Well, isn't it good to be in God's house this
morning? We came in for prayer meeting and it
took me a little longer to get here than I thought
it would, so I kinda snuck in the back. And what
I heard was an awesome thing, pastor. I heard
men and women of God prayed in the Holy Spirit
interceding for what's gonna happen today. See,
every revival that was ever birthed, it was birthed
out of the spirit of prayer. We need revival.
We need revival. We need an awakening in our
cities. And so when you walk through the door
and you hear men and women of God praying in
the Holy Spirit, I was so excited. And I told
pastor, I'm excited to be in a Pentecostal church
this morning. Because let me tell you, I go almost
every Sunday to a different assembly of God church.
But this morning I was excited to be in a Pentecostal
church. And I pray that we get back to our roots.
I pray we get back to our roots. So what you
have here is special, I want you to know that.
What you have here is special, where the gifts
are in operation. Where, let me tell you, I grew
up in a Pentecostal church. And it's the Pentecostal
church is when I had my bad days, I could go
and I could find God, and my bad days can be
turned into good days. It's the Pentecostal church
is when I invited this A friend of mine that
I used to work with, his name was Lee. And we
called him Greasy at work. That's just what he
looked like. He was Greasy. And as you can tell,
I'm from the South. We might say things a little
different and maybe be a little, we're kind of
nice but mean at the same time. Y 'all know what
I'm talking about. We had a dude named Greasy.
Greasy, do smoke three, four packs a day. He'd
get off work and he'd get them that natural light
and the quart bottles and the brown bag and sometimes
he'd go with me fishing. Sometimes our church
had a lake and he'd sneak them quarts of beer
and his cigarettes into the boat and we'd be
out there fishing and he'd start drinking beer
at the Pentecostal church. I'm like, man, what
are you doing? But you know what I did? I got
there on that lake with him. That's around that
Pentecostal church and I just told him, this
ain't got good. You see this sunset. I called
him Lee, I didn't call him Greasy all the time.
But you see this sunset? God knew that me and
you would be fishing out here today. And he knew
we'd need to see this sunset. God knew me and
you were fishing out here today. He knew you
need to catch that largemouth bass. And oh, you're
gonna keep it? We usually throw them back, okay.
You're gonna keep the eight pound bass and fillet
it. Well, that's good for you, all right? But
I took Lee, he finally made it after years. I'm
talking about years. He made it inside that Pentecostal
church And he knelt down at an altar and he gave
his heart to Jesus Now it took years pastor years
of taking on fishing. I didn't get offended by
his beer drinking I didn't get offended by a
cigarette smoking But I just loved old him and
told him who Jesus was And then one day at work.
He just said I can't do it no more and he handed
me those cigarettes He said I need to get rid
of these See, God did something and it was through
the power of a Pentecostal church. And so I'm
so thankful this morning to be at a Pentecostal
church. And if you're in here and maybe your
first time to church, or you're new to this place,
I'm telling you, you are in the right place.
God, the Holy Spirit, drew you to this place,
and you are where you are supposed to be. And
if you'll turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter
three, we're gonna read verses one through 10,
and I'm excited to read this. God put this on
my heart about this story, this account, and
it's been on my heart for a couple weeks, and
so I'm excited to preach it. Now, can y 'all
help me preach this morning? Y 'all can help
me preach, because I am a southerner. This will
be the first time this Florida boy has ever preached
with the snow falling down outside. I don't know
what that means, if it means anything at all,
but I think it's pretty cool. But I like to hear
an amen once in a while. I like to have a little
help, because I'm just excited about what God's
gonna do. I preached this last night in my living
room. The power went out, so I had to light a
candle just to see. I could barely even read
my Bible, but I preached it last night. and I
was excited about it. Why, because I believe
the Holy Spirit wants to do something in this
church. I don't believe the Holy Spirit wants
to do something in your life today. Can somebody
say amen? Now I might fall off this thing because
I am energetic and I like to walk when I talk
and I like to, and so this, I don't know how
you do it, pastor, it's not a lot of room and
I am a lot bigger than you, so if I fall off,
just laugh at me and we'll just keep on going.
Somebody say amen. Amen, so Acts three, verse
one through 10. Now Peter and John went up together
to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of
prayer. Things happen when we pray, somebody
say, praise God. A man lame from birth was being
carried, whom people placed daily at the beautiful
gate of the temple to ask alms for those who
entered the temple. There's a lame man asking
for money, needed something in his life. Seeing
Peter and John about to go into the temple, he
asked for alms. Peter gazing at him with John
said, look at us. So we paid attention to them,
expecting to receive something from them. Then
Peter said, I have no silver and gold. Imagine
there was a little disappointment right there
in the moment he said, I have no silver and gold.
But I give you what I have. Back in my youth
pastor days, this one went out and said, look
at your neighbor and say, I give you what I have.
