The God Of Acceleration! | Pastor Tim Payne

Welcome to church. We're so glad that you're here. I want to invite you to stand up on your feet as you're able to. Come on, feel free to put your hands together and let's sing out these words that we believe the words of our God today. Come on, let's sing this out. Your way is a lamp unto my feet. Your way is the only way for me. It's a narrow road that leads to life, but I want to be on it. It's a narrow road, but mercy's wide because you're good on your promise. Come on, let's sing this out. And the chaos fell in the light. I know I've seen it in my life. It's a narrow road that leads to life, but I want to be on it. It's a narrow road, the tide is high, but you're part of the waters. I'll take you and you'll work. You said it, I believe it. I've seen how good it works. You said it, I believe it. I've seen how good it works. You said it, I believe it. I've seen how good it works. You said it, I believe it. I'll take you and you'll work. I'll take you and you'll work. All right, come on, let's declare these truths this morning. You said your love would never give up. You said your grace is always enough. You said your heart would never forget or forsake me. You said I'm saved and you called me yours. You said my future's full of your hope. You never failed, so I know that you'll never fail me. Come on, let's sing, you said your love. You said your love would never give up. You said your grace is always enough. You said your heart would never forget or forsake me. You said I'm saved and you called me yours. You said my future's full of your hope. You never failed, so I know that you'll never fail me. I'll take you and you'll work. Come on, you said it, I believe it. I'll take you and you'll work. You said it, I believe it. I've seen how good it works. You started, you'll complete it. I'll take you and you'll work. I'll take you and you'll work, yeah. I'll take you and you'll work. Yeah.

♪ Spirit of God, you're here, you have all authority ♪ ♪ I pray over my heart and mind ♪ ♪ That I am healed by your stripes, your blood ♪ ♪ Declares that I am free in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I pray, calling on the power of heaven ♪ ♪ I proclaim that every weapon formed against me ♪ ♪ Must pray in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I draw a permanent boundary line ♪ ♪ The enemy has no right to come near my family ♪ ♪ No scheme could ever undo God's plans ♪ ♪ No matter the circumstance, the cross has sealed my destiny ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I pray, calling on the power of heaven ♪ ♪ I proclaim that every weapon formed against me ♪ ♪ Must pray in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I know all the power of fear and darkness ♪ ♪ It must go, it's every key to every victory ♪ ♪ Oh, in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ Sing it. ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear when the enemy comes near ♪ ♪ On the doorframe of my life is the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear there's an army of angels here ♪ ♪ I'm protected on all sides by the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear when the enemy comes near ♪ ♪ On the doorframe of my life is the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear there's an army of angels here ♪ ♪ I'm protected on all sides by the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray ♪

♪ Calling on the power of heaven, I proclaim ♪ ♪ That every weapon formed against me must wake ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus, in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I know all the power of fear and darkness, it must go ♪ ♪ It's every key to every victory, I know ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus, it's in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus, in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ It's in the mighty name of Jesus, it's in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ And we speak the mighty name of Jesus today in this place. We lift high the mighty name of Jesus in this place because we know that there is no name that is higher. There is no name that is greater than the name of Jesus. You see, as Jesus enters, the enemy has to flee. When Jesus enters, darkness has to dissipate because he is the light. We lift him high in this space today because Scripture tells us that when we lift Jesus high, that he will draw all people unto him. And so today, we come to him, expecting to meet with him. Come on, let's sing this out together. ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear when the enemy comes near ♪ ♪ On the doorframe of my heart ♪ ♪ Of my life, it's the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear ♪ ♪ There's an army of angels here ♪ ♪ I'm protected on all sides by the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear ♪ ♪ When the enemy comes near ♪ ♪ On the doorframe of my life ♪ ♪ It's the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear ♪ ♪ There's an army of angels here ♪

♪ I'm protected on all sides by the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear ♪ ♪ When the enemy comes near ♪ ♪ On the doorframe of my life ♪ ♪ It's the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear ♪ ♪ There's an army of angels here ♪ ♪ I'm protected on all sides by the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray ♪ ♪ I'm calling on the power of heaven, I'm hoping ♪ ♪ That every weapon formed against me must break ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus, in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus, I look for the power of fear and darkness ♪ ♪ For it must go, it's every key to every victory ♪ ♪ I'm the hope in the mighty name of Jesus, in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Hey Jesus, in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ Wow. Yeah. Woo! Yay! Woo! Yeah. Whoo! Whoooo! Yeah. Yeah. Glory, God, glory, glory, glory, glory, glory, glory, glory. Hail You, Jesus. Everything changed, it's getting harder to recognize The Person I Was Before I Encountered Christ

