Show Me the Evidence

When I read the theme of this conference a couple weeks ago, Apostolic Atmosphere, the Lord impressed upon me immediately what he would have me to say today. And last night, the powerful words of Brother Myers and Brother Gleason only confirmed this word in my spirit. Today, before we leave, I expect God to confirm his words with signs following. I came here expecting it today. I won't preach long, but I feel like the Lord wants to do a work before we leave here this morning. Amen? If you need a miracle, if you need healing in your body or in your family or in a situation, would you just lift up a hand all over this house today? Amen. You are not by yourself. Today there's a host of needs in this house. If you believe God is a healer, why don't you just give him praise right now? Come on, come out and thank him right now that he is a healer in this place.

And often when we desire to build our faith, we listen and read the reports from our elders, those that have gone on before us. The Gleason made reference to this last night, but one of my greatest blessings as a teenager was to sit around the dinner table at my parents' house after service, listen to the stories and testimonies of great elders. By the NA Ocean, C. M. Bechton, my friends, sit at that table by the Gordon Mallory, T. F. Tenney. I was thinking as this panel spoke today by the Tenney said something I'll never forget. He said, never trust a leader without a limp. You better trust somebody that's been through something that God saw them through and they held their faith and they kept the faith. Amen. They've been through some tough times. Now it's my kids' greatest privilege to sit at our dinner table and listen to their heroes, elders and prophets and evangelists. It's priceless. There's no better place to read of elders going on before us than in Hebrews chapter 11, the Hall of Faith chapter in your Bible.

It begins with Hebrews 11 and 1. Now faith is the substance of things hopeful. Substance is something that has real existence. It is the tangible solid foundation that upholds something. Faith anchors our hope and gives us confidence that if God said it, it will come to pass. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Evidence, faith acts as the proof or convincing argument of the reality of things that are invisible or not yet manifested. Why you cannot see or touch these things with your physical senses, faith itself becomes the internal conviction that those unseen things are real and will come to pass.

I don't have to tell you this, but we live in an ever-increasing cynical world where skepticism and distrust in institutions, in media and even personal interactions are owned to rights. We are constantly exposed to misinformation and manipulation. And sadly many times it has shaken this generation to their core. There is a growing demand for concrete proof and evidence before accepting things as true. No longer does this generation simply take things at face value. They need substantial evidence that what you say to be true actually is. So I want to preach this morning to what this generation genuinely believes. And I want to prophesy to the negativity, to the doubt, to the cynicism that is crippling this generation. Our best days are not behind us. I wish somebody would help me today. This generation will do greater works. As the world grows more cynical, the church will move forward with greater faith than we have ever experienced. Do I have somebody that believes with me today? The church will experience a fresh outpouring of end-time revival. God's word promises to those who have faith to believe in these signs shall follow them that belief. My name shall they cast at devils. They shall speak with new tongues, take up surface, drink any deadly thing that shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Look at your neighbor right now and tell him I need a sign. I need a sign. I want to preach to you just for a few moments today. Show me the evidence. Anybody want evidence today that he's in the house? Anybody want evidence today that he's on the throne? Anybody want evidence today that he's the same yesterday, today and forever? Amen. Thank you for your standing today. You may be seated.

Many of you are too young to remember no doubt. Some of you have not even been born yet. But as a 15-year-old kid, I still have images of the white Ford Bronco, driven by O.J. Simpson for 60 miles down multiple freeways as the police gave chase all the way to his home where he finally surrendered. Anybody remember those days? It's imprinted upon your mind. This would lead to one of the most famous court cases where a lack of evidence led to a non-guilty verdict. Formally known as the people of the state of California versus O.J. Simpson. He was a former NFL player and actor. He was charged with the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Despite significant circumstantial evidence, including DNA evidence linking Simpson to the crime scene, the defense successfully argued that the evidence was mishandled, contaminated, or planted by the L.A. Police Department. The defense team raised doubt about the credibility of the investigation, particularly highlighting racial bias and police misconduct. One of the most memorable moments in the trial was when Simpson trialed on a pair of gloves. Believed I had been warned by the killer and they did not appear to fit him. Cochran Simpson's lawyer famously said, if it doesn't fit, you must. Ultimately, Simpson was acquitted of the murders in large part because the defense was able to create reasonable doubt about the reliability of the evidence presented by the prosecution. While most of those who followed the case felt sure that Simpson was guilty of the crime, the jury did not seem to believe there was enough evidence to find him guilty of these two murders.

