Joy Always Follows God

Hallelujah. How many of you have experienced God as that healer, that provider? How many have experienced him as that? There's something powerful about that song reminding us of who God is. What a joy. Thank you, choir. Thank you, Elder Vicki. Thank you, Kareem, for leading us in that. What a blessing. What a blessing to have every one of you here today. For those that are watching around the country and around the world, we have experienced some snow, and so there's a whole bunch happening. But I'm telling you this, you guys are warriors. You're fighters. You are here today, and what a blessing to see all of you guys here. We do want to welcome all those watching from around the world. We want to say hello to those live with us who are from Malaysia and India. We welcome the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, United Kingdom. We say a little Wales, Northern Ireland, Hungary, the Netherlands. We say hello to Germany, Bulgaria, Finland, Italy, and North Macedonia. Thank you. Bosnia and Herzegovina. We say hello to Poland, Sweden, and Norway, Canada, Mexico, Barbados, the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Panama, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Would you welcome all those that are watching? Some 26 states, and it's always our joy. I just have such a burden. I'm so thankful. Whatever university you're watching from, we are so thankful. We say hello to Florida A&M University. We say hello to Florida A&M, University of South Florida, American University, Summit International University, Temple University. Would you welcome all those that are watching from our university campuses? I do want to encourage, especially those in our university campuses, join us on our chapter-by-chapter, as we have a four-year journey. How many are doing chapter-by-chapter with us? Would you raise your hand? We want to also let you know, they have, just as a reminder, a band in the back you can pick up free of charge. All these chapter-by-chapter wristbands, just to remind you. We're so thankful that you're here, that you're part of that. For those that are watching from our Spanish-speaking nations, chapter-by-chapter will be out in February in Spanish, so you're going to take the journey with us. Your journey is going to be four years, but we'll finish one month before you. We'll start with our Spanish chapter-by-chapter. We're so thankful that you're a part. Please subscribe on YouTube, and then you get the reminders every single week. I do want to remind you of one important thing. I want you to be here next Sunday. I'm going to share just our vision message of what God has done in 25, what is going to happen in 26. I want to give you some updates. I want you to be part of some of the most exciting things that we're getting ready to do, and so we're so

excited. God is with us. God is walking with us, and I'm so thankful that you're part of the journey here. I want us to pray and ask God's Holy Spirit. I believe God's given me something, and I believe we're going to end with joy and with a shout in this place, and so we're going to believe for God to do that. Father, right now, in Jesus' name, thank you for your Holy Spirit that we have sensed all day today. Now, Father, would you come and speak to us in a special way? I know that, God, something is bubbling in my spirit. Father, I'm asking, revive us again. Revive us again. Revive us again, Lord Jesus. Father, let our hearts beat again for the things of God. So, Father, may your Holy Spirit come in Jesus' name, and everybody said, Amen. So, you're the one o'clock service, so for those that know the drill, what we're going to ask you to do is to greet one more time. Give some people a really good, joyful smile, and I'm going to dismiss the choir. God bless you before you sit down. Choir, thank you. Amazing job. It was more than 100 years ago that the atheist philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, the one who had the audacity to proclaim all over in his lectures around the country and around the world, this German philosopher that has built up a number of followers at that time, it was him that coined the phrase and spoke it with a passion that God is dead, and that is what he proclaimed as an atheist, and that was his message. I want to give, if he was alive, I would give him a message that really, Nietzsche is dead, and God is still alive, is what I would say. His philosophy is still preached today. It's still known today, but I am reminded of something. Of all the things that he said, there's one thing that really caught my attention. Nietzsche spoke to a group of Christian leaders one time, and he said these words. He said, you Christians make me sick. He says, because you redeemed don't look like you've been redeemed. You're as fearful, guilt-ridden, anxious, confused, and adrift in an alien environment as I am. I'm allowed to feel that way. I don't believe. I have nothing to hope for. But you people claim you have a Savior. Why don't you look like you're saved? Look at the person next to you and give them a Holy Ghost smile. Would you just do that right now, even if it looks weird? I'm telling you, this is such an important thing, that when God, I'm telling you, when God gets a hold of your soul, it will show on your countenance. It's like that song, the old chorus that we have sung before, the joy that I have, this world didn't give it to me, and the world can't take it away.

See, happiness and joy are different. Happiness is untested delight, but joy is a delight that has been through the fire. It's happiness. You can have happiness when things are happening and going well. Joy sustains us no matter what's going on. Someone said it like this, joy is not necessarily the absence of suffering, it's the presence of God. It's knowing that God is with us. Let me say it to you this way, real joy is found wherever God is present. Joy always follows God. If God is there, there we'll be rejoicing. When we are finding ourselves with no joy, it means that the presence of Jesus is not there. And keep this in mind, the truest expression of joy comes from the discovery of Jesus. When you find, when people search for joy, you won't find it. But when you search for Jesus, joy comes next. It's part of what God does. I want to tell you a story about that. I want to tell you a story of two men's lives that don't often get connected, but they should be, I think, because they come from the same city. They come from the same region. One is cursed and the other is hated. It's in Luke 18 and 19. The cursed man is a man who is blind. He's sitting right outside the gate of his city. Society has labeled anyone that would be blind as cursed, that this is really from some sin or something you have done and you're being judged by God. That's why you've been stricken with blindness. If you were blind, you were an outcast. Most blind people, or really all blind people at this time, were beggars because they were unemployed. No business wanted to use them because they didn't want a curse to come upon their business. These men and women would begin to beg on the streets just so they could stay alive. They were excluded from sitting in the house of God. They weren't allowed to go into the temple. They were a defect. There was something there that, because they weren't perfect in a sense, you couldn't come into the house of God. Then if you moved just over one more chapter and just walked into the gates of the city, you would leave a cursed man and find a hated man. He was openly hated because he was considered and called a tax collector. They were cheats. They were traitors to the Jewish people because you work with the enemy, the Romans, who have taken over your country. They were considered deplorable because they were

