Sunday Morning Worship Service

Good morning everybody. You can be seated. I welcome all of you to Sunday morning worship. all of our first time guests, everybody tuning in online, we welcome you the same and we are certainly uh continuing to lift up that entire officer's family and all those that are ministering to him in prayer. And just a little addendum to what pastor mentioned, uh we are uh recognized partners with Second Harvest Food Bank. And through this week, through this week, through next Sunday, we are accepting donations for canned goods. So, please bring those by. You can drop them off at the daycare office or bring them to the church service. Bring them by, call me, however you want to get them here. We will work it out. And for all the Apostolic Christian School and Apostolic Kitty Academy students in Elevate Chapel, I made a a statement and I said, "Whoever brings the most cans will receive a crisp $100 bill," which Yeah, I was like, "You all." And the kids just kind of looked at me like I guess with inflation or the um they're not so sticker shocked anymore. And uh [name redacted] uh made the proclamation from the from the from the pew. He said you need to double it. So, so whoever bring now now the congregates of FAC or if you're listening online, you the the requirements for eligibility, you must be an apostolic Christian school student. So, if you want to funnel those kids in through a student and work something out on the back end, that's up to you to decide. Uh but, uh whatever student brings the most cans, there will be two 100 crisp dollar bills uh ready to go. So everybody remember that. And through this entire week, Pastor uh and Sister Mcool have been in meetings with Second Harvest Food Bank throughout uh the last few months. And it's a thorough vetting process that they go through to uh be a a recognized member. And this allows an open line of communication so they can request exactly what the need is at that time. And Lord willing, there's plans in the future. And if you've seen the news over the past few days, uh they've had to go into uh what they call an emergency mode, but they are in the process of planning here hopefully in the upcoming weeks where our campus and parking lot will be a a drive-thru location uh to distribute goods uh through Second Harvest Food Bank. So, as Pastor Mcool mentioned, I believe God is opening uh more doors in our community. And I know uh just like Hurricane Helen last year and uh brother uh Joe Brooks got his truck and you know whatever the need is, I know FAC Knoxville uh will step up and just exceed expectation and I think ACS will do that too and you've got some incentive uh to do so as well. So please remember that and bring just as many cans as you can. Hey, maybe that's our that's going to be our motto. Uh, I want to say welcome this morning. Embarrassed them, call them out, but uh, Zach and Taylor Brooks in the house. Give them a great big hand. I had the great honor and privilege of teaching both of them, just two of the tremendous young people uh, that that you could ever ask for and God saw fit to put them together. And then even more importantly, as lovely and great as you all are, uh, the beautiful lovely [name redacted] in the house as well. So, uh, we're so excited of them. And I got to call Ryan and Angel out as well. Welcome back home. But I live in a constant state of denial when things happen that I don't like. So, it to me it's as if you never left. So, uh, so welcome. Welcome back. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of Ruth. Book of Ruth, chapter 2, and we'll read verses 1 through 4. Verse one. And Naomi had a kinsman of her husbands, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of IMC, and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitis said unto Naomi, "Let me now go to the field and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace." And he said unto her, "Go, my daughter." And she went and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers. Everybody say, "After the reapers." And her hat was light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was the kindred, the kinsmen of IMC. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, "The Lord be with you." and they answered him, "The Lord blessed thee." I want to speak to you for a few moments this morning on the topic of favor in the field. Favor in the field. We've prayed a few times, so I'm going to step right into our sermon this morning. But just as a bit of context for the verses that we read, IMC and Naomi, husband and wife from Bethlehem, stepped into Moab, and this is where they would their sons would marry Ruth and Orpa, which would be their daughter-in-laws, but we'll get to that in just a second. But kind of keep that in mind. Favor in a field. In 1980, an 18-year-old girl named Mary Bar walked through the doors of General Motors assembly plant in Michigan. She wasn't an executive. She wasn't yet an engineer. She wasn't anyone of great importance in the eyes of the company, just a mere college student who had received an internship. She worked on the factory floor inspecting fenders and hoods on Pontiac cars. And while others would have seen it just as a summer job, Mary saw it as an opportunity. She learned every single detail that she could. How the line moved and how the workers thought, how the company and the ethos of the entire operation breathed. She didn't start off by sitting up in a boardroom. She started by standing on concrete doing what many considered small unnoticed work. There wasn't a family member or a friend. There wasn't some type of nepotism that allowed her to exceed at her job. Just merely striving for excellence. She stayed faithful. She worked hard. She studied and became an engineer. And when opportunities came, she didn't chase titles, but again, she chased excellence. She became known as someone when asked, "Well, what is it that she does here?" There was a lot of difficulty finding exactly what her job duties were. Everyone just begin to describe her as, you know, if we need something and we need somebody to get a particular job done, if we need someone to mediate in a situation, if we need the advice on product management or the logistics or the distribution or just somebody that knows what's going on or somebody that knows how to get something done, then we just go to Mary. And in 2014, the same woman who once inspected car parts on the factory floor became the CEO of General Motors, one of the largest automobile companies in the world. And in a graduation speech to Duke University, she stated, and I reiterate, I became the go-to person, and I tried to just get people what they needed. And she said, "You will be advanced when you advance others." And this is true in the spiritual sense as well. In the spiritual application, God advances those who advance others. Back to our story, it was the time of the judges in terms of the chronology of your Bible. A dark and restless season in Israel's history. Famine swept through the land like a shadow. And in Bethlehem, ironically, which was called the house of bread, there was no bread. So a man named IMC and his wife Naomi and their two sons left their homeland, and they crossed into Moab. It it's important to note that Moab, these were the descendants of an incestuous relationship between Lot, remember Lot at Sodom and Gomorrah and his eldest daughter. This was a pagan land and frequently opposed the worship of God. And this led to God's condemnation of their idolatry and pride. And this Moabitete land is where IMC and Naomi and their two sons fled. But what began as a search for survival quickly turned into a season of sorrow. First IMC died, leaving Naomi a widow in a strange land. Then her two sons married Moabitete women, Orpa and Ruth. And after 10 years, both of the sons died. So there were three widows left. Naomi, an Israelite from Bethlehem, and then her two daughter-in-laws, Moabites, Orpa and Ruth. Naomi, heartbroken and bitter, decide to return back home to Bethlehem because she had heard that God had put bread once again back in that land. And she urged her daughter-in-laws to stay behind and rebuild their lives with their own people. And Orpa tearfully kissed her farewell. But Ruth the Moabitete refused to leave her mother-in-law. She clung to Naomi and spoke the words that would forever echo throughout eternity. She said, "Do not urge me to leave you or or turn back from following you. Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. In that moment, Ruth, a Moabitete, a Gentile, an outsider, the product of a people descendants of an incestuous relationship, the product of a people who are in direct CONTRAST FROM GOD. NOT JUST idol bystanders, BUT THOSE WHO purposely opposed the worship of God said, "You're my mother-in-law kind of now, even though your son is dead, but there's just there's just a relationship that I have with you, and wherever you go, I will go." And when Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, the town stirred at their return. And it was harvest time. This was a season of new beginnings. Ruth went out to glean in the fields, hoping to gather leftover grain for their survival. You read this passage in Ruth 2. Landowners were instructed not to harvest the corners of the field or pick up the leftovers so that the poor, the widows, and foreigners could gather what remained. This was God's built-in system of compassion and provision. Ruth and her humility and diligence positioned herself not in the spotlight, but behind the workers who were already reaping. So what she would do every morning and every afternoon, those who were picking up the harvest, this new season, those who were reaping what had already been sewn that was coming up, anything that they FORGOT TO GET, ANY CRUMBS THAT THEY WERE UNABLE to carry, Ruth was following in behind them. AND RUTH WASN'T JUST GATHERING FOOD FOR HERSELF, BUT SHE WAS ALSO GATHERING FOOD FOR HER mother-in-law Naomi, WHO WAS TOO ELDERLY, WHO WASN'T ABLE TO GET UP AND GATHER FOR HERSELF. SHE WAS GATHERING THE HARVEST FOR THIS ISRAELITE WHO WAS NOT ABLE TO DO SO FOR HERSELF, WHO SHE SAID, "WHEREVER YOU GO, I'M GOING TO GO. YOUR PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE MY PEOPLE, AND I TRUST IN YOU. and I'm going to do everything that I can to help you. Her obedience, her work ethic, and willingness to follow placed her directly in the path of Boaz. Boaz would go on to redeem her. But before we get to that point, we can glean quite a bit from this notion of following the reapers, following the blessing. We must position ourself where God is moving. That's why it's so critical. That's why it's so imperative that anytime the doors of the church are open, anytime there's a communal prayer meeting TAKING PLACE, I WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT. I I WANT TO RECEIVE THE BLESSING of maybe somebody else that put the time in praying or fasting or doing SOMETHING ELSE. I I MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET A PIECE OF THAT. I I WANT TO STAY CLOSE TO the ministries where God's presence and favor are evident. The blessings flow, where God is at work. I I know last Sunday, Sunday morning, there were some some individuals that come to be free that were up here at the altar, AND YOU COULD TELL THEY WERE JUST RECEIVING A tremendous blessing from God. I don't know about y'all, but I like to cut corners a little bit sometimes. But if they're over there getting blessed, I want to get over there behind them and say, "Hey, God, maybe you got something for for me over here and all this." Last Sunday night, the kids quest went running around the church. Hey, if if God's blessing THE KIDS QUEST, MAYBE I CAN get >> a little bit of that. We must position oursel where God is moving. You want to get blessed. I wouldn't sit back idle. I I wouldn't sit back with my lip puckered and my hands uh folded. Uh uh why has God left me? Why has God abandoned me? God's not moved. Well, Will will you move first and and TRY TO GET BEHIND SOMEBODY else >> that's receiving God's blessing? Be humble enough to learn and receive. Honor what others have planted. That's why it's so important for us anniversary services and when we hear uh some of our senior saints give their testimonies or bishop gets up and and tells us about the times when uh there wasn't enough money to to to pay the light bill and they had to get together and collect an offering just to keep the electricity on or or or building forms for steps in advance. Keep telling me that. I want to hear that story. I want to hear that miracle again because when I when I hear THAT'S THAT THAT'S A HARVEST that took place. That's that's new beginnings THAT THAT TOOK PLACE. AND AND WHEN YOU TELL THAT I I MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET JUST a >> just a piece of that. Faithfulness in small things leads to greater things. Stay near to the blessed without envy. Oh, I've been pray. It seems like I've been praying uh for this to take place in my life and man, everything's just falling into place for them. I wouldn't stand back. I I'd go take advantage of that and let me get around them. Let me let me see what they're doing. Maybe I can glean just pick up something from it. By divine providence, Ruth finds herself in the field of Boaz. And Boaz was no broke individual, a man of integrity, wealth, and compassion. He was a relative of Naomi's