Bernie Moore- How Heaven Birthed the Church

Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life. Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life. Words of life and beauty, teach me faith and beauty. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Christ the blessed one gives to all, wonderful words of life. Sinner list to the loving call, wonderful words of life. All so freely given, doing us to heaven. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Sweetly echo the gospel call, wonderful words of life. Offer pardon and peace to all, wonderful words of life. Jesus only Savior, sanctified forever. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Spirit, I will follow you. Spirit, I go to where you are. Take your right foot, make this your home. We want your presence, calling on you. Spirit, have faith. Let's clap our hands together. Sing to the Lord, if the cross falls on your feet. Sing to the Lord, if you know that he saves. Tell all the earth that his arm found water. Salvation is in his name. Let the lost be found. Let the blind now see. Let the music play. Let the people sing.

Sing to the Lord, if you are saved. Sing your name. Lord, worship the Lord. In the light of his presence. Worship the Lord. With the angels and saints. Tell the earth that the Savior is risen. Let the dead rise up. Let the bound for free. Let the church have faith. Let the people sing. Let the people sing. Jesus, your love has defeated the grave Many people sinned, many people sinned So great are you Lord, worthy of praise Jesus, your love has defeated the grave Many people sinned Jesus, all of the praise belongs to you Jesus, all of the praise belongs to you Jesus, all of the praise belongs to you Jesus, all of the praise belongs to you Let the lost be found, let the proud now sing Let the music play, let the people sing Let the people sing So great are you Lord, worthy of praise Jesus, your love has defeated the grave Many people sinned, many people sinned So great are you Lord, worthy of praise So great are you Lord, worthy of praise So great are you Lord, worthy of praise So great are you Lord, worthy of praise So great are you Lord, worthy of praise

So great are you Lord, worthy of praise So great are you Lord, worthy of praise So great are you Lord, worthy of praise Welcome my fellowship family It is a good day to be in the house of the Lord His presence has been in this room all day And we get to worship the King of kings and Lord of lords Amen, what a blessing, come on Come now, runners and sons All tribes and tongues, let's start singing No sweeter sound than freedom found Go and make it loud, so let's start singing Celebrate the King seated on the throne The glory is yours forever Celebrate the Son, look at what He's done The blood of the Lamb has overcome The greatest days are still ahead He's just getting started Come on, yes He is Come on, help us sing Save mountains to flake And strongholds to break Over every grave, hear us singing Celebrate the King seated on the throne. The glory is yours forever. Celebrate the Son, the God-abiding Son. The blood of the Lamb has overflown. Celebrate the King seated on the throne. The glory is yours forever. Celebrate the Son, the God-abiding Son. The blood of the Lamb has overflown. The greatest days are still ahead. He's just getting started. Oh, He's just getting started. Yes, He is. He's just getting started. Give Him praise Give Him high praise

Give Him high praise Give Him high praise Give Him high praise Give Him high praise Give Him high praise Give Him high praise Give Him high praise We give You all the glory Give Him high praise Oh, we give You high praise You alone deserve it Give Him high praise We give You high praise Celebrate, celebrate the King seated on the throne The glory is Yours forever Celebrate the Son, look at what He's done The blood of the Lamb has overflown Celebrate the King seated on the throne The glory is Yours forever Celebrate the Son, look at what He's done The blood of the Lamb has overflown The greatest days are still ahead He's just getting started I whisper praise, the loudest praise He's just getting started Who else is holy and matchless in glory He's worthy, He's worthy of highest praise Who else is holy and matchless in glory He's worthy, He's worthy of highest praise Who else is holy and matchless in glory He's worthy, He's worthy of highest praise Who else is holy and matchless in glory He's worthy, He's worthy of highest praise Who else is holy and matchless in glory He's worthy, He's worthy of highest praise Who else is holy and matchless in glory

