God Has A Plan | Joe Daniels | Faith Church

Well, isn't it good to be in God's house this

morning? We came in for prayer meeting and it

took me a little longer to get here than I thought

it would, so I kinda snuck in the back. And what

I heard was an awesome thing, pastor. I heard

men and women of God prayed in the Holy Spirit

interceding for what's gonna happen today. See,

every revival that was ever birthed, it was birthed

out of the spirit of prayer. We need revival.

We need revival. We need an awakening in our

cities. And so when you walk through the door

and you hear men and women of God praying in

the Holy Spirit, I was so excited. And I told

pastor, I'm excited to be in a Pentecostal church

this morning. Because let me tell you, I go almost

every Sunday to a different assembly of God church.

But this morning I was excited to be in a Pentecostal

church. And I pray that we get back to our roots.

I pray we get back to our roots. So what you

have here is special, I want you to know that.

What you have here is special, where the gifts

are in operation. Where, let me tell you, I grew

up in a Pentecostal church. And it's the Pentecostal

church is when I had my bad days, I could go

and I could find God, and my bad days can be

turned into good days. It's the Pentecostal church

is when I invited this A friend of mine that

I used to work with, his name was Lee. And we

called him Greasy at work. That's just what he

looked like. He was Greasy. And as you can tell,

I'm from the South. We might say things a little

different and maybe be a little, we're kind of

nice but mean at the same time. Y 'all know what

I'm talking about. We had a dude named Greasy.

Greasy, do smoke three, four packs a day. He'd

get off work and he'd get them that natural light

and the quart bottles and the brown bag and sometimes

he'd go with me fishing. Sometimes our church

had a lake and he'd sneak them quarts of beer

and his cigarettes into the boat and we'd be

out there fishing and he'd start drinking beer

at the Pentecostal church. I'm like, man, what

are you doing? But you know what I did? I got

there on that lake with him. That's around that

Pentecostal church and I just told him, this

ain't got good. You see this sunset. I called

him Lee, I didn't call him Greasy all the time.

But you see this sunset? God knew that me and

you would be fishing out here today. And he knew

we'd need to see this sunset. God knew me and

you were fishing out here today. He knew you

need to catch that largemouth bass. And oh, you're

gonna keep it? We usually throw them back, okay.

You're gonna keep the eight pound bass and fillet

it. Well, that's good for you, all right? But

I took Lee, he finally made it after years. I'm

talking about years. He made it inside that Pentecostal

church And he knelt down at an altar and he gave

his heart to Jesus Now it took years pastor years

of taking on fishing. I didn't get offended by

his beer drinking I didn't get offended by a

cigarette smoking But I just loved old him and

told him who Jesus was And then one day at work.

He just said I can't do it no more and he handed

me those cigarettes He said I need to get rid

of these See, God did something and it was through

the power of a Pentecostal church. And so I'm

so thankful this morning to be at a Pentecostal

church. And if you're in here and maybe your

first time to church, or you're new to this place,

I'm telling you, you are in the right place.

God, the Holy Spirit, drew you to this place,

and you are where you are supposed to be. And

if you'll turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter

three, we're gonna read verses one through 10,

and I'm excited to read this. God put this on

my heart about this story, this account, and

it's been on my heart for a couple weeks, and

so I'm excited to preach it. Now, can y 'all

help me preach this morning? Y 'all can help

me preach, because I am a southerner. This will

be the first time this Florida boy has ever preached

with the snow falling down outside. I don't know

what that means, if it means anything at all,

but I think it's pretty cool. But I like to hear

an amen once in a while. I like to have a little

help, because I'm just excited about what God's

gonna do. I preached this last night in my living

room. The power went out, so I had to light a

candle just to see. I could barely even read

my Bible, but I preached it last night. and I

was excited about it. Why, because I believe

the Holy Spirit wants to do something in this

church. I don't believe the Holy Spirit wants

to do something in your life today. Can somebody

say amen? Now I might fall off this thing because

I am energetic and I like to walk when I talk

and I like to, and so this, I don't know how

you do it, pastor, it's not a lot of room and

I am a lot bigger than you, so if I fall off,

just laugh at me and we'll just keep on going.

Somebody say amen. Amen, so Acts three, verse

one through 10. Now Peter and John went up together

to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of

prayer. Things happen when we pray, somebody

say, praise God. A man lame from birth was being

carried, whom people placed daily at the beautiful

gate of the temple to ask alms for those who

entered the temple. There's a lame man asking

for money, needed something in his life. Seeing

Peter and John about to go into the temple, he

asked for alms. Peter gazing at him with John

said, look at us. So we paid attention to them,

expecting to receive something from them. Then

Peter said, I have no silver and gold. Imagine

there was a little disappointment right there

in the moment he said, I have no silver and gold.