I am sure there are many in this sanctuary today that have some strong opinions regarding this case. But before you were so hard on the jury, if you were on trial today for being a spirit-filled apostolic, would there be enough evidence to convict you? God has always been about evidence. Are you really who you say you are? If so, just prove it. Show me the evidence. He says, if you love me, keep my commandments. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one to another. How does the rest of the world know that we are spirit-filled believers? But the fruit, the evidence of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meeting, temperance, again such, there is no law. There has to be evidence that the Spirit of God endures inside of the believer. John records, this is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit showing yourselves evidence that you are my disciples.

God has always been about evidence from the first moment that the Holy Ghost was poured out on the day of Pentecost. God has always used evidence for a sign to the unbeliever that his Spirit was in them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. The phenomenon of tongues was the outward sign that they had been filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost. It didn't stop there when Cornelius and his household received the Holy Ghost. They immediately began to speak in tongues for they heard there was evidence that they speak with tongues and magnify God. This was a clear sign to Peter and the Jewish believers that the Gentiles had received the Holy Ghost just as they had. When Paul laid his hands upon the believers in Ephesus and Acts 19, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues and prophesy. That's what I just don't, I don't know. I don't understand why God would use the tongue as evidence. Have you ever tried to tame yours? James records that no man can tame the tongue. It's an unruly evil full of deadly poison. He compares it to a small fire that can set an entire forest ablaze. It's just like our God to use the one thing that we cannot control as evidence. Anybody got that evidence today? As evidence that I am in you and I'm going to use you and I'm going to work through you. You've come too late to tell me that this Pentecostal experience is not real. I'm thankful today that I am filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost. I have evidence today. Somebody help me right now. I've got evidence today that the Holy Ghost is in me.

I recently had a denominal bishop in my office. He's a Christian counselor. And he's over the entire denomination for the region that I live in. And he's in my office and he's talking to me about how to counsel someone of the Pentecostal faith. And that led to many areas of discussion. And we begin to talk about his denomination versus the Pentecostal apostolic denomination. Great conversation. We agreed to disagree. He got ready to leave my office that day and we're exchanging hugs and good to see you and hope we connect again soon. And I said one question for you. I said we've talked about your denomination versus the Pentecostal denomination. But answer me this. You told me your denomination is declining rapidly. That you're shutting the doors of churches. The Pentecostal apostolic movement is growing rapidly. Can you explain to me in your opinion why this is happening? He looked at me and he said the most I can figure is my denomination has focused on the knowledge of the word. And your denomination has focused on the experience of the word. And he should have been able to tell by my mouth dropping open. Why would you want to know about something and not experience it for yourself? I'm going to ask you one more time. Is there anybody thankful you have evidence today that the Lord is with you? That the Lord is in you and the Lord will do mighty works in life? One more time can we thank him for the evidence today? Show me the evidence.

A transition time will not allow me to share all of the great testimonies listed in our text today, Hebrews 11. These are just a few of the miracles made possible by the great faith of those who walk with God. John 21, 25, and there are also many other things that Jesus did which if they were written one by one. I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Hebrews 11 and 1, Enid walked with God, was taken to heaven without dying because he pleased God. Verse 5, Noah built an ark to save his family from the flood trusting God's warning of unseen things. Verse 7, Sarah trusted God's promise, conceived the child Isaac despite being barren and past childbearing AIDS. Verse 11, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea by faith trusting God for deliverance from the Egyptians. They witnessed the walls of Jericho fall like dust. Verse 29, the prophets suffered persecution. Weren't miracles proclaimed God's truth despite opposition all by faith? Hebrews 11 and 32. I could preach on all of those and more today, but there is one listed in verse 32 that stands out to me for this current generation. It seems to have been a theme throughout this day. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sampson and Jefta also of David and Samuel and the prophets. David has been a theme today. If you have caught that through the panel, there is just something different about this man. A man after God's own heart, he possessed strong faith at an early age. It kept him through every valley and propelled him to every victory and sustained him through every sit back. Yes, he faced trials. Yes, he went through tough times. Yes, he had heartaches. Yes, he encountered giants along the way. But you hear me today. His faith kept him. His faith sustained him. His faith never failed him.

