And one more time, give Him a hand clap of praise
in this place. Hallelujah. And you may be seated.
Jesus' life and ministry were marked by prayer.
Before He spoke to men, He prayed. Before the
day began, we find Jesus praying. And people
would always ask that question, well, why is
Jesus praying if he's the almighty God? And you
know, I prayed for an answer for that for years.
I know what we have is truth. I know what we
have is facts and that can be found in the word
of God. That Jesus is God manifests in the flesh.
That Jesus was the spirit of God. robed in a
fleshly body. We understand that. I know that.
That's settled in my heart and in my mind. But
people always ask, well, why does Jesus pray?
And for years, I didn't quite comprehend it,
but I ended up with a situation in my own personal
life where my father wound up in the ICU and
my brother wound up in the ICU at the same time.
for two different reasons, but they were in the
hospital around the same time in critical condition.
And my dad reached out to me and asked me to
pray. And of course, I was going to pray anyway.
And so I set aside some time to go pray. And
when I went to go pray, I felt this heaviness
that came upon me, the heaviness in my spirit,
a heaviness. That felt like it couldn't be shaken.
And it felt like somebody was going to die. And
so I would say that that was like the spirit
of death. So there was a heaviness that I felt
in my fleshly body. Amen. And so anytime I go
through something, I will always allow that to
push me into the presence of God. And so as I
begin to feel that weight, I don't shy away from
it. I don't try to run from it. But I lean into
it. But I lean into it in the presence of God.
And so as I take that weight and I say, God,
you have to intervene on this situation. You
have to move. There's a dire situation in my
family's lives today. And it's not looking good.
And so, you know, I entered into an intercessory
prayer in that little prayer closet. And this
is what I'm talking about today. Being able to
pray through until you break through. Hallelujah.
Whenever you go through something today, whatever
it might be, you need to be able to pray and
to not stop praying until you get a hold of God.
Until something changes. Until something breaks.
Hallelujah. I don't know about you, but I've
been in some situations and circumstances where
if God didn't come through, it was not going
to be a good situation. And so I've allowed those
things to push me into the presence of God. And
I would refuse to leave until God responded.
And you've got to get in your heart and in your
mind. That type of pursuit of the things of God.
Because he has already purchased for you healing.
He's already purchased for you victory today.
He's already purchased for you by his blood.
Hallelujah. Victory in the spirit. And there's
a way that you can tap into the presence of God.
And have a peace that passes all understanding
today. Amen. I don't know who I'm talking to.
But you need to learn to press. You need to learn
to pray through until you break through. Hallelujah.
When I come up out of that prayer closet and
I know for a fact that the power of God showed
up in a special way, I had this peace. I had
this peace that I couldn't even explain, not
even to other people. And so I left there and
went straight to the hospital, walked into the
prayer rooms, not to the prayer rooms, but into
their rooms, and I said, I'm going to pray, and
everything's going to be okay. They're still
in the ICU. They're still hooked up to the different
machines and things. I had a scheduled planned
trip that I was leaving on. And so technically,
I should have canceled those and stayed there
with my family. But God gave me a peace in that
prayer closet. He gave me a peace. And so I knew
that it didn't matter what happened, that God's
will was going to be done. And that's exactly
what I said. I'm going to pray. Everything's
going to be all right. God's given me a peace.
There was no healing that took place right then
and there. By the time I left the prayer room,
you would think by the time you show up at the
hospital, they're going to be walking out. That
didn't occur. It still wasn't looking good whenever
I showed up. But God. And I laid my hands on
them and I said, in the name of Jesus Christ,
receive your healing. Everything's going to be
alright. Kept it simple and short. And went on
my trip. I had peace the whole time. And both
of them... Obviously, most of you are aware they
come out of that situation. And I'm just trying
to tell you today that you've got to find a prayer
closet whenever you go through some things. Many
of you seasoned saints, you've already got this
down pat. You've already got it down pat. But
there are those that are amongst us that have
not grabbed a hold of this principle yet. And
every time that they seemingly go through something,
they want to grab a hold of an elder. They want
to grab a hold of a pastor. They want to begin
to blame somebody else. Hallelujah. But God is
trying to mold you and position you to give you
a testimony that you would have never had before.
