little snake scars on his hand that as he was writing those books of the new testament i have this thought that as he's writing he'd look down and see that serpent bite and all of a sudden he would look at his hand and say that seed is still going out devil that seed is still going out you try to stop it but let me just tell you something all you got were two little scars i got four more books to touch the planet that is gonna begin to touch people's lives let me put it to you this way i grew up i'm going to age myself here i because i i think this is important because paul's roman jail cell produced those four new testament books let me just give them to you before i say this paul's four new testament books here it comes ephesians colossians philippians and philemon still needed to be writ which needed to be written those four books did still needed to come and here's why i needed paul to bounce back here's where i date myself um i grew up as a kid in the 60s how many remember this crazy toy that was a bozo the clown come on i got some old people here i've seen you okay how many know what i'm talking go ahead you can come on folks we already know you're old come on just go ahead and raise it raise your hand it was this rubber thing this bozo the clown with a red nose and if you hit it what happened it came right back up folks i'm telling you i not only would hit it i would take a wiffle ball bat i would strike it what it would do came right back up and smiled at me i threw a shoe at it it would come right back i kicked it i threw things at it and no matter what you did that thing kept coming right back up because here is the issue because on the bottom of that thing it wasn't the plastic on the outside it was something that they put on the bottom of that they put a weight on the bottom which says no matter what you do externally there's something stronger internally that says you can knock it down it comes back up smiling right in your face that you can look at this thing i'm telling you you can throw listen that what was in it internally would not be dictated by the externals that was supposed to come that's why you can throw paul in a shipwreck he shows right back up you can send frigid cold weathers he shows right back up you can strike him with a snake he shows right back up and the same jesus the same spirit that raised christ from the dead lives in every single one of you that i want you to understand today that no matter what comes against it's not the externals that controls it's the internals that control so when all of a sudden i look back at the snake bite and i start to realize people that i love this week who've been snape it with that virus this week listen cindy and i we as soon as we open up the church there was one day we were fighting over this stupid dog that we have now and just going like and finally cindy goes we're not ignorant of satan's devices this first of all the dog that's another story okay for another message but let me just tell you this and she goes let's not be ignorant he's trying to attack then cindy got hit with some sickness and she couldn't come today and i said cindy you know what this is it's the enemy trying to knock us down because ministry is not is not me ministry is we we do this together and i said the enemy is trying to separate us so when all of a sudden so today as i started to realize wait a second the enemy's coming we come right back up because it's not what's external it's what's internal and the apostle paul said it like this listen to these words he said in second corinthians chapter four he says we are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored that's the bottom that's the weighty stuff the real power comes from god and not from us and i love verse eight here it comes we often suffer but we're never crushed even when we don't know what to do we never give up and here it comes in times of trouble god is with us get ready folks and when we are not down hallelujah we get right back up again because it's who is in us at this very time i needed the apostle paul to bounce back i needed him to come right up why because those prison letters with snake bite scars i needed the apostle paul to write these words and remind me to put on the whole armor of god so that you'll be able to stand against the schemes of the devil i needed the apostle paul to remind me to him who is able to do far more abundantly above all that we can ask are they i needed the apostle paul to write the book of philippians and say at that name every knee shall bow every tongue shall confess i needed the apostle paul to write in philippians 4 13 i can do all things through christ who strengthens me i needed the apostle paul to write these words my god shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory i needed the apostle paul to write be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your request known to god and the peace of god shall shall begin to comfort the peace of god will begin to come and surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and minds with snake scars on his hand god gave me the verse that i needed god gave you the verse why because greater was he that was in him than he that was in the world [Music] there's a verse in proverbs chapter 10 verse 25. i want you to listen to these words and then we're going to close in prayer here's what it says when the storm is over there's nothing left of the wicked good people firm on the rock aren't even phased they keep coming right back up there are people sitting in this place or people watching online that you have said these words i can't take another thing i can't take