Up Or Down...You Choose
by Kevin Allen
September 22, 2024 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Psalms 5:1-4, Psalms 40:12, Psalms 121:1-8, 1 John 1:9, Psalms 8:3-5, Luke 10:18, Ephesians 2:1-7, Ephesians 3:6-11, Ephesians 3:16-21, Mark 8:22-25, Luke 21:25-28

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kevin-allen--up-or-down-you-choose
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

------------------------------------------------------------
I'm going to go into Psalms chapter 5 for a message today. Because I do realize, the only thing stand between you and the festivities of the afternoon is me. So I will hasten to the word, because I want you to be able to get all that we have for you this afternoon. And again, just one last time, let me say thank you for being here. You honor Us by being a part of this service today.

Psalms chapter 5, reading from verse number one. It says: "Give an ear to my words, oh Lord. Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, my king and my God. For to you I will pray. My voice you shall hear in the morning. Oh Lord, in the morning I will direct it to you, and I will look up. For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with you."

And for just a little while today, I want to preach a — what I feel like is a simple message. But often times the simple ones are the best ones. Preach a simple message titled "Up or Down, You Choose." Up or down, you choose. I want to pray right now, for God to be with us for the next few minutes.

"Jesus, you've been with us on campus since the moment we pulled in. God, I'm so honored that your presence is in the sanctuary today. And I pray, God, that we could just submit oursel to what it is you want to do. That you would anoint our minds and our heart, to receive the word that's already Anointed. God, it would fulfill its purpose and its plan. In Jesus' name we pray." And amen.

The word "up" — I feel like is an interesting word. Two letters. But that two-letter word often times has a lot of implications. What I mean by that is: we can do things like, we can call up our friends. We can warm up leftovers, and then we can clean up the kitchen. We can lock up the house. Some people like to fix up old cars. Some people like to stir up trouble. We can line up for a giveaway. We can work up an appetite. We can think up excuses while we shouldn't exercise. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed up is special. This word "up," it can be confusing. Because a drain must be opened up, because it's stopped up. We open up for business in the morning, but then we close up for business at night. When it threatens to rain, we say that it's clouding up. When the sun comes out, we say it's clearing up. When it rains, it often messes up our plans. And when it doesn't rain for a while, things begin to dry up. Can I get an amen? We've been in a dry season for a while. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap up, because before long my time will be up.

Now, it seems simple enough. And it is somewhat simplistic — I all agree. But when things are going well, we often times will say things are beginning to look up. When we try to talk to someone through a crisis, often times we'll also say, "Well, we just need to — you just need to look up. Things are going to be better." When we're trying to restore confidence in someone, we say, "You need to look up." And when we are trying to change someone's Focus from a negative side, we say, "You need to look up, at the brighter side of what's going on."

So that's covering all things when it comes to talking about being up. But let's also talk about down. Because down, on the other hand, conveys a totally different thought than up. You can be down and out. You can be down on your luck. The stock market can go down. Sales numbers can be down. At time, our service today is a casual dress. Some say that we are dressed down. For some, you don't know what to do right now. We'll tell you. It is interesting, when I was worshiping in tennis shoes. We can drive down the road. We can float down a river. When it rains really hard, we say it sure is coming down. When people are missing from a event, we say that it attendance is down. The University of Tennessee football team made a lot of first downs to beat Oklahoma. Finally, we have something spiritual in service. For some, that was the first time you engaged all morning.

What about looking down, right? Looking down conveys a totally different thought pattern between that, and then what is conve to us when it says we're going to look up. People look down when they feel depressed. People look down when they are discouraged. People look down when they feel worthless and ashamed. People look down when they are intimidated, or unable to compete. People look down when they are frightened and hopeless.

When you read through the scriptures — you read through what the word of God has to say for us — you will notice that it's a universal appeal, that we are to look up. There's something powerful about the direction of our gaze, and what we're putting our attention to. We are constantly encouraged to look up, instead of looking down. The psalmist David, who wrote our opening scripture, had picked up on the importance of beginning to look up, when he said: "Oh Lord, in the morning I will direct my prayer to thee. I will look up." But even in the light of that knowledge, David also understood — and even confessed — that that's sometimes a struggle. Sometimes it's hard to muster up the courage to look up. Because David again wrote, in Psalms 40 and2: "For INS samaral evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up."

