The Battle for Your Worship | Associate Pastor Chad Erickson

Turn with me to the book of Revelation 12 and verse number 7. I spoke to brother John Stone, elder brother John Stone as he was uh walking by me just a few minutes ago and we're praying for his wife. We're praying for Elder Sister John Stone and please add her to your prayer list. Uh she's been having some some major heart uh issues and um possibly they're looking at a a quadruple bypass uh coming up very soon and need to get her uh in need to get her scheduled and they're having some scheduling issues. But please uh keep her keep her on the top of your prayer list. And uh we love the Jston Stones around here so much. We're thankful for all they do. Uh oh, put your hands together if you if you know maybe you don't know what they do. They they're so instrumental in so many ministries of this church. Life and Focus being one of the major ministries that uh he has licensed with them and they they teach everything from anger management to parenting to uh drug and alcohol just overcoming addictions and and in the jail and so many different places and they have been such a blessing to this local church and to the the kingdom of God as a whole. We want to see health. We want to see health in your wife's body, brother John Stone. We want to see health in her body in Jesus name. Revelation 12:7. I I cannot tell you just how excited I am to preach this message tonight. I I I pray that it blesses you like the Lord blessed me with it. Says this, "And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon fought and his angels and prevailed not." Watch this right here. Neither was their place found anymore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil, Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. And then uh if you will direct your attention to Luke chapter uh 4 verse number 7, Satan the deceiver is now on earth and is in the wilderness. And he says this to Jesus. He says, "If thou therefore wilt worship me," he said, "All shall be thine." And Jesus answered and said unto him, "Get thee behind me, Satan. For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. In him only shalt thou serve." He was directing that to Satan. He said, "Worship the Lord thy God." My God, I feel the Holy Ghost in this place. The first war was not fought in a field. The first war was not fought in a nation. The first war was not even fought on earth. The first war was fought in heaven. And at the center of that war was worship. Lucifer wanted something that never belonged to him. He wanted the throne of God. He wanted God's glory. He wanted God's worship. And the book of Revelation tells us the war in heaven was not over territory. It was not over resources. It was not over money. This war was over receiving worship. And when Lucifer lost heaven, he brought that war down to earth. And this battle that raged in heaven is now raging in this room tonight. Y'all listen to me. The same battle that was raged in heaven is raging tonight in this room. And every day there's going to be a struggle for our attention. A struggle for your affection, a struggle for your devotion, a struggle for your worship. The enemy wants it. The world wants it. Your flesh wants it. But there's only one who deserves it. and his name is Jesus Christ. Uh and tonight I want to preach about the greatest struggle we're ever going to face. Uh and that is the battle for your worship. Come on, lift up your hands one more time before we're seated. Let's pray. Father, in Jesus name, you've given me a word for this church. You give me a word for this generation. You give me a word for this congregation. And I I just believe tonight, Lord, you're going to speak through me in a mighty way. I want to be anointed, God. Woo! I want to worship you like I've never worshiped you before. I'm not just talking about lifting hands and clapping hands and shouting and dancing, but God, I want to live a lifestyle of worship. That you know without a shadow of a doubt that you're my God. You're my king. You reign over me. There's nothing else that rules over me beside you, King Jesus. And Lord, I'm going to make a point to let you know through my worship and my praise that you are my God, my king, and my ruler. In Jesus' name we pray. And the church said, "Amen." >> You may be seated in this house. The battle for your worship. Isaiah 14:12 says, "How art thou fallen from heaven, oh Lucifer, son of the morning, for thou has said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the earth or above the stars of God. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. Yet shalt thou be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit." This first sin in heaven was the theft of worship. A third of the angelic host realigned their worship from God to another master. And ever since then, the same spirit of theft that originated in heaven has spread down to this earth that we live in. And now mankind has a war that they must fight. Will God reign on the throne? Or will Lucifer reign on the throne? Every addiction, every idol, every act of rebellion is ultimately a worship problem because sin begins when something takes the place of God in our heart. Lucif Lucifer wanted to be there on the throne, but the throne was never available for him. He wanted God's worship, but he lost his place in heaven. The first battle ended with Lucifer's defeat and the war spilled down onto earth. >> And so good and evil have been fighting for our worship ever since. And so we find here in