late husband. Boaz noticed her, not for her beauty first, but he noticed her faithfulness. He He noticed her work ethic. He he heard how she had left her people to care for Naomi, her mother-in-law, when she didn't even have to. He told his workers that you need to protect her, and I want you to indeed actually leave extra grain out for her. Those were the prophetic words because Ruth had indeed come under the wings of the Almighty. Naomi saw God's hand moving. And she recognized Boaz as a kinsman, a redeemer. And if he were to TAKE RUTH AS A WIFE, everything Naomi had lost from her husband dying, EVERYTHING SHE HAD LOST from her husband dying would be completely redeemed. SOMEONE WHO COULD BUY BACK THEIR FAMILY'S inheritance and carry on the family line. Following Naomi's wise counsel, Ruth approached Boaz. And Boaz spread his cloak over her, the ceremonial covenant relationship. Ruth said, "Redeem me and cover me into your promise." that lineage, that relationship. And Boaz, deeply moved, responded with honor. And he made the Moabitete, a Moabitete from a people who were in DIRECT CONFLICT WITH GOD, A PEOPLE WHO ARE A PRODUCT OF AN INCESTUOUS RELATIONSHIP, his wife. Ruth was faithful when life fell apart. And maybe you're here this morning and you've lost something precious. A loved one, a dream, your direction. Ruth buried her husband. Ruth buried her future. But she did not bury her faith. And I want you to know this morning that God still sees you in your pain. >> RUTH STAYED WHEN others walked away. Orpa turned back, but Ruth cling to Naomi. Maybe you're tempted to give up. Maybe you're tempted to veer off course. Maybe everything IN YOUR LIFE DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE. YOU'VE BEEN UNJUSTLY HARMED IN YOUR LIFE. YOU'VE BEEN TREATED UNFAIRLY. THERE THERE THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. >> But can you have in your SPIRIT THAT SAYS, "GOD, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S TAKING PLACE RIGHT NOW, WHEREVER YOU LEAD ME, I'M GOING TO FOLLOW. THERE'S NOTHING IN MY LIFE THAT COULD TAKE PLACE THAT'S GOING TO RESTRICT ME OR FOR KEEP ME FROM FOLLOWING AFTER YOU. >> It wasn't WHAT I PLANNED. IT WASN'T WHAT I IMAGINED. I I WAS I THOUGHT THINGS WERE GOING GOOD. I I HAD MARRIED INTO A GOOD FAMILY AND NOW HE'S DEAD AND NOW I'M FOLLOWING ALONG AND I'M I'M GATHERING CRUMBS THAT were left over. But wherever you go, I will go. She served even when she was sorrowful. She served. Served even when she was sorrowful. She walked by faith into unfamiliar territory. She worked with excellence. She didn't chase favor. Favor found her. She blessed someone else. Even though she was broken, she honored authority and wisdom. She kept showing up. She trusted the redeemer that she had not yet met. Before Boaz, before the blessing, Ruth trusted the God of Israel. Even if you can't see your redeemer working, even if you don't know what the final conclusion is going to be, you must trust that there is redemption taking place. If you'll have that spirit, I know you're going to be tempted to give up. I know you're going to be tempted to to get down and and nothing's GOING TO TO MAKE SENSE ALL AROUND YOU AND YOU FEEL ISOLATED AND YOU'RE HAVING DIFFICULTY RECONCILING THE SITUATIONS THAT YOU'RE HAVING TO TO FACE. AND I I CAN'T GIVE YOU A HUMAN EXPLANATION EITHER. BUT FROM THE BOOK OF RUTH AND FROM RUTH'S TESTIMONY, COULD YOU HAVE THAT SAME SPIRIT THAT SAYS, "WHEREVER YOU GO, >> I will go." The Old Testament unfolds as a divine tapestry. Each story intricately woven to foreshadow the ultimate revelation of God's redemptive plan in Christ. The patriarchs, the prophets, and the covenant serve as living symbols. Abraham's faith, Moses deliverance, David's kingship, ALL PREFIGURING THE MESSIAH'S PERFECT FULFILLMENT. Through Israel's history, we perceive a microcosm of humanity's LONGING FOR GOD'S PROMISE, THE LAW EXPOSING SIN, THE SACRIFICES anticipating atonement, AND THE PROPHETS FORETELLING A COMING SAVIOR. THUS, EVERY SINGLE narrative is pointing towards something to come. Whether it be triumph, whether it be exile, whether it be feast, whether it be famine. There's whispers all throughout the Old Testament of divine restoration culminating into a man named Jesus Christ, the incarnate word who embodies and completes >> the fulfillment. And soon through this marital relationship of Ruth and Boaz, this Moabitete woman, their child Oed would go to be the grandfather of King David, the greatest