Sunday Evening Worship Service

today we're celebrating that resurrection power that same power that can bring dead things to life and I believe tonight that we serve a God so powerful that whatever you have need of he's able to do it tonight do you believe that in this [Music] house why don't we lift our hands for just a moment and say Lord we thank you God We Praise You Lord I believe that as I enter into your house tonight with this great expectation that whatever I have need of that you are able to do it would you call out on his name for just a moment yes Jesus we thank you yes we praise you you can be seated across this house thank you praise team and musicians for just ushering us into his presence I'm so grateful for what God has done on this Sunday as we've mentioned uh earmarked in the Christian calendar as palm Sunday where we acknowledge hosana God is able to save God is able to deliver and that's who we acknowledge Him in our life God manifest in flesh died for our sins and Easter is on the way and we celebrate that in the resurrected Savior and we have that living power inside of us tonight I welcome each and every one of you to Sunday evening here at First Apostolic Church all of those tuning in with us online as well welcome you the same we always uh seem to have uh different ones traveling for work or other purposes and I I see them tuning in and we love you all or some that uh might be Caregivers for loved ones or or working a job I see you tuning in as well and we have some those that might be ill and some of our senior saints that are no longer able to be with us in every service but see you tuning in and just want to say that we love you and you're you're right here with us I want to uh say another word tonight uh to some faithful members of First Apostolic church that live in Florida and really around the United States and I want to give them and him a particular honor tonight on March the 15th uh just a few days ago it was the 15th Special Operation Squad Squadron change of command ceremony and this took place in hbert field Florida and our very own uh brother Tyler Ryan his wife uh April and their uh lovely daughter asley there was a change of command ceremony where he became the commander over his air base this is the son of brother Stanley and sister Sandy Ry the brother of sister Megan and brother Chris uh Lindsay and I want to give him recognition tonight and I want to read just a portion of his bio that was listed in the handout here and I got to see some different pictures even the chain of command that had the president of the United States and then the department of arms and then there was commander now Commander Tyler Ryan's picture right there on the wall with him he's a graduate of apostolic Christian school and they are members of First Apostolic uh church but they are stationed all across the United States uh serving in our air force and let me read just a portion of his bio Lieutenant Colonel Tyler Ryan is director of operations eth Special Operations Squadron Air Force Special Operations command Herbert field Florida as director of operations he leads over 90 crew air air crew members insures execution of operations and training requirements and manages A $64 million flying hour program prior to his current position Lieutenant Colonel Ryan served as flight Commander group executive officer chief of group tactics operational planning team lead chief of wing plans and assistant oper ation officer he is a senior combat systems officer with more than 2,200 hours primarily in the MC 130h and mc-130j Lieutenant Colonel Ryan has participated in numerous joint and Coalition exercises has flown more than 630 combat and combat support hours through several deployments in support of operations limited but uh not U limited but even more uring Freedom New Dawn and inherent resolve and they listed is just a whole host of Awards as well and if you would stand with me at this time they'll either be watching or tuning in and brother Tyler's a few years and I call him brother Tyler respectfully he's now Commander Ry he's a few years older than me and I always looked up to him but as I have children of my own Now it only only exclaims and highlights the luxury that I have at different points to tuck my children into bed and kiss my wife and then uh come to school and work alongside with her as well and go to Sunday dinner with my family and and be here with you all and worship on Sunday and all of the freedoms that we are afforded some of the missions listed here I tried to uh uh prod his family and say do do you know any details about them and the answer to that is they don't even know and I say all that to say this we have men and women uh across our country and across this world who can be deployed in a seconds notice and on behalf of Commander Ryan uh would you give him and his family just a great big hand of honor and I want them to know that we love them we honor you for for this tremendous accomplishment and we are always always praying for you I can only imagine sometimes the moments of isolation and moments of loneliness but we pray for God's hand of strength and his hand of protection and it just reminds us that are there are men and women across and just remain standing men and women across this world who at times when I have the luxury of going to bed at night are are fighting and serving and putting their life in Jeopardy in many times so that we have the opportunities that we do here as we have this evening and I don't take that lightly and we love you all and I will say I got to see