I don't walk like I used to And I don't talk like I used to I've been washed from the inside I've been washed from the inside Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know it was the blood It could have only been the blood Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know it was the blood It could have only been the blood I cannot explain But nothing's more real than this In the presence of God Oh, what my heart experienced And when my shame hit the wayside And my sin met the Most High I've been washed from the inside I've been washed from the inside Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know it was the blood It could have only been the blood Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know it was the blood It could have only been the blood Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know it was the blood Come on, let's sing this together. It's never been about performance, perfection, or striving for acceptance. Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. It's never been about deserving or earning. It's a gift that's freely given. Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. Come on. Does anybody want to be holy and righteous, purified and spotless? Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. Does anybody want to be worthy, forgiven, justified, really living? Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I know it was the blood. It could have only been the blood. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

I know it was the blood. It could have only been the blood. Come on, let me hear you sing it out. Does anybody want to be holy and righteous, purified and spotless? Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. Does anybody want to be worthy, forgiven, justified, really living? Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I know it was the blood. It could have only been the blood. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I know it was the blood. It could have only been the blood. It's only by the blood. It works. It works. The way I feel. It's nothing. It's nothing but the blood. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I know it was the blood. It could have only been the blood. Hallelujah. Let the church sing. Hallelujah. I know it was the blood. It could have only been the blood.

Hallelujah. I know it was the blood. It could have only been the blood. Hallelujah. I know it was the blood. It could have only been the blood. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Scripture says that we overcome the enemy by the word of our testimony and by the blood of the Lamb. There's power in the blood. How many are thankful for the blood? The blood that doesn't just cover our sins, but the blood that cleanses our sins. That's the difference there. When I was a kid, someone would sweep in the kitchen, they swept it under the rug, and their grandma lifted the rug, and there's the dirt. Jesus didn't just sweep our sins under. Jesus cleansed us from. I'm thankful for that today. Let the church say amen. Hallelujah. I want to start today, and I'm going to ask you guys to come into the middle. What a crowd. This is our third gathering today. It has just been amazing.

I'm going to ask everyone to move to the middle Our owners, we don't call them members here, we call them owners. One of our owners had a heart attack on Thursday. One of my best friends, Johnny, if you know John Sullivan, he sits back there and it's a big part of this church. We're a community group together. We lead a Bible study at the Y together and came so close to losing his life. But God, but God, went into cardiac arrest, right? Gulf Breeze, Publix, Gulf Breeze High School. And God just happened. Listen, if you don't know God yet, you in the right place, baby. Because there's no coincidences. One of the best heart surgeons in this area was right behind him. He went into cardiac arrest and that surgeon jumped out of his car, kicked the window in, pulled big John. If you know John, he's built like Captain America. It's what I see when I look in the mirror. I'm like, I wanna be like Johnny. I wanna be like Johnny. Johnny's tall, big, strong. He pulled him out. All of a sudden, nurses were there in traffic and everyone came together. They began to work and Dr. Brett,

very own Dr. Brett, who's over anesthesiology for Baptist Hospital. He's there and for an hour and a half, they worked on him to keep him alive. Did not look good, guys, just didn't. But God, but God. And there were miracles upon miracles for him to still be here. And this morning, I prayed over him early at the hospital and been there the last two days. Maddie, the nurse, said he had a good night. You know, sometimes in our life, celebrate the little wins. On the first day, God said it, this was good. And the next day he created, he said it was good. And the next day he said it was good. But it wasn't till the end when he said it was very good. But we gotta learn to say it is good even when it's not very good just yet. Are you with me? My God. So we know death and life is in the power of the tongue and we're just gonna proclaim life over Johnny. I want you to lift your, you hold hands and lift your hands up, whatever you wanna do. If you're a single guy next to a pretty single girl, this is your moment, baby, don't miss it. We're gonna lift our holy hands. You know, laughter's holy and praying's holy. Lift your hands to heaven, let's pray for John.