As a young shepherd boy, David developed a deep faith in God while caring for his father's sheep. During this time, he fought off lions. He fought off bears by the discount. Trusting God to protect him and his flock. He did things behind closed doors in preparation for the public battle. Before you can conquer God's enemies, before you can have public victory, you have to conquer your own private enemies. If you want to take down Goliath, you got to take down the lion and the bear first. God sees you in preparation and God will reward you for the time you spend in private. Your everyday preparation leads you to public victory. And I don't want you to think for one moment that your private spiritual disciplines, God doesn't take notice of you. God sees you. God hears every prayer. God knows where you've been. And God will walk through with you. David was anointed, estimated at age 15 to 17. He was not appointed until his 30s. When he stepped out on the battlefield, he already had evidence. He already had evidence of what God can do. It's not hard to believe God for past miracles, for new miracles when you've got miracles in your past. Anybody here today got a testimony? You know God can because God already has. Has God ever healed anybody in the house today? Come on, has God ever set somebody free in the house today? Has God ever delivered anybody? Can you remember where he brought you from? It's easier to believe God for a new miracle when you've got a past miracle that God is for you. Saul spoke negativity to David. You were too young. Do you not realize this is a man of war you are facing? But David already knew because he had evidence. He already knew what he was capable of. Everyone wants to conquer Goliath. We all desire a public miraculous evident battle where no one can say differently. But what you do in private, God will reward you in public. The key to public battles is the private victory you've got in your back pocket. Look at what David said when he was told he couldn't defeat Goliath. Your servant used to keep his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it. Delivered the lamb from its mouth and when it rose up against me, I caught it by its beard and struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them seeing that he has defied the armies of the living God. Moreover, David said to the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion, I've got evidence and the paw of the bear, I've got evidence. He will deliver me from the hand. And look at what the voice of negativity and doubt said. Saul said to David, Go and the Lord be with you. These past victories built David's faith that if God did it before in private, he'll do it again today in public. David did not want Saul's army. You know the story. I've heard it preached that it was too heavy, that it was too large for him. But scripture tells us the reason. Verse 39, I cannot want with these for I have not tested them. I don't have evidence that this will work. I don't have evidence that this will help me kill this giant. Let me tell you what I do have evidence that God will be with me because he's already come through. I've got evidence today that God will be with me.

So David moves forward to face Goliath with five smooth stones and a faith that had been tested and proved. David said to the Philistine, you come to me with a sword and with a spear, with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. We read it all the time. We use analogies. Five smooth stones. I don't know why scripture tells us that he had five smooth stones because my Bible tells me that all he needed was one. I don't read that it took multiple shots. I don't read that he had to have a couple target practices. I read that it just took one. And I don't have any idea what David did with the other stones. But I don't believe for one moment, Brother Dillon, that he just tossed them back in the brook. What I have to believe is that David put them in his pouch. I don't know what they had back in that day or he put them in his pockets. And I have to believe that somewhere along the way that David when he had another battle, he would pull out another one. And he said, I've got evidence today that if God did it before. And when David faced another trial, he'd pull out another rock and say, I've got evidence today that if one killed a giant, I'm preaching to somebody today that you need evidence. You just need to go back to a past miracle, a past healing. And you need to remember what the Lord has already done for you. If you want a new miracle today, you've got evidence that he's the same God that he always was and he hasn't lost his power. David begins to speak faith before the victory ever begins. Verse 46, this day. Somebody say that with me, this day. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand. And I will strike you and take your head from you. And somebody help me. This day. This day I will give the carcasses of the camera to the birds of the air, the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. I feel it so strongly there's a this day kind of faith in this house. If you raised your hand earlier and you need a miracle, you need a healing. There is a this day faith. You don't have to wait till the night. You don't have to wait till tomorrow. You don't have to wait till Sunday. Do I have anybody with faith today that there is a this day house? There is a this day faith in this hurry.