But I give you what I have. Back in my youth

pastor days, this one went out and said, look

at your neighbor and say, I give you what I have.

Oh, come on somebody, I give you what I have.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise

up and walk. He took them by the right hand and

he raised them up. What I love right there. If

we pause for a moment, he said, get up and walk,

and he didn't walk away from him. No, Peter and

John had some faith there. They put their hands

on him. They grabbed him by the hand and said,

no, you're gonna get up and walk in the name

of Jesus. That's how much we believe right now

the power of God is so real that the Holy Spirit

can do a work in your life that I'm literally

gonna pick you up by the hand and I'm gonna walk

with you. I think so many times we want miracles,

but we wanna see the miracle happen from the

pew. And we don't get out with the people that

actually need the miracle. We don't go lay hands

on the people that are sick anymore. I don't

know why we don't do that. We don't go to the

hospitals and pray for those that are in hospitals

and that are in those beds anymore. But Peter

and John, they put their faith in action. They

said, I'm gonna give you what I have. And not

only, I'm not just gonna say a little prayer,

and I've been guilty of it, too, just saying

a little prayer and moving on. I'm not gonna

say a little prayer and move on and not think

about you anymore. No, I'm gonna grab you by

the hand, and we're gonna see this thing through.

Just imagine if you started grabbing people by

the hand in your workplace. Pastor, just imagine

if these students start going to their schools

and they start grabbing people by the hand in

the lunchroom. Just think what happens, maybe.

God's called you to walk in the bar and start

snatching people out of those bars and bringing

them to this church where they can find deliverance.

Come on somebody. I think it's time that we start

going where the sinners are, that we start going

and finding the people that are lost, that we

start taking people and we raise them up by the

hand. And after he raised them up, immediately

his feet and ankles were strengthened. Jumping

up he stood and he walked and he entered the

temple with them walking and jumping and praising

God. The doing went, he didn't have no strength.

He was a beggar. He didn't have anything. His

life was not very important. His life was pretty

miserable. But when two men full of the Holy

Ghost showed up. They were able to reach down

and they were able to pick them up in the name

of Jesus, the name above every other name. He

was able to walk and they said he started jumping

up and down. Oh, that second song, that old Hillsong,

what was that? That second song, that old Hillsong

song you started doing. God is great. I was about

ready to do it. I wish I had brought my guitar

this morning and I would have played it with

you. I started singing that song and all my friends

were like, man, he's going to turn crazy. My

kids were like, what is going on? I was excited

because I remember that song from my youth. I

remember that song, God is great. When this praise

fills the earth, it fills the heavens. And I

sang that at the top of my lungs. You might have

saw it for a minute. I kind of wanted to jump

up and down a little bit. Why? Because I've just

been in that spot, the same spot as that beggar.

Where I was depressed. I was lonely. Instead

they, the other people, they picked him up and

just dropped him off at the gate. Just where

he could have something. And you may be in here

today and you make him physically walk, but spiritually

you're dead. Spiritually, you don't have no strength

inside of you to do anything else. But I pray

that we have a Peter and John moment here in

the next 20 minutes. That you can come down to

this altar that, you know, physically his ankles

wouldn't work. And you might have a physical

problem. We'll pray for that and believe God

to heal you. But spiritually, your spiritual

ankles just might not work and they need some

strength in them. And I pray that you have a

Peter and John moment. I pray that you jump up

and down a little bit, that you walk and praise

God. And we'll keep going. All the people saw

him walking and praising God. They knew that

it was he who set for arms at the beautiful gate

of the temple. Wouldn't it be wonderful to walk

into your workplace tomorrow and people see a

change in your life? Wouldn't it be awesome to

walk into your workplace tomorrow and they see

a miracle has happened in your life. And they

were filled with wonder and amazement at what

happened to him. See, when Jesus touches you,

there's wonder and amazement. Let's pray. Dear

Heavenly Father, we love you and we praise you.

And we thank you for this day, we thank you for

your word, and God, I pray right now. That is

not just me speaking, God, but Holy Spirit speak

through me. Well, God, I pray that every person's

heart in here be open to your word, that our

eyes be open to your word, that our ears be open,

that we can hear your word today. And God, if

we need a touch from you, we know that we can

get it today. And God, I pray if there's anyone

in here that they don't know you, if they're

lost or they never called on your name, that

today is the name that they call in the name

of Jesus, God. I pray if there's anyone in here

that they want to be empowered by your Holy Spirit,

that today is the day that they're empowered.

Today is the day they're filled with the Holy

Spirit. God, I pray that today is a day that

it starts a revival. God, I pray that today is

the day that miracles happen. So Lord, anoint

your word. Let it be used for your glory and

may we leave this place changed in Jesus' name,

amen. Amen. I believe we could go home after

that. You can never beat the scriptures, can

ya? You can never beat the word of God. We were

talking earlier with pastor and some, he was

sharing some stories about pastors and maybe

like some people have like, I would call them

bad, church growth strategies and things like

that. And you can read book after book after

church growth and you can get different ideas

and systems and different things and we need,

obviously we need systems and things in churches.