God, we just love you. We just declare in the mighty name of Jesus that you are still the same yesterday, today, and forever. You were healer yesterday, you're healer today. You'll be healer when the sun comes up tomorrow. You Jehovah Rapha, and by your stripes we are healed. God, thank you that no weapon formed against us will prosper. God, thank you that if God be for us, he can be against us. Thank you for filling that hospital room on the third floor of Baptist Hospital with angels who stand in the presence of almighty God. Thank you that they're ministering to his body, to his heart, to his brain. Lord, it's breathing to every cell in his body. God, thank you that you are bringing life. Lord God, we ask you for another miracle, Lord. You said we don't have, because we don't ask. So God, we come and we ask you, raise him up. Enlarge his testimony, God. Enlarge his platform. Enlarge, God, his influence to tell people, I've tasted and seen the goodness of God. I've been young and now I'm old, but I've never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread. God, enlarge his testimony, I pray, in the holy mighty name of Jesus and all God's people said.

Which means, let it be so. One of the most powerful words in scriptures. Amen and amen. You guys can go back to your seats, middle school. You guys, isn't it good having these middle schoolers here? You guys have a great day today. As y'all are let out, I want you guys to, you can be seated. We're gonna jump into a new series. The series is entitled Acceleration. I don't know about you, but I like acceleration. I got a motorcycle. Got two motorcycles. The first one I bought in 2001, Honda CBR 600 F4i. It's built for acceleration. The other one was given to me, it's a Harley Davidson. It's got a little acceleration. I like taking off in planes. I like taking off, I like the landing too. coming. Some of them said, I'm not scared of flying. I like when you take off and you get back in the seat. Some of you guys are pilots in here and you know what I'm talking about. There's something about acceleration. I've got a short message for you today. God is bringing you into a season of acceleration. Now it's one thing to hear the word. It's another thing to receive the word. So let us come to the house of the Lord with a yes and amen attitude. Like we're like, if God put that on my pastor's heart, then that word's for me. So I'm going to say yes and amen. Let us have a posture of Mary who said, Lord, let it be unto me according to the word of

the Lord. Are you with me? So God, what you have spoken, I'm in alignment with your assignment. Are you with me? That's how we come today. So today, and I understand things take time. There are different seasons to everything. The Bible says there's a season, there's a season of sowing. There is a season of reaping. You reap what you sow. How many know this? You cannot sow dishonor and expect to be honored. Parents and children. Goes both ways. You cannot sow disrespect and want to command respect. You cannot sow laziness and expect to reap a harvest of abundance. We reap what we sow. There are different seasons and blessed are those who understand the season that they're in. If you're in a, how do I know if I'm in a sowing season or how do I know if I'm in a reaping season? Well, ask yourself the question, have I sown any seeds? The Bible says if a man wants friends, he got to be friendly. So you got a new job. You got new, uh, friends you're trying to make. If you want friends, the Bible says, be friendly. Step out of yourself. Well, I'm going to enter. That's all right. Step out of yourself. Be friendly. Right? So what you sow matters and it has everything to do with what you reap. The two are connected, but the middle is what's hard because the middle is the waiting season. The middle is the picking weed season, the watering season, the manure season. If for some of you, not some of you folk, not from the country, that's called fertilizer, fertilizer, but even God even uses the poop to accelerate you. Do you understand what I'm talking about? If God can use fertilizer to help you go further faster, you ought to just put your hands together one more time and thank the Lord. That means there are nothing, nothing God can't use to accelerate you. But if you're here and you're like, well,

pastor Tim, I don't know if this message is for me. It's probably not because this message is for believers. You got to be a believer to be a receiver. And if you come into it like, I don't know, this just a feel good message. Well, you know, sometimes the word of the Lord corrects us and sometimes the word Lord connects us. I'd rather be connected than corrected, but it is in the correcting that God ends up doing the connecting. Sometimes it's just the dots. Are you? I feel like preaching today. This number three, I say, Lord, give me four more. Let's do seven gatherings on a Sunday. Come on. I'm here for it. What season are you in? Israel was in a season where they were sowing seeds of disobedience. You know what that is like when God says do this and you don't, when God says, don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together. In other words, don't cheat on me and miss the house. Now that's not legalistic. You travel, you work, you're sick, you vacation. This is not that, but it's also not like we're going to go to church one time a month. Now there's a few more eight minutes out there than that. This is also when the Lord says, bring the tithe to the house so we can pay our bill. That's what the, this is what the word says, not the gospel of Timothy. This is a gospel of Jesus where he says, Hey, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. When you plant the right seeds, you better believe you're going to have a great harvest, but it's the waiting in the middle that stretches us. It is the waiting in the middle that stresses us. It is the waiting in the middle when you and I are tempted the most to give up. It's in the waiting season, but it's in this season. Sometimes that we lose hope. We stopped praying for our loved ones to come to Christ. We stopped inviting other people because they told us no too many