some pictures in inside of that uh that big old plane I mean can you imagine uh all of the different buttons and components and all the things you have to know and oh Commander Ryan now I mean you you heard all the stuff uh his little girl asley she just rent right in that thing I understand and started pushing buttons and turning here and there so uh that that's that's the re there Commander's great but dad's dad is even better so I I honor the Ryan family and I I honor them tonight and we love you I I I won't keep you standing but I'm just grateful to be uh with this church this this past Wednesday I had the privilege to go to uh to Main Event and I I got to give a shout out to brother underw W and sister George and brother Hill and uh brother and sister uh Sloan and uh I know uh brother an brother VI sister angel that just facilitated all these students going back and forth and they they won tickets and won prizes it was the p180 middle school and high school and and Wednesday night right during church one of the prizes I think it was a monster truck or something had rolled all the way up all the way up to the to the front here and I this morning some kind of I hope they got it some kind of ball came rolling up to the to the front here this morning and you know what sometimes in our services you'll hear babies cry out or something like that and you know what I say to that I said praise God that that is growth and stuff like that happens and that that means that we're growing that that means that God is moving I'm just thankful for a a community church I'm thankful for a family church and uh and that is that is quite all right and don't you ever think twice if you got to get up with your baby or or who knows what else and uh that we're we're just here to worship amen if you have your Bibles turn with me to 2 Kings chapter 6 and we're going to read verses 1 through 7 and I won't keep you standing and the sons of the Prophet said unto Elisha behold now the place where we dwell with thee is is too straight for us let us go we pray thee unto Jordan and take then every man a beam and let us make a place there where we may dwell we're going to build a new a new dwelling place and he answered go ye and one said be content I pray thee and go with thy servants and he answered I will go so he went with them and they went to the Jordan and they cut down wood to build this new dwelling place but as one was failing a beam the axe head fell into the water the axe he was using and he cried and said alas Master this the the head of this axe fell into the water and it wasn't mine it was borrowed and the man of God said where fell it and he showed him the place and he cut down a stick and cast it in thither and the iron did swim the iron begin to float therefore said he take it up to thee and he put it out of his hand and he took it I want to preach to you for a few moments tonight nothing too large nothing too small Pastor Whitley already preached the the message during prayer Our God can do it all let's pray before we start mighty God we thank you tonight for what you're doing in this house Lord we thank you for the opportunity to assemble together and to uh to hear your word and to and to allow it to sink deep into our hearts Lord Lord Overlook the inadequacies of the speaker tonight Lord let your word just uh go into every aspect of our life let it build our faith tonight that no matter what we are facing we know we serve a God who is able to intervene and move and make a way when there doesn't seem to be a way we thank you and praise you in Jesus name we pray amen and amen and you can be seated nothing too large nothing too small Our God can do it all I hope you like how that kind of Rhymes there if you say it the right way amen micro surgery there'll be a video playing and it's it's actually being performed on a rat a rat artery maybe this is uh some prominent rat that they are you know trying to make sure that he survives but maybe they're also just uh practicing this technique and and if I can pronounce this correctly anastomosis this is the combining of two veins or in this case two an artery together and this is being done with a 70 Micron needle with a 40 times operating microscope but Micro surgery enables a physician to perform minute procedures with an aid of a microscope and specially designed instruments such procedures are used to reconnect severed nerves and smaller blood vessels in the body the magnification may be 50 times greater in this case 40 then that might could be seen by the natural eye and it enables the surgeon to make stitches smaller than human hair on blood vessels or nerves less than one millimeter in diameter though a person might consider this a a small operation it is significant for the healing and recovery of a patient undergoing this procedure the detail is exacting and the accuracy of the surgery is vital to a successful outcome facing any kind of medical procedure can be stressful though it may not be an invasive surgery accompanied with great risks still there is a natural trepidation at the thought of needles or knives or anesthetics there is a saying that defines the difference between major and minor surgery it is Major if it is mine and it is Miner if it is yours pastor Sloan I haven't always had this towering stature that I currently have now 5'11 and with the hairs Spike round six if I've got the right shoes on in eighth grade we were playing in a basketball game and it was kind of going back and forth and uh brother Gino told us guys you've got to box out because we'd like to uh