Bernie Moore- "The Fire and the Fury"

Good morning, men and women, such an honor and a privilege to be able to speak to you again from Life Fellowship Church here in McKinney, Texas, onto your tablets and all the places that you're at. My name is Logan Williams. My TDC number is 1490218. I have four numbers after that. I understand being incarcerated, being locked up, being in the system. I know how easy it is to get back, come back again and again and again. I had four trips. Oh, almost dropped my water there. So I empathize with you, man. I get it. Every time I was in prison, I wanted to change, but was just unable to have a lasting change. I would go to church, I would check the boxes, I would get baptized, I would do Kairos, I would do all the things in hopes of maybe this magic wand of just change, this magic wand of righteousness might be just waved over my head and I would be a different person. But I wasn't trying to be a different person. I wasn't trying to wage war against my sin. I wasn't trying to live a righteous life. I just kept living the same old way I wanted to live. I was just wrapped up in all the prison politics and all the stuff and all the the hustles and the trafficking and trading and the, you know, whatever you had, you know, whatever you had, I would partake. But I would go to church and say, and then when I'd get out, man, I'd be easy. Pray for the enemy. He would deceive me. I'd be off again, back on drugs, back on crime, back on selling dope and all the stuff that we do. And then I'd come back to prison and I'd be like, gosh, man, does this work? Does this Christian thing work? And here's the thing. I never I never turned back to him. I just showed up at church.

I just showed up at the things. And so I want to encourage you guys, man, like. This heart change, this turning from the way that we were living back to him, that is the key. Doesn't matter how many church services you show up at. It's the he wants a relationship with us, a personal relationship with us. There are men that I'm I met a guy in alternative housing at the Cofield unit that had been in the same cell for twenty three years that was freer than all the guys that could come out and go to go to chapel because he had that relationship with Christ in the place that he was at. And it was really a truly remarkable thing to see. I want to remind you, you can tell your friends and family they can they can get the same Pando app on their phone, can watch the same stuff. You can talk about it. Hey, what did this Holy Spirit speak to you through that? You can lead your family. You can do this walk together, even though you're behind bars because of the Pando app. And so that's why we love it. And it's such a such a blessing. We're in an interesting series called In the Middle, Pastor Bob Hazlett, one of the things that I heard in the message a couple of days ago, it's Tuesday now, was no matter what you're going through, whether it's anxiety, whether it's depression, whether maybe it's an addiction that's got its grip on you, maybe it's a busted up marriage, whether it's a sin struggle that you can't seem to overcome, is to invite God into the middle of that, invite God into that. And that's just so foreign to us who've been living a certain way for so many years and doing the same types of things and having the same responses like it's natural for us to just do what we've always done. But we need to do something new. We need to do something different because a lot of times, man, when I when I feel like I've let God down, when I feel like I've maybe didn't read the word as much as I should have, I haven't prayed like I should.

Maybe I lash out at my family, maybe I'm getting wrapped up in a sin struggle. Many times it's not my default to want to invite God into that. It's my default to want to hide that, to cover my tracks, to to run away from God. It's just it's just subconsciously. That's what my brain is, because what did we do when we were out there doing all those things? We would do these things. We would sell a bunch of dope, do some crime, hit a lick, whatever. And then we're getting away. We're covering our tracks. We're trying to hide. And so that we can carry that into this new life that we're trying to live. And that's that's that's counterproductive. We need to invite him in and we need to run to him. And I have a scripture that backs that up, that just really hits home with me and makes it easier for me to invite God in to my struggle or into my anxiety. Or depression or whatever it is. It's Hebrews 4. I you probably heard me say this because I love this scripture In verse 14, it says so then since we have a great high priest It's talking about Jesus Who has entered heaven Jesus the Son of God? Let us hold firmly to what we believe This high priest of ours understands our weakness He understands our weakness for he faced all the same testings we do yet. He did not sin So he's saying Jesus walked this earth He knows what it's like to look at a girl and want to lust after he knows what it's like to To be selfish and want to take things that don't belong to us. He knows what it's like to want to tell lies He knows what it's like to have things To be tempted to have things in our lives that were more important to them God. I know when I was Incarcerated man, if it was football season, bro. I had the USA Today. I had all the point spreads I had a bet on every single game. I was posted up in front of that TV It was almost like it was my altar, you know, and I could feel the Holy Spirit

Gently wooing me. Hey, man, I'd rather you come over here Just take a few minutes and come read the word come over here and spend some time with me Come over here and pray. I didn't do that because my thinking was okay. I'm gonna do that when I get out But now that I'm in here Like it sucks in prison I'm just gonna do what I got to do to get by to get through this day to get through this week to get through This set off and then when I get out, I'll do I know what to do Then I'll spend time with him. Then I'll get disciplined. Then I'll it never works That's the enemy easily deceives us when we hit that gate. He rushes at me every single time I'm not saying he's gonna do that to you. But with me it was Relentless when I hit that gate So it's saying here that Jesus understands our weakness Because he faced all the same testings that we do another Translation of that would say Jesus sympathizes with us He sympathizes with us man. So when I'm doing those things that that Maybe would cause me not to even want to approach God because I was afraid that God would be disappointed in me or not happy with me or or or Any something like that? That's that's not the truth. He sympathizes with me the scripture says he Understands our weaknesses So that is why we can Come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace and obtain mercy to help us in our time of need So when you put all that together Hebrews 4 14 through the end of that chapter. He's saying man Jesus knows He knows what it's like to have this flesh one. He understands he sympathizes He knows we're not gonna be perfect and because of that man, we can run boldly to God