Oh, come on somebody, I give you what I have.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise
up and walk. He took them by the right hand and
he raised them up. What I love right there. If
we pause for a moment, he said, get up and walk,
and he didn't walk away from him. No, Peter and
John had some faith there. They put their hands
on him. They grabbed him by the hand and said,
no, you're gonna get up and walk in the name
of Jesus. That's how much we believe right now
the power of God is so real that the Holy Spirit
can do a work in your life that I'm literally
gonna pick you up by the hand and I'm gonna walk
with you. I think so many times we want miracles,
but we wanna see the miracle happen from the
pew. And we don't get out with the people that
actually need the miracle. We don't go lay hands
on the people that are sick anymore. I don't
know why we don't do that. We don't go to the
hospitals and pray for those that are in hospitals
and that are in those beds anymore. But Peter
and John, they put their faith in action. They
said, I'm gonna give you what I have. And not
only, I'm not just gonna say a little prayer,
and I've been guilty of it, too, just saying
a little prayer and moving on. I'm not gonna
say a little prayer and move on and not think
about you anymore. No, I'm gonna grab you by
the hand, and we're gonna see this thing through.
Just imagine if you started grabbing people by
the hand in your workplace. Pastor, just imagine
if these students start going to their schools
and they start grabbing people by the hand in
the lunchroom. Just think what happens, maybe.
God's called you to walk in the bar and start
snatching people out of those bars and bringing
them to this church where they can find deliverance.
Come on somebody. I think it's time that we start
going where the sinners are, that we start going
and finding the people that are lost, that we
start taking people and we raise them up by the
hand. And after he raised them up, immediately
his feet and ankles were strengthened. Jumping
up he stood and he walked and he entered the
temple with them walking and jumping and praising
God. The doing went, he didn't have no strength.
He was a beggar. He didn't have anything. His
life was not very important. His life was pretty
miserable. But when two men full of the Holy
Ghost showed up. They were able to reach down
and they were able to pick them up in the name
of Jesus, the name above every other name. He
was able to walk and they said he started jumping
up and down. Oh, that second song, that old Hillsong,
what was that? That second song, that old Hillsong
song you started doing. God is great. I was about
ready to do it. I wish I had brought my guitar
this morning and I would have played it with
you. I started singing that song and all my friends
were like, man, he's going to turn crazy. My
kids were like, what is going on? I was excited
because I remember that song from my youth. I
remember that song, God is great. When this praise
fills the earth, it fills the heavens. And I
sang that at the top of my lungs. You might have
saw it for a minute. I kind of wanted to jump
up and down a little bit. Why? Because I've just
been in that spot, the same spot as that beggar.
Where I was depressed. I was lonely. Instead
they, the other people, they picked him up and
just dropped him off at the gate. Just where
he could have something. And you may be in here
today and you make him physically walk, but spiritually
you're dead. Spiritually, you don't have no strength
inside of you to do anything else. But I pray
that we have a Peter and John moment here in
the next 20 minutes. That you can come down to
this altar that, you know, physically his ankles
wouldn't work. And you might have a physical
problem. We'll pray for that and believe God
to heal you. But spiritually, your spiritual
ankles just might not work and they need some
strength in them. And I pray that you have a
Peter and John moment. I pray that you jump up
and down a little bit, that you walk and praise
God. And we'll keep going. All the people saw
him walking and praising God. They knew that
it was he who set for arms at the beautiful gate
of the temple. Wouldn't it be wonderful to walk
into your workplace tomorrow and people see a
change in your life? Wouldn't it be awesome to
walk into your workplace tomorrow and they see
a miracle has happened in your life. And they
were filled with wonder and amazement at what
happened to him. See, when Jesus touches you,
there's wonder and amazement. Let's pray. Dear
Heavenly Father, we love you and we praise you.
And we thank you for this day, we thank you for
your word, and God, I pray right now. That is
not just me speaking, God, but Holy Spirit speak
through me. Well, God, I pray that every person's
heart in here be open to your word, that our
eyes be open to your word, that our ears be open,
that we can hear your word today. And God, if
we need a touch from you, we know that we can
get it today. And God, I pray if there's anyone
in here that they don't know you, if they're
lost or they never called on your name, that
today is the name that they call in the name
of Jesus, God. I pray if there's anyone in here
that they want to be empowered by your Holy Spirit,
that today is the day that they're empowered.
Today is the day they're filled with the Holy
Spirit. God, I pray that today is a day that
it starts a revival. God, I pray that today is
the day that miracles happen. So Lord, anoint
your word. Let it be used for your glory and
may we leave this place changed in Jesus' name,
amen. Amen. I believe we could go home after
that. You can never beat the scriptures, can
ya? You can never beat the word of God. We were
talking earlier with pastor and some, he was
sharing some stories about pastors and maybe
like some people have like, I would call them
bad, church growth strategies and things like
that. And you can read book after book after
church growth and you can get different ideas
and systems and different things and we need,
obviously we need systems and things in churches.
But the most important thing we need is the Holy
Spirit. And I think about book after book. that
comes out sometimes, and how to grow your church.
But when I see Peter and John, Peter was basically
the first pastor, right? How did they grow the
church? Well, they go find a man that can't walk.
They go find the least of the least, and they
pick him up. And they say, in the name of Jesus,
rise up and walk. But so many times we're just
worried about how things look or how things feel
and we're not We're not dealing with the we're
not going to work to those people that need Jesus
the most See Peter said I give what I have What
a way to live your life What a way to live your
life I give what I have are we giving what we
have when we go to Walmart Are we given what
we have when we go to work tomorrow morning?