Anybody identify with that? Anybody had life hit you really hard, and it caused you to look down? Caused you to struggle, and feel like you were less than, or you were overwhelmed, or whatever the case may be for you? Someone may be sitting here today, thinking: "I'm trying to look up, but I just can't. I'm struggling because of my Life Choices, or circumstances, or the evil that has come against me. My decisions have taken a hold of me. Every time I begin to look up, I feel like something's trying to push me down." It could be your job. Or maybe it was your kids. Or your spouse. Or your siblings. Or your boss. Or your teacher. Or your friends. Or your bad luck. There's a lot of things that have the potential to push you down.

So we have a choice to make: up or down. Up or down. But make no mistake, the choice is yours to make. Even if you don't feel like you have the ability to choose — I'm here today to speak a truth to you: you do have a choice. You do have a choice. And your choice matters in the outcome of your life. Sometimes, just setting your mind to a decision has the ability to change, and have a course correction in your life. If you're looking all around — often times you miss the most important thing. Because that's usually what we focus on: is what's around us. I have a suggestion today. Not to make light of your problems, but: you're not looking up. You're paying attention to what's around you. You're looking to your left. You're looking to your right. You're looking behind you. You're looking beside you.

There was a disciple of Jesus, who for a brief moment walked on water. His name was Peter. To summarize the story: they were told to get into a boat, and to go over to the other side, and that Jesus would meet them on the other side. So they already given a word, that he's going to meet them. There was a word professed: "You get in the boat. I'll meet you on the other side." He didn't say it was going to be smooth sailing. He didn't say that they would not face any adversity. He simply told them: "You get in the boat, and I'll meet you on the other side."

Now, most of us know, the story goes that they ran into a storm on the water. And life does that, right? Often times, in our little boat of Life, storms come upon the Sea, and the waters around us. Anybody ever experienced a storm? Anybody ever weathered a storm or two in your life? Some of you look like you've weathered a few things. Yeah, we went through some stuff. Yeah. They get in the middle of the ocean — get middle of the water, to middle of the sea, where they're at. And all of a sudden, a storm blows in. Now, these are the guys who had just seen him perform a m, a miracle. In fact, The Book of Mark says that in the middle of the storm, they forgot the miracle of the morning. Well, in the middle of their trouble, in middle of their situation, Jesus comes walking on the water. Then Peter sees them, gets all bold — because he realizes that it was Jesus walking on the water — and says, "Lord, if that's really you, then I want to come out to where you are."

Because I don't know about you, but it's always great to be where Jesus is. But be careful what you asked for. Cuz to get to Jesus, he had to get out in the storm. I'm going to say that again — that kind of fell flat: to get to Jesus, he had to get out of his comfort boat. He had to get out of what was familiar to him. He had to get out of what was convenient to him. Even though it was in the storm, rocking too. Even though it was — in my mind, taking on water — wasn't necessarily an ideal place. Still, the boat was better than the water. But Jesus said, "Come on out."

And this is where the story takes an interesting turn. Because Peter actually got out. And for a brief moment, he is walking on water. But then something happened. He took his eyes off of Jesus. And he began to focus on the Storm. He took his eyes off of Jesus, be to focus on the fact that he was doing something that a man's not supposed to do. You know, I don't know if you know this or not, but we don't really walk on water. We can skip on water. Yeah, we can dive into water. But it's not normal to walk on water. And when he took his Focus off of Jesus, and he placed his Focus onto the storm around him, all of a sudden he began to sink.

There's a truth there, for somebody today, to hang on to: that if you take your eyes off of Jesus, more often than not, the circumstances of your life will overwhelm you. Did you notice, we don't always stay on the mountain top? Did you notice that sometimes it rains? You know, sometimes a storm comes in. That'd be great if we just stayed on the mountain top, with a nice little calm Breeze. Little cloud cover. Partly cloud is not bad, right? Better than all cloudy. Yeah. If we could script out our life — if we could pin out our preference, and what we would desire — often times there would be no adversity that was there. But I don't know if you know this or not: that's simply not life. That never happens. At some point, adversity comes. But what matters is, what are you going to focus on, when adversity comes your way? When you see these things coming. When you realize things are not according to your plan. You have a choice. You can look up, or you can look down. You can look up to where God is. To where we instructing his word. To where my help comes from. Or I can look around at my circumstances. Often, when I keep looking down around me, I just become overwhelmed. I become distracted. I become distraught. I become anxious. I become depressed. That's what happens when I focus down here. But if I can ever turn my eyes up — even when it's difficult, even when I'm feeling overwhelmed — there's something there.

