Pastor Brad DeLong - The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth

we're going to turn to second timothy chapter 3 and verse 10 as you turn i believe the lord wants to strengthen his church again this morning through a very specific reminder one that paul gives timothy in this passage he starts the chapter by telling timothy that they're living in perilous times when mankind is found to be lovers of themselves lovers of money boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents i'm thankful unholy unloving the list goes on and on and on follows it up by saying that these individuals they're always learning but they're never able to come to the knowledge of the truth and it's in

this environment with this backdrop one that we share with paul and timothy in our modern culture our modern backdrop is with this backdrop that paul strengthens timothy he charges him in verse 10. you see it on the screen but you have carefully followed my doctrine manner of life purpose faith long-suffering love perseverance persecutions afflictions which happened to me in antiochus what persecutions i endured and out of them all the lord delivered me yes and all who desire to live godly in christ jesus will suffer persecution what a promise chalk that one put in the list of promises today but evil men and

imposters will grow worse and worse they'll deceive they'll be deceived but you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of knowing from whom you've heard them and that from childhood you've known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in christ jesus all scripture is given by inspiration of god and it's profitable it's profitable production for a proof for correction for instruction and righteousness that the man of god make be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work so while the world around you cannot seem to land on truth

and while individuals around you will attempt to deceive and to dissuade you you timothy you church of god you must continue in the things that you've learned and you've been assured of continue in the word of god continue in the holy scriptures continue in the truth and today i feel a word for god's church and for every person here with his help i want to preach to you from this title very original sure you've never heard it the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth the truth the whole truth and nothing but it what we are handling today is precious i was reminded that a couple weeks ago just before i

walked onto the platform by the luke small who was a man of the word gave me a copy of some scriptures gave me some papers i've got them in my ipad still he studied this word and the one he gave me was from romans and it talks about the value and the great worth of the word of god what we are handling today is eternal and we need god's help i invite you to pray with me for your own sake and for the sake of those around you your church family that god would help us and edify us today would you lift your voices with me and pray in the name of jesus oh lord we commit ourselves to you into your word today and

whatever your word wants to speak and whatever you want to say to us we open our hearts and our minds to receive it anoint us lord and receive it we know your promise is that your word will not return void so what we're doing today is we engage as we listen as we respond as we hear and we heed this word it is not in vain oh but something eternal is happening within us today we need your help your spirit your word in the name of jesus and you may be seated there is an undeniable onslaught in our day in time against truth the truth of god's word the truth of his principles in fact i watched an exchange the other

day that happened in the seat of power in our own nation the only conclusion i could come to in the aftermath of watching this video was that there is such a confusion a destruction a deception that has permeated our culture in our society isaiah calls it those who call evil good and good evil who put darkness for light and light for darkness and the very fact that isaiah describes what we are facing today is a case in point that truth the truth the truth of god's word it has always had its detractors its adversaries and its enemies this is not a new problem or phenomenon this onslaught against truth it's one of

the core reasons our text from ii timothy exists in the first place it's an age-old struggle in battle ever since the father of lies confronted and twisted truth in the garden it's always been embattled it's been embattled since then and throughout the ages and pontius pilate himself he summed it up perfectly at the trial of jesus in john 18 jesus spoke to him about bearing witness to the truth and in verse 38 he he asked the question of jesus well what is truth what truth are you talking about well peter wright mentioned to me it's ironic that pilate was staring truth in its face and he's asking what is truth

what what kind of truth what truth are you talking about jesus people are still asking this question they're still trying to define it in the year of 2022 it's a timeless in battle one that many in our community in our city even people that walk in our doors are trying to wage and to settle on a regular basis we see evidence of this battle constantly and consistently i i saw the other day in that clip from our nation's capital we see it in our classrooms and in our universities we hear and experience it regularly through debate on social media and otherwise and we see it reflected in common phrases like this well

well that's your truth that's that's not my truth that may be true to you but it's not true to me let me tell you about my truth or what's true to me which doesn't strike that word true there has no definition apparently there is this struggle in a battle that's being waged every day in almost every community one that i've come to help settle in the hearts and minds and the members of of this great church as well as anyone else who is hearing this message today or any day because while everyone else may be concerned with your truth or my truth or relative truth or some other counterfeit truth that they have

