WEBVTT 00:00:17.929 --> 00:00:27.670 Thank you, Jesus. Praise God. He's an amazing 00:00:27.670 --> 00:00:30.910 God, isn't he? And he's doing great things right 00:00:30.910 --> 00:00:37.350 here today among us because he has no boundaries. 00:00:38.770 --> 00:00:43.750 Oh, you didn't hear that. He's not great somewhere 00:00:43.750 --> 00:00:48.490 else. He's great everywhere. Everywhere. You 00:00:48.490 --> 00:00:52.469 need to believe that and embrace that. The Lord 00:00:52.469 --> 00:00:54.030 has dropped a word within my heart that I'm just 00:00:54.030 --> 00:00:56.770 so delighted to share with you today. And let 00:00:56.770 --> 00:01:00.969 me tell you something about my ministry right 00:01:00.969 --> 00:01:03.270 now, my ministry today. My son -in -law, who 00:01:03.270 --> 00:01:06.609 you saw on the video, the heavyset Hispanic young 00:01:06.609 --> 00:01:10.439 man there, he asked me a question. Some time 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:13.819 ago, he said to me, Dad, he's a pastor now and 00:01:13.819 --> 00:01:16.480 preacher. And he said, how long does it take 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:20.359 you to prepare one of your messages? And he's 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:23.879 listened to so many of the experts today that 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:26.140 do the seminars and so on. And some of them will 00:01:26.140 --> 00:01:28.219 tell you, like, for every minute they preach, 00:01:28.299 --> 00:01:31.780 they take an hour of study. Yeah. And so he said, 00:01:31.819 --> 00:01:33.319 well, how long do you take? I said, well, that's 00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:36.420 changed over the years. In the early days, when 00:01:36.420 --> 00:01:38.500 I was first beginning in ministry, in June, Mark, 00:01:38.579 --> 00:01:41.079 the 50th year of this ministry, but in the early 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:43.340 days, I said, this is pretty well what it would 00:01:43.340 --> 00:01:47.500 take for me, all right? And the pastors or speakers 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:49.900 here will understand maybe a little better about 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:51.859 what I'm going to say. I said, I'm going to take 00:01:51.859 --> 00:01:55.900 out of the equation the time it took for me to 00:01:55.900 --> 00:01:58.780 figure out what I was supposed to speak on. All 00:01:58.780 --> 00:02:00.620 right, sometimes that takes half a week before 00:02:00.620 --> 00:02:02.400 you even know where you're going. So let's take 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:05.900 that out of the equation. And let's also take 00:02:05.900 --> 00:02:08.080 out of the equation the amount of time it took 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:11.020 to come to the text, maybe to pull resources 00:02:11.020 --> 00:02:14.979 that would help you put that together, or books 00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:17.000 that you might have that will help you, assist 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:19.639 you in bringing the thought forth. If we take 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:21.460 that out of the equation, let's bring it right 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:23.580 down to the moment where I understand the text 00:02:23.580 --> 00:02:25.199 I'll be working with, I know where I'm going 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:27.240 on this thing, I've got the resources now on 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:29.590 the desk before me. Now that's going to take 00:02:29.590 --> 00:02:32.270 me somewhere between an hour and a half to three 00:02:32.270 --> 00:02:35.330 hours to put that together. I said that was in 00:02:35.330 --> 00:02:38.250 my early days and for a great number of years. 00:02:38.509 --> 00:02:41.229 I said today, the messages that you hear me speak, 00:02:41.389 --> 00:02:48.590 they've taken over 40 years. Because today, I 00:02:48.590 --> 00:02:51.530 don't speak so much out of my study, although 00:02:51.530 --> 00:02:57.060 I do study, I speak more out of my journey. I 00:02:57.060 --> 00:02:58.919 talk to you about the things that he's talked 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:02.560 to me about. And what he's walked me through 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:09.520 gives me something to say unto you. Today's message 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:14.659 was birthed out of a time in my life where I 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:18.210 came to a very dry period. I don't know why. 00:03:18.310 --> 00:03:21.330 I actually, then I didn't understand it. I was 00:03:21.330 --> 00:03:24.289 pastoring at that time. I pastored three churches, 00:03:24.370 --> 00:03:26.469 two that were existing churches and one that 00:03:26.469 --> 00:03:29.930 I planted, the last one I planted. But it was 00:03:29.930 --> 00:03:33.169 in my second church that I found myself at a 00:03:33.169 --> 00:03:36.169 point where all the color had gone out of life. 00:03:37.189 --> 00:03:39.509 And I couldn't, I didn't understand why. It wasn't 00:03:39.509 --> 00:03:41.310 like we were having a hard time. People weren't 00:03:41.310 --> 00:03:43.629 being mean. The church was growing. In fact, 00:03:43.669 --> 00:03:47.560 in our area, I was a presbyter or a bishop over 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:51.340 it with multiple churches under me and our church 00:03:51.340 --> 00:03:53.740 when I came to it was in financial struggle. 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:55.360 They were about to lose their building within 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:57.800 90 days and instead we paid it off in two and 00:03:57.800 --> 00:04:01.879 a half years. Most people would have looked at 00:04:01.879 --> 00:04:07.740 that and said you're on top of the game. But 00:04:07.740 --> 00:04:10.500 I knew something wasn't right and I couldn't 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:13.419 put my finger on it. Now if it had been an issue 00:04:13.419 --> 00:04:19.379 of Sin or secret sin. I was keeping my heart 00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:21.439 open before God and I can look back at that time 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:24.579 now and say that wasn't it because that can sure 00:04:24.579 --> 00:04:29.199 dry stuff up on you. You understand I'm not bragging 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:31.000 or trying to make myself look holy. I was trying 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:32.379 to figure out what in the world is going on. 00:04:33.540 --> 00:04:37.160 Why is it that all of the, I don't know, the 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:41.019 fun had gone out? Do you understand what I mean 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:45.230 by that? I examined my prayer life. Are you not 00:04:45.230 --> 00:04:48.449 praying anymore? And I could honestly say it 00:04:48.449 --> 00:04:50.870 wasn't really that. What about the word? Have 00:04:50.870 --> 00:04:53.089 you deviated from that? Are you just preaching 00:04:53.089 --> 00:04:56.689 whatever stuff instead of getting into the life 00:04:56.689 --> 00:05:00.329 -giving word? And I looked at that. I said, I 00:05:00.329 --> 00:05:02.550 was desperate. I was looking. I said, I don't 00:05:02.550 --> 00:05:05.089 know. It doesn't appear to be that way. What 00:05:05.089 --> 00:05:07.529 is it? So the only thing I knew to do is what 00:05:07.529 --> 00:05:09.410 I had been taught from a child. I grew up in 00:05:09.410 --> 00:05:11.230 a great full gospel church. I grew up in a church 00:05:11.230 --> 00:05:13.819 of deep prayer. I grew up in a time in which 00:05:13.819 --> 00:05:18.579 many services, but especially Sunday night services, 00:05:18.839 --> 00:05:21.339 we would have altar time and not just with people 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:23.180 praying or prophesying over you. We came and 00:05:23.180 --> 00:05:25.800 waited before the Lord and honestly, our service 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:27.660 would start about seven o 'clock at night and 00:05:27.660 --> 00:05:30.259 it was very rare, very rare that before I as 00:05:30.259 --> 00:05:32.060 a child would leave the altar before nine or 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:36.399 10. I learned before I was nine years of age 