Sunday Evening

Come on, clap your hands and give the Lord a great honor and a great hand clap praise tonight. Come on. He's for you. He's not against you. Bible says his thoughts are toward you for an expected end. Oh, come on and just love him in this house. Thank you, Jesus, for the promise, oh God. Oh, for the loving kindness that you show us every day. Amen. And as you return to your seat, why don't you shake somebody's hand and just remain standing when you get to your pew? Shake somebody's hand and say, "He's for you." Come on, tell them he's for you. God is for you. And if he's for you, who can be against you? Who would dare mess with you? Oh, if he's for you today, hallelujah. Turn your Bibles with me to Ephesians chapter 5 and verse number six is where I want to read our text from. I want to give honor to the church tonight. I love love love this body of people, my family, my people. Amen. Love First Apostolic Church of Marville. Amen. Good to see First Apostolic Church of Cleveland that's here tonight. Pastor Fallon, love you so much. Love the church that's being built there. They're a powerful church. Amen. They're a revival church. And uh they remind me a whole lot of their mother. Amen. We are. We're proud to be the mother church of First Episade Church of Cleveland. Amen. Give honor uh to Bishop and Sister Carpenter, my pastor, your pastor. So thankful we have the best of the best. Aren't you thankful for our pastor and first lady, not only leading this church, but leading this great organization that we're a part of. Amen. Give them honor. And God has God has been so good to us. I'm going to just uh I'm going to be I'm going to be quick. I've got something very special that I'm going to present to you. Uh but before I do, I want to kind of set it up a little bit. But let's read. Let's read Ephesians chapter 5 6. Says, "Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. Whatever you do, don't partake with those people. For you were sometimes darkness. Watch this right here. But now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light. For the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Truth. Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Watch this right here. but rather reprove them. This is going to go somewhere. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. Verse 13, but all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light. For whatsoever doth make manifest is light, wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall be, or shall give thee light. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, making proper use of the time, because the days are evil. And then one more scripture. This one feels a little bit better than the last. Ezekiel 3:17 says, "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore, hear the word at my mouth and give them warning for me." My title is this evening, it's going to make more sense momentarily, but my title is this. See something, say something. See something, say something. Put your Bibles down. Come on. Let's pray under the Lord. Father, we love you, Lord. What an amazing, Lord. An amazing job the choir did tonight leading us in worship and leading us before your throne in praise. And Lord, what I felt tonight, Lord God, I can't even explain it, but I can't deny the feeling that I had, the power that I felt within me, Lord God, as your Holy Ghost began to just come into this house and I I began to feel you as you begin to touch people and you begin to touch me. And God, I pray tonight as I preach this word, God, that you've given me, Lord, I just believe that people in this house, Lord God, the saints of God, guests that are in this place, in this house tonight are going to feel you like they've never felt you before. They're be ready to take a stand for righteousness, for hope, for truth, oh God, in this generation and in this culture. I pray, help me, anoint me, use me tonight in Jesus name. Come on, if you'll agree with me, put your hands together. If you agree to help me preach tonight, come on, put your hands together, lift up your voice, and give the Lord a shout of praise. Uh, somebody shout, "Yes, Lord." Shout, "Yes, Lord." >> Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. And you may be seated in the house. See something? Say something. See, America's history is rich with peaceful activists that saw where rights were being withheld and they fought peacefully for equal rights. They saw something and they said something. They saw where God made it plain in his word. God said, "I am no respector of persons." He he spoke for equal rights for mankind. Peace peaceful activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister, the son of Atlanta's civil rights leaders. Dr. King rose to prominence organizing the Montgomery bus boycott and co-founding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. and through nonviolent marches, speeches like I have a dream and campaigns against segregation. He endured arrest. He endured mistreatment. Finally was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968, but not before advancing the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Acts of America. Aren't you thankful for an activist who came about it the right way and saw change take place? peaceful activists such as Rosa Parks, a seamstress and an NAACP secretary in Montgomery, Alabama. Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in 1955, igniting this Montgomery bus boycott and becoming an icon of the civil rights movement, facing arrest, job loss, and threats, she still continue. She still continued to active to be active against racial justice, voting rights, and women's equality until her death in Detroit. Peaceful activists like Helen Keller, struck deaf and blind by illness at 19 months old, Keller overcame her disabilities with help of a teacher named Anne Sullivan. learning to communicate via tactile sign language and becoming the first deaf blind person to earn a bachelor's degree. She became a a prolific author, a lecturer, and an activist for women's suffrage, labor rights, and disability access defying social barriers worldwide. Aren't we thankful for Helen Keller tonight? And then there's Harriet Beecher Stowe. Born in Connecticut to a prominent minister, Stow became a leading abolitionist, author whose 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, exposed the brutal realities of slavery, selling millions and galvanizing anti-slavery sediment in the north and abroad. Facing southern bans, death threats, and personal losses, she persisted in writing, lecturing, and advocating for civil rights until her death. Harriet, listen, I thought I read this story today. Harriet met President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, and he reached out his hand and shook her hand and said, "So, you're the one that started this war." She woke people up to realize the horrible state that the Africanameans of slaves were in. She saw something and she said something. And I I can't help but be a little partial to Harriet Beecher Stowe because I'm personally related to her. We come from the same bloodline. Matter of fact, I found out today, well, I I knew we were related, but I found out today she is my sixth cousin, five times removed, which simply means she's the sixth cousin of my great great great grandmother. They live the same time at the same era. My great-grandmother, who I knew well, the mother of my father's mother, her maiden name was Beecher, the same as Harriet's maiden name. And I feel very honored to be in this bloodline of an activist who saw something and said something. >> She wrote a book about it. And I