stumbled upon we are solely and chiefly concerned with his truth the truth that shapes and overrides every other truth there is a truth with a capital t that trumps every other supposed truth that has ever been posted or propagated or postulated there is a truth in a measuring reed by which every other hypothetical truth is measured and determined there is an overarching and eternal truth the one found in this book that i'm holding today and the one from which i am preaching today it is his truth and it's sped out in his word a word that is forever settled in heaven psalm 119 says the entirety of your word is

truth and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever psalm 86 teach me your way o lord i will walk in your truth psalm 43 and 3 0 send out your light in your truth let them lead me psalm 25 show me your ways o lord teach me your paths lead me in your truth and teach me for you are the god of my salvation psalm 19 7. the law of the lord is perfect converting the soul the testimony the lord is sure making wise the temple the statutes of the lord are right rejoicing in the heart the commandment of the lord is pure enlightening the eyes the fear of the lord is clean enduring forever the judgments of the

lord are true and righteous all together so why the world and many within it grapple with your truth and in my truth and while the battle for truth and certainty rages on and while the word of god and everything within it is questioned and derided we look to and we stand on the word of jesus who said himself in john 8 and 31 if you will abide in my word you'll be my disciples indeed and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free he follows it up six chapters later he says i'm the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me and the word truth he used there greek word for

truth it's used nearly a hundred times throughout the new testament it reiterates what we're discussing today it means among other things something that is true in any matter under consideration true everywhere true always never not true or even something that's considered already a reality it is a god-ordained truth it's beyond controversy it's beyond dispute argument it's beyond contention i reference it already but psalm 119 89 it says his word is forever settled in heaven and no matter how embattled it is on the earth the fact the reality the truth remains that heaven has already settled this in the in the

earth and you and i we will follow suit the second book of john chapter 1 calls it the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever it's a truth that simply is not going anywhere and with that in mind i have felt the need as a member of the oncoming generation as a steward of the church as a shepherd of the people apostolic pentecostal church to make it very clear where i stand and where we stand as a church today we stand for the truth of god's word and we are not going anywhere that is away from or devoid of his i feel like declaring this unapologetically today apostolic pentecostal church still

believes him stands on preaches teaches loves and lives by the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth we still believe in the biblical plan and standard of salvation repentance water baptism in the name of jesus being filled with the gift of the holy ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues if you haven't experienced it you ought to today it's the truth we still believe in the oneness of god we believe there's one god his name is jesus he died he was buried he resurrected from the dead in victory we believe the bible is the infallible word of god it's inspired of god it is god breathed we

believe that all of sin and fallen short of the glory of god but that there is grace through faith in jesus christ and his death on the cross we believe that like his chosen people we are a royal priesthood a holy nation a peculiar people called to be holy like he ah i hope this doesn't get tiresome to us this is the truth today that we're still i believe he's coming back for his church his bride and he's gone to prepare a place for us this morning if you're a guest with us today and any of that confuses or confounds you and you're wondering why is he so excited and why is he up there screaming so much we want to

let you know we're so thankful that you're here and we're here to help you know the truth the same one that has set me free and in all the others who are here this truth has set us free and we believe it's going to set you free as well so we get a little excited when we talk about this great truth that we stand on today and if i could just simplify it in your hearing this morning make it as plain as possible we simply believe in the bible in the word of god in all of its entirety all of its principles all of its precepts for the word of the lord is right psalm 33 says and all of his work is done in truth so echo

the psalmist once again today and i say it for the record and so there's no doubt and no confusion where we stand as a church in the face of confusion and uncertainty in the world as well as the bombardment of this truth we love and the truth we live the psalmist says it and we echo it and we have chosen the way of truth your judgments we've laid before us we cling to your testimonies we're his church we follow his truth we will value it we will cling to it above all other opinions and all other judgments we will stand for his truth which is exactly what we're commanded to do in the new testament paul's first

letter to timothy spells it out these things i write to you though i hope to come to you shortly but if i'm delayed i write so you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of god which is the church the living god the church the pillar and the ground of the truth and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness god was manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit scene of angels preached among the gentiles believed on in the world received up in the glory the truth and the church paul calls us god's church apc is a part of it he calls us the pillar on the ground or the foundation the