You guessed it, the Philistines fled. The job was not done. David wanted the evidence of his victory. Verse 54, and David took the head of the Philistines. He went up to Goliath and he took his own sword Goliath's own sword and he takes off the head of this giant. Verse 54 tells us David took the head of the Philistines and he brought it to Jerusalem. But he put his armor in his tent. David took the head of Goliath back to Saul, which was customary of that day to prove to the city. You don't have to be afraid any longer. You don't have to walk in fear any longer. The giant has been defeated. But he also took the armor and he took it back to his tent because David wanted evidence for himself. I'm not just going to leave this for the city. I'm not just going to leave this for the king. I want evidence for myself. If God did it before, if God performed before, if God came through before, David would need that sword later on for another victory. And you rest assured, as Brother Kevin Howard said today, you will go through another trial. You will go through a heartache, but you know this. If God got you through before, he'll do it again. He'll walk with you. He'll keep you.

Do I have a moment for a couple of testimonies? The Dylan bring me that real quick. My late father, he passed away three years ago. Bishop had what he called the Godfile. He had seven notable miracles in his life. And every time he had a miracle, he'd put him in the Godfile. Because he wanted to go back, he would document what the Lord had performed in his life. If he was going through a tough time, he'd go to that time that God healed him of kidney disease. If God did it before, he can do it again. He'll go to that time that our church was in great debt and financial pressure. And in one moment, God sent a man to write a check for $3.2 million. If God did it before, he can do it.

One miracle I want to tell you about. When I was a kid, my dad was hunting in Iowa, pheasant hunting. He was on the back of a pickup. He falls off the pickup with a shotgun in his hand and he hits the asphalt pavement. And he breaks both of his arms in Iowa. He didn't want to go to the doctor there, so the men put him in the truck and drove him all the way back to Mississippi. He gets there on Thursday, he goes to his bone surgeon on Friday, Dr. Conna, Southern Bone & Joint. Ex-rating. He said, Bishop, I hate to tell you, but you broke both arms. I got a picture today. You can see him there. I wouldn't be smiling, but he's smiling. One more picture, I think, with his granddaughter on his lap. And that was on Friday, but you can't keep a good man down, so on Sunday, he goes to church. And Sunday morning, business as usual. Sunday night, prayer room before service. He goes in the prayer room. He's walking around praying. And some of the men in the church felt like the Lord wanted to heal him. And I don't think he felt that way, but the men in the church felt like the Lord wanted to heal their pastor, and so they go to him. And they start praying for him. And one of them says, Bishop, I just feel like the Lord wants to heal you. He said, well, if the Lord's going to heal me, you've got to take this sling off. And he took one of the slings off, and his arm fell straight down, and he lifted it straight above his head. And he said, if God can heal one, he can heal two. And so he takes this sling off, and his arm went straight down, and he lifts them above his head. He leaves the prayer room that night, and he goes out in the sanctuary. You can imagine they all knew what was going on. There was no preaching. He laid hands on everything in the building. There was miracles everywhere, because if God did it for him, he can do it for me. If God stilled a miracle worker, he can do it for me. That's the next day. And so Bishop, being Bishop, decides I'm going to go back to the doctor on Monday, because I want evidence. And so he goes back to Dr. Kahn, and he puts both arms back in slings. Bishop did. And he gets there, and he's playing a joke on him, because he wanted x-rays. And they take him, he said, before you do surgery, I want you to x-ray me one more time. And he takes him back, and he comes in the room, he said, Bishop, are you fooling me? He said, something supernatural has happened to you over the weekend.

