Breaking the Maintaining Spirit  |  Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter
by Kenneth Carpenter
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: 1 Samuel 14:6, 1 Samuel 14:7, 1 Samuel 14:13-14, 1 Samuel 13:19-22, John 15:1-7, Romans 15:1-3, 2 Kings 7:3, Mark 2:1-5

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kenneth-carpenter--breaking-the-maintaining-spirit
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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for a few moments this evening we're going to begin to cast a vision for 2020 it's the first Sunday of the new year would you stand with me tonight in honor of the reading of God's Word obviously if you are physically unable to stand God knows that we understand also but if you're not would you please stand for the reading in honor of the reading of God's Word first samuel first samuel 14 verse number 6 First Samuel chapter 14 verse number 6 I'm going to read verse 6 and I'm gonna read verse 7 then I'm gonna skip down and read verse 13 and verse 14 I want God to speak to us tonight and Jonathan said to the young man that bear his armor come let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised that it may be that the Lord will work for us for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by Mini or by few and his armor-bearer said unto him do all that is in thine heart turn thee and behold I am with thee according to thine heart verse 13 Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet and his Armour bear after him and they failed before Jonathan and his armor-bearer slew after him and that first slaughter which Jonathan and his Armour bear made was about twenty men within as it were a half acre of land which a yoke of oxen might plow simple tonight simple I just want to on this casting vision night I want to minister on this subject to the body breaking the maintaining spirit breaking the maintaining spirit Jesus I sure do love you tonight shoot whoo thank you Lord that you brought us to this awesome hour in church history god I thank you tonight for the men and women that are gathered in this room our students I thank you tonight God because you are gathering together an army to march through the land Lord I ask you tonight God to help me preach to help me articulate what Heaven wants for us in this year in 2020 Lord touch everyone tonight touch those that are on fire for you God touch those that are ice-cold God touch those tonight that are walking this way and God touch those tonight it may be walking away now I give you praise you know I need you tonight Jesus name Amen you may be seated breaking breaking the maintaining spirit breaking the maintaining spirit interesting passage of Scripture Jonathan's father saw started out anointed used of God but then he began he got too big where I come from a you stay too big for your britches everybody ever heard that you know he got he got too big for God to use him he got too big for God to use him and when Saul got too big for God to use him Saul finds himself the leader of a nation that has to go to simply maintaining mode they have what God has given them but they had to go into a maintaining mode because their enemy has control of them and so Jonathan finds himself in a nation of which is in a maintaining mode and I won't explain a little bit about that to you the chapter before that chapter 13 and verse number 19 through 20 through 22 will give us a picture of a life under saws ministry it says in 1st Samuel 13 verse 19 now there was no Smith found throughout all the land of Israel for the Philistine said lest the Hebrews make them swords and spears so the enemy had done a wise thing on their side they went through the land and they found any Smith any worker of metal any man that was able to take raw material and beat it into a sphere or beat it into a sewer and so if Israel had wanted to go to war they couldn't because there was no one there to make their weapons but all Israel the next verse but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share his Coulter his axe and his Maddox these are Frank these are farming tools picks porters and all kinds of farming tools that they didn't have a sword they couldn't do any fighting except the Philistines had no problem in letting them maintain by growing food to eat Bible says yet they had a file well bless their hearts they're armed and dangerous they had a file for the Mattocks and for the cultures and for the forks and for the axes and to sharpen the goes man look at this don't have any weapons have these swords don't have any Smith's to make anything Philistines are great with that because there are the ones that took the Smiths their content we're just letting in stir we'll be farmers because a maintaining Israel is no harm to the Philistines had a little mercy for him and gave him a file so they could sharpen their farming the Bible said and so he came to pass in that day of battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the land in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan but with soul and with Jonathan his son there was family now here we come back to it now there's only two swords in Israel one was in the hand of a man called Saul and one was in the hand of his son Jonathan everybody else had farming tools we all have tonight in our hand the potential of victory but what we do within what with what is in our hand determines whether or not we break the