another friend having covet i can't take another close i can't take another school shutdown i can't take school online i can't take my kids being at home for another semester and i'm here to tell you there are some listening that no matter what comes they bounce right back up because because what's inside of them is strong but there are some here that the storms have hurt you the losses have crushed you the news has depressed you and you need something to make it or let me be real clear you need someone to make it you need jesus to make it and i have a promise for you that can go through any storm or any snake bite that can face any external because of what of who is inside of you because you don't have to be at the mercy of anything externally when christ is on the inside the question is why can why can't you bounce back somebody going like why can't i bounce back i go to church it's not a matter of you being in church it's christ has to be in you see that's what people are mistaken they're going like i go to church that's not that's not what christianity is it's the greatest thing that can ever happen it's when christ comes and changes us from the inside out and today wherever you're sitting if you're watching online around the country and around the world today i'm telling you you not only could you are being controlled by the externals because you didn't take care of an internal issue and the internal issue is i need christ inside of me not me simply in a church not me in a catholic church a muslim mosque a jewish synagogue not me in a denomination not me in in the baptist church in the methodist church in the lutheran church let me just tell you something none of that can save you from a storm and look at me neither can times square church i need christ in me i need christ in me pastor tim what does that mean most important thing most important question you could be asked today i get it we want to be cautious and we may not be able to do altar calls and all those things i get it i'm okay with that but we but we let me just say something you could be sitting in your seat you could be transformed today you could be sitting on a new jersey transit bus and be transformed like elizabeth and elizabeth if you're here or we're going to see at the 1pm i'm so happy that you started a journey but this is the way elizabeth started a journey christ came into her life and he can do that for you maybe someone invited you today maybe someone sent you the link to this message whatever this means i'm here to tell you this jesus said what does it mean to have christ inside of you jesus uses a phrase and this is jesus it's not times square church these are jesus's words he says you have to be born again those are jesus's words some would go like but i was border baptized i was christened i was i go to church i'm a good person those are all good things that's not what jesus said he said you must you must be born again that's john 3 3 and john 3 5. why is that important pastor tim jesus said you must be born again here's what's amazing if jesus said you must then you can't make it optional you can't decide well i'll just i'll just do it my own way not if jesus said you must no man can see the kingdom of heaven jesus said unless you're born again pastor tim what does that mean jesus was saying just as you had a first birth you need a second birth just as you were born physically you have to be born spiritually well how does that happen it's as simple as abc those letters correspond to a word a it's admitting that i'm a sinner it's when i get honest with god that everyone starting with even me the speaker today have a condition called sin and i can't fix it myself there's not a promise or a program that can fix it there's not a priest or a pastor that can fix it we need help to fix it we're broken on the inside the diagnosis is sin and unless it's fixed it is terminal that's why one pastor said we're not mistaken in need of correction we are sinners in need of a savior we don't need a second chance we need a second birth today well pastor tim how does that happen that's the b word believe believe that god loves us so much that he sent his son to fix that sinful condition i couldn't fix myself if i could fix myself then why would god have to put his son on the cross to suffer all that pain if i could fix myself by being good or fixed myself by just simply coming to a building then jesus would never have to come but he did have to come he would become mine in your sin bearer today whether you're watching live right now or whether you're listening on a monday or a tuesday you may be listening driving in a car you may be on a train you may be in a different part of the world and i'm here to tell you this jesus became your sin bearer today he died the death that i was supposed to die live a life that i couldn't even live and gave us a reward heaven and forgiveness that i didn't deserve and finally it's confessing jesus is lord these are the strong words folks this is romans 10 9-10 what does that mean pastor tim when the bible says you have to confess him as lord it says you're the boss now you're in charge you have veto rights over over everything in my life and you do it through your word that god's goal listen to me god's goal was not to get you to sit in a church on a sunday for 90 minutes or two hours god's goal was to get you to heaven to live with him forever that's what god's goal is and that can happen today because christianity is not coming to a person it's not coming to a place it's coming to a person that person can change you today that can happen right now that's the internal part because when he is