And I'm trying to tell somebody today that you
need to pray through until there is breakthrough.
If you need financial provision, Pray through
until there's breakthrough. If you have a disease
that you're fighting, pray through until there
is breakthrough in the spirit. And you can stand
up knowing that God is in full control. That
no matter what happens, the outcome is going
to work together for your good. And you have
access to that type of victory today. You have
access to that type of power today. But it's
up to you to tap into it. You've got to be like
the lady that's pushing through the crowd to
grab a hold of the hem of his garment. I don't
care what I've got to press through. I'm going
to touch God today. I'm going to touch Jesus
today. My family's going to have victory. There's
going to be life and not death. In Jesus' mighty
name, somebody's got to learn to pray through
until you break through. And what is it going
to take? What is it going to take? Hallelujah.
On your behalf, does that mean that you've got
to push away the plate? Does that mean you've
got to push away some of the entertainment that
you've been captivated by? What is it that you've
got to push away and say, I'm going to touch
God? I'm going to pursue God. Until there's breakthrough
in the Spirit. Because I want the peace that
passes all understanding. I want that type of
peace in my life and in my heart. Hallelujah.
I'm reminded of a great man of God on a crusade.
We went on in Brazil. His name is Brother Walmer.
Amen. When we go on these crusades, there's a
lot of prayer and a lot of fasting that goes
into this. A lot of pressing in the spirit. Some
of us would pray and fast all year long for these
crusades and for these people that God would
show up on their behalf with demonstration and
with power. All year long we would press and
we would pray and we would fast preparing for
these crusades. And we show up there and we have
a small, intimate setting and service specifically
for the leaders of these crusades. And I remember
we would go in there and the power of God would
be in there so strong because we had all been
pressing and praying for quite some time. And
I remember Brother Walmer comes in late at the
very back of the sanctuary and so weak. You could
see his legs shaking. And they would go back
there and one man on either side and put their
arms around him and begin to walk him to the
front. And they would sit him down. And I remember,
wow, he looked so worn out. So tired. And they
would sit him down and somebody ran over and
grabbed a microphone and handed it to him and
says, what is the word of the Lord for us today?
And he stands up. It's just a shaking sweat coming
down his face. And he leans back and he says,
you've got to fall in love with the fight. You've
got to fall in love with the fight. And something
got a hold of me in that moment. You know, he
wasn't reading a Scripture text per se, but he
was still communicating in the Spirit. He realized
that there are lost people in the world. There
are people that are dying and going to hell.
Yes, we might struggle with some things, but
there's lost people out there. And what are you
willing to fight for? How are you willing to
fight? How hard are you willing to fight? And
he says, you've got to fall in love with the
fight. You're not going to get away from this
fight. You're not going to get away from it.
But you've got to fall in love with the fight
because the victory is already yours. You can
fight from a position. and a standpoint of victory.
You can go into a battle knowing it has already
been won. Knowing that the blood of Jesus Christ
has already purchased this victory for you. But
you have to know that you're going to fight.
And I say fight the good fight of faith with
everything that's within you. Press toward the
high mark of the calling of Christ. Hallelujah.
Press until you pray through. Somebody's got
to pray until there's breakthrough. I'm so tired
of seeing. Dead churches. I'm so tired of seeing
the saints of God worn out and lifeless. Hallelujah.
When you have access to the power of God. Is
there anybody in the house that has a fight today?
Is there anybody in the house that has a fight
within them? The only way that you lose. is if
you quit. The only way that you lose is if you
give up. The only way that you lose is if you
walk away. I've been in services where the presence
and power of God was falling so strong, seemingly,
because people were being touched and moved by
the Spirit. And yet sit there and why am I not
feeling anything? Why am I not feeling anything?