play Fast Break and Snowbird and kick the ball up the court but we weren't getting the rebounds to do that in this this other team we were playing was a lot larger than us and and if if the if the bounce was coming off the rim right we could kick it up the court but this particular team we were playing we just didn't match up great against him and every rebound was going to be a a fight to the death just about and they they were just a much larger team than we were so uh so uh around the second quarter we we made that conscientious effort like I am going to box my man out I was about 55 5'6 maybe and the guy I was boxing out was 6'2 63 but we probably weighed about the same so uh uh it was he was he was pretty tall and that the the shot went up and I I took him at his knees and he came over the top of me and his elbow just hit the top of my head and it it hurt it hurt pretty bad but in the uh in the in the in the flow of the game you know yeah I'm I'm not getting hurt I'm not showing any pain I'm just I'm I'm just that tough you know so we uh we go down to the other end of the court and I just think I'm sweating or you know going back and forth and I I grab I don't I don't want to make anybody uncomfortable tonight so I give you that uh warning I I did like this and my head was bleeding and so they they took me out of the game and it was it was bleeding pretty good they took me out of the game and we went in the bathroom and washed it you not thinking much of it I'm like 13 14 years old and you know I'm I'm wanting to just you know prove how tough I am you know so uh by Midway through the fourth quarter I I checked back in you know just wanted to prove that uh you know that that's that's not going to that's not going to stop me you know I'm just it's tough you know so we go back to the uh I I think there was a a conference going on in uh SE Pidge Forge that that weekend so we uh my family was up there so after the game we headed up to that and I got to the hotel room and got in the shower and I guess that warm water just open and it was it was hurting pretty good so I went to the quick Clinic what are they going to do you know uh so they start they look it over and they say that's that's pretty bad and they're they're starting to discuss the the the thought of stitches and this very tough guy that went back in in the fourth quarter wasn't so tough anymore this is we're talking about stitches you talking about major surgery stitches stitches in your head okay stitches in your head and then the conversation switched I think we it would probably more efficient just to use a staple surely a staple is like a Band-Aid you know that they just put right there some kind of like duct tape or or something and I'm like staple that that's probably a a medical term for something that that I don't even know what it is and they said they decid that's probably going to be best to use a staple so I start praying so surely that's that's not what I think it is and honest to God they came out with what looked like a stapler and I was all right and my dad was sitting there beside me and they took that stapler and it sounded just like you were putting a staple through papers and I don't remember it necessarily hurting but when I heard that sound I I don't know if I've ever passed out in my life but I could see the constellations and the the birds flying around and I my dad said like I that I uh kind of went back almost like I was fainting or something and they brought me out some uh grape juice and that that did the that did the trick but that was a major major medical procedure in my in my life I'll just go ahead and tell it I I wear a Band-Aid tonight on my finger and we'll get to the sermon prop in just a moment but I I bought this at the Home Depot and um yes I had to look up exactly where it was located well I I bought the this husky 4pb Axe and I went out to the vehicle and I just felt I don't know walking through Home Depot you know some some guys had some uh flower seed and some guys had some uh um I don't know what what else they they sell and there's uh some guy had some electrical tape and I'm just walking around with an axe you know uh so I get out to pay for it get out to the vehicle and uh Kelly was selling some lanterns I think to the deard uh and you might need to look these over when you get them but I guess just the pressure against the back door door of the tailgate of the vehicle they were up against so I when I open the tailgate one of those uh lanterns fell out and I caught it I didn't want to break it it's not broke I caught it but when I did that thing sliced the bottom of that thing sliced my finger I don't know why I'm just talking about blood tonight so just stay with me but here I am out in the parking lot again tough out in the parking lot and my finger I mean it there's blood everywhere and this guy walks up and he's like sir sir he goes I I want to help you but you're bleeding and holding an ax and I'm like I understand it's you'll never believe what it's for uh everything's good it's for a sermon tomorrow oh yeah sure you know uh so that has nothing to do with anything but I just had to had to get that off my chest but it was that staple was a major hurdle in my life but even if the situation seems insignificant or the injury appears inconsequential nothing should be dismissed as in unimportant and everything everything is important to God so I ask the question tonight is there such thing as a small miracle to even be called a miracle implies an action or provision or requiring the employment of a paranormal