making money, lying and cheating to take money from their own people. These are the two people, the cursed and the hated, that Jesus is about to encounter. These two men, the cursed and the hated, are about to discover Jesus. When you discover Jesus, joy is about to follow. That's what's about to take place. In Luke 18 and 19, let's connect these two stories. I have this sense, and I'll tell you why, just my supposition, just my thought, I have this sense that these two men may have known each other. I think that there's a possibility that there was an interaction between these men, my opinion, and I'll tell you why in a second. Luke 18 opens up with these words, Luke 18 35 opens up with these words, as Jesus was approaching Jericho. Notice the name Jericho. We're going to come back to that in just a few moments, but as Jesus is approaching the city of Jericho, let me read it to you. As he's approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. They told him, because his ears are now sensitive to the noise, and somehow he realized that the noise, the volume, the decibels, has just gone up. Somebody is walking by. Well, we know it's Jesus. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, and he called out, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me. Verse 39, and those who led the way were sterling, telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more. Son of David, have mercy upon me. Look at verse 39 again. As I was rereading the passages that I would read to you today, this morning, I was struck by that phrase. Those who led the way were telling him to be quiet. I thought about those words, whatever those words mean, those who led the way, whether they were leaders in name, whether they were leaders, maybe the disciples, we don't know for sure, but they were ahead of the crowd, seemingly to have everything together, moving people out of the way. And they were telling this man to be quiet. And all I thought about was this, God, if I'm in that group, leading, leading the crowd, and telling this man to be quiet, think about what would have happened if this man would have followed what that person said, he never would have been healed. That these people stood up and said, be quiet. This is not the way we do it. This is not how

we do this. Thank God, this blind man was desperate for a miracle. Thank God that he broke through to see, to see the miracle take place. Listen to these words. And Jesus stopped and commanded that he had been brought that he would be brought to him. And when he came near, he questioned him, what do you want me to do for you? And he said, Lord, I want to regain my sight. And Jesus said to him, receive your sight, your faith has made you well. And verse 43, immediately, he regained his sight, and began following him, glorifying God. And when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God. Look at that verse just one more time. When it happened, the first thing he does is follow Jesus. And the second thing that happens is, is joy, he starts glorifying God, and his his his praise right there, when he receives his sight, that praise that he gives, all of a sudden, when the people saw it, it infected them. It's amazing. When you start praising, watch the people next to you. It's incredible. It's hard to it's it's interesting to watch sometimes from our standpoint, when people are out there worshiping, because there is there is a there is people that will sit in your church with their hands in the pocket and just stare at the screen. And then but it's always fun to watch when you have people next to them that are really worshiping next to them. And as they're going, and I've watched people get infected with praise. I've watched people from hands in their pocket, to then they just go to clapping, and then maybe even get a little bold, and then the hand will go up and right back down. But I'm telling you, I've watched people get infected with praise, that man praise, everybody started to praise. So if you're if you're sitting on a quiet row, just tell them get ready, because we're about to praise him in a second. Bartimaeus, the Bible says at verse 43, began following him. Look, would you look at that verse one more time? Verse 43. He regained his sight and began following him. Here's the question, where was Jesus going? Well, it's the very next verse, which opens up the next chapter. Where was Jesus going? Look at verse one. He entered Jericho. This man was at the gate of Jericho, and now Jesus is about to walk in. His greeting party, the welcoming group at the gate, was a blind man with a cup, asking for alms, asking

for money. And now, he didn't get money, he got his sight back. He got a miracle. So I believe this man was now about to go into his city. The once blind man, Bartimaeus, is going to go into Jericho, and maybe he's thinking, I've got to go see my children. I've got to go see my wife and tell her what has happened to me today. This blind man who was just outside of the city, and his family was probably in the city. Because a man, a woman that has experienced a miracle, has to tell somebody. They have to say, let me tell you what has taken place. I was blind, but now I see. I was dead, but now I'm alive. Hallelujah. And I, now here comes my supposition that I think could be true. As this man is going down the street, and now his ears, who had to be super sensitive to what was going on, now he's putting faces to voices. He is now beginning to put streets and shops and places that maybe he would feel. Now he could see them. He can see where things were, what he would sense with his smell. He would now go, that's who that is. They're selling this. They're preparing this kind of food. This house is preparing this. Now his scent, his ears, are now... and his touch are now beginning to have sight added to it. And the whole world is becoming alive to him. I can see him still glorifying Jesus, glorifying God, as this man has a pep in his step on his way to go tell his family. And can you imagine, as he's walking by, just singing and glorifying God, some man looks at him and says, Bartimaeus, is that you? And all of a sudden, Bartimaeus turns around and he says, I thought it was you. He said, I can't believe my eyes. What's happened? You see now. Where's the cane?