I'm thankful for people who refuse to back down when they knew they were right. And so today, and I'm sure many of you turned into Charlie Kirk and and the beautiful uh celebration of life that they held for him, and it may be still going on, which I would say it probably is still going on even right now, and I'll I'll go back and finish watching it. But he was a peaceful activist. He was a debater that refused to ignore a society that was becoming more and more godless. He challenged our next generations to stand up for truth and to stand up for the word of God and to stand for godly morals. And and I promise you this is not some kind of a political rally. We're not waving flags. We're we're not it's not the left side of the aisle, the right side of the aisle. I'm just here to preach about and talk about and celebrate an activist that was for the word of God. But we were privileged last night and I I've got three young people. I want them to make their way forward. I want Landry and Paris and Haley to make their way forward. But we were privileged last night. Matter of fact, Haley's mother is here. And thank you for putting on that vigil last night. Matter of fact, put your hands together. Are you thankful for a community that loves, cares about, and respects moral purity? Thank you so much for loving our community enough to put this on, not just for Charlie Kirk, but for our community so that we could represent in a Christian manner. But he refused. Charlie refused to ignore a society. Listen, I'm thankful for a generation that's coming up that is able to think for themselves. But with a generation that's able to think for themselves, sometimes you got to get them out of philosophies that are brought to them in lecture halls, in universities, where they're trying to brainwash students into believing in liberal acts and liberal things and things that are not biblical. But I'm thankful for someone like Charlie Kirk who has influenced these three young people. I want you to give your attention to them. They did so awesome last night. Matter of fact, we're going to have some pictures on the screen of them speaking last night while they're speaking here. But I wanted you to hear them because they're passionate about what Charlie Kirk said and what Charlie Kirk taught them in his life. Come on, brother Langie. Tell us about Charlie. >> Praise the Lord, church. >> Praise the Lord. >> Feels good in the house of God tonight. Amen. >> If you didn't have the chance to make it out yesterday, like he just said, we had an amazing time at the memorial for Charlie Kirk, as we just did, I give thanks to to Miss Jasmine Satderfield for having the burden to put that together um for for giving us an opportunity to speak at it. And I believe God is going to work through that. I believe there were seeds planted and and I can't wait to see what's going to happen from it. But I believe it was no coincidence, as brother Zach mentioned a couple nights ago, that our young people have been praying here. The adulterous age group has been praying in the sanctuary every Saturday night for I don't know, it's probably been eight months now, I think. And and we did a prayer tent two weeks ago in the park. And then about five or six of us just went and prayed around downtown just walking around talking, people, praying. But I believe there was no coincidence that because we prayed, because we reached out to our community that day, we had the opportunity. I believe it was two days later that they called Zach and asked if we could, Brother Zack, excuse me, asked that we could do that. Uh my mom's going to get mad at me for saying that. Uh but asked that we could that we could do that. And I I believe it was it was no coincidence because when we begin to pray, church, Amen, things begin to happen. I can't I can't wait to see what God's going to do through our daily prayer because when my people when God's people amen get up and pray, something happens. Amen. The atmosphere begins to shift when we begin to pray. But I'm so thankful that we had that that opportunity. I don't want to take that for granted. It was so so good to have the apostolic people and the other people of our community speaking there. But what has happened a little over a week ago was truly a tragedy. And with it comes immense sadness over the death of Charlie Kirk. Yet I I believe it's safe to say Charlie would not want us to dwell on his passing, but rather remember the life he lived and the impact he made. He was fully devoted to his relationship with Jesus. In several interviews, he said that if there was one thing he wanted to be remembered for, he said, "I want to be remembered for courage, for my faith." I believe it's safe to say that's exactly how he is being remembered today. Some of his very last words, they were a a profession of of faith in Jesus. He had conviction like like few others. As he traveled to college campuses across the country, he he truly walked through the valley of the shadow of death. And he he feared no evil. The thing about Charlie is that he contended for truth in the public square with grace and humility, but he didn't do it for personal gain or recognition. He did it for the advancement of God's truth. He did not compromise. No matter the pressure others tried to put him under, Charlie never backed down from what he believed. He He never wavered. In a world full of compromise, he stood as a pillar of courage and and a voice of absolutes in our nation and most importantly in our generation. I believe Charlie, he embodied the the very name behind his company. His own life was a turning point. And though his death bring brings deep grief, I believe it sparked a turning point for our nation, turning toward godly morals, turning toward faith in Jesus Christ and his word. Turning toward proclaiming truth. Absolute truth. I want to repeat that. Absolute truth is what he lived for. He himself was a voice for truth. The assassination of Charlie Kirk was an attempt to to silence truth. But here's our hope today and moving forward. You cannot silence truth. It cannot be killed. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 2:8, "For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." Through the death of Jesus Christ, the enemy thought he'd silence the Savior of the world. But what the enemy meant for defeat only became the seed of revival. I love how how this is worded. When they tried to bury Jesus, they planted the very seed of resurrection. In the book of Acts, if you look at it, when Steven was martyed, the gospel spread beyond Jerusalem and began a movement in the world. And when they silenced Charlie Kirk, they underestimated the fire that his will would ignite in others. His death has awakened passion for boldness and a renewed commitment to to find out and seek what is real and what is right. to combat the the true violence and the hatred of our culture today. The voice of Charlie Kirka, it's louder than it ever has been. And his conviction in Jesus Christ resounds more powerfully than before. Through videos and podcasts and clips and different messages, I believe his voice is louder than it was than it is now than it was in his lifetime. His death has caused many people who may have never stood before for the truth now speak out boldly and proclaim it. I believe what the enemy meant for evil, God always has. And God is using for good because he's a kind of God that does that. Amen. Because I believe this is nothing short of an act of the an evil side. But I believe God's turning it for good. Amen. This attempt to suppress truth has instead sparked a movement of people of all ages seeking what is