interven ion a miracle defies rational explanation it's a event beyond the normally anticipated outcome there's no logical reason for the occurrence whether it's a resurrection from the dead or an instant relief from a headache a miracle is still an unexplainable change of events producing an unexpected result what might be considered a small miracle to one could be an absolutely light lifechanging event at the crossroads of their life to someone else there's no hierarchy to the supernatural every Divine work even if in our particular circumstance that might seem minute if it just is proof every Divine work is proof that God is involved in our lives he is daily hearing our prayers he is daily feeling our pain he is daily working in all things for our good as we learn and I promise you I'm learning every day and in every situation to depend on him and trust him for even what could be and appear as the simplest things and our walk of Faith give us this day our daily bread this was the phrase that Jesus uttered when the disciples asked him for a pattern of how to pray a a template a tutorial of what should we pray for uh it would have been nice to say uh uh or maybe more grandos it would have made better for a a social media post when you you pray you need to call down the absolute power of God and I'm not against that so please don't think I'm diminishing the importance of that and pray for these extraordinary super large magnificent things and there's time for that but he Jesus said give us this day our daily bread he wants us to pray daily and consistently Pastor Whitley spoke about a few weeks ago and believe constantly that he will provide for our most basic needs Miracles large or small not that there's necessarily A Difference both are Supernatural or otherwise unexplainable answers to prayers are Supernatural outcomes and responses to acts of faith we're talking about miracles at may be a small miracle but he is a great God who will act according to the will of his people right and will perform to his purpose this was a miracle that we read about at the Jordan River and when we think about the Jordan River when you think about reading through your Bible and you think about the Jordan River it's just the mention evokes various images of great events from Israel's Crossing all the way to the baptism of Jesus and it it's still to this day is a a sacred sight that one goes to to view and to rehearse and to see the imagery of all of the stories that all of the Miracles that unfolded at the Jordan River there's folk songs and spiritual hymns and poetic verses and other literature than employ the image of the Jordan to convey themes of freedom and deliverance from oppression and comfort in Trials role Jordan Ro was written by Charles Wesley brother of John Wesley and an English Methodist preacher the author of more than 6,000 hymns in the 18th century this song was introduced to the United States during the years of the Second Great Awakening at camp meetings in the early 19th century and we have other songs such as I won't have to cross the Jordan Alone by Charles Durham the theme is more of Salvation and deliverance through death and the course of the song says I won't have to cross the Jordan Alone Jesus died for my sins to atone when the darkness I see he'll be waiting for me I won't have to cross the Jordan alone and for a more contextual understanding we could review just some of the outstanding Miracles that took place at the Jordan River at the beginning of this year as we stepped into 2024 I I preached about how the Jordan River had symbolic uh symbolic meaning that in it and it preserved as a physical and psychological barrier to the promised land and to what God had promised to his people and God was ready to move for them this time in a similar manner with the same power that they crossed the Red Sea but this time he wasn't going to just part the sea they had to depend on their faith and he told the priest to take the Ark of the Covenant and it was going to be an Act of Faith they could see the Promise out in the distance and he told them with every step that they took in the Jordan River it was just going to open up and we we talked about how God's going to order your steps and if you'll have faith every step that you take to whatever the Jordan River is in your life and we used the illusion and the metaphor to trials and uh and and whatever oppression might be in your life or whatever enemy might be in your life and that was symbolic of the Jordan River but we said just like the Israelite they could see the Promise in their future and they they could see the promise but they had to cross the Jordan and every step they took uh God parted the the waters for them and it was a walk of faith and a step of faith and what a magnificent story that is and what a miracle that is and we preach to we preach about that and we also have the story of Elijah and Elisha and he asks him what shall I do for thee before I be taken away and he says I want a double portion of anointing and you've got another generation coming on and what a sermon that is and he throws his mantle down and and and and and moves the water and then uh Elisha's able to to do the same thing as Elijah did and we see this anointing being passed down at the Jordan River he's able to perform the same miracle there's still a man of God there's still a voice uh for the people with the with the same power and man what a miracle that is and we could read about the king non of of Sy oh man he had leprosy and he had a a Hebrew servant girl who who told that