Luke chapter 4, we find Jesus in the wilderness as he's about to launch his earthly ministry. He's just been baptized by John the Baptist. He's just gone through the Jordan River. Woo! He's walked out of the river and right away the Bible says the spirit led him into the wilderness. >> He's fasting and he hasn't eaten for weeks. And guess who shows up? Luke 4:5 says, "And the devil taking him into a high mountain showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, "All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them, for that is he delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will give it." >> We understand that Adam and Eve when they sin in the garden, they gave up authority. But verse seven says, "If thou," Satan said, "if thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine." But notice what Satan wanted. He didn't ask Jesus for money. He didn't ask Jesus for sacrifice. He didn't ask him for service. He just simply asked him for worship because glory, authority, and dominion flow through worship. >> That's why we worship God. That's why we make such a big deal about worshiping God. That's why we attend a church like this. that that's why we believe in worship in a church like this because we give all power and authority and dominion to our God when we begin to worship him. >> That's right. >> The enemy offered Jesus. He said, "You can have all the nations. You can have all power. You can have all glory for just one bow." But the devil never changed his sales pitch. He still hasn't. He's still offering kingdoms and still offering fame and popularity. He's still offering temporary pleasure, but the only difference is people sell out for far less than those offerings. >> Some people sell out their worship for a paycheck. Some people sell their worship for acceptance. Some people sell out their worship for relationships or or temporary pleasures. But Jesus shows up that anything gained at the expense of worship is too expensive. >> I'll say that again. Jesus himself shows us that anything gained at the expense of worship is far too expensive. >> For in verse number eight, it says, "Jesus answered and said unto him, get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." I want you to see this right here. Jesus won the battle. Before he even worked one miracle. >> Before even one eye, one blinded eye was open. Before water was turned to wine, before Lazarus came out of the grave, before a multitude was fed with with fish and loaves of bread. Before a storm was calmed. Here it is. Victory came through worship first. >> Oh yes, it did. God's order has always been worship first, power second. >> All right. worship first and power second. Lucifer, he never figured that out. You see, there's some that want power before surrender, and there's others that want power before devotion, and some people want miracles before worship, but God's order has never changed. First, there's got to be worship before there can be power. >> Oh, I'm preaching about a battle for your worship. I want everybody to understand in this place why there's such a struggle. There's such a fight. There's such a battle for our worship because the devil's strategy is relentless. He cannot stop your worship. So, he's going to try to divert your worship. And if he can't divert it, he's going to try to pervert it. >> Yeah. Because whatever you worship, uh, you're eventually going to serve. And he knows that. If you worship money, >> you're going to serve money. If you worship success, listen, I'm all about entrepreneurship. I'm all about owning businesses and buying and and investing in in the stock market. Oh, that is all good and well. But if you worship it, you're going to serve it. If you worship pleasure, you know what? You're going to serve pleasure. If you worship popularity, >> you're going to serve popularity. Whatever sits on the throne of your heart is going to rule your life. Jesus said you cannot rule or you cannot serve to masters. Where your treasure is there will your heart be also. >> Worship is not just what we do on a Sunday. Thank God for a choir like we got. Thank God for a worship team like we got. Thank God for musicians and singers like we've got. I wouldn't want to go to any other church than a church like this. >> I enjoy it. I don't know. Uh sometimes I look around and I wonder if some people enjoy it as much as I do. I I can't help, man. I was the choir was singing. I was just weeping, watching the choir sing and thinking about the testimonies represented in the choir loft. I just began to weep. I thought, why am I weeping? What's wrong with me? Why am I so emotional? And I began to watch my three daughters standing in a row and singing let next to their next to their nana. I thank God that my three daughters are in the choir. I thank God that my children want to be a part of a worship service. But worship is so much more than just singing. >> Worship is so much more than just a planned song. Said, "We're going to come in and we're going to have a good opener that gets everybody awake. And then we're going to go into a more of a worship song that gets people, gets some emotion moving. Oh, and then we're going to go in a prayer service. We're going to have some announcements. And then the choir's going to get up. Choir's going to sing, get us all happy." Oh, and then we're going to go into our offering time. Listen, it's more than just that. is more than just sex and more than just schedules. Worship is a lifetime. It's a it's a lifestyle