He's worthy, He's worthy of highest praise Who else is holy and matchless He's worthy of highest praise He's worthy, He's worthy of highest praise He's worthy, He's worthy, He's worthy He's worthy of highest praise He's worthy, He's worthy, He's worthy Celebrate the King seated on the throne The glory is Yours forever Celebrate the Son and look at what He's done The blood of the Lamb has overcome Celebrate the King seated on the throne The glory is Yours forever Celebrate the Son and look at what He's done The blood of the Lamb has overcome Celebrate the King seated on the throne Jesus, we give you high praise in this room this morning. We give you glory in this place, Jesus. Come on, would you just lift your hands in the room this morning and just say thank you, Jesus, God, for all that you've done, for all that you are, Lord, we thank you. We come with praise this morning, Lord. A crown of thorns to the one who tore, a crown of thorns to the one who tore. A lash and scourge for the hands and feet that were pierced by nails for the sacrifice that has torn the veil. Come on, let's sing. We crown you, we fall face down, and we worship you. We all cry out, you are worthy, God. You are worthy, God. We crown you, we fall face down, and we worship you. We all cry out, you are worthy, God.

You are worthy, God. You are worthy, God. There's no one like you, Jesus, Lord. There's no one like you, Jesus, Lord. To the one who killed, has buried life away. To the one who saved, all our guilt and shame have gone across. For the world he loved, whose precious blood, purchased men for God. We crown you, we fall face down, and we worship you. We all cry out, you are worthy, God. You are worthy, God. We crown you, we fall face down, and we worship you. We all cry out, you are worthy, God. You are worthy, God. Worthy, worthy. Oh, worthy, worthy. This is what heaven is singing. Holy, holy. We sing, worthy, worthy. You are worthy, worthy. You're holy, Lord. You are holy, holy. There's no one like you. To the one who bore all the shame on the cross. To the lamb that was slain as atonement for us. To the son who overcame all the power of death, we praise. For your stripes, for your wounds, for the beating we bore.

For the tears, for the blood that was willingly poured. For the mercy, for the wonderful majesty of your love. To the one who endured all the shame on the cross. To the lamb that was slain as atonement for us. I'm a slave, as atonement for us To the son who overcame All the power of death, we pray For your strife, for the wounds For the beating you bore For the tears, for the blood That was willingly poured For the mercy, for wonder For majesty, for your love Jesus, we crown you With our praise now We urge you We all cry out You are worthy You are worthy of our love Jesus, we crown you With our praise now We urge you We all cry out You are worthy Worthy is the Lord To the one who endured All the shame, all the pride To the lamb that was slain As atonement for us To the son who overcame

All the power of death, we pray For your strife, for the wounds For the beating you bore For the tears, for the blood That was willingly poured For the mercy, for wonder For majesty, for your love For the mercy, for wonder For your mercy, for wonder For majesty, for your love For the mercy, for wonder For majesty, for your love Jesus, we crown you With our praise now We urge you We all cry out You are worthy, God You are worthy, God We crown you We fall face down and we worship We all cry out You are worthy, God You are worthy You are worthy You are worthy, God You are worthy, God You are worthy, God You are worthy, God You are worthy, God You are worthy, God

How worthy You are We behold You We behold You The worthy one There is a reason The angels cry Holy There is a reason That heaven too Is holy There is a reason The angels cry Holy There is a reason That heaven too Is holy There is no one like You There is no one like You There is no one like You All the earth No, there is no one like you There is no one like you No, there is no one like you And all the earth Lord, you stand alone in every way Your holiness, your love And what other words are left to say But holy, you stand alone Oh, you stand alone in every way Your holiness, what other words

And what other words are left to say But holy, you No, there is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you And all the earth And I could search forever For all my days I could search forever But there is no one like you And all the earth Oh, Lord, we just take a moment To behold your holiness Oh, Lord, you're beautiful How beautiful you are The holy Lord of heaven, we behold you We behold your holiness How we love to sit in your presence How we love to be in your presence, Lord Oh, you are holy, holy, one And only holy, holy, one And only holy, holy, one And only holy, holy, one We say holy, holy, one And only holy, holy, one We behold your holiness, Lord How we love to sit in your presence, Lord How we love to be in your presence, Lord You are holy, holy, one And only holy, holy, one

And only holy, holy, one Oh, Lord, you're beautiful How beautiful you are You are holy, holy, one And only holy, holy, one Beautiful, beautiful Holy, holy, one And only holy, holy, one There is no one like you There is no one like you No, there is no one like you There is no one like you In all the earth Oh, I could search forever I could search forever There is no one like you In all the earth There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you