King that I know a prophet that I know a prophet and I I serve a God that can heal you of that leprosy oh what a sermon that is and oh he he had some doubt and he had some when he he goes all the way to that Jordan River and you could read the story for yourself and and and there's and and non finally finally after all the explanation and all of the things leading up he dipped seven times in that River and he was cleansed what a sermon man oh man there was no particular healing agent in the waters of the Jordan there there there's no particular spiritual pow associated with its location rather it was just a place where God demonstrated his power and honored the words and the acts of his Prophets The Virtue was in simple obedience to God man that's some good stuff should have preached about one of those things instead of telling about getting my head knocked in during a basketball game oh we're not done yet many years in the future John the Baptist would baptize people in the in the Jordan River and he said this a nothing oh there's somebody that's coming after me and Jesus would be baptized in the Jordan you oh all the way from the Old Testament uh to the new but tonight the miracle that I'm talking about I'll be careful it's got a rubber piece on the tip of it the miracle I'm talking about is not about generations and thousands and millions of people crossing the Jordan River to get to the promised land that's a that's a pretty big thing the miracle I'm talking about is not about passing anointing and a and a mantel down for a double portion to another generation though that's great all the miracle I'm talking about tonight is not even about having your leprosy cleansed oh what a testimony what a witness to that Syrian [Music] King cleansed of leprosy I I'm not even talking about John the Baptist tonight I'm not even talking about Jesus particularly in the context of him being baptized although though though in the Jordan River though although those things are great the miracle that I speak to you about tonight is an axe head floating in the water in just seven verses of 2 Kings chapter 6 we find that story the Jordan River's there Elisha's there oh this man I bet there was something magnificent that is going to happen oh the recipe is set the location is set the classroom where the sons of the prophets met with Elisha had gotten too small apparently more interns if you will had joined their ranks and they needed to expand and they asked if they could cut down some trees and collect poles from The Groves near the Waters of the Jordan to build a more suitable meeting place okay when's the when's the you know Crossing going to happen when's the leprosy cleansing going to happen when's that double portion going to happen Elisha gave his consent as if and agreed to go with them to cut down the the trees for Destruction and during the process sister Rebecca you gave me confirmation for my sermon tonight during the process of chopping down the trees near the river the ax head flew off into the river and it landed in you know where the Jordan had the I mean what were they thinking building something next to the Jordan they knew something bad was going to happen anxiously the student reported the incident to Elisha and it gets worse the axe was borrowed the Propet simply cut a stick and tossed it into the near river near where the axe had sink and Before Their Eyes the iron axe had suddenly appeared to the top of the water you ever heard old hymn about oh when that ex head came to the top I don't I've never heard that I I I I've never seen one of the the children's cartoons you know uh oh yes that axe head just came oh floating back to the top pop and oh and we celebrate uh today's Palm Sunday next Sunday is Easter is there an ax head floating Sunday on the Christian lurgical calendar I don't maybe that's tonight maybe we're starting something when the student saw the axe head appear Elisha instructed him to retrieve it from the river now this might seem like a minor event compared to the other notable Miracles but I promise you I promise you it was significant to that student who was using a borrowed tool his response no doubt was changed from despair to Jubilation at the realization of the miracle that had just been uncovered if you would brother Derek show that picture of my grandparents with that that is a 19 55 o uh oldmobile correct look at that so that's if I wanted to impress my wife or maybe I did something that maybe caused us to more intensely discuss a particular situation and I I wanted to make things right I I might get with brother Bernard brother Bernard is a master mechanic and master antique collectible mechanic I don't have the proper names but he can restore vintage vehicles and he knows everything everything about him if you would show that 1967 Nova look at that I can see my p my reflection on the hood man just look at that for just a moment no matter what I had done can Kell if I came rolling up in that taking the model of my grant which makes me wonder what why did y'all have that had something happened now if I I came rolling up in that I bet I bet it would make everything that's a that's a 67 Nova if I said brother Bernard would you care would you mind if I borrowed that 67 Nova would would you mind if I borrowed that and took my wife out on a date you know our marriage depends on it now if I if he let me borrow that somehow agreed to that sister Bernard's shaking her head no if I if he let me borrow that and I took Kelly down to the Sonic you know and I was backing out of the Sonic and maybe