We can not just approach God meagerly we can come boldly to the throne of grace And find grace and obtain mercy Because that's what we need in that moment right mercy to help us in our time of need. And so I Know everybody's going through something whether you're incarcerated or not But whatever you're going through I want to encourage you to invite God into the middle of it To run to him knowing that Jesus Sympathizes with us and I get back to to the first thing that I said was he just wants a relationship with us, man He doesn't want us to turn from him and run away and cover our tracks Go to him and talk to him about the lust talk to him about the addiction Talk to him about the fact that I just can't find The the time or the strength of the perseverance to sit down for an hour and read the word Even though I know I should do that God and I want to give that to you guys That's that's a powerful powerful prayer Because my heart is for all of you to when you hit that gate man You hit that gate running you hit that gate with Holy Spirit anointing you hit that gate with with purpose in your step Because the world's gonna come at you But take heart Jesus has overcome the world And because of that instead of trying to control and manipulate and hammer Square pegs into round holes. We can just rest we can rest in him. I tell guys all the time that get out. Hey, man Let him bring it to you whatever that it is Whether it's a job or a car or a girl or whatever business ministry Let him bring it to you He will because if there's a calling on your life Romans 11 29 says it's irrevocable The gifts on the calling of God are irrevocable can't be changed omitted plotted out or reversed or voided. It's irrevocable, man. And every single one of you has a calling on your life. And I just want you to know that. And I just want you to know that Jesus loves you.

He sympathizes with you and he wants you to come boldly. All right, let me pray for you guys. Father, I just thank you. Thank you for the gift of technology, the Pando app that we can come speak into the lives of incarcerated people from right here in McKinney, Texas. And man, what a blessing that is. We just give you praise for that. We just exalt your name, God. You are so amazing, so awesome. We love you so much. And God, I just pray for everyone that's watching. I pray that you would just bless them, bless them to overflowing. Let them know how much you love them and that you will meet them right where they're at, that they can come boldly to you, that they can run to you, and that that is your deepest desire, frankly, is a relationship with them. And so God, I pray that someone does that today. Someone that's watching this hears this and just says, God, I don't know what it looks like. I maybe don't understand it or can't explain it, but this is my attempt at coming boldly to you. God, help me, man. Love me. Show me what my purpose is. Show me how you want to use me right here in this place. So God, we love you.

We give you the praise and glory in Jesus' name. Amen. Whose house? God's house. Let's give him some praise. Good morning, Life Fellowship. We're so glad you're here this morning. Go ahead, stand to your feet, let's worship the Lord together. We love you, glory in Jesus' name. We love you, glory in Jesus' name. We love you, glory in Jesus' name. We love you, glory in Jesus' name. I'll praise in the valley. And I'll praise on the mountain. Hey Andrew, are you recording? I'll praise when I'm sure. And I'll praise when I'm doubting. I'll praise when I'm numbered. And I'll praise when surrounded. Cause praise is the water my enemy's drowning. As long as I'm breathing, I've got a reason to praise the water of my soul. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. I'll praise when I feel it. And I'll praise when I don't. I'll praise till I know you're still in control. My praise is a weapon. It's more than a sound. Oh my praise is the shout that brings Jericho down. As long as I'm breathing, I've got a reason to praise the water of my soul.

Praise the Lord, oh my soul. I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside? Praise the Lord, oh my soul. We love to praise you, Jesus. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Come on guys, let's give them our voices. I'll praise cause you're sovereign. Praise cause you reign. Praise cause you rose and defeated the grave. I'll praise cause you're faithful. Praise cause you're true. Praise cause there's nobody greater than you. I'll praise cause you're sovereign. Praise cause you reign. Praise cause you rose and defeated the grave. I'll praise cause you're faithful. Praise cause you're true. Praise cause there's nobody greater than you. I'll praise cause you're sovereign. Praise cause you reign. Praise cause you rose and defeated the grave. I'll praise cause you're faithful. Praise God's you're true. Praise God's there's nobody greater than you. I'll praise God's you're sovereign. Praise God's you reign. Praise God's you're own and defeated and great. I'll praise God's you're faithful. Praise God's you're true. Praise God's there's nobody greater than you. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord, oh my soul.

Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. I won't be quiet, my God is alive. How could I keep it inside? I won't be quiet, my God is alive. How could I keep it inside? I won't be quiet, my God is alive. How could I keep it inside? Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Come on guys, repeat after me. Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. You're my God in the night. How could I keep it inside? Praise the Lord, oh my soul. How many of you know that our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever? And that He is still a miracle working God. Come on, does anybody believe that He still does miracles today? He is not just a God that did miracles in the past. He can still do it today. So if you came into this place looking for God to do something, His presence is in the room. And He can still do it. He can still work that miracle in your life that you've been looking for. Jesus, it's you. And I believe you're the wonder working God. You're the wonder working God.

