Sunday Morning Worship Service
by Raymond Woodward
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Proverbs 13:20, Numbers 16:1-3, Numbers 16:8-11, Numbers 16:12-14, Numbers 16:32, Numbers 26:11, Hebrews 11:24-26, Exodus 20:5-6, Psalm 42:1, Psalm 44:1, Psalm 45:1, Psalm 46:1-3, Psalm 46:10, Psalm 47:1, Psalm 87:6-7, Psalm 84:1-2, Psalm 84:10, Job 42:10

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/raymond-woodward--sunday-morning-worship-service-66
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Lord bless you you are home oh my I'm a crier you might not be but I am my eyes leak they say if your eyes leak your head won't swell which means my head should be that big around but I am so grateful for not only the presence of God but the presence of God's family here in this room today and uh this church means a whole lot to me because of your leadership the mul family the Whitley uh their reach in the apostolic movement is so wide and uh it includes uh a teenage boy from frederickton New Brunswick Canada many years ago impacted by the Statesman brother Billy Mc and sister Betty mcco we're so ever forever grateful for your impact and of course Pastor Mark and sister Jamie and the Whitley and Pastor Anthony mcol you are so abundantly blessed here and the footprint of this church does not rest on this beautiful site the footprint of this church rests in the hearts and the minds and the lives and the Eternal Souls of people all throughout America all throughout the nations of the world and thank you for being faithful to such a great church because you're making a difference around the world and we are beneficiaries of that and we're so grateful well uh I'll try to get straightened up and get to the word of the Lord you would help me right now if you would lift up your hands boldly and lift up your voice loudly and just give the Lord great praise in this room because Jesus is here here I love you God I worship you Jesus Oh I worship you Jesus I thank you God for your presence your people your power your word your spirit Your Great Name I thank you for all the blessings that you've given to us you are great and you are good we worship you Jesus we lift you up with all of our heart and our soul we lift you up with all of our might and our strength we lift you up we give you great praise give you great Praise You may be seated it is a pleasure to be here with the Hunley and it's a special delight to have Beverly here uh with me and uh normally she's home behind the scenes praying for me so she's always with me that way but it's extra special to have her here I want to take your attention if you want to turn in your Bibles we're going to be heading toward the Book of Numbers chapter 16 you can just keep your thumb in there and I want to take you to one of the strangest stories in the Old Testament it was a traumatic and terrifying event and it would scar them for the rest of their lives we don't know exactly how old they were when that terrible tragic day unfolded but most likely they were just young men maybe just even boys and their dad his life imploded they had no doubt seen the signs of his Rebellion because he increasingly complained and he increasingly criticized the leaders that God had given them but they were just boys what can boys do when they're dads out of control they were just Sons so they stood helplessly by as their dad raged and railed against all of the things that he thought were wrong in his world they were too young to challenge his bruised ego they were too small to kind of say Dad you're wrong but their dad's attitude now threatened everything about the life that they loved these boys knew if they spoke up he'd just angrily brush away their concerns and turn on them and he'd ignore their pleas anyway so they were powerless to stop their dad's wounded Spirit from spreading its infection and separating their family from the rest of the people those boys didn't know how it was all going to end but they had this growing gnawing dread in their stomach that said when this is over it's going to be bad now it wasn't so in the beginning there their dad actually was a respected man his name was Kora and he was a coite he was a cousin of Moses and Aaron and he was a a member of the honored tribe of Levi he was chosen by God God to do the work of the Tabernacle every time the camp of Israel moved the priest would cover up the Ark of the Covenant and all the other sacred furnishings and and and then it would be the sacred duty of the coites and only the family of coath to move those holy sacred articles wherever Israel traveled and time after time they'd walk many many miles through the desert and the Wilderness now the other levitical families there were two other families the gershonites and the marites and they also had the care of some of the Articles of Furnishings in the Tabernacle but in their case they could pack them all up and put them on carts or wagons and then the beasts of Burden could do the heavy lifting but not the coites um the Articles under their care were holy and they could only be carried on the shoulders of men chosen by God for that purpose the Articles would be covered up so no one could see them and there were rings on the corners of all those furnishings and once the priests had covered them up they would put long poles staves through the Rings and so without seeing what they were carrying and without touching what they are carrying the family of coath would carry them many many miles through the Wilderness no carts no Beast of Burden no wagons to help them the holy Tabernacle furnishing could only be carried on the shoulders of men I think God saw it this way