ringing it the the back of it into a wall and damage the rear of that thing you think I'd need a miracle I'd be at Bishop's house knocking on the door and he'd say son son what's wrong have you have you hurt somebody well it's likely or I mean are you sick did you get a did you get a severe di no papa it's worse than that brother Bernard's 196 seven Nova I've wrecked it you talk about we need a miracle could you imagine now in those days I don't think there were Home Depot around in uh the outskirts of uh of Jerusalem these guys were in poverty and he had he had borrowed an axxe and that axe head went flying off and he says and it was B borrowed I no longer can make a sustenance for my family I no longer am going to be able to work I'm I'm going to have to just sit idly by I'm not I'm not going to be able to do anything and then that most precious commodity that most precious tool that I had it was borrowed what is God trying to talk to us Miracles that Define nature and events that occur that can't be explained we read that the man of God the prophet of God God's mouthpiece heard it and said Son take you a stick and then that ax head began to float for an iron ax head to float on water is contrary to the laws of nature and the principles of science all elements of nature have weight and density when an element has less density than other elements around it the element of less density it rises when water freezes into ice it expands thus reducing its density and causing it to float in liquid water heavier elements will sink in the water iron has almost eight times more density than water no one had ever seen Iron floating on water prior to this miracle and we expect that none have seen it since unless it was a miraculous event Miracles that we talked about that Define nature and if occur that cannot be explained by physics or the scientific process when all efforts to explain such an act fell we must concede that a miracle has taken place there was no doubt the day the acts had Flo to the surface that something must unusual had happened except for God's intervention The Impossible took place and it may have be a small Miracle we might not write songs about it now we we might not have all of this imagery and the you probably won't ever go to the the Vatican or the Hermitage Museum and see some Rim brand painting of a ax head floating but but you will see all the Israelites crossing the Jordan or you might hear a song about non getting healed of leprosy or oh we might go to a conference and talk about getting my double portion but I want you to to know that the same God who performed all of those Miracles is the same God that met a Young Apprentice a young intern who had lost every single thing he had and God having such an intimate relationship with him cares about the seemingly minute things of his life and met him at the Jordan River in the same amount in the same greatness in the same capacity of the supernatural to put his ax back together the same God that created the world the same God that hung the cosmos into existence is the same God who would meet a young a young Sher Cropper preacher that came to Knoxville and by faith they would put as Bishop talked about Wednesday morning some forms together for some concrete steps and then lo and behold just a few moments later a few moments later a concrete truck would full up oh and it would pass them by but then they had some left over and it would be the same amount to fill those forms all the the dead weren't raised and the the blinded eyes weren't healed and they weren't healed in that situation and nobody crossed the Jordan River and Le leprosy leprosy wasn't cleansed and there wasn't a double portion in that moment but I pray promise you there was some Jubilation and there was some praise and there was some faith that was built in this Lord give us our day our daily bread oh and I want you to know tonight that we serve a God who is so powerful that he can do great things but he can also meet you in your everyday life he can meet you at your work he can meet you at your home and he can perform the miraculous he could perform the miraculous in whatever situation that you're facing musicians comeall we hear this term sometimes called the Providence of God I like preaching with an axe I just got a little extra Authority here got the I'll stop with the jokes the Providence of God is his predetermined will God always acts according to his Providence in baker's Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology Providence is defined as the Sovereign Divine superintendence of all things everybody say all all guiding them toward their divinely predetermined end in a way that is consistent with their created nature all to the glory and all to the praise of God this Divine Sovereign and benevolent control of all things by God is the underlying premise of everything that is taught in scriptures and I promise you God performed some miraculous way for me to get that vehicle fixed I I would be praised and this didn't really happen but scared of myself Paul the Apostle Paul referred to this attribute of God when he stated that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of this world being predestined according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will however this predestination was not was corporate not individual before the foundation of the world God ordained the church the bride of Christ and individuals are invited to be members of the Bride they can accept or as Pastor Whitley spoke about this morning or reject the invitation God knows the end