spirit of just mean maintaining it was Jonathan that said to his armor-bearer coming let us go over to these Philistines we discover ourselves to them in other words I believe it was Jonathan that got tired of just maintaining know about you I'm glad for what we've maintained I have a spirit on the inside of me that says I don't just want to maintain this church I don't want to just paps pastor a happy slappy Apostolic Church that we come together and we just kind of maintain everything we have some tools in our hands what we going to do with it are we going to maintain are we glad that we got a church to go to and I'm glad that I'm not like I used to be and I'm glad that I'm not like other people are now that's the spirit of maintain but it was Jonathan I want to get that spirit on me tonight it was Jonathan that said to his armor-bearer the Jonathan said to his armor-bearer why don't we go over to the Philistines and why don't we discovered why don't we let the Philistines know that we're not there to farm we're here to fight wonder if in 2020 we could somehow send a message to our adversary of that I'm on farming anymore I've been farming for a few years and you've been content with letting me be a farmer but I want to go ahead and serve you notice on the first night of 21st Sunday night of 2020 Satan I'm not farming anymore I don't have a lot of swords but I do have my sword I want you to watch the spirit of Jonathan I want you to watch the spirit of Jonathan first segment of 14:6 Jonathan said to the young man that marries armor come let us go over into the garrison of these uncircumcised it may be that the Lord will work for us you see if we're going to be the church God wants us to be we got to get some us in this church we have to be delivered from self-centeredness and understand that when we got in the church we didn't get you in solely by ourselves we got in with some essence I don't know no I don't know what God will do for me but I believe got to work for us we don't need to listen maintaining he's going out there and sin as long as I got enough to eat long as I got a seat long as I get fed long as everything stays good in my life that's the spirit of maintaining I think we need the spirit of us I believe that we need to start breaking out and looking around and saying is anybody else interested and going from farming to fighting it is anybody else interested tonight I need to know is there anybody else in this house tonight that's tired of just simply maintaining I'm wanting to see God have his finest in this last hour I'm tired of hearing about what Bob did 50 years ago I'm tired of hearing what God did 75 years ago and quite honestly I'm tired of hearing what God did 2,000 years ago I wonder tonight if there's some people in this house that's willing to go firm maintaining you see he said would you uh mr. Armour bear you see we got to understand that you have no neutral people in your life your friends is either your fellow farmer or your armor bearer show me your friends show your future Jonathan in the midst of maintaining look different than everybody else when everybody else had a wagon to haul their farming tools Jonathan had an armored bear he had someone that carried his armor and Jonathan says to his armor bearer it may be that the Lord will work for us for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or my few can I tell you God doesn't have to have your host section shouting for God to do a work in your section in this church you know everybody in your family doesn't have to be filled with the Holy Ghost in order for God to do something in your family you just have to go from maintaining to fighting you have to decide hey I've maintained myself but I still got some cousins on crack cocaine hey I'm kept the Apostolic Faith but I still got some uncles that are alcoholics hey I've maintained myself but I still got a bunch of family that's lost I want you to know tonight I've come to preach to you and tell you it's time to break the spirit of maintaining it may be that the Lord will work with many or it may be the Lord work for you you don't have to have everybody here family to have a move of God you know name and God healed and all he had he didn't have any faith he just had one little little girl to hear taken captive and she had faith and because of that he was healed but here's the important thing his armor-bearer said to him in verse 7 his armor-bearer said unto him do all that is in thine heart turn thee but the no one helped me for a moment do all that is in thine heart turn thee behold I am with thee according to my heart seemed like to me that when Jonathan was talking his armor-bearer was behind him following him but when it came time to go from farming to fighting the armored bear had something to say he said I need you to turn to me because we need to look into each other's eyes the armor bearers talked him down he said I want you to turn and I want you to look at something as your heart is so is my heart you know what we need in this church thank you Nolan you know what we need in this church is never we don't need a bunch of people having each other's backs we need a bunch of people having each other's hurts and the heart has to be one thing we won't revive we whoa a move of God we whoa God to be lifted up we want the loss to come in we we we the spirit in operation we now I must tell you that if you're willing to follow me in 2020 you're going to