The psalmist said in Psalms 121 And1: "I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not Slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither sleep nor Slumber. The Lord is your keeper. He is your keeper. The Lord is your shade in your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the Moon by Night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil. He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve you're going out and you're coming in, from this time and forever more."

Did you notice that word, "preserve"? There's something about, when I look up to where my help is — my God has the ability to write the wrongs. He has the ability to keep his hand in my life. He has the ability to fight a fight that I couldn't win by myself. I'm talking about God Almighty. I want to remind all this today: God's on your side. No, no — that was too bad. That was too weak. That was a truth that I just declared. And that was a very pitiful response, in an Apostolic church. "God is on your side." Yeah, there we go. God is on your side. And if God be for you, who can be against you? Oh, I'm going to say that again, because that wasn't good enough. That's the truth: if God be for you, who can be against you? What enemy possibly that could ever Prevail over you? There is never a foe that can defeat you. There's never a battle that you're going to go into, that you can't win, if God is for you. Thank you — I got three or four of you on board me. I'm talking about the king. The one. The Creator. The almighty. The Everlasting — the most powerful that has ever been, or ever will be — said, "I won't leave you. I won't forsake you. I'll be with you." Now calm down, y'all getting crazy on be the church Sunday.

It's important: we look up, or we look down. It's your choice. When you pray — have you ever stopped just to look up? Many times in my Ministry, I — praying with someone — I felt the spirit impress me, as I was praying with them, to instruct them to look up. Nothing about their position changed. But what I know is that, when we are dealing with our bad choices, our bad decisions, our circumstances that we allowed to happen in our life — when we haven't been the best version of oursel — we find it very difficult, in the presence of God, to look up. We feel the weate of our sin, and our indiscretion. And our condemnation comes down on us. And the enemy loves to pounce on that, and tell you: "You're not worthy. What are you doing? God doesn't love you. God doesn't respect you." And you begin to replay in your own mind, all of the things that you've done wrong. And all the things that have been said about you. And all the labels that have been placed on you. And before you know it, you're there in the presence of the almighty, but you can't lift your head up.

But I want you to know, that if you ask for forgiveness foress — according to First John, he is faithful and just to forgive you, and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. So if you've asked him to forgive, you need to have faith to say, "He has forgiven me of those things." And once you have been forgiven, it's okay to lift your head up in the presence of the almighty God. The enemy tries to keep you pushed down. But there's something about — your countenance will change, when you begin to lift your face up towards the heaven, towards where your Creator and where your God is. That's why we have those instructions in Scripture, that tell us that you need to be looking up. Why? Because that's where he is. Heaven is his throne. The Earth is his foot stol. God occupies the space above us. This makes us lower than God.

David talked about this in Psalms 8, verse number three: "When I consider your heavens, and the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained — what is man, that you are mindful in? Or the son of man, that you visit him? For you have made him a little lower than angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor." God is above us. God is around us. God is all over. But there's something about acknowledging that he is above me. He is higher than me. His ways are bigger than me. I can't even fit all of God inside my mind. And I'm thankful for that. You should be thankful too.

But not so with our enemy. Not so with Satan. Anytime you read about the Devil, he's either on the same level, or he's below us. Luke 10:18: "And he said and them, 'Beheld Satan's lightning fall from Heaven.'" I want you to know that the only time — the only time — God looked down, was to take the form of man. So he could identify with us. When Jesus came to Earth, he went down as far as he needed to go, to save us. And when he reached bottom, he turned around, and started heading back up, in the opposite direction. And he has never stopped from that moment. He has never reversed his course. Not only that, he has reached out to the church, and he's asking the church to join us. And we're going in the same direction.

I'm thankful I'm a part of the church triumphant. I know I'm speaking a little old school language like that. As a kid, we talked about the church Triumph. Modern church, we don't talk about a lot. We seem to lose a little bit of that understanding: that we are the church triumphant. We are the Victorious one. That same resurrection power that got him out of the Grave, he has filled me with. He has filled you with. So I don't have to be beat down, and trotten over. I don't have to accept defeat in my life. I don't have to accept addiction. I don't have to accept abuse. I can return in to that very resurrection power, that he has poured out inside of me. I can tap into that power, into that source, that is there. I don't have to take a backseat. We are a part of the church triumphant. We should celebrate that. We should celebrate our Victory.