mainstay the support of the truth other translations called the church a buttress of truth which is everything from an added support for a structure to the defense against erosion and the crumbling of that structure and that foundation this is one of the hallmarks and the characteristics of his church and it's certainly the case here at apostolic pentecostal church we've been doing this for 80 plus years we're going to continue to be a mainstay of the truth a support of the truth we're not going anywhere away from this truth and let me pause here again and tell someone who's a guest today or even someone who's

been wandering of laden you've been wondering where to find truth or where to settle in your heart and mind i believe that this church is a pillar of god's truth it's a mainstay of it and every time you come into apc it is our intention to teach and to preach and to exemplify the truth of god's word above every other opinion and argument and sentiment we want to be a beacon of hope in a lighthouse of truth which is what this world needs so desperately so if you came looking for truth today you came looking for peace you came looking for answers i believe you found it this morning i believe you found it in these

living epistles that are sitting here i believe you found it in the word of god and you're going to continue to find it as you come to this church we're going to teach the truth we stand for truth today his truth and his word not just truth with a capital t or even truth in part but as my title conveys we preach we teach we stand for the whole truth we believe in the whole of scripture spa taught about it this morning and helped us we adhere to the entirety of the word of god paul speaks to the elders of ephesus he points to what we're discussing today he says in acts 20 and 27 i i haven't shunned to declare to

you the whole counsel of god in other words i declare the whole will of god all that he wanted me to convey and to say our texts remind us all scripture everyone say all all scripture is given by inspiration of god it's all profitable and for what it's profitable we'll talk about in a moment but the point is we adhere to we follow we teach we preach we live by the whole of scripture all of it to illustrate today a couple months ago my daughter mila came home from sunday school she's where i get all my sermon material she teaches me she had a handout from her lesson that day and i just pause and thank sister karen

schneider and sister betsy maguire and all of our christian educators thank you for teaching our kids the word of god if you're a sunday school teacher you're working power up kids or you teach in any way let me remind you they're listening to you they're here and absorb in the word of god we ask her every sunday what'd you hear today and she can recount to us pretty much every sunday she remembers we talked about joseph today we talked about david she calls him david instead of david talked about david we talked about goliath and no they're listening to you they hear that word it's changing them it's it's

helping them and on this particular sunday i asked mila said what what'd you learn about she shows me your hand out and the lesson was focusing on imagery from revelation a little bit of eschatology or end times and that caught my attention this lesson page i started looking at the drawings that were on her page i i saw things that seemed to be fitting for end times or eschatology things that i expected to see on that handout there was an angel in the left corner there it was a throne a depiction of heaven and then there was something that really caught my eye simply because i just didn't expect it on the page at

all you see the the angel the throne drawing of heaven and right near the middle and the top was a depiction of a single solitary pig like i said it caught my eye began to scan my memory for the pig of revelation i need to confirm with these teachers i'm sure they're they're more of authority on this lesson than i am but i assumed it was the abomination of desolation daniel talks about in daniel chapter 9 11 and 12 we won't get into that particular study today but this instance taught me a valuable lesson i expected the angel the throne the drawing of heaven but that pig just didn't seem to fit didn't seem to

belong it didn't match the theme the the beauty that the other pictures depicted so clearly it reiterated me something we all experienced regularly and that that's simply that we're often drawn to and gravitate towards the parts of scripture that are more appealing a more convenient more pleasing or appropriate too as you see of all the parts of of eschatology and end times that i would rather discuss or teach the abomination of desolation is not at the top of that list it can be quite easy to forgo and omit the parts that we don't quite understand the parts that convict us the parts that reprimand us the parts

that command us to change it's more convenient for us and for our flesh to forget about the principles and the precepts that call us to righteousness and holiness consecration sacrifice and persecution we we like to preach teach discuss and and post on social media the scriptures that encourage us and promote us to all the good things of god and all of his benefits and i thank god that scriptures like those and those truths those promises are included in scripture i'm thankful for every benefit and every promise and every assurance that we have but i am also compelled to preach and to live by and teach the truths

that are not as convenient to my flesh and the ones that seldom if ever tickle my ears we believe in all of truth we believe all of scripture is inspired so i don't just teach and preach the parts that please us and we don't just live by the parts that don't involve sacrifice and change we don't just follow the parts that are convenient or culturally acceptable but rather we want the truth today and we want every single bit of it and again as a steward of his church and a shepherd of the people of god i am called and compelled to preach the inconvenient truths as much as i am called to preach those principles

