WEBVTT 00:00:09.959 --> 00:00:12.320 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:18.559 Lifehouse Church. Good morning. Good morning. 00:00:18.839 --> 00:00:20.660 Welcome to Lifehouse. It is good to have you 00:00:20.660 --> 00:00:22.539 here. Turn to somebody. Give them a high five. 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:24.539 Do it right now. Tell them it's good to see you 00:00:24.539 --> 00:00:26.839 in church this morning. Give them a high five. 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:29.379 Yeah, awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you 00:00:29.379 --> 00:00:31.420 for doing that. Hey, just want to say a little 00:00:31.420 --> 00:00:33.280 something. I'm not going to go the whole way 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:35.969 around, but you know what I love? Those boxes 00:00:35.969 --> 00:00:38.090 over there are exactly what we celebrate over 00:00:38.090 --> 00:00:41.070 here. These green balls are invitation balls. 00:00:41.189 --> 00:00:43.689 If you're new with us, if we invite somebody 00:00:43.689 --> 00:00:46.509 to the house of God, we put their name on there 00:00:46.509 --> 00:00:50.570 or initials and a date on there. And we do that 00:00:50.570 --> 00:00:52.390 so we can pray over that invitation because we 00:00:52.390 --> 00:00:53.990 want people to come into the kingdom of God. 00:00:54.490 --> 00:00:56.570 That is doing the same thing that these are doing 00:00:56.570 --> 00:00:59.109 right over here. Those are invitations that go 00:00:59.109 --> 00:01:01.030 out. And if you don't know anything about Operation 00:01:01.030 --> 00:01:04.329 Christmas Child, when those boxes arrive, they 00:01:04.329 --> 00:01:06.969 give the children the boxes, but they share the 00:01:06.969 --> 00:01:09.829 message of Jesus Christ simultaneously while 00:01:09.829 --> 00:01:12.700 they're doing that. And it's an invitation. Years 00:01:12.700 --> 00:01:16.159 ago, we had Layla Allison here. She was a recipient 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:19.319 of one of those shoeboxes when she was a child. 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:22.459 She ended up as a child going through the Bosnian 00:01:22.459 --> 00:01:24.579 conflict, the civil war that took place there. 00:01:24.739 --> 00:01:28.060 An amazing testimony. And we still hear from 00:01:28.060 --> 00:01:30.959 her from time to time. She's in Florida now. 00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:33.739 But we hear the stories of what those boxes do. 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:36.129 Same thing. So here's what we're going to do. 00:01:36.150 --> 00:01:37.269 We're going to start off praying over these, 00:01:37.450 --> 00:01:39.310 and you already prayed over those, all right? 00:01:39.349 --> 00:01:41.090 These are our invitations. These are going out 00:01:41.090 --> 00:01:43.090 across the globe. If you bow your heads. Father, 00:01:43.250 --> 00:01:45.209 we thank you for this day. I thank you for the 00:01:45.209 --> 00:01:46.909 opportunity to come in your house, to hear your 00:01:46.909 --> 00:01:49.329 word, Lord, to share. And God, we pray over these 00:01:49.329 --> 00:01:51.469 invitations this morning. We're believing for 00:01:51.469 --> 00:01:53.370 those who don't know you and those who are far 00:01:53.370 --> 00:01:54.829 from you that they'll come into the kingdom. 00:01:55.129 --> 00:01:58.230 And Lord, God, as the shoeboxes go out and the 00:01:58.230 --> 00:02:00.290 invitations go out with these green balls, Lord, 00:02:00.390 --> 00:02:03.519 God, Spirit of God, just go ahead. Go forward. 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:06.060 Go before us and minister to hearts and lives 00:02:06.060 --> 00:02:07.920 in preparation. We thank you in Jesus' name. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:11.560 And everybody say it together. Amen. Amen. Well, 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:14.699 it is good to be in God's house. And I'm going 00:02:14.699 --> 00:02:16.379 to start off just saying something. I'm going 00:02:16.379 --> 00:02:18.180 to make a little bit of an assumption, which 00:02:18.180 --> 00:02:21.360 is a terrible idea most of the time, right? But 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:23.460 I'm going to assume this. Many of you probably 00:02:23.460 --> 00:02:26.780 are a lot like me in the notion that you don't 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:31.219 believe everything that you read or see online. 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:35.039 Can I assume that this morning? Amen. I got a 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:37.759 witness. Thank you. All right? Right? We don't 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:41.400 believe everything we see or what we read online. 00:02:41.639 --> 00:02:43.699 As a matter of fact, a little bit of a conversation 00:02:43.699 --> 00:02:47.379 went on this morning about AI, right? Artificial 00:02:47.379 --> 00:02:50.340 intelligence. And it's hard to differentiate 00:02:50.340 --> 00:02:53.180 when you're looking online what's generated and 00:02:53.180 --> 00:02:57.340 what's real. What is fact? What is fiction? What's 00:02:57.340 --> 00:03:00.479 authentic? What isn't authentic? I read a little 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:05.759 survey. In 2024, they took a survey. 84 % participants 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:09.379 of people that create content online admitted 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:12.199 to using AI to generate a lot of their material, 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:16.500 right? It's either compiled or made up or a compilation 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:19.639 of different things in the viewing. And now more 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:22.060 than ever, we need to be a people who are aware 00:03:22.060 --> 00:03:25.159 and fact -checking things. Amen? It's true. We 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:26.919 need to verify what we're reading. We need to 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:30.719 verify what we're watching. We need to seek out 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:34.280 evidence and proof of authenticity. You need 00:03:34.280 --> 00:03:37.060 to listen to testimonials and reviews, test and 00:03:37.060 --> 00:03:40.340 validate, do our homework, right? Do all these 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:44.800 things. Seek out signs and evidence of what's 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:47.919 truth and really what isn't. Make sure it's real. 00:03:48.219 --> 00:03:50.840 And I got pulled into the whole online thing 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:53.539 a little bit this summer. This summer I was, 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:56.909 I like to do. yard stuff. I like to work out 00:03:56.909 --> 00:03:58.569 in the yard, work with my hands. It's fun to 00:03:58.569 --> 00:04:02.090 do, and it's very enjoyable. And I was on a mission 00:04:02.090 --> 00:04:06.659 to kill the weeds. in my mulch beds, right? Amen, 00:04:06.979 --> 00:04:09.300 right? Come on, some of you out there, you yard 00:04:09.300 --> 00:04:11.379 warriors are out there. And I saw this thing 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:13.580 online where you mix up your own concoction to 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:15.539 kill weeds, right? It's supposed to not have 00:04:15.539 --> 00:04:18.220 all the chemicals in. Anybody read all that online, 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:20.800 right? White vinegar, you mix white vinegar. 