right. I heard it said that that Charlie Kirk was was one of one. He had a passion for truth and the boldness to profess his faith like no other. He has left behind a legacy for each of us. I want to remind you that just as there was no one like Charlie, there isn't anyone like you. >> Each of us individually is a child of God. And we've been given the gift of life and the responsibility to decide how to use it. We cannot cannot cannot allow Charlie's efforts to be in vain. We cannot let the emotions of this tragedy to fade. This must propel us to stand up and speak out. I I've heard it said before that if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything. Let us stand for what is true and righteous. Let us use the gifts that God has given us. Let us not allow this moment to be forgotten. Don't don't let it just simply fade away and become another thing that's happened in our world. Let this moment that has happened this past week turn into momentum. There is a right and there is a wrong. So let's answer the call to live by the principles that Charlie lived by. We can make a difference through the power of the Holy Ghost and through through the power of the name of Jesus. We can make a difference because church when some apostolic people get the Holy Ghost inside of them. They begin to step out into our community. I I I I tell you the community listens. Amen. And we can step out in the name of Jesus. No weapon formed against us shall prosper. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church because we got the Holy Ghost church. We've got the power of the name of Jesus. We can make a difference. And pastor, it's it's been on my heart so so strongly this week that I just want to do more. I want to do so much more for the kingdom of God because I believe we are in the last of the last of the last days. And it's up to us, church, to reach out, to go into our community and to get these souls. We've got to be a witness. Acts 1:8's been on my mind all week. And it says, "And you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you." I believe too many times we sometimes stop at that. Stop with that part of the verse. The next part says, "And ye shall be witnesses unto me." I believe if we begin to be witnesses, we're going to get that power of the Holy Ghost. But they go hand in hand. If we can begin to be witnesses, we can begin to have power in the Holy Ghost. But I'm so I'm so thankful that we are a Jesus name body and a Jesus name believing church. But let us profess our faith, live by godly morals, and believe that with God, church, anything is possible. Anything is possible with God. For greater is he that is in me, that is in each of you, than he that is in the world. Now is the time to be the light and be the beacon of hope this world desperately needs. I wish we would give our God a hand clap of praise and give him glory tonight. Last night was truly one of the greatest honors I have ever had. I just felt like so many seeds were being swn in our community and I was absolutely blown away with how many people from this church showed up and was a witness to our community. I just left with so much pride to be from FAC Marble but most importantly a graduate from ACA. ACA has trained me for moments like last night and I just want to give honor before my speech just to every teacher for their soul and surreate pastoral family for what they pour into each student every single day. Thank you so much. Charlie Kirk's life is simply a message just on its own. He was the voice of my generation and he understood the hearts of the youth. I'm in this belief that someone would take his rights, but most importantly his voice away. He stood for the truth without any apology. His goal was to restore the American family. And that is exactly what I admired most about Charlie. Focusing on the family is truly the greatest need in America. And it is God's plan. He sought to help young voters and students see the beauty in marriage between a man and a woman and the beauty of raising children. The evil spirits of our world seek to destroy the family. But so goes the family. So goes the church. And so goes America. However, Charlie's goal is to restore the family. He was the standard as a husband and a father. I was in complete awe of Erica Kirk as she delivered the most beautiful speech. She said, "If you thought that my husband was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just unleashed across this entire country and this world. You have no idea. The best thing we could do to this devastation as a response is to have a call of action by reading the word of God and being steadfast in prayer. It will draw us together as a family. And as we become closer to God and our family grows in strength, so will our churches, which will make America great again. Charlie often said, "A family that prays together stays together." It is time that our families return to God's will and the family order. Fathers lead in love. Mothers nurture with faith. And in return, children honor your parents. This movement and turning point will begin in the home. If you don't stand on the word, you will fall for anything, as Charlie often said. And this culture wants us to compromise. In Romans 12:2, it says, "Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." We cannot stay silent. They thought that the plan of silencing Charlie Kirk's voice would be the solution, but they have no idea the army they started. >> Charlie genuinely reflected the values he spoke about publicly. He had a work ethic like none other. When Charlie originally started Turning Point USA and debating college students, he did not have any followers. He was just 18 years old with a passion, a passion for truth with a good work ethic. In the words of Charlie Kirk, he would say, "I may not be better than my political opponents, but I can sure outwork them." This mentality is what builds success today. May Charlie's Kirk death be the catalyst for the youth of Maraveville to dream big and work hard. This is our turning point. >> We are done conforming to this culture. If this tragedy has taught me anything, it is to start dreaming bigger, stand on the truth, and work harder than ever. >> Not only has Charlie's death sparked a light into FAC Marvel in our community, but across the entire world. In England, there were 10,000 people walking the streets mourning the death of Charlie, while also having the largest conservative protest the United Kingdom has seen in years. I have read countless Instagram posts saying, "I'm reading my Bible for the first time in years, or I went to church for the first time today." Just when I began to think our voice was silence, it just got louder. What the devil meant for evil, God will always work for the good. Thank you, I was told to echo last night. So, let's start like we did last night. Praise the Lord, everybody. >> Come on. I know we can do better than that. Praise the Lord, everybody. You know, the Bible says to know that your children serve the Lord is great joy. And I just want to give honor to my parents who put everything in me that I know to love God. And I'm thankful for them for being here tonight. They surprised me. So, thank you, Mom. Thank you, Greg. Who knew that we would be here today honoring Charlie Kirk, a father, a friend, and a man of God who was shot, taken away from this world too soon. Young people, Charlie respected us. He treated us like the adults we were coming to our campuses to speak about the fight between good and evil. He knew this world was after our souls and our minds. And he came as an ambassador for God. His boldness convicted me then and his example