All the miracles I've seen, you took a tenacity. You're the wonder working God. And you heal because you love. All the miracles we've seen are too good to not believe. Too good to not believe. Too good to not believe. And I can't resurrect a man with my own hands. But just the mention of your name can raise the dead. Show all the glory to the only one who can Jesus in the air, Jesus in the air I believe in the wonder working in life The wonder working in life All the miracles I see You're too good to not believe You're the wonder working God And you heal because you love All the miracles I see You're too good to not believe You're the wonder working God You're the wonder working God All the miracles I see You're too good to not believe You're the wonder working God And you heal because you love All the miracles I see You're too good to not believe You're too good to not believe You're too good to not believe After everything I see You're too good to not believe

Too good to not believe Too good to not believe After everything I see You're too good to not believe Too good to not believe Listen, I know, I know that it's hard to believe sometimes when you can't see it It's difficult when you can't see what's coming When you can't see that miracle happening When you don't know what's happening It's hard to believe, but that's the moment where you gotta hang on And you gotta stand on the word of God And stand firm on what we know to be true And that is He is faithful, He is good, He is still a healer He is a miracle working God And I sing this with such conviction because I've seen All of these things that we're gonna sing about now, I've seen them happen I've seen my sister healed from stage 4 cancer I've seen mental illness be healed I've seen lives being restored So don't you tell me that He is not able to do Exceedingly and abundantly above all we can ask or think So if you've come into this place searching for that miracle Declare this next part of the song and sing it We've seen cancer disappear We've seen broken bodies healed Don't you tell me He can't do it Don't you tell me He can't do it We've seen real life resurrection We've seen mental health restored Don't you tell me He can't do it

Don't you tell me He can't do it We've seen families reunited We've seen prodigals returned Don't you tell me He can't do it Don't you tell me He can't do it We've seen troubled souls delivered We've seen addicts finally free Don't you tell me He can't do it Don't you tell me He can't do it And we've seen cancer disappear We've seen broken bodies healed Don't you tell me He can't do it Don't you tell me He can't do it We've seen real life resurrection We've seen mental health restored Don't you tell me He can't do it Don't you tell me He can't do it And we've seen cities in revival And foundations along the street Don't you tell me He can't do it Don't you tell me He can't do it And won't He glory fill the nation Like the world can never teem Don't you tell me He can't do it Cause I know that He can And I believe you're the one good working God You're the one good working God All the miracles I've seen You're too good and I believe You're the one good working God

because you love all the miracles I see. You're too good to not believe. Too good to not believe. Too good to not believe. So good, so good, so good you are. You're too good to not believe. Can you take a minute right here and just thank Him before you see the miracle? Come on, can you really stand on your faith and say, God, I thank you in advance. I thank you in advance for that miracle that I know is coming, for that breakthrough that I know is yet to come. But I'm going to stand firm and I'm going to thank you in advance even before I see it because I know that you are working. You are working on my behalf and I know that you are working all things for good because you are a good Father. And after everything I've seen, you're just too good. You're too good for me not to believe that you will do exactly what you said you would. Too good to not believe. Too good, too good, too good. And I believe you're the wonder-working God. You're the wonder-working God. All the miracles we'll see. You're too good to not believe. You're the wonder-working God. And you heal because of your love. All the miracles we'll see. You're too good to not believe. Too good to not believe. Too good to not believe. After everything I've seen, you're too good to not believe. Too good to not believe. Too good to not believe. After everything I've seen, you're too good to not believe. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you because nothing is too hard for you. We place our trust in you and it's our joy to see how worthy and how holy you are, Lord. And up above the heavens sing. Down below is set a queen. The anthem of eternity. Let it rise, let it rise, let it rise. Jesus, we behold you now. We lift our hands, we lay our crowns. In highest praise we bring to you. Let it rise, let it rise, let it rise. Let it rise, let it rise, let it rise. How holy, how holy is the Lord God Almighty.

So worthy, so worthy to be. Be praised Every nation, tribe and tongue Bows before the throne of one Praise the Father, Spirit, Son Let it rise, let it rise Every nation, tribe and tongue Bows before the throne of one Praise the Father, Spirit, Son Let it rise, let it rise All your shame, let it rise How holy, how holy Is the Lord God Almighty So worthy, so worthy To be praised Let's sing how holy How holy, how holy Is the Lord God Almighty So worthy, so worthy To be praised His glory over worship His glory over praise We join with the living creatures We join with the angels We join with the heavenly souls Oh, the Son of Man Thank You Lord Come on, sing this verse out The first, the last, the Alpha and Omega The one who was and is and will go