The direction of the church is never down. The calling of God will never lead you down. God will never put you down, push you down, keep you down, or let you down. He is there to be victorious. To Stand By Your Side. To make sure that you get from where you are, to where he wants you to be. I'm going to say that again: to get you from where you are, to where it is he wants you to be. We're a part of the church triumphant. Why? Because my God is a Victorious God. He has never been defeated. He has never made a fo, that he's been overwhelmed with. But he is all powerful, and can do all things.

Up or down. Up or down, you choose. And any interaction we have with God will always lift you up. Take you to a higher plane of existence. He picks you up. Holds you up. Sits you up. And fixes you up. I will say it again: he picks you up, holds you up, sets you up, and fixes you up. He don't leave you broke down, disgusted, busted, on the side of the road. That's not what my God does. My God says, "I'll meet you in the middle of your lowest moment. But I W leave you down. I'll pick you up. I'll set you up." Calm down — you'reall getting ahead of me. I got to take you through scripture. Cuz I don't want you to just take my opinion for it. In fact, my opinion doesn't even matter. And respectfully, yours doesn't either. Let's talk about what the book has to say. What does the word have to say? That's where I want to be. Yeah, my opinion is not going to stand the test of time. But this is forever settled. This is foundational. I can build my life on this.

So let's go to the word. Ephesians 2:1: "And you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world. According to the prince of the power of air, the spirit who now works in the sons of Disobedience. Among whom also we all will run conducted ourselves, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the Flesh and of the mind. And were by nature of the children of Wrath, just as the others." Say, "Oh — my —" We were a heathen Bunch. We were rag tag. We were terrible. Look at your neighbor and I say: "You were bad." Yeah. And I was too. Yeah. Them was — that defined all of us, those first three verses. Every one of us been like: "That was me. That was me. That was me." Woo. But I like when we get to verse four. Cuz it says: "But God." "But God." Oh, I'm thankful. I'm thankful that when he shows up — "But God, who is rich in Mercy, because of his great love which he loved us, when we were dead in trespasses, made me alive." He didn't leave me in the grave. Oh, he found me when I was dead, but said, "I can do something with that." You may think you're over. You may think you're done with. You may think you're dead. But he steps up and says, "I make dead things alive." He messes up every funeral he goes to. "Dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By Grace you have been saved. And raised us —" He didn't push me down. He didn't push you down. But he raised us up together. And made us sit together in the Heavenly places, in Christ Jesus. "That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding Riches of his grace, and his kindness towards us, in Christ Jesus."

I'm so thankful I have a God who brings me up. That in my lowest moment, didn't leave me dead. He didn't walk away from me. He wasn't scared of my circumstances. He wasn't afraid of my situation. Instead, he boldly walked right in the middle of my mess, and said: "I'll get down right into the dirty where you — I get down in the muck and the M of life. But I don't want you to stay down here. Because you're my child. You belong to me. I want to bring you up, to set in Heavenly places with me." Ain't nobody Love You Like Jesus. Ain't nobody Love You Like Jesus. Jesus never leaves you the same. He never leaves you the same. He's never trying to take from you. He's only trying to approve your position with him.

Somebody needs to let God raise him up today. To raise you up, to sit in Heavenly places. It's time for you and I to recognize the importance of moving up, into higher Realms of Spiritual Authority. That there's a real spiritual world around us. Now looking — I'm not going on no devil hunt. I know that's bad English. I'm not afraid of him. I'm not going poking my head behind every burst Bush and saying, "Are you in there?" Is that what I'm doing? Not about that. But if he shows up, I ain't scared. Cuz I know who stands with me. There's a real spiritual World we're living in. There's a lot of spiritual stuff going on right now. And we need to understand the power that we have with us. The operation of the spirit should be a part of our daily life. We're living a redempt and overcoming life. Are you embracing it? Are you understanding it? Are you comprehending the sacrificial living that separates us from the world, and brings us into the presence of God, every day? Every day. Not just a Sunday. Not just a Wednesday. But Monday, and Tuesday, and Thursday, and Friday. I have the ability to tap into a power and a presence that's beyond this world. It's into the heavenlies. That I don't have to be downcast. I can tap into something that lifts me up.