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:22.680 Some of you are writing right now. White vinegar. 00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:25.660 So I started, I bought a bunch of gallons of 00:04:25.660 --> 00:04:28.240 white vinegar. I got a bunch of salt out of the 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:30.000 kitchen. I went and raided the kitchen, my wife's 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:33.769 kitchen. because I don't cook, I raided her kitchen, 00:04:33.829 --> 00:04:36.490 took out everything I could salt -wise, right, 00:04:36.569 --> 00:04:38.290 and got a little bit of dish soap, and I started 00:04:38.290 --> 00:04:41.149 making this concoction that's supposed to kill 00:04:41.149 --> 00:04:44.089 weeds. And I can, in fact, verify, right, because 00:04:44.089 --> 00:04:46.410 we need to know, we need to test. I can verify 00:04:46.410 --> 00:04:48.649 that it does kill the weeds, but it doesn't always 00:04:48.649 --> 00:04:50.930 kill the roots, just so you know. All right, 00:04:50.949 --> 00:04:53.730 it took multiple applications before I actually 00:04:53.730 --> 00:04:56.310 killed the plant off. And you say, well, what's 00:04:56.310 --> 00:04:58.689 that got to do with anything? Most of us like 00:04:58.689 --> 00:05:02.069 some kind of tangible evidence. of what we're 00:05:02.069 --> 00:05:05.329 reading and what we're seeing. None of us want 00:05:05.329 --> 00:05:07.610 to play the fool, right? None of us want to be 00:05:07.610 --> 00:05:10.490 labeled as gullible or ignorant in any kind of 00:05:10.490 --> 00:05:14.189 way. We want verification. We want facts of what's 00:05:14.189 --> 00:05:18.750 true. And this even applies to God's word. It 00:05:18.750 --> 00:05:22.189 does. It applies to God. It'd be amazing if I 00:05:22.189 --> 00:05:25.129 could just read the word of God one time to you. 00:05:25.250 --> 00:05:27.509 Just get up here and preach and speak the word 00:05:27.509 --> 00:05:29.509 of God one time to you, and your faith would 00:05:29.509 --> 00:05:32.529 be eternally fixed. Your faith would be up here. 00:05:32.730 --> 00:05:35.449 You'd believe God for anything, and you'd just 00:05:35.449 --> 00:05:38.029 keep moving along, right? And all you had to 00:05:38.029 --> 00:05:41.639 do is hear it one time, right? Day after day, 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:44.040 you'd have no doubt in your head and in your 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:46.699 heart. I just preached a message and shazam, 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:49.579 you'd all be warriors of faith. Wouldn't that 00:05:49.579 --> 00:05:51.959 be awesome, right? But how many know that's not 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:54.740 really the reality of it? It really isn't, right? 00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:57.480 It's not. We have moments of great faith sometimes. 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:00.540 We have seasons of great faith. We even walk 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:04.819 in faith. But sometimes, say sometimes, sometimes 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:08.399 we need some tangible evidence to keep our faith 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:11.839 moving and strong. Jesus dying on the cross, 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:14.240 raising from the grave on the third day, right? 00:06:14.579 --> 00:06:17.199 Paying the price for our sin, for my sin, for 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:20.180 your sin, you know, going and ascending into 00:06:20.180 --> 00:06:22.019 heaven and one day coming back to return to take 00:06:22.019 --> 00:06:25.480 us back should be enough. It should be, but it 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:28.180 honestly isn't completely. And Jesus himself 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:30.439 knew this. He knew it would not be completely 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:32.939 true for us just to read the written word of 00:06:32.939 --> 00:06:35.160 God and experience nothing else. He knew that. 00:06:35.300 --> 00:06:38.519 He knew that it would take the word of God, the 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:41.660 word of God. plus the Holy Spirit. When he left, 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:44.339 he sent back the Holy Spirit to live with inside 00:06:44.339 --> 00:06:46.519 of every believer. It would take the word of 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:48.800 God. It would take the presence of God, the Holy 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:52.660 Spirit, and it would be active and alive in our 00:06:52.660 --> 00:06:54.800 lives, counseling us. How many know that the 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:56.860 Holy Spirit is the counselor, right? He's the 00:06:56.860 --> 00:07:00.240 one who comes. He's the paraclete. He's the advocate 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:04.439 for us. And occasionally, on occasion, you would 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:07.680 need to witness God's work and power in a tangible 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:10.350 way. You really would. If you got your Bibles 00:07:10.350 --> 00:07:12.829 this morning, I want you to turn to John chapter 00:07:12.829 --> 00:07:15.089 2. We're going into John chapter 2. We were in 00:07:15.089 --> 00:07:19.009 John chapter 1 last week. Once in a while, sometimes 00:07:19.009 --> 00:07:21.509 you're going to need a sign, you're going to 00:07:21.509 --> 00:07:23.930 need a wonder, and you might even need a miracle. 00:07:24.449 --> 00:07:27.410 John chapter 2 verse 1, it says this. On the 00:07:27.410 --> 00:07:29.569 third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, 00:07:29.629 --> 00:07:32.370 and the mother of Jesus was there. Both Jesus 00:07:32.370 --> 00:07:34.310 and his disciples were invited to the wedding. 00:07:34.410 --> 00:07:36.490 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of 00:07:36.490 --> 00:07:40.189 Jesus said to him, they have no wine. Jesus said 00:07:40.189 --> 00:07:42.389 to her, woman, what does your concern have to 00:07:42.389 --> 00:07:46.269 do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother 00:07:46.269 --> 00:07:48.990 said to his servants, whatever he says to you 00:07:48.990 --> 00:07:53.350 to do, do it. Now there were six water pots of 00:07:53.350 --> 00:07:55.569 stone, according to the manner of purification 00:07:55.569 --> 00:07:58.910 of the Jews, containing 20 to 30 gallons of water. 