The Curse is Broken

It's the moment where everything in turns Didn't think I would see it, was hard to believe Heaven crashed as you were I've read the stories of all that you've done Parted the sea and set captives free Never thought I'd be the one But I am a living, breathing, walking testimony I am the living proof of what the Lord has done They call me crazy but they can't take away my story Cause I am a living, breathing, walking testimony Some said I wouldn't make it, that I should give up But they didn't know that the God that I serve is more than enough He can move mountains, He can make broken beautiful And then I run out of hope when I run to the God of miracles I am a living, breathing, walking testimony I am the living proof of what the Lord has done They call me crazy but they can't take away my story Cause I am a living, breathing, walking testimony Look what the Lord has done Every enemy did what he could But my Lord, He has used it for good Look what the Lord has done When the thief tried to steal and destroy The Lord gave me a life of joy I am a living, breathing, walking testimony I am the living proof of what the Lord has done Look what the Lord has done They call me crazy but they can't take away my story Cause I am a living, breathing, walking testimony I am a living, breathing, walking testimony Let's look what the Lord has done Look what the Lord has done Every enemy did what he could But my Lord, He has used it for good

Look what the Lord has done When the thief tried to steal and destroy The Lord gave me a life of joy I am a living, breathing, walking testimony I am the living proof of what the Lord has done They call me crazy but they can't take away my story Give it the word, I'll take it. I am a living, breathing, walking chandelier. I am a living, breathing, walking chandelier. Yes, I am. I am a living, breathing, walking chandelier. I'm going to pray this morning. I just wanted Sandra here. She's not going to say anything unless she wants to. But I just wanted her here because we do this together. We've always done this together. Father, I thank you today that I can declare that I am a living, breathing, walking testimony. I want to thank you today for your loving kindness and your tender mercies. One generation has declared it to another generation that there is no God like our God. Lord, we held hands as we walked through the valley of the shadow of death, but you had your hand on both our shoulders. When we weren't where we were supposed to be, you led us right back on the path again. When we couldn't see a way out, we looked at you and you were indeed the door. When we were so deep, we thought it would never change.

The light of your face lit up the room and our lives again. I praise you, Lord. This is not a memorized prayer. This is coming from our bubbling hearts today. We're talking to a Jesus who is not only sitting on a throne, but he's walking up and down the aisles of this church. I thank you, Holy Spirit. Father God, I thank you for sending Jesus to find us. Father God, I thank you that you had a testimony for us before we were even conceived. Father, I thank you for sending Jesus. Jesus, our Savior and our elder brother. Jesus, our intercessor, our healer. We praise you, Father, for Jesus. I praise you, Jesus, for the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, we worship you this morning. You're the one that brought us to Jesus. You're the one that helped us kneel at the foot of the cross. Holy Spirit, you have preserved us, protected us, guided us. Everything we know about Jesus, you taught us. I praise you today. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we bless you in this house. We are a thankful people, Lord. Oh, may it be far from us to think that we're just having a service and we go through perfunctory things. No, Lord, this is a family gathering. There are angels in this place today. The Holy Spirit is here today. You, risen Lord, are here today. Father God, you're looking down on us right now.

I bless you. With everything that's inside of me, I bless you, Jesus Christ. Lord, look at the hands that are raised in this building. These are your people. Lord, you bought us with your precious blood. Look, Lord, look at these hands. You redeemed when we were so down. You reached way down and you picked us up. These very hands, I bless you today, Lord. Hear our cry, oh God, attend unto our prayer. From the ends of the earth will we cry unto you. And when our hearts are overwhelmed, lead us to the rock that is higher. Hallelujah. Praise the living God. Hallelujah. Bless you, baby. You can be seated. Praise God. Praise God. I'll be preaching two messages today. I had one of those Fourth Watch of the Night experiences last night, 345. I've described it before, it's a panic mode, you can't breathe, you don't know what you're going to do. And the Lord spoke to me about some things. So today, I'll be preaching two messages. I'm first going to be an evangelist. And then I'm going to shepherd the flock. I have an urgency about me. I told the early crowd, I was with some friends the other night in the ministry. And one of them said, you know, so and so says, Loran always preaches like everybody's lost. And everybody laughed and I did too.