The Lion of Judah The Lamb who was slain The Risen King of Israel Come on church, let's sing together The first, the last, the Alpha and Omega The one who was and is and will go The Lion of Judah The Lamb who was slain The Risen King of Israel How holy, how holy Is my Lord, is my Saviour Is my God, who is forever So worthy, so worthy To be praised How holy, how holy Is the Lord God Almighty So worthy, so worthy To be praised How holy, how holy God, You are holy Church, can we just sit for a couple of seconds In awe of His holiness God, You are holy You are holy You know, we're not the only ones right now That are singing and proclaiming His holiness The Bible tells us that there are angels That never stop saying those words In Isaiah 6, the seraphim cry out Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty

The whole world behold Him earth is full of his glory and in revelations 4 the living creatures around the throne day and night they say the same thing holy holy holy it's the lord god almighty who was and is and is to come and that word holy means that he is completely set apart and perfect perfect in wisdom perfect in love perfect in power there is none like him and the amazing thing church as this perfect and holy god his invitation to us this morning is to come close he's not going to push us away he's going to draw us close and so i don't know what you're carrying in here today maybe you're you're you're carrying burdens maybe there's anxiety maybe things are shaken down in your life and you don't know which way they're going to go but but you know it's going to affect you and it's caused some anxiety maybe there's some shame that you haven't been able to get rid of maybe there's disappointment maybe there's unforgiveness maybe there's bitterness maybe there's anger in your life maybe there's a sin struggle in your life you keep doing that thing that you know grieves the heart of god and every time you say man i'm done i'm never going to do that again you find yourself doing that again and it and it produces this shame to where you maybe feel like you can't even approach god god wants you to know that you can lay those burdens down right here this morning he wants you to lay them down and when i was praying for this this moment today he gave me a a vision he gave me a a memory it was about seven or eight months ago pastor john was preaching up here a message and he brought a brother up onto the stage and and this brother his arms were full of what looked like junk right and and pastor john had some some gifts that he wanted to give the brother and the and the point of the illustration was he had to lay down the junk that was in his hands so that he could receive the gifts that pastor john has for us that's what god gave me guys you can lay those burdens down god has a big blessing for life fellowship church in this season but some of us are gonna have to lay down the burdens and the jump that we're carrying so that we can receive those blessings but he's with us he's right by our side he will never leave us or forsake us the perfect and holy god that sees you he loves you and he's waiting with arms open let's pray father we love you i love you so much god so thankful lord god we just invite you into this this moment god your holy spirit we just ask that you would touch hearts today god that you would convict people's hearts today let them know

how much you love them that they were worthy of dying for and that you want them to lay those burdens down that they were never intended to carry that they could take your yoke upon them and that they could walk lighter into and they can be the people that you called them to be god i just pray over this message god that these seeds would land on fertile soil that you would make the increase god your word tells us that when your when your word goes out from your mouth it does not return void but it accomplishes the purposes it achieves the purposes that you have for it god i just declare that over this message today that you would reveal yourself to us in a mighty way we just give you all the praise and glory and we love you so much in jesus name amen amen all right third service thank you guys for joining us you can take your seats so awesome to be in service with you guys today prepare your hearts for the message and if you would just turn your attention to the screen for some announcements happy sunday church whether you join us for the first time i have been here for years we're so excited to see you today if this is your first time here text the word new to 5 10 10 we would love to welcome you get connected with you and keep you updated on everything happening at life fellowship church every sunday lives are changed because people choose to serve if life fellowship has become home for you why not help create that experience for someone else whatever your gifts are experienced there's a place for you on the team jump in and be a part of the story that god is writing right here the bible says that god loves a cheerful giver generosity has always been part of god's character he gives grace hope forgiveness and new life when we choose to live generously we're reflecting his heart to the world around us every week at life fellowship people are finding community discovering purpose and taking their next step in faith giving is one of the ways we participate in that work thank you for responding as God leads you I believe God is going to do something special today yeah me too let's get ready for the message amen come on everybody so good to be here I was here two weeks ago and then I went off to a beautiful nation called Brazil where we had an incredible gospel crusade I'll tell you more about that in a couple of minutes but I have the incredible task of continuing what we started two weeks back about the birthing of the local church and how we as a local church are supposed to live and move and breathe and operate we had

a lot of fun a couple of weeks back matter of fact I wrote a book a year ago called driven by prayer and the first service two weeks ago bought all the books actually they left him behind for the second service the second service got mad please bring some books back so we got a whole thing because a lot of you guys wanted to grab multiple books for Bible studies and so forth so we wanted to make sure that we saved some for the third service because God saves the best for last come on somebody so yes make sure before you leave to go and pick up a copy or ten so I know it'll be a great blessing to you but I wanted to make sure you guys knew that secondly I've got five points today and I know I'm not gonna get through them I'm just gonna be honest with you although news flash because you are the third service and there's no services meeting after you haha we are not pressed for time although I am hungry so we're gonna hurry up anyway if you want all of my notes from today as well as two weeks ago you can go see Lynn or Alicia give them your emails we'll give you everything that that we have I just for me my heart is to equip you guys so that you guys can go deeper in the Word of God and understand exactly what the Lord is speaking through this message and really speaking to you through this message so I just don't want you guys to be ill-informed or or to leave knowing that you really wanted a little bit more so we want to give you everything just be a blessing to you amen so absolutely incredible this morning incredible message for you really want to encourage all of us as we dive into the the local church the birthing of the local church why it even came to be what's the point what's the the meaning of gathering on a Sunday morning at 11 30 or 12 15 and how are we supposed to function how are we supposed to live how are we supposed to move what are we supposed to do Eddie good to see you my boy he loves the Cowboys anyway um the birthing of the local church there are moments in history that change everything divine moments moments when God steps into the ordinary and does something extraordinary okay acts 2 is one of those moments it's one of those chapters it's one of those times in history that even to this very day 2,000 years later we're still studying