Where's the cup? Where's the beggar garment that you used to wear? And all of a sudden, it is Bartimaeus going, it's gone, Jesus healed me. I have to just pause here for a second. The one o'clock service is crazy. You guys, you guys seem to say, if I can just get a couple more hours of sleep, I'm coming in locked and loaded today. And all of a sudden, it's Bartimaeus going, he had mercy on me, touched me, and gave me my sight. He said, and he's now, he's in Jericho. And all of a sudden, I can see Zacchaeus, this man going, is he nearby? He just walked through the gate. Well, I want to see him, Bartimaeus. I've been wanting, I've been hearing about him. And all of a sudden, and maybe, just maybe, our character in chapter 19, Zacchaeus, the hated man, the traitor, the tax collector, all of a sudden starts running to the commotion that he sees, and all of a sudden, he realizes that as he's running there, he can't see him, not only due to the crowds, but the Bible tells us, for some reason, it's gonna tell us that this man was short in stature. So here's a man trying to see, no one's gonna let him through because they hate him. So no one's gonna move out of the way. There's not an excuse he can make

that someone's gonna move and show him a politeness. But this is a man that is kept at bay. It's the only power that they have is to say, you can't get by us. So here's a man not even having the height to get on his tippy toes to see if it was Jesus. He doesn't stand a chance. And the Bible story that we're gonna read says he climbs up into a sycamore tree. And while he is there, he's thinking, maybe I can get a view. Maybe I can both hide myself, but still get a view of who this Jesus is. See, keep this in mind. I believe they knew each other. I believe, or there was the possibility that they knew each other. For this reason, Jericho, ancient Jericho that we read about of the first century, it's not a big city. They said maybe 2,000 people. Maybe 2,000 people were there. It is not this busting metropolis. It is a city that probably people knew, neighbors knew each other. And I have to believe that maybe even Zacchaeus, the tax collector, the hated man, knew the cursed man. Because maybe he would put some coins in his cup to try to relieve himself of the guilt,

to try to soothe his conscience. And so maybe he began to do that and was familiar with them. I was thinking about this even between service. I was talking to a young lady that was up here from Dallas, Texas. This young lady that got saved in our service just last year as she was visiting, working for a financial firm, this lawyer, and she was telling me the story. She said, I showed up at service. She said, you have to understand, people have been telling me about Jesus, but I wasn't interested. She says, I am a practicing Hindu. She said, every morning. She says, and I was a devout Hindu. Every morning I woke up with pictures and I would pray to my 5,000 gods every single morning. She said, but people were telling me about Jesus. And she said this. She said, my response was always this. They would say, you need to know Jesus. And she would say this. She says, yes, you're Jesus. She said, I was very respectful. Your Jesus is great, but my God is older than your Jesus is what she would say. But she has never encountered the resurrected Jesus until last spring when she showed up at church. And it was on that moment, like Bartimaeus,

her eyes opened up and she saw the resurrected Jesus. Like God got a hold of her. And we were praying for her and she just said, she says, pray that my family, my family who are devout Hindus, pray that they would know God. And I looked at her and I said, I want you to listen to me. I said, you're gonna be like Bartimaeus. You tell them. And right now they're gonna be on tiptoes and they're gonna go into trees to try to see who this Jesus is. But I'm telling you, Jesus can get a hold of them as he has gotten a hold of you. Well, that's exactly what happened. As Bartimaeus is beginning to come into town with Jesus, glorifying God, an infectious praise that is now built, and now everybody is wondering what's going on. Let me read to you the story. He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector. And he was rich. Zacchaeus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd. And he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead, climbed into a sycamore tree in order to see him, for he was about to pass through that way.

And he didn't want to miss Jesus. Verse five, when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house. And he hurried and came down and received him gladly. And one version says, joyfully. And when they sought, they all began to grumble, saying, he's gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. It's amazing to me. They're telling Zacchaeus to be quiet. They're telling Bartimaeus to be quiet. Now they're yelling at Jesus because he's inviting, in a sense, traitors to have dinner with him. Everybody seems to be against Jesus, but everybody who comes to Jesus seems to get changed. I'm just telling you, here's a thought for you. Hang out with Jesus. Everybody has an opinion. Ah, you shouldn't sing, you shouldn't say this, you shouldn't. Go with Jesus. Here's what happens. He's gone to be the guest of a sinner. Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, behold, Lord, half of my possessions I'll give to the poor. If I've defrauded anyone of anything, I'll give back four times as much. And Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek

and to save that which was lost. That's the mission of Jesus. The tax collectors considered the worst. The traitors of the Jewish culture. To call somebody a tax collector, you couldn't call them a worse name. Like, if I was to try to think of a name that I wouldn't even bring up today, but if I was to think of the worst name or the worst thing you could say to somebody, this was it. I don't even know what we would associate it with today. But there are things that, if you say to someone, yes, it would hurt, yes, it would begin to evoke emotion, but this, man, this was hard. As I thought about it, the Bible says he wasn't just a tax collector, he was the chief. So whatever you said, this man was at the top of the list of the worst. Did you get that? Top of the list of the worst. It must have been a strange sight to see a rich man, a rich man climbing a tree like a boy, hiding amongst the leaves, so he thought nobody would see him. So he was hoping that the Jews wouldn't see him because of their animosity towards him. But then, but this curiosity, this thought of maybe, just maybe, I can see Jesus, and maybe something can happen to me, probably not knowing what could happen to him, but maybe something can happen to me that happened to Bartimaeus.

Though I'm not blind, I need a change in my heart. And then the key verse came, verse 5. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house. I love those words. Every word is packed with power. Packed with power. He looked up. He said the name Zacchaeus. Hurry down, come down. Today I must stay at your house. I kept looking at these phrases and how important they were for a man who was trying to come in incognito and be unnoticed, that my goodness, you couldn't have packed more words here. Think about it. Jesus looked up. He looked up. What does that mean? Jesus noticed him. This, the Jesus of Luke 19 was acting like the Jesus, the shepherd, in Luke chapter 15, that would go after the one sheep and leave the 99. Jesus is walking in a sense with the 99 in the crowd, looks up into the tree and sees the one sheep that's there. The sheep, always remember this, sheep don't find the shepherd, the shepherd finds the sheep.