But the most important thing we need is the Holy

Spirit. And I think about book after book. that

comes out sometimes, and how to grow your church.

But when I see Peter and John, Peter was basically

the first pastor, right? How did they grow the

church? Well, they go find a man that can't walk.

They go find the least of the least, and they

pick him up. And they say, in the name of Jesus,

rise up and walk. But so many times we're just

worried about how things look or how things feel

and we're not We're not dealing with the we're

not going to work to those people that need Jesus

the most See Peter said I give what I have What

a way to live your life What a way to live your

life I give what I have are we giving what we

have when we go to Walmart Are we given what

we have when we go to work tomorrow morning?

Are we given what we have, young people, when

we're going to school tomorrow? Are you given

what you have? See, Peter and John didn't have

what the beggar was begging for. I want us to

pay attention for that for a moment. Peter and

John did not have what this man was begging for.

The man needed some money. And there's going

to be times in your life people are going to

come through this church and they're going to

beg. We were at Carlinville at the district office

and a lady come in begging. And I made a mistake,

I shouldn't have opened the door. That was my

fault. But I opened the door and I couldn't give

her the financial things that she needed. But

we can always pray with somebody. There's gonna

be times, thank God you're giving food. Now you're

giving food, what a wonderful thing. Hey, if

the government can't get it right, let's hope

the church can. I don't think y 'all heard me.

I said if the government can't get it right.

Well, maybe we can at least get it together in

the church. Praise God, brother. It should come

from the church to start with. God gives us the

means and the abilities. If you read in the New

Testament, Peter and John, those guys, they were

coming together and they were selling what they

had to make sure everybody else was taken care

of. Let's take care of the single moms. Let's

take care of the children that don't have no

parents. Let's take care of the people that are

hungry. We don't know why they're in that place.

And so many times we wanna look and judge why

they're in the situation they're in. Fill their

belly up with some food and tell them about Jesus.

Because if you fill them up with food and you

fill them full of the Holy Spirit, guess what

they're gonna wanna do? They're gonna wanna replicate

that. And they're gonna be disciples that are

made and they're gonna do the same things. See

Peter and John didn't always have what the beggar

was begging for, but they had what the beggar

needed. They had what he needed. There might

be alcoholics that start coming to this church

because they hear something good is going on.

They think they need alcohol. They think there

might be drug addicts coming to this church and

they think they need another fix. And you're

not gonna have alcohol to give them, you're not

gonna have drugs to give them, but you're gonna

have Jesus to give them. And I know that sounds

so simple, but it's so powerful. The beggar,

he was just begging for, I need money, I need

money, I need money. I can't do anything, my

life is a wreck. I don't have money. I don't

have the silver and gold, but I give you what

I have. See, we have exactly what Lincoln needs.

This church has exactly what Lincoln needs. I'm

gonna say it again, I don't think y 'all are

getting it. This church has exactly what Lincoln

needs. Because like I told you earlier, when

I walked in and I heard people praying in the

Holy Spirit, I said, oh, this is something special.

Why? This is what's going to change the community.

There are people in this community that are dying

and they're going to hell. Well, I pray that

you're able to go into these communities, you're

able to bring the alcoholics and the drug addicts

in here, the lost people in here, and you give

them what they need. See if we live our lives

in such a manner of being close to the Holy Spirit

and hearing his voice we can give people what

they need And what happens and when you have

what people need you're able to take authority

over the situation See Peter takes authority

over the situation See receiving alms receiving

the money was just a band -aid to this guy's

problem The guy had a problem he couldn't walk

he couldn't work he wasn't able to receive any

kind of Funds, right? He had a problem. Giving

them a little money, it would help them for the

day. But what Peter and John gave him, it helped

them for the rest of his life. And not only that,

when they did that, they were able to preach

and they were able to teach and they were able

to share what happened and who did it. Church

basically went from 3 ,000 to 5 ,000 after they

took a man by the hand and said, rise up and

walk. See, I think God wants his people to push

back the darkness. God wants his people to push

back the darkness. That's the great thing about

this church. I'm sure there's some dark stuff

that goes on in this city. There's some dark

stuff that goes on in this state. We already

see the federal government, they can't get it

together. The local government, sometimes they

can't get it together. But guess what happens?