we're still grateful for we're we're basking out camping out at this moment of time it's the way God birthed the church it was his bride his glorious bride meant to do extraordinary things all over the world his church the launching of God's church was global it started in a little city called Jerusalem in a little house in an upper room where men and women gathered together a hundred and twenty of them with a heart that was desperate for an encounter with him amen it's arguably one of the most explosive chapters in the entire New Testament it was a moment that Jesus what Jesus promised actually came to fruition it was a moment where heaven collided with earth in a violent way It was a time where all the promises of God came to fruition. The promises that all these Old Testament prophets, both men and women by the way, longed to see according to Hebrews. They longed to live in. They longed to witness. They wanted to partake and they couldn't. It wasn't their moment. It wasn't their time. But it was the day, it was the day that heaven invaded earth. You see for three years, I said this last time we were here two weeks ago, for three years ordinary men and women literally had a front row seat to all the extraordinary things that Jesus had done. All the incredible miracles, everything. They literally, a front row seat to seeing Jesus calming raging, raging storms, walking on water, defying physics, defying gravity, casting out devils, rebuking religious leaders and everybody said amen to that one. Healing incurable diseases like leprosy, making paralytics walk. He forgave prostitutes. He fed 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread. He literally held the world's largest fish fry. Come on somebody.

He ultimately, ultimately did something that nobody had ever done in history. He conquered death and the grave on his own. Thank you three people. That was the power he possessed. That was what he did. Nobody had ever witnessed that. And then after he died, buried and rose from the dead, he commanded the disciples and believers alike to sit and wait, wait in an upper room, wait for the promise from on high, wait for the promise that they would be endued or clothed or overwhelmed with power, power of the Holy Spirit. He wanted them to wait. He knew they weren't ready. He knew that the world would eat them alive. He knew that in order for them to be successful, in order for them to be fruitful, in order for them to be sustainable, they needed the power of God. Ten days of prayer in an upper room, 120 souls holding onto a promise they couldn't fully explain. They couldn't fully comprehend, but they wanted to be obedient. And so they did. They waited and they waited patiently, but they prayed and they prayed some more and they prayed some more and they sent somebody out for a coffee run and they came back and prayed some more. Right. They sent somebody out for lunch and they came back and they prayed some more. They were going to wait until God filled them with power from on high. Suddenly everybody say suddenly, come on. Look at your other neighbor and say suddenly. There was a suddenly moment. It was a moment without warning that there came a sound from heaven. And the best way Luke, the physician can describe this is it was a sound like a rushing, mighty

wind, a violent wind. Now I grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, born and raised. We've been through a ton of hurricanes. We were there for hurricane Katrina. It was insane, absolutely insane, the worst hurricane they hit the shores of South Louisiana. And yet my wife and I like brilliant people would do. We packed up and moved to Orlando, Florida was worse. And then we moved here, Tornado Alley, but hey, we know what wind feels like, but this, this was different. Heaven invading earth in a violent way, a spiritually violent, but yet beautiful way. It was not a gradual awakening. It was not a, some kind of slow reformation. No, no. This was an invasion, heaven breaking into earth, the spirit of God descending upon the hearts of humanity. Number one, five points, I'm going to get to three of them. Number one, the church was birthed in his presence. I actually added here and fire. The day Pentecost was the fulfillment of centuries of promise. This is what everybody was looking for. By the way, you guys did. This is what the prophets of old, they had anticipated this. They were looking for this. moment. Matter of fact, Moses in Numbers chapter 11 verse 29, Moses says, I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets. He says, I wish that they were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them or pour out his spirit upon them. But God answered that prayer, the cry of Moses's heart, as well as all the other prophets. He answered their cry in one moment, in one morning in a prayer meeting. You want to know why the church is powerless today? It's because we forgot how to pray. We forgot the anointing that comes from prayer. It's in those moments of prayer where God breaks us and pours out his oil in our life. Those moments, those heavenly moments where