that are appealing so if i preach john 3 16 that he's not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance i also have to preach matthew 7 that narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it it accepts your porn of the water and of the spirit you cannot enter the kingdom of god if i'm going to preach by grace you're saved through faith i also have to preach that faith without works and obedience is dead i have to preach that your faith should lead you to repentance baptism in jesus name receiving the gift of the holy ghost speaking in other tongues the

only way and plan of salvation that this bible gives us i love preaching that he's faithful and just to forgive us of all of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness but i also have to add that we must be buried with him that we have to put on the new man which was created for righteousness and true holiness it would be easier for me to preach only that he's come to bring life and life more abundantly that he's going to prepare a place for you and me but i also must preach that there is a day of judgment on the horizon and he will separate the weed from the chaff then the chaff will be burned in

unquenchable fire i recognize it is more palatable to hear only that he has nailed the list of ordinances against us to the cross and i thank god that i get to preach that i love preaching that but i also have to add he commands us to live holy as he is holy and that without holiness no man will see the lord i enjoy preaching mercy miracles and deliverance but i cannot neglect sin and persecution and hardship i love preaching about his mercy but i also have to preach that sin is still sin and darkness is still darkness hell is still real and judgment is still certain you see we've got the truth we've got to have

the truth and we've got to have the whole truth even the parts that convict us and challenges and the parts that compel us to change for the time will come paul says to timothy when people won't put up with sound doctrine instead to suit their own desires they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear they will turn their hearts away from the truth and they'll turn aside to myths but you keep your head in all situations endure hardship do the work of an evangelist discharge all the duties of your ministry paul told the people of colossa he said i become a

servant of the church by the commission god gave me the commission to present to you the word of god in its fullness that is my commission responsibility today as a servant of this church and i thank god and i believe i'm surrounded by a group of individuals who had asked me and encouraged me to do nothing short of that and in recent weeks and times and as recent as this morning thank you brother bishop you have come to me and you said preach the word pastor keep us in the truth pastor uh give it to us straight pastor tell us what the word tells us and needs us we need to hear and tell us what the lord's given

you thank you for that encouragement thank you for helping me fulfill a biblical mandate and it's a mayonnaise that rests on your shoulders as we are a pillar of truth we are a ground of truth it's not just on me and it weighs heavy on me today but it is on us the church we will not water this down we will not cherry pick only what we want to hear we will not trample over the parts that are unappealing or difficult to uphold or parts that culture has dictated are inappropriate but instead we will stand for truth and we will stand for all of it all of scripture is given by inspiration of god it's all profitable

for doctrine to prove correction structure and righteousness that the man of god may be complete lacking nothing we're going to be complete in him we need all of scripture lacking nothing i love the scriptures on doctrine that teach me doctrine i love teaching them i love preaching them i love amen in them i love getting excited and running but i need those scriptures but i also need the ones that correct me i need the ones that rebuke me i need the ones that instruct me in righteousness you notice three out of four of those are things we don't typically like to hear reproof correction instruction and

righteousness oh thank god for good doctrine but i also need i need some rebuke and conviction from times at times i need the word of god to challenge me i need to leave on a sunday morning thinking as brothers fall said today i'm not there yet i haven't already attained but i press on towards the mark and the calling i'm not there yet but that word as i looked into it today and as pastor or someone preached it it showed me i'm just not there yet i need that kind of word i need the ones that correct me the ones that make me uncomfortable the ones that challenge my apathy and complacency the ones that call me to

be more like him no matter the cost and the price the sacrifice i don't need this watered down i couldn't think of a single thing that tastes better watered down you all know that feeling watered down coffee is disgusting watered down truth ought to spit it out of my mouth it is blunted it's not as sharp it's not truth it is often more counterfeit than it is real the same way i cannot have and i cannot preach and i cannot live by a deluded truth i cannot cheapen what god has spoken or twist when it's plainly articulated i need the truth paul told the galatians i'm marvel you're turning away so soon from him who

called you in the grace of christ to a different gospel which really is not another gospel it's it's only one there are some who trouble you want to pervert the gospel of christ but even if we even if i the writer over half the new testament or an angel from heaven one of god's emissaries if we try to preach any other gospel to you and what we preach to let him be a curse and and as i've said i say again as i've said before i'm going to repeat it again because it's so important if anyone preaches any other gospel to you then what you have received let him be accursed verse 11 but i make known to you brethren that

that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man for i neither received it from man nor was i taught it but it came to the revelation of jesus christ it came from him it's his truth it's holy sacred it's his word what we are handling today what you pick up and read every day what you listen to on that audio bible every day it is his word it is his truth it's the one that we're going to be judged by it'll be our standard when it's all said and done it's not my word or the word of man it's his proverbs 30 echoes of sentiment it says this very bluntly in verse 5 every word of god is flawless he's a

shield to those who take refuge in him do not add to his words niv he says or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar what we are doing today again is holy sacred it's his truth his whole truth and lastly galatians 1 proverbs 3 reminds us it's nothing but the truth we don't teach preach or allow any other doctrine we don't follow any other doctrine we don't add to his words and his truth we don't adhere to our own wisdom or the wisdom and the views of man over and above the wisdom of god we have the truth and we will settle for nothing but the truth solomon implores his audience in proverbs 23 and 23 some believe

he's writing to a younger generation they believe he's writing to to youth but the principle applies across the board he says buy the truth don't sell it also wisdom instruction understanding get those too while you're at it i would contend if you have the truth you have all of those we won't trade it we're bought into this truth we will follow the truth and nothing but it i mentioned that solomon may have been writing his passage to youth and we know that paul wrote to timothy and he told him not to despise his youth reminded him to hold on to what he knew and what he learned i want our youth young adults hyphen

young marrieds especially the key into his words today in second timothy chapter 1 he says hold fast to the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me and faith and love which are in christ jesus that good thing good thing i wish i had another half hour to get into how good it is that good thing which was committed to you not just something you picked up or you happened on it was committed to you keep by the holy spirit who dwells in us he tells timothy in the next chapter be diligent present yourself approve to god a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth but shun

profane and idol babbling for they will increase to more ungodliness and saying all this paul an elder just waves that banner of truth in one of his final writings before his death he reminds the next generation to hold on to it to guard it rightly divide it study it and to love it i want everyone 30 and other to stand i want to park here for a moment and do what i have felt some days and weeks and months i love this group young marriage young adults students i know our children in the back receiving truth but i speak to you you buy this truth and you do not sell it you hold on to it you cling to it when it's

tested from every angle and every side when that teacher and that professor tries to belittle you for standing on this word that our elders and men and women of god have stood on for centuries and millennium it's carried them when they try to belittle you for your faith you cling all the more you hold on to that truth when you're youth pastor i thank god for you pastor who loves the truth he's committed his life to it when that youth pastor and sister tressa and that you staff who all love the truth come in on a wednesday night and they deliver that word of truth you don't neglect it and you don't take a

wednesday night off or a sunday morning you don't check out you glean from that truth you hide it in your heart and then you study it for yourself and you open it for yourself and you fall in love with it for yourself do not ever exchange this truth for anything cheaper opportunities will come but i challenge you and implore you you hold on to it psalm 100 105 says his truth will endure to all generations i thank god the truth endured to my dad's generation i thank god and endure to my bishops generation i thank god endured to brother el or elders generation like brother everett and others this truth will endure

to your generation and if the lord tarries it will endure to the next one it is not obsolete it's not our k it is not out of day this truth will endure and not only that this truth was needed in my dad's generation they needed it in bishops they needed in our elders they're going to need this truth and your generation they're going to need it and the ones that come so i speak to some young people you hold on to this truth you don't ever sell it or anything she and i speak to some moms and dads and parents and elders and grandparents you instill it every chance you get into that baby into that child into that

teenager and if you have to you sit down that young adult and you start teaching them the truth they're listening when you do it they buy into that truth we've got to pass it on and i read a promise you can be seated miss charlotte's dedication a couple weeks ago i want to read it to you again out of proverbs 18. this is the promise when you hold on to it and when you teach it that when you roam those teachings will lead you when you sleep they'll keep you when you awake they will speak with you for the commandment is a lamp and the law of light reproves of instruction are the way of life that if we train up a

child and the way they should go they will not depart from it when they are old this truth will keep them it'll be a lamp under their feet and light into their path as they cling to the truth and nothing but it so the parents and elders believers those of us who carry this truth our lives will continue to settle for nothing less and we will teach it to the oncoming generation knowing that this word will keep them and sustain them and even save them jesus promises it'll make you free and then he prays in john 17. he said they are not of the world just as i'm not of the world sanctify them by your truth your word

is truth save them sanctify them keep them make them free is there anything else you could give to your kids that will do all that just his word so what we're discussing today as musicians come what we're handling it is more than just another tradition it is more than something we do out of obligation but if it can really do all those things and more give them instruction understanding save them keep them what we're handling today is eternal and i've felt that this is more than just another reminder in a sea of other reminders and more than just another sermon and a sea of other sermons but there are individuals

who have walked in the room today and you're grappling with truth and you're wondering whether or not you should buy it and you're wondering if you should buy all of it you wonder if you should trade it for something else we've got guests who've come today you've been looking for truth you have to take my word for it but really take his word for it he found it new family members who've come maybe you're struggling with facets of this truth and you're wondering is that really true should i buy into that i encourage you today you can buy into it and it'll keep you and help you maybe there's a saint of god who has

come and you've been faithful to god and you've served him for 10 20 50 years and life and the enemy and confusion have dealt you a difficult hand and you're starting to question does that promise really matter is it really in the word is it really real i'm encouraging you as well today i'm not naive enough to think that every person who's walked in this room today has settled every facet of this truth but if you're struggling in any way this morning i want to encourage you a reminder that paul gave timothy who was a pastor even pastors need reminders continue in the things which you have learned and you've been

assured of at one point another saying to god you were assured of this thing maybe you're questioning a point of it now or a facet of it now or all of it continue in the thing you've been assured of knowing from whom you've learned them he's talking about his mom and his grandmother in your case remember who taught you this word and not only that but it wasn't just from them it's inspiring of god so remember remember he's the one who gave you the word that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in christ jesus and i add the words of

the psalmist once again telling us about these holy scriptures the entirety of your word is truth every one of your righteous judgments endures forever if you're grappling with truth today you can land safely and rest what you've already known and been assured of we have the truth we have the whole truth and we've got nothing but the truth it has been tested and tried for centuries and millennia and it has stood every test and proved itself again and again and it will endure forever i wonder if you'd staying with me right now in the presence of god and would you just begin to thank the lord for the truth that

we're discussing today the truth that's made you free the truth that's given you understanding that's opened your eyes i wonder if there could just be an ovation of thanksgiving right now maybe begin to think back to that moment when his word changed you and helped you and set you on a new path i thank you for the truth today and i'm not wondering lord i'm not wavering i thank you jesus and i've got peace and knowing what i believe and what i ought to believe i've got the truth of your word this altar call me somewhat unique today because i know and recognize that the majority of your response to this will be

beyond this service and outside of these walls but i do feel a specific direction for the next several minutes a couple prayer points but before we get to those i want to make a specific appeal although i hope that it will affect everyone in the room this morning i thought about going so far as asking you to make a verbal commitment just out loud in front of everyone and that may be something we could do but i feel like it'll be more impactful for you to make a commitment to him and i'm going to follow the truth i'm going to study it i'm going to dive into it i'm going to live by it and i'm not going to sell it

in conjunction with that i felt very specifically recently that the lord is calling someone here to teach the truth but that's in a bible study or teaching in a setting like this or teaching it like jesus did on the road walking along the way god is calling someone to teach the truth you've been grappling with that call and he's calling you this morning to respond to that call in just a moment i'm going to invite you to come if you want to settle in your heart and i'm going to live for this truth i'm going to stand for it i'm going to commit to upholding it and living by the truth of his word and if that's what

you want to do today or if you need to receive the gift of the holy ghost and you want to begin that journey with him i invite you to come right now if you're going to just stand for this truth and commit to follow it i'm asking you to make up in your mind as you come this is exactly what i'm going to do i'm going to follow that and would you come right now and lift your hands and begin to make a commitment that i'm going to stand and live for the truth and the whole truth and nothing but i won't sell it for any other thing this truth has changed me it's changed the world and i'm not selling it for anything

cheaper i won't water it down and i'm going to live for all of it all of the truth in the name of jesus oh jesus truth with everything we've got we're not laying it aside we're not sending down oh jesus has is hard we will confess your goodness we're still surrendering our hearts your faithfulness we will confess your goodness still believe we're still surrendering our hearts your faithfulness is our reward we still we will confess your goodness faithful you still believe i see this happening already throughout the building i feel like it will be beneficial to the body i'd like to pray a very specific prayer this