find your gifts and you're going to find your purpose through joining up with others in order to join up with others if you are a farmer it is way easier to be alone but if you are a fighter you know the value of being joined up with someone if you're willing to follow us in 2020 you're going to find gifts that you never knew you had if you're willing to follow in 2020 and me delivered from self-centeredness you're going to find purpose as never before you will never wake up another morning dreading the day because God is going to baptize you with purpose life will become exciting to you church services will become exciting to you strangers will become exciting to you people you get in conversation with in the community will become exciting to you why because when you go from maintaining to fighting you know that one conversation can lead to somebody coming to church and receiving the Word of God I met a beautiful they may be here tonight they may be here tonight but I met a beautiful couple here this morning and on the way out they were so kind so friendly what I believe was their first time to be here and and she wrote down everything said that they wrote down all the scriptures and they were just going on about the service and the Word of God past her we were fed this morning and I begin to ask them how did y'all find out about the church and the guest card reads something like this someone at Walmart invited us someone at Walmart invited us somebody at Walmart I believe it I believe she said her name was Ruby somebody at Walmart am i close to that am i close to that somebody at Walmart are you Ruby tonight I know you're smiling off big I thought man I may I be hitting this right on the head tonight miss it do I know the Shayne's invited you yeah how it works she been loving Jesus and so services been meant been down there just loving God Natalie's been loving God and I cannot tell you that when you get in your mind getting past the self-centeredness that you're here for your own being a self-centered person is a miserable miserable miserable world to live in but God says I want to take the church in 2020 from farming to fighting but if you're going to fight you got to have an armor and if you only have an armored bear it's got to be somebody to pass your heart now what's your Buffalo I want you to buckle up tonight this ride is gonna get rough here for just a few minutes it's gonna get rough here for a few moments you'll find your gifts are going to find your purpose through joining up with an armor bearer we must get weary with self-centeredness we must get weary with self-centeredness how can I know that I'm self-centered pastor I'm going to give you a few clues you know the old guy you might be a redneck if you might be self-centered if this comes out of your lips no one spoke to me today at church nobody spoke to me today could you dare ask yourself did I speak to anybody you cannot get a conversation with people that are self-centered you can't pacify them long enough a pastor named into many pastors got ulcers in their bellies today because they're trying to change bottles and diapers of people that all they want is a self-centered you better call my name you better recognize me because if you don't call my name and recognize me there's another church down the road I can go to and pastors get into competition with each other but you're looking at 1 5 foot 7 inch green eyed preacher that we're size 7 and a half views that's not going to be a maintainer I'm not going to maintain I'm gonna be a fighter if I have to burn if I have to change your diaper if I have to make sure you're comfortable and coochie-coochie-coochie-coo you I'm not gonna keep you but if you're wanting to turn the world upside down come on with me we're gonna find in 2000 you ought to be saying preacher if you never speak to me again talk to the center get out to the product hall if you never talk to me again you might be self-centered if you say these words why the church is so big I don't know everybody they're wonderful don't know the church is so big nothing about guided by their oh please don't let it stop you from coming it hasn't stopped you from going to kneeling stay him oh it's just so big I it's just about I just don't know you know we passed yours we really have a tightrope because for years people wouldn't come because we're too small I still don't come to mirror but this is my church we can't come over there is this monstrous you don't have a lot going on it and then now God's bless the small Church not by the self-centered mentality God did not grow this church by self-centered people God grew this church by fighters God grew this church by people that were willing to connect with every brand new face that walked through the door we didn't stand around away from somebody else to do it we didn't stand around when somebody brand new walked through the door we didn't stand there and judge them we looked at them and said God has brought you into this church for a time just as here I'm not one of your tried out churches I want you to know God has you here tonight because God has you here tonight and that's what through this curtain you know what I told you is gonna get rough for a little bit but we don't go from farm into fighting we gotta somehow let Hill know that's he's dropping on us tonight we gotta somehow that he'll know that first Apostolic Church of Maryville is not going to let the enemy take our