times. We stopped believing God for the miracle because the miracle hadn't arrived yet. And we are so tuned and so prone to want things now, quick, fast, and God didn't always do it like that. But give me another amen. When I say this next phrase, sometimes he does. That's why I came to preach to you today. Because it's a season of acceleration. Turn to your neighbor and say, hold on, we're in a season of acceleration. Here's what I want you to know, I'm going to preach on the God of acceleration. Here is what I want you to remember, because you're not going to remember the sermon, but you remember the sentence. The sentence will change your life. The sentence is a part of the sermon. It's from the Bible, the sentence will change your life. Jesus is taking me further faster. Jesus is launching me further faster. Jesus is leading me further faster. Turn to your neighbor right now and say, Jesus is taking me further faster. Look at that same neighbor, smile, say, I don't know about you. But Jesus is taking me further faster. Last Sunday we had a great Sunday, it was amazing, we had two gatherings totally full. Today we've had three gatherings, two of them packed to the brim, and I couldn't believe how many people showed up at the 8 o'clock. A season of acceleration. I love that. God's got it for you, but you've got to know it. Let's go to the last book, or excuse me, last chapter in Amos, Amos chapter 9. God's people are being disobedient, and Amos prophetically declares God is bringing them into a season of destruction. How many want to, last gathering I said, how many want a word from God, and I was going

to say a season of destruction, and they're like, eight people are here, I said you didn't hear everything I said. A season of destruction, oh, not me pastor, I didn't say nothing. But the same God, by the way the flood, there was destruction. Sodom and Gomorrah, there was destruction. But God is a great God. He's not just the God of destruction, not just the God of destruction. He's the God of reconciliation. He's the God of restoration. In Amos in chapter 9, the end of the chapter, he is prophetically declaring over God's people Israel, and the Jews, he was declaring prophetically that there will be a day when God brings them, or God accelerates them into a new day. Let's look at it, let's read from the NLT, verse 13, the time will come, by the way, God is all about timing, he transcends timing, and his timing will never be your timing. I'm telling you, if it does, make sure it's his time. We're like, God, where are you? He's like, I'm right on time. We're like, no, you're late. But he knew to wait long enough to get all the doubters there, so when he said Lazarus come forth, every doubter would say, oh my God. Had he not said Lazarus come forth, every dead person would have come back to life. He knows what he's doing, we ought to trust him. It's easy to preach, it's hard to trust. It's easy to tell you, it's hard to walk it out. The time will come, come on, that's a word right there, you ought to put your hands together and say that's a word for me right there, the time's going to come. I might be single, but the time's going to come. I might not be at the job I want to be, but the time's going to come. I might not be healed yet, but the time is going to come. The time's going to come.

The time's going to come, says the Lord, when the grain and the grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. In other words, you're putting the seed in the ground and the grapes. And if you look at it, the grain and the grapes, we know what we get from grain, we know what we get from grapes. I asked last gathering, I was like, what do we get? I'm waiting for some country boy to say, beer. That's what we get from the grain, thank you, Jesus. I kind of put my foot out in the water a little bit, they said bread, I said, whoo. The bread, well, we got the body and the wine, a little symbolism. When the grain and the grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested, then the terraced vineyards of the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine, I'll say amen. Next verse, actually same verse, different translation. Let's go to the message. This is going to read a little different. This is kind of more thought for thought than it is a word for word translation, but this is going to make your head swim. Watch this. Yes, indeed, it's not going to be long now. That's a word for somebody. And you know what? If you will receive that word, it's going to happen. We were, we were hunting last week, we weren't seeing nothing on this particular hunt, and I was like, well hold on, I got a party, I got a reservation of 14 coming out. I hit send and I'm telling you three does walked out, five more does walked out, I didn't get a deer. But sometimes you just gotta speak it, you gotta step into it, are you with me? You gotta speak it, you gotta speak it. Look at this, yes indeed, not gonna be long now, God's decree. And mark it down, when God says it's gonna happen, it don't matter what it looks like,