we put ourselves in God's operating table or on his operating table and God begins to minister to us, pouring out his love on us, taking stuff in us that doesn't belong. Bad attitudes, envy, strife, gossip, bitter, just doing surgery on us, just taking stuff out. The disciples, they prayed for 10 days straight and Peter gets up and preaches for 10 minutes and 3,000 people get saved. Today, we do the opposite. We pray for 10 minutes and we just preach for 10 days, 10 weeks, and we have no power. We wonder why we have no power. I heard one guy say, amen, sister. I heard one guy say, Hollywood does an incredible job at taking something so fake and yet making it look so real. We believers, we Christians, we do an incredible job of taking someone so real and making him look so fake. We have been given power, literally, like power and yet we don't access it. We don't live in it and we don't display it to the world. Listen to this. The day of Pentecost was the fulfillment of centuries of promise. Just like Moses prayed, God answered his cry, answered his prayer. Tongues of fire, the mighty rushing wind, every one of them filled with the Holy Spirit. This was all happening, unfolding in an upper room, not a boardroom. It was happening in an upper room, a prayer meeting, not a church meeting, an upper room. Listen, the church was not built in a committee room. She was not launched with some clever marketing plan. She was born in fire. She was born in wind. She was born in prayer. She was born in unity. In essence, the first breath she ever drew was from the breath of God himself. Just like when God breathed on Adam and Adam became a living being, Acts 2, God breathed on the church and the church became a living being. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. You know why that's interesting? Because God does not pour himself out in division. When there's division, there will be no power. A house divided cannot stand. When God gets ready to pour himself out, he's looking for a unified people. The disciples were waiting just as Jesus had commanded them. They didn't rush ahead. They didn't put the cart before the horse. They waited. They gathered together in unity, in prayer, in worship. They took communion and filled themselves up with expectation. I'm telling you guys, church, listen, when those ingredients come together, then there's going to come a suddenly. Those are the ingredients for an explosion to take place. Those are the ingredients for a Holy Spirit explosion to take place. Listen, it was a sound like a mighty rushing wind. That was the best way that Luke could write, his best description. He's there and he's like, I don't know how to describe this. I don't know

what to say. All I can say is it was this violent wind. It was phenomenal. All of us in a moment of time, all of us were changed. Tongues of fire rested upon each and every one of them. 120, by the way. Nobody was left out. Every single person, as Reinhard Bonnke used to say, would have a flame that bared their name. You know there's a flame that bears your name. God's waiting to pour out a fire on you if you would just... Surrender Doesn't take much just a surrendered heart The church was not born through human strategy Acts 2 when born through clever marketing church planning conferences It wasn't birthed from organizational geniuses or social media platforms. The church was born through prayer through power through fire and through unity Come on, somebody my god This Is how the church was birthed and this is the the the reality of Acts and the disciples and the early to the foundation that was built It's for you and I and we can continue to build on this matter of fact. I saw one scholar He said the book of Acts is still being written through our lives today through the church life today Whenever God's people become dependent on programs more than prayer Performance more than presence or clever precepts more than his glorious power or promises we drift from his origins The church is strongest when she walks in full obedience to him Following his original design and plan we are strongest when we are filled with the Spirit of God Come on, Eddie Dizon my god. We got an incredible young adults pastor here Number two everybody say to The church was born to reach the nations of the earth The church was born to reach the nations the miracle of Pentecost was not just that people spoke in new tongues No, no, it was that people from every nation heard the wonderful works of God in their own language Everybody was crystal clear. They were there. There were witnesses

They all heard the works of God the wonderful works of God the gospel in their own language. God was announcing something Extraordinary Revolutionary, come on you guys the gospel was not just for one so-called special group of people One special city one special religion or one special nation No, no The gospel was for every tribe and every tongue Everyone with breath in their lungs and a heart pounding in their chest. The gospel was for you for all humanity The Church the church was born With a global heartbeat To reach a lost and dying world the same spirit that filled that upper room Immediately pushed the church towards the streets To get the church outside the four walls To go and to all the world now all the world for you for your world Maybe your cubicle or the person next to you or your neighbor or the sports field or the gym or the golf course Come on somebody Yeah It doesn't matter where it is. And if you're like my wife, maybe it's the mall I'm just joking, honey You know, it doesn't matter where your Sphere of influence is but God has called you to be a witness. God has called you to be a voice a vessel a Missionary to that place to those people neighbors friends co-workers doesn't matter You never know who needs to hear something as simple as man. Jesus loves you matter of fact I'm gonna encourage you today when you go out to eat and you're sitting at the Table or that waiter or waitress is taking your order Man, just pray under your breath and see if the Lord will allow you to just pray for that person Hey, do you mind Christian? Do you mind Christina? Do you mind hunter Brian? Whoever can I just pray for you? Oh, yeah Yeah, that's no problem. Now some of you right away. You've you've already shut me down. You've closed your ears

You're like I ain't doing that. It's not me Listen, anybody can pray You got a 10-second prayer hitting in you somewhere, you know what I mean? Like you can pray for 10 say hey Lord I just pray for Kristen Christina Christian Brian, whoever it is. I just Lord bless them help them heal them touch them pour out your love brought your grace on them Help them get through whatever they're walking through and hey, can I just tell you Jesus loves you? And oh, I'll take a sweet tea and a chicken sandwich. Come on somebody There you go. You just plant the seed let God do the rest a Spirit-filled church is a church that carries God's heavenly flame His glorious heart and his love beyond its walls and out into a lost and hurting and broken and confused world a world that's been searching for eternal peace and salvation since the beginning of time and guess what you may be the only Jesus anyone ever sees and he wants to use you he wants to live he wants to use you don't listen to the lies of the enemy saying you can't do this don't shut your mouth don't say anything enjoy your meal go home no God really wants to use you he wants to use you to make a difference in the earth number three you ready for this number three the church was born through bold preaching and bold living now isn't that a novel concept how about we actually preach the Bible and oh by the way let's live it too I mean you know like we don't have to walk around and thus saith and you know trying to live up to these unbelievably difficult religious standards no no we just want to live according to to his message we want to live our lives according to the message that we read in Scripture we're not being perfect we're not even close to it I mean Paul used to kill Christians for sport that brother had issues and now here it is God one encounter with God on a road called Damascus and he turns around gets radically touched saved transformed and he writes two-thirds of the New Testament Peter denies that he even knows Jesus after walking with him for three years the rest of the disciples we don't have enough time to get into their stories