that we've got to buy into. It's got to be whatever occupies our mind day in and day out. >> It's whatever excites us and whatever consumes us, uh whatever dominates our thoughts, uh whatever controls our emotion, that's what becomes our object of worship. >> Oh, the devil knows and he gets our attention. He he can get our affection. He knows if I can just get close enough to them to get their attention and to offer them some things. And I'm sorry to say people have sold out for such little things. >> Affection. If he can get affection, he gets worship. But here we have, we read about the first battle. We read about it in Revelation that took place in heaven between God and Lucifer, between Lucifer and his angels and Michael and his angels. But the second battle took place at an altar because now we have Cain and Abel and they bring an offering and they bring an offering to the same God. They brought it to the same place. They brought it at the same time. But one offering was accepted and one offering was rejected. God wasn't examining the gift. He was examining the worshipper. Because worship is not always about what's in your hand, but it's always about what's in your heart. I'll say it again. You can bring the greatest gift. And all throughout the New Testament, man, you had all kinds of religious rulers who would bring their sacks of money and bring all their ch. They would allow it to just drop into the money coffer. And they would like to hear the sound of the gold and the silver as it made all the noise in the brass coffer. But oh, there was just one little widow woman who brought just one might. And because she gave all, because her heart was about giving everything and being allin, Jesus took notice and he heard the one might over the bags of silver. >> It's about what's in your heart. If God has our heart, he gets our worship. If he gets our worship, he gets everything else. >> Somebody said amen if you believe it. >> Every person worships something. >> Atheists worship Billionaires worship, >> celebrities worship, politicians worship, but the question has never been, will you worship? The question is, what will you worship? >> The human soul was designed to be a throne. Come on, think about this. The human soul was designed to be a throne. And if Jesus does not sit there, something else will. That's why we make such a big deal about people receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Because you're right, something is going to fill that void. >> Whether it's drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality, something is going to fill that void. Lying, stealing, cheating, backbiting, gossip, something's going to fill that throne of your soul. But oh God, if we could ever get people to repent of their sins and get them in the water for the remission of their sins in the name of Jesus, the one that died for their sins, uh the one that shed his blood for their sins, uh if we can ever get that stuff out, then in its place, we can get something called the spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, Jesus, can step onto the throne and have a seat on the throne of our soul. >> For God is not looking for admirers. He's seeking worshippers. The Bible says the father seeketh such >> to worship him. >> Worship is not measured by value. It's measured by value. About value. Anybody can lift up their voice. It's about value. What is it worth? What is your worship worth? Oh God, that's what I want to preach tonight. God, you are so worth my worship tonight. Woo. Oh, your worship is going to reveal your priorities and your loyalties and your treasure. Worship is the one thing that God refuses to take by force. >> He can command angels. >> He can He can create stars and speak stars into existence. He can speak worlds into existence. But worship, he's going to wait for every time. He's never going to demand it. He's never going to command it. Because worship is love freely expressed. >> Every time we lift our handsh every time we clap our handsh every time we come on a Sunday morning and a Sunday night and a Wednesday night and we truly give God our time in our worship. I believe we're telling heaven Jesus is worth more to me than anything else. >> And that doesn't come without a price to pay. And we understand that because worship will always cost us something >> because anybody can worship when prayers are being answered. >> Come on, let's talk about this for a moment because I can I can preach about worship. And if you're living in a good time, it's easy. But if you're living in hard times, sometimes it's not always easy. Anybody can worship when the money's flowing. Anybody can worship when everything's going their way. Anybody can worship when they're get promotions on the job. >> Anybody can worship when the doctor's report is good. Anybody can worship when they're living a life of ease. But true worship says, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. >> Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." Worship is what remains when everything else has been stripped out of our lives. for the time alone. I I love to be preaching and look out and seeing you cuz I can think about your life and I can think about your testimony and I can think about that kidney transplant that failed and somehow someway you just kept on keeping on and you kept on saying, "God, I'm going to continue to worship you and love you and serve you even though my health is deteriorating. Even though I'm on a hospital bed in a ventilator and