from the beginning in consultation with his own purpose he plots the course creates the obstacles provides opportunity for growth in character building and performs what we're talking tonight and performs Miracles we are a church that believes in Miracles we believe the supernatural take place all in accordance with his own Divine Providence God's purpose and predestined will does not suggest and this is what is important it does not suggest that he is cold and indifferent to our needs and concerns it's just the opposite besides the Providence of his purpose there is another attribute of God and it is that God is love it's the defining quality and character of God God is love so the primary motivation of the Providence of God is the love of God for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life from the creation of this world it has been the pleasure and the purpose of God to bring us into relationship with him he loved us and he chose us us to be his children Sons and Daughters of God according as he hath chosen Us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and Without Blame before him in love having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved God is neither distant nor unfeeling toward our pain God is neither distant nor unfeeling towards the circumstances that we face and we can't fall in a trap that we can only call on God when something major is happening in our lives he's got to be the first one that we go to we've got to have an understanding and an acknowledgement that we have such a relationship with him that every single thing in my life every single thing under the son I need to consult with him because he is intimately concerned about the welfare of our struggles and our struggles he is concerned about what might be a appear as the smallest details of our lives and he is all he is also concerned about his ultimate purpose for us the salvation of our souls and our Redemption from sin and I say Amen a 100 times times for that but he's also concerned about your welfare tomorrow at the job he does care if you have peace in your life he does care if you want to get a good night's sleep he does care if you want to have peace of mind when you're with your family he cares about it he cares stand with me Jesus Christ is our high priest and he is touched by our pain and can empathize with our weakness on the basis of our knowledge of God and his concern for our needs he encourages us to come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find Grace to help in time of need all things impossible for us are no problem for God and sometimes and I'm preaching to myself and it's in my pride I I might not take something to God because you know how can I pray for that when I know this person is you know experiencing This calamity in their life and it's important to have empathy and you know uh and and discernment about the situations but at the same time at the same time God there's no diminishing power there there's not some quantifiable number on on God's power and the number of times he's going to intervene he he's fully capable of of healing what we might perceive in our minds as something large or as something small and we've got to remember that tonight some people are able to believe God for the great things that they know are impossible in any other way or or those times in my life where where things are going bad that's the times that I'm really going to step up and pray and praise and I might find it difficult to ask God for what might seem the smaller things the things that I think that I can fix on my own or suffer through without seeking divine intervention but I want you to know tonight that God is pleased to respond to every single prayer and I don't know about you but I'm not content to just read about miracles I believe and I know you're not either I believe that I'm in a church I I believe that we're in a time where God is pouring out his Spirit upon All Flesh and yes I I believe in all of the modern technology and and getting our word out uh and getting the gospel out by any means necessary and that's that's that's so important but I believe that we serve a God who can start and who is performing Miracles and the testimony of his people no matter how great or how small we might perceive them you talk about people being touched you talk about people hearing the gospel when they hear about the Miracles that's taking place in people's lives when they hear about the transformation when they hear about this is what I used to be but look what God did now and look where I'm at now and I want you to know that if he did it for me I I promise you he can put the axe head back on and yes I want to talk about getting healed of leprosy and I and yes we we're going to preach about the double portion of anointing to the Next Generation and and yes we're going to talk about oh the god who's so powerful that he can split the Jordan sea wide open and bring multiple Generations across to their promise yes that's great but I also believe there's a God who can meet you on your everyday workplace and he can put an axe head back on for you if you'll trust in him and if you'll believe in him and I want you to know tonight that whatever you have need of if you would bow your heads across this house whatever you have need of maybe there's something in your life or a person in your life where you haven't just put that on the Forefront to say God you know what yeah I've prayed to you you for some seemingly great things in my life and I I don't minimize those for one second but you know what I believe