Transcript of a published conference session by Jason Avant, transcribed from the podcast recording. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.
Summary
Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.
Batman got up
- He opens with a story about Joseph Walton Walker III, now a Bishop, who as a young boy growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, loved the daily episodes of Batman: in one episode Batman slipped and died, the villains ran wild over the city, and the screen played its unkind trick — to be continued.
- The boy went to school the next morning excited to come home, finish his homework, and resume the episode; he watched evil encamp the city of Gotham until Batman appeared standing on top of a building, his cape blowing fiercely in the wind, and launched himself from the building to rescue the people.
- With adolescent tears streaming down his face, Joseph Walker asked his father how Batman got up, and his father answered: Batman got up because it was written in the script.
- Avant says his own mind goes back to the story he heard as a small child at this church, from the Sunday school teachers who took on the challenge of teaching him.
Jesus got up
- What he heard as a child was not a comical story with a cool twist or a fabricated illustration: it was proof that Jesus was who he said he was, the Messiah — born of a virgin named Mary, royalty born in poverty, walking the earth performing miracle after miracle.
- Jesus went like a lamb to the slaughter: mocked, beaten, embarrassed, ridiculed, laughed at, and spit upon, with nails driven through his hands and feet, thorns dug deep into his brow, whips tearing the skin on his body, and a spear stabbed in his side.
- He hung on a hill called Calvary, and those gathered alongside him lowered his breathless body, wrapped him, and placed him in a borrowed grave; they walked away hurt, in pain, and stunned, and laid him to rest.
- The devil and his minions did not realize that what Jesus had spoken a few days prior to Calvary was not just a twist in a plot: when Jesus said that if they destroyed this temple, in three days he would build it up again and raise it up again, it was not made up — it was written in the script.
- Mary went to the tomb and was astonished to find that what Jesus spoke happened just as he said it; Peter and John ran to the tomb and found nothing but grave clothes, and it brought absolute confirmation that what Jesus said was fact.
- His blood was shed on Calvary's cross and his burial took place in that grave, and it was fulfilled when he busted the grave wide open and got up again.
Delayed is not denied
- He has come to preach to somebody whose destiny may be delayed right now: that delay is not your disability — it is your platform for the miraculous move of God, and it is part of your story.
- To the person who feels crucified by the world, by current conditions, and buried under the stuff heard about the night before, he announces a wind blowing that will bring resurrecting power: it is the power of the Holy Ghost, and Jeremiah said it is like fire in my bones.
- It is written in the script: you are going to live and you shall not die. To anybody going through hell on earth and trials and tribulations, he dares them to throw their hands up and declare they will come out of this thing better than the way they went into it.
- It is not over till God says it is over; we are not looking to horses and chariots but trusting in the name of the Lord, and looking to Jesus, the author — he still has the pen in his hand — and the finisher. God's not done with me yet; the best is yet to come.
Scriptures: Jeremiah (book-only, as spoken)
His own story: his parents restored
- He says he knows exactly what he is preaching about tonight: his mother and father are on the back row, and the preaching the night before was done so well.
- At the age of two years old, his mother found this church; his grandmother and his mother's two sisters were already attending, his mother got a revelation, and ever since then — 37 years ago — she has been in the church. His dad is in the church today.
- For 20 years his mom and dad were divorced; there were a lot of lonely moments in those 20 years, and a lot of prayers went forth. He had a lot of bad habits as a teenager, but he is here now, still standing.
- On January the 13th of 2015, a Tuesday night, he had the privilege to re-baptize his dad in Jesus name. After 20 years of divorce, this month they celebrate five years of being remarried.
- He tells the congregation plainly: this is my sermon, and I am sticking to it.
The author, not the adversary
- He knows what it feels like to have an outline in which the adversary says you are going to be a failure, a mistake, that you do not have what it takes; he answers the devil: you are not the author of my story — I am looking to Jesus, the author and the finisher, and if God started it, God is going to finish it.
- He rebukes every generational curse in the house in Jesus name, and says the way to break the curse of the generations before you is to make a generational choice: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
- It does not matter what your family tree looks like: by the grace of God you have every right to start a new branch and tell the devil to get out of the way, because you cannot mess with God's mercy — by grace I have been saved, by grace I have been healed, by grace I have been made whole. That is part of my story.
- He calls the house to lift their voices and hands and respond to what they feel in the tabernacle: let the winds of Pentecost blow right now — it is part of your story, and God's not finished with your life.
- There is a healer in the house, a way maker, a miracle worker, a promise keeper: with his stripes, because of Calvary, we are healed and made whole.
Word and wind: Ezekiel 37
- He tells every adversary in the house: this is holy ground, the place where we are standing right now.
- He turns to Ezekiel 37, where the prophet saw the valley of dry bones, and says it transitioned through three different stages: first, bones — just bones — and when he prophesied the word, the bones came together, bone to bone; second, he spoke to the winds and the bones transitioned into breath; finally, they stood up as an exceeding great army.