I wonder what he meant by that. What did he mean by that? And I still don't really know what he meant by that. But I guess that's the way I preach. I can't take any chances. See? When you and you and all of us are one heartbeat from eternity, who can afford to play? These are last day situations. And so when I preach like an evangelist, it is because it's urgent. Urgent, you see. Paul said, we're ambassadors for Christ and we beg you. This is after he preached to people. He told them about the cross and the saving grace of God. Then Paul said, I'm begging you. Be reconciled to God. Paul didn't think it was indecent or below him to get on his knees and beg people to be saved. Because once this life is over, you're in eternity. So I want to talk to somebody. Somebody is listening that needs Christ. Somebody somewhere. You know, I'm not mad about it. And again, I'm not poking fun at people. Every Easter, we have more than 1,000 extra people. Now, in the office and, you know, when we carry on and get ready for Easter, we're thinking 1,000 more people are coming. We didn't have that conversation this week. I'm just wondering, where are they today? Where are they today? Do people actually think that going to church on Easter amounts to anything?

If you don't know Christ, no amount of church attendance or good works gets you into the kingdom. It doesn't impress God. So I just wonder, because I'm a pastor and I stood up here last week and I saw the masses. And then they told me how many actually came. And it blew my mind. And I said, I wonder if they'll be here today. But I realize that we are in the last days. Don't you realize that? And I realize people have a form of godliness, but they really deny the power of it. So I'm going to stand here this morning and talk to you about a couple of guys who did exactly what they did. what people do who come to this church. One of them is named Felix. And in the 24th chapter of Acts, Paul is a prisoner, and this powerful politician named Felix had heard of Paul and said, I want to meet this guy. This guy that's just stirring up trouble everywhere he goes. Let me just begin here. After some days, when Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. He was saying, tell me about this thing you're preaching, this man you are declaring. So Paul did. Now here's humble Paul, mightier than anybody in the room at that time, standing before a pitiful politician. The Bible says, now as Paul reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, go away for now.

When I have a convenient time, I will call for you. There it is. So this guy brings Paul in and says, tell me. Just go ahead, tell me. And so Paul began to reason and discuss three things. One was righteousness. I'm sure he told Felix, Felix, you cannot get into heaven with your own works and your own righteousness. Only righteous people can go to heaven. Felix must have said, well, what do you mean by righteousness? Paul must have said, because he's reasoning with him, you see. Well, you see, no sin can enter heaven. And man does not have any goodness about him that would allow him to go to heaven. So to get to heaven, you need righteousness. What do you mean? Then what kind of righteousness are you talking about? God's righteousness, Felix. God has a gift called righteousness. And when you ask him by believing on him, he gives you his righteousness, and you are qualified to go to heaven. And Paul continued that conversation. But let me explain something to the church today. God does give the gift of righteousness. Nobody can ever earn it. But righteousness is not just an event at a moment. Righteousness is a lifestyle. Once he makes you righteous, you then

start pursuing righteousness. Once you are made holy, you start living holy. You hunger and thirst for righteousness. It's something inside, a drive, a craving inside of you that says, I want more of this God, this God that gave me this righteousness, this God who has accepted me. I want more of him. I want everything he has for me. I want to live a life worthy of him. So I denounce everything. I renounce all things that keep me from walking in the righteousness of God. Does everybody understand this? You don't just get saved and saunter off somewhere. Once you get saved and you realize you're righteous, then with all of your being, you go after him. You pursue him. You are never satisfied until you see him one day. So Felix said, all right, I've heard enough about that. Let's move on. Paul said, all right, then let's talk about self-control. Ah, that's a good subject for a crooked politician that doesn't have to answer to anybody, that can snap his fingers and have somebody thrown in jail, that can have as many women or men as he wants, who can eat any delicacy ever made, who can wear the finest clothes. Let's talk about self-control. Paul said, Felix, you can't have everything you want in life.

You can't say everything you want to say. You can't eat everything you want to eat. Your life must be bridled. There is a thing called self-control. And I say to the church, that is one of the fruits. of the Spirit of God. When you can control your body, you have power with God. When you control your tongue... You see, you can't blurt out retorts to everybody that insults you. You can't have a comeback. You can't outdo people. There's no such thing as one-upsmanship in the Kingdom of God. When they reviled Jesus, He didn't say a word. When the apostles were falsely accused, they didn't defend themselves. They left it up to God to defend them. And one of the fruit at the proofs of the Spirit of God inside of you is that you can control your mouth, your eyes, your body, and you realize you have to discipline yourself. Discipline. Beat your body. Bring it into subjection. This Gospel we preach, this Gospel we live

is a life that says, I want to please the Lord. How may I please Him in all that I do today? And as Paul was reasoning, Felix said, well, okay, move on, move on. Paul said, all right, let's talk about judgment. Judgment. Let's talk about judgment this morning. Everybody in this building and watching me online is going to face God in the judgment. We who have been saved have already had our sins judged. I will never be judged as a sinner for eternity because the blood of Jesus washed away my sinful nature, condition. I'm still fighting a sinful nature, but He gave me a new life. And I will never face God for the things I did in my past. But I'm gonna face Him for the life I'm living now. It will be an evaluation day. I'll have to give an account for my words, my deeds, my whole living. I'll have to answer to Him. I will not go to hell. I've already been saved. But it will determine where I fit into the kingdom of God in the government that God's gonna set up on this earth. Ladies and gentlemen, this is no small thing. You can't just say, I don't care about that.

Just give me a cabin in the corner of glory land. I just want to go to heaven. And Paul said, this thing is worth working for. Not working for salvation. Working for the glory of God. Having our works judged. It's worth it. Paul said, I've got crowns laid up for me, and I don't want anybody to take my crown. I'm sorry. I'm yelling. See, judgment day is coming. And for that person who, like Felix, you've heard it now. And we have people that have heard it for decades. They've never made a decision for Christ. Judgment day is coming. You may not be alive at 6 PM today. And here's the thing that drives me. See, when I first got saved, I didn't really understand the scriptures that deeply. I didn't understand the horrors of hell or the glories of heaven. But now that I've been a Christian and a student of scripture for so long, hell scares me. Not that I'm going there, but that you might go there. Heaven is the most indescribably wonderful place. You can't even imagine it. Nobody has the imagination to think about the joys of heaven. You'll have to have a new body when you get there

to even see it. And when you do, it'll take what little breath you got, and you'll fall on your face. And hell is just as horrible. You see, the thing about hell is that it could not be any worse. And there's no hope of ever getting out. Many times, the scariest thing about hell to me, flames, of course, darkness, worms, misery, screaming, but no hope. There's no hope of getting out. You know, if hell were for 1,000 years, you'd have hope. If hell were just for a million years, there's still hope. But hell is eternal. Who goes to hell? Those that do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior in their own heart. It's the easiest thing in the world to do is call on the name of the Lord which befuddles a guy like me because I don't know what you're waiting on. In fact, here I read it. When he talked about the judgment to come, Felix was afraid. I don't want to talk about judgment. You see, you got to talk about it. You have to understand this is real and it's going to happen and I'm standing here with God speaking through me saying to you, be reconciled to Christ. What are you putting it off for? I'm waiting for a more convenient time. I'll call you when it's more convenient. What could be more convenient than now? Today is the day of salvation. Things aren't going to get better. Your life's not going to get lined up.

You ain't going to get your ducks in a row. The check's not coming. You're not going to have the perfect lifestyle. You're not going to say, I finished all that. Now it's time to think about my soul. It's never going to happen. But today I stand before you and I tell you that there is a Jesus that reaches out His hand and says, come to me now. If you come to me, I will in no wise cast you out. I'll forgive you of every sin and you will be mine. A more convenient time. So I flip back over to the 17th chapter of Acts and Paul is standing at the Areopagus where everybody, where all the unemployed people went to talk. All the smart people, philosophers, astronomers and astrologers, professors and teachers. All they knew to do was just go and discuss stuff. He showed up there. He said, I noticed when I came up the path that you have a monument, an altar to the unknown God, because you think, well, maybe we missed one. We'll just make one to the unknown one. And Paul said, he's the one I've come to talk about. The one whom you worship without knowing him, I proclaim. Listen to this church. God who made the world and everything in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is he worshiped with men's hands as though he needed anything, since he gives to all life, breath and all things. Listen, sinner. God has been good to you. God's been good to you. Everything you have came from the good hand of God, sinner. He makes it rain on the just and the unjust.

He feeds the wicked as well as the righteous. God has let you live. God has blessed you. And that's what he meant when he said he gives to all life, breath and all things. And he has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings. God meant for you to be the color you are. God meant for you to be born where you were born. Your life was set up by God for one reason, so that at some time and some place, let it be today, Lord, they should seek the Lord in hope that they might grope for him and find him, though he is not far from every one of us. I don't care how low you are. You may be an addict of all the drugs. You may be the crookedest, crassest person in this building or watching me. You are not far from God. God is not far from you. The only distance is your mouth. All you have to do is call on the name of the Lord and the distance is closed. Truly these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. That's how you get in the kingdom. Listen folks, God designed, He called it the foolishness of preaching. Ha! God designed it so that head smart people and sophisticated people don't get it, because they're looking for knowledge. They're looking for logic. They certainly don't want to hear about a Jew who died on a cross with a crown of thorns on his head. They don't want that, but God said that's the method I've chosen. I will not impress you with the sun, moon, and the stars. I will not overwhelm you with all of my creation. What I will do is come to you and say, here is my son. He died for you. Will you believe on him? It's as simple as that. Paul said the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks want knowledge, but we preach Jesus Christ crucified. Hallelujah to God, and you won't get into heaven any other way. He has

commanded everybody to repent. Listen, repentance is when I realize I'm a sinner. The life I live is unpleasing to God. My eyes have been opened. I ask Christ in, and I make a hundred and eighty degree turn. I don't live the way I was living. I don't talk the way I was talking. I don't sin the way I was sinning. I don't keep on doing the things that nailed him to a cross. I repent. I stop being who I was, and I do it because of the power of the Holy Spirit in my life, and if you don't, you're not saved. He has appointed. Here it is. Why repent? Why all of this? Why am I up here making this noise? Because he has appointed a day. It's already on the calendar, sir. He has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man, that's Jesus, whom he has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead. That should have done it. Everybody on that hill in Athens should have fallen on their face and called on the name of the only true and living God, but here's what happened. When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. They mocked and said, here it is. We will hear you again on this matter later. Huh, putting it off, procrastinating. That's the spirit of Felix. It's in all of those people. Here it is. Some mocked, some procrastinated, so Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him and believed. Want me to just bring it down? Some people say, bring it home. Here it is. This message today will cause you to either mock, which means you'll say, I don't believe in all that foolishness. I don't need all of that. It will cause you to believe. You'll say, I believe Christ is the Son of God and I'm a sinner, or you will procrastinate. You'll say, I'll put it off. I know it's important. Don't bug me. Don't push me. I don't like to be pushed about spiritual things. It's a private matter. I'll do it in my own good time. How much good time do you have left? Did you hear me? Some will mock. I can't help you. Some will believe your life will be changed forever and some will procrastinate. Put it off again and again. Well, ladies and gentlemen, before I move into the second message, let me tell you, as I've said so many times, Jesus Christ died for all sin, every sin. There's not a sin you have committed or could commit that is not covered by the blood of Jesus.

I'm just old-fashioned, this is the way I preach. I don't care what you've been addicted to, the blood of Jesus has the power to set you free. I don't care who you've gotten entangled with, the blood of Jesus has the power to set you free. You may feel like the worst, rankest sinner that ever lived, and it's hopeless for you. Oh, brother, hope has a name, and his name is Jesus. Oh, brother, hope has a name, and his name is Jesus. Oh, brother, hope has a name, and his name is Jesus. So I laid in bed last night, my heart hurt. Not physically, my heart was hurting for people. And I realized that today in this building, somebody, since last Sunday, your world came apart. I didn't say that in the first service, did I? Your world came apart. And here you sit, numb. What do I do now? I know for a fact that there are people here who have gotten bad diagnoses from the doctors. I know it. Some of you thought your children were just about ready to come to faith, but they've run off farther than they've ever been before. Your heart is broken, you're weary and well-doing, you're tired, just tired. And I laid there last night, and I felt it. And I said, Lord, help me help somebody. So I want everybody to look dead at me. The Lord told me to say this to this church.

God is gonna get us through this. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. God is going to get us through this. I don't know how. You'd think I would, because I've seen him do it a thousand times, but he never does it the same way. He does it the way I wouldn't do it, so that after it's done, I'd have to say, look what the Lord has done. I don't know how it's gonna work for you. There are people behind me up here. I won't turn around and look. They are facing anxious times, and there are people in front of me facing anxious times. I don't know when God will do it, but I do know this. He has assured us from his word that he knows the end. And he knew the end before the thing started. And I know this. He will not withhold any good thing

from those who walk uprightly. Shout amen, church. Amen. I know this. David said, I have been young, and now I'm old, but I've never seen the righteous forsaken. Nor God seen begging bread. God will take care of this thing. Somebody shout while I shout. God sees you. God knows you. God heard every prayer you've prayed. It's still this. This is the fact. It's not by might. It's not by power. It's by my spirit, says the Lord. This thing won't happen because you get powerful people in your corner. This thing won't happen because you have personal might or influence. It's gonna happen because the Holy Spirit says, I'll take care of this. This battle you will not need to fight, for the battle is the Lord's. Amen. Don't fight a battle he's already won. I was so good right there. You can praise him. Sometimes you have to fight to have faith.