Are we given what we have, young people, when
we're going to school tomorrow? Are you given
what you have? See, Peter and John didn't have
what the beggar was begging for. I want us to
pay attention for that for a moment. Peter and
John did not have what this man was begging for.
The man needed some money. And there's going
to be times in your life people are going to
come through this church and they're going to
beg. We were at Carlinville at the district office
and a lady come in begging. And I made a mistake,
I shouldn't have opened the door. That was my
fault. But I opened the door and I couldn't give
her the financial things that she needed. But
we can always pray with somebody. There's gonna
be times, thank God you're giving food. Now you're
giving food, what a wonderful thing. Hey, if
the government can't get it right, let's hope
the church can. I don't think y 'all heard me.
I said if the government can't get it right.
Well, maybe we can at least get it together in
the church. Praise God, brother. It should come
from the church to start with. God gives us the
means and the abilities. If you read in the New
Testament, Peter and John, those guys, they were
coming together and they were selling what they
had to make sure everybody else was taken care
of. Let's take care of the single moms. Let's
take care of the children that don't have no
parents. Let's take care of the people that are
hungry. We don't know why they're in that place.
And so many times we wanna look and judge why
they're in the situation they're in. Fill their
belly up with some food and tell them about Jesus.
Because if you fill them up with food and you
fill them full of the Holy Spirit, guess what
they're gonna wanna do? They're gonna wanna replicate
that. And they're gonna be disciples that are
made and they're gonna do the same things. See
Peter and John didn't always have what the beggar
was begging for, but they had what the beggar
needed. They had what he needed. There might
be alcoholics that start coming to this church
because they hear something good is going on.
They think they need alcohol. They think there
might be drug addicts coming to this church and
they think they need another fix. And you're
not gonna have alcohol to give them, you're not
gonna have drugs to give them, but you're gonna
have Jesus to give them. And I know that sounds
so simple, but it's so powerful. The beggar,
he was just begging for, I need money, I need
money, I need money. I can't do anything, my
life is a wreck. I don't have money. I don't
have the silver and gold, but I give you what
I have. See, we have exactly what Lincoln needs.
This church has exactly what Lincoln needs. I'm
gonna say it again, I don't think y 'all are
getting it. This church has exactly what Lincoln
needs. Because like I told you earlier, when
I walked in and I heard people praying in the
Holy Spirit, I said, oh, this is something special.
Why? This is what's going to change the community.
There are people in this community that are dying
and they're going to hell. Well, I pray that
you're able to go into these communities, you're
able to bring the alcoholics and the drug addicts
in here, the lost people in here, and you give
them what they need. See if we live our lives
in such a manner of being close to the Holy Spirit
and hearing his voice we can give people what
they need And what happens and when you have
what people need you're able to take authority
over the situation See Peter takes authority
over the situation See receiving alms receiving
the money was just a band -aid to this guy's
problem The guy had a problem he couldn't walk
he couldn't work he wasn't able to receive any
kind of Funds, right? He had a problem. Giving
them a little money, it would help them for the
day. But what Peter and John gave him, it helped
them for the rest of his life. And not only that,
when they did that, they were able to preach
and they were able to teach and they were able
to share what happened and who did it. Church
basically went from 3 ,000 to 5 ,000 after they
took a man by the hand and said, rise up and
walk. See, I think God wants his people to push
back the darkness. God wants his people to push
back the darkness. That's the great thing about
this church. I'm sure there's some dark stuff
that goes on in this city. There's some dark
stuff that goes on in this state. We already
see the federal government, they can't get it
together. The local government, sometimes they
can't get it together. But guess what happens?
When the church is the church. When the church
finds the beggars, when the church finds the
lowlies and says, they take them up by the hand
and rise upon the wall, Jesus is glorified, Jesus
is magnified, and the light is shined. See, what
darkness can never penetrate the light. You can
see it talks about that a lot. I'm gonna do it
today. Because last night that power wind was
blowing, it was crazy, I'd never seen anything
like it. We have hurricanes, but we also have
pine trees and stuff to block the wind. It's
like all the corn's gone, so that wind's just
flowing through Carlinville. And I don't know,
I guess something blew on a power line, because
about every 10 minutes it would flicker. Oh,
we're gonna get power back in and it wouldn't
come back on. So what did I do in a dark house
with the power out? I went and got a lighter.
And I found a candle, because my wife likes candles,
right? She likes things to smell pretty. She
doesn't do it for the light, but she likes things
to smell pretty. I don't smell pretty, so we
have to have candles. Hey, y 'all laughing at
my jokes, this is gonna be a good day. But I
got that candle. I got that candle out and I
lit that wick of the candle. And that wick burned
and that candle started to melt. And you know
what I did? I grabbed it and I walked around
the house with it. It lit my path. The moment
that candle was lit, that darkness, it went away.
And guess what I could do with that candle? I
could light more candles. I could light candle
after candle after candle. And if I wanted to
with that candle, I could set the whole place
on fire and everybody could see it. But just
think if every one of us in here, if we let the
Holy Spirit light that candle inside of us, and
then we go to work and we light somebody else's
candle. We go to we go to a family reunion and
we like somebody else's candle we go to Walmart
and instead of going through the self -checkout
line We go through the line where there's the
clerk and you can see on her face She's having
a bad day and she doesn't want to check you out.