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:39.769 how to pray two consecutive hours. before his 00:05:39.769 --> 00:05:41.670 presence. And I wasn't alone with that. I wasn't 00:05:41.670 --> 00:05:43.649 a house of prayer like that. We had a culture 00:05:43.649 --> 00:05:49.050 of prayer. And when things get tough and I can't 00:05:49.050 --> 00:05:51.050 figure anything else out, all I know to do is 00:05:51.050 --> 00:05:54.810 to shut myself in with him. And so I went into 00:05:54.810 --> 00:05:57.089 a time of fasting and prayer. I was gonna take 00:05:57.089 --> 00:05:59.829 about a week, maybe a little more on that. But 00:05:59.829 --> 00:06:03.110 while I was in there, he came to me and he kept 00:06:03.110 --> 00:06:06.069 saying to me, stay with me a little longer. Stay 00:06:06.069 --> 00:06:09.220 with me a little longer. I didn't intend on it, 00:06:09.259 --> 00:06:12.160 but it turned out to be 40 days and nights of 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:16.720 no solid food going past these lips at all. As 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:19.459 I was going through that time period, I wasn't 00:06:19.459 --> 00:06:21.180 announcing it to the church or anything like 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:23.100 that, but you can't hardly, you know, you can't 00:06:23.100 --> 00:06:24.899 hardly stay away from food for 30 days before 00:06:24.899 --> 00:06:28.920 someone figures it out. You start looking a little 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:32.579 different. And so people were asking questions. 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:34.399 And when they found out what I was doing, the 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:36.959 key question is, well, what is God saying? What 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:41.120 is God saying? Well, you know, he had said several 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:43.540 things to me during that time, but every one 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:45.420 of them was simplistic. I'm going to tell you 00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:47.740 something. It's the simple words that God will 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:49.399 speak to your heart that will transform you. 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:52.660 If you're looking for something that is shrouded 00:06:52.660 --> 00:06:56.139 in secrecy and is Da Vinci code -like, you're 00:06:56.139 --> 00:06:57.740 probably never going to figure it out because 00:06:57.740 --> 00:07:00.259 it's the simplicity of the gospel that connects 00:07:00.259 --> 00:07:03.269 with our heart. And so I would say to them, I 00:07:03.269 --> 00:07:04.730 would say, well, you know, he said a lot of things, 00:07:04.769 --> 00:07:06.670 but I don't think they would make any sense to 00:07:06.670 --> 00:07:08.490 you. So I'd rather not talk about them. And I 00:07:08.490 --> 00:07:10.410 wasn't trying to say, oh, I'm so spiritual and 00:07:10.410 --> 00:07:12.550 so above you. You can't figure this out. I just 00:07:12.550 --> 00:07:13.990 said, it's going to be so simple. You're going 00:07:13.990 --> 00:07:17.420 to think, huh? And so this went on, and like 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:20.300 I said, 40 days, but about 30 days into it, and 00:07:20.300 --> 00:07:22.120 my wife included asked me these questions and 00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:25.120 my leaders and so on, but I remember it was a 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.899 Sunday morning service, and I was in my office, 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:30.500 which Jan has been in the place where he's ministered 00:07:30.500 --> 00:07:32.199 with me there, and it was a separate building 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:34.319 from where the sanctuary was. It was a large 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:37.319 complex that we had there, and so you had to 00:07:37.319 --> 00:07:39.740 go through the office buildings and then come 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:42.579 through a little breezeway and into what would 00:07:42.579 --> 00:07:44.990 be the educational wing of the facility. and 00:07:44.990 --> 00:07:47.170 then on down to what would be about the 600 -seat 00:07:47.170 --> 00:07:51.389 sanctuary. And so I was ready. We were close 00:07:51.389 --> 00:07:53.689 to service time now, maybe 10 minutes before 00:07:53.689 --> 00:07:56.170 service, and I'm about to leave my office, and 00:07:56.170 --> 00:07:58.730 I opened my door, and when I did, and this is 00:07:58.730 --> 00:08:02.370 no joke, my wife and one of my elders was literally, 00:08:02.449 --> 00:08:07.310 they had their noses right up to the door. They 00:08:07.310 --> 00:08:09.209 didn't open it. They were just standing there. 00:08:09.269 --> 00:08:11.329 So when I opened the door, it was, oh, wow, they're 00:08:11.329 --> 00:08:16.240 just right there, you know? And my wife said 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:21.120 to me, they said, we have decided that you are 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:27.040 going to tell us what God is saying to you. I 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:31.000 was like, wow. And I said, we're going to surface, 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:33.059 come on. They said, no, no. And they talked to 00:08:33.059 --> 00:08:34.860 me all the way through the office complex, all 00:08:34.860 --> 00:08:37.539 the way across the breezeway, all the way through 00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:39.340 the educational building. We're right at where 00:08:39.340 --> 00:08:44.029 now we would go into the sanctuary. I said, I 00:08:44.029 --> 00:08:45.250 said, you know, it's not that God's not saying 00:08:45.250 --> 00:08:47.470 stuff, but it's so simple. I don't think it would, 00:08:47.549 --> 00:08:50.049 I don't think it'd make any sense to you. And 00:08:50.049 --> 00:08:52.710 so finally, I forget it was either her or him 00:08:52.710 --> 00:08:54.990 spoke up and said, we don't care. Just tell us 00:08:54.990 --> 00:08:57.769 what he's saying. I said, okay. I said, there's 00:08:57.769 --> 00:08:59.610 a lot of things he said, but the key thing he 00:08:59.610 --> 00:09:01.830 said to me that has been the transformation for 00:09:01.830 --> 00:09:05.570 me is he told me, he said, Dale, all you need 00:09:05.570 --> 00:09:09.690 is Jesus. And if he's manifest, everything else 00:09:09.690 --> 00:09:13.379 will come together. Now, I wish you could have 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:17.519 seen the look on their face, especially my wife. 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:20.539 When I said he is, this is now almost 40 days 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:23.279 of no food. And it's like, and so all you need 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.379 is Jesus. And my wife looked at me and said, 00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:28.580 my damn, I could have told you that 30 days ago 00:09:28.580 --> 00:09:35.600 and saved you the whole deal here. Are you getting 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:43.080 it? And that's what I would have told you. Before 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:48.940 that. But something happens when you meet with 00:09:48.940 --> 00:09:55.639 him. And he speaks these things to you. If you 00:09:55.639 --> 00:09:57.340 would have asked me before that, Dale, do you 00:09:57.340 --> 00:09:59.019 think there's anything more important to Jesus? 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:00.659 I would have looked you in the eye and said, 00:10:00.779 --> 00:10:03.279 what are you talking about, man? You have no 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:05.679 idea, you know, my life and what I believe. Would 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:08.600 you ask me a question like that? Of course. Of 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:14.730 course I understand. It was like that day in 00:10:14.730 --> 00:10:18.169 the boat when the storm had come up and he was 00:10:18.169 --> 00:10:21.450 asleep. It looked like the boat's gonna sink. 00:10:22.509 --> 00:10:26.950 And they wake him and they say, Lord, we're perishing. 00:10:28.309 --> 00:10:31.389 Imagine that. They talked to the God of hope. 00:10:33.269 --> 00:10:35.929 He's right there. And they said, you know what 00:10:35.929 --> 00:10:37.889 perishing means? We're dying without any hope. 