it looks like all hope is lost." Thank God for people that simply can say, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." >> Job lost everything. He He didn't understand what God was doing, but he worshiped God anyway. >> And that worship became his greatest victory. Oh, it was Abraham that taught us that worship requires sacrifice. Genesis chapter 22, Abraham, he looked at his servants and made one of the most powerful statements in all of scripture. It's found in verse number five. Abraham said unto his young men, the servants, he said, "Abide ye here with the ass, and I and my son, and I, and the lad will go up yonder and worship and come again to you." Notice something. There was no choir. There was no praise team. There was no music. There was no singing. There was no instruments. There was only an altar >> and a sacrifice. >> Woo! Here I This is very interesting because this is the first mention of the word worship in the Bible. The first mention of the word worship, it wasn't with King David. It wasn't David bringing the ark back to Jerusalem. It wasn't that type of worship. It wasn't dancing under the Lord with all his might. The first mention of the word worship is found right here when Abraham says, "Me and my son, oh me and my love, I love this boy like nothing else in the world. Me and my boy were going up to >> worship." Sometimes worship is laying your Isaac on the altar. >> It's not always about being demonstrative. Sometimes worship is trusting God when you just don't understand. Sometimes worship is obeying God when it hurts. Sometimes worship is releasing something that you desperately want to hold on to. I don't want to give him my son, my only son. I don't want to give up my blessing. I've been waiting 90 years. I've been waiting forever to have this boy. I don't want to give up this boy. But sometimes worship takes sacrifice. Abraham discovered that worship is not measured by what you keep. It's measured by what you're willing to surrender. And when Abraham lifted up the knife to sacrifice his boy, God stopped the sacrifice and provided, the Bible says he provided a ram. Watch this right here. Because God will never be indebted to a worshipper. >> True worship is born out of revelation. The reason some people worship deeply and others worship casually is because some have seen more of who Jesus really is than others have. We read in our Bible that the early church wasn't unstoppable because they knew what Jesus did. They were unstoppable and turned their world upside down because they knew who Jesus was. They experienced him personally. He wasn't merely a teacher. He wasn't merely a prophet. He wasn't merely a miracle worker. He was God manifested in the flesh. He was the conqueror over death. They saw it happen. He was the Lord of glory. He was the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The reason why hell hates worship is because worship reminds hell that Jesus has already won and he's already victorious. He went down into hell, death, hell in the grave and took the keys right out of the hands of old Lucifer. I like how Jeff Arnold says it. He says the devil don't even have the keys to his own house. That's right. >> Talk about a God who's victorious. A God who is triumphant in every way. But oh, I got news for you. The only the only the only Oh my God. We are the only ones that can take victory from the hands of the Lord. >> Oh yeah. >> Because I already said it. He's never going to force us to worship. He's never going to force that. So it is it is oh it is my will. It is going to be what I do for the rest of my life to just let God know in my life. I want you to be victorious every single time. >> Every time. Every lifted hand is a declaration that the grave is empty. >> That's right. >> Every shout of praise is a reminder that death has been defeated. >> Every act of worship is an announcement that Jesus Christ is still the king. Worship is not something we bring to God. Worship is the response to seeing God. >> Isaiah saw him and cried, "Holy, holy, holy." Thomas saw him and cried, "My Lord and my God." >> John saw him and fell at his feet as dead. >> Nobody has ever truly seen him and remain silent. I said nobody has ever truly seen him and remain silent. The closer we get to Jesus, the louder our worship ought to become. >> Reminds me of Mark 14:3. and being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper. As he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very precious, and she break the box and poured it on his head. >> This woman enters the room carrying something valuable, something costly, something precious. Inside that alabaster box was nearly a year's wages. It was her treasure. It was her future, her security. It was her savings. It was her plan. It was her dream. And in one moment, she breaks it and begins to pour it over the head of Jesus. And immediately the critics started critiquing. >> They said, Mark records that they said, "Why was this waste made? The room called it waste, but Jesus called it worship. >> Oh, come on, somebody. The world says you go to church way too much. You worship way too much. You pray way too much. Uh you sing way too much. Uh you give way too much. Uh but what they call waste, God calls worship. The fragments fill the house. Uh because broken worship always fills the atmosphere. The all could not be released until the box was broken. And sometimes God's got to break us before he releases what he's placed inside of us. I don't know about you, but I want