She sees your book I'm gonna say buggy, but she
sees your buggy full of groceries. You don't
know what that is Okay, we're good in she sees
your buggy full of groceries and she's like,
oh, I don't wanna check you out, but by the end
of it, when you've shared what Jesus has done
in your life, when you shared about the goodness
of God, may I pray that there's tears start going
down her face, why? Because that woman needs
a touch from the Lord, and so many times we're
trying to avoid people, but God, and it's so
easy to avoid the beggar, Peter and John could
have avoided him, but they didn't avoid him,
they picked him up by the hand and said, in the
name of Jesus, it's time for you to get up. But
are we doing it with the people that we know?
Are we even doing it with our family members
that we love? Are we telling them, get out of
your pity party, get rid of the sin in your life,
rise up and walk into who God has called you
to be? See, signs and wonders will follow his
believers. I love that one of y 'all said that
this morning as we're ending prayer, that I pray
this service ends with signs and wonders. Signs
and wonders follows his believers. Miracles happen
at the hands of obedience of Peter. Miracles
can happen at the obedience of you right here
in Lincoln. Sometimes it seems like Peter can
be a larger than life character. But just a few
months earlier, Peter felt like the biggest failure
on the planet. That will speak to some of you.
That speaks to me because sometimes I feel like
a failure. Sometimes I feel like I let God down.
Sometimes I feel like I don't do what he's called
me to do. And just a few months earlier, before
Peter was raising up a man, performing a miracle,
he felt that way. Peter was someone that walked
and he talked with Jesus. He was very close to
Jesus and he loved Jesus very much. He loved
Jesus so much that when Jesus was getting arrested,
that he went and Peter grabbed the sword and
he cut the dude's ear off. He's like, you ain't
messing with Jesus. But Jesus told him, you know,
in the last supper, in the last and final moments
when they're together, he's like, Peter, you
say you love me, but you're gonna deny me three
times. And Peter's like, no, I'm not gonna deny
you, not me. I can never deny you, Jesus. There's
no way on earth that is gonna happen. And he
was ready to fight. And in that one moment, he
was ready to fight. He loses his purpose in the
next moment. When they say, hey, Peter, hey,
I know you. You're the one that you walk with,
Jesus. You run with that guy. That's who you
run with. That's who you walk with. And Peter's
like, that ain't me. Not me. I don't know that
dude. That's not who I am. I'm not one of those
guys. Three times he says it and Three times
he said and the third time Jesus said well the
rooster's gonna crow before the end of the night
And can you imagine that in the same night? He
pulls out a sword cuts off the guy's ear But
then he turns around says I don't know him He
lost his purpose And I think sometimes some of
us we lose our purpose And I'm not here to give
you some TED talk about purpose or some self
-help book I'm here to talk about your Holy Spirit,
your purpose that is given to you by the divine,
holy, and righteous God. We hear a lot about
purpose. I was listening to a podcast this week,
it was a comedian, and they're interviewing Tim
Tebow, and I think it was something like, he
was saying like, there's like three fifths of
Americans right now, they feel like they don't
have a purpose in life. They don't have a purpose.
You know why? It's because they don't have the
gospel. The gospel gives you purpose. Your work
doesn't necessarily give you purpose, right?
Your truck or your car doesn't necessarily give
you purpose. Your house doesn't give you purpose.
What gives you purpose? It's the gospel. See,
Peter was the man, the Peter, the man we see
performing a miracle in front of the same people
that... Excuse me, let me slow it down. Peter
is performing a miracle right here and he's performing
it in front of the same people that had Jesus
crucified. But that God that was so powerful,
so full of faith, so full of the Holy Spirit,
he lost his purpose and was full of shame. Peter
was a man that was called a God. Jesus called
him and said, hey, come follow me. Jesus right
now is saying to you, man and woman in here,
young person here, God's saying, hey, come follow
me. Jesus also called him to be a fisher of men.
And then Jesus did something really spectacular
in his life. He said, Peter, you're gonna be
the rock. I'm gonna use you, Peter, to build
this church, to establish the church. Peter knew
the calling of God on his life. And some of you
in here, you may know the calling of God on your
life and you've been running from it. Or some
of you in here, you know, you've felt the presence
of God, you've called on His name. But you've
maybe denied Peter, I mean you denied Jesus like
Peter has. And you might be going on your third
time. But I believe God sent me here today to
preach, maybe to wake you up a little bit. Maybe
for the Holy Spirit to do something in your life,
see. Peter got scared when he was called out
for being a follower of Jesus. Peter knew that
he was called of God, and despite all of that,
he lost his purpose. Sometimes even as pastors
and teachers and missionaries, sometimes we can
lose our purpose. We can take our eyes off of
what God has called us to do. Sometimes it's
easier than it even should be. But thank God
that our God is a God full of grace, that he's
a redeeming God, and he doesn't just let you
sit in your self -pity. See, when Peter denied
Jesus, they said he went and wept bitterly. He
went from sore ready to weeping bitterly when
he realized what he'd done. See in that moment,
it didn't seem like Peter was the rock that God
had called him to be There's some of you in here
I believe it like God has called you to do some
things and you messed up or you haven't been
living right or you haven't been doing what God's
called you and Peter at that moment wasn't doing
what God had called him to do He didn't seem
like the rock that he was supposed to be Peter
had one of the worst nights a disciple of Jesus
could have let's just be honest What a horrible
night But thank God a bad night doesn't define
who you are in Christ. I'm gonna say that again.