Sometimes you have to work to have rest. Ah, but don't fight a battle he's already won. Don't lie around and roll around about something that God already promised. And he cannot lie. He already promised he'd take care of it. How? Again, I don't know. But one of these days, every one of us is going to look back and say, look what? Look how? Look when? God did that very thing right there. Hallelujah. When Jesus said, come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, he wasn't just talking about people coming to salvation. We know sin is heavy to carry. But he was also talking about his beloved, his blood-bought people, who in this life, in the closing moments of this life, when hell is amping up the pressure, and we're assaulted on every side, and our hearts are broken, and our faith is thin, and our knees are knocking, Jesus stands up again and says, come to me. Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come learn of me. So the Lord is my light and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? But I read this again. I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Boy, you don't know how much I want to preach loud and long on that. David, oh, of all the things David went through, you know he had some bad times. Some where-are-you-God times. And it's right here. He wrote it. I would have lost heart. I would have quit. I would have thrown it away. I would have surrendered. I would have tossed in the towel at my lowest moment. And one of those was when he and his men drove up to the city of Ziklag, and the whole city had been burned down, and all his family had been kidnapped. Not only that, the people with him said, it's your fault, David. And they thought of stoning him. Can you imagine? You've lost your family. You've lost everything. Everybody's blaming you and said, let's kill him.

David had to go over to the side, and the Bible says David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. See, that's what I'm trying to tell you. You would think about quitting if you hadn't already seen the goodness of the Lord. You'd think about throwing in the towel, but you've got to remind yourself, God has never left me. God will never forsake me. God will never walk out of my life. God will never let my enemies prevail over me. I am a victor in Jesus Christ. Greater is he who is in me than he that is in the world. Boy, I got some prayer requests this morning. I do. Don't we, babe? Don't we, Sandra? I said, babe, I'm looking there. I'm talking to that babe. You know, if God answered all my prayers the way I prayed them, I wouldn't be where I am today. I wouldn't know him the way I know him now. I thought maybe you'd say something. I said, if God had answered all my prayers when I asked him to, and the way I asked him to, I wouldn't know him the way I do now.

And I about got happy. Did you see that? Spirit-filled preachers, when they about get happy, they look down like they're fixing to jump and run the aisle. I feel like it today. Because when my heart is overwhelmed, when I can't see a way out, God is always there. And God cannot fail his people. How does he end that? Well go ahead and do it. Go ahead and do it. Yes Lord we praise you. Yes Lord we praise you. I preached a little too long because I want to pray for you this morning. I want council members, wives, whoever you've got together Greg, have them come across the front. And I don't want anybody to come down yet, yeah the workers yes, until I give you some instructions. Here's how David finished that psalm. Is everybody listening? Wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Here it is. Be of good courage. Take a good deep breath. Call off and say hallelujah. And he shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say on the Lord. There's no doubt in my mind somebody out there needs help.

Somebody watching online. Somebody in Weatherby Hall. Somebody in Lake Park and Wilmington. We've got people waiting on you in all the buildings. If you find yourself at that place where your heart is heavy, your back is weary, and you're just a little bit afraid. Yes I said afraid. Brother I've been afraid. As a preacher of the gospel I have been afraid. That's what I have to fight a lot. If you find yourself in that condition, you come down and get in front of one of these and they're going to pray for you. They're going to agree with you in prayer. And let's just see what the Lord will do today. This is your time. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ God did something today. You will see the hand of the Lord before long. That's what this book says. I have no qualms about telling you that. I'm not fortune telling. I'm just telling the truth. The Lord did something here today. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart

be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Amen. We pray that today as you watch Pastor Livingston's message, you will be encouraged and ready to dig deeper into a life with Jesus. To help you on this journey, Central has two resources for you. First, you can sign up to receive Central's Jail and Prison Correspondence course through the mail by writing to Central Church, Jail and Prison Ministries Discipleship Center, 5143 Sardis Road, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28270. Second, by using Central's app and clicking on the button below, you can read a short daily devotional that will encourage you to read and pray daily as you draw closer to Jesus. Thank you for watching.