And here's what's so important, and it's the shepherd who rejoices. People talk of finding Christ. Can I just help you? Christ was never lost. You never found him. He has found you. And you just finally acknowledged it. And then he said his name, Zacchaeus. This is always amazing to me. It looks like Jesus is about to walk by, stops, and says his name. Can you imagine Zacchaeus? How does he know me? How does he even know my name? I've never told him who told him I was there. I've never introduced myself Always remember this he knows your name. He knows who you are He knows where you are hiding He knows what you're covering up and you don't need to hide from him You just need to submit to him, but listen carefully listen closely Open your ears and be attentive He may just be calling your name today and not only does he call it He gives him a command and says hurry. Oh, but I think of Proverbs 27 one It says do not boast about tomorrow For you do not know what a day may bring if he's calling you now hurry do it now Don't put Jesus off Listen, I think of the words of the great English preacher Spurgeon who said tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow Alas tomorrow never comes it is in the calendar of fools Come down Jesus says folks. Can I just tell you you will never meet Jesus from a high place You have to humble yourself and come down and the humility starts with this I am a sinner that needs a Savior and then finally Jesus says today today

Salvation has come today. It is coming to your house. And then Jesus says I must I must stay with you I must come it's the must it's the urgency. It's the it's the necessity of salvation You must be born again Now it didn't take long for the chief tax collector to have a change in his life Zacchaeus was converted between between the branch and the ground something happened to this man from the branch to the ground That's how effective Salvation is and then when it happened verse 6 is amazing So he hurried came down and received him joyfully. That's the word joyfully That's the word joyfully When you encounter Jesus you discover joy I'm just telling you when you find Jesus you find joy for the very first time Because you've heard your name in your soul You've heard him speak to you joy comes when heaven speaks joy is inevitable When you encounter Jesus joy is close behind Joy is the result of the presence of Jesus Joy is the result of the words of Jesus Joy follows a God encounter Always remember this in your presence there is fullness of joy Hallelujah And when Jesus is not present then joy must be manufactured I have been in places that have better lights, better sanctuary, bigger sanctuary More people, more this, more instruments, bands, an orchestra And if there's no joy in the place then you're just singing songs I'm telling you friends joy doesn't come from a circus it comes from the presence of Jesus There are people today trying to manufacture hand claps They're coming in on cables from the ceiling They're bringing in motorcycles and Harleys They're showing up with live animals I'm telling you that doesn't bring joy Jesus brings joy

Mark it down That if you don't have joy I've watched it, we've tried I'm speaking to the American church They've tried everything They figured they would caffeine you up Put lattes in the hallway And come in with a latte And all of a sudden if we can get you caffeine Then you'll get excited No, no, no, no That doesn't come that way It's his presence that brings fullness of joy It's Jesus' presence that comes A joyful church has the presence of Jesus Because joy follows God So let me say this There is a verse that I want to speak to you King James will use the word quicken The new American standard uses the word revive Revive us Quicken, revive I want to talk to you about revival for just a moment I want to give you a verse and a couple thoughts here I see, I'm reading through As I'm reading through the Psalms I see these words revive us, revive us, revive us Let me explain what revive is Revival Revival is like a spiritual defibrillator

It delivers that shock to the heart To reset its rhythm Restoring its normal heartbeat When revival comes It's like those paddles on our soul That says beat again Beat again for the things that really matter The things There's something here As I was reading through this verse Let me read it to you Psalm 85, 6 Don't miss this The psalmist says Will you not yourself revive us? There it is Those are the paddles Revive us Here's what it says He says, again, that your people may rejoice in you. Look at, keep those words on the screen please for a moment. You know what he says? That word again means we lost something. We lost a heartbeat. We lost something. That the word doesn't make our hearts beat as we discover who God is. That when we start to sing songs, that something inside of us would allow us to spectate but not worship him.

We don't have a worship that infects others, that begins to stimulate others and the others look and go, man, I wanna be that way. I wanna look that way. There are some people that their face has, or let me put it this way. I think that someone said it like this. Their heart has forgot to inform their face that it's been forgiven. Let me say that again because some of you just missed it because I'm hoping to shock you. That some of you sit here and your heart has forgot to inform your face. It's clean, forgiven, and set free. God lives inside of your heart. And something in us needs that defibrillator that begins to set it beating again. Will you not yourself? That's God doing the work. Not me. Not the music. Not a denomination. Not your theology stance. It's God coming down and saying, beat again with the things that really matter. Four times in that verse, look at it. Will you not yourself revive us again that your people may rejoice in who? You. Four times.

Not in songs. Not in preaching. Not in sermons. Not in nonsense. But in your presence. It's God getting our hearts to beat the right way again. To beat for the right things again. There are people that are sitting here, your heart beats more for NFL playoffs this weekend. About to trip over this. I bind you, Satan. Here it is. When it's all said and done, who cares? Whether they win or lose, some of you going, oh, Buffalo, Buffalo, Buffalo. It's New York. We always lose. Who cares? Here's the thing I keep remembering. When I'm watching something or looking at a sport of it, when you're looking at the, let me speak to New York Knicks or the Nets or the Giants or the, whatever it is. Let me just help you. When it's all said and done, if they do win, have they healed you? Have they paid your bills? Have they set you free? Have they broken an addiction in your life?

Do they bring you more sadness than joy? Yes. I want you to understand. I want my heart beating for the right things. I wanna be excited for the right things again. The psalmist is telling us, it's a revival, then it's rejoicing. It's revival and then it's a rejoicing. Our team, I was thinking of the story. Our team, during the Christmas on Broadway last month, invited, they were on the streets inviting people. And I was told the story. They invited a Jewish woman to the Christmas on Broadway and they knew she was Jewish because she said, why would I go? I'm Jewish. Why would I go to see this? And then our team just masterfully said, well, Jesus was Jewish. And she said, I'll come. She came, got saved, and like Bartimaeus, went back. I'm just reading to you what I was sent to me. Like Bartimaeus, went back to our booth that was on the streets inviting people in between services. And these were the words. I just watched TSC on Broadway. Greatest inspirational singing and acting, extraordinary, sensational. The message that Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior deeply touched and changed my Jewish heart.