smells like, or feels like, if God says it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. Mark it down, circle, highlight, color it, say you know what, when God says, there's no room for doubt. That's why Satan said, did God really say? Because if he can get you to doubt what God says, he'll get you to doubt what God does. Things are gonna happen so fast, your head will swim. One thing fast on the hills of the other. You won't be able to keep up, you're gonna put the seed in the soil, the grapes gonna pop up. Hey, how many people know, now I grew up on a farm, and we had a garden, we had animals, but there is the process, everyone wants the product, but it's the process that matters. Tell me right now, you're waiting for the right husband and the right wife to step into your life, but God is trying to get you to become the person that the person that you're looking for is actually looking for. Some of you want God to accelerate you, and God bless me financially, but God's like, quit swiping the third credit card that keeps putting you further and further behind. Let's clap for that one, that was a good, that's a high point right there. But things are gonna happen so fast, your head's gonna swim. One thing on the hills of the other, you're not gonna be able to keep up. This is what God says, and God was saying it to His people, and I declare that God is saying it to His people today, and He is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Somebody is getting it, somebody's getting it in their spirit, He's the same God, and He's speaking to you, He's speaking to you, I've got a season of acceleration for you. It sound too good to be true? Well let's just think, let's go to David. David's a shepherd boy, he's a sweaty, smelly shepherd boy, and he's out with his sheep. He's probably cleaning up poo, probably smells like poo, he's forgotten, unseen, and Samuel rolls up. Samuel rolls up because he's gonna anoint the next king of Israel, and he's gonna do that because the people who wanted a king when God said, I'll be your king, by the

way, God's way is always better. His way is always better. They're like, no, we want a person, we want a person, so they get Saul, he's head and shoulders, taller than anyone, he looks apart, smells apart, but he ain't the part, because he doesn't trust in God, he doesn't obey God, he doesn't follow God, he does what he wants to do. He does his own thing, and God can't use someone that won't listen and obey. Are you with me? There's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. So Saul, God says, alright, I'm done with you, I'm canceling you. You think you're still in control because you got the title, but I'm looking for another man. I'm looking for a man after my own heart. And so here comes Samuel, he's gonna anoint, he's gonna appoint the next, and all the brothers line up, tallest to shortest, which I always hated. No matter how tall I stood up, I was always at this side. They all get up, and they think the first one, he's the tallest, the strongest, they think it's him, and Samuel says, the Lord says no. And he goes, and then the next one, the next one's like, that might be me. Over and over and over, all the way down to the last one. I don't remember his name, let's give him a nickname just for fun, let's call him Peanut. Let's say he's about 5'5". His nickname's Peanut, Peanut's standing there, and they're like, we can't believe this, Peanut's gonna be the next king. And Peanut's like, let's go, this is my time. Go ahead and say it, I'll take my hat off, go ahead and anoint me. And Samuel goes, no, you're not the one, and he's like, Jesse, do you not have any other sons? And one of the sons says, psst, Dad, we didn't want to say anything, but Dad, David's not here.

That's because David was a shepherd boy, but when some people only see a shepherd boy, God sees a king. God sees a king. And they bring David, and David comes sweaty, smelly, doesn't feel like the right season, but I want to tell you something, God doesn't need other people's approval, God doesn't even need your acceptance. God gets ready to accelerate you. When God gets ready to help you go further, faster, you in the next moment, baby. And here David, I bet he didn't even have time for a shower. He's like, I'm sorry guys, forgive me, man. I'm trying to get it off, but I'm so sorry. I did the best I could. I came as quick, and Samuel said this. This is who God anointed. This is who God is appointing. This is our new king. And don't you know, the brothers were all like, dang. But when God sees a king, don't get it twisted, because some people may not. But it doesn't matter, because it's not what they say about you that defines you as what God says about you. It ain't what other people say you are. It's not who other people say you are. It's who God says you are. Are you getting it in your spirit? This is the word of the Lord. God is saying you're stepping into an acceleration, a moment of acceleration.