There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you There is no one like you It'll be a great Sunday. We'll be celebrating that, having some fun. It's honestly one of the easiest Sundays to invite someone. Start thinking now, who are you bringing with you? Hey, if Life Fellowship already feels like home, serving is how you make it home for someone else. From kids, to students, to behind the scenes, there's a spot with your name on it. Jump in and be a part of what God is doing here. So much of life pulls us toward fear. Fear of not having enough, fear of what's ahead, but giving is one of the ways we choose faith instead. It's saying, God, I trust you more than what I see. And when we live open-handed like that, everything shifts. So as you give today, let it be a step of faith, not fear. Thank you for responding as God leads you. Before you grab your seat, turn to someone next to you, give them a high five, and let's prepare our hearts for all that God wants to do today. And enjoy the service. Hallelujah, come on somebody. I'm excited because it's the last service. I've been working my little booty off.

Listen, I am so blessed to be here today. It has been a wonderful first two services, and I'm excited about what God is gonna do in the last service, because usually, God saves the best for last. Come on somebody. And because we don't have any time restraints, just saying, we don't have a service, oh, I gotta eat, take me with you, I'm hungry. Where are we going? Yeah, amen. Chipotle always hits the spot. Anyway, if you are new to the LF family, my name is Bernie Moore. We have a ministry, an evangelistic ministry. For the last 17 years, we have been busy running all over the world, primarily focusing our attention on third world nations, where people feel lost and hurting and forgotten and unseen. Our dream is to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ, the love of the Father to all those who have never heard of the name of Jesus. All those who simply don't know, for God so loved the world that he, thank you three people, that he gave, he gave, he bankrupted heaven, and he gave us his one and only son, that whosoever, and that whosoever is you and I, whosoever would believe in him would have everlasting life. We have been so blessed and so grateful.

God has allowed us to see 2.6 million documented decisions of people that were once lost and are now eternally found in Jesus' name. We've been all over Africa, all over Asia, all over South America. Matter of fact, I'm gonna ask you guys to pray for me because tomorrow, I jump on a plane and head to Brazil. And we're doing a big gospel crusade in a remote part. And we have over 100 churches participating. It's gonna be an incredible event. They're telling me that there's gonna be 10 to 12,000 people in this crusade per night. So that's exciting. It's somewhat of a smaller event for us. Our events in Africa normally have 50 to 100,000 people at them. So we are so excited to continue doing all that we can to fulfill the great commission. Amen? Amen. Let's welcome our family online via the World Wide Web. Everybody tuning in from Africa or Asia or America or the White House. Come on, somebody. You never know who's watching you. Yes. All of our brothers and sisters in the correctional institutions all around America, we wanna say that we love you. We bless you.

We're praying for you. You are every bit a part of this family as we are sitting here in this building. So we hope and pray that anything you're going through or facing, we pray that the Holy Spirit would give you peace, joy in the midst of some challenging times. But we want you to know you're with us and we're with you. Amen? Amen. I have the incredible privilege this morning of talking about the birthing of the local church and its function. so before I forget let me just tell you guys I've got like five or six points but I'm only gonna get to three of them I've already done two services we've had a blast so what I want you to do because many people have asked if we would send them the notes super easy get your phone out and just scan that QR code and we will send you all of my notes and scriptures and everything else from today's message why because we want to get you equipped amen we want you to be equipped we want you to grow in Jesus hallelujah what a novel concept also let me just say I'm an evangelist I'm a Cajun I'm from South Louisiana although we live here South Louisiana Baton Rouge LSU my god look at these two you can spot a Cajun anywhere I'm gonna tell you right now crawfish etouffee jambalaya shrimp gumbo crawfish boils anyway I'm hungry but anyway so so I tell the first two services we need some participation right you're not at a funeral service this is not you're not at a golf tournament we need some interaction we need some loudness right we're Cajuns we're normally loud and obnoxious anyway so just join the club this morning we're gonna have a good old time also by the way the first two services especially the first service they had the spirit of greed it was a holy greed come over them and they bought all of my books there's only a few left for the second service they bought them

out and so this I wrote this book driven by prayer to encourage all of us to communicate daily with God this is filled with stories scripture encouragement and I'm telling you it will revolutionize your prayer life matter of fact in each of the services we had people coming up saying listen they would buy a stack of them I'm not kidding a stack of them and they're going to use it to go through with their bible studies I've done all the homework for you and I'm telling you it is really good I'm sorry but it's it's like years and years and years of spending time with Jesus I just wrote this book a year ago you got to get a copy of it you can scan again the QR code uh because we don't have any here so my good friend Jeff Bezos who I'm praying that he will partner with our ministry one day amen come on somebody you got to have some faith in the house uh he's got a little company called Amazon and so you can just scan the QR code and order right from his company and they'll send you as many as you want if you know who doesn't have this book by the way if I give it to somebody will you read it huh okay there you go amen hallelujah also before I jump right into my notes um they told me this morning that Miss Universe was here I was like what yeah yeah Miss Universe she's here I said come on like Miss Universe aka my beautiful wife honey can you just wave at the folk glory to God been married to that woman for 26 years high school sweethearts she dumped me a few times but I just kept chasing her I'm gonna be in trouble when I get home y'all I better move right along how heaven birthed the church in order to truly understand the role of the local of the local church as well as the global church we must first understand how and why the church was even birthed how and why it came into existence what is its function you're gonna love this what is its function you've heard it said before that the two greatest days of a man's life number one the day he was born and number two the day he finds out why two greatest days of a man's life the day he's born in the day he finds out why this is the local church my boy just retired on me he's like peace out come on Isaac taking a smoke break um listen third service it's unhinged I mean my wife says to me all the time honey please don't say anything stupid remember you want to be invited back right. Somebody once said to me, Bernie, blessed are the short winded for they shall be invited back. Don't be preaching for an hour now. What's my purpose? What am I here for? Remember what

Jesus said in Acts chapter one, verse eight, you shall receive power. Everybody say power. One more time. Power. You shall receive power when the Holy spirit comes upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in Judea and in all the earth, Samaria, in the other ends of the earth. You believers, you and I, the church as a whole, we shall receive come on. You got to work with me now a little bit. I mean, this is the last service. You shall receive power when the Holy spirit has come upon you. You have no power. If you've got no Holy spirit, you're just a cute little mannequin. But when the Holy spirit comes upon you, he inundates you. He equips you with power, powerful, what power to be a witness, power to be a witness of him, power to be a witness of this Jesus loving spirit filled life. By the way, while we're talking about it, I've got good news for you. The same spirit that fell in Pentecost, contrary to popular Western belief is still being poured out today on Sunday, June 14th, right here in McKinney. That same spirit that poured himself out on Pentecost is here today. Listen to me and the church that he birthed was never meant to coast off a nice little cute memory, but the church that Jesus birthed was meant to carry a Holy fire. Hallelujah. Remember the discussion that Jesus had with the disciples. They're walking down those dusty streets of Galilee one day and Jesus stops. And I just imagined kind of chilling out under a tree, sitting on a rock, drinking some Gatorade. And Jesus says to the disciples, he says, Hey boys, who do men say that I am? So the disciples start piping up. They start spitting out their answers. Well, some say that you're John the Baptist that's returned from the dead. Others say that you're Elijah or one of the prophets. Some of the other disciples said, well, we were down in the Southern part of Jerusalem a week ago. And we heard them saying that maybe you were Noah or Enoch or Moses. And so they all began communicating. And then finally Jesus says, time out. I'm not really interested in what some say. I'm really interested in what you say. Amen. Who do you say that I am? Let me tell you something this morning, that, that, that question has eternal significance attached to it. And every single one of us is going to have to answer that question. And the sooner you do it, the better off your life will be. Yes. That question has rung through eternity. That question has rung through the halls of heaven. Who do men say that I am? Who do you say that I am? Finally, you got to hand it to old Pete. Pete was a Cajun. He was a fisherman. Yeah, he was, he was from South Louisiana. Pete, Peter said, I know who you are. You are the Christ, the son of the living God.