what's in the inside to come on out. I want the Holy Ghost that's h that's filled me. I want them to be able to come on out. God, you might have to break me. God, I might look at you and say, "I don't know why. I don't know how. I can't explain it, but you're going to have to break me. >> Mary broke the box and fragrance filled the room. >> When Jesus was broken, salvation filled the world. >> Mary's sacrifice changed the room. Oh yes, it did. But Jesus's sacrifice changed eternity. >> I'm preaching about the battle. The battle for your worship. I hope you realize there is a battle every single day for your worship. One of my favorite worship stories, and I I'm not referring to the song they sang, but one of my very favorite worship stories is Paul and Silas as they're beaten, they're bloodied, and they're chained in prison. Their backs are bleeding, their feet are locked in stocks. The future seems hopeless. If anyone had a reason to complain, y'all, Paul and Silas had a reason to complain. Oh, and so many people, Listen, if we get so selffocused and self-centered, and I get there in my mind. Oh, I get there and I've got to fight it. I got to rebuke it in my mind because if we ever get to a place where we think that the only way we're going to be treated bad or something bad is going to happen to us is if we do something bad first. And therefore if we don't do anything and all of a sudden things start happening to us, we start complaining. We get a bad attitude. >> Maybe I'm the only one. >> We can have bitterness. Our spirit of bitterness wants to come over us and and sometimes people get oppressed and people get depressed. And why? Because I don't deserve this. Why is this happening to me? Why do I have to have a quadruple bypass? This doesn't make any sense. I've lived for you, God, all my life. I've paid my tithes faithfully. I've given offerings faithfully. I've given to the missionaries faithfully. Why is this kind of thing happening to me? Paul and Silas had every excuse to complain. But that's not what they were doing. Because at midnight, Paul and Silas at midnight, they didn't complain. They didn't blame God. They didn't quit. The Bible says at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God. I want you to know their singing and their praying wasn't all the worshiping they were doing. The worshiping they were doing was the attitude. They said, "God, I'm in a bad place. I'm in a horrible season, but I'm going to give you praise anyways." That's true worship. It's not about the song. It's about the heart of the singer. Real worship happens while chains are still up. >> Y'all hear me? Real worship happens when you're still chained to a wall. When your feet are still in stocks. >> Real worship happens. Woo! Before the victory arrives. >> And suddenly the prison shook and suddenly the chains were broken. And suddenly the doors were open. and the jailer in his household were saved because worship doesn't wait for victory. Worship creates the atmosphere for victory. >> I'll say it again just in case you didn't hear it. Worship is not always the victory, but it will create an atmosphere where victory can take place. I wish somebody in this place, I don't know what you're going through right now. I don't know what you're facing right now. I don't know what you're being tempted with. I don't know what's going on in the job. I don't know what's going on in your marriage, but if you could just say, "God, I'll worship you anyways. I'll praise you anyways. I'll sing in the choir anyways. I'll do whatever I have to do to let you know you're my God. And you alone deserve my worship. Hey, there's just something special about worship of the redeemed." >> The worship of the redeemed. When heaven worships, they worship by sight. When angels worship, they worship by sight. They can see God. They see him. They stand before him and they behold his glory. But when the church worships, we worship by faith >> and not by sight. We've never seen the nail print handsh. We've never seen the empty tomb. We've never walked on streets of gold. We've never seen the crystal sea and yet we worship him anyway. >> You ought to clap your hands and thank God that you're here in church tonight and you can worship him by faith. Come on. By faith. And that's why the worship of the redeemed is something heaven itself cannot duplicate. Angels can cry holy, but they've never been forgiven. >> Angels can stand before the throne, but they've never been washed in the blood of the lamb. >> Angels can witness grace, but they have never experienced grace. >> Only the redeemed can sing the song of the redeemed. >> And I believe heaven stoops to listen when the church begins to worship. I said, I believe every angel in heaven, they look out over heaven and they watch a church filled with people who have never seen yet they still believe and they still worship and they still honor their God even though we cannot see him, but we know that he is and he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. >> I'm going to bring this all together and I want to make a call to the altar in just a moment. But Lucifer wanted God's throne and because of it, he lost heaven. >> Adam and Eve chose a forbidden tree and they lost the garden. Israel worshiped a golden calf and lost the presence of God. God said, "I ain't going to be there no more. You going to worship, you're going to worship some other idol, some other god." He said, "I I'm pulling back." That fire pillar of fire by by night and cloud cloud