We go through seasons in our walk with God. There's
hips and valleys. Sometimes you're on the mountaintop
and sometimes you're in the valley. You know,
your praise should not change if you're on the
mountaintop or whether you're walking through
the valley of the shadow of death. But too many
times, we get ourselves and our own thoughts
in our mind, well, if they don't sing that right
song, and if I don't feel the Spirit moving all
over me, I'm not going to sing, I'm not going
to dance. Praise! Wait without ceasing and quench
not the Spirit. And so I'm practicing, and I
encourage all of you to practice with me. If
you're going through these hips and these valleys,
the mountaintops and these lows, we're going
to give God praise and glory in the high times
and in the low times. I'm going to give God praise
when I don't feel it. I'm going to give Him praise
when I feel it. Hallelujah. And we tell our folks
there at Grace of Taylorsville, when do you think
that God gets the most glory? We just talked
about early this morning that we want to see
His glory. When do you think that God receives
the most glory? When you're praising Him on the
mountaintops or when you're praising Him through
the valley? Amen. So even when you don't feel
it, you know you have victory. Even when you
don't feel it, you can still praise God. Even
when you're in the middle of your battle, you
can still praise God from the position of victory.
Because when you're going through it, the victory
is just right there. The victory is right in
reach. The victory, I can see it, is right around
the corner. And I'm praising God through my storm.
I'm praising God through my circumstance. I'm
praising Him through the hardship. But I will
pray through until there is breakthrough. Hallelujah.
Get in your heart today. I'm willing to pray
through until there's breakthrough. Hallelujah.
And I can't tell you how long that will take
for you or for me. I've found that each situation
is a little different. But, you know, there's
a scripture text that comes to mind. where they
state, I will rather glory in my infirmities.
That's a hard one to chew on. But the longer
that I'm in this, the more battles and challenges
that I face, I've come to realize that I gained
something through those challenges. I gain something
through those hardships. My relationship with
God is more intimate. My trust in God is stronger.
My faith in God is being developed through every
hardship, through every challenge that I face.
And I've come to where I enjoy the fight. I know
that sounds crazy. But there were those of us
at one time enjoyed the fight in the world too.
Oh yeah. Me and my brother were some of those.
We enjoyed the fight. And so you can get into
a place in God where you're not afraid of the
fight. You know, some people, I'm not going to
pray and fast because I don't want to stir anything
up in the spirit. I don't want to cause any ruckus
and get those devils' attention. I want to get
those devils' attention and I want to put them
on the run. Hallelujah. No weapon formed against
me shall prosper. I'm more than a conqueror through
Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. He is the one that
strengthens me, redeems me, upholds me, and gives
me power. After that, the Holy Ghost has come
upon me. Somebody's got to pray through until
there is breakthrough. Somebody's got to pray
through until the Spirit of God is unleashed
into every situation, every circumstance, and
touches everything. Every aspect of your life.
Hallelujah. If they're going through it. Pray
through. Pray through. Pray through. And unleash
the power of God. On your behalf. And walk into
peace. And the anointing that God has for you.
Oh brother. How are you dealing with that? I've
got the presence of God. How are you doing? Join
that. Oh, I've spent some time with the Lord
Jesus Christ. I know it looks like a storm, but
He's taking me somewhere. He's leading me somewhere.
Hallelujah. God is leading you somewhere. Don't
turn and tuck tail and run the other way. Now
is the time to fight the good fight of faith
and pursue with everything that is within you.
Pursue with everything that's within you. Pray
through until there is breakthrough. Pray until
the power of darkness is driven back. Hallelujah.
If you feel the weight of the darkness of this
age and this world creeping in on you, that's
your sign to pray. That's your sign to fast.
What does that look like? What do you have to
push away? Say, I'm pressing through to the presence
of God. I don't care how dark it is out there.