When the church is the church. When the church

finds the beggars, when the church finds the

lowlies and says, they take them up by the hand

and rise upon the wall, Jesus is glorified, Jesus

is magnified, and the light is shined. See, what

darkness can never penetrate the light. You can

see it talks about that a lot. I'm gonna do it

today. Because last night that power wind was

blowing, it was crazy, I'd never seen anything

like it. We have hurricanes, but we also have

pine trees and stuff to block the wind. It's

like all the corn's gone, so that wind's just

flowing through Carlinville. And I don't know,

I guess something blew on a power line, because

about every 10 minutes it would flicker. Oh,

we're gonna get power back in and it wouldn't

come back on. So what did I do in a dark house

with the power out? I went and got a lighter.

And I found a candle, because my wife likes candles,

right? She likes things to smell pretty. She

doesn't do it for the light, but she likes things

to smell pretty. I don't smell pretty, so we

have to have candles. Hey, y 'all laughing at

my jokes, this is gonna be a good day. But I

got that candle. I got that candle out and I

lit that wick of the candle. And that wick burned

and that candle started to melt. And you know

what I did? I grabbed it and I walked around

the house with it. It lit my path. The moment

that candle was lit, that darkness, it went away.

And guess what I could do with that candle? I

could light more candles. I could light candle

after candle after candle. And if I wanted to

with that candle, I could set the whole place

on fire and everybody could see it. But just

think if every one of us in here, if we let the

Holy Spirit light that candle inside of us, and

then we go to work and we light somebody else's

candle. We go to we go to a family reunion and

we like somebody else's candle we go to Walmart

and instead of going through the self -checkout

line We go through the line where there's the

clerk and you can see on her face She's having

a bad day and she doesn't want to check you out.

She sees your book I'm gonna say buggy, but she

sees your buggy full of groceries. You don't

know what that is Okay, we're good in she sees

your buggy full of groceries and she's like,

oh, I don't wanna check you out, but by the end

of it, when you've shared what Jesus has done

in your life, when you shared about the goodness

of God, may I pray that there's tears start going

down her face, why? Because that woman needs

a touch from the Lord, and so many times we're

trying to avoid people, but God, and it's so

easy to avoid the beggar, Peter and John could

have avoided him, but they didn't avoid him,

they picked him up by the hand and said, in the

name of Jesus, it's time for you to get up. But

are we doing it with the people that we know?

Are we even doing it with our family members

that we love? Are we telling them, get out of

your pity party, get rid of the sin in your life,

rise up and walk into who God has called you

to be? See, signs and wonders will follow his

believers. I love that one of y 'all said that

this morning as we're ending prayer, that I pray

this service ends with signs and wonders. Signs

and wonders follows his believers. Miracles happen

at the hands of obedience of Peter. Miracles

can happen at the obedience of you right here

in Lincoln. Sometimes it seems like Peter can

be a larger than life character. But just a few

months earlier, Peter felt like the biggest failure

on the planet. That will speak to some of you.

That speaks to me because sometimes I feel like

a failure. Sometimes I feel like I let God down.

Sometimes I feel like I don't do what he's called

me to do. And just a few months earlier, before

Peter was raising up a man, performing a miracle,

he felt that way. Peter was someone that walked

and he talked with Jesus. He was very close to

Jesus and he loved Jesus very much. He loved

Jesus so much that when Jesus was getting arrested,

that he went and Peter grabbed the sword and

he cut the dude's ear off. He's like, you ain't

messing with Jesus. But Jesus told him, you know,

in the last supper, in the last and final moments

when they're together, he's like, Peter, you

say you love me, but you're gonna deny me three

times. And Peter's like, no, I'm not gonna deny

you, not me. I can never deny you, Jesus. There's

no way on earth that is gonna happen. And he

was ready to fight. And in that one moment, he

was ready to fight. He loses his purpose in the

next moment. When they say, hey, Peter, hey,

I know you. You're the one that you walk with,

Jesus. You run with that guy. That's who you

run with. That's who you walk with. And Peter's

like, that ain't me. Not me. I don't know that

dude. That's not who I am. I'm not one of those

guys. Three times he says it and Three times

he said and the third time Jesus said well the

rooster's gonna crow before the end of the night

And can you imagine that in the same night? He

pulls out a sword cuts off the guy's ear But

then he turns around says I don't know him He

lost his purpose And I think sometimes some of

us we lose our purpose And I'm not here to give

you some TED talk about purpose or some self

-help book I'm here to talk about your Holy Spirit,

your purpose that is given to you by the divine,

holy, and righteous God. We hear a lot about

purpose. I was listening to a podcast this week,

it was a comedian, and they're interviewing Tim

Tebow, and I think it was something like, he

was saying like, there's like three fifths of

Americans right now, they feel like they don't

have a purpose in life. They don't have a purpose.

You know why? It's because they don't have the

gospel. The gospel gives you purpose. Your work

doesn't necessarily give you purpose, right?

Your truck or your car doesn't necessarily give

you purpose. Your house doesn't give you purpose.