pillar cloud by day. He said, "You're not going to see that anymore because I'm sick and tired of you worshiping the wrong gods." >> But Jesus, woo, let's talk about Jesus, the man Christ Jesus. He chose death and the cross. And because of that, he won the world. >> That's right. >> The struggle for worship has always determined destiny. Oh yes. Because whatever has our worship eventually is going to get everything else. I wonder if there's anybody in this place tonight that remembers where God brought you from the power of the Holy Ghost. I wonder if there's anybody that remembers the pit where he pulled you out of the miry clay. I wonder if there's anybody that remembers the chains that he broke off your life. The grace, the grace that saved you, the blood that washed you, the spirit that filled you. Lord, he's been too good. I said he's been too good. I can't be silent. He's been too faithful. I can't be quiet. He's been too merciful to me to stand here and fold my arms. Ah, you've been so good to me. I cannot tell it all. I cannot tell it all. I cannot tell it all. He's been so good to me. I cannot tell it all. He deserves worship. He deserve you. You might as well stand to your feet cuz I feel a spirit of worship in this place. He deserves praise. He deserves my devotion. Woo. You ought to just lift up your hands in the sanctuary and open up your mouth and magnify the Lord. Has he been good? I said, "Has he been good all these years?" You're still good. You're still Open up your mouth and give him glory. Open up your mouth and give him honor. Open up your mouth and give him praise. Worship him because he's worthy. Worship him because he's holy. Worship him because he's faithful. Worship him because he's God. Worship. Worship. Worship. Woo! Worship, worship, worship, worship. Come on. If there's going to be a battle, I don't want Lucifer to even think he has a chance tonight. I want God. I want the Lord. I want Jesus Christ. He is the father that seeketh worshippers to worship him. If you want healing and you want deliverance and you want restoration and freedom and salvation, the Holy Ghost is for you. But before you can have it, you got to first begin to worship him and praise him for who he is. I wish we could just lift up a loud voice before I make a call to this altar. I wish apostolic Pentecostals could make a roar in this place of worship to a God who they say, "You are my God. You alone are my God. Come on, Holy Ghost. Right now, I want you to step into this room. Why don't you start delivering people that are worshiping right now? Why don't you start healing people that are worshiping right now? Matter of fact, if you need healing in your body, you need restoration in your marriage, in your friendships, if you need deliverance, if you need to be delivered from addiction, I wish you would come forward. If you want to say, "God, help me. Uh, God, use me." Uh, God, I want you to fulfill your work through me. I wish you would just come forward and say, "God, I will be the one. Use me. Use me. Oh, God. Oh, come on. Come on. Come on. Hey, who who will you serve tonight? Who will you give your life to tonight? Who will you say you're my one and only tonight?" Because God is a jealous God. and he will not share your worship. It's either him. It's God or mammon. But you cannot serve both. Holy Ghost move right here. Holy Ghost move right here. I believe he's going to deliver. Come on. If you got sickness in your body, you don't even need somebody to pray for you. I believe you can just lift up your hands in a powerp packed altar call and you can say, "God, I'm going to worship you whether you heal me or not." And you might just be surprised that your healing comes uh not with an elder praying for you. You might be surprised that your healing comes when you just surrender to God and say, "I worship you with everything that I am. You ought to cry out. Come on, Paul and Silas. You ought to just cry out. I know everybody's watching. I know the prisoners are watching you. I know people are laughing and snickering. But Paul and Silas, you've come too far to turn back now. You've seen too much to turn back now. Pray. Sing praises. Worship. Come on. Come on, this is beautiful. I hear loud praise. Uh I hear loud worship. Uh I hear people that have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb. I hear people that have been set freeh who experience mercy and grace and goodness from a God who loves you. Lord, I praise you. Holy Ghost, Holy Ghost, move. Devil, you can't have my worship. Devil, you can't have my time. Devil, you can't have my heart as your throne. Devil, I rebuke you in Jesus name. I'm to say the same thing that the man Christ Jesus said. Get thee behind me, Satan. Get out of my way. Get out of my way. I'm about to do great and mighty things through God. >> >> Listen, I'm thankful for the voice that Andrew has. I'm thankful for the voice that Andrew Hannah has and the talent he has. But the fact that I could hear his voice uh crying out to God means so much more to me than the way he sings uh in the talent that he sings with. Oh God, anybody can sing, but I want to have a lifestyle of worship. Come on singers, if you're a singer in this place, uh if you're a musician, I wish you'd forget about music right now and you just begin to give God your heart. Give God his ultimate throne. Come on. Abraham went up to the mountain. There was no singers. There was no musicians. There was no choir. He went up there and he worshiped. His worship was a knife. His