Thank God that a bad night does not define who
you are in Christ. We're dealing that with people
in our leadership on the island, and I'm having
to tell me that bad night doesn't define you.
Was it stupid? Yes. Was it wrong? Yes. But that
doesn't change the call that God has placed on
your heart. You have to repent, you have to move
on from it, you have to hand it over to God and
say, God, I shouldn't have done this, but it
does not define who you are. And I think so many
times we let one mistake define who we are when
we literally serve a God that died on a cross
for us to wipe that mistake away. See, we look
at our mistake and we don't look at the cross.
If I can tell you, church, stop looking at your
mistakes and start looking at the cross. I said,
stop looking at your mistakes and start looking
at the cross where the Son of Man came and He
died and He bled for you. And He died on the
cross for your sin and your shame. And they put
Him in a grave. But what happened on the third
day? He rose again. So you don't have to look
at your mistakes, but you get to look at a living
God. I said, you don't have to look at your mistakes,
but you get to look at a living God. And you
can ask that living God to enter into your heart,
to enter into your life, and say, I'm going to
serve you with everything that I have. See, the
guilt of what Peter done was probably unbearable.
And you may be in here today and you lost your
purpose. And you feel like you haven't been as
close to God as you need to be. Or you feel like
maybe you've wandered away and you haven't prayed
or read your Bible lately. Or you've been going
to the bars on the weekend instead of maybe coming
to church like you're supposed to. Maybe you've
become a denier. Maybe you're someone that's
living in shame. But Jesus didn't die on the
cross for you to live in shame. Jesus died on
the cross that you can live for his name. I think
so many times we forget that. There's the purpose
right here. If you don't take anything else from
this service, you don't take anything else from
this message that you are called to live for
his name. That's why God breathed life into you.
And if you're breathing this air right now, If
your lungs still have air in them, God bring
that life into you, and that's where you can
pray, for you to praise him, for you to glorify
him. Yours for to live, for the name of Jesus.
And that's why we did this worship, and that's
why I got a little excited to jump up and down
when you started playing that song. Why? Because
God created me for something special. He created
me to worship a holy and almighty God. Sometimes
I forget, but I don't realize, I get to worship
the creator of the universe. I get to worship
a God that is holy and a God that loves and a
God that saves. Sin is on this earth, it's present
on this earth, and sin, it does separate us from
God. But God said, even though that sin separates
us, I'm still gonna send my son Jesus. See, we're
called to live for his name. See, you may have
lost your purpose, but our God is a God of revival,
pastor. You might have grew up going to Lake
Williamson, going to youth camp, and you might
have seen God is great, and his praise fills
the air. You might have jumped up and down a
little bit. You might remember that song when
you were at youth camp. But the last few years,
you've just been getting by. Sunday morning and
Wednesday night's just been a routine for you.
but God is a God of revival. I pray when you
take those students to momentum, there's revival
stirred up in them. See our God is a God of revival.
This week I started playing the song, The Wonderful
Blood, I don't know if y 'all, if you might've
heard that song, y 'all might play it here. And
as that song was playing, I just had to start
praying in the Holy Ghost. And I was praying
and I was praying, I was getting louder and louder,
the house was empty. And at one point I got to
praying so loud. It's like them college students
might hear me. Derek might run over from his
house. He'd probably join me, praise God. I love
that kid. What an anointing man of God he is.
And I'm so thankful for him. He would've helped
me pray. We're so excited. Hey, the church is
gonna be in good shape with people like him.
The church ain't gonna die. We ain't gonna have
to close our doors because we have people like
Derek and young men and young women answering
the call of God. They're believing, they say,
hey, there is a God given purpose for my life.
When I was praying, I prayed and I got to the
point I couldn't even stand up and pray anymore,
Pastor. I just laid on the floor praying in tongues.
Why? Because I needed a God to touch my life.
I just needed to be one with the Holy Spirit
before I preach this message. I needed to be
one with the Holy Spirit before I'm a father
to my kids, before I'm a husband to my wife.
Sometimes I fell on that, but when I can get
in the Holy Spirit, when I can pray, His grace
is sufficient. He's a God of revival. I needed
revival in my life this week. Thank God I was
able to pray. Thank God the Holy Spirit was able
to touch my life where I can come preach to you
this week. I don't want to be up here not full
of the Holy Spirit. See, God is a God of revival.
So I pray that this church has revival, pastor.
I pray that you people in these pews, that y
'all have revival, and that the revival, that
you're already in a spirit of revival, I can
sense it, I feel it, God's doing amazing things,
and I pray that that spirit of revival continues,
where you can awaken that city out there. I pray
that the spirit of revival continues, that you
awaken that city, and that your young people
get it. that they go into their schools, that
the children's church, the kids there, they get
it and they go in their schools and they tell
their teachers about it. They tell their friends
about it. They invite them to church and they
say, hey, crazy things are happening at my church.