I'm pressing through. I don't care how dark it
seems. I'm pressing through in the Spirit. Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done. Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
So is it possible that in these fleshly bodies
that we are also robed in, we are placed in,
can press into the Spirit and pull something
from the heavenlies into the physical realm,
into the physical dimension. There are many people
that would say, well, Jesus has already paid
the price, There's nothing else to be done. But
Scripture says, this I say then, walk you in
the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust
of the flesh. It goes on to say, that let your
light so shine before men that they may see your
good works and glorify your Father which is in
heaven. And you shall receive power after that
the Holy Ghost has come upon you. Scripture says
that we should put on the armor of light. That
we should put on Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. And
how do we do that? We do that by getting into
the Spirit. And I know it's challenging. Trust
me. I have a fleshly body too, just like you.
I know it's difficult at times. But the way that
I like to look at this is practice. And practice
makes perfect. Right? So, get in it. Walk in
it. Pursue it with everything that you've got.
Somewhere along the way, you're probably going
to mess up. It's going to happen. Probably going
to mess up. But get back up and pursue those
things again. Get right back in the Spirit of
God. Cast off the works of darkness like we first
read. Cast off the works of darkness and put
on the armor of light. You can do it. You can
do it. And people would say, well, that's a lot
of legalism. You've got to be careful with some
of the teachings and things that you hear on
the Internet. Sometimes I will tell folks, I
will say, look, you'll find what you're looking
for. You go searching for it, you're going to
find what you're looking for. If you're looking
for a way out of holiness, you're going to find
what you're searching for. But if you're searching
for holiness, you're going to find biblical principles
about holiness. If you're searching for the kingdom
of God, The Bible says you can seek Him and you
will find Him. Hallelujah. If the Word of God
says to pursue peace with all men and holiness
without which no man shall see the Lord, I believe
in the Word of God. So I'm going to pursue holiness.
I'm going to seek after the Lord Jesus Christ
with everything that I've got. And I'm going
to pray through everything that comes my way.
I'm going to pray through until there's breakthrough.
Hallelujah. These are some of the first works
that you learn in your journey with God whenever
you begin. And if you're not aware of some of
these things, I encourage you to get in the game.
Get in the fight. Get in the fight. Hallelujah.
God. God's got some things, got some testimonies
for you. God has some victories for you that
you'll never get to experience until you're willing
to go into the fight with Him. I'm always reminded
of David. In the Psalms where it mentions, thou
preparest the table before me in the presence
of mine enemies. I love that so much. And I'm
reminded of that any time I go through a little
hardship. And then I quote that. If I feel like
the devils are trying to attack me or usually
because... And you need to get into this too.
Stop being on defense. Go on offense. It's a
lot more fun. But usually the devil is trying
to attack the people that we love. The saints
of God that are around us. And so you can help
get in a fight on their behalf too. For the individuals
that are learning and going through this and
you don't understand why it is that you're trying
to do right, but everything seems to fall apart.
You ever experience that? Try to do the best
that I can, but it seems like the harder that
I try, the worse it gets. Well, it's because
you entered the fight. You entered the fight.
Devil's got some strongholds. And he doesn't
want to let those things go. And you've now decided
to push some of that stuff away. Wait a second.
We had control over here. We need to cause a
little ruckus. Well, if that's happening with
you, you're on the right path. You're in the
right fight. And it might take a little bit.
But you're going to get victory over that. You
know, if it's addiction that you're struggling
with, you're going to get. you're going to get
victory. You're going to overcome. If it's depression
that you're battling, you're going to overcome
by the blood of the Lamb and the word of His
testimony. Hallelujah. You are more than a conqueror
through Christ Jesus. I don't care what you're
facing, what spiritual battle you're facing.