if men are to receive the blessing of God then they should bear the burden of commitment to God and I think God still sees it that way so for the coites it was an honored task but it was an arduous job especially when the burdens got heavy and the journey was long and the heat was unbearable and the desert was so inhospitable and finally we don't know how long it took we're not told that information finally it all just began to really bother Kora the ministry hadn't changed but something had changed in the heart of the minister the problem seemed to begin not long after Kora started hanging out with two men called Dayan and abam they were two brothers from the tribe of Ruben and you know how it is with friends and Close Associates something in their rebellious attitude fan the Flames of kora's already growing offense and eventually their combined discontent it grew to infect 250 prominent leaders in the nation of Israel as kora's attitude soured what he had once seen as a privilege now became a problem what he had once seen as a blessing became a burden what he had once thought to be a high high honor now became Just An Inconvenient irritation here's where we need to be careful nothing had changed except kora's attitude but when your attitude changes brothers and sisters Everything Changes in your life and it really began to irritate Kora why why does my family have to carry everything everywhere why does my family have burdens that no other family seems to have why does my family have to serve when Moses and Aaron and their families they get to lead you see a root of bitterness had sprung up in his soul and the Bible tells us that a root of bitterness will defile many others but Kor was oblivious to his sinful attitude and those boys his sons watch with growing horror as their dad once respected he morphed into a monster in front of their eyes you see Kora had chosen fools to be his close Companions and the Book of Proverbs still tells me that the companion of a fool shall be destroyed you don't have to be the bad guy in your own life you hang around with people that are a negative worldly influence and the companion of a fool gets hit with a shrapnel when their life explodes and implodes and so his boys are watching in horror and in their family dwelling you can cut the tension with a knife and and it's just this Sullen silence most of the time but every once in a while there's Outburst of anger Kora nobody can stop him he's out of control nobody can stop the the the fire of bitterness that rages in his heart and nobody can stop the flood of criticism that Wars out of his mouth he's totally out of control he's losing his ministry he doesn't even care he's rebelling against God he's not even alarmed but he's hurting his family and uh he just isn't concerned about that and his sons those innocent young men they saw it all unfold and finally one man's offense erupted into a crisis that engulfs the whole nation of Israel and here it is in numbers 16:1 one now Kora the son of isar the son of coath the son of Levi and Dayan and abam the sons of elab and on the son of palis Sons of Ruin they took men and they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel 250 princes of the assembly famous in the congregation men of renown these are important people and they gathered themselves together against their leaders against Moses and Aaron and they said you can feel the cynicism and the criticism in their their words you take too much upon you all the congregations holy Moses every one of them the Lord's among them why do you get to be lifted up among the above the congregation of the Lord can you imagine the arrogance and the audacity they've risen up against God's servants Moses and Aaron all because they want to be priests themselves you think you're better than us you think you're higher than us why do you get to lead while we have to serve and Kora is there leading the charge and it is disastrous um Moses tries to plead with Kora verse 8 Moses said to Kora here I pray you you sons of Levi is it just a small thing to you that God has separated you from the congregation and he's brought you near to himself and he lets you do the service of the Tabernacle and you get to stand before the congregation and minister to them is that just a small thing to you don't you understand how blessed you are don't you understand what a privilege it is just to be part of the people of God all the Brethren of Levi with you and Kora really you're seeking the priesthood also so Moses tries to plead with Kora but it's just not working he can't get through to him so Moses says well maybe I can talk to kora's friends maybe I can make some progress with them but it's not it's even worse verse 12 Moses sent to call daythan and abam the sons of eliab and when he called for them to come talk to him here's what they said we will not come up we're not talking to you Moses and here's what they say is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey and you're trying to kill us here in the wilderness and you're trying to make yourself a prince over us Moses you brought us up out of a land of milk and honey and now we're here in this Barren Wilderness and we are suffocating with the heat and there's no food and there's no water and we're not happy at all you beware when some of your friends look at the land of Egypt as though it was a land flowing with milk and honey Egypt was not a land flowing with milk and honey they were slaves there for 430 years working hard labor building the pyramids of the Pharaohs that wasn't a land flowing with milk and honey they were headed for a land flowing with milk and honey you be careful when anybody