Smith's from us we are going to fight in 2020 we're going to have to join up with each other no more long Rangers no more I don't need you mentality we need Emma breathing so that's in this room right now we need every breathing soul that's here do you want to go shout yes God called us willing me I don't need I don't need to put all these things down don't use them you might be self-centered if no one spoke to me today if I spoke to me be honest with yourself did you speak anybody ain't talking about guests I'm I'm not talking about people that don't know God I'm talking about church folks I didn't even get my hand shut nobody even shook my hand nothing like this could come out of your mouth could it let's get to church early why so we can pray and shake hands now you talk about farmer you told me to fight her you see God is going to give us victory through spiritual reproduction we must reproduce or we will perish we must reproduce or we will perish jesus said in john 15:1 just let's read this with me john said in john jesus said in john 15:1 I am The True Vine and my father is the husbandman everybody in me that beareth NOT fruit he taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit he purge it that it may bring forth more fruit now are you clean through the word which I have spoken unto you abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself self-centeredness except it abide in the vine no more can you accept you abide in me I am the vine ye are the branches he bit about it in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me he can do nothing if a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned that is a picture of judgment if you abide in me and my words abide in you you shall ask what you will and it shall be done and Jesus tells us in seven simple verses that reproduction is not optional Jesus tells us that if we are in the vine that we must reproduce we must bear fruit directly or indirectly we must all have our fingerprints on every soul that comes to the altar in some form or fashion you may have never met the person but your calling maybe to intercessory prayer in the prayer room asking God to touch everybody that comes under this roof you may not have been the one that total a Bible study but you may be the one that set and worship God and praise God and magnify him you see tonight you can even be a hindrance to God you can either you can either help people get to god I told you gonna hit a little rough here because sometimes we can weaken we need to understand that we're a good church but we're not a perfect Church I'm baptized a man recently and I'll leave him I'll leave it at that but I baptized him taught him Bible study studying Bible study and baptized he sent me set in my office one day and he told me how he was absolutely amazed at the service but he said what did interest him he said I found it unbelievable as I could not keep my seat when I would walk into your church as tears would flow down my face and I felt God in such a rich in a real way he said I looked and on a few occasions I looked down a Pew and saw a woman on a cell phone and I looked another way and saw two people on another Peter having a conversation of something and he said I stood there and I wondered to myself I wonder to myself that how can these people do this with what's happening right now in their life you see tonight I'd hate to go to judgment and God have some rebuking and maybe even not allow me to enter because I kept somebody by the way that I acted in the house of God then I kept someone from coming to the altar can I tell you I love Jesus tonight I am NOT putting on a show I have never danced one dance for anybody to look up here and see me it's a matter of fact my favorite place to worship God is not on the platform my favorite place to worship God is in the altar you say why because I don't want anybody to think pastors putting on a show I promise you before God I've never danced for anybody to look at I've never danced your worship for anybody to look at me but can I tell you that if this church can all worship God you don't have to dance like me you don't have to leap like me you don't have to run like brother Bentley you don't have to spin like sister Josephine you don't have to do any of that but for God's sake do something that would cause somebody to look down your pubes Oh Freddie come on that's the kind of church we want we don't want a church I understand sinners me another cell phones understand they don't know any better people that love God matter of fact there are people that don't have as much truth with you that have more sincerity than views and when they come in with more sincerity than you they don't need to be hindered by seeing you say oh that's the truth mo Carter preach one God oh let me send another text oh that's the truth getting baptized in Jesus name oh I've got several texts going on with several people in the congregation right now y'all help us let's don't go let's go painting let's go to fighting come on come on now somebody's looking over your shoulder tonight somebody's looking at you tonight don't see this make them looking up here to determine whether we're going to live for God don't looking at you they expect me to praise God they expect me to be firma they expect me to pray but they don't expect you you may be seen I did chased gonna give a rough self centeredness want to act the right way because reproduction is not optional I hey there have to reproduce or I perish and the only way that I can reproduce is be joined to the vine no vines hanging out in midair I'm gonna be joined to something that's giving me life so I'm gonna go into battle with an armor bearer I want to go into battle with an armor bearer that says hey turn around or look at my face I'm with you that's what that armor bear did he said turn around here Jonathan he said I want you to know that I'm with you I don't want to go into battle I don't want to go into battle with people that I'm unsure of it's the worst people in the world you're going battle with say I don't want to go into battle I don't I don't want to have those armor bearers that are sucking the energy out of me you see at any moment of tragedy may befall my life I want to have some armor bearers around me that I know could hit their knees in prayer and pray a prayer and bring down the glory of God I want to have some I want to have some harbor barriers I want to have Bible says in Romans 15 verse number 115 in verse number one we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves self-centered people only want to please themselves fighters more help those with infirmities let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edify for even Christ please not himself but as it is written the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me can I tell you tonight you cannot sing to be like Jesus to be like Jesus on earth I long to be like Jesus and not be willing to bear the infirmities of others self-centered people when certain sinners not allowed to come in church come on pastor get on that get on that get on that same-sex marriage business come on man get on that come on pastor get on that homosexual yeah come on faster get on that can I tell you something I'm gonna get on that but everything I just mentioned needs a church that's willing to fight hell for I don't want to have the church that I can just say I preached to them ever attain I want to have the church that goes something like this and some of you some of them and such were some of you but you're wash your sanctified in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ come on Brooklyn marriages come on woman let's step down and begin to commit an immorality man that stepped out and begin to commit in morality come on sir come on young person come on young lady I want the student section a no tonight I'm fighting hell for you right now I don't want to just say brother side brother Hammond how many do we have in the youth group 525 we've got 125 in the youth group I don't want to come back in this in December of 2020 and say brothers Hammond how many we got in the youth group and you say 525 and I say high five man man did we maintain them lost with you gained a few we maintained in everybody no sure I believe student section maybe we can get this party mentality that we can end this year say our youth group grew by three times the amount we've got 400 in our youth break we're growing by leaps and bounds we're taking our high schools we're taking we're taking it over because we're willing well I hope you'll go with me I hope you'll go with me in 2020 I hope you'll go with me I sure hope you won't change churches in 2020 I sure hope you'll go with me and when you get out and delivered from self-centeredness and you begin to see the joy there's no greater joy you hear me there's no greater joy than to see somebody living for God and you can say I got my fingerprint on I greeted them at the front door you see you need to find someone loyal to your cause to cannot walk together except they be agreed you need to find someone that's in the same shape that you're in you need to find someone that desires what you find it is no friendship I don't know what's got such a hold on people that they continually feel like they have to be a part of a carnal group when they're outside of that carnal group they'll say things like they talk about things that I don't like to talk about pastor and I'm thinking to myself then why you're staying in the group why don't you get why don't you run with another group oh they may not be as hip as the group as you think the group is in but I'm gonna see something I don't care if they wear all the latest things I don't care if they got all the right connections if they have a desire to live for God and they want to talk Jesus and they want to talk God doing something with their life I say you you need to find somebody that shares the same loyalty that you share it's amazing when we find folks they're in the same shape we're in second Kings seven and three and there were four leprous men after entering in of the gate they said to one to another why sit we here till we die before guys come on we before guy this before guys tonight come here the five guys this is four guys we got one thing in common boys we're all dying we all got incoming you know I brought them together y'all brought us together we're all lepers it's what we all got them coming and we're all dying we're all dying we're gonna you know your little souther down the line that I am but we're all you know never cease been it's been eating on you and stretching you I mean you're you know you talk well I got something coming don't but you know what we got in common can be the bridge that God uses to bring the miraculous because one of them said to the other why I said what's the word we ain't no self-centeredness among lepers huh no