Yeah? The elders are going to be able to pray
and you're going to get that relief. God's going
to give grace for that period of time. But then,
over time, that devil's going to say, I'm going
to give it another shot. I'm going to give it
another try. And he's going to come swooping
in and you're going to be like, oh, woe is me.
I'm speaking from experience. Woe is me. For
I am unclean. God, you've got to help me out
of this. The devil's got me. I feel like I'm
losing on every side. All the while, the Lord's
saying, go a little bit further. Walk with me
for a little bit longer. Pull away from those
temptations a little bit harder. You can go further.
You can go longer. Walk with me through this.
And I'm going to carry you through. Amen. I'm
going to end with this. You all stand with me.
I'm sorry, I had eight points and we barely got
through half of one. So I recently took my kids
on a hike. And a lot of you are aware that I've
done this many times. As a matter of fact, it
felt like the Lord had called me specifically
on a hike. To the top of the mountain. He said,
I'm calling you to climb in the spirit. I was
asking God to allow me to step out into the deep.
Because you find in scripture where the disciples
were asking, allow me to come out into the deep.
So I spent weeks praying about that. Fasting.
He says, I'm not calling you to the deep. I'm
calling you to climb. Well, what does that mean?
What does that mean to climb? Well, Lord, I'll
tell you this. I'm going to find a mountain and
I'm going to go climb it and see what lessons
I can learn on the climb. Well, I learned quite
a few lessons on that journey. One that I'm not
quite as fit as I used to be. I don't want to
go through that whole part of it, but there are
several lessons we can learn. But I decided that
now that my kids are of age, I want to take them
along this journey and teach them to climb. And
there's a lot more to it than just the physical
toll that it takes on your body. The weariness
that settles in. Right around the halfway point,
I've noticed this. People take the first break
or so, everything's good. It's starting to look
a little different. I'm going to push a little
harder. And so then right around the halfway
point, people are like, I don't know. I don't
know if this is worth it. This is too much. I'm
getting a little tired now. I'm getting a little
wore out. I think this is far enough. Sometimes
that's how we are in the things of the Spirit.
I'm a little tired now. I've been fighting. I've
been praying. I've been fasting. I've been doing
everything that I possibly can. But God, I think
this is far enough. And so I wanted to teach
my kids this principle in the physical, but I
hope that it sticks with them one day. It comes
to them to make them realize that sometimes we've
got to press. Even if the people around us start
to give up and say this is far enough, I want
that testimony and I want that story to tell
from the mountaintop. I want to see and experience
things with God. And I want to experience His
glory. I want to experience His glory. But too
many times people want to stay at the base of
the mountain. Just tell me. Tell me what it's
like. Can you explain to me everything that you
felt, everything that you saw while you were
up there? I saw the birds soaring. I saw beautiful
colors of the trees across the tops of the mountain
tops. And the sun just beating down across the
hills and the mountains. I saw beautiful blue
skies. I saw... The magnitude of God's creation.
From a different perspective than just being
on the ground. To the point that I couldn't even
convey to you all the full experience. And sometimes
the challenge is tough. Sometimes you can grow
weary in this thing. Sometimes you can get to
the point where you're ready to walk away and
say no more. And I told my son and my daughter,
I said, look how far we've come. Look what we've
made it through already. We've come too far to
give up now. We've come too far to give up now.
And I want you to understand something today.
That it's okay if you get tired. It's okay if
it gets difficult. It's okay if you're wore out.
You're burnt out. I get it. And it's okay to
take a break. It's okay to take a break. But
don't you ever quit. Don't you ever give up.
Don't ever stop. Keep pursuing. Keep pressing.
And pray through until you break through. These
altars are open today. And if you've been fighting,
you've been battling the good fight of faith.
If you've had some struggles, if you've had some
issues, but you want to get closer to God and
you're willing to fight, You're willing to press.
You're willing to climb. You're willing to touch.
Jesus, now is your time. Now is your opportunity
to say, God, I surrender. God, I'm in this fight.
God, I'm going to walk with you through every
trial.