king in Israel. And generations later, from that same bloodline would come a man named Jesus Christ. And through a woman's spirit, through a woman's determination, through a widowed woman who would just cling on to the promise of God, uh didn't even fully understand everything that was taking place. the this woman from a culture OF AN INCESTUOUS RELATIONSHIP. THIS WOMAN FROM A CULTURE WHO WERE ABSOLUTELY IN OPPOSITION TO GOD. NOT IDOL BYSTANDERS. NOT JUST THOSE WHO H KIND OF HEARD ABOUT HIM BUT DIDN'T DO MUCH ABOUT IT. THEY WERE IN DIRECT OPPOSITION TO GOD. YET WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE LIDS OF YOUR BIBLE AND YOU SEE THE LINEAGE AND THE BLOODLINE OF JESUS CHRIST, RIGHT THERE IS A MOABITETE WOMAN BY THE NAME OF RUTH BECAUSE SHE SAID, "WHEREVER YOU GO, I'M GOING TO GO. YOUR PEOPLE WILL BE MY PEOPLE. AND YOUR GOD THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING ABOUT YET IS GOING TO BE MY GOD. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY EVERYTHING'S HAPPENING, BUT I KNOW IF I'LL STAY FAITHFUL. I KNOW IF I'LL KEEP SHOWING UP. I KNOW IF THAT I'LL SERVE IN MY BROKENNESS AND BLESS OTHERS EVEN WHEN I'M BROKEN. And God's going to show up for me. >> And I want you to know that you have a redeemer today. >> His name's Jesus Christ. Every one of us are from a bloodline of s i n sin. And you've got a redeemer today that no matter what you're going through, no matter what you've done, no matter what you're facing, we have a redeemer who's working things out behind the scenes. And he's ready >> to pour blessings on you. When Ruth knelt at the feet of Boaz that night on the threshing floor, it wasn't just simply making a marriage request. She was making a declaration of faith. She said, "Spread your cloak over me, for you are my redeemer." And that cloak represented more than warmth. It represented covering. It represented covenant. It represented care. In Hebrew, the word for cloak is the same as wing. Ruth was saying, "Oh, that that wing of protection, that wing of protection, that wing of promise, that covenant, would you would you would YOU WOULD YOU COVER me with it?" And I think all of us would be well served today to remember the relationship that we have with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and that you are under his wing. You are under his covenant protection. AND NOW FAST FORWARD AS I MENTIONED through the generations through David to Jesus. That bloodline of Ruth and Boaz from Bethlehem would continue to flow back to Bethlehem where another redeemer is born. Jesus Christ the son of David. Jesus Christ the descendant of Ruth. And one day in a crowded street in Galilee and there was another woman weary, unclean, bleeding for 12 long years, pressed her way through the crowd. She spent every single dollar she had on doctors, but her condition only grew worse. Yet faith whispered. There's a redeemer. There's a covenant promise. If I can just I can just touch the hem of his garment, I'll be made whole. She didn't need a conversation. She didn't need to be seen. She just needed to touch that covering of the redeemer. And when her hand trembling brushed the edge of his robe, the same kind of robe that Boaz once spread over Ruth, the same one with the tassels hanging down in the King Version, King James version, these tassels are are translated as fringe or fringes in the corner of a person's garment represented his identity. >> It was his symbol >> for who he was and the dominion and authority that he had. And it's as if that woman who pressed through the crowd, if I can just touch the hymn of his cloak, if I can have him spread that cloak over me, then I would have restoration. Then I would have redemption. If I can just identify with that name. And when she did, he said, "Daughter, your faith hath made thee whole." I wonder here if somebody could today could remember the relationship, the covenantal promise that you have in your life that no matter what you're facing, no matter what you're going through, so no matter what circumstance surrounds you, if you could just reach up and identify with the power of the name that is over your life, I want you to know that you have a redeemer today. You have a restorer today. You have one who can make a way when there seems to be no way. You might have been suffering with isolation and loneliness and heartache and brokenness and all OF THESE EMOTIONS ARE PROBABLY JUSTIFIED BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE JUNK