00:07:58.949 --> 00:08:01.790 Jesus said to them, Fill the water pots with 00:08:01.790 --> 00:08:04.410 water. And they filled them to the brim, up to 00:08:04.410 --> 00:08:07.490 the brim, and said to them, and he said to them, 00:08:07.610 --> 00:08:10.569 draw some out now, take it to the master of the 00:08:10.569 --> 00:08:13.129 feast, and they took it. And when the master 00:08:13.129 --> 00:08:15.149 of the feast had tasted the water that was made 00:08:15.149 --> 00:08:17.870 wine and did not know where it came from, but 00:08:17.870 --> 00:08:20.589 the servants who had drawn it, the water knew. 00:08:21.230 --> 00:08:23.189 The master of the feast called the bridegroom, 00:08:23.329 --> 00:08:25.610 and he said to him, Every man at the beginning 00:08:25.610 --> 00:08:28.250 sets out the good wine, and when the guests have 00:08:28.250 --> 00:08:31.449 well drunken, then the inferior. You have kept 00:08:31.449 --> 00:08:35.389 the good wine until now. This beginning of signs, 00:08:35.830 --> 00:08:39.350 say signs. This beginning of signs Jesus did 00:08:39.350 --> 00:08:41.950 in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory, 00:08:42.049 --> 00:08:44.370 and his disciples believed in him. After this 00:08:44.370 --> 00:08:46.909 he went down to Capernaum, he, his mother, his 00:08:46.909 --> 00:08:48.970 brothers, and his disciples, and they did not 00:08:48.970 --> 00:08:52.039 stay there many days. I want you to get the picture. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:55.019 I want you to see the scene this morning. Jesus, 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:58.799 his mom, right, his mother, Mary, and his 12 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:02.639 disciples. Now, this is early on in Jesus' public 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:05.460 ministry. This is early on when he gathers the 00:09:05.460 --> 00:09:08.700 12 disciples. So it's Jesus, his mom, and the 00:09:08.700 --> 00:09:11.279 12 disciples that he has, the 12 apprentices 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:14.700 that he's training. They all get invited to a 00:09:14.700 --> 00:09:18.820 wedding, and they go to the wedding. Now, you've 00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:20.440 got to understand something about the 12 that 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:22.679 are with him. They've not walked with Jesus very 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:25.919 long at this point. They've seen him teach. They've 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:28.820 seen him preach. They've seen him give invitation. 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:30.559 As a matter of fact, they accepted the invitation 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:34.059 to come and follow him as a rabbi, as a teacher. 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:36.759 But they didn't fully understand who was sitting 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:39.559 in front of them at this wedding. And in their 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:41.720 hearts and lives, they might have believed that 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:44.419 this was the rabbi. A great rabbi to follow. 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:47.080 And they might even had a hint that this was 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:49.659 the prophesied Messiah, that this was the son 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:52.480 of God, that this could be the one. Jesus might 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:54.659 be the one. They were probably sitting there 00:09:54.659 --> 00:09:57.340 because they were new with all this, trying to 00:09:57.340 --> 00:10:00.000 read the situation, right? I don't know. I can't 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.759 ask him. Trying to figure this out, what's really 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:05.600 happening. But they're about to experience a 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:07.740 sign. Turn to somebody right now and say, you 00:10:07.740 --> 00:10:10.240 need a sign. You need a sign. Come on. Tell them 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:14.309 you need a sign. We like signs, people, right? 00:10:14.549 --> 00:10:17.370 We like to know whether we're supposed to go 00:10:17.370 --> 00:10:19.769 left. We like an arrow that goes left. We like 00:10:19.769 --> 00:10:22.129 to know if something's pointing right. We like 00:10:22.129 --> 00:10:25.070 to know if it's a stop, right? Or go ahead and 00:10:25.070 --> 00:10:27.970 proceed with caution or children at play or whatever 00:10:27.970 --> 00:10:32.200 it is. We like a sign. We like a sign. And the 00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:34.620 wedding is progressing, and they're enjoying 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:38.720 the reception. And all of a sudden, in the middle 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:41.919 of this, Jesus' mom presses in and comes with 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:45.120 some pressing wedding news. She breaks into the 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:47.639 conversation, and she says, Jesus, we've run 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:50.919 out of wine. And I love Jesus' response, right? 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:53.480 At first, he sounds like every guy I know, right? 00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:57.220 Not my problem, mom. Because Jesus said to her, 00:10:57.299 --> 00:10:59.940 woman, what does your concern have to do with 00:10:59.940 --> 00:11:02.200 me? At first glance, it looks like that, right? 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:04.360 But then he throws in something a bit prophetic. 00:11:04.419 --> 00:11:08.179 He says, but my hour has not yet come. Jesus 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:11.220 throws in this prophetic phrase. My hour has 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:14.539 not come. What hour? He was referring to him 00:11:14.539 --> 00:11:16.919 revealing himself as the Messiah, as the Son 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:19.970 of God. As a remedy for all of mankind's sin. 00:11:20.110 --> 00:11:22.590 To conquer death, hell, and the grave. The one 00:11:22.590 --> 00:11:25.029 who would have power over all things. And the 00:11:25.029 --> 00:11:28.269 one whose word would heal. The one whose word 00:11:28.269 --> 00:11:31.970 would control nature itself. That's what he was 00:11:31.970 --> 00:11:34.250 saying to her. Woman, my hour's not yet come. 00:11:34.309 --> 00:11:37.210 I'm not quite there. But somehow, Jesus' mom, 00:11:37.470 --> 00:11:40.980 she knows. How many know mama knows? Come on. 00:11:41.500 --> 00:11:44.460 She knows because she intuitively, she doesn't 00:11:44.460 --> 00:11:46.879 say another word. She intuitively turns to the 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:50.539 servant. She said, whatever he says to do, do 00:11:50.539 --> 00:11:53.500 it. She knows something big is about to go down. 00:11:53.580 --> 00:11:57.279 She knows her son. And Jesus tells these servants 00:11:57.279 --> 00:11:59.860 to go get six water pots that are sitting there. 