We know who you are. Make no mistake about it. We have seen, we have heard, we have witnessed the greatest miracles human eyes have ever seen. We know who you are. There's no discrepancy. There's no discussion. We know that you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus replies to him, and I'm going to tell you who you are. You are Peter. Let me just pause and say, isn't it interesting that God, before, before he tells Peter what's going to happen, he tells Peter, Hey, let me tell you who you are. You don't need to go to social media to find out who you are. You don't need to rely on friends to affirm you. You don't need to rely on a boss or a loved one to affirm you. It's nice, but you don't need to rely on them. What you need to do is get in the book and realize who God says you are, who you are and whose you are. A child of the King, a child of the great alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. Listen to what he says, Peter, I'll tell you who you are. You are Peter, a stone, a rock. He says to Peter on this rock, The rock of your confession upon this rock I will build my church say my church It's not your church. It's his church. I Travel all over the world. I I'm in these meetings with pastors great pastors great men of God great leaders And I hear them talk about what God is doing at their church Oh my church, my church to that and much and I just I just kind of It bothers me a little bit because I think to myself this is not your church This is his church He died for his bride. He died for his church. He's just asking you to steward what he's already birthed This is not my ministry. Although my name's on it. I'm just simply a steward a GM I'm trying my best with a great team around me to steward what God has given to me. Amen This is his church But Jesus says I will build my church and the gates of hell will never Prevail against it. He didn't say the gates of hell wouldn't come against it. He just said they wouldn't prevail It's like Paul said no weapon formed against you would ever prosper. Notice. He says there's a weapons There are weapons formed against you. They're just not gonna prosper Jesus says the gates of hell will not prevail against it and I will give you the keys to the kingdom Come on look at your neighbor and say you have keys Look at your other neighbor who was your second choice and say you have keys Come on shout it. I have keys

Jesus said I'm giving you the keys to the kingdom. What do keys do? They open doors They give you access to stuff. You didn't have access to before If I give you my key you have access to my home Jesus said I'm giving you keys to the kingdom Plural keys to the key everything you need. I'm giving it to you. Listen to what he says You will anything you bind on earth would be bound in heaven Anything you loose on earth would be loosed in heaven. You can bind up bitterness You can bind up hatred you can bind up envy and strife and lust You can bind it up in the mighty name of Jesus and you can loose healing. You can loose love You can loose peace. You can loose forgiveness. You can loose it in the mighty Powerful glorious name of Jesus what because he's giving you a key You have keys to the kingdom. You don't have to live like a peasant You can live like a child of God because you have power in keys Confused y'all Before the Church of Jesus Christ was ever birthed. Jesus said I'm giving my church power I'm giving my church power to overcome all the vile and vicious attacks of the enemy. I'm giving my church born-again blood-bought blood-washed believers fellow Christ followers the power to overcome Overcome what Overcome any in all attacks from the enemy, but can I tell you something the biggest problem is Most of us sitting here in this beautiful room this morning Most of us are unaware of the power we possess because we are unaware of the promises. He's given Unaware of the power we possess because we're unaware of the promises. He's given to us in this book most biblical scholars will all agree conservatively that there are nearly

7,000 promises from Genesis to Revelation one scholar He did a deep study from Genesis 1 1 to Revelation 22 21 and Revelation 22 21 and he came up with eight thousand four hundred and thirty seven promises Now if we just want to say let's park out near the the 7,000 mark ish That gets me a little stumbled God has given us 7,000 ish Promises and yet we don't know that we have them because we're unaware of what he said. Oh It's just getting started listen, let me give you some more good news The Church of Jesus Christ was not born in a board meeting News flash it was not born in a committee. He didn't ask for your approval. He didn't ask for your insight He didn't ask whether That you like it or don't like it. He didn't ask if you want 22 minutes of worship He didn't ask if you want loud preaching or soft preaching. He didn't ask for any of it He was not born in a board meeting He wasn't born in a committee the Church of Jesus wasn't born out of strategy or budget meetings or clever marketing He didn't ask social media for your approval the Church of Jesus Christ Creator of all that we see did not seek our opinions. Listen, the Church of Jesus Christ was born in a prayer meeting Located in an upper room Under an open heaven and when the promise of the father came rushing in like a mighty wind the world was changed Why because the local church is the hope of the world Old brother Luke he was a physician a doctor Come on, Jeff He was a doctor and he was writing a letter to Theophilus Theophilus he was a extremely influential well-off Roman leader government official and So Luke writes of all the gospel writers Luke's Gospels the most specific, you know doctors Man, I mean Jeff They are just very