What gives you purpose? It's the gospel. See,

Peter was the man, the Peter, the man we see

performing a miracle in front of the same people

that... Excuse me, let me slow it down. Peter

is performing a miracle right here and he's performing

it in front of the same people that had Jesus

crucified. But that God that was so powerful,

so full of faith, so full of the Holy Spirit,

he lost his purpose and was full of shame. Peter

was a man that was called a God. Jesus called

him and said, hey, come follow me. Jesus right

now is saying to you, man and woman in here,

young person here, God's saying, hey, come follow

me. Jesus also called him to be a fisher of men.

And then Jesus did something really spectacular

in his life. He said, Peter, you're gonna be

the rock. I'm gonna use you, Peter, to build

this church, to establish the church. Peter knew

the calling of God on his life. And some of you

in here, you may know the calling of God on your

life and you've been running from it. Or some

of you in here, you know, you've felt the presence

of God, you've called on His name. But you've

maybe denied Peter, I mean you denied Jesus like

Peter has. And you might be going on your third

time. But I believe God sent me here today to

preach, maybe to wake you up a little bit. Maybe

for the Holy Spirit to do something in your life,

see. Peter got scared when he was called out

for being a follower of Jesus. Peter knew that

he was called of God, and despite all of that,

he lost his purpose. Sometimes even as pastors

and teachers and missionaries, sometimes we can

lose our purpose. We can take our eyes off of

what God has called us to do. Sometimes it's

easier than it even should be. But thank God

that our God is a God full of grace, that he's

a redeeming God, and he doesn't just let you

sit in your self -pity. See, when Peter denied

Jesus, they said he went and wept bitterly. He

went from sore ready to weeping bitterly when

he realized what he'd done. See in that moment,

it didn't seem like Peter was the rock that God

had called him to be There's some of you in here

I believe it like God has called you to do some

things and you messed up or you haven't been

living right or you haven't been doing what God's

called you and Peter at that moment wasn't doing

what God had called him to do He didn't seem

like the rock that he was supposed to be Peter

had one of the worst nights a disciple of Jesus

could have let's just be honest What a horrible

night But thank God a bad night doesn't define

who you are in Christ. I'm gonna say that again.

Thank God that a bad night does not define who

you are in Christ. We're dealing that with people

in our leadership on the island, and I'm having

to tell me that bad night doesn't define you.

Was it stupid? Yes. Was it wrong? Yes. But that

doesn't change the call that God has placed on

your heart. You have to repent, you have to move

on from it, you have to hand it over to God and

say, God, I shouldn't have done this, but it

does not define who you are. And I think so many

times we let one mistake define who we are when

we literally serve a God that died on a cross

for us to wipe that mistake away. See, we look

at our mistake and we don't look at the cross.

If I can tell you, church, stop looking at your

mistakes and start looking at the cross. I said,

stop looking at your mistakes and start looking

at the cross where the Son of Man came and He

died and He bled for you. And He died on the

cross for your sin and your shame. And they put

Him in a grave. But what happened on the third

day? He rose again. So you don't have to look

at your mistakes, but you get to look at a living

God. I said, you don't have to look at your mistakes,

but you get to look at a living God. And you

can ask that living God to enter into your heart,

to enter into your life, and say, I'm going to

serve you with everything that I have. See, the

guilt of what Peter done was probably unbearable.

And you may be in here today and you lost your

purpose. And you feel like you haven't been as

close to God as you need to be. Or you feel like

maybe you've wandered away and you haven't prayed

or read your Bible lately. Or you've been going

to the bars on the weekend instead of maybe coming

to church like you're supposed to. Maybe you've

become a denier. Maybe you're someone that's

living in shame. But Jesus didn't die on the

cross for you to live in shame. Jesus died on

the cross that you can live for his name. I think

so many times we forget that. There's the purpose

right here. If you don't take anything else from

this service, you don't take anything else from

this message that you are called to live for

his name. That's why God breathed life into you.

And if you're breathing this air right now, If

your lungs still have air in them, God bring

that life into you, and that's where you can

pray, for you to praise him, for you to glorify

him. Yours for to live, for the name of Jesus.

And that's why we did this worship, and that's

why I got a little excited to jump up and down

when you started playing that song. Why? Because

God created me for something special. He created

me to worship a holy and almighty God. Sometimes

I forget, but I don't realize, I get to worship

the creator of the universe. I get to worship

a God that is holy and a God that loves and a

God that saves. Sin is on this earth, it's present

on this earth, and sin, it does separate us from

God. But God said, even though that sin separates

us, I'm still gonna send my son Jesus. See, we're

called to live for his name. See, you may have

lost your purpose, but our God is a God of revival,

pastor. You might have grew up going to Lake

Williamson, going to youth camp, and you might

have seen God is great, and his praise fills

the air. You might have jumped up and down a

little bit. You might remember that song when

you were at youth camp. But the last few years,

you've just been getting by. Sunday morning and

Wednesday night's just been a routine for you.

but God is a God of revival. I pray when you

take those students to momentum, there's revival

stirred up in them. See our God is a God of revival.