Only God can do that kind of thing. Revive us again, revive us again. He said, set heaven against my heart to beat for the right things again. What is revival? I kept thinking about that. What is revival? What is, and not simply an event on a calendar, not past or present. This is what I just wrote down in my own notes. I wanna just read it to you. I think revival is this heightened awareness of heaven on earth. God is moving. It's a new sensitivity that God is present. God is with us. It's everything about us is going, we sense God, we feel God, we know God is here. the word God has revived my heart that I'm now reading the word going I sense him here there have been moments I've read his word and I felt something deep inside that's what happens when you start to sing a song and you start to cry God's reviving he's setting your heartbeat back he's helping it to beat the right way for the right things some of you have walked into this place and you've been so far away from God and you're going why can't why am I crying I didn't even do anything I've walked in here and I just start crying I've heard this story what is it God is setting your heart to beat again something is beating inside of you it's your soul that's starting to beat not your physical heart but the heart of your soul is starting to beat for what it was meant to beat for and that was for Jesus himself a revival is a heightened awareness of heaven on earth it's a new sensitivity that God is here and I just

jotted down these thoughts let me just give them tea and then we'll close here it is a revived heart has a heightened awareness to the Holy Spirit that he's speaking he's present he's directing I just received this letter two weeks ago in my office let me read it to you it says thank you pastor Tim and TSC my wife and I are foster parents we recently received a sibling set of three children and we also have four of our own biological and adopted bringing the total to our family to seven kids how many can say help them Jesus he said a few nights ago the children were restless and wouldn't settle down for bed I was starting to feel frustrated instead of reacting out of that frustration it was as if the Holy Spirit began to guide him the Holy Spirit it was like this awareness of what to do he said what I decided and sense to do is I decided to play one of the TSC sermons to these restless kids can I just stop here and say that is not what my dad would have done anybody with me know what I'm talking about we had a thing called the wooden spoon anybody know what the wooden spoon was we weren't my dad wasn't playing a sermon he was going he says this is what he would say you're crying I'm gonna give you something to really cry about how many know that language I just okay this man is spirit led I'm just telling you right now he said so I decided to play one of your sermons almost immediately the room became quiet the children began listening to me and I honestly couldn't believe the change the next night as we got ready for bed one of the girls said hey can you play the guy from New York City again and she said I want to hear the man from New York City talk about Jesus he said most children in the foster system don't come from Christian homes they come from very hard places I just want to thank Times Square Church for helping me share the gospel in our home for being part of being bringing peace to our children at the end of the day God bless you Times Square Church folks that's an awareness of the Holy Spirit no one comes up with it you don't come up with that kids are crying play a sermon that doesn't even make sense but that's what though sometimes the Holy Spirit would if you just listen he'll guide us how does that happen revive my heart revive my heart to be sensitive to

the things of God to the things of heaven and I want I want whatever the Holy Spirit has number two a revived heart has a heightened awareness to sins destructiveness we don't want to compromise we see it now we see what it is doing that a heart that is revived and it's beating for the right things understands that before it was revived my heart was beating for the wrong things it was it was out of whack that the heartbeat was off wrong things were exciting me and this is where the the revived heart now begins to realize don't do they'll still begin to sense don't do this do this we used to call it this I want to give you some old old upbringing language that we used to hear we used to say something like this I feel a check in my spirits anybody hear those words before that's that's a heightened awareness it what God is doing when he revives your heart he's saying this if you were to take this in it's gonna set the heartbeat going off it's going to hurt the heartbeat it's gonna begin to affect you you take in this diet you eat too much of this I'm talking about spiritually now you begin to do that it will it will affect you at this moment this is the spirits conviction I was sent an email from our online leaders of a story of one of the of a conversion of somebody who got saved watching online I'll use her name as Sharon it's not her real name but they sent me the story they said we just want to remind you of what God is doing and Sharon was was discovered TSC online she was a former prostitute drug addict but here's the incredible thing God revived her heart. She was a drug addict and a prostitute, and she is now attending Summit School of Ministry. It is an absolute miracle. They wrote to me and said she was one of the people who typed decided on YouTube chat, and she joined us on our Zoom room after the service when you said go to the Zoom room or to wait there, and our team will bring her.

And this young lady, he says, I remember, our leader said, I remember the genuineness of her decision. Tears were flowing down like she had a water faucet. And he said, I will never forget what God has done in that young lady's life. Let me just read to you a little bit of her story, how the Bartimaeus eyes opened up, how the Zacchaeus work of God, when she tuned in, that it was hurry, come down, today salvation is coming to your house. That's what happened to this young lady. She wrote and she said this, my God has brought me out of so much. I was a prostitute for many years. I was introduced to it by a lifestyle from a man that I thought loved me. I was just 20 years old at that time when it happened. I would work my legal job by day and I would prostitute by night. Many times I was so addicted to the fast money that I would quit my jobs in the healthcare field only to become a full-time worker. I traveled from state to state seeking attention and money from men. And she said I had been depressed and my mental state has declined so much. Listen to this, church. Weeks before I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, I was ready to die. The devil wanted me bad.