THAT YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH. AND THERE'S NO DOUBT. BUT IF YOU'LL SAY, "WHEREVER YOU GO, I WILL GO." IF I GOT TO PRESS THROUGH A CROWD, IF I IF I GOT TO FIGHT THROUGH, IF I CAN JUST TOUCH, IF I CAN JUST GET A TOUCH OF THE HYMN OF HIS GARMENT, IF I CAN JUST GET AROUND SOMEBODY ELSE THAT'S RECEIVING HIS BLESSING. YOU'VE GOT A REDEEMER TODAY. IS ANYBODY EXCITED THAT YOU'VE GOT A REDEEMER? I WONDER IF YOU'D GIVE GOD JUST A about 60 seconds. >> IS THAT TOO LONG? AH, THERE'S NO MUSIC AND THERE'S THERE'S NOBODY SINGING. The altar, the singers can come on up here IN THE MUSIC. OH, ABOUT 30 MORE SECONDS RIGHT WHERE YOU'RE AT. WOULD SYMBOLICALLY WOULD YOU JUST REACH UP AND TOUCH THE HYMN of his garment? God, I just need a touch from YOU THIS MORNING. GOD, I JUST NEED TO IDENTIFY WITH YOUR NAME. GOD, PLACE YOUR NAME OVER MY LIFE. PLACE YOUR COVERING OVER MY LIFE. OH, I'm hurt. I'M BROKEN AND SHATTERED INTO PIECES, BUT IS THERE SOMEBODY ELSE WHO MAYBE I CAN MINISTER MINISTER WITH WITH WHAT I'VE GONE THROUGH? CAN I BLESS SOMEBODY ELSE? EVEN THOUGH I'M THE ONE THAT NEEDS TO GET BLESSED, I want you to know that you're going to get blessed. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THERE'S A BLESSING COMING. JUST KEEP FOLLOWING THE REAPERS. OH, SOMEBODY'S FOLLOWING THE REAPERS. JUST GIVE HIM A LITTLE BIT OF PRAISE THIS MORNING. GIVE HIM A LITTLE BIT OF PRAISE THIS MORNING. KEEP FOLLOWING THE REAPERS. KEEP FOLLOWING THE REAPERS. just remain standing. >> When I first started preaching, I think one Sunday night, my dad said, "Well, you need to go up there and pray for people with the when we do that on Sunday night, you know, with the oil and all that." I was scared out of my mind. And then I was like, Maybe nobody's going to come through my line, so maybe I need to hand out candy or something on uh on my side. Well, we used to sing a chorus during the prayer for the sick and help me sing it if you know it. It said, "A woman tried many physicians but grew worse. So to Jesus she came. And when the crowd tried to restrain her, she whispered these words through her pain. Sing it with me. >> Touching Jesus is all that matters. >> Well, you can hear yourself singing. Now they would sing this and everybody would start coming to the front and just like I anticipated. I got down there with the oil and nobody was coming to my line. But Sister Wanita Simpson, remember Sister Wanita Simpson? >> She'd come down in her motorized wheelchair, still at the house of God, still faithful. >> And in the what we call the event center now, she'd get to about right here. >> And she was the first person I ever got to pray for. And I begin to say that prayer, Lord, do you see the needs of Sister Sip? And it wasn't five seconds. She started shouting in that chair. She She started shaking. She started speaking in that heavenly language. She was waving her hands. And I remember my dad. Sing one more chorus. Let's go THROUGH IT AGAIN. SING IT WITH me right now. Touching Jesus is all that matters. Sing that with me. >> Then your life will never be the same. There is only one way to touch him. Just believe when you call on his name. So full circle. My dad was out of town and Sister Simpson passed away and I got asked to say a few words at her memorial service which was the first service that I ever was able to help conduct. So you talk about a high honor but high pressure and the graveside was going to immediately follow and would you know that it was an allout severe thunderstorm that came down that day and I remember brother Jones uh he was conducting the the service after and he's like what are we going to do and he's asking me he's like why are you asking And brother Jones said, "I got a good idea. >> What if we just went to God in prayer and prayed about it?" >> Yeah. >> What What if we just called out on his name and prayed about it? So, we begin to pray. And I want you to know by the close of that memorial service, that was just a sunlight that came down. Now, Sister Wanita Simpson, she didn't leave her family, mansions, and bags of gold and all that stuff. But just about every Sunday, she's got a great granddaughter here. Her great grandson was up here in this altar the other night in family glory. And now she has a great great granddaughter here in his house. >> Folks, we can't be a generation. We can't be a church body. We can't be a 2025 CHURCH THAT FORGETS WHAT IT TAKES TO GET A HOLD OF GOD. We got to HAVE A DETERMINATION THAT