- When you couple the word and the wind, it is the only thing that can turn skeletons into soldiers.
- He has felt for a few weeks that people would be in this conference who entered broken, scattered, and wounded from the battles they have fought — not just this year, but generational fighting on behalf of themselves, their family, and their future. It is not the will of God for them to succumb to those pressures; it is God's will to bring them back together and breathe fresh wind into them, so they can go forward and fight the good fight of faith.
- The worship team is about to come and sing, but he declares that an army is rising up, because this is just the beginning of the best chapter of your life: every trial you have gone through was written in the script, but the flip side is that we are victorious, because victory is written in the script.
- He closes the recorded message by calling the conference to throw their hands high toward heaven and pray with authority and boldness in the power of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: winds of heaven, flow and blow in this room right now; let us be sensitive to what you want to do in this house right now.
Scriptures: Ezekiel 37
Scripture index: Jeremiah (book-only, as spoken); Ezekiel 37.
As a young boy growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, the now Bishop Joseph Walton Walker III enjoyed the daily episodes of Batman. Any Batman fans in the house? Okay, there's not many. Cool. Well, he liked Batman, and I liked Batman. And so it would always keep him on the edge of his seat. And one afternoon while he was watching something tragic took place, the unthinkable in the mind of this young boy. Batman slipped and he died. He watched as those wildly wicked villains would begin wreaking havoc all over the city that now their hero had died. And soon it wasn't before long before the screen played the unkind trick, you know it, to be continued. And so with anticipation without a clue of what would happen next, he goes to school that next morning, really excited about coming home and finishing his homework. And when he gets home, he's now allowed to resume that continued episode. He would watch as evil encamp the city of Gotham, and there would come a moment in this storyline where Batman would be seen standing on the top of a building, looking down on the city with his cape blowing fiercely with the wind. And the blink of an eye after watching what had gone wrong in his city, Batman would launch himself from that building and rescue the people from the destruction of the villains. Batman was back better than ever. And with adolescent tears streaming down his face, Joseph Walker looked to his father and he said, Daddy, you got to tell me how did Batman get up? He said, Daddy, please tell me how did Batman get up? And that boy's father looked at him and he said, boy, my baby, Batman got up because it was written in the script. Somebody shout, it was written in the script. My simplistic feeble mind goes back to the story I heard as a small child at this church from the numerous Sunday school teachers that had the audacity to take on the challenge of teaching Jason Avant. I love you, Brother Elms, when I have to ask you to calm down.
Except what I heard was not a comical story with a cool twist. It wasn't some fabricated illustration that evolved out of thin air. It was, in fact, the fact, commandant proof that Jesus was who he said he was, the Messiah. Born of a virgin named Mary, royalty born in poverty, walking this earth, performing miracle after miracle. I don't have time to detail every single one of them, but his fate would lead him as a man like a lamb to the slaughter as they mocked him and they beat him and they embarrassed him and they ridiculed him and he was laughed at. He was spit upon nails that were driven through his hands and through his feet, a kind of thorns that dug deep into his brow, whips that tore through the skin on his body and a spear that stabbed him in the side. This man, God himself, roped in flesh, dwelt among us, sinned from heaven to earth to save us and to show us the way. When it was all said and done, he hung breakfast on a hill called Calvary. Soon those who gathered alongside Jesus would lower his breathless body as he had perished from this life, fulfilling that which he promised and they wrapped him, placing in a borrowed grave, and after they completed this burial process, they walked away with hurt and pain and stunned by the events that had just taken place. They laid him to rest. No one could possibly begin to imagine what would transpire in the next few days of history except for Jesus, because when others were celebrating the crucifixion, there was another party getting ready to come about. Little did the devil and his minions know and realized that what Jesus had spoken just a few days prior to Calvary was not just some twist in a plot. It was not just another set of words for when Jesus said, if you destroy this temple in three days, I'll build it up again. I'm going to raise it up again. It was not anything that somebody just made up. It was written in the script. I've come to preach to somebody your destiny may be delayed right now, but it's not your disability. It's your platform for the miraculous move of God. That's a part of your story. Somebody shout yes.
They went running to the tomb wondering what the world's telling on right now. This is crazy. Mary went to the tomb and she was astonished to find that what Jesus spoke happened just as he said it. Peter and John went running to the tomb and went to find nothing but grave clothes and an apcan that was about his head was wrapped neatly in a place and it brought to absolute confirmation what Jesus said was fact. They can kill me if they want to, but I'm not staying here. I'm getting up again. Simply put, it was written in the script for when it appeared as if evil would prevail. His blood that was shed on Calvary's cross and his burial that took place in that barred grave was finally fulfilled when he busted that grave wide open and he got up again. I've come to tell somebody that feels like you've been crucified by the world and your current conditions in the climate of our current society and you feel like you've been buried among the stuff that we heard about last night. I've come to tell you there's a wind blowing that's going to bring resurrecting power to your life. It's the power of the Holy Ghost Jeremiah said it's like fire sharp in my bones. Come on, it's written in the script. You're going to live and you shall not die. If there's anybody in the house that's going through hell on earth and trials and tribulations, I dare you to throw your hands up and lift your voice and declare I'm going to come out of this thing better than the way I went into it.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It's not over till God says it's over. We're not looking and the horses and chariots. We're trusting in the name of the Lord. And as far as I'm concerned, we're looking at the Jesus, the author. He's still got the pen in his hand and the finisher. Don't start singing yet, honey. God's not done with me yet. The best is yet to come.