Specific I'm like, I just got a headache. I mean, what's the deal, you know? So Luke Luke ever ever so delicately never so gently begins to write his gospel Then he turns over and he begins to write the book of Acts and he addresses it to Theophilus. He says hey listen Theophilus the first book that I wrote the gospel Extremely strategic the second book is the Acts of the Apostles. I want you to know what happened when the church was birthed He says before he tells us what the church did He tells us where the church came from and we find out in the first two chapters right away We find out the first two chapters of Acts that the church was not birthed out of a cute little quiet Prayer meeting it was birthed with a Holy Spirit explosion It was heaven invading earth. It was taking ordinary people like you and I and Transforming us into carriers of extraordinary power And it acts to the church Became a living viable being I Want to talk to you just for a second as we dive through chapter 1 Because if you understand how the church was birthed, you'll understand how the church was always meant to live Amen Some of us need more than information this morning. We need impartation We don't need to just hear about the fire. We need to embrace it. We need to catch it We need to carry it. We need to live in it. Amen Number one three points real quick and I'm barely gonna make it number one The church is to continue the work Jesus began The church is to continue the work Jesus began the former account I made to you Oh Theophilus of all that Jesus both began to do and to teach Until the day in which he was taken up notice that little word began This is so cool All that Jesus began to do that means the gospel of Luke was not The end it was just the beginning

The gospel of Luke was chapter 1 the cross was not the end The empty tomb was not the end come on somebody the Ascension was not the end Jesus only began his work and the Gospels and The book of Acts is the continuation of what he is still doing today Through his body his church you and I by the power of the Holy Spirit This is Jesus continuing his work Watch listen to me. Jesus is not retired He didn't go to the cross was buried rose again Hung out had some some nice coffee and tea and said I'll see you boys a little bit later No, no, he's not retired this same Jesus Who healed the sick this same Jesus who opened up blonde eyes this same Jesus who opened up deaf ears this same Jesus who fed 5,000 men not counting women and children. This is why I always say he was the first crusade evangelist Commotion, but I mean everywhere he went crowds masses of crowds would follow him this same Jesus who made the mute speak who walked on water this same Jesus set the captives free forgave prostitutes healed parasites This same Jesus is alive and well and on the move today. This is why I say all the time when we gather together in church, things should be happening. People should leave completely different than the way they came. When we gather together in church, people should be getting saved. People should be getting healed. People should be getting set free. People should be getting delivered. When we gather together in church, people should be having encounters with God. You should never, it should never be just ho-hum, normal Sunday, nice little TED Talk, see you later. No, no, no, this is a moment we have to have an encounter with Jesus, the living Christ, the Savior of the world. This is the local church.

He's not retired. He's just beginning. The gospels, they tell us of what God did with one person, but the book of Acts tells us what he's doing through many different people all over the world. Many different bodies, blood-bought, born-again, spirit-filled bodies all over the world. The book of Acts has never been closed, and you and I are living in the unwritten chapters. Come on. We're just getting started. The resurrection was the best-attested event of the early church. Why? Because after he rose from the dead, he spent 40 days on the earth walking with the disciples. Well, there's 11 of them, because Judas, well, he wasn't around, you know what I'm saying? But Paul says there was well over 500 people that Jesus ministered to, that he walked with, that he ate with, that he talked to, that he traveled with. Our faith, listen to me, is not built on a fairy tale. It's built on a risen Christ who is alive forevermore, the same yesterday, today, and forever. This is the Jesus we serve. This is the Jesus that loved us and gave himself for us. This is the Jesus the world is longing to know, the one and only, the Alpha and the Omega, that Jesus, that Jesus said that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man can come to the Father unless he first goes through him. Number two, the church was commanded to wait, to wait for the promise. Isaac, I need your help. The church was commanded to wait for the promise. He commanded them, Acts 1, verse 4, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait, wait for the promise of the Father. Here's the challenge. We have a tough time waiting for anything. Why?