This week I started playing the song, The Wonderful

Blood, I don't know if y 'all, if you might've

heard that song, y 'all might play it here. And

as that song was playing, I just had to start

praying in the Holy Ghost. And I was praying

and I was praying, I was getting louder and louder,

the house was empty. And at one point I got to

praying so loud. It's like them college students

might hear me. Derek might run over from his

house. He'd probably join me, praise God. I love

that kid. What an anointing man of God he is.

And I'm so thankful for him. He would've helped

me pray. We're so excited. Hey, the church is

gonna be in good shape with people like him.

The church ain't gonna die. We ain't gonna have

to close our doors because we have people like

Derek and young men and young women answering

the call of God. They're believing, they say,

hey, there is a God given purpose for my life.

When I was praying, I prayed and I got to the

point I couldn't even stand up and pray anymore,

Pastor. I just laid on the floor praying in tongues.

Why? Because I needed a God to touch my life.

I just needed to be one with the Holy Spirit

before I preach this message. I needed to be

one with the Holy Spirit before I'm a father

to my kids, before I'm a husband to my wife.

Sometimes I fell on that, but when I can get

in the Holy Spirit, when I can pray, His grace

is sufficient. He's a God of revival. I needed

revival in my life this week. Thank God I was

able to pray. Thank God the Holy Spirit was able

to touch my life where I can come preach to you

this week. I don't want to be up here not full

of the Holy Spirit. See, God is a God of revival.

So I pray that this church has revival, pastor.

I pray that you people in these pews, that y

'all have revival, and that the revival, that

you're already in a spirit of revival, I can

sense it, I feel it, God's doing amazing things,

and I pray that that spirit of revival continues,

where you can awaken that city out there. I pray

that the spirit of revival continues, that you

awaken that city, and that your young people

get it. that they go into their schools, that

the children's church, the kids there, they get

it and they go in their schools and they tell

their teachers about it. They tell their friends

about it. They invite them to church and they

say, hey, crazy things are happening at my church.

Miracles happen at my church. People that we've

never thought we would see walk in the halls

of a church. They're now in church and when the

pastor says, come up front, they're raising their

hands and worship. That's revival. I pray that

there's a revival that awakens this city and

that it moves through this state. Because God,

we need somebody to do it. And if y 'all don't

do it, who's gonna do it? So many times we, especially

growing up in the 90s, that was a little revival

time, and churches would go from, people would

go from one church to the other, and they were

a revival hop. And they would go from church

to church to church, because there was a spirit

of revival there. Quit running around to other

churches and bring revival to your church. Bring

revival to your community. There's people out

there that need it. But too many times we're

running around chasing things. When we don't

have to chase this, they're in the word of God.

Let me tell you, you don't have to go anywhere

else. You don't have to try out another church.

This is the church for you. Why? Because the

Holy Spirit's in this church, and your pastors

are annoyed, and that's all you need. You may

be in here today, and you're hearing about this

purpose. You're talking about a revival, but

you may have Never found your purpose. And today

can be a day of awakening for you. Today can

be a day of salvation for you. See, Peter probably

thought he was done, but God had great plans.

You could have walked in here today and you're

like, this might be the last time I come to church.

You could have came in here today and you're

driving in your car and you're like, I think

I might be done with my marriage. You can come

here today and you think, I don't know if I can

handle life anymore. Peter was in that same spot

and he was done, but God still had great plans

for his life. See, he was not finished with Peter,

but he was just actually getting started. Oh,

God's just getting started here. I heard you

said you added more seats in, where I praise

God you're going to be adding more seats. Let's

just speak to it. I praise God that we're going

to be adding more seats. I hope one day you're

running two services. Why? Because people are

on fire for the things of God, that people can

come to this house, they can come to this place,

and they can find Jesus. They can find hope.

They can find peace. They can find love. You

see, God has brought you to this place, church

members, to be a part of it. God has brought

you here because let me tell you something when

revival happens When people are coming off the

streets that are drug addicts and alcoholics

They need people to pray with them and they don't

need no little like Oh Lord, just bless them.

No, they need a woman that's full of the Holy

Ghost. I Remember y 'all remember the beehive

hair who remembers those days. I'm from the south.

It may have been a southern thing. I don't know.

Oh But it was something when she we say she got

the Holy Ghost and she prayed her hair down What

did that mean? That mean she interceded, and

she wasn't leaving that place till she heard

from God. She wasn't leaving that place till

she was touched. I'm not saying I'd grow beehive

hair back out, but I'm saying I wouldn't mind

some old lady full of the Holy Ghost praying

for me every once in a while. I don't mind some

old man full of the Holy Ghost praying for me

every once in a while. That's where life change

happens. See Peter was he thought he was done,

but he was just getting started Some of you might

have walked through those doors today. He said

I'm done But if you'll listen to this preacher

for a moment that God's not through with you.