You may be seated. It would be foolish of me to bypass this opportunity to explain to you that I know exactly what I'm preaching about tonight because on the back row is my mother and my father and brother Graham preached so well last night. See, I have a lot to be thankful for tonight because at the age of two years old, my mother found this church. My grandmother and my mother's two sisters were already attending here and something happened and my mother got a revelation and ever since then, 37 years ago, she's been in the church. My dad is in the church today and I want to tell you something. This is not anything to embarrass them. This is to testify past some hours of what God's redemptive lift can really do because for 20 years, my mom and dad were divorced. There was a lot of lonely moments in those 20 years. A lot of prayers went forth. I had a lot of bad habits when I was a teenager. The Elms do not say a word about youth camp right now. Hallelujah. I'm here now. I'm still standing. But let me tell you, I say that in just, I wasn't the worst kid. There was some a lot worse than I was, but I was among the filthy. Hallelujah. Let's be honest. I had the privilege on January the 13th of 2015, a Tuesday night to re-baptize my dad in Jesus name, whom I'm proud of and thankful for. After 20 years and this month after 20 years of divorce, they celebrate five years of being remarried. I just come to tell somebody this is my sermon. I'm sticking to it.
I know what it feels like to have an outline that the adversary says, you're going to be a failure. You're going to be a mistake. You don't have what it takes. I just want to tell you, devil, you're not the author of my story. I'm looking under Jesus, the author and the finisher. If God started it, God's going to finish it. I just want to rebuke every devil in this house. It's not going to happen. God's for me. If God be for us. I hasten, but I just want to pause and chase what I feel in the Holy Ghost. I rebuke every generational curse in this house right now in Jesus name. I want to tell you the way to break the curse of generations that have been before you is to make a generational choice as for me and my house. We will, sir the Lord, you can't steal this joy. I've come too far by faith. I wouldn't take nothing for my journey now. I'm going to make it to heaven somehow.
Hallelujah. I'm almost done. My time's almost up, but you better hear me today. It does not matter what your family tree looks like by the grace of God. You have every right to start a new brand. You have every right to tell the devil to get out of my way and tell the minions. You can't mess with God's mercy because by grace I've been saved by grace. I've been healed by grace. I've been made whole. That's part of my story. I think we're going to lift our voice our hands right now and let's respond to what we feel in this tabernacle right now. Let the winds of Pentecost blow right now. Come on. Such words some of you, but you've been watched. It's part of your story and the best news is God's not finished with your life.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Remain standing with your hands raised right now towards heaven. Come on. There's a healer in the house right now. There's a way maker, a miracle worker, a promise keeper that's into this building right now and with his stripes because of Calvary we are healed. We are made whole. Our God is greater. Our God is stronger. There is no shadow of his turning. He's just as close as the mention of his name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, that's it right there. That's the Holy Ghost Center in this room right now. There's a strong way in a full way.
I want every adversary in the house to hear me tonight. This is Holy Ground and the place where we're standing right now. You know it's so powerful about Ezekiel 37 when he saw that valley of dry bones. It transitioned from three different stages. Number one, it was bones, just bones. And that first stage when he prophesied the word bones came together. It was bone to bone. The second part of the story was he spoke to the winds and the bones transitioned into breath. The final season was they stood up as an exceeding great army. When you couple the word and the wind, it's the only thing that can turn skeletons into soldiers. And I have felt for a few weeks that there were people that would be here in this conference that have entered this place, broken, scattered, and wounded from the battles that you have fought, not just this year, but generational fighting that you've done on your behalf, your family, and in your future. It is not the will of God for you to succumb to those pressures. It is God's will that he could bring you back together, breathe fresh wind into you so you can go forward and fight the good fight of faith.
Is this all right? Our worship team's gonna come and sing here just a moment, but I feel like telling the Holy Ghost is in this room and saying to you there's an army rising up because it's just the beginning of the best chapter of your life. Every trial you've gone through was written in the script, but the flip side of this is that we're victorious because victory is written in the script. One more time throw your hands high towards heaven. I wish you would pray with authority and boldness in the power of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Come on, winds, conference declare the glory of God right now in this house. Come on, winds of heaven flow and blow in this room right now. Let us be sensitive to what you want to do in this house right now.
Scripture references as spoken: Jeremiah (book-only, as spoken); Ezekiel 37.