that you can perform a miracle in this situation I I believe you can bring peace to my family in this need I I believe that you can give me direction for the next steps that I need to take tomorrow I believe that you can heal this this thing that I've been having to deal with at my workplace there's been a spat in my marriage a little bit God I you know what I I believe you can heal that too so as we pray tonight I I want you to pray a focused prayer goodness if we've talked about anything else tonight whatever you have need of God has the power to deliver and perform the miraculous in that situation I want to open the altar at this time for somebody to step forward as our verse says with the expectation step before his throne of grace with boldness and it's just a symbolic act stepping forward to this Altar and saying God I think you can meet me in this place yes I I know you're the god that can heal and you're the you're the you're the god that can part and make a way when there is no way but God I know you can work in this situation in this relationship as well oh maybe you're here tonight and you need God to do something great you need God to to to heal a disease you need you need God to to perform a miracle right now guess what we serve a God who can do that too he can do anything there's nothing impossible for him would you lift your hands across this house and let's pray that prayer for miracles to take place mighty God we thank you God you know the need right now God I ask you to intervene in that situation God I ask you to move in that situation right now God I ask you to bring healing and comfort and strength right now God you see every need you see the needs of your people and Lord we lift them up to heaven oh we lift them up to heaven oh it's nothing too small nothing too small for you nothing too large for you you can do it all you can heal the disease you can heal the disease and you can also heal God I thank [Music] you only because you you can do it [Music] all yes Jesus your miral God I believe in the Supernatural I believe in the Supernatural believe you can heal I believe you Jesus because you away and we're standing here only because you way and we're standing here only because [Music] you sing that song A Way pray that prayer right now yes you made a way made a way yes Jesus he made a made [Music] made a way don't know how but you did it made a way don't know how but you did it made a way don't know how but you did it don't know how much you did it don't know how much you did it don't know how but you did it don't know why but I'm grateful don't know why I'm grateful don't know why I'm grateful don't know why I'm grateful don't know I'm don't know I'm know as we close tonight profor Whitley spoke so eloquently this morning and talked about us being a a unified body and I believe God wants to intervene and he wants to work even in our relationships and in our inner personal relationships with one another sometimes in the work a day of the church the work a day of the school the work a day at your job the work a day at your family some things aren't always just smooth sailing sometimes there's miscommunications and sometimes there's disagreements and sometimes different needs need to be reconciled with one another and I want to pray a prayer tonight as we close that God provide us oh this is this seems small you know it seems like the the ax head story but I pray God that get he give us a window of opportunity in our relationships with our friends with our family with our co-workers with whatever the whatever the need is maybe there's some unresolved difference in your life with some whatever the need is that God give us a window of opportunity and God provide us and God provide us with the opportunity the the door to be open to resolve that to to get on the same page to reconcile with one another and as we approach this Easter season celebrating the resurrection of our savior that this Unity that this Pentecost that's that's what this is when they when they they all came together and we'll Cate Pentecost later when Jesus rose from the grave and then we then we get to Pentecost coming together that this it's going to us collectively together be the body of Christ that he would have us to be let's pray right now Heavenly Father God you see each and every one of our hearts Lord God you see you see us right where we are you see every situation of our life God provide me with an opportunity Lord cleanse my heart God I ask for forgiveness Lord if there's somebody in my life that I need to speak with if there's there's somebody in my life that there might be a miscommunication with her God if there's an opportunity for me to tell about your word and do it in a in a healthy a healthy manner Lord maybe somebody that's that's been hurt by something or maybe somebody that's that is in a season of isolation put them on my mind Lord and we we believe through the Holy Ghost Lord we believe through your word that it can be a uniting force a uniting power that we come together and through the power of your blood the power of your resurrection that it bring forth a mighty Pentecost a a Unity of Believers that we can serve in a greater capacity than we can do on our own Lord I Thank you and I praise you and I thank you for every Miracle would you put your hands together right now I thank you for every miracle that you do in our lives love each and every one of you midweek remember all the announcements midweek talk to somebody you haven't spoken with before you are dismissed in the name of Jesus J God bless you