See, you and I have an incredible task at hand. Here's how the Apostle Paul described it, in Ephesians chapter 3, verse six: "That the Gentiles should be the fellow heirs" — that are excite — "99% in this room, 99% of us are Gentiles. I'm assuming there may be one Jew in the room. I don't know. But most of us are Gentiles. That would be fellow Hees of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ, through the gospel. Of which I became a minister, according to the gift of grace of God given to me, by the effective working of his power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this Grace was given. That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable Riches of Christ. And to make all see what is the fellowship and mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ. To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be known to the church, to the principalities and powers of heavenly, in the Heavenly places. According to the Eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our lord."

Now here's the setting in which the church is found. Here's the purpose. Verse 16, the same chapter: "That he might Grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through his Spirit, to the inner man. That Christ May dwell in your hearts through faith. That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width, and the length, and the depth, and the height. To know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge. That you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in US — according to the power that works in us — to him be the glory. And the Church of Christ Jesus, to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

That's the church. It's a powerful church. Church is much more than just coming in and having a social Gathering. We're going to be social today. We're going to eat. We're going to eat, and have a good time of fellowship. And that's a part, and that's aspect of the church. But so many times, that's the main focus that comes to our mind when we think about the church. And we miss the fact that we're meant to be powerful in our world. World. Paul is not talking about the people who are struggling to draw the line between the church and the world. No, no, no. This is not a church that's caught up in family fights, and all kind of internal squabbles, and carnality, and political correctness. This is not a weak, anemic church. This is a powerful church. This is a church triumphant. This is a church that's Victorious. This is a church that understands it's time to start moving up. It's time of church, that we —

I feel like I'm speaking today to some folks that just accepted the life's not going to get any better. I rebuke that lie in Jesus' name. You don't have to settle for defeat. You don't have to settle for anything that's less than what God has for you. I'm going to say that again. I'm going get over here. This is team — this is team red. You guys are excited over here. We got yellow. These guys are dropping the ball in blue. But I'm goingon to get over here. You guys pay attention. You don't have to settle for defeat. You don't have to settle for being less than. You don't have to settle for any label the world tries to put on you, or whatever your family tries to shove down your throat. You don't have to do that. You are a child of the king. You are Blood Bought. You have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You have the right to boldly go into the throne room, and present your petition before the god, The King, The Almighty one. You don't have to sit in the second seat to anybody. I wish y' would get on board like them. Same thing applies to you. He's your king. He's your king. He's on your side. He is for — he is for you. Who can be against you?

We need to be about all that God has for us. Understanding that we're living in the last days. I don't want to be intoxicated with Babylon. I don't want to get so distracted with all the noise, and everything that's coming my way, that I miss the fact that God wants me to do something special. And God wants you to do something special. It's not time to be sitting. It's time to get in the game. It's time to get in the game. It's time to say, "God, what is it you want from me? What is it you have for me?"

Now here, I got to speak to some folks that think that you're never going to accomplish anything great for the kingdom of God, because you can't get past yourself. I rebuke that lie too. As long as you're breathing, you got hope. If you're in this room, there's Hope for you. If the devil had his way, you would not be in this room right now. But guess what, devil? I'm here. I'm here. "You thought she had me. But look where I'm at. Look where I'm at. Look where I'm at. You ain't got me." Oh, I may have stumbled. But, "Rejoice not against me, oh my enemy. When I fall, I shall arise." I'm going to get up. Why? Because I got get up power in me. You got get up power in you. It's time to take charge of your situation. It's time to take charge of your life. Don't settle for second best. No, no, no, no. You got royalty. It belongs to you. You're are a child of the king. But it matters: up or down, you choose. Up or down. I hope you choose up. I hope you choose up.

Mark chapter 8:22: "Then he came with to Bethesda. And they bought a blind man to him. And he begged him to touch him. So he took the blind man by the hand, and he let him out of the town." Do you know why he needed to change his scenery? He had been so identified with just being a blind beggar. He could have healed him right there. Yes, he could have. He not short on power. That's why I tell you: every word that's in the Bible — it's there for an important thing. Why did he take him out? He need — he was identified with his position. So before he healed him, he's like: "We need to get out of where you are. You're too comfortable here." Tak him by the hand, he led him out of town. Some of you need to get out of town. I'm not talking about physically, this town. He — whatever Town it is holding you back, you need to get out of it. "And when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up, and said, 'I see men like trees, walking.' Then he put his hands down on his eyes again, and he made him look up. And he was restored, and saw everything clearly."

