"The Anchor" - Pastor Raymond

it's a treacherous time to be a follower of Jesus at least if you serve Him as the way the truth and the life nobody has a problem if Christians want to believe in Jesus after all he was a real person unlike so many of the legends of so many other faiths and religions however when Christians declare him as Lord and actually follow the teachings of Jesus and His apostles well then it gets a little bit more complicated it was Jesus who said in John 15 if you were of the world the world would love his own but because you're not of the world but I've chosen you out of the world therefore the world hateth you and it seems that is becoming more and more true with every passing month corrupt politicians have moved beyond passing laws restricting the church to an outright agenda of censure and even persecution of Christians so-called alternative lifestyles are becoming the norm children are being educated to defy their parents and question Authority immorality is rampant and even celebrated by every pundit and performer who stands up to entertain the masses the worst kinds of sin are no longer seen as scandalous abortion adultery divorce debauchery they're defended as healthy choices of a mature society addiction perversion war murder violence they've all become commonplace the very fabric of culture itself has somehow twisted and morphed into something sinister and as the prophet Isaiah said good is called evil and evil is called good so yes it's a treacherous time to be a follower of Jesus ironically some of the worst critics of the Apostolic SAR those who used to believe the very same truth however they've caved into pressure from the wider world of religion and now in a misguided attempt to remain acceptable and attractive they've declared heresy to be orthodoxy and orthodoxy to be heresy they congratulate themselves on their new revelation and they've disdainfully left the oneness pentecostals behind smugly declaring that their old-fashioned convictions are irrelevant to the mainstream they chastised them for their inflexible insistence on details of doctrine and matters of modesty and they've summarily pronounced the Apostolic Church a forgotten relic of a bygone era so yes it's a treacherous time to be a follower of Jesus however despite being criticized and ostracized from nearly every direction and despite these formidable and seemingly insurmountable obstacles somehow the Apostolic Church has continued to defy all reasonable odds and grow incredibly despite the flood of false doctrines and lacks lifestyles thousands are still embracing the experience that was preached at the beginning by the Apostles and they're selling out to a transformative revelation of truth churches are still being planted and missionaries are still being sent and believers are still being born again of the water and of the spirit just exactly like Jesus said but yes it's a treacherous time to be a follower of Jesus oh you thought I was talking about today but I wasn't in case you think we're all alone out there I wasn't describing our culture or even our time in history rather I was describing the religious and cultural climate that faced Christians at the end of the 1st sense 2,000 years ago they faced exactly what we face and if they survived we can survive and if they thrived we can thrive the words of God to the discouraged prophet Elijah still ring very true Elijah was complaining to God he said I've been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts god I've served you with my whole heart in my whole life and but the children of Israel they forsaken your covenant and they've thrown down your altars and they've even killed some of your prophets with the sword and in this kind of fit of depression Elijah says and I even I only am left and they're seeking my life to take it away God I'm the only one standing true God I'm the only one holding on God I'm the only one keeping the faith God I'm the only one who still believes and practices this and God basically said to Elijah what in the world are you talking about I have left to me seven thousand in Israel all their knees haven't bowed to the idol Bale and none of their mouths have kissed the false idols of false religions what are you talking about you're all alone what are you talking about you're the only one left what are you talking about you're the only one who believes truth or serves God or stands for holiness and godliness and righteousness do you not know there are thousands around the world in the last of the last days that are embracing such incredible truth and power don't you know there are apostolic sin China and in Australia and in Guatemala and in Singapore and in Ireland in Scotland and England and in Ghana there apostolic everywhere all around the world you're not alone what are you talking about you're not the only ones you're not the few that are standing for truth there's a multitude that no man can number that's about ready to transition from the shores of Earth to the shores of heaven there's a multitude that when they praise God it sounds like the rushing of mighty waters they're here on earth right now all divided up by borders and nations and governments but someday soon we're gonna step on streets of gold and you wait until you hear that worship service you're not alone the words of an anonymous writer at the end of the first century also ring more true than ever before not just to the Apostolic Church as a whole but to each one of us as individual followers of Jesus the writer of Hebrews says which hope