Miracles happen at my church. People that we've
never thought we would see walk in the halls
of a church. They're now in church and when the
pastor says, come up front, they're raising their
hands and worship. That's revival. I pray that
there's a revival that awakens this city and
that it moves through this state. Because God,
we need somebody to do it. And if y 'all don't
do it, who's gonna do it? So many times we, especially
growing up in the 90s, that was a little revival
time, and churches would go from, people would
go from one church to the other, and they were
a revival hop. And they would go from church
to church to church, because there was a spirit
of revival there. Quit running around to other
churches and bring revival to your church. Bring
revival to your community. There's people out
there that need it. But too many times we're
running around chasing things. When we don't
have to chase this, they're in the word of God.
Let me tell you, you don't have to go anywhere
else. You don't have to try out another church.
This is the church for you. Why? Because the
Holy Spirit's in this church, and your pastors
are annoyed, and that's all you need. You may
be in here today, and you're hearing about this
purpose. You're talking about a revival, but
you may have Never found your purpose. And today
can be a day of awakening for you. Today can
be a day of salvation for you. See, Peter probably
thought he was done, but God had great plans.
You could have walked in here today and you're
like, this might be the last time I come to church.
You could have came in here today and you're
driving in your car and you're like, I think
I might be done with my marriage. You can come
here today and you think, I don't know if I can
handle life anymore. Peter was in that same spot
and he was done, but God still had great plans
for his life. See, he was not finished with Peter,
but he was just actually getting started. Oh,
God's just getting started here. I heard you
said you added more seats in, where I praise
God you're going to be adding more seats. Let's
just speak to it. I praise God that we're going
to be adding more seats. I hope one day you're
running two services. Why? Because people are
on fire for the things of God, that people can
come to this house, they can come to this place,
and they can find Jesus. They can find hope.
They can find peace. They can find love. You
see, God has brought you to this place, church
members, to be a part of it. God has brought
you here because let me tell you something when
revival happens When people are coming off the
streets that are drug addicts and alcoholics
They need people to pray with them and they don't
need no little like Oh Lord, just bless them.
No, they need a woman that's full of the Holy
Ghost. I Remember y 'all remember the beehive
hair who remembers those days. I'm from the south.
It may have been a southern thing. I don't know.
Oh But it was something when she we say she got
the Holy Ghost and she prayed her hair down What
did that mean? That mean she interceded, and
she wasn't leaving that place till she heard
from God. She wasn't leaving that place till
she was touched. I'm not saying I'd grow beehive
hair back out, but I'm saying I wouldn't mind
some old lady full of the Holy Ghost praying
for me every once in a while. I don't mind some
old man full of the Holy Ghost praying for me
every once in a while. That's where life change
happens. See Peter was he thought he was done,
but he was just getting started Some of you might
have walked through those doors today. He said
I'm done But if you'll listen to this preacher
for a moment that God's not through with you.
He's just getting started See, I hope that God
is just getting started for me. I was thinking
last night You know, I've been in the ministry
almost 20 years. I might not look it I know I
look kind of young but I have I remember it started
at 16 years old with World Rangers I gave me
my own class because nobody else to step up to
the plate. What a shame When I was 16 years old,
I had Roller Rangers by myself. And there were
about 10 boys in there. Sometimes it was chaos.
But we preached Jesus. 18 years old, I started
teaching Sunday school to the middle school boys
and girls. That was fun. That was when Harry
Potter was popular and everybody wanted to argue
about that. And I'm like, man, I don't care.
Let's just preach Jesus. Started preaching from
a pulpit at the age of 18, answered the call
to missions at the age of 20. We've seen young
people taking them to youth camp and fine arts.
Seen them baptizing the Holy Spirit, now we see
them serving in churches. We got to go to Curaçao
with the Southerners, many of y 'all know them,
we got to plant a church together. We've seen
12 people at a prayer meeting. One Sunday they
had over 200 people for a worship night. And
the numbers are good, but what's better than
the numbers, we also see people that would come
in our church and they would sit there for months.
I'm talking months. We had one lady, her kids
got saved, the second week they brought on, praise
God for that. Six months later, she came down
to the front and said, I'm ready to give my heart
to the Lord. Amen, yeah, we can praise God for
that. I think so many times we want this instant.
Success. We want our church to double overnight.
It doesn't necessarily always happen that way.
But we didn't put no pressure on that lady. All
we did was love on her. We loved on her. We didn't
judge her. And guess what happened? She heard
the gospel preach for six months straight. And
she surrendered her heart to Jesus. A few months
ago, we baptized eight people in the Caribbean
Sea. Come on, God's doing something. God is doing
something, and we don't shy away from who we
are. We have liberal Presbyterians come to our
church. They're our number one evangelists. They
invite more people to our church than anybody
else. They don't agree with everything we do.
Do I back down from it? Absolutely not. But do
I love her? I absolutely do. Does she feel loved?
She absolutely does, or she wouldn't come. I
guess you can come on to play, that way y 'all
shut up. I pray God's just getting started with
your pastors. I know they've been here for a
little while, but man, the life that they have.
The vision, thank you pastor for just having
a vision. You wouldn't believe the churches we
go to, there's no vision, there's no man, the
mission's on the wall. Somebody say amen. It's
clear what your church is here to do. I love
what your priority is. It is people, come on.