I'm praying God grabs somebody today, and makes you look up.

Now here's what I know. Okay, L — this just — I'm just a 48- year old guy, trying my best to live for God. But in my 48 years of living, there have been a few times that I had to hit the bottom, so that I would finally look up. I don't know who I'm speaking to in the room today. But I feel like I got a few folks, that you have finally hit bottom. And if that's you, thank God. Because the only option you have is to look up. But that's the right direction. There's a God who's standing here right now.

Maybe your circumstances are such, that God lets you get to the very bottom, so that you would finally turn around and see up. And standing here the whole time.

As they get ready to close today — because I feel like God desires to do something, before we get to the fun stuff — oh, let's get to the good stuff. You — I don't know how much longer the church has. I don't — that's not me being a doomsday guy. I don't like for things to get bad. I asked this question a lot around here: "How much worse does it have to get?" Know — but you — it's kind of crazy out there. Have y'all noticed? It's kind of rough. It's kind of bad. Scary. And if I was just to look around me — if I was to just look at how the world's going — if I just — let's just get down to where we are. If I was just to look at what's going on in our country right now, I'd get a little overwhelmed and depressed. I would. Some of you like, "I know, that's where I'm at, Pastor. I get it." If that's all I'm looking at. If all I'm doing is looking around me, and seeing what's going on. If I'm reading the headlines, and seeing the news, and watching all the stuff that's going on. If I was just caught up in that. If that's all I did, it'd be bad. I'd be cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. I dated myself with that. But I'm not just looking around me. Because I've read in his word, that he wants me to look up. So I've determined that I want to spend more time looking up, then I do looking down. I need to focus my attention on what's above me, and not what's around me.

This age of Grace that we're living in, ladies and gentlemen — it's not going to last forever. Because there's coming a day — I got my last passage of scripture. And then we're going to have a Time, where God wants to do something with us. But Luke 21:25 — reading from the New Living Translation, says — this is Jesus, these are red letter words in your Bible, the words of Jesus: "And there will be strange signs in the Sun, the moon, and the stars. And here on Earth, the Nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by The Roaring seas and strange Tides. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the Earth. For the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then everyone will see the son of man coming on a cloud, with power and great Glory." So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up. For your salvation draws near."

Guys, I don't know how much time we got. I don't. But I don't want to be caught paying attention to the wrong things. I want to look up. Cuz my salvation draws near.

So as you stand with me today — I don't know everybody's life circumstances or situations. I know many of you in the room. But many that're here today, this is the first time that I got to meet you. I'm thankful that you were here. I don't believe it's an accident. God knew that you were going to be here today. Maybe you were surprised by it. But he wasn't surprised that you're here.

And here's what I believe. And this is what I trust. Is it — he has always been a God that never wants you to be where you are. He's always pulling you up. He's pulling you up. So I don't know who's down and out. I don't know who's broken. I don't know who's hurting. I don't know who needs restoration. I don't know who needs healing. I don't know, with all the stories in this room — I just know, with a crowd this size, there are many that are here today. So if that's you — we're going to pray in just a minute. And if that's you, I wonder if you'd be bold today, to take a step forward. I wonder if you'd be bold enough to just step out. Come down to our altar area, and let us pray with you. And let us help you connect with the one who's alive and well, and sitting on a throne. Who has a plan and a purpose for your life. Who never wants you to be down and out. We wants you to be lifted up with him. He wants to set you in the Heavenly places, where he is.

Will you help me pray today? You don't mind, just close your eyes and bow your head.

"Jesus, I love you. I'm so thankful for your presence that's here today. And so thankful, Lord, that you are visiting with us. That you are here. Cuz God, we're — you are, there is Liberty. There is freedom where you are. All things are possible. God, I pray today that you would see the faith that is in this room, to the individuals who are taking a step of Faith out, trusting and believing that you're going to do a miraculous work in their life. God, will you lift us up today? Will you lift us up out of our trials and tribulations? Will you lift us up out of our circumstances, out of our life choices? God, will you set us on a firm foundation? Oh God, take our broken goodness, and make it beautiful today. In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name."

It's prayer time. They're going to sing. And I want to pray with those that are down here, for just a few minutes. If you don't mind indulging me, we're just going to have a little time of prayer, right now.