in your circle starts whispering in your ear well they seem to be having a lot of fun out in the world and it seems like it's easier out in the world it's only easier for a season there are pleasures of sin for a season but we are headed for a city whose Builder and maker is God so I'm glad to be here bring on the Wilderness if you need to bring on the Heat and the sand I'm going to still walk with God because I'm headed for something greater the land flowing with milk and honey is not in the rearview mirror that was sin and shame and bondage and pain the land flowing with milk and honey is in the front windshield we're headed for that place but see kora's friends they thought that they had it made in Egypt and God was so disgusted with these men he was so offended by their rank Rebellion that we come to one of the most horrifying events in the entire Bible God sets up a showdown for the very next morning and he tells the leaders you're to bring censors filled with coals and incense and you're all to offer worship and God himself is going to show who's on the Lord's Side and the next day the glory of God Appears and Moses out of concern he's he's got a pastor's heart out of concern for the people he says get away from the tents of Kora and Dayan and abam back away get get away from them because he knows and sure enough the Judgment of God falls on those men numers 16:32 and the Earth it's unprecedented the Earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up in their houses and all the men that appertained unto Kora and all their goods they and all that appertained to them went down alive into the pit and the Earth closed upon them and they perished from among the congregation before it was all over fire from the Lord came out and consumed the 250 men who had offered incense with Kora and then before it was all over a plague from the Lord killed another 14,700 people who sympathized with those Rebels it was an unprecedented display of God's judgment you say why would God do that I think I know why God had those people walking through the Wilderness and worshiping in the Tabernacle and Kora was privileged to be part of it the Tabernacle would set up a pattern of worship for the next several thousand years we still teach from the Tabernacle plan as we study the Bible today it was to set up a perfect pattern of God's salvation with blood and water and spirit with a beautiful Plan of Redemption and God said Kora if you think you're going to mess up everybody else that's going to be born into my kingdom in the next few thousand years you've got another thought coming and God Stamped Out Rebellion at its source in Israel on that day it was unprecedented it was horrifying and kora's boys stood there and watched it all unfold and brothers and sisters that unprecedented day of judgment would have been the end of the story except for seven words just 10 chapters later and here they are numbers 26 and 11 not withstanding the children of Kora died not if you ever wanted to see the mercy of God in one verse that's it right there they should have died their dad was the worst Rebel Israel had ever seen they should have died God opened the ground and swallowed their father up they should have died because of their past but because they made a decision on that day God gave them a future now that's a dramatic story I don't think my story is quite that dramatic but I share the same story and so do you there was a day when we decided to stand on the Lord's Side and because we made that decision every other blessing in my life has come about because of that day when I made a decision to stand for God oh my goodness I'm getting ahead of myself here but it's too much do you know that you can make a decision today that affects everybody in your family tree you can make a decision today that affects every moment to come my goodness on that day of Destruction the sons of Kora had to make a split second soul searching gut-wrenching decision are we going to stand with our dad and his sin or are we going to stand on the Lord's Side are we going to let our father's failure determine our future are we going to let our family's history determine our destiny I'm so thankful that they decided hey we're going to rebel against the Rebellion that's what we're going to do they can be rebellious if they want but we're going to stand for the Lord and they separated themselves from all that sin and rebellion and it was a difficult decision but they chose God's house even over their father's house and that one decision defined them forever they got somehow in their heart not the spirit of their rebellious father they got the spirit of their Pastor Moses Hebrews 11 by faith Moses when he was come to years he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter he lived in a palace he ate the most expensive elaborate Exquisite food he slept on satin sheets but he said I choose rather to suffer Affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season here's what Moses did he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he had respect under the recompense of the reward what in the world does that mean it means that Moses was looking ahead to something Beyond this life I also have respect under the recompense of the reward I'm not living just for now I'm not living just for today I'm living for God it's an eternal relationship in his family my goodness so the sons of Kora they stood on the Lord's Side when it would have been so much easier just to follow their family and their friends so as a result of that God did not destroy them but he did more than not destroying them he blessed them it was amazing their mess didn't prevent their Miracle their father's Rebellion didn't prevent their children's Redemption here it is God still had a plan for the line of Kora even when Kora got out of line it's amazing not with understanding the children of Kora died not that one verse begs for a sequel and here's the sequel when the Bible reintroduces us to the sons of Kora just a few Generations later here's what we don't see we don't see a clan holding on to bitterness against Moses and Aaron they are not nursing a centuries old grudge against their leaders not at all when you see the sons of Kora a generation later do you know what they're doing they are serving in the house of the Lord the job that their father Tau was so beneath him they've embraced it and they love it and they're so thrilled to be involved and God blessed them do you know that the great prophet Samuel he came from the line of the sons of Kora Samuel was so powerful the Bible says two important things about him number one God didn't let any of his words fall to the ground if Samuel said it you could take it to the bank that's how powerful he was and the other thing the Bible says is that the Philistines were subdued all the days of Samuel's life that old man of God was so powerful that God wouldn't even let the Philistines encroach on Israel while Samuel lived and he came from the line of the sons of Kor one group from these boys became expert Warriors who joined King David in his military exploits and another descendant was named heeman and he became one of the three great worship leaders in the Tabernacle along with ASF and Ethan and another group from their lineage became keepers of the Gate of the Tabernacle and still another group they had oversight of all the ministering vessels but what is most amazing to me is out of the line of the sons of Kora boys that should have been wiped out boys that should have been swallowed up boys that should have been destroyed cuz after all that was in their family it's all they ever saw it's all they ever heard but the sons of Kora many of them became writers of Israel's worship music can you imagine that boys that should have been destroyed ended up writing hymns of praise to God that everyone sang and if you look in the Book of Psalms you'll see 11 Psalms that were written for the sons of Kora Psalm 42 44-49 84 and 85 887 and 88 and they're specifically attributed to the sons of Kora because they all have the same title over them a psalm for the sons of Kora I just want to tell you how great the grace of God is I just want to tell you it doesn't matter how messed up your family is it doesn't matter how messed up your history is it doesn't matter how addicted or how in bondage or how out of it your family tree is when you stand up for the Lord God can turn everything around and he can use your one and only life to bring him glory and bless you and your family a generation later the sons of Kora they're doing work that their dad was disgusted by he didn't want to do it but they love it they just are so grateful that they get to be part of the great family of God and they write 11 songs I don't have time this morning but they're all beautiful so let's just kind of take take a bird's eye view here of some of the things that the sons of Kora wrote Psalm 42 As the deer pants after the water Brooks so pants my soul after thee Oh God my daddy didn't love the house of God but I do my daddy didn't have a desire for the presence of God but I can hardly wait to get in God's presence As the deer pants after the water Brooks I just been thirsting to get to fac on a Sunday morning and just get among the people of God but I didn't just come to see you as wonderful as you are I came to stand in the presence of God because I'm thirsty for a move of God's spirit in my life I wish everybody in this room that loves the Lord I know you're F this room is filled with those kind of people I wish you to lift up your voice right now your hands are wonderful but your voice is better your hands are awesome but your voice is more powerful I'm so glad to be part of the people of God and worshiping in the house of God Jesus changed my life it's an honor to be here oh oh oh those boys they wrote this song Psalm 44 we have heard with our ears oh God our fathers have told us what work thou did in their days in the times of old wait just a minute their dad didn't tell them that their dad didn't tell them about the goodness of God all he had was a Heart full of bitterness against Moses what are they talking about notice our fathers have told us when you commit into this great family of God your family may be so distant from you your family may be so dysfunctional that it's even hard to have relationship with them you may come from a family where you were misused or abused and I'm so sorry about that but I'm so glad to tell you that when you come into this great family of God you've got fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers and if you listen close your fathers and your mothers and your sisters and your brothers will tell you about the goodness of God in their lives and in their families don't don't get messed up about it don't get jealous of it don't say well I didn't have an upbringing like that I didn't have a good mom like that I didn't have a great dad like that that doesn't matter anymore once you get in God's family our fathers tell us our mothers tell us and I inherit all of those testimonies I've got my own testimony now but I didn't start out with it I listen to the testimonies of a bunch of other people what a great church you're part of this is filled with generations of testimonies of the faithfulness and the goodness of God if you'll just listen you'll learn a lot if you'll just listen you'll realize if I pray over my kids and if I get my kids to the house of God God's going to get working in my family and the odds are they're going to end up serving the same God as I serve in the same church do you understand the value of the testimonies in this place our fathers have told us this church is so special to me because Elder mul's Pastor was my great uncle and he was the first Apostolic in our family and so we have a shared connection that goes back decades it it's it goes back over a hundred years to when my great uncle received the baptism of the Holy Ghost I didn't come into this having my testimony I was just a boy but I had his testimony and then I had my faithful dad's testimony who was the only one in his family that would listen to his crazy Uncle Leonard talk about the Holy Ghost and baptism in Jesus name and my dad had something in him that just wanted to listen to that and wanted to follow that my mom and dad were just sweet little new converts when I came along but they raised me in this wonderful Apostolic Faith so I've got a testimony of my own now but I didn't start out with the testimony but in the church I had some fathers and some mothers and some sisters and some brothers and that's why I love the house of God there's no place I'd rather be than with you folks in the house of God oh my I got to hurry those boys those sons of Kora they wrote this song Psalm 45 it's old 400 and some year old King James English let me read it and I'll interpret it my heart is inditing a good matter I speak of the things which I have made touching the king my tongue is the pen of a ready writer what they just said there is a mouthful my heart is inditing it's not in the legal sense that we use it today my heart is overflowing with the goodness of God so I speak of the things which I have made what did they make they made songs they wrote songs I sing songs of praise to God I can't even get in God's presence without my heart overflowing with the goodness of God that's why pastor and some of your team they'll stand up here and they'll say hey let's all lift our hands don't don't say oh again of course again God's so good we can lift our hands for a hundred years and never get near praising him enough God's so great we can lift our voices for a millennia and never get used to the presence of God do you understand my heart is overflowing with the goodness of God my tongue is the pen of a ready writer they said it doesn't matter whether we write it in a song or whether we say it out loud when you're around us you're going to hear of the goodness of God all my life God you have been faithful all my life you have been so so good so with every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God oh take a time out and Lift Jesus up in this room oh thank you Jesus oh thank you Jesus oh thank you Jesus oh thank you Jesus thank you Jesus oh my goodness woo those boys that shouldn't have even existed they shouldn't have even survived that day of Destruction they were so grateful to God the 11 songs that they wrote overflow with two things they overflow with longing for the presence of God and thankfulness for the goodness of God they just can't get away from it they wrote this song Psalm 46 God is our refuge and strength he's a very present help in trouble therefore will not we fear though the Earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea though the waters thereof Roar and be troubled though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof that's especially powerful when I remember that for the sons of Kora the Earth was removed under the feet of their father they stood there as young boys and watch that happen on the worst day of their life the Earth was removed and their father and all of his rebellious friends were swallowed up into the Earth alive but those boys still wrote this song even on the worst day of our life life even when the Earth was removed under our feet and we had nothing stable to stand on even on those kind of days God is our refuge and strength he's a very present help in trouble it doesn't matter what you might be going through today I want to announce to you that God he's your Refuge he's your strength he's a present help in trouble they wrote this in the very same uh Psalm verse 10 be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the Heathen I will be exalted in the earth now there's some people that go to church they have the first two words of that verse memorized be still that's their whole philosophy we we just need to be still just be quiet up there preacher stop yelling at me be still they're not talking about being still as in quiet they're talking about being still as in confident they're talking about when the earth is Raging all around you you just have a Stillness and a peace inside why because you're you're because these things don't affect you of course they affect you but you've got something greater in you and so God is your refuge and your strength so you can be still and I know they didn't write that about being quiet in church and the reason I know is they wrote the next Psalm also Psalm 47 oh clap your hands all ye people shout unto God with a voice of Triumph the the boys that Kora raised they shouldn't have been part of the church but they were so glad to be part of God's people that they led the people and said okay everybody clap your hands and shout unto God with a voice of Triumph kora's boys wrote that I'm watching the time so are some of you it's okay they also wrote this song Psalm 87 the Lord shall count when he writeth up the people that this man was born there as well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there all my Springs are in thee that's a beautiful verse it's a little awkward in our Modern Way of of constructing a sentence but what they're saying is when God counts up his people he doesn't segregate them off into different camps well these are the ex this and these are the x that and these are the addicts over here and these are the former alcoholics over here and these are the people that didn't have of a family pedigree over here and these are the people that came from dysfunctional homes when God looks at his people he writes us all up the same he doesn't divide us all up and say now these are the classy Pentecostals and the the these are kind of the disfunctional Pentecostals no he doesn't do that he doesn't look at your history he just looks that you're his son or his daughter and so they wrote this because they should have been on the outs with all of Israel their dad was the worst Ribble Rebel in Israel's history their dad was so bad that God opened up the Earth and swallowed him and all of his friends up but they said no but the Lord shall count when he writes up his people he's going to look at everybody and say this man he was born there I I I wouldn't single out anybody in this congregation but I'd love to just grab an ex drug addict that's in this church this morning you don't look like an ex drug addict today but you were a drug addict and when God looks at you he doesn't see drug drugs he doesn't see past he doesn't see pain and shame here's what he sees he says this man was born here it's just like he's Bishop mul it's just like he was born here and lived for God all his life God when he writes up his people he doesn't move us into different camps he puts us all together and says they're all my people I don't know where you came from and I don't care where you came from God's so good he welcomes us all into the same family oh my so we could go through all 11 songs they're all good they're all beautiful but we don't have time so we'll just do one more but I will tell you out of all 11 songs that the sons of Kora wrote this one this one is the best to me I think you'll like it too Psalm 84 they start out this way how amiable are thy Tabernacles oh lord of hosts my soul longth yay even fainteth for the courts of the Lord I'm preaching to somebody this morning that you could hardly wait to get here this morning and it wasn't to see anybody and it wasn't to admire the beauty of this beautiful wonderful campus you could hardly wait to get here because today uh it's the end of a very tumultuous week for you you've been through some stuff this week your family's going through some stuff this month and you could hardly get wait to get to the presence of God because you thought maybe this is the service where God could reach down and touch me I've got good news for you God sees your longing and you're fainting for the courts of the Lord and and the sons of Kora wrote these words my heart and my flesh crith out for the Living God see that's where this all starts it's not enough to just show up on the premises and just sit there and wait for God to take you over God's looking for somebody that's here because they long to be here and want to be here and they cry out to the Lord and when you cry out to God he hears that cry so it's beautiful and it's filled with the longing for the presence of God but this is out of all 11 songs written by the sons of Kora this is my favorite verse in all 11 songs psalm 84:10 for a day in thy courts is better than a thousand anywhere else I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness that's pretty special coming from them their dad was a doorkeeper and didn't like it but they said oh I'd rather be a doorkeeper than to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company I'd rather be in the humblest spot in the house of God if you'll just let me get near the presence of God because one day in his courts is better than a thousand days anywhere else see that's not just a figure of speech for them their dad was a doorkeeper who hated his job so when they say I'd rather be a doorkeeper they mean something very powerful what Kora had rejected his sons embraced it doesn't matter where you came from it it it really does not matter it really doesn't matter what you've done in your past it really does not matter all that matters is that today you're in the house of God with the people of God in the presence of God and when we're in the presence of God anything can change anything can break anything can be blessed anything can be released anything because he's a miracal worker I I just feel to say this in conclusion uh if you you read The 10 Commandments in the Bible Exodus chapter 20 if you read The Ten Commandments you'll notice this smack dab in the middle of the Ten Commandments it's it's right after that commandment about you know honoring your father and your mother and and and the Ten Commandments right in there it says the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation you don't need a preacher to stand In a Pulpit to tell you that you can read a news paper and you'll know that sometimes the sins of the fathers the addictions of the fathers the bondages and the dysfunctions of the fathers they come down through a family tree three and four generations deep and here's how this works and you might painfully know this personally that the son of an alcoholic says I'll never do what Dad did I'll never treat my wife like he treats my mom I'll never be hateful and ugly and nasty to my kids like my dad was to me but see they've never seen any other pattern of living and so all too often against their own will the son of an alcoholic grows up and becomes an alcoholic the daughter of a an addict grows up and becomes an addict they've never seen any other pattern the grandchild of an abuser grows up and they've never seen anything else in their family and they grow up and they become an abuser you don't need a preacher to tell you that you can read the newspaper and know that and the sins of people visit down through their family tree three and four generations deep but the same Bible that says that says this the mercy of God flows to a thousand Generations the mercy of God's so powerful that when it gets working in your family tree it flows down to a thousand Generations the song says Grace is always greater than sin Let Me Tell you God can do anything for anyone in your family including you would you uh before we uh stand would you lift up your hands for a moment and lift up your voice this is so important lift up your voice and give God praise and thanks and glory in the sanctuary today oh I love you Jesus I worship you God I worship you God I worship you God would you slip to your feet and let your hands keep on liftting and let your voice go highest of all just lift up your voice in the sanctuary right now oh you feel that all around you it's the prayers of the people of God you've got fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers all around you and they know the Lord and there's nothing we'd love more than for somebody to find a relationship with God this morning that for somebody's family to be turned around today in just a moment I'm going to invite you to come to the front I hope you'll join us um Pastor Mark gave me the liberty of the pulpit today he's so kind and uh and I'm so honored to speak to you but really coming to church and listening to a religious talk for 40 minutes that doesn't do very much for us but if you ever get one inch inside the powerful presence of God I'm not just talking about sitting in the seat and watching other people enjoy it I'm talking about if you ever do what korus boys did we're not going to stand with our dad he's a rebel we're going to take a step on the Lord's Side and when you do that God sees that determination and he always meets it he always comes running for you before you ever run for him so in just a moment I'm going to ask everybody that will join us I hope you all will because everybody's included and nobody's excluded at this great church and I hope you'll join us at the front in just a moment and when we get here we're going to pray nobody's going to do anything weird to you we're just going to pray together as the family of God and let me tell you if you take a step toward God today he can break the chains of that secret addiction he can turn around the tumult in your family he can turn around the fracture in your marriage he can turn it around he can do exceeding abundantly above all that we are able to ask or even think you don't know where your journey might end up if you take a step toward Jesus today for those of you that have been part of this great church for years there are probably some family members in your life that you'd love to see them turn around and so today we're going to pray for them too we don't have to just pray for our little old selves we can pray for every body today so with one Accord that's what the Bible talks about with one Accord could I ask this great church and all of our guests and all of our friends would you just step out into the nearest AIS and would you head toward the front come as close to the front and as close to the center as you can when you get here just stand there in the presence of God and here's how we begin lift up your hands and just start thanking him for his presence today that's the quickest way I know into the presence of God if you start thanking him for his goodness and thanking him for his blessings before you ever ask him for anything just worship him for a minute before you ever ask him for anything just give him a little bit of Praise he's God above all gods he's King above all kings and Lord above all Lords oh I worship you God oh I thank you those of you that are already here if you can take another step or two there's still people coming up the aisles thank you this great church for responding in such a wonderful way this morning oh thank you God thank you God yes yes yes yes I just want to tell you one more thing and then we're going to pray the worship team is going to sing we'll let them fill this room with praise but we're going to pray the Bible says in the very last chapter of the Book of Job that God turned the cap acity of job when job prayed for his friends there's something powerful that happens when we don't do this like a Lone Ranger but we do it together so I'm going to ask you if it's not totally out of your comfort zone family with family friends with friends men with men ladies with ladies whoever but would you connect with somebody maybe just put your hand on their shoulder and I'm going to ask you to pray for more than just you I'm going to ask you to pray for them pray for their family pray for their children pray for their home pray for their marriage God wants to touch somebody here in this place today and he can do something greater than anybody else can ever do for you in the name of Jesus I speak Freedom over you I speak healing over you I speak Liberty over you I speak Deliverance over you in the name of Jesus be freed from that past be freed from that pain be freed from that in Jesus name today's a brand new day today's a brand new start you're in the presence of God yes yes pray Church find somebody to pray with thank you Jesus thank you God thank you