WHATEVER TAKES PLACE IN OUR LIFE, CAN I SAY WHEREVER YOU GO, WHEREVER YOU LEAD ME, I'M GOING TO GO. WHATEVER YOU TELL ME TO DO, I'M GOING TO I KNOW I KNOW I'M BROKEN. I I KNOW I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE HURT. I KNOW BY THE HUMAN UNDERSTANDING AND THE AND THE WORLD'S PHILOSOPHY that I have justification FOR TURNING AWAY. BUT WOULD YOU KNOW THIS MORNING, IF YOU'LL STAY FAITHFUL, IF YOU'LL TAKE A STEP OUT OF YOUR SEAT AND GET ON THE MOVE, I BELIEVE GOD'S GOING TO BLESS SOMEBODY WHO NEEDS blessed today. I believe God's GOING TO BLESS SOMEBODY WHO'S GOT BROKENNESS IN THEIR LIFE. I BELIEVE GOD'S GOING TO RESTORE SOMETHING TO SOME PEOPLE WHO'S HAD everything taken from them. So, I want TO OPEN THIS ALTAR RIGHT NOW TO SOMEBODY WHO'S ON THE MOVE, who says, "Hey, I'm going TO GET AROUND SOMEBODY THAT'S being blessed. I declare blessings in my life. UH, THIS MY LIFE'S NOT OVER. GOD'S NOT THROUGH WORKING. GOD'S NOT FINISHED. MY STORY ISN'T OVER. >> Sing that chorus." Touching Jesus is all that matters. >> Then your life will never be the same. >> There is only one way to touch him. >> >> Just believe when you call on his name. >> I want to do something this morning. I'm not going to ask for a raise in a raise of hands. But if you've got true brokenness in your life, if you've got shattered pieces in your life, if you NEED GOD TO SHOW up most of the time, I would say we're going to find some people to pray around you. But I want to confuse hell just a little bit today. If you need a blessing from God today, I WANT YOU TO FIND SOMEBODY else and pray for them. I want YOU TO TURN TOWARD YOUR NEIGHBOR AND SAY, "EVEN THOUGH I'M BROKEN, I'M GOING TO PRAY WITH THE THE SAME AMOUNT OF FERVOR. EVEN THOUGH I need healing, I'm praying FOR YOUR HEALING. EVEN THOUGH I need a blessing, even though I need God TO SHOW UP, I'M GOING to pray with even with even more determination for you. GET WITH YOUR NEIGHBOR. DON'T LET THIS MOMENT PASS. OH, THERE'S SOME BLESSINGS falling down. There's some blessings falling down. Oh, there's If I can just touch him. Let me just get in his presence. I hope I can press through and just touch. There is only one way to touch him. Just believe when you fall on his name. Touching Jesus is all that matters. Then your life will never be the same. There is only one way to touch him. Just believe when you call on his name. >> All right. At this time, I want everybody to get a need on their mind for a person who is not physically present. Today, we're going to pray a prayer of intercession. And I believe through the blessing that God has been doing through our services the past couple weeks and today that these blessings are just going to continue continue to spread out. I want you TO PRAY A FOCUSED PRAYER RIGHT NOW. NOT FOR YOURSELF, BUT FOR SOMEBODY ELSE. SOMEBODY that's not here. A NAME THAT GOD has laid ON YOUR HEART. OH, THIS IS NOT JUST FORM or ritual. WE'RE GOING BEFORE THE ALMIGHTY GOD, THE REDEEMER. AND I WANT YOU TO PRAY with with passion. Pray with tenacity. Pray with intention. As Pastor Whitley said, this is not just some other Sunday. This isn't just a Sunday. ARE YOU READY TO PRAY RIGHT NOW? Let's lift up that knee. MIGHTY GOD. WE COME BEFORE THE OMNIPOTENT GOD. WE COME BEFORE the God of the heavenly armies. We come BEFORE THE GOD WHO MANIFEST himself in flesh and became as you and I. Who said, "I could have 12 legions of angels COME DOWN AND DESTROY WHAT'S TAKING PLACE HERE, but I'm going to suffer THE AFFLICTION ON THE CROSS SO THAT I MIGHT REDEEM my sons AND MY DAUGHTERS." LORD, YOU SEE EVERY name that's being lifted up right now. the hurting sons and daughters, the lost loved ones, the needs that we need blessings for. And God, we stand here on behalf of them right now, interceding, TOUCHING THE HYMN OF YOUR GARMENT ON BEHALF. AND WE declare your blessings to take place in their life in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. This is Sister David Woody. She has been having a Bible study with Sister Dusk and she sees her need to take on the name of Jesus and water baptism today. I want us to pray right now. Lord Jesus, as our sister comes forward, Lord, you have given her revelation now. Lord, I pray as she goes down in the water that you would fill her up with your spirit. Let the power of the Holy Ghost minister through her life. Lord, let her walk in newness of life. We thank you. We praise you. We love you. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. And amen.