Jesus is taking me further, faster. And we thank God for that. Sometimes it doesn't feel fun, like when you're shooting, you got your bow, and you take your arrow, and you pull that arrow back. And that arrowhead is moving further away from the target. But the further you pull it back, the further and the faster it's gonna go. And some of you have felt like, man, I lost hope. I've given up hope. I don't feel like this is ever gonna happen in my life. I don't believe I'm ever gonna reach the dream and the career and what I went to school for. Maybe a husband, or I just don't, a kid. Maybe there's a woman here, and you've just been told you can't have kids. Or you've just suffered in silence because the season was so long that you weren't able to have kids. I'm telling you, God can. I've seen God do it. I've seen God do it over and over and over again. What seems impossible for you and me is not impossible for God. There's nothing too hard for the Lord. God doesn't have T-Rex arms. You're like, thank God is right, come on. His arm is not short that he cannot save. It's like when that doctor went in, boom, kicked the window, pulled Johnny out.

I want you to see King Jesus coming to your rescue. And there is your mountain. There is something you can't get through. There is something that is bigger than you. There is something seems to be stopping you. And King Jesus walks up and goes, boom. It's a season of acceleration, a season of acceleration. I was in college. It's the third gathering, I'm dumping it all out. I needed, I had to, it wasn't a get to guys, it was a had to. I had to take English Lit, English Literature. I want to take English Literature for a couple months. I want to take it for an hour. Sorry, if you're an English Lit major, God bless you. God bless you. I was asking God to deliver me. But there are some things God won't keep you from because the battles can be won going through it. He can keep you from it, but often he decides to lead you through it. Yay, yes. Though I walk through the shadow, through the valley. Now watch, I got on my knees and I was like, God, I need a favor, Lord. David, polo sport. It's an oldie but a goodie. If you don't know, you don't know. It'll make you smell fresh. I got on my knees at this college.

I began to pray, it wasn't anything deeply theological. I said, God, I don't got the money to do the midterm, you know, not a test. This was like a semester that shrunk into two weeks and it was expensive, I didn't have it. I said, I don't have it, God, but I don't wanna take it, cause they gonna take me. Hey, by the way, just be real when you talk to God. God don't want you like acting all pompous and all like you, you know, old owl. No, no, no, just come to him. And he's not my homeboy, he's not my homeboy. That's the other side of it. But he's also not a God too distant to care. Amen. He's my friend, he's my savior. So I began to pray and I said, Jesus, I said, that's what I need, Lord. I need. I need to make twice the amount I'm making right now. I was working my tail off. Working my tail off. I said, God, I need to make twice what I'm making now to pay for this. I said, Jesus, would you just open the ring, ring, ring? Now, that's the craziest thing, young people. There's this plastic thing. It was on a wall. And we were bougie, baby. So we had like the 15-foot cord.

We could lay in that bunk bed like, oh, yeah, what's up, boy, what's up, what are you doing now? And I answered it. And to this day, I'll never forget. She said, is Tim Payne there? Yes, he is. I thought I was getting ready to get asked out on a date. What's your name? No, she said, my name is Shannon Massey. She said, I'm with Ralph Lauren. She said, we've been giving your name by a couple companies and would love to hire you like ASAP. And the pay is double. Come on, Jesus. That's what I said. She said, would you like it? And I said, let me pray about it real quick. He just said yes. God accelerated that. He accelerated that moment. But I could take you to a moment at Sacred Heart Hospital in not just a waiting room but a private waiting room where Brian, Pastor Brian, stand up, Brian, will you? He's having open heart surgery. And the surgeon ran out in his scrubs towards the end of the surgery. And he came in, and Ashley, his wife's right here, stand up, Ashley, they're both on staff. Our team got better when they came on. They're hard workers. People of integrity. They're the best. They're phenomenal.

He came in, and we were near Ashley, and the surgeon said, I know you are praying people, you're people of faith. You've got to pray now, because it's not going the right way, and we don't have much time. Pray now. And he hustled back into the operating room. And man, we prayed like we prayed while we were praying. All of a sudden, it wasn't about cute and quiet. All of a sudden, it was like, Jesus! See, help me, Jesus, get this across, thank y'all. There's something that shifts when you come to one of those moments where you prayed while you were praying. We began to pray and call on the name of the Lord, and you know what? He's here today. You know the rest of the story. Leading our care ministry, leading our Blackwater campus, Ashley's leading our community groups, and big things are happening. That was a moment of acceleration. A moment. When Stephanie, Pastor Stephanie had cancer, we were in Pensacola near Cordova Mall. She was not feeling good. They said, get to the ER ASAP. She jumped in the car I'm driving, and she was shaking uncontrollably, and she was talking out of her mind. I didn't know if she'd had a stroke or—it was probably the scariest moment of my life. I couldn't get there quick enough, but I remembered a verse that says, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And sometimes, if all you can pray is Jesus, let me tell you something, that's enough. That's enough. And I called on the name of Jesus. She was shaking.