in us we can face anything outside i want you to bow your head all over this place i want you just to close your eyes and bow your head we do have limitations here and we're trying to be cautious and protocol but i'm so glad that god is not limited by limitations or protocols and you may be sitting in this place today and i want to invite you to make the most important decision of your life which is to be born again and some of you are listening to these words going pastor tim i'm not perfect exactly none of us are perfect people don't go to heaven forgiven people go to heaven and today could be the beginning of your journey like it was for elizabeth like it is for 70 000 people around the world every day making a decision to say jesus changed me from the inside out if you're listening online or if you're right here in this place and say pastor tim i want to take the next step i'm going to pray a prayer i want to pray a prayer it's not a prayer this prayer is not magic it can't change you it has to come from your heart to say i want to start a journey and no matter what condition you are in you may say i've ruined my life you may say i've got so much going on in my life but i'm here to tell you this you cannot face the externals unless the internals are together and god has to be in your life and today it can start if you're sitting here today with every head bowed and every eye closed here's what i'm going to ask you to do as i get ready to pray this prayer and we're all going to pray it together but if you're sitting here and you may be watching online but if you're sitting in this place and you say pastor tim when you pray that born again prayer i want you to include me in that i want to start a journey today i'm going to ask you to do something for me without any hesitation i can't invite you down right now i can't make you stand i want to be very careful but i can't ask you to do this because you need skin in the game to say i want to make that decision today if you're here balcony main floor and say pastor tim when you pray that born again prayer i want to start that journey i want to be part of that without any hesitation if that's you quickly wherever you're at hold up your hand right now say put me in that prayer hold it up as high as you can because i want to make sure i see it keep them up i'm going to start from my left there's 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 keep them up 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 got you over there i want to see the balcony 23 24 25 keep them up that's fantastic 26. you can put your hands down that's a blessing thank god for those that have made that decision today hey let's all pray this together come on time scripture say this with me dear lord jesus i believe you're the son of god i believe that on the cross you took my sin my shame and my guilt and you die for it you faced hell for me so i wouldn't have to go you rose from the dead to give me a place in heaven a purpose on earth and a relationship with your father today lord jesus i turn from my sin to be born again come on say stay with me now god is my father jesus is my savior the holy spirit is my helper and heaven is my home in jesus name come on let's put our hands together for those that made that decision now here's what i need you to do here's what i need you to do if you prayed this prayer come on if you're sitting in that seat right now and if you're watching online you prayed this prayer i want you to text the word connect to 51 000. come on don't don't pretend you can't do it all of a sudden you know how to text and now all of a sudden you're going like i don't know what to do you know what to do text that word connect to 51 000 and we're going to help you on your next steps of what god oh god wants to do now we'll help you there but there are some people that just may need some personal prayer those that are watching online and those in this place let me tell you what we do and what what we feel comfortable in doing the leadership and i talked about this if you want personal prayer when freddie leads us in this final song and says amen we're going to have prayer teams up here and you can come down and we'll be socially distanced and we want to pray for any personal needs that are here if you're online we have online prayer hosts you can type in and our responders are going to type right back our prayer teams are going to type right back and we want to pray that god does something can we just close in prayer and pray this together come on let's let's believe for god to do it god would you take all those that have made that decision today lord change every part of their life they have made a decision for that internal to be changed they can face anything on the outside we know this to be true that greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world we bless you we praise you i pray every person this place you protect them right now cover them as they leave this place i ask you that god wherever they're going after this place when they walk out of here as freddie left us we would say that they are blessed in the city and if they live in a field let them be blessed i pray you cover them their families i pray that lord that wherever they go they would know the blessing of the lord the hand of god to be on them and we're going to believe that father the best is yet to come in jesus name and everybody said amen

Channel: Times Square Church

Views: 2,855

Rating: 4.8850574 out of 5

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Id: cHTvmHEd74w

Length: 52min 27sec (3147 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 19 2021