we have as an anchor of the soul it is both sure and steadfast and it's not anchored here on earth it's not anchored in the stock market it's not anchored in your friends it's not anchored in your government or your freedom it's not anchored in your peace of mind it enters into that which is within the veil this anchor it's anchored in heaven our hope in Christ the writer says is like an anchor for the soul the anchor was a popular symbol in the early church if you study history and archaeology you would know that there's at least 66 pictures of anchors that have been found in the catacombs under the city of Rome where they buried the bodies of ancient Christians the anchor was used as a symbol even on tombstones and epitaphs in the first century because when you saw that little anchor it meant that that person who had died they weren't adrift they weren't at the mercy of a multiplicity of gods they had died in Christ and their future was anchored in heaven the anchor was a symbol of hope for every New Testament Christian who was being oppressed because it symbolized security and strength somebody say we have an anchor I'm so grateful that we have an anchor guys pop that up just a tiny bit if you would thank you somebody say an anchor we have an anchor that's not moored down here on earth it's actually hooked to something far greater it's hooked to a heavenly Shore it's hooked to a heavenly hope you can't see what it's anchored to but it's anchored nonetheless you can't see where it ends but if you hang on to it you get the distinct impression that it doesn't matter what happens here on earth it doesn't matter what happens in your life it doesn't water what happens in our city or in our nation in our government it doesn't matter how many nuclear scares there are it doesn't matter how many rumors of war there are here's what matters that my anchor is anchored to something far beyond this life and if I've got a hold of that nothing down here can scare me away from this anchor nothing down here can't scare me away from my hope I've got an anchor that goes far beyond this life now if you look at the Bible you'll find that this anchor is not mentioned very much but it's everywhere it's behind the scenes in the Bible the anchor that the people of God trusted in and held on to if you are familiar with boats you know that an anchor for a boat provides stability and strength and safety it doesn't matter whether the waters are calm or dangerous that anchor holds the ship securely in one place in storms when the waters are tumultuous and the winds are violently strong and the rains are torrential the anchor prevents the ship from being tossed and turned by tethering it not to the water but to the bottom of the sea or the ocean and in calmer weather and in calmer waters even then the anchor serves an incredible function it keeps the ship from just casually drifting away but our spiritual anchor is different from an anchor on an ordinary boat because for one thing we're not anchored downward we're anchored upward to heaven our anchor isn't pulling us down or holding us here our anchor is pulling us up and it's taking us there our anchor is our experience with God that we find in the Word of God sea Apostolic SAR different than many people that go to churches we're not hoping that we're saved we know we're saved God gave us the evidence that he crown our experience with it's called the baptism of the Holy Ghost see that's not just a Pentecostal doctor or a Pentecostal experience the Bible calls it the earnest of our inheritance it calls it a seal when you receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost when you're baptized in Jesus name those aren't casual little acts when you go into the water in Jesus name you're sealing yourself with a covenant you're taking the name of Jesus on you I couldn't get to heaven in a million years using the name Raymond I might be able to get into my house my computer I might be able to get into my bank accounts I might be able to get into my membership cards I can do a lot with my name here on this earth I just used my name and a password and I'm in I don't have any such luck when it comes to heaven but I've got something greater I am in the name of Jesus here a covenant of baptism I'm not going to heaven because my name is Raymond I'm going to heaven because his name is Jesus his name is over my life furthermore I don't have enough power when rapture day happens I can jump all I want but I'm not light enough I'm not skilled enough and I'm definitely not good enough to get off this ground but it's not that that's going to carry me off this ground if that's spirit that dwell that raised Christ from the dead if it ever dwells in you if it ever gets in you it will quicken your mortal body unwraps your day I'm not trusted in this church or you I'm not trusted in this pulpit or these pews I'm not trusted in my pedigree or history I'm trusting that the Holy Ghost that lives in me it's gonna lift me off the ground and the anchor is gonna pull me to heaven it's not me gonna lift me it's Jesus that's gonna lift me I thank God for that our spiritual anchor is it pulling us down it's pulling us up furthermore although our anchor is sure it's not designed to keep us in the same place it's actually designed to pull us ahead Hebrews says our anchor is sure meaning it can't break and it says its steadfast which means it can't slip no earthly anchor can give you that kind of security and the writer of Hebrews says our anchor is anchored within the veil where the forerunner Jesus has