I would literally be at home. This is the part that just moved my heart. I would literally be at home with my gun loaded in my hand, but God never let me pull the trigger. God never let me pull the trigger. Because Jesus was about to pass by and he would do it online. I accepted Jesus Christ in August of this year and I've not looked back. I've been trying to quit the lifestyle on my own for so many years. And the minute I surrendered my life to Christ was the last time I ever prostituted again. The moment I accepted Christ. Listen to this. I literally had men texting me days after I turned, that I became a Christian. I turned everything down. I texted everyone that sent me an email that I accepted Jesus as my Lord and savior and I would no longer be in the business any longer at this point. She said this. The devil has tried to throw things my way, but I have God's strength. I've declined it all. When I say God's hand is on me, I truly believe it. I can't even explain the peace I have these days. I could not even hear my own thoughts at one point. It literally just felt like there was always a dark cloud

even though the sun was shining. God has shown me what true love feels like, what true love looks like. He has taken away my anxiety and brought me joy. The feeling is better than anything I've imagined. And then she just wrote this. God is good. God is faithful. And I love him so much. Hallelujah. That's what God does. This heightened awareness that I don't want my heart to get off rhythm with those old things anymore. It's this compromise that wants to bring you in and throw the heartbeat off again. When God saves you, your heart is beating again for the right things. And finally, let me close with this as the musicians come. A revived heart has a heightened awareness to the voice of God. You'll hear his voice. You'll begin to hear whether through the word or through a message or through someone's encouragement. I struggled to tell you this story, but I want to tell it to you. The more I began to realize that the Lord did this. What a powerful time we had yesterday. I had the opportunity to be with our team. We had a volunteer banquet, a volunteer leader's banquet. Sibi and that whole team have just done a tremendous job

to see those that have just given themselves to serving. Can I just remind you? I really want to just throw out a challenge. God has created you to be on that playing field. God has not created you to be in the stands. God created you to put on that jersey, to put on those pads and do something for God. So I want to encourage you. When I looked at those volunteers, I'm telling you my heart just leapt within me to see these people that have committed so much to seeing whether it's working with children, greeting you at the door, taking an offering, secure, whatever that meant. Online, I mean, the stories that I read online comes from all of you that are working with us from all over the world. Thank you. But you can volunteer if you're online. But there's just something so special about that. And I want to thank our teams for doing that. So let me tell you what happened. So I had the chance, myself, Elder Jerry, we had the chance to talk to the team. It was such a special time. So I didn't stay long because I was going home. and they were serving lunch, and when I got home, I didn't stay for lunch, but I was hungry. And the worst thing you can do when you're hungry is look at pictures of food.

Anybody ever notice that? It's like, in New York, pictures of food. I was, so I'm looking at pictures, and I found, man, I saw the best cakes in New York City, and I just go, these are the cakes, wow. I love cake, I'm just telling you right now. And it said, this place has the best strawberry shortcake in all of New York City. And I'm just going, it's snowing, and what a great day to eat cake. That's what I thought. So I went in to talk to my girls. I said to them, and let me just say this, they were no help whatsoever, they were no help. Because I came in, I'm going, hey guys, I found this cake place. And instead of them going, no, let's eat healthy, they're going, woo, yeah, let's do it. And I just thought, so I just said, nah, let's not do it. We probably shouldn't do it. So I go back in, and they can tell you, my youngest could tell you this. I came back out, and I just said this. I said, I feel, and I felt it was hunger. I just said, I feel like we're supposed to order this cake. And listen, full disclosure, it was not the Holy Spirit. It was me that was just saying this. I wanted to try, the picture looked too good. So I just said, let's get cake. So I ordered it.

Three different pieces of this stuff that we did. And I'm just telling you, I couldn't wait to see that cake come. And we were waiting for it, and I'm just, but here's what I didn't know. That that feeling that I had, I'm not trying to be silly here. It was God, and let me tell you why. So we're sitting here. I find out that the guy's at the door with the cake. I am elated at this point. And so I open up the door, and he's standing there with this box. And as soon as he sees me, he goes, Times Square Church. Folks, I am telling you, he goes, pray for me. I have been away from God, pray for me. Pray right now. And I'm going, I think I was supposed to order cake. I laid in, and he told me he was coming. I don't even know if Charles is here today. If Charles is, I just wanted to make sure. I said, Charles, you need to be in church. I just want to make sure he didn't sneak into the 10 or the one. He goes, I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm coming.

He goes, I'm coming. I'm coming to church. I'm coming. He said, and even when he's left the building, someone met him downstairs. They go, who is that cake guy who delivered? Like something is different on him. Like he saw something. And I'm telling you, folks, I didn't know that that feeling, I thought it was hunger. It was God that was speaking to say, order the cake. And when that guy came up, we prayed in that hallway. We asked God to come down and change Charles and to work a miracle inside of him. I think what happens when you ask God to revive your heart, there's good sometimes, he may not know if it's hunger and cake or if it's God, but God will help get it right. God will help do that. God began to use a silly situation and say, I am going to begin to show you that maybe, I can take this cake thing that you wanted and get a guy back to the Lord. Of all the people that would deliver on this day, Charles would deliver and show up and God would begin to touch his heart to start a journey back to God today. Only God can do that. And folks, you know what took place?

I felt God telling me, like it was almost like putting that defibrillator and just going like, let me just jumpstart your heart again. Don't, just know that your heart's gonna beat again. Listen to my voice. Don't take things for granted. It's my voice that's coming. Listen to me. Let the heightened awareness. It's God beginning to set the heartbeat right again. To set our heartbeat. Revive me, God. Revive us, oh God. Revive us that we may rejoice in you. In you that we may rejoice. You know, I was trying, stand with me. I'm done. I wanna tell you something. I wanna take you back. Is Mama May here? We kicked her out, not kicked her out, we shut the choir down. Is Mama May in this place? I just wanna be, there she is, Mama May, come on up. Come on up. I had this old song. my heart this weekend and I said, I said, send it to Willie and get Mama Mae and Elder Vicki. And here's what I do know. I know three people will know every one of these old songs, her, her, and him. Those are the three. And most of the times, even Kareem. Those are the ones I'm going. And as I was going, God, revive my heart. Let it beat again. Open up the heavens.