but I'm just telling you it's not about being perfect it's about living for Christ it's about letting our life mimic his mirror his and I love this because Peter talking about being bold in your preaching I love Peter this is the disciple that once denied Jesus three times twice to a little servant girl okay this is crazy and I told you guys I find humor in the Scriptures I do I just the way God made me I find the Scriptures to be somewhat humorous at times but here it is Peter's at a prayer meeting with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane literally shortly before they come and arrest Jesus Peter and the rest of the boys fall asleep you have been in a prayer meeting and you fell asleep okay yeah nobody wants to raise their head on that was Peter falls asleep Jesus comes back and says bro can you not get up can you not pray with me not just for an hour I mean come on get up what's wrong with you Peter the rest of the guys get it wipe off their mouth yeah yeah I'm sorry you know and then Jesus goes off and prays again they fall asleep again I mean Jesus hears them snoring from a distance I mean they're just sprawled out it's been a long day right then the disciples they're wakened up by the Roman soldiers and the high priest and all the guards coming to arrest Jesus and Peter what does he do he pulls out his Glock come on Eddie put that thing away boy he pulls out his his Glock his sword and he cuts a man's ear off Jesus looks at Peter rolls his eyes like dude seriously I'm always picking up your mess picks the guy's ear up puts it back on his head prays for him heals him he's all good to go think about that Roman soldier what do you do from there here's my resignation I'm out I'm not touching this guy you know I'm saying Jesus says go ahead and arrest me it's the will of the Father because if I want to rescue fallen humanity if I want to rescue Bernie Moore if I want to rescue Eddie Ruiz if I want to rescue Trent wood if I want to rescue Eddie Dazon if I want to rescue you the only way to do that is to build a bridge from this sin-filled soaked earth in the form of a cross a blood-soaked cross that's got your name written on a cross beam bold preaching bold living that is what the early Church was birthed in.

So what happened to Peter? What changed? It's the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit. Peter preaches Jesus Christ crucified. He preaches a message that he got from John the Baptist, who by the way, spent his whole life preaching the same message. And that was simply repent for the kingdom of God is here. Repent, repent, repent. The kingdom of heaven is here. Now all of a sudden the church world has turned that into sort of a dirty word. But Paul says, it's the goodness of God that leads all of us to repentance. All of us have to be inundated with a moment of repentance where we change our ways and turn around and stop doing what we once were doing and turn around with surrendered hearts giving ourselves to him. John the Baptist spent his whole life preaching repentance. Matter of fact, Jesus said there's been none born among women greater than John the Baptist. If Jesus said that about John the Baptist and his message, it might do us some good church to start sprinkling a little repentance in our messages. Amen? Come on somebody. Listen, the power of the early church was not in its buildings or its budgets

or its influence, because they had none of that. The power of the early church was in its unwavering commitment of Jesus to a very lost and dying world. They were relentless in proclaiming God's love to a hurting world. They were passionate, they were determined. It didn't matter what anybody said. It didn't matter if you liked them. It didn't matter if you clicked like on their social media page. It didn't matter if you followed them. They were relentless and determined to share the love of Jesus with a lost and dying world. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Yes. And this is why Luke says in Acts four, he says, I figured it out. Acts four, verse 12. He says, there is salvation and no other name. There's no other name given among men under heaven by which all of us must be saved. You can search high and low. You can look in every nook and cranny of the earth, but you'll never find eternal peace or satisfaction

or salvation or healing or power or glory or goodness or grace until you find Jesus. And by the way, he's not playing hide and seek on you. He's ready, willing and able even in this moment to touch your life. When Peter preached, hearts were pierced. Convictions set in and lives were forever changed. When Jesus is lifted high, people are confronted with their sin. They're challenged to change. And ultimately, if they surrender, they will be, not maybe, but they will be transformed for all eternity. The answer to a broken world is, was and always will be, Jesus, Jesus, not religion, but a relationship. Not religion, but a relationship. So Peter stands up. He preaches one message. The people turn around and ask him one question. What shall we do? What do we do? Peter, tell us, what do we do? And Peter says the same thing he'd been saying, it's easy. You just gotta repent. It's all good. If you mess up, that's okay, repent again. You mess up again, it's okay, repent again. Just, just repent so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. 3,000 people got saved in one morning. 3,000 people got saved in one morning.