He's just getting started See, I hope that God

is just getting started for me. I was thinking

last night You know, I've been in the ministry

almost 20 years. I might not look it I know I

look kind of young but I have I remember it started

at 16 years old with World Rangers I gave me

my own class because nobody else to step up to

the plate. What a shame When I was 16 years old,

I had Roller Rangers by myself. And there were

about 10 boys in there. Sometimes it was chaos.

But we preached Jesus. 18 years old, I started

teaching Sunday school to the middle school boys

and girls. That was fun. That was when Harry

Potter was popular and everybody wanted to argue

about that. And I'm like, man, I don't care.

Let's just preach Jesus. Started preaching from

a pulpit at the age of 18, answered the call

to missions at the age of 20. We've seen young

people taking them to youth camp and fine arts.

Seen them baptizing the Holy Spirit, now we see

them serving in churches. We got to go to Curaçao

with the Southerners, many of y 'all know them,

we got to plant a church together. We've seen

12 people at a prayer meeting. One Sunday they

had over 200 people for a worship night. And

the numbers are good, but what's better than

the numbers, we also see people that would come

in our church and they would sit there for months.

I'm talking months. We had one lady, her kids

got saved, the second week they brought on, praise

God for that. Six months later, she came down

to the front and said, I'm ready to give my heart

to the Lord. Amen, yeah, we can praise God for

that. I think so many times we want this instant.

Success. We want our church to double overnight.

It doesn't necessarily always happen that way.

But we didn't put no pressure on that lady. All

we did was love on her. We loved on her. We didn't

judge her. And guess what happened? She heard

the gospel preach for six months straight. And

she surrendered her heart to Jesus. A few months

ago, we baptized eight people in the Caribbean

Sea. Come on, God's doing something. God is doing

something, and we don't shy away from who we

are. We have liberal Presbyterians come to our

church. They're our number one evangelists. They

invite more people to our church than anybody

else. They don't agree with everything we do.

Do I back down from it? Absolutely not. But do

I love her? I absolutely do. Does she feel loved?

She absolutely does, or she wouldn't come. I

guess you can come on to play, that way y 'all

shut up. I pray God's just getting started with

your pastors. I know they've been here for a

little while, but man, the life that they have.

The vision, thank you pastor for just having

a vision. You wouldn't believe the churches we

go to, there's no vision, there's no man, the

mission's on the wall. Somebody say amen. It's

clear what your church is here to do. I love

what your priority is. It is people, come on.

That's what God has called us to do. See, he

was just getting started. Peter was called to

be the rock, and after Jesus descended into heaven,

there was around 120 believers that were gathered

together waiting for the promise to be empowered.

We are a Pentecostal church, come on somebody.

120 people stay together. See, God gave Peter

a purpose, and he was going to empower him to

accomplish that purpose. Whether you're the youngest

person in this room or the oldest person in this

room, God has given you a purpose and he wants

to empower you to accomplish it. God's not going

to send you to the workplace to be a witness

without empowering you to do it. He's not going

to call you to preach the word to the students

without empowering you to do it. God's not going

to call you to go on missions trips without empowering

you to do it. It's what God wants to do big and

scary sometimes. It absolutely is. But the good

thing about it is He's going to empower us to

do it. So if He's given you a big dream, He will

empower you. He will give you the means and the

resources for you to see that dream fulfilled.

I pray that God gives you big dreams. I pray

that God gives you big visions. God is going

to empower you to do His work. Peter was weak

in his own flesh. He's been weak here before.

You don't have to raise your hand, but you may

feel weak today. See, I'm weak when I try to

do it my own way. Let me tell you, I can't do

it my own way. When I do it my own way, that's

when everything seems to fall apart and it looks

like a disaster. But when Peter received power

from Almighty God, he was able to step up to

the plate. Peter was able to do what God had

always called him to do. Peter was able to be

that rock. Peter was able to be that pastor,

but it didn't happen until he received the power

from the Holy Spirit. They went and they waited.

There's 120 people after Jesus ascended. They

went and they waited and they prayed. Actually,

the ministry really didn't truly start till they

were empowered. And so many times we just want

to run out the door and go, no, no, no. We do

want to send you out those doors. We want to

send you out ready to take on hell with a water

pistol. But we don't want to do it until you're

empowered. So today is your day to be empowered.