morning for some time i have felt burdened for both my generation and the ones to come not because they don't love this truth because they are facing a flood tithe of lies and disinformation they experience it every single day i want to pray over them this morning i'm going to focus on youth and hyphen young adults young mary's but really i'm asking all of us in the room to find someone who may just be a generation removed from you romans 1 talks about those living in unrighteousness and that they have traded the truth for a lie it says they made and exchanged god's truth for something that was the exact opposite

but if this god in this church has anything to do with it there will never be an exchange like that in my generation for the ones to follow we're going to pray to that end today i believe this is going to be a powerful prayer because there are elders who have stood on this through the worst of times and circumstances and you're going to pray into a young person who maybe hasn't had it challenged all that much but they will when they come to a crossroads in a faith crisis i believe this prayer will help keep them cling to that word feel god's help and strengthening there's an anointing i believe that flows down

from generations so i'm asking everyone in the room if you would find someone who may be a generation removed from you or just someone that's younger than you are if you don't know that just go look for someone who is obviously younger than you are go and lay hands on them right now and we're going to take a season here and we're going to pray you guys can go ahead you guys can go pray for someone as well i see it happen already in the room oh would you lift your voice right now knowing the eternal implications of what you are praying in this moment of god i pray for the generation that follows mine i pray for my

kids lord and their peers and their classmates when this word gets challenged in their life lord oh i pray they would stand on it and it would be unbelievable other than the rock that you heard and they would not be moved and live by your well i believe something's been at least go ahead and pray elder go ahead and pray mom and dad good praise head of god and bring that importation of truth over that next generation love my generation and the ones to follow we're not doing it foreign there's something powerful happening in the body you're done praying and feel so inclined would you go reach over and pray for

someone else you never know when they're gonna struggle you never know when their faith will be challenged this prayer can help and sustain oh jesus so so one last prayer we're gonna pray and if you're praying continue i felt specifically to help someone today i mentioned i know that there are individuals who come in today and you're still grappling with truth this is not meant to embarrass anyone because we have all gone through a faith crisis or times when we were tested whether by trial or enemy or storm so today what we simply want to do is come alongside someone who may still be grappling with truth or even

a facet of it maybe there's a promise that the lord has given you and you haven't seen it fulfilled and you just need the strength to continue to believe in that truth and in that promise or maybe you've just been questioning things of late and the enemy's been twisting things and contorting things and you need god's help and assurance again this is not meant to embarrass anyone but if you need help and prayer and strength today the body is going to come alongside and this is a safe place for this to happen would you lift your hands if you just like prayer this morning and the strength for god's help as you hold

on to this truth and adhere to it we've got several already with their hands lived but you look around right now and there ain't even others who don't even know right now that they're grappling with it we're going to pray for them but you go right now some are still praying for that next generation continue to do that but lift your voice with these brothers and sisters who've been grappling with truth and trying to figure out where to land oh would you pray church in the name of jesus you've come to help us today to settle some things in our hearts to settle some things in our life we're praying for your help

lord that we wouldn't uh we wouldn't question jesus there wouldn't be no doubt there'd be no confusion oh thank you jesus you respond right now with your commitment to do that oh we receive your word your truth your strength today lord we receive it jesus and we're going to take it out of here we're going to share it with someone else oh god thank you for your word and your truth oh god we thank you jesus we thank you jesus we thank you thank you lord so thankful for god's word and for the operation of the gifts of the spirit we are a church that believes in all of scripture and scripture talks about how god will

edify his body through the operation of the gifts like we just experienced a message in tongues and the interpretation and the lord strengthens us through that i wonder if we could take a moment right now and thank the lord for his truth and for his help and strength would you do that from your own experience and your own praise your own thanksgiving today lord i thank you jesus for the truth that we have oh thank you jesus we're not wavering we're not wondering lord that i've settled some things in my heart god i thank you for the peace that comes knowing the truth all of the truth we thank you lord we thank you

i want to give this invitation to anyone who may be struggling or grappling with truth maybe again you're a guest or your new family member or you've been here all your life and you just need help you can come to us you can talk to us go to a trusted source it's okay we can help and god can help by his word and his strength