self-centeredness no you don't here lepers saying nobody in my hand cause ain't nobody gonna shake their hand all right but what we got in common can become the bridge because one of them said because one of them speaks for all of them because when we're all loyal to the same cause when we once speak we speak for everybody why set we here till we die let's think about it if we sit here we'll starve if we go out into the field for some humanitarian aid compassion Red Cross they might have compassion on four levels so somebody said let's go show the four leprous men right foot first okay you didn't write knowing and you're a drummer right foot first your other right Nolan you know what happens god looked down and saw four men who shared the same goal and the same courage and God said you know what I think I do I think I'll use the four leprous men they're not the most popular they're not wearing the latest polo they're not driving the latest sniffs they don't know the right lingo there just for leprous men that decided that they would walk out in the field and God said I'll think I'll use them and God turned their footprints up God turned the hotbar the speakers of heaven up and the enemy begin to hear the sound of chariots and then begin to hear the sound of horses hoofs and then begin to hear the sound of a marching army and the enemy begin to leave their tents they begin to leave their food maybe get it to leave all their weapons and they just went running back to their country when the four leprous men walked in they had food they had weapons they needed come on you need to find somebody my god I feel the Holy Ghost you need somebody tonight that's in the same if you're a woman in this place and you're a spiritual woman you need to begin to pray God can make me in this church with another spiritual woman don't follow me on to ghost from the young people to some of your students have callings on your life you have giftings on your life you have future on your life but you're never going to have it develop when all your run with the maintainer he's gotta find you some fighters royalty royalty leads to victory loyalty leads to victory you look up here at me tonight and whenever I'm mama to look a picture pastor tonight whenever daddy to look up your pastor look at look into my eyes tonight look at me I want you to know I'm praying for God to use your children I tell hell on a regular basis he can't have them I'd do spiritual warfare I'm trying to Pat myself on the back tonight I walk into the strong Mans house and I begin to bind the strongman and I begin to tell the strongman Satan these children and a CA do not belong to you these children and FAC Maryville do not belong to you now if you don't want your children in this environment sister Murphy they're not having your children you hear me you're not the demon he's gonna have your children that's what kind of pastor you got that's what kind of pastor you got I don't want to maintain I'm trying to brag on myself and our God you know I'm not trying to do that not having our children I've got so family not a one of them you hear me not a one of them turn and look at me turn and look into my heart my heart is with your hearts justified also you turn and look into my heart my heart is with your heart and if we work together God doesn't have to have a route he just needs to have a Jonathan and an armor bearer and when Jonathan in the armor bearer stuck their heads up and the Philistines begin to ridicule them you get ready just before hell's gonna have to let go of some of your sons and daughters he's going to try to mock you out of this church he's going to try to make you uncomfortable out of this church he's going to try to stomp you out of this church he's gonna try to lock you out of this church you know why he knows that he's about to lose my son come on folks I feel the Holy Ghost moving here tonight what happens with what happens with pastor and armor bearers poke their head up and say devil you have allowed my son to sleep devil you have loved my daughter to sleep but we have served a notice on you and 28 corner that we're coming after our daughter we're coming after our sons come on do you want to live for God do we want to live for God how about ever match slaughter coming home how about ever backslider coming home watch what you say about backsliders watch what you say on social media watch what you say let me give you Missy I know I know you're probably hoping we all stand here quit I'm gonna give you a word wisdom I hear products do not leave the church on good terms prodigal do not leave the church on good terms been pastoring for 35 years I know just a little bit about how Protocol's leave produções find something they're not unhappy about they're unhappy about produções usually leave stirring up a stink well we don't need to do is stirring up as they leave the loving church that we were that brought them in needs to be the same loving church when they're going out we can't stop them from leaving man I feel the Holy Ghost lot is a type of the backslider the first time lot went to Sodom and wild and Sodom he got captured Abraham armed 309 318 men and Abraham physically went after them and brought Locke back but you know what what did he did something crazy what'd he do he went right back to soccer there are ways a phone call a conversation can happen that can bring them back but when the phone called him the conversation don't bring