Come down. Remember what he says. Let me, let me read it to you again. Psalm 85, six, listen to the words. He says this, will you not? And then he emphasized it yourself. Revive us again. He says, will not you there's so let me help you. There's no sermon or song that revives the heart. It's him. It's him. He says, will not you yourself revive us again? It is when, when we leave Jesus out, listen, preachers, ministers, there's nothing you can do. I can do. There's no song we can sing that gets the heart beating again. It is an encounter with Jesus. That's what happens. It's when God opens up the heavens and shows up, puts those paddles on that spiritual heart and say, beat for the right things again, beat for the things that matter, beat for eternity, beat for the word of God, beat for lost souls, beat for the kingdom of God, beat for the gifts of the Holy ghost, beat for the things that would begin to bring heaven down in this place, beat for prayer and fasting again. That's what God does. And that's what I started to pray. You yourself, you yourself will not yourself revive us again. Will not yourself revive us again. And as I kept doing that, I sat down at my desk and I just started to sing this old song. I'll read it to you. And then I want, we're going to teach it to you. Have this sense. They're going to sing it better than the 10 o'clock. I do. I have a sense you will, because you, this is the, this is the you're out there. You live like just the old song. I used to hear this in the nineties at this church, this very stage. It says the windows of heaven are open. The fire is falling tonight. I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul since Jesus made everything right. And here's the part I love. And here's the part I love. I gave him my old filthy garments. He gave me a robe of pure right white. Now I'm feasting on manna from heaven. And that's why I'm happy tonight. Now you've got to get this right. Listen, you bet you're going to have to clap, right? You're going to have to sing, right? You're going to have to sing loud. And so I'm going to need some help on this. Can you, can you help us on this? Come on, let's let, this is how the song goes. Come on. The windows of heaven, the windows of heaven are open. The fire is falling tonight. I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul since Jesus made everything right. I gave him my old filthy garments. And he gave me a robe of pure white. I'm feasting on manna from heaven. That's why I'm happy tonight. I had higher hopes. Okay. You guys don't know how to clap. Okay. So let me just help. Okay. Okay. You're going to hear it. You just play that, play that, play that. It's going to go. There you go. And it goes like this. Here it goes.

The windows of heaven are open. The fire is falling tonight. I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul since Jesus made everything right. I gave him my old filthy garment. And he gave me a robe of pure white. I'm feasting on manna from heaven. And that's why I'm happy tonight. That's why I'm happy. That's why I'm happy. That's why I'm happy tonight. I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul. ♪ Since Jesus made everything right ♪ ♪ I gave Him my all, filthy garments ♪ ♪ And He gave me a robe of pure white ♪ ♪ I'm feasting on heaven from heaven ♪ ♪ And that's why I'm open to heaven ♪ ♪ You know the windows of heaven are open ♪ ♪ The fire is falling tonight ♪ ♪ I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul ♪ ♪ Since Jesus made everything right ♪ ♪ I gave Him my all, filthy garments ♪ ♪ And He gave me a robe of pure white ♪ ♪ I'm feasting on manna from heaven ♪ ♪ And that's why I'm happy tonight ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy, that's why I'm happy ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy tonight ♪ ♪ I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul ♪ ♪ Since Jesus made everything right ♪ ♪ I gave Him my all, filthy garments ♪ ♪ And He gave me a robe of pure white ♪ ♪ I'm feasting on manna from heaven ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy tonight ♪ Hallelujah! Folks, if Jesus is here, joy comes next. That's why, listen, some of you are going like, then why are you saying happy?

You always get people that are gonna nitpick. Then why are you saying happy? How come I'm not saying? You said happy and joy, because when you can have happiness and joy at the same time when things are going good, but when things are going bad, happiness leaves, joy stays put. Happy is the emotion part. Joy is what's deep down in the soul. Joy is what goes through the fire. That's why, folks, I'm telling you that for some of you, God has to set that heart beating again, that heart beating again, that you can begin. We were talking about one of the things that I love that Ricardo does. He'll always sit there and say, say hallelujah! Some of you are going like, I'm not saying hallelujah no more. He says it too many times. Let me tell you something. That word is so important, because that word in the New Testament is only used in one book, and it's the book of Revelation. It's the word of heaven. Heaven says hallelujah. And some of you are sitting there going like, I'm tired of saying hallelujah. Well, you better get ready.

Then you don't want to go to heaven then, because that's going to be our main word. You're going to look at people going hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. You're going to look at the Lamb of God and go hallelujah! The Lamb of God, hallelujah, hallelujah! And I'm telling you, that's why let's throw up a hallelujah right now! Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Jesus! Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! Come on, you feel that heart beating again? Something is starting to take place. Let me ask you, we're going to do this. I know sometimes you have an altar call and you got to have like the somber music to get you down here. And so you walk down like it's a funeral. No, no, no, no, no. We're doing this different today. How many need that heart to beat again? How many needs the heart to beat again on some areas? Raise that hand high. Say, I need that defibrillator to come and God to make my heart beat. We're going to sing this song again. The windows of heaven are open. I believe it.

And I believe he's going to come and revive those hearts again. Revive it again. What does again mean? It means it was beating for the right thing at one time. And now he needs to get it beating again. And I believe he's going to do it. I believe that. If you're here, just quickly, balcony, main floor. As we sing this, we're going to sing with joy. You come, you come. Get out of your seat. Come down here quickly, as fast as you can. Let's sing this as they come. We're going to believe for it. Come on, the windows of heaven. The windows of heaven are open. The fire is calling tonight. I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul since Jesus made everything right. I gave him my all to become his. He gave me a new life. ♪ Open your eyes ♪ ♪ I'm kissing a man up from heaven ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy tonight ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy, that's why I'm happy ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy tonight ♪ ♪ I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul ♪ ♪ Since Jesus made everything right ♪ ♪ I gave Him my all, He'll think of me ♪