entered see in the Old Testament the high priest he wasn't a forerunner here's why because he would go in behind the the veil the earthly veil of the tabernacle and later the temple and when he went in behind that veil he wasn't a forerunner you know why because nobody was allowed to follow him but when Jesus rose from the grave and ascended up on high he sent back his spirit for one precise reason he is the forerunner where he is he said there you may be also so the anchor is where I'm headed the anchor is where I'm looking he was the forerunner and I get to follow him to heaven years ago when I was a young person in church we used to sing an old song that says we have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while the billows roll it is fastened to the rock which cannot move it is grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love I want to tell you this morning this church I'm not talking about this building I'm talking about this church this church has an anchor now here's what you got to realize there are times in your life that you'll think the church is being pushed down pushed back pushed around you'll look at it and you'll think my goodness somebody just gave the church a body blow somebody just passed a law that discriminates against Christians somebody just put something in our culture that smacks of immorality and debauchery and it looks like they're trying to make the Pentecostals outdated and outmoded and it looks like the church got pushed around well you know what that's just the era that we live in but when the waves get a little rough and the boat starts to sway from side to side we're not dependent on the moving waters of a temporal culture we've got an anchor and we're tied to heaven so it doesn't matter what's going on in the government it doesn't matter what's going on in Hollywood it doesn't matter what people say about you if you're a follower of Jesus you just hang on because there's coming a day when your anchor is gonna overcome every kind of opposition you've ever faced thank you Jesus it may look like we're being pushed down or pushed back or pushed around or pushed aside but what you can't see is the invisible anchor that tethers the church to heaven and here's what I came to tell you this morning there's greater power in the pull than there is in the push I don't care what culture does to you what your friends say about you what the government decides to do they may push against the church but there's greater power in that pull from heaven than there ever is in a push from our culture there's greater power in the eternal then there ever will be in the temporal there's greater power in one little inch of heaven than there is in all the square miles of this planet called Earth so I'm not counting on the government to protect me I've got Jesus to take me to heaven I'm not counting on you to always be there I'm counting on a friend that sticks closer than a brother I'm not counting on everything in my life going good or every doctor's diagnosis being perfect I'm counting on the Lord that healeth thee I'm not counting on everything that you can see I'm counting on something that I can't even see but I can feel it today I can feel a pull from heaven saying it's just about over I can feel a pull from heaven saying you know all those people that died in the faith and you preach their funeral there's their standing on the the wonderful shores of the New Jerusalem and today they have no more sickness no more sorrow no more tears no more crying no more pain no more dying and you're tied to the same anchor that took them to heaven so just hang in there stop having panic attacks hang in there stop getting so worried about what's going on in politics hang in there you're anchored to something I wish somebody praise God for a minute I wish somebody lift up Jesus for a minute we're anchored to something that's inside that heavenly veil you can't see it but it's there and there is greater power in that pole from heaven then there is from anything that's trying to push you around today Jesus Paul said in second Corinthians don't you mistake it don't get timid or terrified just know this we have this treasure in earthen vessels earthen vessels get sick earthen vessels break bones earthen vessels have dark days and lonely nights earthen vessels have setbacks earthen vessels get knocked over knocked down knocked around we have this treasure in earthen vessels Paul said but there's still a good reason for that here's why that the excellency of the power everything you trust in and hope in that it may be of God and not of us look around Paul said we're troubled on every side we're not distressed how do you do that we're perplexed but we're not in despair how in the world do you do that Paul we're persecuted even but we're not forsaken what confidence we're cast down but we're not destroyed we always bear about in the body our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus sometimes it looks like the churches going down it's going to be a fossil it's going to be a footnote in history we bear about in the body the dying of the Lord it looks like we're suffering the same fate that our master and Savior suffered he looked don't you know Jesus looked like the ultimate weakling on the cross don't you know that the day they crucified Him it looked like heaven had been defeated and he'll was victorious don't you understand that when he was weeping and crying and writhing and pain on the cross it looked like the worst dark defeat for all of human history but three days later he put on the victors crown and he walked out of the tomb three days later he said we bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus here's why that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body the Jesus you serve he was pushed around to the Jesus you serve he was persecuted to the Jesus you serve people hated him to the Jesus you serve people tried to lie about him to the Jesus you serve people abused and misused him too but the writer of Hebrews says that we look unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith in other words in other words he didn't start something he's not able to finish Jesus didn't start you in this and he doesn't have the power to keep you in this and to take you through if he started it he'll finish it he's the author and the finisher of our faith and we look to him here's why we look to him who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross he could get through the cross because he knew what was coming after he despised the shame of the cross nobody in their right mind would want to go anywhere near across a cruel implement of torture and execution he despised the shame of the cross but he could see beyond the shame beyond the difficulty beyond the pain to the joy and now he's sat down at the right hand of the throne of God consider him because he in George such contradiction of sinners against himself what's the contradiction the contradiction is everything looked like defeat and doom and gloom but the contradiction is that while the sinners were persecuting him while Pilate was parting and the Sanhedrin was scheming and the soldiers were carrying him off to Calvary that's the contradiction it looked like it was the worst day ever but it was about the dawn into the hope for all humanity for all eternity that's the contradiction so consider Jesus he endured the contradiction lest you be wearied and faint in your mind Jesus was pushed around - but he kept going because beyond the cross there was something that nobody could see but he could feel there there was a lot of people pushing him around they were trying to push him from one trial to another they were trying to push him to a cross they were trying to push his body into a borrowed - and he was supposed to die and be forgotten and be a footnote of history one more religious fanatic but this Jesus that you've been worshiping this morning he's different than everybody else you've ever heard tella because tied to that thirty three and a half year existence there was a rope there was an anchor and to pull from heaven was greater than the push that he received here on earth I don't care who's pushing you around who's trying to push you down who's trying to push you back if you follow Jesus you've got a hold of the same hope there's an anchor that ties you to something beyond here there's greater power in the pole than there is in the push so you can endure the push knowing that there's joy just beyond [Applause] Joseph had the grandis personal dreams of anybody in the Old Testament it's amazing that young man just a boy really a teenager God revealed to him that his brothers the forefathers of the tribes of Israel would bow down to him it was a true dream but nobody liked the dream nobody accepted the dream they rejected the dream in fact they persecuted the dream like most Bible characters the road to Joseph's dream was long and rough and it all came to a head one day when he's just doing an innocent errand for his dad and he goes to take some supplies to his brothers and his own brothers the Bible says they saw him afar off even before he came near unto them they conspired against him to kill him and they said with a sneer and a scowl and a lot of sarcasm behold this dreamer cometh if you serve God long enough and you follow him true enough you'll come up against somebody that doesn't like what God is doing in your life that's not negative that's just true they won't like your dreams they won't like your vision they won't like what you believe about God they won't like how you follow Jesus or how you serve Him and they'll scheme and they'll sneer they'll be so sarcastic behold the dreamer cometh come now therefore let us slay him and cast him into some pit and we'll say well dad some evil beast devoured Joseph and we will see what will become of his dreams now we have a different perspective on the life of Joseph than Joseph did because we know the end of the story we've read the book of Genesis most of us but Joseph didn't know the end of the story for all Joseph knew his dreams when his brothers stripped him of that coat that had been given lovingly by his dad and threw him into that pit for all he knew his dreams had been shattered forever by the cruel actions of his brothers for all Joseph knew laying on the bottom of that rocky pit he would now live and die as a slave all Joseph knew in that moment of Terror was that his brothers hated him so much that they had pushed him into a pit that's all he knew at that moment it's all he knew what he didn't know at that moment that was while they were pushing God was pulling he thought that was the end but while they were pushing him into the pit God was pulling him toward a throne in Egypt now he didn't know how that rope how that anchor would twist and turn he didn't know it was going to lead into a jail in Egypt he didn't know it was gonna lead to servitude in Potiphar's house he didn't know it was going to lead to a false accusation and then thrown in prison again he didn't know he was going to languish in a jail cell for years he thought that when they pushed him into the pit it was downward forever after he thought that when they pushed him into the pit it was all over and the dreams are gone but while they were pushing him God was pulling him one step at a time toward his destiny Joseph couldn't see it and you can't see it either you think that because the enemy swept in and caused all kinds of chaos you think that because you've had a bad week or a bad year you think that God's forsaken you that's not even close to true because while the world and the devil have been pushing you our great God he's never let go he he's been pulling you Psalm 105 he sent a man before them even Joseph who was sold for a servant who's he it's God they were selling him but while they were selling him God was sending him this incredible whose feet they hurt with fetters he was laid in iron until somebody say until until the time that his word came the word of the Lord tried him Joseph here's this young boy growing up spending his later teen years and all of his 20s as the slave as a servant and sometimes as a prisoner and all he's got to hang on to is the dream that he saw the word that he received from the Lord and some day he can't see it some day that word from God is going to come true some day that dream is going to explode and it's going to be awesome and in fact it's gonna save a whole nation and if there hadn't been a Joseph there wouldn't have been an Israel to give birth to a messiah and the church wouldn't exist today if it hadn't been for this young boy with one dream but here's what I know that until that word came true that same word just tried him and some of you know what I'm talking about because you feel like you've received a promise from God for your family or for your health or for your situation and you've been hanging on to this promise of God for so long and it just seems like nothing's working in fact everything's going in Reverse and you've been knocked down and knocked around and you've been pushed back and pushed aside you've been I just kind of traumatized and even terrorized sometime by the devil because he says what's the use of you hanging on to that dream what's the use of you believing in that word from God anymore it's never come true but see Joseph was being tested by the Word of God until the word came true sometimes the same word eventually going to deliver you first it'll kind of chase and it'll kind of hurt and it'll kind of sting and it will try you and test your patience but if you'll hang on see what Joseph couldn't see is that while he was being pushed into a pit and pushed into a prison while he was being pushed around as a slave and a servant there was another hand on the other end of that anchor rope and it was pulling him to warn his destiny I can't here on this Sunday to tell somebody I don't care what it looks like or feels like I don't care what they say or what their opinion is I don't care what the diagnosis is if you're holding on to the anchor God's Word it has the final word God's say has the final say and the pull is stronger than the push you're experiencing in your life while Joseph's brothers were selling him God was sending him he thought it all ended when they threw him in the bottom of that pit that wasn't even close to true while they were putting him down our God was setting him up while they were deceiving him our great God was leading him while they were lying about him God was guiding him while they were binding his feet God was ordering his steps and yes while they were pushing him over the precipice of a pit our God must pulling him to a throne in Egypt the pull is always greater than the push I wish somebody lift up your hands right now in faith and get ready for what God wants to do in your heart at the conclusion of this message I didn't come to play charts I didn't come to talk a little bit I didn't come to give a lecture I didn't come to entertain you with a sermon Jesus has a word for somebody here today then if you'll hold on and in there the end of your story is gonna be so great it's gonna terrify the devil years later after being pushed into that pit after being sold as a slave after being locked up in that prison after spending most of his young life all of his best years as a servant and a slave after being falsely accused and terribly misused after being long forgotten by his deceitful brothers who just went on with their lives as though nothing had happened there came a day when God lifted Joseph out of that pit now for us we think that was a turnaround for us we think oh well it was going this way and then God delivered Joseph and now it turned around and now all of a sudden he's going this way that's not true from the moment Joseph had that dream he kept his faith in God and so you think that he was going the wrong way when they threw him in the pit he wasn't going the wrong way God was leading him it just so happened that the rope he was holding on to went through a pit it just so happened that the Rope he was hanging on to it went through an Egyptian slave market it just so happened that the rope he was hanging on to went through part of her selves you think he was going the wrong way and then all of a sudden God turned it around not on your life every step of Joseph's life through every trial and every test he was holding on to a dream that God had given him and so the day that pharaoh called for him and lifted him out of the prison that wasn't a different direction that was the same dream that had been given to Joseph when he was just a kid he was hanging on to the dream sometimes it looked dark sometimes it looked like the devil had won sometimes it looked like he was forgotten and forsaken but because Joseph ever let go of the dream he made it all the way to the throne I don't know who I'm talking to this morning some days you feel forgotten and forsaken by God some days you feel like there's so much chaos in your life you might as well throw up your hands walk out that door and never come back to church but I've got news for you if you're still hanging on to the relationship that God put in your life if you're still walking with Jesus God has a purpose for you I don't care how much you get pushed around if you'll hang on the pole from heaven is greater than the push from Earth the pole from Jesus is greater than the push from the devil and so it came that famine hit that whole part of the world and his father who was still living sent Joseph brothers the same brothers that had lied and deceived and been so cruel and sold him into slavery and so it ends up that the story we think it turns it didn't turn it was all the same word that was pulling him toward his destiny this day was better than the previous day this day was better than the previous few months we think Oh God finally delivered him know God was God was delivering him all the time if you missed that you missed it God didn't just deliver him on the day that he came out of prison God was delivering him even in the day that he was thrown into the pit see if he hadn't been thrown into the pit he never would have been sold as a slave if he hadn't been sold as a slave he wouldn't have ended up in Egypt if he hadn't ended up in Egypt he wouldn't have been in Potiphar's house if he hadn't been in Potiphar's house Potiphar's wife wouldn't have falsely accused him if she hadn't falsely accused him he wouldn't have ended up in pharaoh's prison if he hadn't ended up in pharaoh's prison he wouldn't have met up with Ferro servants who needed a dream interpreted if he hadn't met up with them and interpreted their dream Ferrell never would have heard Joseph's name and if Ferrell hadn't heard Joseph's name Ferrell wouldn't have known who to call on can you see please that from the day Joseph had his dream he wasn't waiting for God to step in sometime 20 years from now God was with Joseph every single step of the way who will I preach into that you feel like you're battling you're just trying to reach up and scrape bottom you're so discouraged and so depressed and you feel so defeated if I could just tell you if you can find in your hand the thread of that rope that relationship that word that God spoke to you when you first started serving him hang on hang in there because every day of your life God is pulling you toward your destiny Joseph said to his brethren they don't know who he is he sure doesn't remember who they are come near to me I pray you and they came near and he said I'm Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt now at that moment you know they're terrified Joseph is second only to Pharaoh and he can have them killed by snapping his fingers or speaking one word but he says to them now therefore be not grieved don't be angry with yourselves imagine the compassion don't be angry with yourselves that you sold me hither for God did send me before you to preserve life you thought you were selling me but God was sending me you thought you were pushing me but God was pulling me I wish somebody could square your shoulders in the spirit in the early days of 2018 and I don't care what last year or last month or last week was like if you could square your shoulders and say devil I have a destiny and if you think that because you pushed me around or I fell down as Miney if you think that means I'm gonna sit here and cry and wallow in the dirt you've got another thought coming because when you knock me down I've still got a pull I can get where I'm going because my destiny is not in this world my dream is not in this world my calling is not in this world I'm hooked to heaven he says to them a little later he said but as for you you thought evil against me while you were plotting and scheming and planning you thought evil against me but God meant it unto good to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive one teenager saved a nation somebody needs to take those ancient words and put them in the face and in the teeth of the devil who is tormented you devil you thought evil against me hell you did your worst to scare me defeat me terrify me make me backslide make me become bitter make me lay here in the dirt of my own failure and never get up again but devil while you meant it for evil God allowed it for my good because what you didn't see devil is that when I get myself up out of this mess I'm gonna give you so much grief you're going to rue the day you ever tried to tempt me or test me you're gonna rue the day that you ever tried to push me around you meant it for evil but my god he allowed me to walk through it because devil what you can't see as I may be hurting right now but I'm gonna feel around in the middle of my trial and I'm gonna get a hold of the anchor and when I get a hold of the anchor I'm immediately back on track and God may have allowed the detour but I'm still hooked to heaven I'm still hooked to my hope that goes in behind the veil devil you pushed me but God was pulling me the whole time music come on backing and there is greater power in a pull from heaven than there is in a push from Hell there's greater power in a divine calling than in all the devil's complications that he tries to bring in your life when the hand of God is on your life brothers and sisters you have an anchor and that anchor isn't tied to something on this earth that anchor isn't tied to your church building that you come to on Sunday that anchor isn't tied to your friends who also call themselves Pentecostal that anchor isn't tied to some kind of little religious conviction that anchor is hooked to heaven and there is greater power in a poll from heaven then there ever is in whatever push you've received from your enemy here on earth stand with me this morning people may push you down or hold you back but the pull is greater than the push for somebody here I'm not playing The Devil's tried to push you off track with trials and temptations but listen to me the pull is greater than the push sometimes your own faults and failures and your own sins and stupidity will get you off track and it makes you a pushover and really if you trace it back you're the one that pushed you off the track but the pay is greater than the push I have a word for somebody this morning when you feel like you've fallen flat on your face and you feel like you're losing ground of fear and you feel like your heart is hurting and your dreams are dying and your friends have failed you and you feel so all alone and defeat haunts you every night and discouragement stalks you every single day just remember one thing you have an anchor that reaches in behind a heavenly veil and if you hang on and hang in you'll be okay you may get pushed this way or knock that way you may have a season when you get knocked down but find your footing grip that anchor and start letting it pull you toward your destiny today there is greater power in the fall than there is from the push the prophet Micah was stubborn insistence said rejoice not against me o mine enemy yeah you may have knocked me down I may have fallen and failed but when I fall here's what you don't understand I shall rise oh you mistook me for the weak wimpy kind of Christian that the first little whiff of opposition they're out the door sitting at home never coming back Oh devil you've mistaken me for somebody else rejoice not against me Oh mine enemy because I'm a different kind of Christian when I fall I'm getting back up when I fall I'm gonna grip the Rope when I fall I'm gonna let the pull take over and the pull is always greater than your push when I sit in darkness the Lord shall be a light unto me there's somebody that you're battling you're fighting for your life and I know we all dress up nice and come to church we all smile at each other and shake hands I got it we all come in here and we try to put our best foot and our best face forward but I didn't come to preach to all the people that have got their image together I came to preach to some honest people who know that it's been a struggle and the devil has tried to strike fear in your heart and you feel like you've been pushed around by hell for a good long time well I've got news for you today the pull from heaven is greater than the push from Hell the destiny God has for you is much greater than the defeat the devil has designed for you so I'm challenging somebody to get your hand on that heavenly anchor start pulling yourself back up to your feet you may have been knocked down but pull yourself up on your feet and start walking one more time it's a new year it's a new day it's a new page it's a new start you don't have to sit there you don't have to lay there you don't have to die there you don't have to be defeated there that trial doesn't have to be your grave that temptation doesn't have to be the last word on your story because there's an anchor and if you can just start letting God pull you the pull is always greater than the bush I wish this church would flood these altars because why you might not need this little word on this Sunday in the new year let me assure you that many people in this sanctuary do it's not because they're bad it's because they got knocked down it's not because they're evil it's because they got pushed but the pull is greater than the push [Music] [Applause] rabbana Kobayashi Adela Vasa they didn't mean to fail they didn't mean to fall they didn't mean to mess up they didn't mean to get bitter they didn't mean to get discouraged they didn't mean to fight depression none of that was on their calendar but the devil is cruel and he scheme and he tried to push them in the pit but today is the day that I see that the Rope leads out of the pit there's an anchor pulling you out of the pit there's an anchor pulling you out of the prison today is your day if that strain guts would you get ahold of somebody near you and pray you might not need this but they need this you might not be discouraged but they are you might not be facing a trial but they're fighting the Battle of their spiritual life but today is the day we get a hold of the anger there is an anger and it keeps us and better yet it pulls up yes [Music] [Applause] don't just lay there get up don't just sit there let the devil beat you back get up today's your day this is your year so never let Ken about yes yes yes yes [Music]

Channel: Capital Community Church

Views: 9,584

Rating: 4.9272728 out of 5

Keywords: pastor, raymond, woodward, preaching, preach, sermon, ccc, capital, community, church, fredericton, nb, new, brunswick, canada, the, anchor, upc, upci, united, pentecostal, international, pentecost, apostolic

Id: Wwf2ke5V8pM

Length: 51min 31sec (3091 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 15 2018