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:40.299 That's what perish means. I'm dying without. 00:10:40.419 --> 00:10:42.139 He turned to him, the God of all hope, and they 00:10:42.139 --> 00:10:44.980 said, we're dying without any hope. They watched 00:10:44.980 --> 00:10:46.639 him. He's multiplied to loaves and fish. They've 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:47.980 been there when he's raised the dead. They've 00:10:47.980 --> 00:10:49.480 seen him give sight to the blind and cleanse 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:51.039 the lepers. Now they tell him we're dying without 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:52.940 any hope. He turns and he speaks to the winds 00:10:52.940 --> 00:10:54.740 and the waves and he said, be peaceful and be 00:10:54.740 --> 00:10:56.919 calm. And boom, the storm is gone just like that. 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:04.399 And then it says, and then they worshiped him, 00:11:04.500 --> 00:11:11.679 saying truly, truly. Truly, you are the son of 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:14.399 God. But I think if you'd have asked any one 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:17.000 of those men before they got in the boat, you 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:18.899 think he's the son of God? They'd have said, 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.659 are you kidding? You understand who we are? We're 00:11:21.659 --> 00:11:24.019 his disciples. We walk with him. He teaches us 00:11:24.019 --> 00:11:27.879 privately. We got the inside scoop. We already 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:31.919 know about this. But when you go through this 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:36.950 storm and you hear him speak. You stand back 00:11:36.950 --> 00:11:38.769 there and you go, oh, wow, oh, wow, oh, wow. 00:11:39.889 --> 00:11:42.889 Truly you are the son of God. I'm going to talk 00:11:42.889 --> 00:11:45.289 to you for the next few moments of this manifest 00:11:45.289 --> 00:11:48.129 presence of Christ. Because when I came out of 00:11:48.129 --> 00:11:49.789 that time, the transformation happened in me 00:11:49.789 --> 00:11:55.309 because I became a pursuer of the one. That's 00:11:55.309 --> 00:11:59.350 the only one that's important in life. I love 00:11:59.350 --> 00:12:01.710 his gifts, his anointings, the miracles he does, 00:12:01.809 --> 00:12:04.070 and all the wonderful ways he pours out of his 00:12:04.070 --> 00:12:07.610 glory among us. But I hunger more than anything 00:12:07.610 --> 00:12:13.450 else for this Jesus. We sit before him to hear 00:12:13.450 --> 00:12:18.750 his voice. It's literally all of life from him 00:12:18.750 --> 00:12:25.750 and through him and to him are all things. When 00:12:25.750 --> 00:12:29.009 Jesus is not front and center, nothing else makes 00:12:29.009 --> 00:12:32.129 sense. When he's not the kingpin, nothing really 00:12:32.129 --> 00:12:36.509 revolves properly. It's literally all. About 00:12:36.509 --> 00:12:41.549 him. And do we recognize this presence of God? 00:12:42.450 --> 00:12:44.750 I travel all over the world and I'm in churches 00:12:44.750 --> 00:12:47.330 all the time. And on every now and then I hear 00:12:47.330 --> 00:12:49.190 people, in fact, quite often, I hear people get 00:12:49.190 --> 00:12:51.649 up and say, oh, the Lord is here. And I'm like, 00:12:51.710 --> 00:12:55.230 yeah, where? Because not every place has manifest 00:12:55.230 --> 00:12:58.610 presence like you guys have. The glorious one 00:12:58.610 --> 00:13:01.330 is here in this room today. He's here right now. 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:03.620 And I'm not trying to flatter you. I've been 00:13:03.620 --> 00:13:07.259 in some really dry places. But they'll all say, 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:09.159 hey, the Lord is here. And I'm like, well, I 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:12.000 know. Look, I get that. I get it. He's omnipresent. 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:15.120 I get that. He's everywhere all the time and 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:17.220 all at the same time. So he's here in this room 00:13:17.220 --> 00:13:19.620 right now, but he's also in New York. Not only 00:13:19.620 --> 00:13:21.320 in New York, but he's in London. And not only 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:23.440 is he in London, come on, he's in Cape Town. 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:25.379 But not only is he in Cape Town, he's in the 00:13:25.379 --> 00:13:29.899 mosque. Oh, you didn't like that, but it's true. 00:13:30.759 --> 00:13:39.759 Yeah, yeah, and he's in the crack house. Mm -hmm. 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:43.019 He's everywhere all the time and all at the same 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:46.559 time. There's no place that you will ever go 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:50.980 that you cannot step into the dimension of his 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:58.139 presence. He's not far. You really know when 00:13:58.139 --> 00:14:02.759 he's there? Can you recognize, not the omnipresence, 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:05.059 but the manifest presence? Because there's a 00:14:05.059 --> 00:14:08.179 difference. He's everywhere all the time and 00:14:08.179 --> 00:14:09.940 all at the same time, but he's not manifest everywhere. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:14.220 When he is manifest, do you understand what manifest 00:14:14.220 --> 00:14:16.740 means? The revealing, the unveiling. That's when 00:14:16.740 --> 00:14:19.299 heaven and earth intersect. When that happens, 00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:21.820 that's when miracles take place. That's when 00:14:21.820 --> 00:14:23.519 deliverances are found. That's when the glory 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:29.340 of God transforms the moment. Let me show you 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:34.559 a setting in Scripture where his presence was 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:36.940 manifest. There was many of them, but I'm choosing 00:14:36.940 --> 00:14:39.720 to look at the Gospel of John chapter 20 and 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:45.360 verses 19 through 23. John 20, verses 19 through 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:49.740 23. While you're finding that, I'm going to tell 00:14:49.740 --> 00:14:52.860 you again. Several years after the moment I spoke 00:14:52.860 --> 00:14:56.700 of already, the time of fasting, it came to me 00:14:56.700 --> 00:14:59.549 about 2, 3 in the morning. I just finished a 00:14:59.549 --> 00:15:02.009 crusade that night, and he said these simple 00:15:02.009 --> 00:15:06.070 words. Dale, whenever Jesus comes, something 00:15:06.070 --> 00:15:10.629 special always happens. Hear my words, because 00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:12.029 what I'm going to do, I'm going to walk through 00:15:12.029 --> 00:15:13.370 this passage, and I'm going to show you what 00:15:13.370 --> 00:15:15.909 it's really like when Jesus comes. I'm going 00:15:15.909 --> 00:15:18.710 to get it past culture and stuff we feel and 00:15:18.710 --> 00:15:21.490 like. Because, you know, for some of us, if they 00:15:21.490 --> 00:15:23.450 would ever play those old hymns again, then we 00:15:23.450 --> 00:15:26.700 could really feel Jesus. And for some of us, 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:30.419 if they play those old hymns, it kills us. We 00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:37.120 want to see Jesus. All right. But let's get past 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:42.139 culture and taste that makes us think that we're 00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:46.039 experiencing Jesus. Let's look at a passage that 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:49.419 shows us what it's really like when he comes. 