That's what God has called us to do. See, he
was just getting started. Peter was called to
be the rock, and after Jesus descended into heaven,
there was around 120 believers that were gathered
together waiting for the promise to be empowered.
We are a Pentecostal church, come on somebody.
120 people stay together. See, God gave Peter
a purpose, and he was going to empower him to
accomplish that purpose. Whether you're the youngest
person in this room or the oldest person in this
room, God has given you a purpose and he wants
to empower you to accomplish it. God's not going
to send you to the workplace to be a witness
without empowering you to do it. He's not going
to call you to preach the word to the students
without empowering you to do it. God's not going
to call you to go on missions trips without empowering
you to do it. It's what God wants to do big and
scary sometimes. It absolutely is. But the good
thing about it is He's going to empower us to
do it. So if He's given you a big dream, He will
empower you. He will give you the means and the
resources for you to see that dream fulfilled.
I pray that God gives you big dreams. I pray
that God gives you big visions. God is going
to empower you to do His work. Peter was weak
in his own flesh. He's been weak here before.
You don't have to raise your hand, but you may
feel weak today. See, I'm weak when I try to
do it my own way. Let me tell you, I can't do
it my own way. When I do it my own way, that's
when everything seems to fall apart and it looks
like a disaster. But when Peter received power
from Almighty God, he was able to step up to
the plate. Peter was able to do what God had
always called him to do. Peter was able to be
that rock. Peter was able to be that pastor,
but it didn't happen until he received the power
from the Holy Spirit. They went and they waited.
There's 120 people after Jesus ascended. They
went and they waited and they prayed. Actually,
the ministry really didn't truly start till they
were empowered. And so many times we just want
to run out the door and go, no, no, no. We do
want to send you out those doors. We want to
send you out ready to take on hell with a water
pistol. But we don't want to do it until you're
empowered. So today is your day to be empowered.
Look at your neighbor and say, today is my day
to be empowered. Those people were praying they
knew that God had a plan and a purpose for in
their life God told Jesus told him that as he
was going up to heaven. He gave him the Great
Commission And as they were praying the Holy
Spirit fell on Peter and the other believers
They said it was like a mighty wind and just
rushed through that building and the Holy Spirit
fell on them And they received the Holy Spirit
and they spoke in other tongues as the Holy Spirit
empowered them to do it And what I want to say
about that, while we speak in tongues, it isn't
just for us to feel good. And in Pentecostal,
I'm glad we're excited. Don't get me wrong. But
we're not looking for an emotional experience
here today. We're looking to be empowered. Why?
Because there are people in Lincoln that will
die and go to hell unless you tell them about
them, unless you share the gospel. There are
young people in this church that need to be discipled.
And I know y 'all do a good job because I see
Derek every Tuesday night when he eats my food,
and he tells me, hey, I'm preaching the word
of God now. Come on, somebody. But we don't just
need one, Derek. We need 20 of them. I hope your
church is sending student after student after
student to that place to get discipled. See,
the Holy Spirit empowered them. I can't imagine
what that sounded like. I can't imagine what
it was like when that wind swept through there.
But Peter just a few months earlier said, I don't
know Jesus. Second time, no, I don't know him.
The third time, he even cussed about it. It might
not even have been a PG word. It might have been
bad. He cussed about it. He said, I don't know
the man. And then he went and wept bitterly.
But when he was empowered by the Holy Ghost,
He stood up and he preached like no one has ever
preached before. Oh, I don't think you get it.
I said he preached like no one ever preached
before. See, you may be in here today and you
think you're inadequate. You may be in here today
and you don't think you have the abilities to
be a witness. Peter was someone that was a denier,
but the heater ran away and he was ashamed. But
God showed up in his life and he did it one more
time. If God did it for Peter, he can do it for
you. See that Holy Spirit baptism was not just
for the New Testament church. We are the New
Testament church. And I don't know why we get
that confused sometimes. We are the New Testament
church and that promise to empower is for us.
It's for you. So everyone stand up with me. Oh,
I can't wait for revival to break out in Lincoln.
I can't wait for revival to break out in Illinois.
But it has to start somewhere. Oh, I hope it's
with your students. I hope the night is a night
just full of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit,
empower Peter. And 3 ,000 people were saved.
You mean the man that denied Jesus that was a
scaredy cat, that was a wuss? Someone that we
lost respect for? Yes, God restored the man.
And he was the rock that he called him to be.
God doesn't break his promises. And his promise
is to empower his people. So if you call on the
name of Jesus, you can be baptized in the Holy
Spirit. See, if we can believe the Holy Spirit
can draw us to Jesus, why don't we believe Jesus
can baptize us in the Holy Spirit? Three thousand
were saved. He goes to the temple and he gives
the man what he has. Took him by the hand and
he walked. Did this miracle in front of the people
that tried to kill that had Jesus killed Here's
what's crazy thing to happen And we might need
to get ready for this. I just don't know because
the government is a little wack right now We
might just need to be prepared for it When they
healed the man they preached Jesus They gave
him an opportunity to preach Jesus. You might
not be a great preacher like pastor But I pray
that you do have the ability to lay hands on
somebody and they're healed. And you get to share
the gospel. You get to share why they're healed.