Because we live in a very fast-paced society. Anything we want, we can get. Just take out your phone. If you're hungry, just door-dash something. You need your clothes ironed or you need them washed or dry-cleaned, just run down to the store. I mean, is there anything that you want? Get on Amazon. You got it all. I mean, it's just everything is right at our fingertips, but Jesus is telling the church to chill out and wait. Now, this is kind of crazy because you would think that these guys were ready to rock and roll. I mean, they had been with Jesus for three years. If anybody needs to wait, it's not these guys. They had the best Bible school training anybody could ever want. I mean, these boys, literally, I mean, they were with the Son of God, and yet Jesus still tells them to wait. You're not ready just yet. You're not ready. Don't preach. Don't start that church. Don't start that ministry. Wait until you are filled with power. Don't go. Chill out. Wait in a room with fellow brothers and fellow sisters and wait and pray. What a novel idea. Let's pray. Our prayers.

Boring because you don't know how to pray wait and Pray watch this wait for the promise of the father because the truth of the modern-day church will never tell you or pastors today Will never tell you is that training is not the same as anointing Training is not the same as anointing training is no substitute for the anointing. We see people with great gifts. Oh That guy can sing or that guy can play or that guy can do this or that girl can do that or and and yet the Fact of the matter is they don't have the character to sustain the anointing in the gift that God's placed on their life And because of that they get shipwrecked and they shipwreck others It's a lot of people with gifts just don't have the anointing and or the character to sustain gifts heaven Gifts Knowledge knowledge is not the same as power. You can have all the right information and still be powerless Jesus would rather you wait for the fire Instead of running without it Wait for the fire Wait for the Holy Spirit wait for the power wait, just wait a minute This is why Paul said when he wrote His first letter to the Corinthian Church the biggest church in the New Testament Paul established it he founded it and he says to the Corinthian Church right off the bat chapter 2 verse 1 He says I was determined To not know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified That's all I wanted to know. I Could have come to you with the excellence of speech Because I went to the Harvard of my day I studied at the feet of Camille the greatest professor the greatest theologian of his time But nevertheless, I didn't come to you with the excellence of speech. I didn't come to you with knowledge I didn't come to you with five steps six ways seven keys ten promises No, no, I didn't want to know and I just wanted to know him. I was determined to know him I was determined to have an encounter with him and Paul says verse 2 I was determined to know nothing else but Christ and him crucified. I

Was with you in weakness. I Was with you in fear and in much trembling and then he says in verse 4 look at this on the screen Look, he says in verse 4 my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom But they were in demonstration of the spirit and of power That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but your faith Should be in the power of God We Wonder why we're not growing anymore Because people are looking and longing for a genuine holy encounter with the Lord People today are so fed up with a nice Encouraging talk they want something that's gonna hit their spirit. That's gonna change their life Something that Nobody can offer other than Jesus that nobody can take the credit for other than Jesus. They want Something the author of this book to breathe on them they want Gin and long for a genuine move of God in their life. I wonder this morning How many of us Have that kind of desire that kind of hunger Paul said my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit of end of power Your faith our faith my faith Would not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Why did they need to wait? Think about this because Jesus knew the work That was ahead of them. He knew the opposition they would face. He knew the persecution they would face He knew the trials and tribulations. They would face the the prisons the beatings the betrayals and Ultimately Jesus knew the deaths they would all Die of So he wanted to make Make sure they waited and they were equipped with power from on high.

He knew, Jesus, he knew that human enthusiasm would never sustain them. Human enthusiasm would never sustain them. It would burn out, but the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit fire would burn on. So he says, don't move until you've been clothed and inundated with power from on high. I wonder, I wonder today how many of us are trying to live this Christian life on yesterday's grace, on last year's anointing, on last year's revelation. Like I wonder how many of us today on the 14th of June are sort of struggling trying to figure this thing out and we're living on the tank of gas that we got a month ago. I mean, we're running on fumes, but Jesus invites us to go to the well, the well that never runs dry. Well that is flowing with living water, the disciples, they realized, they realized what Isaiah said, they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint. Come also you wait on the Lord and God begins to renew your strength. He begins to fulfill the desires of your heart. He begins to breathe on you. You wait on the Lord and God begins to replenish you, refresh you, revive you. You just wait on the Lord and there it is. God begins to take you by the hand and walk you through heaven's gate. God begins to do a work in you, but you have to wait. You have to wait. You have to wait. Number three, finally, and I'll close here. The power of God is for a purpose, not for a performance. We got too many performers in the church world. We need to get back to purpose. Before the spirit of God fell, the disciples asked a question that revealed kind of where