Just a couple more real quick, because this generation wants evidence. You can stay standing. My wife and I have a community group, and we had a young couple in our church over to our house. Not too long ago. And we're talking about miracles. We're talking about the things of God. And in our house was a lady in our church who, earlier that week, she had accidentally grabbed a curling iron. The wrong end of it with her hand. I've got a picture of her hand. She's in our house, and we're doing Bible studies. She can't even turn the pages of her Bible, because her hand is in so much pain. She leaves early. Her husband stays at our house, and we're visiting. My wife's here. She can verify this. Stephen, before he leaves our house, he looks at my wife, and he said, I'm ready to see miracles today. I'm tired of hearing about him. I want to sign for myself. I want evidence for myself. So Stephen goes home that Sunday night. He looks at his wife, and he said, it might as well start with us. He goes to the kitchen, and he gets some olive oil. And he goes to where his wife is, and he said, I'm going to pray that the Lord will heal your hand. You're in much pain. She literally was crying at my house in pain and tears. He lays hands on her, and they have two little girls, and they ran in there, and they think, oh, my Lord, Mama Daddy's having trouble. What's going on? And they're praying. Finally, they stop praying. Stephen goes into the other room. It went long before he heard Marla throw the other picture on there. This was that same night. Months to you, and his evidence to them.

I got one more. I have to share this because it's so personal with me. Our student pastor and his wife were the Logan and sister Kelly White. They wanted a baby so bad. Tried for a year. We knew that their desire was to have a baby. We didn't ask any questions, but he called me one day. He said, Pastor, I need to come to your house. My wife and I knew it couldn't be good. I heard it in his voice. He and Kelly came to our house, went to our back porch, and they wept like babies. As they told us, I got a picture of Kelly at the doctor on the day they got this news. He told us that the doctor told them they could not have children naturally because her tubes were completely closed. And if she did get pregnant, it would be a strong possibility that it would be an ectopsy. I think I'm saying that right, pregnancy. In fact, he told them that they had a less than 1% chance to get pregnant. And they might as well start to try IVF. So we sat on my back porch and they wept and they cried. My wife and I prayed with him and Logan looked at us and he said, I just don't have faith. I don't have faith that God can... I'll have faith that he can do it for you, but I don't have faith that God's going to come through for us. And my wife looked at Logan and said, Logan, I've got faith for you. So this was in October and we agreed. We are going to agree together in prayer. We're not going to start any other process until the first of the year. I've got great news for you today. I've got evidence. This has been one year ago and one week. Throw the picture on the screen. Lift your voices right now! Y'all are my hasataya la la booze.

I strongly feel this today. This is a two-fold altar call today. There's people in this house. You don't need a miracle right now. God's been good to you. You're walking in favor. You're walking in abundance. But you desire for God to use you in a way that you've never been used before. You desire... I'm telling you, this generation longs for it. They have private spiritual disciplines. They want the hand of God. They want the anointing of God. For the Gleason preach last night, we're going to make room for the next generation. Last night we received double portion of man-off. We got to walk in authority. We got to walk in boldness. We got to walk in the promise. If you're here today, first altar call. You desire that kind of anointing, that kind of faith, that kind of favor. I want you to walk through this altar right now, and I want you to lift your hands. I just want you to say, God, show me the evidence. If you need healing, you're going to receive it in just a moment. But I want you to walk through this altar right now, and I want you to lift your hands. And I want you to say, God, show me the evidence. He hath aeara mahasatayara bohose. Come on, would you cry out to Him right now? Show me the evidence. I want miracles. I want signs. I need my own sign today. I need mahasatayara bohose. Mahasatayara bohose. I receive it today, God. I receive it today, God.

There's an apostolic atmosphere in this place right now. The Robinhead will come in just a few moments. But before he comes, the Lord's about to heal in this house. The Lord is about to heal in this house. I would never embarrass her, but my wife, she's been dealing with some thyroid issues, and her thyroid has been enlarged, assist on her thyroid. She knew what I was preaching today. She's going to kill me for doing this. That's okay. No, she won't. After she gets healed, she's not going to kill me. We're in the room today, and she said, Jaren, I'm about to take a picture and video evidence of this thyroid issue, because I believe God's going to heal me. I want evidence. Or you need a breakthrough. Lift your hand right now. There's people around you with hands raised, and I don't want anyone praying by themselves today. We're about to walk in spiritual authority and boldness today. We're about to walk in an apostolic anointing today. If you see somebody with their hand raised, I want you to go pray for them right now. I want you to go anoint them right now.