them back the next time Locke got in trouble Abraham prayed him out of Sodom the first time he physically went down and knocked on the door and said hey man we love you get back to church but he brought him out and the scoundrel went right back to Sodom and the next time Sodom is about to become burnt up Abraham didn't go down and get him out of Sodom he hit his knees in intercessory prayer and he prayed him out of Sodom can I tell you there's not a prodigal that's left this church that does not have daily intercessory prayer prayed over them because a phone call or a conversation has not worked and what's going to bring them back to this church is God's going to visit them in the midnight hour of their life they're never going to be content they're never going to prosper they're always going to remember the best days of their life look when they were in the church and that's what's going to bring them through the doors of this church come on get ready to love the prodigal get ready to love them when they come back get ready to love them when they come back when they want to talk about why they left put your arms around them and say that's not important what's important is your back what's important is you're worshiping God that's what's important stand musicians come god help us a miracle happened in mark chapter 2 verses one through five it was a man who was paralyzed who was born before what did all four of those men have in common they had a friend that could not get to Jesus they had a friend that could not get to Jesus the Bible said they brought him to Jesus born before tore the roof off the place and listen to what happened verse number five they tear the roof off the four did they lower the man down into the room where Jesus was preaching the four did and mark to verse number five when Jesus saw their faith didn't say one thing about the faith of the man laying in the bed sometimes the people were trying to get to God have no faith but sometimes God will honor our faith trying to get them to where he's at and when he said oh yes some people were going to invite the church don't have anything but God's going to look down and he's going to see our faith and he's going to say son your sins are forgiven and then he's gonna say he's not going to say your faith has made you whole you won't find it there he's simply gonna say take up your bed and walk but the faith goes to four friends it had one thing in common we've got to get our friend in the presence of Jesus and when he saw their fake you know what God sees when wearing the prayer room say have we announced prayer we're in the midst of prayer revival this month Monday Monday and Tuesday night Thursday and Friday night this building is open from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for prayer everybody's welcome to come it's it's a it's been those of you that have been here last week have we not been having great time how about it students was Friday night a great time Monday night all through the month of January Monday night 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. prayer Tuesday night 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. prayer Wednesday night the same prayer scheduled for Wednesday night service Thursday night Friday night 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. prayer Saturday morning from 10:00 to 11:00 prayer do you know what God sees when we're here praying he sees our faith he sees our faith but in order for you to go to where God wants us to go in 2020 there's no way he can be self-centered you have to realize that 2020 is going to change you 2020 is going to change a lot of things about your life who you're connected with in this church but by the help of God we're going to connect Johnathan's and armor bearers together and when we connect you we're going to begin to win some long long overdue victories in our lives and I say that in Jesus name would you bow your heads with me right now although this building when you begin to pray right I didn't need my prayer warriors come on tonight I need my prayer warriors right now god I'm willing to go Lord god I'm willing to go Lord I'm willing to go Lord I'm willing to go I'm willing to go I'm willing to go there's anyone under the sound of my voice tonight if you know you know where you need to be with God I open this altar up to you right now we want to put you first because your need is first right now in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus wherever you're at in this building tonight I'll give you an opportunity I give you an invitation to come right now I'll give you an invitation to come right now come on pray all over this building you're a prodigal you're someone that doesn't have the baptism of the Holy Ghost and you want it there's anybody here tonight that has not being water baptized in Jesus name and you desire to be water baptized tonight would you make your way to the front right now did you make your way to the front right now I want you continue praying for a moment continue to pray for a moment please the only ones I won't come into the altar our prodigal and people wanting to be baptized with the Holy Ghost people wanting to be baptized in water it's the only ones I'm wanting to Chum right now and then in our boho style I'll show you I come on all over this building I sure do need my prayer warriors right now I sure do need to help you to help me get pray right now to create an atmosphere