worship was a heart that said, "God, I know you gave me a blessing and I'm willing to give it back to you if that's what you want, cuz I just want to live a lifestyle of worship. Welcome. >> God, I pray over Strong Tower Youth Ministries. God, I pray for every young person, woo, that's being tempted by pornography, that's being being tempted by a worldly lifestyle, that's being tempted by fame and popularity. God, I pray for them right now. And let them fight the fight. Let them fight the fight of faith. And let them say, "Devil, you've got a whole lot of things you're trying to offer me, but I refuse to give you glory. I refuse to give you honor. I refuse to give you praise. There's only one that I praise. And he said, "Be free. Be pure. Be holy. Be righteous. I want to be what God wants me to be. Come on. I hear people praying in the Holy Ghost and that's such a beautiful sound. I hear people praying in tongues and that's such a beautiful sound. If you don't have the Holy Ghost tonight, you have no idea what it feels like uh to just bask in the presence of God and allow the Holy Ghost to be spoken through you. Boy, as the spirit gives the utterance, come on. You ought to want it so bad. You want to you ought to want to know God so bad and be so close to him. You'll do whatever it takes to receive his spirit with inside of you. Now, I don't want you to do this if you don't feel led to do this. But if you feel led to pray for somebody, I want you to pray for somebody right now. I don't want this to be awkward. I don't want this to be forced, but if you feel like God is speaking to you to pray for somebody that you know is going through a hard time, that you know is going through a difficult situation, I want you to go and I want you to speak words of faith into their life. Uh I want you to speak hope into their life. Uh I want you to speak freedom into their life. Come on, minister to somebody right here. More than just the ministers of this church, more than just the elders of this church. I wish every believer in the house would allow signs and wonders to follow them. I wish you would allow spiritual things to follow you. Come on, pray, pray, pray, pray. You might have to help them, Paul and Silas. You might have to help them, Paul and Silas. You might have to get them turned on to singing. You might have to get them turned on to praising. You might have to get them turned on. They might just be standing there because they don't know what to do. You might have to help them. You might have to show them by example in Jesus name. Come on, minister. Minister, minister. This is beautiful. Come on. This is beautiful. I see ladies ministering to ladies. I see men ministering to men. I see young people ministering to young people. This is beautiful. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and spiritual darkness. Come on. We need somebody to start wrestling right here spiritually. We need somebody to start fighting right here spiritually. I'm on the Lord's side. I'm in the army of the Lord. I will fight and I will say God you are my God and you alone will I serve. >> Come on. That's right. That's right. That's right. That's right. You might be praying for somebody that doesn't have a clue what the Holy Ghost is. You might have to tell them what it is. They may not understand speaking another tongue. You might have to explain it to him. You might be praying for somebody that's never been to the church before, but they like what they feel. They feel what they like. And they're here because they want something more. You might have to minister to them and tell them how how they can pray and how they can worship and how they can seek after the only thing that's going to get them to heaven. We cannot make it to heaven unless we've been born again of the water and the spirit. I believe somebody's going to let loose right now and you're going to go into intercessory prayer and you're going to pray for things you don't even know you're praying for. You're going to start praying. You're words are going to come out of your mouth that you're not even expecting to come out of your mouth. You're going to go to intercession for a family member, for a friend. You're going to go to intercession and you don't even have words to speak, but the Holy Ghost is going to pray through you. The Holy Ghost is going to pray through you. Just allow the intercessory spirit to take over. Come on. There ought to be a whale in this place. There ought to be a whale in this place. Uh there ought to be a sound not only of victory when it comes to praise, but there be a sound of worship and victory together combined. Who wouldn't want to have church like this? Who wouldn't want to have church like this? I got the Holy Ghost in a church like this. I got saved and sanctified in a church like this. Thank you, Lord. Come on. Yes. Yes. I can't help it to look around and see people that I know are struggling. I know your story. I know what you're going through, what you're facing. And I see you worshiping. And I've got good news for you, Paul. I've got good news for you, Silus. Your jail is about to blow up. The prison gates are about to open. You're about to be released. You just got to keep on keeping on. I'm going to keep on keeping on. I'm going to keep on keeping on. The devil may try to turn me around. I'm going to keep on. Be filled with the Holy Ghost in Jesus name. Be filled with the Holy Ghost in Jesus name. Be filled with the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah.