From Strength To Strength

Welcome Just hind Away Tagalog Sermon Podcast, your daily dose

of inspiring, heartfelt tagalog sermons from different pastors and speakers

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We hope that this podcast finds you in good shape.

And now here's your message. Speak to us and speak

to us today buy your Holy Spirit. We thank you,

Lord God for wisdom and revelation insight. In the name

of Jesus, hallelujah. Lord, I pray that each one of

us would have ears to hear, hearts to receive mind's

the process. Lord, that we'd be doers and not hearers

only in Jesus' name.

Amen. Amen. All right.

Obviously, Resurrection Sunday is coming up, and we encourage you

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But take these and just use it to invite people,

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Statistics show a lot of people would come to church

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Personal evangelism has fallen out of favor in the Body

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this week. By his stripes, you were healed, not are

going to be, but we're healed, and that ties into

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you with that.

Hallylujah.

We're going to talk today about going from strength to strength.

This week I was reading in Matthew. I have been

reading my one year Bible every year, read through it

probably about thirty times. But I decided to take a

little change this year, and I've been reading this apologetics

study Bible, and I was in Matthew reading and you're

familiar with this story that Jesus told his parable. I

wanted to point something out that the Lord spoke to

me and encourage us in and they'll tie into the

message as well.

Jesus said, for.

This reason, the well Peter had come to him and said, Lord,

how many times should I forgive my brother or sister

who sins against me? As many as seven times? And

Jesus said, I tell you, not as many seven, but

seventy times seven. For this reason, the Kingdom of Heaven

can be compared to a king who wanted to settle

accounts with his servants. When he began to settle accounts,

one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought before him.

And you can study this out in different Bibles and

get different amounts, but this is a pretty up to

date version as well as study Bible. And I look

down in the footnotes and their reference said, now, remember

this guy owed ten thousand talents, And my footnote says

a talent is worth about six thousand denari.

Doesn't that help you?

But it goes on to sayd talent is worth about

six thousand denari or twenty years wages for a laborer.

One talent was equivalent to twenty years' wages for a

labor This man owed ten thousand talents. My math is correct,

I believe it is. That's two hundred thousand years of wages.

You say, well, that's supernatural debt. Nobody could get out

of that. That's the point. We were supernaturally in debt,

with our sin debt.

There was no way we could pay it.

And Jesus our Savior paid a debt he did not owe.

We owed a debt we could not pay. He paid

a debt we he did not owe. Think of that,

not just twenty years wage, not two hundred years or

even two thousand years. Two hundred thousand years of wages

this man owed, and the Master forgave him.

Hallelujah.

I want to rejoice today in our great salvation they met,

and in our great forgiveness we have been forgiven. Hallelujah.

An unpayable debt. There was no way you and I

we could have been the best people on the face

of the earth, done all kinds of penance, crawled from

here to Jerusalem on our knees. I know you couldn't

do it on the ocean, but you can do it

around laps on the boat whatever.

You know.

You could never pay your way, to pay your sin debt.

This no way, This no way. And Jesus stepped in

and said, it is finished. Your sins are forgiven. Hallelujah.

Now the irony.

Is, if you're familiar to the rest of the story,

this man then goes out and refuses to forgive somebody

that owed him a little debt, which is the picture

of us when we refuse to forgive somebody who wrongs

us or hurts us in any way, shape or form.

And it said that the Master, when he found out

that this person who he had just forgave an unpayable

supernatural debt, when there was told to him that he

refused to forgive one of his fellow servants, he said

he was angry. God is angered when we refuse to forgive. Now,

we've all been hurt, we've all been misused, we've all

been mistreated, we've all been probably lied about, scandalized, hurt.

Some have been.

Abused physically, some emotionally, some sexually, and on and on.

I mean, life is a valley of bakah, a valley

of tears. We've been talking about that. But we must forgive.

We must keep the slate clean. You can either be

bitter or be better. We must forgive. And the way

we come through that valley of bakas what we've been

talking about, that valley of tears, that valley of weeping.

We turn it into a spring, We turn it into

a Well. How do we do that? Well, we've talked

about five things right here within this Psalm, and it

begins by dwelling in Yaway's presence and in his house,

spending time with God, being in church, getting to know God.

That's how we can turn the valley of weeping into

a place of spring. And then the second thing we

talked about is praise and pray. Go ahead and put

that up. I think we have a reminder of that.

This is what we talked about. Praise and pray continually.

Praise and pray continually. This is what it says in

Psalm eighty four, as well as the Word of God.

Praise and pray continually. Now, the tendency is for us

to read that or see that and say people can't

praise continually and pray continually.

Nonetheless, that's what the Bible says.

Pray without ceasing in everything, give thanks, pray at all times,

praise God continually.

It's this, The Bible is clear.

Even though we feel like, well, we try to write

ourselves an excuse. Take to the teacher, you know why

I can't do this. God says, no, you can pray continue,

you can praise continue. Then say it's twenty four to seven.

It's just a lifestyle that's talking about throughout the day,

even into the evening. Get up me all night to

go to the bathroom. Praise your Lord, hallelujah, Glory to God,

Thank you Jesus. Yeah, try it. You'd be surprised what

it does for you. Just that simple thing that you

may think, Oh, this is.

Not even half hearted. This is about one tenth hearted.

Just do it.

Watch what happens. Just praise you Lord, Hallelujah, bless you.

Praise and pray continually. We're talking about turning the valley

of weeping into well place and strength. We've been forgiveness,

supernatural debt. Now we have to let go of the hurts,

the wounds that we've all encountered in life and not

let them hold on to us and coming through this

valley and turn into a well. It also says we

are to find our strength in God, to find our

strength in God. We're going to talk more about that today,

finding our strength in God. And in Fourthly, you set

your heart, you set it on pilgrimage. You set it

on I'm going from there to there. I'm going all

the way with God. I'm not going to quit. I'm

not going to give up. I'm not going to throw

in the towel. Doesn't matter what the devil does, it

doesn't matter what happens. It doesn't matter what other people do.

Doesn't matter if everybody around me backslides or quits or

gives up or says it doesn't work. My heart is

set on pilgrimage. I'm going from here to there. My

heart has been set on pilgrimage for over forty years now,

and it helps you to get through the valleys of

baka that you encounter on this journey. No, my heart

is set. I'm passing through the door. I walk through

the valley of the shadow of Death. I'll fear no evil,

for he is with me. He's with it's me. My

heart is set on pilgrimage. I'm not quitting. I'm not

giving up. Your heart must be set on the highway's desion.

And then, fifthly, we trust in Yahweh. We trust in Yahweh.

We lean on him, We have confidence in him. Trust

is not just some mental thing. Well, I'm trusting. No,

it's an active it's not a passive word. It's an

active word. I'm trusting. I'm leaning on him. I'm putting

my confidence in him. I'm resting in him, Hallelujah, not

in my own abilities.

In him.

So let's read Psalm eighty four. You'll see these principles here.

How amiable are thy tabernacles, O, Lord of Hosts. My

soul longs, yea even faints for the courts of the Lord.

My heart and flesh cry out for the living God. Yea,

the sparrow has found a house in the swa nest

for herself, where she may lay her young even thine altars, O,

Lord of Hosts.

My king and my God.

Blessed, happy, fortunate to be envied are they who dwell

in thy house, They will be ever praising you, blessed, happy,

fortunate to be envied. Is the man the woman whose

strength is in thee in whose heart are the highways

of Zion, or whose heart is set on pilgrimage, who

verse six, passing through, not living there, not camping there,

not abiding there, not setting up residence there, passing through

the valley of Bacah, the valley of weeping, the valley

of tears. It represents trouble, rejection, persecution, difficulties, as trials, temptations,

all these things we face in this life.

Ba ka.

God wants to turn your ba kha into blessings by

applying these five principles and what we're going to talk

about today, going from strength to strength. God can turn

your ba kha into blessings no matter how bad it gets,

no matter how much the enemy attacks, to what people do.

God can take what the devil meant for harm and

turn it around for good.

And for his glory.

He wasn't behind it, he didn't ordain it, he didn't

cause it, he didn't send it. But he can still

turn it around. He's a master at taking what the

devil means for harm and turning it around for our good.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous asama sid, but

the Lord delivers them out of them all hallelujah. Jesus said,

in the world, you'll have tribulation John sixteen thirty three.

But be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. Who

passing through the valley of Bakal make it a well.

They make it a well. They make it a well,

They turn it into a spring. And then once they

do that, the rain also fills the pools. God's rain comes.

As we do our part. God does his part, exceeding

abundantly above and beyond all we ask or think. We

take the bitter experience of life and we say, I'm

just going to praise God. I'm going to keep my

heart set on pilgrimage. I'm going to trust Yahweh. I'm

going to dwell in his house. I'm going to go

from strength to strength. I find my strength in God.

I'm going to turn this bitter experience into a spring,

into a well. And then God's rain comes, hallelujah, and

fills it with pools.

God.

See, that's why some people religiously and mistakenly They look

at the bitter experiences, like the bad experience of life,

and they say, well, see God sent that for a reason,

or God allowed that for a reason because good came

out of it. No, just because good came out doesn't

mean God intended it that way in the first place.

Like I've heard people say, well, it was good I

was in that car accident because I got the witness

to two nurses while I was in the hospital. I think, you, dummy.

You could have gone in the hospital fully well and

witness to a hundred nurses. You don't have to be

in a hospital bed to witness, you know. People always say,

and I could go after biblical example after biblical example

of good things that they came out of bad things

when God got involved. But it wasn't God's perfect will.

It wasn't his plan. But that's where people get off.

They see the good that comes out of it, and

they think, well, see God must have been behind it. No,

just because he turned it around for our good and

for his glory, I mean he that was his original plan.

He won't violate his word.

All right, So that God fills it with pools Verse seven,

they go from strength to strength, They go from strength

to strength. Say that with me, they go from strength

to strength. Again, they go from strength to strength. Every

one of them, callelujah, every one of them in Zion

appears before God, Oh Lord, God of Host, hear my prayer,

Give Euro, Oh God of Jacob see lah. Behold, Oh God,

our shield, and look upon the face of Thine anointed.

For a day in thy courts is better than a

thousand anywhere else.

Glory to God.

One day in the presence of God is better than

a thousand anywhere else.

On that most beautiful.

Remote island or place you could think of, One day

in the presence of God, one moment in the presence

of God far exceeds a thousand anywhere else. A lot

of folk don't believe that. It's because they've never experienced it.

I guess the presence the anointing, hallelujah. Nothing like it.

Nothing in this earth can compare with it. Worship is

the key to that. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in

the house of my God than to dwell in the

tents of wickedness. See a lot of folk today that

are dwelling professing Christians that are dwelling in the tents

of wickedness for the Lord God. Verse eleven is the

sun and a shield. The Lord yahueh will give grace

and glory. Oh good thing, say no good thing, no

good thing will he withhold. Hallelujah. No good thing will

he withhold. Mister great place of shallt amen, because that

means so be it. I'll take it. Yes, Lord, no

good thing will he withhold. But notice there's a condition.

From them that walk up rightly, not those that dwell

in the tents of wickedness. They're not going to see

all the good things of God, those who dwell on

the tents of wickedness. But those who live holy, who

live right, who walk uprightly, no good thing will Father

God withhold from them. Thank you Jesus, oh Lord of hosts. Blessed, happy,

fortunate to be envied. Is the man, the woman, the child,

whoever who trusts batak in, the who leans on you,

believes on you, commits all to you, confident He looks

to you that without fear and misgiving, according to the

amplified Thank you Jesus, So again look with me. At

verse seven, they go from strength the strength. There is

the kind of a person, there is the kind of

a Christian who passes through the valley of Baka turns

it into a well, a spring. They take the bitter

experiences of life, the attacks of the enemy, the challenges

of this fallen world, and they don't get bitter. They

praise God. They stand on the word of God, they

act on the word of God. They turn it into

a spring. Amen. And not only that, they go from

strength to strengths. They don't just go through the valley

of Baka and turn it into spring. They actually go

from strength to strengths. Amplified Bible says they increase in

victorious power. Whether one realizes it or not, Christianity is

to be lived from a position of strength, not weakness.

A lot of folks think, well, yeah, it's all about

being weak. No, it's all about being strong. Strong in

your weakness. We Christianity is to be lived from a

position of strength. If Esian six tenth has be strong

in the Lord. And there's all kinds of scripture Old

and New Testament about being strong. Now there are scriptures

about weakness. We are weak without Him, Without Jesus, we

can do nothing. We come to Christ in our weakness.

We get saved in our weakness. But we don't stay

in that weakness. We are to go from weakness to

supernatural strength. Actually, it is supernatural strength in our human weakness,

which is exactly what Paul said he discovered when he

had to deal with that demonic opposition that he termed

the thorn in the flesh. He said, this is what

I found out. When I'm humanly weak, I'm divinely strong.

Glory to God. When i'm weak, I'm strong. Now what

he said, when I'm weak, I'm strong. That thorn in

the flesh was demonic opposition sent to buffet him, continually

attacking him.

You can read Paul's life and mission everywhere.

When he had opposition to the preaching of the gospel,

that was that demon buffeting him. He said, it was

like a thorn in the flesh. It wasn't a sickness

or disease that God win at heal. That's religious tradition.

It makes them none affect the word of God. It

was a demon spirit sense to buffet him constantly opposing.

If Paul said, I found something out when I'm weak,

I'm strong. Whoo, I'm divinely strong. I'm going from strength

to strength, and that's what we want to look at

today how we can go from strength to strength? What

do we do to go from strength to strength? What

are the biblical principles? Christianity is to be lived from

a position of strength.

Now, in addition to those five.

I gave you, you know, we're gonna look at some

additional principles. But again, turning Bakhar into a well, dwell

in y'allways house, praise and pray, continually, find your strength

in God, set your heart on pilgrimage, trust in your way.

I was talking to somebody last Sunday after service and

they said to me, they you know I'd gone over

those five points. They said, there's a six point. I

thought you were going to list. They said, you kind

of touched on it, and you kind of danced around it,

but you never quite got to it, he said. And

I said, well, tell me what's this sixth point? And

they said, it's always darkest before the dawn.

A lot of.

Times, right, you know, when you feel like throwing into town,

giving up and quitting, that's the very time you're on

the verge of a breakthrough, and the devil knows it.

The time you most feel like quitting is about the

closest you'll probably be.

To your miracle.

Don't quit, don't give up, don't throw in the towel.

It is usually darkest before the dawn. Don't quit, don't

give up. And then somebody else said to me after

the message, they said, well, another thing that I found

out that it's you know, one of the things that

keeps us from passing through the valley of Baka and

going on the higher ground is fear.

Fear. I said, well, what do you mean fear?

And they said, well, fear of what's ahead for one,

fear of moving on with God. They said, it's real

easy and comfortable in Baka, be easy to get comfortable

in that low life. Really, there's a certain fear sometimes, Well,

what's going to be expected of me if I go

on with God, go on to higher ground with God?

What's he going to ask of me? And I thought

that's a good point too. So all these things come

into play. But remember, God will turn your bacause into blessings. Hallelujah.

How do we go from strength to strength? Now? Again?

We are to live from a position of strength.

If esian six ten be strong in the Lord the

powers might one Corinthian sixteen thirteen says.

Be strong, act like men.

Now that's not saying women are to act like men.

This just talking about that principle, be strong, be strong.

One John two fourteen. He says, I write this to you,

young men, because you are strong, and.

He gives it.

He gives a clue as to why they are strong.

Two clues. Actually, he says, you are strong and the

word of God abides in you. You know, when the

word of God abides in you, you'll be strong. Jesus said,

if you abide in me and my words abide in you,

you'll ask what you will know to be done. He said,

I write this to you, young men, because you are strong,

and the Word of God abides in you, and you

have overcome the wicked one. When you are strong in

the Lord, because the word of God's abiding in you,

you'll overcome the wicked one. So we are to live

from a position of strength. Two Timothy two to one

gives us another clue. It says, be strong in the

grace of God. So this strength that we're talking about,

going from strength to strength, is not nothing of our

own doing or that we conjure up. It's be strong

in the grace of God, the free favors of God,

the operational power of God, the riches of God. Be

strong in that the God I receive your strength, Paul said,

be strong in ya wah, not strong in yourself. So

we can live from a position of strength. Now, there's

nothing wrong with admitting weakness. Jesus said, without Me, you

can do nothing. There's nothing wrong with admitting that and saying, well,

without God, without Christ, I'm weak, but near my can says,

let the week say, let the week say what I

am strong. Not let the week say I am weak.

You think that's what it said. Can listen to most

professing Christians. But no, you didn't say, let the week

say I'm weak. He said, let the week say I'm strong.

He didn't say, let the six say I'm sick. He said,

let the six say I'm healed. The let the fearful

say I'm fearful. No, let the fearful say I shall

not fear. Let those without that are lacking say, oh

I have so much lack. Let those without lack say,

the Lord's.

Supply my needs. And on and on.

He has said Hebrews thirteen five and six. So that

we may say glory to God. So live from a

position of strength. Remember God's instructions that Joshua, I mean,

Joshua had a big challenge taking over from Moses. Can

you imagine following Moses?

Wow? I mean that would be some shoes to fill.

I mean I'd be like stepping in for Billy Graham

nowadays or something like that, you know, but even more so.

Plus you got now three to five thousand murmuring, complaining

Jews that are ready to turn on you at any moment.

But notice God's instructions to Joshua right at the very beginning.

I'll have them up here on the screen, he says

four times in just the first chapter. In the very beginning,

he says, beasts strong and of a good courage. Joshua,

be strong, be of good courage. Then he goes on

a little later and he says, only be thou strong

and very courageous. So he says, be strong, and then

he says, be very courageous. Then he says, have not

I commanded you. It's a command, be strong and of

good courage. Christiansby lived from a position of strength. And

then the fourth time in that same chapter, he says,

only only be strong and of a good courage. Be

strong and of a good courage. It said of the

apostle Paul, when he first got converted, said Saul increased

all the more in strength. He grew more and more powerful.

As of Jesus, the child grew and became strong in spirit.

He grew and became strong in spirit. It shows he

was operating in his humanity. God doesn't have to grow

and become strong in spirit, but in this humanity he

grew and became strong in spirit. And then recall what

Jesus said is the greatest commandment, the first commandment, Love

the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind,

all your soul, and all your weakness, all your strength.

Thou shalt love the Lord your God, all your heart,

all your soul, all your mind, and with all your strengths,

not human strength, the strength that we get from God.

And this is the first commandment. Remember, God is referred

to the Psalms as our strong power, our strong refuge

numerous times. In fact, one of God's eloheim compound names.

That we haven't looked at.

Yeah, we've just been looking at the Yahweh compound names,

but the Eloheim compound names. One of his names is

El gibor l gibor the mighty One or the strong one,

the strong One, halleluj and he's your God. So what

are you going to do? You can choose to live

from a position of weakness, or choose to live from

a position of strength. You can choose to live in baka,

or you can choose to pass through baka. You can

choose to wallow in the trials and temptations of life,

or you can choose to go from strength to strength

and increase in victorious power. Remember Hebrews eleven thirty four

in the Hall of Faith, it says, if some out

of weakness were made strong, out of weakness were made strong.

So let's look at how do we go from strength

to strength seven points.

I pondered this.

And I thought, you know, what are some practical things

that caused us to go from strength to strength? And

I've proved these in my own life. Others have proved

them in their lives. Millions down through time have proved

these seven principles. Applying them, you can go from strength

to strength. They're not super difficult, they're very doable. And

yet people get so caught up in this world that

they they failed to apply them. So write these down somewhere.

If you got room next to song, maybe four verse seven,

write it down there, or write it after the song,

make a little note there, you know, or an error

or something. And mostly usually most Bibles, after one book

closes before another one starts, you have quite a bit

of blank space. Not always, but sometimes you could say,

you know, just write down see page you know, six

hundred and seventy, and write down these seven points. You

might say, well, that's what's this all about? You just

trust me. Trust me. Years from now, maybe week from now,

you'll be reading and you'll say, what is this? See

song page one, six seventy ooh, forgot about that? Write

all over your bible. Keep a notebook, but especially in

your Bible, make notes in the margin and down below.

When God speaks to you things, write them down.

Halleluj. I got in my.

Book of Ephesians. I can't even I mean, it's a

swamped with notes. It's just they're so small, sometimes like

what's what going on? But boy's a wealth of good

things in there. Hallelujah. So how do we go from

strength to strength? Let's read it again, eighty four to seven.

They go from strength to strength. Every one of them

in Zion appears before God. So these are seven points

the Lord gave me going from strength to strain. Number

one is this, be truly converted and born again. That's

the very beginning spot, right there, be truly converted. This

is a big problem today, a big problem. A lot

of paint people think they're saved because they've said the

Sinner's prayer, or they've gone to church, or they're raised

in a certain denomination, or they do Christian things. See,

there's a deception. Some people think I become a Christian

by doing Christian things. I'll go to church, I'll be

a good person, I'll treat others well, maybe even I'll

read the Bible and I'll pray.

That does not make your Christian.

Doing Christian things does not make a person a Christian.

Jesus said, you must be born again. We have to

be saved by the blood of the Lamb, and then

we start to do Christian things. But a person needs

if they're going to go from strength to strength, the

very beginning point is to make sure I'm been truly converted.

I am just said the Sinner's prayer or trusting in

religion or church attendance for my salvation? Am I truly converted?

We don't hear a lot of conversion today. You hear

mostly about maybe even being born again, which is nothing

wrong with being born again, but that's what true born

again is.

To be converted. The word or the phrase born.

Again is found three times in the New Testament. The

word converted or conversion is found forty eight times in

the New Testament. Now, not all of them speak of

being converted in salvation, but a great majority of them do. See,

we must experience conversion. What did Jesus say, if anyone

come after me, let him take up his cross? And

he didn't say, if anyone come after me, let him

say the sinner's prayer. We got too many people that

just said the sinner's prayer, answered an alder call, and

they think everything's okay.

You're living like the devil, living like the world.

They think they're saved just because well, yeah, back in

nineteen seventy one, I prayed the sinner's prayer?

Have you borne any fruit? Have you been converted?

You? Has your life changed? And if it hasn't, something's wrong.

So we have to be converted, truly born again. Now,

the word conversion, it literally means this to turn around,

So we turn and we go a different direction. It's

what's that sound like? Repentance? Turn around to reverse, to

change one's mind. I think we have it on the

screen here. Yes, turn around, reverse to change one's mind.

Become another kind of person. If a person is truly converted,

they become another kind of person. I'm not the person

I used to be. People that went to high school with.

They say, that's not Morbidzure, that's not the Morbidzuer I knew.

No, I'm a news creation. Hallelujah.

Brother Hagen talks about when he after he got saved,

he used to go down to the county square and

he said, those are depression days and you have all

kinds of men hanging around just looking for work, nothing

to do. And he just go up to somebody on

the street corner and he say, I'm a new creation,

just a young seventeen year old boy. I'm a new creation.

They go, what he said, I'm a new creation? What

do you mean, young boy? If any man be in Christ,

he's a new creation. Old things have passed away, all

things becoming and begin to preach to them, get someone

born again, hallelujah, be truly converted, become a new person,

to return from error.

We were walking in.

Error, to turn to the service and worship and love

and obedience of the True God. This shepherd, Holly, that's

the definition of conversion from the Complete Word Study Dictionary.

I love that last part.

See, we not only turned from something, we turn to

something that's true repentance. That's true conversion.

We turn.

We turn from error to the service and worship and

love and obedience of the True God.

Our shepherd, yahweh rohe.

Now, conversion is both an act of God and an

active man. It's all God and it's all man. It's

divine grace. God initiates it and we respond acts three nineteen.

Remember Peter got before a crowd, and this is what

he preached to him, Repent and be converted. He didn't

say repent and say a sinner's prayer and times of

refreshing will come. No, he said, repent and be converted,

that your sins may be blotted out so that times

are refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

I think a lot of professing Christians have never experienced

the times of refreshing that come from the presence of

the Lord because they never repented, had been converted. They've

just gone to church or done good things, and they think, well,

why do I what's lacking? It starts with being repenting,

changing our mind and being converted, and then times of

refreshing come. Somebody says, well, you're not going to get

many converts that way preaching conversion. Yeah, Peter only got

five thousand men saved that day, just the men, not

counting women and children, only five thousand. So yeah, you

can't really preach this way and expect Decisions Number two

after being truly converted and born again, we're talking about

going from strength to strength. Receive the Holy Spirit baptism.

Receive the Holy Spirit baptists. Now, when a person gets saved, converted,

born again, it's by the work of the hoispirit. They

get the Holy Spirit. But there is an experience subsequent

to the new birth, subsequent to salvation called being baptized.

In the Holy Ghost Acts one eight, Jesus said you

shall receive power and luke. At the end of luke,

he breathed on them and he said, receive ye, the

Holy Ghost. That's where they got born again. But he

said to these same people later on an axe, he said,

you'll receive power when the Holy Ghost comes upon you.

Go into the upper room and wait for the outpouring.

Later on the Book of Acts, these people got born again,

but then they sent some of the apostles down to

them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. I need

the Holy Ghost baptism. You need the Holy Ghost baptism.

We all do. Like I said before.

You can live the Christian life without the Holy Ghost

baptism and speaking in other tongues. You can live it

that way. But it's like peddling a bike with the

air barely in the tires. But you get those tires

fully inflated. Whoo, that's the Holy Ghost baptism. You can

do it. You can go up that hill both ways.

But I may know you got your work cut out

for you. When your tires are underinflated. But you get

your tires fully inflated, a whole lot easier go up

the hill and down the hill and in the straight places.

We need the Holy Ghost baptism. Somebody said, yeah, but

I just don't know about that tongue stuff. Get over it.

It's a supernatural prayer language. It's the devil trying to

get people so afraid. It's like you think it was

some deadly virus or something. You talk to some people

about spirit being baptized. The noise, Yeah, but what about

that tongue stuff. It's not gonna hurt you. It'll magnify

your prayer life seventyfold. You'll be able to pray the

mysteries of God, the secrets of God. Instead you're doing

all your praying out of your head, You're gonna do

it out of your spirit. I pray in tongues every day.

I probably have for forty some years. I don't know

if I've missed the day that's the second nature to me,

I'll be walking somewhere over about sick of them.

I tell you, I must say you why he that.

Speaks an unknown tongue builds himself up, edifies himself, doesn't

talk to men, talks to God, just becomes second nature

to you. There's power in it. We need holy ghost power.

And Jesus said, if you receive that holy ghost power,

you'll be a witness.

You'll be a witness.

You shall receive power after the Holy ghost comes upon

you and you'll be my witness. He didn't say you'll

do witness, and he said you'll just be a witness.

It'll just come naturally. You just can't help but witness

because you're full of power. If you study the Book

of Acts. That's what turned these timid disciples who were

hiding now out and afraid, and the bold witnesses that

turn the world upside down. The Holy Ghost signs and

wonders and miracles. By the power of the Holy Ghost,

it's nothing to be ashamed of, embarrassed about, or apologetic

for her power from on high.

This is well, why are we talking about that?

We're talking about going from strength to strength, get truly converted,

and then get baptized in the Holy Spirit. Speak in

other tongues, begin to speak in other tongues all the time.

It's for everybody that asked. Jesus said, if you then,

being evil, now to give good gifts to your children,

how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy

Spirit to those who ask him. Luke Elevin, just ask

if you need help, and like prayer, see me or

somebody else. We'll be glad to pray with you.

You know.

Next day, this this is my testimony.

I think others were decorate.

Next to getting saved, the best thing that ever happened

to me, hands down, was to get baptized in the

Holy Spirit and speak in other tongues, no question, I

don't even have to think about next to get and say.

I mean, it's even better in finding Penny getting a

good wife. He finds a good wife, finds a good thing,

and obtained favor from the Lord. I found a good wife,

a good thing, and I'm gotten favor from the Lord.

But and she'll understand because she baptized the Holy Ghost

speaks in other tongues too. That's there's no that's you

can't compare to. I mean, she got a good thing

when she got me too. I mean it's like she

got the best. I tell her that all the time.

I said, man, you are highly favored of the Lord.

How you got the one of the best husbands around.

You know what I'm talking about, don't you, Jamie. It's

just I mean, it's just it's just part of it.

But but what you that's a man thing.

I was saying something like that the other day, and

she said to David, little Sarah's little son, David said David,

don't listen to this. You don't need to get started

this way. And Sarah, I think, said her pain says something.

It's hopeless. It's just a man thing.

They all do that.

Look in the mere man, I get better looking every day.

So anyway, the baptism in the Holy goes. Okay, we

better move on number three, going from strength to strength.

You hunger after truth? You hunger after truth? What do

you hunger for? What is truth? Well, truth is the

Word of God, Truth is Jesus.

But you have to if you're going to.

Go from strength to strength, you have to hunger after truth. Now,

going to church is great, and that's a part of

hungering after church. But I'm talking about what do you

do Monday through Saturday? Do you hunger after truth?

Are you want it?

Reads and studies your Bible and praise and seeks more

of God? What do you read? What do you watch?

What do you listen to? Are you hungering after more

and more truth? More and more truths? It caused you

to go from strength to strength if you hunger after truth.

Just this week I went up to.

Wisconsin for a My Ordaining Organization AFCM had a overnight

or so. I went up there Thursday and Friday and

it was over. It was about six six and a

half hour drive from here to Wisconsin, and uh, I

just listened to the word preaching all the way up

there and all the way back. I think I got

more out of the trip than I did the conference.

Jes Listen, Now, I could have listen to the radio.

I could listen to talk radio, I could listen to music.

Could just been quiet. You know, that's what a lot

of folk do. I'm talking about Christian you know, listen

to the radio all the way up there, listen to

secular music, even all worship music would have been fine.

But I said, now I'm just gonna pump the word in. Oh.

I just feel the strength, the strengths coming into me.

What do you hunger after?

You know? God?

I was doing that and listen to somebody preaching, and

God spoke to me during the while I was listening

to then preaching.

He said, you can.

Tell a lot about a person's spiritual hunger by what

they listened to, what they watch, and what they read,

especially when it comes to music. That's just where God

spoke to me. You can take it or leave it.

But what kind of music do you listen to that

tells you a lot about your spiritual hunger or lack thereof.

He said, you can tell a lot about a person's

spiritual hunger by what they listen to, what they watch,

and what they read. That's a great indicator of where

is my hunger? What am I really hungry for? Football, basketball, sports, hobbies?

Social media? What do I really hunger for? The latest gossip,

what helly weird is doing?

And on and on.

Oh, there's so many distractions in this life, so many distractions.

Hunger after If you're going to go from strength to strength,

hunger after truth, let me encourage you to discipline yourself

in spiritual things. Discipline yourself. Say no, I'm not going

to get feet on the candy, the mental candy that's

all around me in this world. There's mental candy everywhere,

and yet it's sweet and it's tasty, but it doesn't

provide any true nourishment. It just makes you lazy. But

discipline yourself in the spiritual things. Hunger after Truth. Thank

God for CDs And you know, I know this is

old fashioned, but cassettes and iPods and now you can

get it on your phone and on your laptop, and

there's just so there's a well, I mean, there's ministry

after ministry after ministry where you can get awesome anointed sermons,

download them or listen.

To them right there. Hallelujah.

One of the one of the preachers I was listening

to on this trip was Keith Moore, and he was

talking about he said when he said, when he and

his wife at the very beginning, he said, we were

just living in a little podunk town and a mobile

and a trailer cord and a and a motor mobile home.

He said, we were broke.

We were down and out. He said, we had nothing.

He said, my wife worked for. If he was a

dentist or doctor, he said, but he worked for And

he said, this guy had all kinds of cassette tapes

of Kenneth Hagen, Kenneth Copeland, Fred Price, Charles Capps, Jerry Seville,

you know, the Filet Mignon, the good stuff. And he said,

he kept saying to my wife, he said, here, take

some of these. And you and your husband listened to

him and they yeah, and you know, they didn't want

to listen to preaching. I mean, they thought just Sunday morning.

That was enough. You know.

It's like I've had all intakes Sunday morning, you know,

and you're gonna ask me listen to preaching outside the church.

It's like, who does that kind of weirdo listens to

preaching outside of Sunday morning. You go and you tolerate

the twenty minute sermon and that's it. You get on

with your life. So he said, they just get kept ignoring.

He said, fine. His wife, just because he was her boss,

just to pacify him, he took it. She took some

of the tapes home and she said, well, he wants

us to listen. And they said, well, let's listen to

and he said what are what are they? And sid

they were cassettes and he said, well, what is it music?

He said, no, it's preaching, he said, preaching. Who listens

to preaching on cassettes? I mean, cassettes are from music

that was what this was the CDs back then or

the downloads in you know. He said, the only thing

we ever listened to on cassettes was music preaching. Who

would listen to preaching? And he said, I don't know

about this. They said, well let's try, and they put

one in I forget who it was, Kenneth Hagen or

Kenneth cop was somebody, and they said, whoa, we never

heard it on this, Wise said. The next night they

listened to another one. He said, I found myself going

home every day from work and getting excited about Come on, honey,

let's listen to another one.

He said. It revolutionizer life.

Now they have a worldwide ministry.

He said.

And I know for a fact that God was able

to take me from there to here where I'm at today,

through listening to those cassette tapes. He said, I have

no doubt. I have no doubt. I know in my

own life I've been able to go from strength to strength.

By doing it.

I listened to hundreds of messages every year. Every year,

I've listened to probably tens of thousands of messages over

the course of my life.

Hallelujah. It just feeds you, what are you hung now?

I could have spent all that time listening to talk

radio or sports radio, or the news or secular music,

and I'd be none the better. I'd go from weakness

to weakness instead of strength to strength. But God told us,

he said, I've set before you life and death, blessing

and cursing.

You choose. It's your choice.

So as much as I'd like to make people do

it again do it, I can't do it. Ain't better

than God. It's your choice. So I'm just laying out

some choices here. There is power in the Word of God.

This is transforming power. This will transform our lives. This

is supernatural power.

You don't believe that. Just try taking a.

Bible, even a little Bible, and set it on your

work at your workstation, you desk, the machinery where you

work or wherever.

Just try. Just watch.

Just take a Bible and set it there and watch

the reaction. You can take any other book in the

world and nobody won't think anything of it. But you

take a Bible. Where are you some God Jesus.

Not Wait, what's that doing here?

There's power in it, power in the Word of God. Okay,

number four, we got to move on here. Be a

person of prayer. We're talking about going from strank the strength.

Be a person of prayer. Privately and corporately. Pray on

your own and take advantage of prayer meetings. Get in

prayer meetings. It'll help you go from strength to strength

number five, be consistently in church and in fellowship. God

is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

God is a rewarder. Think of that.

God is a rewarder. He rewards those who diligently seek him.

In Hebrews eleven six, he rewards those who diligently seek him.

The more you're in church, the more you'll be blessed.

You know, and hopefully you found this out by now.

The very time when you feel the least like going

to church, and you feel the most spiritual opposition to

going to church, that's about time you're about to get

the most blessed.

Because the devil.

Knows you're in for it, so he's trying to I

can't tell you over the years how many times I've

heard people say, oh, man, I wasn't going to come today.

I woke up tired, I woke up not feeling good,

and then this happened, and this happened, and I was

thinking I had to just stay home, but I said, no,

I'm going to go anyway. And I got so blessed.

I got so blessed. Hallelujah. Well, we're not gonna get

blessed to stay at home.

I know that.

So when you sense that opposition, say, nah, mister devil,

I'm not gonna fall for that. Don't give him the pleasure.

Be consistently in church. It was Jesus' habit is jesus

custom to be in the synagogue. Well, if it's good

enough for Jesus, good enough for me. These people would say, well,

I'm still Christan, I just don't go to church. Well,

you're in direct disobedience to the Bible, it says, don't

forsake the assembling of yourself together. Can't get a more

plaine than that. All right, Number six, Live We're talking

about going from strength to strength. Live for God and

from God.

Live your life for God.

That means like obedience, faithfulness, forgiveness, holiness. Live your life

for God, but also live it from God. Paul said,

be strong in the Lord. Here's how the amplified reads,

be strong in the Lord, be empowered through your union

with Him. Draw your strength from him. That strength, which

is boundless might provides. Draw your strength from him. Yes,

live for God, but live from God. Draw your strength

from him.

He is the strength of our life. Now.

Isaiah forty thirty one is a big clue to that.

It says they that wait upon the Lord shall what renew?

They're what now that word renew it also means exchange.

They that wait upon the Lord saw exchange there. I mean,

I can exchange my strength, which is really weakness, for

his strength, which is power. Yes, they that wait upon

the Lord, those that spend time ministering the Lord, those

that draw their life from the Lord. There's an exchange

that takes place, and they will renew their strength. Let

me illustrated this way. This would be us here, this

is you, this is me, pretty pretty flimsy, pretty weak,

you know, not a lot of strength in this. I

mean you can take this and just easily. You know,

the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy. He can

just come in and steal, kill and destroy, real easy,

No problem will But I'm glad that wasn't my thank

you for divine protection. Lord. But they that wait upon

the Lord shall renew their strengths. The word wait upon

in the Hebrew, one of the meanings is they bind

together by twisting. Yes, this is you, this is me,

here's the Lord. As you wait upon the Lord, you

bind together by twisting. And whereas at one point this

was easily cut. Still can't now try it. It ain't

going to happen. All this is going to do is

dull the blade here. This is your life in Christ.

When you bind together by twisting, you exchange your human

weakness for His strengths. And this is you in Christ.

No weapon formed against you will prosper. No evil befall you,

No plague come near your dwelling. Greater is he who's

in you than he that's in the world. Try and

deal with that devil. Callelujah.

Ain't nobody here.

No matter how tough you think you can bend this

or break this in half, it ain't gonna happen. You

are strong in the Lord, and then the power is might.

But it's not for every Tom, Dick and Harry. Not

everybody just prayed the sinner's prayers as I go to

church two times out of every eight. No, it's those

that weigh upon the Lord, those that bind together by twisting.

All these seven things I'm talking to you about.

That's how you bind together by twisting. All right, let's

say the last one and will close. Receive what belongs

to you and act on it. Receive what belongs to

you and act on. You have certain rights things that

belong to you in Christ, in the word. Whether you

ever possess them or not, they belong to you.

You must find out what they are.

There's a lot of things in the natural that belong

to people that they never take advantage of.

They should, but they don't.

Now, just because they don't, we can't say they don't

belong to them. Just because somebody doesn't take advantage of

it doesn't mean don't belong to classic example, the right

to vote. Every citizen of the United States has the

right to vote, and yet every election, what do we

see millions who don't take advantage of their right. Over

half of the citizenry in a national.

Election doesn't take advantage of it, and.

Then a local election about over two thirds or seventy

percent don't take advantage of their right to vote. Now

can we say, well, they don't have a right to

vote just because they didn't take advantage of it. Well,

you have a lot of rights in Christ. Baptism of

the Holy Spirit, healing, deliverance, freedom, victory, love, joy, peace,

and freed of the spirit gives the spirit, on and

on and on, holiness, divine protection, divine direction, well just

if a person's not walking, it doesn't mean doesn't belong

to them. It's theirs, and you don't even have to

ask for it. It's already yours. The name of Jesus

belongs to you. You don't have to ask for the

name of Jesus, just use it. Healing belongs to you. You

have to ask for you, just receive it. Protection belongs

to you. You receive it by faith.

All these things.

Receive what belongs to you. The Bible says sins shall

not have dominion over you. You can paraphrase it this way.

Satans shall not have dominion over you. So these seven

things are a great way to go from strength to strength.

Be truly converted, born again, receive the Holy Spirit, baptism,

hunger after truth, be a person of prayer, be consistently

in church and fellowship, live for God and from God,

and receive what belongs to you. You got to find out

what belongs to you to do that and act on it.

Phesians one to three says God has blessed us with

all spiritual blessings in hivenly places one Peter two first

Peter Tewod. Peter one two to four says God's given

us all things that pertain to life and Godliness through

the knowledge of Him. Through the knowledge of Him, He's

given us everything would pertain to the life and God, that

we might be made part takers of the divine nature. Whew,

find out what belongs to you? Receive it? How do

you find it out? Faith comes by hearing the word

of God Romans ten seventeen Hoseah four to six. My people,

God says, are destroyed for lack of knowledge. A lack

of knowledge is how they are destroyed.

I'll close with this. Listen to this.

Our entire path of life is determined by listening to

God and following him, believing what he said, and saying

what he said, and acting on what he said. Your

entire path of life, whether it be good or bad,

up or down, Your entire path of life is determined

by listening to God and following him, believing what he said,

saying what he said, and acting on what he said.

That will determine your course. Father, we thank you that

we in Christ can go from strength to strength, not

from weakness to weakness, but from strength to strengths.

We receive these.

Principles today, Lord, and we think you that we can

act on them and be doers of the word and

not hearers only. Hallelujah, Halleandia, praise you, Lord God. How

many with heads bowed, eyes closed, how many would say

with an uprais head, I want to believe to go

from strength to strength, more strength in my life, Holy Goo, strength,

go from strength to strainth not weakness to weakness, strength

to strengths. Holle, do you Father, you see all these hands.

We believe, Lord God. Well, we don't even have to believe.

We know as we apply these principles that we will

go from strength to strength. We will pass through Baka.

We'll make it a well. The rains will come, fill

it with pools, and we will go from strength to

strength and increase in victorious power. Now, Lord, as we

worship you with our tithes and offerings, we thank you,

Lord God, for the privilege the opportunity to give once

again into the Kingdom and into the Gospel. In Jesus' name. Amen,

we are singing a song as we receive the offering.

If you need no envelope, raise your hand. I want

to say that our missions project this month is Tim

and Ronda Taylor in India. And I don't know if

you know it or not, but India is under tremendous,

tremendous opposition to the Gospel right now. In fact, I

just received this as king yesterday from Open Doors and

it's got a quote here on the envelope. We will

wipe out Christianity in India the next three years. That's

what the Hindus are vowing to wipe it out, and

that's what Hindu extremists are vowing. It's become one of

the most heavily persecuted nations on the face of the earth.

Hindu nationalists have vow to eradicate Christianity in India by

twenty twenty one. They've got a new president or leader

there in India who's a devout Hindu and he doesn't

want Up until recently, India is fairly open to Christianity,

but now they're trying to drive out all missionaries, all

christian In fact, Tim and Ronda Taylor, who we support

her over there right now in Indian they're spreading video

Bible schools like wildfire, and it's going to have they

can when they got to leave, they can leave all

that behind.

And I shared that with you last week.

They got it on little thumb drives, entire schools, on

iPads and iPods and all kinds of MP three and everything,

and it's spread like wildfire. But we got an email

from Tim Taylor saying, hey, He said, we've got to

be super careful about our operation what we're doing. And

we were doing some search on the internet, trying to

cleanse our name from any mention of what we're doing

over here. We came across and a news release from

that you guys had put in the newspaper that's still

showing up on the Warsaw what's the Warsaw.

People Times Union?

Can you get that off of their We had to

call up there and say, could you get this off

of your web page? For their safety and their protection,

that's how bad it is. But praise God, they're over

there right now spreading the Gospel with this. So anything

you give over and above your tide the missions this

month market for India for the Taters, and we'll be

able to bless them. So Father, we thank you for

this privilege to give to the local church and give

to the spread of the gospel and a nation that's

suddenly become hostile we pray for India, Lord God, for

a great, great harvest of souls there. Lord God, we

pray that what the devil meant for harm gets turned

around for your good and for your glory. We bind

the devil, We bind this spirit of Hinduism that's trying

to come against the Gospel there. We pray for Tim

and Ronda Taylor's protection as they are over there now

that they're able to operate under the radar, so to speak,

and they're not found out, they're not captured or anything.

We just pray supernatural Psalm ninety one.

Protection for them. Thank you for listening.

We hope that you enjoy today's episode. Don't forget to.

Share and subscribe to this podcast for more. God bless

you all.