She was shaking, compulsive. We pulled her from the hospital, got her inside, and the guy checking her in saw it, his eyes got real big, and he said, you're septic. That's not good. I mean, we're checking in. And as bad as Steph was shaking, as bad as she was feeling, she stopped. She looked at him, and I was like, dear God, he's faking to get it right now, boy. He don't even know. He don't even know he's faking to get it. And a woman of God, a lioness, came out, and she said, I am not septic. And I'm not, I'm not over-exaggerating. She was shaking uncontrollably. He was like, yes, ma'am. Got us back, and hour after hour after hour. or it was getting worse. And we text people all over the world to pray. When God's people pray, you can expect acceleration. Because prayer can do whatever God can do. Because prayer is the nerve that moves the omnipotent hand of Almighty God. And I'm telling you, God heard our prayers. And the charge nurse walked in, and she said, I can't explain it, but you're going home. And I said, we can explain it. What was that? It was a season of acceleration. Can I give you just one more story real quick? I got a whole bunch of them. But you're sitting in a season of acceleration. Because next week, two years ago,

we were on the phone trying to buy this property. And the person selling the property wasn't working too well with us. And so we're like, we backed out. We backed off. And have you ever had a dream, something that you wanted, you desired, your heart's desire, and you felt it was right there, it was so close? You ever felt like God ripped it out from underneath you? This was my moment. We'd been portable. We'd been multi-site for 12 years. And all of a sudden, we're gonna get a building? I've had people lie to me. I've had people change prices. I've been through the gauntlet, baby. And it's not poor me, because I ain't a victim. I'm a victor. But it kind of still felt like the rug been ripped down. I didn't even want to talk to Jesus about it. I told Jesus, you know I love you, but I'm not ready to talk to you about this. Because for months, it looked like it was coming into place. By the way, remember this, not everything looks like God is God. Not everything looks like God is God. The devil's an angel of light. He don't come with pitchfork and a forked tail, but he comes with a forked tongue. He's a liar from the beginning.

But let me tell you something else. On the other side of that corner, sometimes things that don't even look like God, they're God. They're God. Next week, two years ago, the rug pulled out from underneath us, and I was so numb. I had to compartmentalize it for later. I had to process it later, because I know my God, but this just didn't seem like my God. This didn't feel like my God is so big, so strong, and so mighty. It didn't feel like the goodness of God. Oh, taste and see. This looked like you did me wrong. Anybody been there? But God. But God, one of our businessmen had a conversation, and all of a sudden, they were gonna tear all this property down. They're gonna turn it into an office complex. You know, we got this building over here. We got the chapel here. We got our offices over there. They're gonna do all that, tear it all down, build an office complex. But God used one of our deacons, one of our businessmen, and God just kept doing this. You know, like older brother, younger brother,

you know, you pin your brother down, just kind of, or you give him a noogie, and God just kind of kept working in his heart. And he's like, I'm not giving up, man. I don't think this is how this ends. And one conversation turned the whole thing around, and months before we ever moved in, we were given the key. Do everything you need to do. I'm not gonna charge you for a couple months. Like what the scripture said today, blessing on top of blessing. All of a sudden, we were accelerated. You're sitting in acceleration. I want you to stand, would you? Don't just sit. I want you to stand right now across the room. See, it's one thing for people to wanna stay in faith, but in order to stay in faith, you first gotta stand in faith. You gotta get your legs underneath you. And if your faith is a little weak, leg day, faith day. You know, God build my faith, and he'll do it with problems and trials. But you'll get bigger and stronger. It'll be worth it. You can carry more of a load. More people can depend on you, because you had faith day.

You didn't skip faith day. And this is what was happening. And now look at us. Now look at us. Give me one more verse. I preached over this time, but that's all right. I did really good the first two. And we don't got another gathering, so. Give me that last verse, please. Ephesians 3 20. I memorized it like this. Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask, think, or imagine, according, read it in the message, God can do anything. Someone, that's your word for today. God can do anything. You know far more than you could ever imagine, or guess, watch this, or request. Even your wildest dreams, that business, someone walked out of your life, left you a wreck, let me tell you something, you a child of God, God's got you. He hasn't forgot you. You feel like everything's being pulled back away from you, feel like you're getting further and further behind, I bet you it's because God's getting ready to accelerate you to go further, faster, I believe it, and declare it. Would you bow your heads with me? Would you close your eyes? How many would say, Pastor, that's a word from God for me today, I recognize it, that's for me today, I receive it today. If that's you, lift your hands up like you're unashamed, that's a word from God. It might be your business, it might be your health, it might be your relationships, man, it might be your finances, I don't know what it is, but you know, now you know that God knows. Holy Spirit, do what you do best, now seal your word in our hearts, so we can't be rocked when the winds blow, and the water rises, and the waves get in the

boat, God. We'll be steadfast and strong, because our faith is in you. Do what you need to do, oh God. And then you can put your hands down, with heads bowed and eyes closed, so many of y'all raised your hands, thank you. Hey, if you're not in that season, maybe you just came out of one, but if you haven't been in that season, you might be getting ready to go into one. God's for you, and he loves you, and he's greater, he's greater. Old David found out when he pulled up the second time in Goliath, there was a Goliath, the thing that was there to kill him, was the thing that actually accelerated him. He went from being a shepherd boy that his own father and brothers forgot about, to being a national hero. Where hundreds sang about Saul, but thousands sang about David. He can take you, he cannot, see, listen here young people, listen, thank God for what he's doing in our day, and in your generation. But it starts in the quiet, it starts in the closet, it starts with your knees bent, and your eyes wet, and your Bible open, and your hands lifted. God is doing mighty work all over the world, and sometimes we just want that mighty work, but we gotta sow. We're gonna spend time, invest time with Jesus. I pray you catch that in your spirit today. And then if you're here today, and you're not a Christian, please don't leave without Jesus rescuing you. There's not a sinner he can't save, there's not a sinner he won't save, but as many as received him to them, he gives the right to be called the children of God, the sons and the daughters of God. You got to receive them. How do I receive them? Scripture teaches us that we turn from our sin, it's called repentance, to Christ. And we put our faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus. This, my friends, is the gospel. That he came, and he bled, and he died, he was buried, and on the third day he rose again, defeating death on the grave. And he not only was resurrected, but he wants to resurrect your life. And if you are lost, if you're not a child of God, if you've not been born again, today is your day. And if you will call on the name of the Lord, it's not just a name of God, but the name of the Lord. Lord means yes, you're the Lord, and I'm not. So if you'll call on the name of the Lord, his name's Jesus, the Bible says you'll be saved. If you'll humble yourself, if you'll

confess, God I'm a sinner, and I need a Savior, and I want you not just to be my hell insurance, get me out of hell, but I want you to be my Savior and my Lord. If you will call on that name today, and if you will turn from your religion, from your works, if you'll turn to Christ alone, you know what'll happen? He'll save you today. For whoever, Romans 10 13, will call on the name of the Lord, will be saved. That thief on the cross, turn to the Lord. He called on his name, remember me, when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said, today you will be with me in paradise. That needs to happen, that acceleration from From sinner to saint, from lost to found, from dead and death to life, and abundant life. That needs to happen today. And if that's for you, or if you need to get assurance of your salvation, I want you to pray with me right now. I'm going to ask the prayer team to step out right now. Come in place. I'm going to lead you in a sinner's prayer. Let's pray it out loud, church. When I'm done, I'm going to ask you, if you called on the name of the Lord today, I'm going to ask you to raise your hand. I'm going to ask you to come forward in a minute. We're going to have other people coming forward for prayer. I want to shake your hand, because heaven knows your name and is celebrating this decision. Let's pray together. Would you say, Jesus, I confess to you, I'm a sinner, been a sinner my whole life. And I need you to do for me what I could never do for myself. Wash me with your blood. Wash away my sins. Make me new. Teach me how to live. I give you my life, and I receive your life, in Jesus' name.

Amen. If you prayed that, I want you to hold the hand up high. Don't wait. Don't hesitate. We already got hands in the air. Come on. Let's go. It's what I'm talking about. I want you to hold it up high. I see hands in the back. I see hands down front on the count of three. Hold it up. One, two, three. Let's go. Hold it up. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Come on. Come on. Hold it up. Now, look here.