their hearts were. They said, Lord, will you restore the kingdom at this time? You know, the kingdom to Israel, will you restore it? They were all thinking about thrones and politics and positions. I feel you. Jesus, in his great mercy, redirects them. Jesus says, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons, but you shall receive power. Let's try that again. You shall receive power. Y'all sound beautiful. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Jesus essentially was saying, stop worrying about the timetable and start preparing for the great task ahead. Come on. The Holy Spirit was not given so you could feel something. He was given so you could become something. The church could become something. The church could become the light of the world. He was given so all of us could become something. What are we becoming? Witnesses. That's what we're becoming. The power, the power and the Holy Spirit go together and the result, when the two clash, when the two come together, the result is you and I becoming effective, powerful witnesses. The Spirit does not come merely to bless you while you sit in the building. He comes to equip you so that He can send you out the door. He blesses you so that He can send you out of the door. The Spirit-filled church is not a holy huddle. It is a sent people. If the power stays in the pew, we've missed the purpose of Pentecost.

And we've missed the function and the life of the church that He died for. He poured it out to make us witnesses the anointing is not a luxury for your enjoyment it is equipment for your heavenly assignment stand with me is the band still here did they quit yeah they might be can somebody text the band to get up here i want to ask you one quick question maybe this morning maybe that's you maybe you would say bernie huh and i've been running on fumes i'm tired and honestly i just need a touch from god i i need god to touch me i need god to refresh me i need god to do a work in me i need god to touch me i need god to touch me refresh me i need god to do a work in me i don't know maybe there's some trials and tribulations you face maybe there's some challenges on the home front i feel you maybe there's some challenges in the business side of things maybe there's some challenges in the marriage i don't know but i do know i do know the person that can fix it all i do know the person that wants to breathe on you and wants to change you wants to touch you wants to refresh you i do know that if you would surrender your life and be honest laying yourself on god's spiritual mri table if you would do that i know that he would breathe life into you and begin to fix those things that seem to be bothering you you so wherever you are just for 60 seconds if you would just close your eyes for a moment just be honest with me if you would say bernie that's me i you know what yeah i need a touch from god i need god to do something in my life if that's you wherever you are slip up your head thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you who else thank you thank you thank you thank you over here yes thank you i see you in the back middle yes yes yes yes front yeah hands everywhere the team is going to lead us leslie's going to lead us in a song of worship here's what i want to do i just want you to lift up your voice and as we begin to collectively together as we begin to worship i believe the holy spirit is going to begin to minister to you to breathe upon you to bring refreshing to you as we make it a point to surrender our lives jesus is going to do the rest come on lift your hands as a sign

of surrender let's lift our voice to heaven and let's worship jesus for another 30 seconds make us one jesus every time and time yes this is our come on everybody praise the father praise the son holy spirit yes hallelujah come on lift your voice one more time praise one this is yes me of your name All your children, all for the glory of your name. Brothers and sisters, under the banner of your name. Brothers and fathers, under the banner of your name. All your children, all for the glory of your name. So praise the Father, praise the Son. Holy Spirit, make us one. Every nation, tribe and tongue. This is our cry, your kingdom come. Lord, I just pray for every single hand that went up. God, that you would do a work that only you would be able to take credit for. Refresh every weary soul. Breathe upon every one of us. Mend broken hearts. May your grace and your goodness, may your glory, your presence, your favor rest upon us this week. We love you, we honor you. And I pray great favor upon every single one of my brothers and sisters here this morning. In Jesus' mighty name.

And everybody shout it. Amen. Listen, listen, yes, come on. Let's give it up for Jesus. Yeah. Listen. If you would like prayer for something specific, our prayer team is going to be up in the front. We would love to pray with you, pray for you. Again, this is the house of hope, a house of healing. So don't leave without getting prayer if you need it. Number one. Number two, if you missed that QR code and you would like to get my notes, please just hit them or scan it, whatever. And our office will send you all the notes from today's message. And if you would like a driven by prayer book, you can also do the same thing. We love you so much. We bless you in Jesus' mighty name. Thank you so much for coming, hanging out with us. And we will see you next Sunday morning. Hallelujah. God bless you.