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:01.980 I just imagined them in ancient Israel. They 00:12:01.980 --> 00:12:04.000 were probably like these big crock water pots, 00:12:04.139 --> 00:12:06.820 right? And they hold 20 to 30 gallons, somewhere 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:10.539 between 120 to 180 gallons of water. And he says, 00:12:10.580 --> 00:12:14.039 fill them with water. And the servants fill them 00:12:14.039 --> 00:12:16.600 with water. And before they can take a sample 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:19.659 of this to the master of the feast, right? The 00:12:19.659 --> 00:12:21.820 wedding coordinator for all the rest of us, right? 00:12:22.019 --> 00:12:25.360 Before they can do that, Jesus instantly changes 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:28.730 the water into wine. And they take a sip, they 00:12:28.730 --> 00:12:31.190 take a cup of this wine to the master of the 00:12:31.190 --> 00:12:34.190 feast. And he says, wait a minute, this is all 00:12:34.190 --> 00:12:36.509 messed up. Normally they put the good stuff out 00:12:36.509 --> 00:12:39.710 first. They've waited till now, right? Till it's 00:12:39.710 --> 00:12:42.289 further in the wedding. He goes to the groom 00:12:42.289 --> 00:12:44.149 and says this. I can imagine the groom, he was 00:12:44.149 --> 00:12:45.970 probably completely confused of what was going 00:12:45.970 --> 00:12:49.389 on. But after reading this account, you got to 00:12:49.389 --> 00:12:53.289 ask yourself, why? Why would Jesus do his first 00:12:53.289 --> 00:12:56.169 public ministry, his miracle, in front of a newly 00:12:56.169 --> 00:12:58.970 appointed apprentices at this private wedding? 00:12:59.110 --> 00:13:02.269 Why would his first miracle be here? Because 00:13:02.269 --> 00:13:05.190 Jesus knew something. He knew that these newly 00:13:05.190 --> 00:13:09.559 recruited disciples would need a sign. They would 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:11.340 need something. They would need something that 00:13:11.340 --> 00:13:14.000 would help them understand who he actually is, 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:16.139 that he's not just a rabbi, but that he's the 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:18.220 son of God. They needed a day that they would 00:13:18.220 --> 00:13:22.480 never, ever, ever, ever forget. They needed a 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:24.879 sign. They needed something from God to know 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:27.139 what they were walking into. They were committing 00:13:27.139 --> 00:13:29.740 their lives for the rest of their lives to follow 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:32.879 Jesus. And they personally witnessed it. They 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:35.259 tasted it. They seen it with their own eyes, 00:13:35.299 --> 00:13:39.370 and it would never leave them. Once in a while, 00:13:39.549 --> 00:13:44.590 sometimes we need a sign, right? We need something 00:13:44.590 --> 00:13:47.389 that's not generated, not made up, not secondhand 00:13:47.389 --> 00:13:49.610 information, not something you just read on a 00:13:49.610 --> 00:13:52.029 page. Once in a while, you're going to need a 00:13:52.029 --> 00:13:53.889 sign from heaven. You're going to need something, 00:13:53.970 --> 00:13:55.750 right? He knew they're going to need a sign. 00:13:55.850 --> 00:13:57.409 They're going to need something to strengthen 00:13:57.409 --> 00:14:01.049 their faith. Sometimes we need a sign from God 00:14:01.049 --> 00:14:03.730 to build our faith. We really do. Sometimes we 00:14:03.730 --> 00:14:07.610 need God's super... power, his supernatural power 00:14:07.610 --> 00:14:10.190 at work in our lives. Sometimes it's going to 00:14:10.190 --> 00:14:13.149 be God's word. You always need God's word. We've 00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:14.649 been talking about this. We're going to continue 00:14:14.649 --> 00:14:16.570 to talk about it. You need to be in God's word 00:14:16.570 --> 00:14:19.330 every day. You're not really going to understand 00:14:19.330 --> 00:14:22.289 the sign when it comes, unless you're in his 00:14:22.289 --> 00:14:24.350 word regularly. You're going to need the word 00:14:24.350 --> 00:14:26.289 of God. You're going to need the Holy Spirit 00:14:26.289 --> 00:14:29.129 at work in your life. And once in a while, say 00:14:29.129 --> 00:14:33.529 sometimes, sometimes you're going to need a sign. 00:14:34.510 --> 00:14:36.590 Sometimes you're going to need something to solidify 00:14:36.590 --> 00:14:39.850 your spirit. Your godly courage is going to need 00:14:39.850 --> 00:14:42.870 to rise up. You're going to need someone to remind 00:14:42.870 --> 00:14:45.929 you of who he actually is and what he can do. 00:14:46.730 --> 00:14:51.470 If you experience a genuine sign from God, a 00:14:51.470 --> 00:14:54.789 miracle, a healing, something that's a sign from 00:14:54.789 --> 00:14:58.809 heaven, it never leaves you. When I was a kid, 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:01.679 I grew up in church. We were in church all the 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:03.659 time. Not as much as Dixie's family. She was 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:05.259 a pastor's kid. She was in church. She lived 00:15:05.259 --> 00:15:07.100 at church. She just had a sleeping bag there 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:10.360 just about. But we were in church a lot. My family 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:12.000 served the Lord and we were in church a lot. 00:15:12.100 --> 00:15:14.120 And I remember going to a camp meeting. We had 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:15.840 camp meeting once a year in Somerset, Pennsylvania. 00:15:16.460 --> 00:15:20.090 And they had... morning services, they had evening 00:15:20.090 --> 00:15:23.429 services, and it wasn't like here. It wasn't 00:15:23.429 --> 00:15:25.490 heat controlled, air conditioning. It was an 00:15:25.490 --> 00:15:27.590 old open tabernacle. I don't know if you know 00:15:27.590 --> 00:15:29.730 what that is, if you've ever been on a campground, 00:15:29.769 --> 00:15:31.669 but it was an old open thing. Basically, just 00:15:31.669 --> 00:15:34.129 think about a concrete pad, right, some walls 00:15:34.129 --> 00:15:36.509 with doors that open, and a stage, and that's 00:15:36.509 --> 00:15:39.570 it. No air conditioning, no heat, no anything. 00:15:39.830 --> 00:15:41.629 And you would go up there in the summertime and 00:15:41.629 --> 00:15:44.129 they would have camp meeting and they had these 00:15:44.129 --> 00:15:46.409 old hard, you think these pews are stiff, man? 00:15:46.570 --> 00:15:50.870 They had hard wooden pews that were stiff. But 00:15:50.870 --> 00:15:53.669 I remember an evangelist coming in and he preached 00:15:53.669 --> 00:15:56.269 a message, an amazing message. I don't remember 00:15:56.269 --> 00:15:58.409 what it was about, but he had this altar call 00:15:58.409 --> 00:16:01.309 and all these people came down to get healing. 00:16:01.629 --> 00:16:04.009 And I'm a kid. I'm curious. I'm up front. I just 00:16:04.009 --> 00:16:05.649 want to see what it's all about. I didn't really 00:16:05.649 --> 00:16:07.690 go up to get healed or prayed for. I just wanted 00:16:07.690 --> 00:16:09.889 to see what was going down. So I went up and 00:16:09.889 --> 00:16:12.090 I remember standing there and they brought this 00:16:12.090 --> 00:16:15.350 lady up and this lady come hobbling up the aisle 00:16:15.350 --> 00:16:19.509 and she clearly had a deformed leg. And one leg 00:16:19.509 --> 00:16:21.409 was shorter than the other. Now I'm not talking 00:16:21.409 --> 00:16:23.110 about a half inch short. I'm not even talking 00:16:23.110 --> 00:16:26.070 about two inch short. I'm talking like almost 00:16:26.070 --> 00:16:28.889 needed a jacked up platform shoe, steel kind 00:16:28.889 --> 00:16:31.580 of thing, short. And they brought her up, they 00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:33.279 sat her down, and she had a lot of pain in her 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:35.059 hip because of all this, and they were praying. 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:37.559 And they said, what do you need? So these preachers 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:39.980 start praying for her. They just gather around 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:41.580 her, they anoint her with oil. They begin to 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:43.620 pray for her, right? And they had pulled her 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:45.720 legs up to see how short they were. And I'm talking 00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:49.379 short. And they put her legs back down, and they 00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:51.460 pray for her, and they pull her legs back up. 00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:53.580 And I'm telling you, as true as I'm standing 00:16:53.580 --> 00:16:56.840 here, they were the same length. The place erupted. 00:16:57.500 --> 00:17:00.830 My jaw hit the ground as a kid. right? And some 00:17:00.830 --> 00:17:01.970 of you are like, well, I don't believe it. I 00:17:01.970 --> 00:17:03.389 don't care if you believe it or not. I saw it. 00:17:03.909 --> 00:17:06.490 You don't have to believe it, right? But it never 00:17:06.490 --> 00:17:10.369 left me. It never left me. I saw God move right 00:17:10.369 --> 00:17:13.190 then, right there, and perform a miracle. It 00:17:13.190 --> 00:17:16.390 never left me. It was amazing. She walked out 00:17:16.390 --> 00:17:18.509 of that place just like everybody else did, right? 00:17:18.970 --> 00:17:22.190 Jesus knew that sometimes you're going to need 00:17:22.190 --> 00:17:24.690 the superpower of God at work in your life. Sometimes 00:17:24.690 --> 00:17:27.250 you're going to need a sign. Sometimes it's going 00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:29.190 to come in God's word. If you're reading God's 00:17:29.190 --> 00:17:31.630 word daily, it's going to pop off the page. I've 00:17:31.630 --> 00:17:33.910 had God just give me scriptures and it is a sign 00:17:33.910 --> 00:17:35.930 from heaven. Sometimes it's going to be something 00:17:35.930 --> 00:17:38.009 out in nature. Sometimes it's going to be something 00:17:38.009 --> 00:17:39.230 that's in front of you. Sometimes it's going 00:17:39.230 --> 00:17:41.069 to be healing. Turn to somebody right now, tell 00:17:41.069 --> 00:17:43.630 them sometimes you just need a sign. Turn to 00:17:43.630 --> 00:17:45.890 somebody, tell them you need a sign. It's true. 00:17:47.250 --> 00:17:48.769 You're going to need a vision. You're going to 00:17:48.769 --> 00:17:50.289 need a healing. You're going to need a miracle. 00:17:50.589 --> 00:17:52.670 You're going to need something. You're going 00:17:52.670 --> 00:17:55.819 to need a word, right? And I got to remind you 00:17:55.819 --> 00:17:58.920 this morning, what's supernatural to us is completely 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:01.680 natural in God's kingdom. Sometimes we get in 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:03.880 all of what God does, and it's just everyday 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:06.319 stuff there, right? In the kingdom of God, it's 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:08.640 a piece of cake. But for us, it's a supernatural. 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:11.880 Stay in his word. Stay in the presence with the 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:14.700 Holy Spirit. And ask God, if you need a sign, 00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:18.799 it's okay to ask for a sign, okay? Now, let me 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:21.289 issue a little warning right here. Sometimes 00:18:21.289 --> 00:18:22.950 I got to issue a warning when I preach something. 00:18:23.670 --> 00:18:26.509 Sometimes you got to have a little balance in 00:18:26.509 --> 00:18:29.369 God's word, right? Sometimes we need a sign, 00:18:29.569 --> 00:18:33.210 but we don't want to become sign and wonder junkies. 00:18:33.250 --> 00:18:35.609 You know what that is? Anybody know somebody 00:18:35.609 --> 00:18:38.250 that's a sign and wonder junkie? Right? Sometimes 00:18:38.250 --> 00:18:40.509 we need God to speak into our lives, but you 00:18:40.509 --> 00:18:42.250 don't want to become a sign and wonder junkie. 00:18:42.910 --> 00:18:45.069 We want to chase God. We don't want to chase 00:18:45.069 --> 00:18:47.309 the miracles and the signs and the wonders. It's 00:18:47.309 --> 00:18:49.670 okay to ask for a sign. It's okay to get God 00:18:49.670 --> 00:18:51.829 to give you that sign, but don't become a sign 00:18:51.829 --> 00:18:54.230 and wonder junkie. There's a difference in waiting 00:18:54.230 --> 00:18:57.849 and asking and God to confirm something in your 00:18:57.849 --> 00:19:00.029 life and to give you a sign, and it's quite a 00:19:00.029 --> 00:19:01.470 different thing if that's all you're ever chasing 00:19:01.470 --> 00:19:05.309 is the signs, right? It's an amazing thing. I 00:19:05.309 --> 00:19:08.509 remember as a kid, my dad went through back surgery 00:19:08.509 --> 00:19:13.190 and he virtually could barely walk. And they 00:19:13.190 --> 00:19:15.190 did the surgery and he was worse than when he 00:19:15.190 --> 00:19:17.609 started out. That happens sometimes with back 00:19:17.609 --> 00:19:20.069 surgery. He was on the couch. And I remember 00:19:20.069 --> 00:19:22.849 my dad getting prayed for and he was healed. 00:19:23.130 --> 00:19:26.869 For the next decades, my dad worked manual labor, 00:19:27.009 --> 00:19:30.049 never had an issue. But my dad never chased the 00:19:30.049 --> 00:19:33.460 sign. He just asked God. right? And people prayed. 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:38.039 We want to chase the one who performs the work, 00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:40.880 not the work itself. Does that make sense? Got 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:42.779 to give a little warning there. Jesus said this 00:19:42.779 --> 00:19:44.759 actually to his disciples, and this will bring 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:46.380 complete clarity to it because God's word always 00:19:46.380 --> 00:19:48.579 brings clarity, right? Jesus said this to his 00:19:48.579 --> 00:19:50.700 disciples after he rose from the grave. He stepped 00:19:50.700 --> 00:19:53.000 out of the grave, the miracle of miracles, death 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:55.319 to life. And he said this as he was instructing 00:19:55.319 --> 00:19:58.200 the disciples in Mark 16, 17. He said, and these 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:02.309 signs, say signs. will follow those who believe. 00:20:02.490 --> 00:20:04.589 In my name they will cast out demons, they will 00:20:04.589 --> 00:20:06.809 speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, 00:20:06.809 --> 00:20:08.650 and if they drink any deadly thing, it will by 00:20:08.650 --> 00:20:10.869 no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the 00:20:10.869 --> 00:20:14.829 sick, and they will recover. Jesus said the signs 00:20:14.829 --> 00:20:18.329 will follow the believers, not the believers 00:20:18.329 --> 00:20:21.910 should follow the signs. Amen? He said the signs 00:20:21.910 --> 00:20:25.710 will follow you who believe. He will empower 00:20:25.710 --> 00:20:28.390 you. And I don't got time to break down all what 00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:30.430 that scripture means. There's a lot of meanings 00:20:30.430 --> 00:20:33.509 in there. But he said the signs are going to 00:20:33.509 --> 00:20:37.730 follow you. In John 6, 26, Jesus rebukes a crowd 00:20:37.730 --> 00:20:40.690 of people for chasing him for the signs. Jesus 00:20:40.690 --> 00:20:43.430 was praying. He was preaching. He was healing. 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:48.240 He was healing all kind of diseases. And at one 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:50.680 point, he ends up on a hillside, and he takes 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:52.400 a couple loaves and a couple fish and produces 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:55.559 enough bread, right? He breaks it, blesses it, 00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:58.160 and feeds 5 ,000 people. People are not, how 00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:00.680 many know that's a sign? Amen? You got a loaf 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:02.720 of bread and a couple fish, and you break it 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:04.240 and feed thousands of people. It was a sign. 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:06.519 And people started chasing after Jesus. They 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:07.859 started following him just because they were 00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:11.039 after bread. They were just after a sign. Follow 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:14.940 God. Chase after God. And the sign will come. 00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:18.380 The wonders will come. Stay in his word daily. 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:22.180 Follow the Holy Spirit. Chase after him. And 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:25.960 sometimes, say sometimes. Got to drill that into 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:29.920 you. Sometimes the sign that follows me will 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:34.640 be for someone else. The sign that's in my life 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:37.619 will be for someone else. Let me break that down 00:21:37.619 --> 00:21:41.440 for you. Sometimes the sign. that takes place 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:43.579 in your life will be for someone else. This is 00:21:43.579 --> 00:21:45.900 scriptural. It's threaded all through the New 00:21:45.900 --> 00:21:47.980 Testament. It really is. Worship team, if you'd 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:58.819 come. If you'd come. Once Jesus raises from the 00:21:58.819 --> 00:22:02.920 dead, comes out of the grave three days later, 00:22:03.619 --> 00:22:06.680 he instructs his disciples. He's seen by over 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:10.380 500 witnesses. And he tells his disciples to 00:22:10.380 --> 00:22:14.119 do something. He says, I want you to go leave 00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:16.200 where you're at now and I want you to go to Jerusalem 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:18.240 and I want you to tarry there and I want you 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:20.619 to wait because I'm gonna send you a promise. 00:22:20.660 --> 00:22:23.660 I'm gonna send you a gift. That gift that would 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:26.160 come, 120 listen to him and they go into an upper 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:29.500 room and they weigh and they pray and they seek 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:32.119 God. And Jesus does exactly what he said. He 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:34.960 sends to heaven, he leaves and he sends the Holy 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:37.940 Spirit to them. And when the Holy Spirit shows 00:22:37.940 --> 00:22:41.259 up, he does not come quietly. In Acts chapter 00:22:41.259 --> 00:22:44.660 two, he steps on the scene and he doesn't just 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:47.779 show up in a little whisper. He comes with great 00:22:47.779 --> 00:22:50.220 power. Acts chapter two, verse one says this, 00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:52.519 when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:54.960 were with all with one accord in one place. And 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:57.319 suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a 00:22:57.319 --> 00:23:00.240 rushing mighty wind. And it filled the whole 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:02.420 house where they were sitting. Then there appeared 00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:04.960 to them divided tongues as of fire. Come on, 00:23:04.980 --> 00:23:06.619 this would get your attention, right? This would 00:23:06.619 --> 00:23:09.420 be a sign and a wonder. And one sat upon each 00:23:09.420 --> 00:23:11.299 one of them, and they were all filled with the 00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:13.079 Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:16.400 as the Spirit gave them utterance. This was the 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:19.799 launch. This was the birth of the church. And 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:22.279 the first thing that took place was there was 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:25.000 a sign. The Holy Spirit showed up. There were 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.210 visible signs of what took place. 120 believers 00:23:29.210 --> 00:23:31.450 that were in that upper room. They pour out into 00:23:31.450 --> 00:23:33.690 the streets of Jerusalem. They begin to share 00:23:33.690 --> 00:23:37.069 the gospel of Jesus Christ. And virtually thousands 00:23:37.069 --> 00:23:41.339 of people come to faith that day in Jesus. Thousands. 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:43.299 The word of God says it. Peter preaches his first 00:23:43.299 --> 00:23:46.640 message and thousands of people and they begin 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:49.240 to follow. Acts 1 .8 says, but when you receive 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:51.720 power, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:53.519 and you shall be my witnesses to me in Jerusalem 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:56.079 and Judea and to the ends of the earth. And there 00:23:56.079 --> 00:23:58.660 will be evidence and signs that the Holy Spirit 00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:00.759 will do in you that will be for someone else. 00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:04.160 Let me show you what that looks like. And probably 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:05.440 many of you have been in church, you've heard 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:07.559 this maybe your whole lives, and we teach it 00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:09.900 in Sunday school to the kids, Galatians 5 .22. 00:24:10.180 --> 00:24:13.019 But the fruit of the Spirit is what? Love, joy, 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:16.460 peace, long -suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 00:24:16.519 --> 00:24:18.619 gentleness, self -control. Against such there 00:24:18.619 --> 00:24:21.099 is no law. And those who are in Christ have been 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:23.539 crucified in the flesh and its passions and desires. 00:24:23.740 --> 00:24:25.900 And if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:28.839 in the Spirit. These are signs and wonders to 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:31.220 people out around you. You may have never seen 00:24:31.220 --> 00:24:35.480 them that way. Some of you before Jesus, pre 00:24:35.480 --> 00:24:39.880 -Jesus, you were not loving. You did not have 00:24:39.880 --> 00:24:42.539 joy. You did not have peace. You did not have 00:24:42.539 --> 00:24:45.420 long -suffering, kindness, goodness. You didn't 00:24:45.420 --> 00:24:48.140 have these attributes. You come to Christ, and 00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:50.559 all of a sudden, God begins to do a work in you. 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:53.019 Jesus begins to change your life. Some people, 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:55.019 when they get saved, you know, and people meet 00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:57.539 them like six months later, they're like, what 00:24:57.539 --> 00:25:01.490 happened to that person? They were mean as all 00:25:01.490 --> 00:25:06.549 get out before. What happened? You get this person 00:25:06.549 --> 00:25:11.309 who was so tough and terrible, and Jesus says 00:25:11.309 --> 00:25:16.990 it's a sign. It's a fruit of the Spirit. And 00:25:16.990 --> 00:25:20.690 the Word of God said it's not the only thing 00:25:20.690 --> 00:25:22.309 that you're going to see. Matter of fact, how 00:25:22.309 --> 00:25:24.730 many of you have ever met a mean Christian? Anybody 00:25:24.730 --> 00:25:25.990 ever meet a Christian? Go ahead, raise your hand. 00:25:26.049 --> 00:25:29.480 Just be honest. Yeah, yeah. You know, I wonder 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:31.619 sometimes when I'm meeting a Christian, I'm like, 00:25:31.640 --> 00:25:34.079 wait a minute here. So the Holy Spirit comes 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:35.779 when we get saved. He comes to dwell in us. It's 00:25:35.779 --> 00:25:37.480 love, joy, peace, long -suffering, kindness, 00:25:37.619 --> 00:25:39.319 goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control. 00:25:39.420 --> 00:25:43.099 Then there's you. Who exactly and what exactly 00:25:43.099 --> 00:25:45.700 are you following, right? Because these should 00:25:45.700 --> 00:25:48.660 be the signs that are there. These are what should 00:25:48.660 --> 00:25:51.819 be prevalent in our lives. This is what should 00:25:51.819 --> 00:25:54.480 come forth. I didn't say perfection. I just said 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:57.450 these are going to be evident. And Jesus didn't 00:25:57.450 --> 00:26:00.089 stop there. It didn't stop with the fruit of 00:26:00.089 --> 00:26:02.250 the Spirit, but he said, I'm going to give you 00:26:02.250 --> 00:26:05.289 the gifts of the Spirit as well. Because 1 Corinthians 00:26:05.289 --> 00:26:07.779 12, 4 says there's diversity of gifts. but the 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:09.680 same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:11.559 but the same Lord in the diversities of activities, 00:26:11.859 --> 00:26:14.460 but it is the same God who works all in all. 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:17.180 But the manifestation of the Spirit, right, that's 00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:20.160 what you see, is given to each for the profit 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:22.680 of all. It's for somebody else. The gift that's 00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:24.759 working in you is for someone else. To some, 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:26.950 he's going to give a word of wisdom. This isn't 00:26:26.950 --> 00:26:29.130 just conventional wisdom that you gathered as 00:26:29.130 --> 00:26:31.869 you've gotten old, okay, like me. You got decades 00:26:31.869 --> 00:26:33.630 under your belt, and it's just conventional. 00:26:33.789 --> 00:26:36.490 It's a word of wisdom. It says a word of knowledge 00:26:36.490 --> 00:26:39.430 through the same spirit. To another, faith, right? 00:26:39.509 --> 00:26:41.609 This is supernatural faith. Gifts of healing, 00:26:41.849 --> 00:26:44.369 working in miracles, prophecy, discerning of 00:26:44.369 --> 00:26:46.309 spirits. To another, different kinds of tongues, 00:26:46.450 --> 00:26:48.630 interpretation of tongues. But one and the same 00:26:48.630 --> 00:26:51.730 spirit works all these things. It says this. 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:54.500 In other scriptures, like 1 Corinthians 12, 27, 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:58.039 it says gifts of healing and helps and administration 00:26:58.039 --> 00:27:02.579 in tongues. Signs and wonders that follow the 00:27:02.579 --> 00:27:08.940 believers. Y 'all get distracted so easy. Signs 00:27:08.940 --> 00:27:14.599 and wonders that follow those who believe. Sometimes 00:27:14.599 --> 00:27:19.599 you're going to need the sign yourself. There 00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:21.759 are times you're going to need God to speak in 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:23.839 your spirit. There are times in your life you're 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:26.200 going to need an answer, and it's got to be a 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:27.819 God answer because you know you don't have the 00:27:27.819 --> 00:27:30.160 answer. Anybody you consulted doesn't have the 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:32.119 answer, and you're going to need somebody that's 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:35.640 going to, you need a word from God. You need 00:27:35.640 --> 00:27:37.220 something you know straight from the throne room 00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:39.019 of grace. And then there's going to be other 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:41.259 times that the person beside you, look at the 00:27:41.259 --> 00:27:43.160 person beside you right now, they're going to 00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:46.660 need a sign, and God said he'll use you for the 00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:49.160 sign. There's going to be times that God will 00:27:49.160 --> 00:27:53.019 give you a word for somebody. This happens in 00:27:53.019 --> 00:27:54.500 people's lives all the time. Christians are so 00:27:54.500 --> 00:27:56.240 shocked, right? They're like, I just felt so 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:59.099 prompted to call somebody, and I needed to call 00:27:59.099 --> 00:28:00.319 them, and I felt like I was supposed to share 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:02.880 the Scripture. Yeah, that's a word of wisdom 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:04.720 or a word of knowledge that God's prompting you 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:09.319 to do. Do it. Do it. That's a sign for somebody. 00:28:09.930 --> 00:28:11.230 Do you know how many times somebody's walked 00:28:11.230 --> 00:28:12.829 up to me? I've been praying about something, 00:28:12.950 --> 00:28:14.430 and they walked up to me and said, I don't know 00:28:14.430 --> 00:28:15.630 why I'm telling you this, but I've got to tell 00:28:15.630 --> 00:28:17.049 you this. God just prompted me to tell you this. 00:28:17.109 --> 00:28:19.349 I have to tell you this. And they say it, and 00:28:19.349 --> 00:28:22.250 I'm like, boom, right there it is, right? It's 00:28:22.250 --> 00:28:24.990 a sign. Sometimes you're going to go pray for 00:28:24.990 --> 00:28:27.190 somebody. First time some of you pray for somebody 00:28:27.190 --> 00:28:29.309 for healing, and God actually heals them, it's 00:28:29.309 --> 00:28:32.130 going to blow your mind. I don't know why it 00:28:32.130 --> 00:28:33.549 happens with Christians. We'll go pray for somebody, 00:28:33.630 --> 00:28:35.529 for God to heal them. And God doesn't heal all 00:28:35.529 --> 00:28:37.690 the time. He's sovereign. He decides and chooses 00:28:37.690 --> 00:28:39.690 when he does that. But the first time you go 00:28:39.690 --> 00:28:41.730 pray for somebody, it shocks you. I don't know 00:28:41.730 --> 00:28:43.829 why, right? Dear Lord, heal them. And then when 00:28:43.829 --> 00:28:45.950 God heals them, you're like, I can't believe 00:28:45.950 --> 00:28:50.710 it. But it'll change you. You'll never forget 00:28:50.710 --> 00:28:52.950 it. First time you pray for somebody and God 00:28:52.950 --> 00:28:55.950 heals them, and that miracle takes place, it'll 00:28:55.950 --> 00:28:57.630 blow your mind. It'll blow their mind. It'll 00:28:57.630 --> 00:28:58.910 blow your mind. Both. You'll just both stand 00:28:58.910 --> 00:29:01.569 there and stunned and in awe. of what God did. 00:29:02.289 --> 00:29:04.349 Sometimes you're going to need a sign. Sometimes 00:29:04.349 --> 00:29:06.230 God's going to use some of you. You're going 00:29:06.230 --> 00:29:08.130 to have great faith in a moment and you're going 00:29:08.130 --> 00:29:09.369 to pray for somebody and things are going to 00:29:09.369 --> 00:29:11.230 shift. You're going to give them the right word, 00:29:11.349 --> 00:29:14.630 the right thing. I sat in a room this week with 00:29:14.630 --> 00:29:17.579 preachers. Now we all should. Like not be shocked 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:19.880 by anything. Room full of preachers. It was a 00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:22.119 denominational gathering I had to go to. I serve 00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:24.119 on a board and we're sitting there and a gentleman 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:26.500 that's there, he's an elderly pastor. He's in 00:29:26.500 --> 00:29:29.200 his eighties, but he's got energy galore. He's 00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:31.759 in his eighties. And he said, you know what? 00:29:31.880 --> 00:29:34.299 He looked across the table to a guy who called 00:29:34.299 --> 00:29:36.539 him, who normally would never ever call him. 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:39.150 And he said, I can't even tell you what that 00:29:39.150 --> 00:29:41.450 word meant to me when you called me and spoke 00:29:41.450 --> 00:29:43.369 that encouraging word to me. And the other guy 00:29:43.369 --> 00:29:45.289 said, I can't tell you. All I can tell you is 00:29:45.289 --> 00:29:46.490 I was going down the road and the Lord spoke 00:29:46.490 --> 00:29:49.150 to me and said, you need to call him now. And 00:29:49.150 --> 00:29:51.829 he called him. And I watched these two brothers 00:29:51.829 --> 00:29:54.190 connect. And as long as we've been doing this, 00:29:54.190 --> 00:29:57.029 these two pastors were both kind of shocked still, 00:29:57.109 --> 00:30:00.970 even though it happens all the time. Sometimes 00:30:00.970 --> 00:30:02.450 you're going to need a sign. I'm going to ask 00:30:02.450 --> 00:30:14.420 you to stand. this message from Lifehouse Church 00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:17.859 we pray that you were impacted powerfully by 00:30:17.859 --> 00:30:20.700 this message if you have been personally affected 00:30:20.700 --> 00:30:23.220 by our ministry and you would like to partner 00:30:23.220 --> 00:30:26.480 with us as we love God love people every day 00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:28.140 visit our website at