Peter and John, they shared what happened. They
said, we do this in the name of Jesus, the guy
that you had killed. And what did they do? They
locked him up. Oh, I almost fell. I told you
it was coming. They locked him up. They took
Peter. They took John and locked him up. And
it basically says, we don't know what to do with
them. Oh man, I hope that one day the newspaper
and the political leaders of this county and
this city of Lincoln say, we don't know what
to do with those guys. But we gotta send a traffic
cop out here on Sunday mornings to make sure
people can get in. Oh come on somebody, why not
have a big faith? Why not have a big vision?
I pray that school calls you one day, we don't
know what to do, but your students are speaking
some unknown language, and there's about 20 of
them laying out on the floor. Oklahoma, why not
dream that? All we know is that football player
that his ACL was torn, that ninth grader prayed
for him, and they started speaking his unknown
language, and that guy got up and he was able
to walk, and he said his ACL was repaired, and
he's gonna go play football Friday night. Why
not? He is capable of it. But it takes someone
like Peter and John willing to take them by the
hand and sink it up and walk. The Holy Ghost
is in this place. He locked them up. You see,
once Peter was empowered by the Holy Spirit,
he was able to be the man that Jesus had called
him to be. Are you ready to be? who Jesus has
called you to be. Let's just close our eyes for
a moment. If you're praying to the Holy Ghost,
pray to the Holy Ghost. I think God's wanting
to do something in this house. You want to ask
the question again, are you ready to be who Jesus
has called you to be? Young man, are you ready?
Young man, are you ready to answer the call of
God on your life and say I'm ready to preach
the word at my school I'm ready to answer the
call to be a pastor one day. I'm ready to answer
the call to be a missionary one day I'm ready
to answer the call to be a small group leader.
Is that you young man young lady? Are you ready
to answer the call to be on the worship team?
Young lady, are you ready to answer the call
to preach the gospel? You mean I can preach the
gospel too? Yeah, because the Word of God says
the daughter shall prophesy. That means to declare
a message. Come on somebody. Young lady, are
you ready to answer the call? Mom and dad, I
got a question for you. Are you ready to be the
mom and dad that God has called you to be? You
might not have been the best mom and dad in recent
years. Peter wasn't the best disciple either,
but look what happened. Mom and dad, are you
ready to answer the call? Grandma and grandpa,
are you ready to answer the call? Are you ready
to be who Jesus wants you to be? So I'm about
to give two altar calls. The first one is, if
you never called on the name Jesus, and you're
ready to say, I'm ready to call on his name,
I'm ready to find that purpose, This is not a
revival moment. This is an awakening moment.
This is a salvation moment We're about to have
the revival moment But if you're in here you
see I'm ready to call in the name of Jesus I'm
ready to be saved because there's no other name
that can save but the name of Jesus Is that you
where you walk down right now? Yes in front of
everybody because Jesus says if you deny him
in front of his friends He'll deny you in front
of the father. So this is not to embarrass anybody
But this is to rejoice that a soul is being added
into the kingdom of heaven. So we're gonna think
about 10 seconds if that's you. You're ready
to call on the name of Jesus. You're ready to
say today's the day I wanna be saved. Today's
the day I wanna give, surrender my life to Christ
when you come forward. Dear Lord, I pray if there's
anybody in here as I pray that they'll come forward.
Oh may the day be the day of salvation. But we
want to trust that everybody in here is saved.
So this comes in the next part of this altar
call. I know it's snowing outside and I think
it's awesome. But I think I'm about ready for
the fire to fall inside of this place. If you're
in here today and you're ready for revival. And
I'm not just talking about a church -wide thing
where we all come up here and speak in tongues.
No, I'm talking about something inside of your
heart where you know that you have not been living
right, or you know that you haven't been doing
exactly what God has called you to do. If you're
ready for revival, will you come down to this
altar right now? If you're ready for revival,
if you're ready to see your family, I pray that
the wind blows through this place. Now when they
were empowered by the Holy Spirit, they spoke
in other tongues. If you're in it today and you've
not received the Holy Spirit, today can be the
day. And they spoke in other tongues as the Spirit
gave utterance, as the Spirit empowered. So I
want you guys to trust right now that the Holy
Spirit is going to empower you. And I want you
to pray out loud. And as the Holy Spirit gives
you the words to pray, it's going to see foreign
to you. But I want you to pray in other tongues.
Can we do that? I believe God wants to do that
in this place. Dear Heavenly Father, I will start
singing right now, God, we seek you. Oh we seek
you. Oh God we come to you in the mighty name
of Jesus. We come to you in the name that is
greater than any other name. In Jesus we know
about this baptism, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
And dear God in your word we know that Jesus
is the baptizer. So God I pray right now that
you baptize young ladies in the Holy Spirit.
That you baptize young men in the Holy Spirit.
And God that you will just put a spirit of revival
on this church. That you'll put a spirit of revival
in this house. Oh let's lift them up church.
Let's start giving them praise. If you're ready
for that revival. God I pray that the people
in these pews that they find the purpose in their
life. That God they might once been like a Peter.
They may once be the nine. God I pray for the
young man that's running away. That he surrenders
his heart to you God. I pray for the young lady.
I pray for the couple that married. is about
to break. They're gonna pray that your healing
and revival is in that marriage. Oh, let's pray
in the Holy Spirit Church.