continues to spire to inspire me now. But not only could he open the scripture and speak morally, he was a well of knowledge that ran deep. I want to be able to speak like Charlie Kirk could speak. He was independent in his thinking. He was not a slave to chat GPT or Google for his knowledge. People, we have to know and we have to know that we know that we know >> because we can be godly and educated. And this world needs us more now than ever. Godly educated people. Because God has made us for this day to be the noise in a world of silence to resist the pressure because we were made for a time such as this. They demand compromise in the name of tolerance. But like Charlie, we need to hold the mic, carry the torch, and stand for truth today. Simply being a Christian means confrontation. But he didn't stop rebutting the lies and the doctrines of hell just because he was told to. Neither should we. >> God called Charlie and he died for the message. A modernday martyr, a new age shotard around the world. I truly believe that. Charlie always said, "Silence breeds violence." That is the whole reason that he came to campuses and held an open mic. Because when we stop talking, we lose empathy and humanity for the other side. How can we love God but not our brother? But how could we ever love our brother if we never talk to him or at least get to know him? But they wanted silence, so they chose violence. Charlie went to schools where morality and godly principles were boxed away many, many years ago. I'm a proud student of the University of Tennessee. Amen. And I love my school. But if any of you are in college right now or probably even in your workplace, you know that there is a spiritual oppression trying to take over this world. The atmosphere is not safe and my voice is not welcome because God is not welcome. >> I can already hear it now. But if I say something now, I'll fail my class. If I say something now, I'll lose my job. If I say something now, I'll lose my relationship. I'll just lay low, conform to the classroom, to the propaganda, because maybe then they won't know that I'm one of them. They call it compassion. They call it tolerance, competency, professionalism. But I have something to say back. If compassion looks like compromise, you do not care. If competency looks like conformity, you've lost the mission. And if truth will make you free, but it offends you, you need it more than anybody else. And if godlessness is a qualification, your certification, I hate to tell you, but it's a farce. >> Okay, this is what I come to encourage you to do today. Carry the torch and answer the call. Because in these last last days, Charlie knew we weren't simply facing a political divide, but rather like Ephesians 6:12 says, we wrestle not with flesh and blood or brother to brother per se, but against wickedness, spiritual wickedness in high places. The same deceiver that was in the garden all the way back in the beginning still whispers doubt in our minds today. He said, "Did God really say that?" I come to tell you, "Yes, God did." Amen. And he is asking us to stand for that same truth today and tell others because why? Why do we have to tell people? Why do I have to make myself uncomfortable and put myself on the line? Well, Romans 10:14 says, "How will they believe if they do not hear?" A sure sign you are doing right is when hell tells you to quit. Now is not the time to stop. When we saw an innocent man being murdered, people cheering for the death of a father, it was felt deep down in our spirit. >> Someone said the voices cheering for his death carried the same spirit that put God on a cross. You always wonder what would you do in a moment like that? But you never know until the time truly comes. What side do you find yourself on now? Cheering in the crowd or simply standing back and staying quiet, too scared to speak up because you might be hung too. I choose to be the change. I choose to further the conversation. I choose God and I choose the truth. Amen. Hallelujah. >> Something has stuck deep down in my heart since that day. I truly don't see the world the same anymore. Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, "It's better to go in the house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone, and the living should take this to heart. It is a perspective change. This life is fleeting and in Charlie's death, he has taught me many, many things because purpose can be found even in this tragedy. The burdens in all of our hearts, that deep sick feeling we feel in our stomach, that is the call of God. That is the voice of God echoing in your soul. It is time to stand. And one last thing, I was actually in the middle of the video where Charlie Kirk came to UT when I got the call that he was shot. In a video, he said, "God has commanded us to be two things. The first thing is light and the second thing is salt." What do those two things have in common? Salt and light change everything they encounter. Charlie was salt. Charlie was light. And we too are called to change ourselves and this world. Charlie Kirk carried the torch. And now it is our time to shine because we were made for a time such as this. Thank you all. Come on. What about these students right here? living for God. Apostolic Pentecostal young people. They can be inspired. They can be inspired. You may be seated in Romans. I'm not going to take very long. I'm just going to kind of follow up what they've already said. But Romans 10 and 13, the Apostle Paul filled with the Holy Ghost said, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." He said, 'How then shall they call on him who they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how right here shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent as it is written, how beautiful are the feet that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. Salvation is ignited with a call. I said salvation is ignited with a call. It's fueled by belief. It's sparked by hearing and it explodes by the preacher and is launched by sending. >> So the question is how shall they hear without a preacher? The the word preacher here in the Greek is kiro. Kir is so it means to herald or to proclaim. It's like a town crier. It's like a town crier with a megaphone from the king himself. This word preacher right here in context is not reserved for a pastor in a pulpit. It's not reserved for an evangelist preaching a revival. Oh no. It's a commission for every single believer. You. It's for me. It's for every person in this room. If you are a believer today, the Bible says, it already was quoted in Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses." That's the same word. You're going to be preachers. And I'm not calling anybody to preach. I'm not calling anybody to pulp in ministry. I'm simply saying we are to be heralds of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We ought to be witnesses into every land, in every nation. This is not just somebody holding a microphone. This is if you have got the power of the Holy Ghost living inside of you. The Bible says greater is he that is within you than he that is within this world. And that's so you can be a witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. >> A witness is some simply somebody who can tell what God has done for them. Has God done anything for anybody in this place today? Has can anybody just wave their hand at me and say, "God has been so good to me. I can't help but tell somebody about it. I can't help but to go to the byways and the highways, go to the cities and go to the fields and tell people of the goodness of God. If we see something, we got to say something. We got to stand in the gap. We're going to hear a story very quickly about somebody who stood in the gap and filled it with unashamed truth. >> We're the town criers. We can't stay silent in this world. Uh we got to open up our mouths. We got to proclaim or we're going to perish. Uh our job is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ that every nation, every kindred, every tongue, every soul ought to hear about the good news of Jesus Christ. I'm talking about the gospel, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for your political views. I I'm thankful for how you feel about taxation and how you feel about what should be taxed and what shouldn't be taxed and and I I get all that. I understand we're going to fall on one side of the aisle or the other. But what I've really come to preach about is there was a young man who didn't care what anybody thought. He saw an issue and he began to speak about that issue. Reminds me of Ezekiel the prophet in the Old Testament when we find the people of God, ancient Israel, in a desperate situation. Ezekiel chapter 3 and beyond. They are exiled by the Chabal River. Nothing but bones. The Bible talks about rattling in Babylon's chains. God's people are not just scattered. But here's the problem. They're also stubborn. They're rebellious. And they begin to mock the prophets that are trying to help them out of the predicament that they're in. They begin to chase idols like addicts. And what was God doing? He didn't send in an army. He didn't send in chariots to kill them. He didn't send in decrees. He called upon a watchman. Somebody say watchman. >> Flesh and blood. A willing walking talking billboard of warning. Here Ezekiel the prophet hears directly from God. thought it was in our text. God said, "Son of man, I have made you a watchman. Hear the word I speak and give them a warning for me." In chapter 4, God says, "Lie on your left side for 390 days and bear Israel's iniquity for 390 days." Huh? This prophet of God, I don't know how he did it. It had to be uncomfortable. There had to be a lot of pain involved. But he laid on his left side, the left side of his body. He laid there for 390 days. It was one year, one day for every year of rebellion. But then after 390 days, God told him, I want you to flip over to the other side, and I want you to lay on the right side of your body for 40 more days. And those 40 more days are going to cover Judah's sin. So we have more than a year. For over a year, this prophet of God, like I said, he was a billboard. He He was for everybody to see. He was on the ground. The Bible talks about that he cooked his food over dried dung. His body began to seize. He had ropes binding him. His head was shaved in mock judgment. He was trying to show the people of God. This is what it looks like to be on the other side of the grace of God. This is what a rebellion looks like. This is what it looks like when you're not in submission to your God. And he was a living example. He chose. He just He said, "I'm going to do whatever you say to do, God. I don't understand it. It's not comfortable. Excruciating pain. There's flies that are swarming all over me. Every muscle in my body is screaming. The crowds are jeering. They're making fun of me. This crazy man, this prophet of foolishness. What is he doing laying on the ground? And Ezekiel could have at any time. He could have bailed. He could have said, "Lord, you can send somebody else." He could have been like a Jonah and simply ran off to another city, but he obeyed. Why? Because he wanted to shatter complacency. He wanted to grab the attention of the generation. He wanted to grab them by the nap of the neck and say, "Wake up, you rebellious generation." Every soul ought to be awake. The prophet, listen, the prophecy had a price tag. The preacher had a price tag. And it was not ease. It was not comfort, but it was anything but that. Oh, calling out unrighteousness is never going to be comfortable. All right. >> And what I want to preach to, I want to preach to a generation, the same generation that Charlie Kirk preached to, a generation of young people. And I can't say that my generation was very good at it. But we began to see things. And I I guess it was just the years that we that we grew up and and we thought to ourselves, maybe if we just are quiet and silent, maybe if we just hide our head in the sand, maybe it'll go away. maybe the issues of our culture. We began to hear about same-sex marriage and and we began to think to ourselves, surely when they figure out that it doesn't work, they'll give up on it, but they didn't give up on it because now there's people all these trans lifestyles and oh, I'm not just going to be a homosexual. I'm going to change I'm going to change my body, my anatomy. I'm going to go into a doctor's office and I'm going to get it all changed. and what we began to ignore and begin to be silent about. I believe there's a generation who's going to rise up and say we refuse to be silent about this. Uh we're going to confront this with the word of God. Uh we're going to stand against this not with hateuh not with violence but we're going to stand against this with the word of God and say God he demands in his word the creator made a manuh the creator made a woman to come together in marriage. uh one man and one woman for a lifetime to have children and to raise up families uh and to raise up godly households. Come on. The world is going to look at you. Let me just go ahead and tell you. They're going to look at you and they're going to say it's hate speech, but it's not hate speech. Uh it's speech of love. It's speech of righteousness and kindness. Oh, they're going to scroll past what you're saying. They're going to ignore you. There you are laying on your right side of your body and you're praying and you're saying, "God, wake up my generation. Wake up my classmates in the university. Wake up my classmates in the public school." And they're going to laugh at you. They're going to scoff at you. But there's coming a day when they're going to realize that you serve a God that's just. Uh you serve a God he loves and he cares. But at the same time, he's looking for a generation that will rise up and will stand up for what they see, >> to be unjust and to be unholy. Here, Charlie Kirk, he came onto this scene and I I thank God. I thank God because he saw young people and he thought to himself, I cannot let them be influenced in a way that they start to think like they're influencers. We had a young man, we had a young man that came up through our our Christian school and he told me one day, he said, he said, "Pastor Ericson, I I think I'm going to graduate. I'm going to major in psychology." I said, "Man, let me tell you something. That's a scary major in our secular world." He said, "Oh, but I I brought up in this I've been brought up in this church, in this school." He said, "I know right from wrong." I said, "Listen, it's it's a scary major to go out into these secular universities. You ought to go to a Christian school, a Christian college. you you want to go to Bible school and you can you can study psychology. So teiology you you can you can study all those things. It's okay in a Christian setting. But I'm telling you right now, you're going to get messed up. And I'm sorry to say he did get messed up. I'm sorry to say the lifestyle he's living right now is not a lifestyle that makes his parents happy. I'll tell you right now, but God help us uh to raise up a generation that says, "I don't care what the what the professor says. I don't care what the instructor says. Uh, I don't care what book he brings out. Uh, I don't care what book she brings out. The only book that matters in my life is this book right here. And if your book contradicts this book, if your textbook contradicts, Listen, young person, if you're about ready to go to college, you better wake up. This is an old laughing matter. I promise you, they are smarter than you. They're more educated than you. They've got their doctorates. They've been around the block more times than you've been. You can't just walk in there and think that you're just going to believe what you believe right now. Unless you walk in there and say, "As for me in my household, uh my mom and my dad, they preach this to me. My pastors preach this to me. I heard this in chapel service. I believe it in the altar. I believe it in the pulpit. I will not turn. I will not turn." You got to go in knowing what you believe. But Ezekiel, I'm so thankful for the prophet because he did what God told him to do. And the the year over a year that he spent on his side in the dirt rattled a nation. The nation finally woke up and they took note of this prophet and all of a sudden dry bones were prophesied over to live again. Uh and they lived again. Dry bones became an army. A valley of bones came to life. But it was after the prophet obeyed the word of God. It was after the nation woke up, God used that uncomfortable obedience to pierce their hearts. So what about tonight? And I'm almost through, but what about tonight? I believe this is our blueprint because Ezekiel bore 430 days scorned for truth. But what are we going to do? What's our excuse today when we don't stand up and we know to be true? If we see it, if we see something, we got to say something. We can't ignore it. I was in my wife and I were in the airport coming back from Mexico this past week. Coming back from our mission in Mexico, and I kept on hearing the same thing over and over and over again in the airport, in the terminal, kept on saying, "If you see something, please say something. Call 911. If you see something, say something." And I thought to myself, how many times are they going to play this recording? But the truth of the matter is usually people do see something >> and then it happens and afterwards it's just like when they try to take out our president when the bullet grazed his ear. You saw the videos where people Well, I saw somebody running across the roof. Looked like they had a rifle in their hand, but I just figured it was security. The assassination of Charlie Kirk, same thing happened. You saw the video where somebody zooms in on somebody laying on the roof. They said, "We saw this guy just run across the roof. Uh, but we just figured he was supposed to be there." But if you see something, you got to say something. If you see somebody going down the wrong road, you got to say something. You can't just ignore it. You can't just let your friend live any way your friend wants to live. Don't just let them talk the talk and walk the walk and then go into a secret place and do what they do. But you got to say something. You got to be willing to stand up uh like a Charlie Kirk. You got to be able to stand up uh like an Ezekiel and say uh God has called me uh to come into my generation and to be a light to my generation. >> You may be seated. Thank God for Charlie Kirk. And again, this is not some kind of political rally. If you like him or don't like him, I pray to God that you feel sorry for that wife of his. Matter of fact, just a few minutes ago, I was I was about to walk up to preach and I opened my phone to see what time it was and I saw an alert come up and and these alerts and you probably got the same alert. These alerts have been telling all all throughout his his his celebration of life. Every speaker that speaks, they give one line of what that person the main theme of whatever the person talked about, whether the speech was about. And what it said on my phone, it simply said that Charlie Kirk's wife told the crowd, "I've already forgiven the man that killed my husband." Now, you talk about morals. You talk about Christian morals. You talk about a woman who just had her husband ripped out of her life, the father of her two children ripped out of her life, and she's willing to tell a 100,000 people, "I know he did it out of hate, but I can't live in hate. I can't live a lifeuh where I'm offended by somebody that comes in and steals something out of my life." She said, "I forgive the man who took the life of my husband." I want you to know we're dealing with somebody who had good morals, who had godly character. Come on, you remember all that he stood for. Remember his marches for life. He would quote Psalm 139. You knit me in my mother's womb. You remember him dismantling gender myths at rallies. He would he would echo Genesis 1:27, male and female. He created them. >> No transitions, no confusion, just godly blueprint. He fought for for biblical marriage. He preached against same-sex redefinitions. The mock the creator God. He was for religious freedoms. He would personally sue universities if they would censor prayer. Sanctity sanctity of life was one of his favorite topics. rallying against abortion altars, calling them child sacrifices and mulik's fires and altars. He taught family values, scorning porn's prison that devours homes. He wasn't chasing polls or or parties. He wasn't running for office. He was simply preaching. That's what the word of God called it. He was heralding a modernday Ezekiel who was standing up for righteousness. So, what is our call tonight? I'm almost finished. What is our call tonight? What is our call tonight? It's simply this. We've got to rise up for righteousness and rise up for truth. Uh this call is all about the church of the living God, refusing to stay silent when we've been given a great commission. Go ye into all the world. You got to go, I already said to the highways and the highways. You got to go to every nation, Jerusalem. Uh you got to go to Judah, Samaria, the uttermost parts of this earth. Uh you got to find people that need God. And we got to stand up and stand out. We got to be the light of the world. God has called us. If we see something, we got to say something. >> It's not optional. It's our survival. We must rise as God's mouthpiece. unfiltered uh gap filling unashamedly apostolic. Is there anybody in this house that's unashamedly apostolic? Uh that you can simply say uh I'm one God apostolic. Uh I'm a tongue-talking Holy Ghost. Uh believing I've been baptized in the name of the one that died on a cross. I've been covered in his blood. My sins have been remitted. I believe in one God. I believe in the father. I believe in the son. I believe in the holy ghost. But they're manifestations and they're all embodied in Christ Jesus. Come on, we got to preach this. Uh we got to get out of these four walls. Uh it's so easy to talk about salvation in these four walls, but we got to get on the outside. Uh we got to get where the hungry are. I couldn't help but see people last night in our community. They were so hungry. You could feel Oh my God. You may be seated. I was so proud of the apostolic church. I was so glad and so proud of the Pentecostals that were on the lawn of our courthouse yesterday because when they would say, "Let's pray together." They didn't just bow their heads. There was a roar of prayer going on. >> The first time it happened, I was praying out loud, but I wasn't expecting about 250 people to be praying out loud with me. I began, listen, don't don't judge me, but I began to scan the crowd and look across and and I saw people that were used to denominal prayers just bowing their head and and listening to somebody else pray. And