♪ And He gave me a role of pure love ♪ ♪ I'm feasting on man up from heaven ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy, that's why I'm happy ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy, that's why I'm happy ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy tonight ♪ ♪ I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul ♪ ♪ Since Jesus made everything right ♪ ♪ Oh, I gave Him my all, He'll think of me ♪ ♪ And He gave me a role of pure love ♪ ♪ I'm feasting on man up from heaven ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy, that's why I'm happy ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy, that's why I'm happy ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy tonight ♪ ♪ I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul ♪ ♪ Since Jesus made everything right ♪ ♪ Oh, I gave Him my all, He'll think of me ♪ ♪ And He gave me a role of pure love ♪ ♪ I'm feasting on man up from heaven ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy, that's why I'm happy ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy, that's why I'm happy ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy, that's why I'm happy ♪ ♪ Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Meredith, Meredith ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy, that's why I'm happy tonight ♪ ♪ I've got joy, joy, joy in my soul ♪ ♪ Jesus made everything right ♪

♪ I've been in my old filthy garment ♪ ♪ He gave me a roll of pure white ♪ ♪ We sing on under from Heaven ♪ ♪ That's why I'm happy tonight ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Thank you, Chief! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Yes! Those that disaltered, look at me for a second. Here's Psalm 85, 6. Psalm 85, 6. Will not you yourself revive us again? Will not you yourself. What does that mean? The heart was beating for the right things at one point. And the intake, the spiritual intake, messed up the beat. It messed it up. And now we're beating for certain other things. I want to get rich, I want to get this. And listen, it doesn't mean that God's blessing doesn't come, but it's not the priority of the heartbeat. The priority is to go, I am in love with God.

I am in love with the Word of God. It's the heartbeat that begins to come back again. So he says this, will not you yourself revive us again? He revives us. And so I want you to do this. We're going to do this. Take those, let's pretend these are the defibrillator. Put those over the heart. And I just want to pray for you. God, let the heart beat again. Let the heart beat again, God. Father, our hands are over our heart only as a symbol. We can't get it beating on our own, but you can. Father, I pray that, Lord, you would open up the heart. The windows of heaven stretch down and get our hearts beating for the right things again Beating for the right things let the right things begin to bring joy joy God father I thank you that joy always follows The presence of God joy is always there you took a hated man You took a cursed man, and they started to infect others Homes started to be changed People started to praise Something started to happen God. I I look at the Bartimaeus is in the Zacchaeus is and God I'm going something happened, and I'm saying it can happen today today in this place So God I'm praying let the heart beat again the heart beat again Oh God revive us come on ask him to revive me say revive me. Oh Lord revive me. Oh Lord Let our hearts beat for the right things again Revive us so Lord You know let me let me just say this When I think of Zacchaeus and I think of Bartimaeus think about it the cursed and the hated the cursed and the hated the cursed And they hated this cursed man his

his Discovery of Jesus infected others so his joy got like we said got everybody else praising Everybody else praising there's some of you that that we want to be careful When you think of when God touches us and joy comes I want to I want to be around joyful people Can I just tell you that I want to be around joyful people Look at the person X's here you joyful ask him that say are you joyful and say if and look at the look at them And say if you're not we can't hang out anymore tell him that right now If you're not we can't hang out anymore I don't want to look like them. I want to look like joy. I want to I want joy inside of me Let me tell you this and then think of Zacchaeus think of Zacchaeus the the traitor the hated man His home was going to be changed That so you have one man infecting everybody with praise the other man his home is about to be changed This is what Jesus said today salvation has come to your house How many need a salvation in your home come on how many need that lift those hands and say God revive my home revive my home Revive my home revive my home Revive my home let the heart beat again to my children my grandchildren Lord I'm praying for mom and dad grandpa and grandma Let the heart beat again for the things of God revive our homes today. Oh God Hallelujah and Here's how we're gonna end today I can't leave without even just asking you you may be here today And maybe you've never discovered Jesus, and I'm here to tell you you find Jesus everything changes not this church There's not a denomination. I'm inviting you to a relationship with you if you're here today The windows of heaven are open. He's he's calling your name today The the the greatest term that Jesus uses of that heart change is to be born again It's a second chance. It's another chance Today can be as you have it a first birth today is a second birth date It's when God comes in and changes you from the inside out that can happen right now And I'm telling you you have searched for joy you have searched for it, and you've not found it, but I'm telling you to discover Jesus joy comes next

You're going after the wrong thing you're going after that you're going after the wrong part go after Jesus joy comes Homes are changed lives are changed Everything's changed if you're here today balcony main floor watching online. You just go and I Need Jesus in my life. I need him in my life Would you pray for me pastor Tim wherever you're at if that's you just very quickly raise your hand say I just pray for me I need God in my life hold your hand up as high as you can yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes Yes, balcony. Let me see but yes. Yes. Yes. Oh in fact. Thank you online Just stay put come on pray this with me for everybody everybody out. That's a Jesus. I Need you I? Thank you. I heard my name You're saying come down Today, I must come to your house Salvation come to my house I believe Jesus died for me I believe Jesus rose for me I Believe Jesus is coming for me today. I receive him Amen hallelujah So here's what I'm gonna ask you to do. We're gonna close Service today with this song and here's what's gonna happen, but if you made that decision online You can just email decided to growth at TSC dot NYC in person you can text it Or you can go right over to exit 7, where those wonderful ladies are waiting. We're gonna get you, take 5 minutes with you, get your Bible, get whatever you need, and to get you started. But I want us to leave this place with joy today. I want you to move people away from you and get your hands ready for praising. Here's what's gonna happen. We're gonna sing this while the curtain is coming down. Our prayer teams will be over there.

They're gonna be happy. They're gonna pray with you with joy upon them. But if you need special prayer, but come on, let's sing this one more time. Come on, Mamma Mia!