That's phenomenal. The church is not simply a gathering place for good people. No, it's a place where lost people, hurting people, confused people, broken, inbound people can become found. It's a place where sinners become saints. It's a place where broken lives. are mended, where the weary become refreshed in his presence, where those wrapped in despair find hope and peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding. The church was and still is a place where lives are transformed every single day by the goodness and grace of God. Let me end with this. Every genuine move of God produced or was birthed in prayer and repentance. So let's tattoo those to our heart. Let's put those in our spiritual tool belt. Prayer. Repentance. Listen, by the way, God is not interested in the length of your prayers. I mean if you want to pray for two or three hours like Trenton Wood does all the time, well great. If you want to pray for 10 or 15 minutes, hey just start somewhere. Just start praying. You're at the red light, you're driving down the road, you're sitting in your car, you're sitting at home, you're, you know, I don't know, you wake up 15-20 minutes early before you normally would. Just carve out times to pray. And when I say pray, I'm talking just talk to the Lord. Just start somewhere. The church was never intended to be a crowd of spectators. It was designed to be a family of participators. Look at your neighbor and say, start participating. Oh come on y'all, come on. It's 1230. Start participating. Now look at your other neighbor who was your second choice and tell them, start participating. Come on y'all. Man, I got two minutes and seven seconds. Glory to God. Listen, it was never designed to be a family of spectators. We were designed to be participators. We're not designed to just sit idly by in the stands of life as if we're watching some kind of sporting event. No, no. The church was meant to live this thing out. The greatest message to ever land on human ears and pierce human hearts. The greatest message for God so loved the world that he gave. He gave. He

bankrupted heaven and he gave us a gift that we could never imagine. We can't even think or fathom. It was so glorious and unimaginable and God's love so unsearchable. It was so deep and so grand. God gave it to us. He gave it to us that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life. I love verse 17, by the way. Jesus continued by saying, the Son of Man did not come into the world to condemn the world. That never was my mission, never will be my mission, but that the world through me might be saved. What glorious Savior we have. We're not meant to sit idly by. We're meant to get out of the stands and onto the field and start becoming the church. This is not history. This is our heritage. Stand up with me. My prayer is that God would raise up a generation of believers who still burn for him more than they burn for anything else. That want him more than they want anything else. That want to live for him more than they want to live for anything else. So for me, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. May the church, may you never lose that flame, every head bowed and every eye closed. Just want to ask you a simple question before we all leave for lunch. How is it with your soul? How is it? How is it between you and God? Listen, there is, as I just said, no condemnation for those who are in Christ. But if you know there are some things you need to fix, there are some things you need to change, there are some things that you need to let go of, I don't know, maybe the waves of life have just been crashing around you and it's caused you to walk away or to fall away, whatever the case may be. If you want to make things right with God this morning, wherever you are, slip up your hand. Let me just pray for you real quick. Thank you. Anybody else, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Anybody else, thank you, thank you, wow, thank you. In the middle, in the back, in the front, yes. I see your hands all over, yes, amen. Come on, church, let's pray this prayer together as a family.

Say it loud. Dear Jesus. Dear Jesus. I surrender my life. I surrender my life. I give you my heart. I give you my heart. I repent, I turn from my ways. I surrender everything. Save me, cleanse me, wash me, forgive me. I give you everything. From this morning forward, I'll never be the same. Be Lord and Savior of my life. In Jesus' mighty name we pray, amen, amen. Come on, everybody, amen. Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen. Now listen, we have a prayer team. We would be so honored to pray with you about anything else that you may need or you may have need for prayer in, whatever the case may be. If you're sick, you're battling sickness in your body, I had a lady come up to me after the second service. Name was Courtney. Maybe you guys know her. She was dealing with six chronic ailments. She said six weeks ago, a friend of hers prayed for her just like this in church. The next day, she said, I started feeling better, but I didn't fully associate it at the moment to prayer.

But then the following day, three, four, five days later, kept getting better and better, and I had a doctor's appointment. So I went to the doctor, and realized that every single thing that I was dealing with, God touched and healed. She was crying, she was crying, she was. She said, if you would have given me the microphone out and testified to everybody that God still heals, he still performs miracles. I said, come on, Courtney, preach. I wanna tell you, if you need prayer, come up. We would love to pray for you. We would be honored to stand with you in prayer and believe in God for your miracle. In the meantime, if you don't need prayer, we love you. We can't wait to see you next Sunday. Bring a friend, be a bringer always, be a bringer. Bring somebody with you to church. We can't wait to see what God does with you and through you and through the people that you bring. Amen, we love you dearly. Lord, I just pray and bless every single one of my brothers and sisters this morning that you would pour out your love, your mercy, your grace, your goodness all upon them. God, we honor you. We pray for favor every single day of the week, Lord. For the next seven days, bestow your goodness and your grace upon us.

Open up doors for my brothers and sisters here, Lord. Struggles that they've been dealing with, take them away, Lord. Change hearts, change minds, renew spirits, refresh everyone that's weary, Lord. We bless you, we love you, and we honor you. And it's in your precious son, Jesus' name we pray. And everybody said, amen. See you next Sunday, everybody.