all the sudden it was like a roar. They went up a prayer of the saints of God. And they began to look, began to wonder themselves, what meanth this? What is this I feel when I hear hundreds of people begin to lift their voice and pray over their city and pray over our county and pray over our state. Oh my God. Listen, if there's ever been a day that we can reach our community, our community is hungry for revival. Listen to me. They're hungry for revival. Don't don't judge me too harshly, but I was I was studying to preach for tonight this afternoon in my office and I had Charlie Kirks. I had his service going on and don't judge me too harshly, but I started feeling the Holy Ghost. >> You started feeling the Oh, yes, I did >> because they were singing about the God that I serve. And I know that they may not had full truth. And I don't even know the names of a lot of the people they were singing. I I can't vouch for any of that. But what I did see is I saw people's hands raised in the audience. And did you see what I saw? I saw people speaking in tongues in the stadium. >> The power of the Holy Ghost began to move in that place. Listen. Oh, don't you condemn. Oh, don't you look down on people receiving the Holy Ghost outside of the apostolic church because it's happening. Oh, yes it is. Matter of fact, my own father received the gift of the Holy Ghost. And he wasn't in an apostolic church, but that Holy Ghost uh began to draw him and began to get him closer and closer to the word of God. And revelation took place. And the next thing he know, he's in a Pentecostal church. He was the first saint of God in a whole missions church, in a Pentecostal church. Listen, I'm all about people receiving the Holy Ghost outside these four walls. I hope that every non- denomin church in this city, I pray that the Holy Ghost falls on every single one of them because when the Holy Ghost falls soon after truth is coming, revelation is coming. They're going to start seeing things they never seen before. They're going to read through the book of Acts and realize it's for you. It's for your children. It's to all those that are far off. I'm almost done. Oh, we got to be seated. We got to love. We got to love this. We got to be willing to stand for it. I don't accept the fact that we are only celebrating one man today for for for standing up for truth. I believe and they're saying it all day long. They're saying there's going to be millions of Charlie Kirks. And I believe that. I believe the apostolic church. I believe that training center, we're almost getting ready to get that thing finished. I believe that training center is going to graduate Charlie Kirks. filled with the Holy Ghost, baptized in Jesus name. We got to stand for something. >> I like it, Brother Landrew. We'll fall for anything. Young people that'll stand up for holiness and righteousness. >> Don't be ashamed of the way you dress and the way you look. Be proud of it. Hold your head back. Brother Mitchell Hyde, I walked in, my wife, I had my daughter Paris last night walking, walking up to the courthouse, people handing out American flags. God bless them. I loved it. Handing out candles, getting ready for the vigil. First person we walked up, we weren't five seconds there. A young girl, pretty young girl from from from one of the schools probably here public hands my daughter Paris a flag and says, "You are so beautiful." And I'll tell you, she's a beautiful girl. But I'll tell you what that girl saw. That girl, she probably never seen a girl that's dressed holy. She walked in and she thought, "What? Who's this? Who's this right here?" I'm talking to this girl. She was a pretty girl in her own right. But she looked at a young lady dressed holy and a young lady that's dressed separated from the world. A young lady in a beautiful dress. A young lady that presents herself holy and acceptable under the Lord. And even the young lady from the school system said, "You are so beautiful." Let me tell you something. Oh, holiness is beautiful. Holiness is beautiful. There's nothing like holiness is so beautiful. Our women are holy and they're beautiful. Our men are holy and you are beautiful in God's eyes. Uhhuh. I'm going to say it again. I'm almost done. I'm sorry. Y'all are pushing me. You're pushing my buttons. I began to think, you know, sometimes we don't stand for holiness because of low self-esteem. and we think that they think. We got to get out of that mentality, pastor, pastor family. We got to get out of the whole we think they think mentality cuz you don't know what they think. You don't know how they regard you. I'm not talking about being prideful. This is not about being prideful. This is simply about knowing who you are and standing for what you believe. >> Somebody ask you why you do what you do. Don't say because that's what my pastor preaches. That's a copout. Well, I dress this way because I go to Apostolic Christian Academy and that's how our handbook says here. That's a copout. >> I dress this way because I sing in the choir. And to sing the choir, I got to dress. That's a copout. Know why you believe what you believe. Know why you do what you do. So when somebody starts asking you questions in college, when somebody starts asking you questions in high school, you can say, "I believe." Because the word of God says a man ought to be masculine and a woman ought to be feminine. Because a woman ought to be modest. Because a man ought to be holy and be able to lift up holy hands. I believe this not just because my preacher preaches it. Not just because my student pastor preaches it. I believe this because I believe it. Oh, just remain. Remain standing. Remain standing. We got to be unashamedly godly, unashamedly holy, unashamedly righteous. We're not ashamed of who we are because the word of God has told us exactly how to live our life and exactly how to be his child, holy and acceptable, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, separated, called forth. We're called out of this world. We're called out of Egypt. We don't want to look like Egypt. We want to act like Egypt. We want to be set apart. And I thank God for a church. I thank God for people that understand why they do what they do. I want I want this this altar service to be just a little different than normal. I want I want our college age if if you're adult age, I want you to come and I want you to spread across the front of this this this altar right here. Adultist age. Come on. I want you to lead I want you to lead the young people. Man, you're good-looking people. Church, we got the classest adult group right here, man. These young people believe in prayer. These young people, listen, you would have been so proud. I I don't I don't throw off on anybody that prayer vigil last night. That was the most awesome thing. But I was so proud of our young people. My God, I was so proud the way they took that microphone and with holy boldness they began to speak. Felt anointing. It wasn't It was not just a speech. It was It was not just a talk. I I felt power when they began to speak. Now, high school students, I want you to fall in. Matter of fact, adult, just come as close as you can to the front. Put your toes up on the altar. High school, I want you to just just come right behind her. Just just go all the way across. Right behind. Yeah, I like this. And middle school. I want middle school. Come fill this area right here. All all my middle school students right here. Let's fill this whole area right here. These middle schools, they're on fire. They're ready. Look at these good-looking students. My God. Come on. Keep on coming. Come like you're proud to be apostolic. You're unashamedly apostolic. Come on. I want you in your community just to be proud of who you are. God is so good to us. Listen, God is so good. >> Haley, I want you to come. I I Haley, Paris, and Landre, I want you all to pray over the students and adults, I want if you've got a child that's up here, if you if you'll come forward and just kind of get right behind. I want I want parents to come behind. You got if you got children, I want you to come behind. Cuz I'm telling you, we're living in a day if we don't speak up, we're going to perish. I'm just telling you, we're not going to make it if we can't stand for what we believe. Come on. Come on. Now, if you're if you're a grandparent of of one of these students, I want you to come forward. Come on. Come on. Just pull. Pull in. Pull in. Pull in. Come on. We got so much invested right here. I love this. I'm looking out the audience. I see I see parents of of young children that are going to be putting their kids in school. Now, before they begin to pray, before Haley comes, I want us to lift up your hands right here. And I want you to begin to pray. Say, "God, give me holy boldness to take a stand. God, give me holy boldness to take a stand." Come I I want to hear I want to hear a level of prayer to reach heaven's throne before Haley comes. She's going to pray over you, but I want you praying before she gets up here. I want you to say, "God, give me the boldness of Ezekiel who was willing to be a living billboard." He preached through his lifestyle. He preached he was a living illustration to a people that was rebellious. But the people turned and the people repented because he was willing to do whatever he had to do to get their attention. Come on, Charlie Kirks. Come on. You got to start rising up in your generation and saying, "God, give me holy boldness. God, give me holy boldness." Right now, in the name of Jesus, I pray for a special calling over the people my age. Oh God, for the generation of this world. Oh God, give us strength in the name of Jesus. Give us boldness in the name of Jesus. Lord, I pray against every lie of hell in the name of Jesus. Lord, everything that tries to take away the authority that you've given us, I pray right now in the name of Jesus. Lord, for mental illness, Lord, ideologies, I speak against any lie of hell. Lord, if anyone's dealing with homosexuality right now in the name of Jesus, I I rebuke you in Jesus' name. Lord, I pray against insecurity. Lord, we know the word. We've been called. Oh Lord, bring us up in Jesus' name. Lord, I pray for a special anointing when we walk in our classrooms. Lord, I pray that the eyes of this world turn to us, Lord, to the light that you've given us to walk in in the beauty of holiness with the Holy Ghost that will shine in us in the name of Jesus. Lord, that no hell, Lord. No lie will stop the call that you have in us in Jesus' name. I thank you, Jesus. Send revival in our jobs. send revival in our cities, in our school rooms in the name of Jesus. Lord, bring up our families in the ways that we're supposed to go. In Jesus' name, I pray in Jesus' name. God, I pray you would touch us, God, in your name. God, I pray, Lord, you would give us a spirit of submission like never before. Oh God, go deeper in prayer and deeper in your word. Oh God, I pray you would give us a holy boldness, Jesus, to go into our souls and stand up for what is right, God. God, I pray, Lord, you would touch our hearts and our minds, God. Help us, Lord, to get right with you, God, by your gracious. God, I pray you would give us an anointing like never before, God. This is a generation, God, we have to stand up for what is right. God, I see you, God. I pray Lord you would just touch us God how we need your spirit God help us to be submitted to your word God give us a hunger like never before to go deeper in prayer God help us to love holiness in this doctrine oh God I pray Lord you would just touch us in Jesus name in Jesus name >> now I want Landry to pray over us but Landre I want you to lay down on your right side right here like the prophet Ezekiel Listen. Representing the sin of America right here. Representing a country that was built on God and where it is today. God bless America. But God save America. Listen, we're in trouble, y'all. We're in trouble unless a generation rises up and turns the tide. I believe it for a generation that's going to rise up and change the tide. God, we need you, Jesus. God, we need you. God, give us a Holy Ghost boldness like never before. God, let us rise up in this hour, God. Lord, it's all about you, God. Strip away our pride, God. Strip away our selfishness, Jesus. God, who are we to deny this world of the truth? God, we hold the solution. Jesus, we hold the answer, oh God, to this world's problems, Jesus, let us be the light. Let us be the salt, Jesus. Let us not back down, God. We know too much, God. You've been too good to us, Jesus. You've been too good to us, Jesus, for us to not tell people about you, God. God, let us stand boldness on the truth of God's word. Lord, let us stand on it, Jesus. Not backing down, Lord. Not changing our the word, Jesus. Not adding or taking away from it. It's your word or nothing, God. It's this truth or nothing, God. Let my generation, Jesus, we are the generation that will see your coming. God, I believe that with all my heart, Jesus, let us be the generation of the latter day reign. Jesus say, let us stand up, oh God, let us speak out, Jesus, for what is right, God, and what is real, Jesus, in Jesus name. God, in Jesus name. And I want every adult to lift their hands right here. Lift your hands high. Moms and dads, grandparents. Come on. I believe I thank God for a Charlie Kirk that gave an example what it looks like to peacefully peacefully go against sin and peacefully. He wasn't a jerk about it. He wasn't evil about it. He didn't scream at people. He didn't yell at people. He put the mic down and let people speak. But when it he was it was his turn to talk. He had a holy boldness. He had a backbone like a crowbar. He would not give in. He didn't care what they said. He had facts. He had Bible verses and scriptures and passages that he would quote and he would read. Come on, moms and dads. I want us to lift up our hands and say, "God, I know this next generation, they might be a whole lot louder than us. Uh they might be able to lift their voices a little louder than we can, but God, we've got to raise up the generation that's going to make a difference. Uh we got to raise up teenagers uh who are going to live holy and righteous uh who are going to be submitted to their parents uh and submitted to their pastor. We got to raise them up, God. Give us wisdom, God, to raise them. I've got three daughtersh wisdom, Lord God, to raise our daughters, God. I want to put into them holiness. I want to put into them morals, oh God, that you can be pleased with godly, holy, biblical morals. God, help me as a parent, oh God, to raise up a generation, who's going to stand for you and fight for you, uh, more than civil rights, uh, more than rights, God, but I'm talking about holiness and righteousness, uh, and truth, God. It's who we are. It's who you who you've called us to be. It's who you called us to be, Lord. is who you called us to be. Come on, let the Holy Ghost just minister to you right now. Come on, let the Holy Ghost just minister to you right now. Come on, Holy Ghost, right now. Speak into every home represented here tonight. Speak into every family represented here tonight. Oh God, in Jesus name. In Jesus name. In Jesus name. In Jesus name. In Jesus name. Oh thank you Jesus. Thank you father.