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:53.580 You got it now, John 20, verse 19. This is now. 00:15:54.730 --> 00:15:57.649 You understand the setting. He has already walked 00:15:57.649 --> 00:16:00.809 this earth as a man. He has been crucified. He 00:16:00.809 --> 00:16:04.870 has risen from the dead. But the majority are 00:16:04.870 --> 00:16:08.110 still struggling with the fact that this could 00:16:08.110 --> 00:16:12.149 be so. And it says then the same day at evening, 00:16:12.289 --> 00:16:17.730 being the first day of the week, when the doors 00:16:17.730 --> 00:16:20.970 were shut. Did you listen? Did you hear that? 00:16:21.409 --> 00:16:24.000 Pay attention to this now. Watch the moment. 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:27.639 Watch what it's like. Watch how he could come. 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:30.840 It says where the doors were shut, where the 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:33.299 disciples were assembled for fear. Someone say 00:16:33.299 --> 00:16:44.580 for fear. For fear of the Jews. Jesus came. The 00:16:44.580 --> 00:16:47.120 moment, I'm going to read more, but the moment 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:49.519 is now that he has been crucified and they're 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:54.110 scared spitless. All of their hope is gone. The 00:16:54.110 --> 00:16:55.629 one they thought would be the Messiah, the one 00:16:55.629 --> 00:16:57.529 that now was going to come and overthrow the 00:16:57.529 --> 00:17:01.169 Roman rule and was going to establish his theocracy 00:17:01.169 --> 00:17:03.049 on the earth, the one the prophets had talked 00:17:03.049 --> 00:17:04.970 about, and they've watched him now. They've seen 00:17:04.970 --> 00:17:08.029 him do the incredible, the amazing. This is him. 00:17:08.289 --> 00:17:11.890 This is it. And then, whoa, in one weekend, the 00:17:11.890 --> 00:17:16.849 whole thing's wiped out. They're reeling in confusion. 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:20.920 And they're wondering what in the world has just 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:26.279 taken place. And now they're shut up in this 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:28.539 room. Not because they're men of faith. They're 00:17:28.539 --> 00:17:31.859 going to pray it through. They're scared out 00:17:31.859 --> 00:17:37.460 of their mind. Because I'm probably next. We 00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:40.339 saw what they did to him. And you know what's 00:17:40.339 --> 00:17:44.559 coming down on us. Not in an atmosphere of praise. 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:49.559 Not in a place of faith. Not in high worship. 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:59.160 But in a room that is saturated with fear. The 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:08.559 scripture simply says, Jesus came. I'm going 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:11.299 to tell you about someone who comes when we exalt 00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:14.440 his name. Someone who will show himself when 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:17.089 we... open our heart and our faith toward him, 00:18:17.130 --> 00:18:19.190 but I'm gonna tell you about someone that knows 00:18:19.190 --> 00:18:24.549 how to enter a room when a child is dying and 00:18:24.549 --> 00:18:28.509 the doctors have given us no hope and we're scared 00:18:28.509 --> 00:18:31.509 out of our mind. What is this gonna be like? 00:18:32.049 --> 00:18:34.690 And we think that because of our confusion and 00:18:34.690 --> 00:18:39.190 because of our fear, we have blocked him from 00:18:39.190 --> 00:18:42.490 coming in. But I'm gonna tell you about someone 00:18:42.490 --> 00:18:46.170 that has no barriers. And has no limitations. 00:18:47.150 --> 00:18:49.829 He can enter the room full of praise and of faith. 00:18:50.029 --> 00:18:52.829 He can also enter the place, and we've seen it, 00:18:52.849 --> 00:18:56.109 where the witch doctors have ruled. Where fear 00:18:56.109 --> 00:18:59.990 has been triumphant. He can still come in and 00:18:59.990 --> 00:19:04.970 be who he is. This guy got to get past the text, 00:19:05.069 --> 00:19:10.289 excuse me. The disciples were assembled for fear 00:19:10.289 --> 00:19:13.470 of the Jews. Jesus came. stood in the midst and 00:19:13.470 --> 00:19:17.509 said to them, peace be with you. And when he 00:19:17.509 --> 00:19:20.829 said this, now watch this progression. There's 00:19:20.829 --> 00:19:22.930 gonna be an ongoing, you're gonna hear the words, 00:19:23.009 --> 00:19:26.930 and when he said this, several times in this 00:19:26.930 --> 00:19:30.970 setting, peace be with you. And when he said 00:19:30.970 --> 00:19:33.849 this, he showed them his hands and his sides. 00:19:34.049 --> 00:19:36.450 Then the disciples were glad when they saw the 00:19:36.450 --> 00:19:43.930 Lord. So Jesus said to them again, Peace be to 00:19:43.930 --> 00:19:48.289 you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. 00:19:49.029 --> 00:19:53.549 And when he had said this, he breathed on them 00:19:53.549 --> 00:19:56.849 and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. If 00:19:56.849 --> 00:19:58.690 you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. 00:19:58.950 --> 00:20:02.069 If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. 00:20:02.490 --> 00:20:04.529 Wow, there's a lot there, isn't there? But let's 00:20:04.529 --> 00:20:08.069 talk about it. What is it like? When he comes, 00:20:08.170 --> 00:20:10.109 I'll tell you, the first thing that I've always 00:20:10.109 --> 00:20:13.230 noticed that happens when Jesus comes is that 00:20:13.230 --> 00:20:19.690 he stops fear and he releases peace. I can tell 00:20:19.690 --> 00:20:23.509 when he enters the room. I know when he comes 00:20:23.509 --> 00:20:26.029 into the room because all of my frustration, 00:20:26.190 --> 00:20:30.150 all of my anxiety, all of the fear, all of the 00:20:30.150 --> 00:20:34.730 worry of life just, whoa, it just goes. You don't 00:20:34.730 --> 00:20:36.809 have to work on it. You don't have to rebuke 00:20:36.809 --> 00:20:42.589 it. When he enters a room, the first thing he 00:20:42.589 --> 00:20:47.869 does is he stops fear and he releases peace. 00:20:49.269 --> 00:20:52.950 Scripture says Jesus came and stood in the midst 00:20:52.950 --> 00:20:57.130 of them and said, peace be to you. I'm gonna 00:20:57.130 --> 00:20:59.710 show you throughout this message that was more 00:20:59.710 --> 00:21:04.779 than a Middle Eastern greeting. When the Prince 00:21:04.779 --> 00:21:12.660 of Peace speaks, peace be unto you. That's not 00:21:12.660 --> 00:21:17.279 a cordial statement. This is the one when there 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:21.059 was nothing but darkness anywhere that said, 00:21:21.180 --> 00:21:26.980 let there be light. And it's never stopped. He's 00:21:26.980 --> 00:21:30.099 the one that said to the winds and waves, be 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:33.829 peaceful and be still. And they stopped. The 00:21:33.829 --> 00:21:36.269 storm right there. He's the one that said to 00:21:36.269 --> 00:21:41.309 the leper that was riddled with disease, stinking 00:21:41.309 --> 00:21:45.549 with the corruption of rotting flesh. That no 00:21:45.549 --> 00:21:48.789 one could reverse. He said to him, be whole. 00:21:49.029 --> 00:21:51.569 And it happened in an instant just like that. 00:21:51.690 --> 00:21:54.950 Wow, there isn't a complexion cream available 00:21:54.950 --> 00:21:58.049 on the planet that would change someone's skin 00:21:58.049 --> 00:22:00.809 like what happened that day. The disease left 00:22:00.809 --> 00:22:03.329 the guy. And not a week later, not a month later, 00:22:03.390 --> 00:22:05.769 but right in front of their eyes, it went down 00:22:05.769 --> 00:22:08.549 just like this. And the guy's completely whole. 00:22:08.670 --> 00:22:10.950 And the fingers that were gone were back on. 00:22:11.049 --> 00:22:12.869 And the ear that had rotted off had returned. 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:18.619 And now he steps into this room that is saturated 00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:23.880 with fear. And the first thing he does is he 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:27.180 stops that fear and he says, peace be to you. 00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:30.900 And I'm gonna tell you what happened. Rivers 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:35.000 of peace went through that room. There was no 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:38.240 fear anymore in anybody's heart. I can always 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:41.519 tell when he enters the room because when he 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:47.099 comes, there's an amazing. Peace of God. Peace 00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:51.160 is the threshold that you cross to walk into 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:53.859 the supernatural. Someone says, well, you know, 00:22:53.859 --> 00:22:56.119 I don't know. Maybe it's a healing service. I 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:57.519 don't know if I really got healed tonight. You 00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:59.119 know, I would have to have a battery of exams 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:01.339 by the doctors. I'm kind of hoping I got healed, 00:23:01.380 --> 00:23:03.079 but I don't know. While I was out there and you 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:04.839 were preaching, all of a sudden there came a 00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:07.319 great peace over me and the fear of this thing 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:09.299 just left at that time. So I hope I got healed. 00:23:09.339 --> 00:23:11.339 I look at him, oh my, don't you know what just 00:23:11.339 --> 00:23:14.490 happened? Do you not realize what just took place? 00:23:15.049 --> 00:23:17.809 When he broke the power of fear and he poured 00:23:17.809 --> 00:23:20.049 that peace within your heart, you just stepped 00:23:20.049 --> 00:23:22.589 into the place of the miracle right there. You 00:23:22.589 --> 00:23:25.710 can count on it. You can be assured of it. This 00:23:25.710 --> 00:23:28.769 thing is so. What is it like when Jesus enters 00:23:28.769 --> 00:23:33.450 a moment? When he enters a room? I can tell you. 00:23:34.769 --> 00:23:42.240 Fear is going to go, buddy. It will. And the 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:46.000 peace of God will fill you. Look at verse 20. 00:23:47.099 --> 00:23:49.259 The scripture says, and when he had said this, 00:23:49.460 --> 00:23:54.839 see, you won't be able to get what he's about 00:23:54.839 --> 00:24:05.740 to do until the fear goes. When he said this, 00:24:05.740 --> 00:24:17.349 he showed them his hands. And his side. Now there's 00:24:17.349 --> 00:24:21.730 a lot being said there. But let me explain something 00:24:21.730 --> 00:24:25.970 to you. Whenever he comes. You'll always know 00:24:25.970 --> 00:24:33.589 it's him. Because he will reveal who he is. And 00:24:33.589 --> 00:24:40.150 his suffering. His covenant. Unto you. Now let 00:24:40.150 --> 00:24:43.460 me be more clear. When we got problems and we're 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:48.039 calling out to him, this is what we want. We 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:54.140 want answers. And we want strategy. We want to 00:24:54.140 --> 00:24:57.559 know how to get from this mess over here. We 00:24:57.559 --> 00:24:59.500 want to know the steps that we need to take. 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:03.960 And Lord, we need direction. That's what we need. 00:25:05.420 --> 00:25:10.400 Let me tell you what he will always do. When 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:16.099 he comes, there may be methods, there may be 00:25:16.099 --> 00:25:21.299 strategy, there may be systems, but they're going 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:27.099 to be way back there. When he comes, he will 00:25:27.099 --> 00:25:32.640 show himself unto you. You didn't enter the kingdom 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:34.759 because you figured out the theology of new birth. 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:38.339 You didn't understand it because you understood. 00:25:39.150 --> 00:25:44.289 The detail of covenant and sacrifice. Something 00:25:44.289 --> 00:25:49.369 happened when you met the Savior. And he shows 00:25:49.369 --> 00:25:55.730 you himself as your hope. Himself as your salvation. 00:25:55.970 --> 00:26:01.710 He alone, then, now, and forever will be your 00:26:01.710 --> 00:26:06.170 assurance. Are you hearing me? And will be your 00:26:06.170 --> 00:26:10.289 confidence. My confidence is not in what I believe, 00:26:10.630 --> 00:26:15.089 but in him whom I believe. He is the one that 00:26:15.089 --> 00:26:18.069 has created this within me. It goes beyond my 00:26:18.069 --> 00:26:20.049 understanding and it goes beyond my articulate 00:26:20.049 --> 00:26:22.990 skills. I just know that I know because he has 00:26:22.990 --> 00:26:28.849 showed me himself as his hope, as my hope. And 00:26:28.849 --> 00:26:32.309 so I find that when Jesus comes, I have a cry. 00:26:32.390 --> 00:26:36.069 I have a need or whatever it is. He's going to 00:26:36.069 --> 00:26:37.670 lead me. He's going to guide me. He'll speak 00:26:37.670 --> 00:26:40.970 to me about stuff. But not first. I know when 00:26:40.970 --> 00:26:44.009 I'm really hearing from him because he is magnified. 00:26:44.009 --> 00:26:47.089 He is manifest. He is clear. He is front and 00:26:47.089 --> 00:26:50.009 center. I found that sometimes when we pray and 00:26:50.009 --> 00:26:52.609 we get ideas and we get strategies, what they 00:26:52.609 --> 00:26:55.609 become is nothing more than rules and regulation 00:26:55.609 --> 00:26:59.109 and maybe even legalism unto us. And it binds 00:26:59.109 --> 00:27:01.430 us up because now we think we have to step here 00:27:01.430 --> 00:27:03.930 and then there. It's almost like a twister game. 00:27:04.029 --> 00:27:05.410 And then you get over here and then you got to 00:27:05.410 --> 00:27:07.930 touch that and speak this. If you don't do that, 00:27:08.029 --> 00:27:10.329 you're not going to be free. You haven't heard 00:27:10.329 --> 00:27:16.450 from God. If all you've got is systems and methods, 00:27:16.549 --> 00:27:19.190 you've not heard from God. I don't care how enlightening 00:27:19.190 --> 00:27:22.470 they look, how thrilling they seem to be. I don't 00:27:22.470 --> 00:27:25.849 care how uh -huh they come across to you. If 00:27:25.849 --> 00:27:31.750 Jesus wasn't first, you didn't get it. When he 00:27:31.750 --> 00:27:37.170 comes, he will always show you himself. He will 00:27:37.170 --> 00:27:40.950 be the all -important one. He will amaze you. 00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:48.859 And in fact, when he comes, he won't care about 00:27:48.859 --> 00:27:53.880 anything else. All of the answers I have to have. 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:58.119 Well, he'll end up giving them to you, but you 00:27:58.119 --> 00:28:01.079 won't even care anymore. You understand that? 00:28:01.940 --> 00:28:03.859 Because all of this, it said, look at me. And 00:28:03.859 --> 00:28:05.339 all of this, it said, I'm going to put you down. 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:07.259 And all of this, it said, I'm going to tear you 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:12.059 apart. When you see him, it's like, whoa. Look 00:28:12.059 --> 00:28:17.759 at that, will you? Moses is there to lead the 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.660 people of Israel out and God has given him ways. 00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:21.660 He's shown him signs and wonders that'll work 00:28:21.660 --> 00:28:24.160 within his life. And he's now spoken to the leaders 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:25.759 of Israel and they bought into it, you know, 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:27.680 but now he goes before Pharaoh and he's kind 00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:29.279 of on a roll. I mean, you know, he's kind of 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:31.319 on a roll right now with this thing, the burning 00:28:31.319 --> 00:28:33.259 bush deal out there, you know, and the thing 00:28:33.259 --> 00:28:34.720 of putting a hand in the coat and coming out 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:36.380 with leprosy and putting in and come out clean. 00:28:36.380 --> 00:28:37.900 Well, all the elders said, dude, you're the guy, 00:28:37.980 --> 00:28:40.660 you know? And now he goes before Pharaoh and 00:28:40.660 --> 00:28:42.519 he says, let my people go. And Pharaoh says, 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:47.180 I don't think so. And so Moses says, well, while 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:48.640 you're thinking it over, here's a few plagues 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:52.559 you can stick under your belt. And I'm paraphrasing 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:57.099 just a little bit. And after that happened several 00:28:57.099 --> 00:28:58.759 times, he stands before Pharaoh again because 00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:00.559 he keeps changing his mind. He's flip -flopping 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:04.940 back and forth. True politician. I didn't say 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:07.660 that out loud, did I? Anyhow, getting back to 00:29:07.660 --> 00:29:11.880 the message. Moses comes before him and now Pharaoh's 00:29:11.880 --> 00:29:14.630 ticked off. He's ticked off big time. And you 00:29:14.630 --> 00:29:18.210 don't tick off monarchies in days like that because 00:29:18.210 --> 00:29:19.609 they could take your head off just because you 00:29:19.609 --> 00:29:23.650 burnt the bread. You know that? Pharaoh's mad. 00:29:23.769 --> 00:29:26.210 I mean, he's irate. And this is what Hebrews 00:29:26.210 --> 00:29:29.109 11 tells us. I mean, he's coming down. He's telling 00:29:29.109 --> 00:29:31.250 Moses, and he's red in the face. He says, if 00:29:31.250 --> 00:29:35.130 I ever see you again, I'm going to kill you. 00:29:36.190 --> 00:29:37.849 Everybody else in the court is backing off like 00:29:37.849 --> 00:29:40.859 this, but not Moses. What's Moses doing? Well, 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:43.059 Hebrews 11 writes it this way, and I love the 00:29:43.059 --> 00:29:45.440 way the Amplified Bible says it. It says, Moses 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:49.000 was unawed and undismayed at the wrath of the 00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:55.240 king because he was looking steadfastly at him 00:29:55.240 --> 00:29:59.359 who is invisible. You get what was going on? 00:29:59.559 --> 00:30:01.859 So here's this little dude that thinks he's a 00:30:01.859 --> 00:30:04.220 big shot sitting on this throne saying, I'm going 00:30:04.220 --> 00:30:05.339 to do this, I'm going to do that, I'm going to 00:30:05.339 --> 00:30:10.079 do this. And he's flipping out. And Moses is 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:15.420 unimpressed because he's looking a little higher 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:19.539 over this guy's throne, a little higher, and 00:30:19.539 --> 00:30:24.420 he sees him who sits on the throne. And he says, 00:30:24.539 --> 00:30:31.180 look at him, everything's cool. Yeah, he will 00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:39.009 reveal himself when he comes. All you'll see 00:30:39.009 --> 00:30:45.690 is Jesus. He will fill your entire vision and 00:30:45.690 --> 00:30:52.509 your heart. Let's look at verse 20 again. Something 00:30:52.509 --> 00:30:55.549 else I notice that happens when he comes. It 00:30:55.549 --> 00:30:59.630 says, then the disciples were glad when they 00:30:59.630 --> 00:31:04.509 saw the Lord. He will make you. He will make 00:31:04.509 --> 00:31:08.890 you glad. I'm telling you, the guy that says, 00:31:09.089 --> 00:31:11.309 well, that's, you know, I'm not like those. This 00:31:11.309 --> 00:31:13.569 is more like me. Let me tell you what's going 00:31:13.569 --> 00:31:15.069 to happen to that guy. He's going to at least 00:31:15.069 --> 00:31:21.390 go like this. There's something about Jesus that 00:31:21.390 --> 00:31:24.569 even in the place where fear has abound, when 00:31:24.569 --> 00:31:28.690 he steps into the room, will turn your heart 00:31:28.690 --> 00:31:33.809 around. It'll put a smile on your face, even 00:31:33.809 --> 00:31:38.450 though tears are still on your cheeks. It will 00:31:38.450 --> 00:31:42.549 bring a spring in your step when no one else 00:31:42.549 --> 00:31:49.329 understands why. I'm telling you, he will make 00:31:49.329 --> 00:31:53.230 you glad. Sometimes people say to me, well, you 00:31:53.230 --> 00:31:56.130 are obviously a man of prayer. How long do you 00:31:56.130 --> 00:31:58.069 pray? How long do you pray? And it's not that 00:31:58.069 --> 00:32:01.549 I don't have a time that I set, really I do, 00:32:01.569 --> 00:32:05.990 that I set before him, but I actually don't work 00:32:05.990 --> 00:32:09.059 it by the clock. You say, well, how long do you 00:32:09.059 --> 00:32:19.039 pray then? I pray until the song comes. Do you 00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:22.519 understand what I said? I pray until the joy 00:32:22.519 --> 00:32:33.900 arises. I pray until the shout fills my heart. 00:32:35.779 --> 00:32:42.339 I pray. until my feet want to dance. And when 00:32:42.339 --> 00:32:46.519 I get to that point, I know I've entered in. 00:32:50.019 --> 00:33:07.440 He will. He will make you glad. He will. I was 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:09.680 married in the early 80s, and we were part of 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:11.380 a church in St. Louis that had grown from 30 00:33:11.380 --> 00:33:15.019 people to 3 ,003 years. They've continued to 00:33:15.019 --> 00:33:18.279 grow, but during that time, most of our music 00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:21.720 that we had in the 60s and 70s would have been 00:33:21.720 --> 00:33:25.500 still somewhere in the area of hymnals or choruses 00:33:25.500 --> 00:33:29.059 that we would sing. And then this guy comes up 00:33:29.059 --> 00:33:32.180 with an anointing of God with a type of sound 00:33:32.180 --> 00:33:34.359 and music that we didn't have any terminology 00:33:34.359 --> 00:33:37.769 before. We called it... Then we ended up calling 00:33:37.769 --> 00:33:42.009 it praise and worship music. And it was birthed 00:33:42.009 --> 00:33:47.170 out of that man's heart, Ron Tucker, at Grace 00:33:47.170 --> 00:33:50.690 Church in St. Louis. It became the opening, the 00:33:50.690 --> 00:33:54.359 first recordings of the... Well, I think they 00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:56.660 called it the hosanna music or integrity music 00:33:56.660 --> 00:33:59.920 back then. And it was amazing as it spread across 00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:02.200 the country. And of course, in the services on 00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:05.339 Sunday, they would have 45 minutes or so of worship. 00:34:05.420 --> 00:34:06.660 But people always say, oh, we want more of this. 00:34:06.740 --> 00:34:08.440 We want more of this. We want more of this. So 00:34:08.440 --> 00:34:11.420 they would have periodically, not every week, 00:34:11.440 --> 00:34:13.579 but every now and then, they'd have just a praise 00:34:13.579 --> 00:34:15.199 and worship night. Now we have stuff like this 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:17.159 all the time, but that wasn't being done at all 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:19.639 in those days. And I remember, and those would 00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:21.650 go for three hours. There was no teaching or 00:34:21.650 --> 00:34:23.489 preaching. We just came together to worship the 00:34:23.489 --> 00:34:25.650 Lord and there'd be 1 ,000, 2 ,000 people that 00:34:25.650 --> 00:34:27.829 would come on like a Tuesday night or a Wednesday 00:34:27.829 --> 00:34:29.969 night or a Thursday night and just worship, worship, 00:34:30.090 --> 00:34:32.030 worship. And I remember I was in one of those 00:34:32.030 --> 00:34:34.269 early services like that and I leaned over to 00:34:34.269 --> 00:34:35.949 my wife. Now it'd probably been an hour and a 00:34:35.949 --> 00:34:38.030 half into that of just nothing but pure worship 00:34:38.030 --> 00:34:40.190 and it would yet go on that amount of time more. 00:34:40.329 --> 00:34:42.269 And I leaned over to her and I said, you do understand 00:34:42.269 --> 00:34:45.710 something. And that is that it would be literally 00:34:45.710 --> 00:34:49.730 impossible to be in this room and be depressed. 00:34:52.329 --> 00:34:55.309 Did you hear this? Because when you get into 00:34:55.309 --> 00:35:00.409 his presence, he doesn't push you down. He lifts 00:35:00.409 --> 00:35:05.329 you up. And his power to lift is greater than 00:35:05.329 --> 00:35:12.289 any exterior power to push down. You think Jesus 00:35:12.289 --> 00:35:15.699 is in the room? Oh, I can tell you how. I can 00:35:15.699 --> 00:35:17.980 tell you how. When he comes into the room, fear 00:35:17.980 --> 00:35:20.659 goes. When he comes into the room, there's nothing 00:35:20.659 --> 00:35:23.019 but him in the room as far as you're concerned. 00:35:23.179 --> 00:35:26.139 Wow, he fills the whole place. When he enters 00:35:26.139 --> 00:35:30.219 a moment, he will make you, say it with me, glad. 00:35:30.619 --> 00:35:42.360 Yeah. Verse 21. Whenever Jesus comes, he will 00:35:42.360 --> 00:35:47.690 define purpose. So Jesus said to them again. 00:35:48.250 --> 00:35:52.429 Now don't miss this. Watch the progression. He 00:35:52.429 --> 00:35:58.949 said to them again, peace to you. As the Father 00:35:58.949 --> 00:36:02.489 has sent me, so I send you. And they couldn't 00:36:02.489 --> 00:36:06.670 hear this last part until they caught that first 00:36:06.670 --> 00:36:11.630 part. He said to them again. Now he's already 00:36:11.630 --> 00:36:19.489 released peace in the room. But at every level 00:36:19.489 --> 00:36:23.710 of advance, there will be another threshold of 00:36:23.710 --> 00:36:26.989 peace. You see, because this is what happens 00:36:26.989 --> 00:36:32.190 to us. We're, whatever, bound by sin, tormented, 00:36:32.289 --> 00:36:35.190 in fear, frustrated, whatever it is. He comes 00:36:35.190 --> 00:36:37.750 in, bop, the peace of God comes and breaks that 00:36:37.750 --> 00:36:40.190 thing right there. And when he does, it's like, 00:36:40.269 --> 00:36:46.590 wow, this right here, this. This is what we were 00:36:46.590 --> 00:36:49.570 looking for. This is what we needed. We were 00:36:49.570 --> 00:36:52.449 in that dead religion. Now we've come into this 00:36:52.449 --> 00:36:55.329 moment of new birth. I could never, never, never 00:36:55.329 --> 00:37:02.690 go back there. I could live here forever. But 00:37:02.690 --> 00:37:05.389 what we don't know is there's yet another level. 00:37:07.170 --> 00:37:12.469 And you're not to live there forever. You don't 00:37:12.469 --> 00:37:16.699 abandon it. You take it with you, but you keep 00:37:16.699 --> 00:37:23.179 going. Sometimes the greatest obstacle to advancement 00:37:23.179 --> 00:37:34.199 is not opposition, but love of the present. And 00:37:34.199 --> 00:37:40.400 so we don't progress because we've arrived. And 00:37:40.400 --> 00:37:43.610 when someone says, but there is more. Oh, no, 00:37:43.670 --> 00:37:45.449 I'm born of the Spirit, brother. I was in that 00:37:45.449 --> 00:37:47.409 old dead church you just taught me. I'm born 00:37:47.409 --> 00:37:49.269 of the Spirit. But do you know that there is 00:37:49.269 --> 00:37:51.050 a baptism in the Holy Ghost? Oh, I don't know. 00:37:51.110 --> 00:37:53.909 I don't know about. You're talking about that 00:37:53.909 --> 00:37:58.610 tongue stuff? I don't know. I don't know. I'm 00:37:58.610 --> 00:38:00.929 a little uncomfortable with that. That makes 00:38:00.929 --> 00:38:05.250 me a little nervous. Yeah. You're going to have 00:38:05.250 --> 00:38:14.250 to get past your fear. Just step into that. You 00:38:14.250 --> 00:38:16.289 don't need a greater argument theologically. 00:38:17.929 --> 00:38:23.929 You gotta get past your fear to be able to enter 00:38:23.929 --> 00:38:26.690 into that next level because the next level will 00:38:26.690 --> 00:38:33.090 always look a little scary. You talking about 00:38:33.090 --> 00:38:38.429 tithing? I can barely pay my bills now. How could 00:38:38.429 --> 00:38:44.769 I give? There is a provision. and a covenant 00:38:44.769 --> 00:38:48.389 thereof for you. But you've got to get past your 00:38:48.389 --> 00:38:55.829 fear to step into that. So here he's come. He's 00:38:55.829 --> 00:39:03.250 broken the fear. He's revealed himself. They're 00:39:03.250 --> 00:39:08.710 glad. Dancing is going on, buddy. And then he 00:39:08.710 --> 00:39:17.519 says, here comes another wave of peace. It's 00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:21.760 a peace that you didn't know you needed. It's 00:39:21.760 --> 00:39:25.519 a peace that's indescribable. So I'm talking 00:39:25.519 --> 00:39:27.980 about it, but I've already told him that if he 00:39:27.980 --> 00:39:29.699 doesn't speak this to your heart this morning, 00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:32.260 you're not going to get it. He's got to speak 00:39:32.260 --> 00:39:36.960 it. And he did. He says to them again, again. 00:39:38.219 --> 00:39:41.659 He's not being redundant. It's not that he doesn't 00:39:41.659 --> 00:39:44.639 know what to say. You know, you know some preachers 00:39:44.639 --> 00:39:46.969 that they always have a little catchphrase. That 00:39:46.969 --> 00:39:49.449 they got to say all the time. It just makes them 00:39:49.449 --> 00:39:52.389 hard to listen to. They just got to say that 00:39:52.389 --> 00:39:53.670 little thing, that whatever it is, that little 00:39:53.670 --> 00:39:58.130 phrase thing. He wasn't doing that. It wasn't 00:39:58.130 --> 00:39:59.530 like he was in the room saying, what do I do 00:39:59.530 --> 00:40:00.889 next? I don't know, let's do the peace thing 00:40:00.889 --> 00:40:09.369 again. No, no. He's about to take them across 00:40:09.369 --> 00:40:13.869 another threshold. And he says to them, peace 00:40:13.869 --> 00:40:18.250 to you. And then he goes there. He goes to purpose. 00:40:19.349 --> 00:40:21.130 Because you see, there is a place to be freed 00:40:21.130 --> 00:40:23.650 from anxiety and there's a place to see the wonder 00:40:23.650 --> 00:40:27.050 of who he is. And in that, there's gonna be the 00:40:27.050 --> 00:40:29.590 excitement and the shout and the yeah and the 00:40:29.590 --> 00:40:32.090 high -fiving going on. But he's saying to you, 00:40:32.130 --> 00:40:35.789 but we're gonna have to leave these doors. We 00:40:35.789 --> 00:40:39.550 gotta unlock these doors and we gotta get out 00:40:39.550 --> 00:40:42.869 on the street. There's something we've got to 00:40:42.869 --> 00:40:47.039 do. We cannot dwell here. You cannot dwell here. 00:40:47.199 --> 00:40:50.300 We have to take this and we have to bring it 00:40:50.300 --> 00:40:54.199 there. Where there is fear and yet there is suffering 00:40:54.199 --> 00:40:56.840 and there is misunderstanding and where there 00:40:56.840 --> 00:40:59.679 is bitterness and anger and rejection, we're 00:40:59.679 --> 00:41:02.659 going to have to take it there. Just like the 00:41:02.659 --> 00:41:04.679 Father has sent me, I'm going to send you. I'm 00:41:04.679 --> 00:41:08.039 telling you, whenever Jesus comes, he will create 00:41:08.039 --> 00:41:15.369 purpose within your life. Purpose. Hmm. We need 00:41:15.369 --> 00:41:21.550 purpose to have that joy. Wow. The deeper your 00:41:21.550 --> 00:41:31.750 peace, the deeper your experience. I've got three 00:41:31.750 --> 00:41:42.610 minutes. I'm moving fast. Look at verse 22. Whenever 00:41:42.610 --> 00:41:47.219 Jesus comes, He will breathe on you and fill 00:41:47.219 --> 00:41:50.559 you with his spirit. The scripture says in verse 00:41:50.559 --> 00:41:55.760 22, watch the progression. And when he had said 00:41:55.760 --> 00:42:00.400 this, he didn't start with this. You can't begin 00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:05.320 here. You've got to come to here. After he had 00:42:05.320 --> 00:42:07.539 broken fear, after he had revealed himself, after 00:42:07.539 --> 00:42:09.760 he brought the joy of who he is into the room, 00:42:09.820 --> 00:42:14.650 and after he had defined purpose. He was not 00:42:14.650 --> 00:42:18.469 going to leave them with a goal, but not with 00:42:18.469 --> 00:42:25.150 the power to get there. And so he breathed on 00:42:25.150 --> 00:42:30.429 them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. 00:42:31.670 --> 00:42:35.210 Now, can I just, I hope the cameras can follow 00:42:35.210 --> 00:42:38.570 me into the darker areas. Can I explain to you, 00:42:38.590 --> 00:42:40.429 can I demonstrate to you what happened here? 00:42:41.130 --> 00:42:44.000 As he comes into this room. And the joy is filled. 00:42:44.159 --> 00:42:47.079 And he turns to them and wipes them out with 00:42:47.079 --> 00:42:50.500 another word of peace. And he sobers them up 00:42:50.500 --> 00:42:55.400 with a directive. Then the scripture says, the 00:42:55.400 --> 00:42:57.860 scripture does not say he said, receive the Holy 00:42:57.860 --> 00:43:04.840 Ghost. It said he breathed on them. And said, 00:43:04.840 --> 00:43:07.400 receive. Let me tell you what I don't think happened. 00:43:10.129 --> 00:43:11.710 I'm not sure how many were in the room. What 00:43:11.710 --> 00:43:14.309 is it? The 11 is that what's in the room? This 00:43:14.309 --> 00:43:16.769 is not the 120. This is not a big group. But 00:43:16.769 --> 00:43:20.889 this is what he didn't do. He didn't say, when 00:43:20.889 --> 00:43:23.090 the scripture says he breathed on them, he didn't 00:43:23.090 --> 00:43:29.190 go, receive the Holy Ghost. That's not what happened. 00:43:30.570 --> 00:43:35.170 It's just a handful of guys in the room. I think 00:43:35.170 --> 00:43:41.230 maybe it looked more like this. I think he came 00:43:41.230 --> 00:43:53.650 by and he said, receive the Holy Ghost. Receive 00:43:53.650 --> 00:44:09.139 the Holy Ghost. He could feel his breath. And 00:44:09.139 --> 00:44:12.159 I just wonder if he didn't walk through that 00:44:12.159 --> 00:44:19.019 room and come so close that you could feel that 00:44:19.019 --> 00:44:24.099 breath when he said, receive the Holy Ghost. 00:44:27.179 --> 00:44:37.829 When Jesus comes, he won't be out there. He will 00:44:37.829 --> 00:44:44.829 be so close. The abiding presence, the one whom 00:44:44.829 --> 00:44:49.469 Paul said at Mars Hill, is not far from any one 00:44:49.469 --> 00:44:59.650 of you. You'll breathe on us. Oh, breath of God, 00:44:59.869 --> 00:45:08.139 come breathe on us. We're not here to social 00:45:08.139 --> 00:45:13.000 distance from you. We're here to sit on your 00:45:13.000 --> 00:45:21.940 lap. Feel your arms around us. Feel your breath 00:45:21.940 --> 00:45:31.320 on our hair and hear your word. Be filled with 00:45:31.320 --> 00:45:39.539 the Holy Spirit. I can't even talk about it. 00:45:40.280 --> 00:45:44.719 Just let me say, verse 23, whenever Jesus comes, 00:45:45.760 --> 00:45:52.780 the power over sin is imparted. Struggle you've 00:45:52.780 --> 00:45:55.880 had with temptation, the trouble you've had trying 00:45:55.880 --> 00:45:58.800 to resist. I know I've been there. When I enter 00:45:58.800 --> 00:46:02.119 his presence, guess what? Nothing holds me down. 00:46:03.639 --> 00:46:06.860 I don't have to fight and battle this thing when 00:46:06.860 --> 00:46:11.480 he comes. All of that which allured, attracted, 00:46:12.039 --> 00:46:19.219 is no longer attractive. Because in the shining 00:46:19.219 --> 00:46:26.000 of his glory, nothing tempts. There's more to 00:46:26.000 --> 00:46:27.480 that, but I'm done. Would you stand with me, 00:46:27.539 --> 00:46:34.139 please? All right, here's what I want to do. 00:46:36.590 --> 00:46:38.130 There's a lot of ways in which we could pray, 00:46:38.190 --> 00:46:39.389 and we will tonight. We're going to have time 00:46:39.389 --> 00:46:41.309 for healing and anointing and stuff like that. 00:46:41.389 --> 00:46:42.929 But this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to 00:46:42.929 --> 00:46:44.969 pray for you what I pray for myself and my family. 00:46:45.789 --> 00:46:47.449 I say, how do you pray for yourself every day? 00:46:48.269 --> 00:46:50.250 This is how I pray for myself and my household 00:46:50.250 --> 00:46:56.989 and this ministry. I pray, and listen to how 00:46:56.989 --> 00:47:01.630 my language is. I pray for an ongoing, unfolding 00:47:01.630 --> 00:47:06.639 revelation of Jesus. That's how I pray, for an 00:47:06.639 --> 00:47:08.460 ongoing, because if you think when you see him, 00:47:08.480 --> 00:47:10.179 you've seen all that he is, let me tell you, 00:47:10.219 --> 00:47:12.820 he's more than what you'll ever grasp in any 00:47:12.820 --> 00:47:18.139 glimpse. John walked with him intensely for the 00:47:18.139 --> 00:47:20.260 three years of his ministry, saw the resurrected 00:47:20.260 --> 00:47:21.860 Christ. He stood right at the cross. He was the 00:47:21.860 --> 00:47:23.980 only one of those disciples that we know that 00:47:23.980 --> 00:47:25.860 stood right at that cross and watched this crucified 00:47:25.860 --> 00:47:28.900 one. He was there. He ran and entered that tomb. 00:47:31.480 --> 00:47:33.800 But when Jesus came to him on the Isle of Patmos, 00:47:35.019 --> 00:47:39.019 Years later. Scripture does not say that John 00:47:39.019 --> 00:47:40.880 said, hey, good to see you again. High five. 00:47:40.880 --> 00:47:43.519 Long time. So happy. I know who you are. No, 00:47:43.559 --> 00:47:45.019 no. You know what he said? He said, I fell on 00:47:45.019 --> 00:47:48.179 my face like a dead man. That's what he said. 00:47:48.719 --> 00:47:52.260 He said, I fell on my face like a dead man. And 00:47:52.260 --> 00:47:54.380 he described him in ways that he had never been 00:47:54.380 --> 00:47:59.179 described before. I'm not saying you've not had 00:47:59.179 --> 00:48:01.139 a valid revelation of the Lord. We have. Many 00:48:01.139 --> 00:48:04.250 of us, probably the bulk of us here have. I'm 00:48:04.250 --> 00:48:08.329 going to pray for you for an ongoing, unfolding 00:48:08.329 --> 00:48:14.250 revelation of Jesus. That he be shown to you 00:48:14.250 --> 00:48:21.130 the hope of Israel, the Jehovah Rapha, the Jehovah 00:48:21.130 --> 00:48:27.650 Jireh, the El Shaddai, God of all peace, the 00:48:27.650 --> 00:48:29.929 one with whom nothing is impossible. Come on. 00:48:30.110 --> 00:48:31.929 If you will receive that, lift your hands right 00:48:31.929 --> 00:48:40.969 now. I pray upon this house for everyone that 00:48:40.969 --> 00:48:44.550 is here to come to us today. Today, not right 00:48:44.550 --> 00:48:50.510 now, but not just now. In the noon hour, in the 00:48:50.510 --> 00:48:56.489 late afternoon, in the sleep of our night, in 00:48:56.489 --> 00:49:00.349 the rising of our morning, in the days of great 00:49:00.349 --> 00:49:04.690 triumph. And in the days of great suffering, 00:49:04.849 --> 00:49:12.329 in the days of great peace, in the days of great 00:49:12.329 --> 00:49:21.250 confusion, I pray for an ongoing, unfolding revelation 00:49:21.250 --> 00:49:30.769 of Jesus. Show yourself to us. Would you manifest 00:49:30.769 --> 00:49:39.329 yourself to us? May we see Jesus. For he is full 00:49:39.329 --> 00:49:43.449 and complete. He is the entirety. He is the all 00:49:43.449 --> 00:49:47.690 and in all. He is the very fountain of faith. 00:49:48.550 --> 00:49:52.250 And you are the God of all hope. Would you show 00:49:52.250 --> 00:50:01.170 us Jesus? For if we see him, it will be enough. 00:50:10.819 --> 00:50:12.579 Listen, if you've never experienced him as Lord, 00:50:12.739 --> 00:50:14.739 can I pray with you immediately for this right 00:50:14.739 --> 00:50:17.860 now? Can we call upon him together? If you've 00:50:17.860 --> 00:50:19.559 never had a personal experience that gave you 00:50:19.559 --> 00:50:21.519 the inward witness that you are a child of God, 00:50:21.599 --> 00:50:24.519 this must happen in your life today. You can 00:50:24.519 --> 00:50:26.059 have it, and you'll know it the moment it takes 00:50:26.059 --> 00:50:28.159 place. It's more than religion. It's more than 00:50:28.159 --> 00:50:30.340 saying a prayer. It comes out of a divine encounter. 00:50:31.130 --> 00:50:32.889 I know I need to get off the stage, but I must 00:50:32.889 --> 00:50:34.690 pray with you for this first. If you've never 00:50:34.690 --> 00:50:37.250 expected or received Jesus in that way, if you've 00:50:37.250 --> 00:50:39.429 never experienced Jesus, and now you might say, 00:50:39.489 --> 00:50:42.269 I've always believed in Jesus. Wonderful. I don't 00:50:42.269 --> 00:50:43.869 know if you know this. The Bible says the devils 00:50:43.869 --> 00:50:47.869 believe in Jesus and they tremble. That's more 00:50:47.869 --> 00:50:50.710 than some Christians do. Believing in Jesus doesn't 00:50:50.710 --> 00:50:52.769 save you. You must have an encounter with him. 00:50:53.250 --> 00:50:56.610 That will save you. Do you need that? I'm going 00:50:56.610 --> 00:50:57.989 to pray again. I'm going to want you to pray 00:50:57.989 --> 00:50:59.510 with me. House of God, can you pray together 00:50:59.510 --> 00:51:01.070 with me too? Can we pray in harmony with us? 00:51:01.170 --> 00:51:03.050 And you that are receiving him, I want you to 00:51:03.050 --> 00:51:05.309 embrace this moment, experience it, and then 00:51:05.309 --> 00:51:07.289 tell one of the leaders later, this happened 00:51:07.289 --> 00:51:09.090 to me today. Can we pray together? Pray this 00:51:09.090 --> 00:51:13.449 with me. Jesus Christ, I'm calling on you. I'm 00:51:13.449 --> 00:51:17.590 asking you to be my Lord, my God, my salvation. 00:51:18.409 --> 00:51:21.829 I'm putting all my hope in you. I'm not putting 00:51:21.829 --> 00:51:26.780 hope in myself. I'm counting on you. To cleanse 00:51:26.780 --> 00:51:33.000 me and establish me now and forever as a child 00:51:33.000 --> 00:51:40.380 of Almighty God. I call you my Lord. Today, I 00:51:40.380 --> 00:51:45.039 embrace you. I receive your salvation. And you're 00:51:45.039 --> 00:51:49.760 my God. Amen. Amen. God bless you. Come on, rejoice 00:51:49.760 --> 00:52:05.449 in the gift of God. Life Bible Church. Go to 00:52:05.449 --> 00:52:10.989 www .lifebiblechurch .org or call us at 541 -995 00:52:10.989 --> 00:52:12.389 -8282.