Look at your neighbor and say, today is my day

to be empowered. Those people were praying they

knew that God had a plan and a purpose for in

their life God told Jesus told him that as he

was going up to heaven. He gave him the Great

Commission And as they were praying the Holy

Spirit fell on Peter and the other believers

They said it was like a mighty wind and just

rushed through that building and the Holy Spirit

fell on them And they received the Holy Spirit

and they spoke in other tongues as the Holy Spirit

empowered them to do it And what I want to say

about that, while we speak in tongues, it isn't

just for us to feel good. And in Pentecostal,

I'm glad we're excited. Don't get me wrong. But

we're not looking for an emotional experience

here today. We're looking to be empowered. Why?

Because there are people in Lincoln that will

die and go to hell unless you tell them about

them, unless you share the gospel. There are

young people in this church that need to be discipled.

And I know y 'all do a good job because I see

Derek every Tuesday night when he eats my food,

and he tells me, hey, I'm preaching the word

of God now. Come on, somebody. But we don't just

need one, Derek. We need 20 of them. I hope your

church is sending student after student after

student to that place to get discipled. See,

the Holy Spirit empowered them. I can't imagine

what that sounded like. I can't imagine what

it was like when that wind swept through there.

But Peter just a few months earlier said, I don't

know Jesus. Second time, no, I don't know him.

The third time, he even cussed about it. It might

not even have been a PG word. It might have been

bad. He cussed about it. He said, I don't know

the man. And then he went and wept bitterly.

But when he was empowered by the Holy Ghost,

He stood up and he preached like no one has ever

preached before. Oh, I don't think you get it.

I said he preached like no one ever preached

before. See, you may be in here today and you

think you're inadequate. You may be in here today

and you don't think you have the abilities to

be a witness. Peter was someone that was a denier,

but the heater ran away and he was ashamed. But

God showed up in his life and he did it one more

time. If God did it for Peter, he can do it for

you. See that Holy Spirit baptism was not just

for the New Testament church. We are the New

Testament church. And I don't know why we get

that confused sometimes. We are the New Testament

church and that promise to empower is for us.

It's for you. So everyone stand up with me. Oh,

I can't wait for revival to break out in Lincoln.

I can't wait for revival to break out in Illinois.

But it has to start somewhere. Oh, I hope it's

with your students. I hope the night is a night

just full of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit,

empower Peter. And 3 ,000 people were saved.

You mean the man that denied Jesus that was a

scaredy cat, that was a wuss? Someone that we

lost respect for? Yes, God restored the man.

And he was the rock that he called him to be.

God doesn't break his promises. And his promise

is to empower his people. So if you call on the

name of Jesus, you can be baptized in the Holy

Spirit. See, if we can believe the Holy Spirit

can draw us to Jesus, why don't we believe Jesus

can baptize us in the Holy Spirit? Three thousand

were saved. He goes to the temple and he gives

the man what he has. Took him by the hand and

he walked. Did this miracle in front of the people

that tried to kill that had Jesus killed Here's

what's crazy thing to happen And we might need

to get ready for this. I just don't know because

the government is a little wack right now We

might just need to be prepared for it When they

healed the man they preached Jesus They gave

him an opportunity to preach Jesus. You might

not be a great preacher like pastor But I pray

that you do have the ability to lay hands on

somebody and they're healed. And you get to share

the gospel. You get to share why they're healed.

Peter and John, they shared what happened. They

said, we do this in the name of Jesus, the guy

that you had killed. And what did they do? They

locked him up. Oh, I almost fell. I told you

it was coming. They locked him up. They took

Peter. They took John and locked him up. And

it basically says, we don't know what to do with

them. Oh man, I hope that one day the newspaper

and the political leaders of this county and

this city of Lincoln say, we don't know what

to do with those guys. But we gotta send a traffic

cop out here on Sunday mornings to make sure

people can get in. Oh come on somebody, why not

have a big faith? Why not have a big vision?

I pray that school calls you one day, we don't

know what to do, but your students are speaking

some unknown language, and there's about 20 of

them laying out on the floor. Oklahoma, why not

dream that? All we know is that football player

that his ACL was torn, that ninth grader prayed

for him, and they started speaking his unknown

language, and that guy got up and he was able

to walk, and he said his ACL was repaired, and

he's gonna go play football Friday night. Why

not? He is capable of it. But it takes someone

like Peter and John willing to take them by the

hand and sink it up and walk. The Holy Ghost

is in this place. He locked them up. You see,

once Peter was empowered by the Holy Spirit,

he was able to be the man that Jesus had called

him to be. Are you ready to be? who Jesus has

called you to be. Let's just close our eyes for

a moment. If you're praying to the Holy Ghost,

pray to the Holy Ghost. I think God's wanting

to do something in this house. You want to ask

the question again, are you ready to be who Jesus

has called you to be? Young man, are you ready?

Young man, are you ready to answer the call of

God on your life and say I'm ready to preach

the word at my school I'm ready to answer the

call to be a pastor one day. I'm ready to answer

the call to be a missionary one day I'm ready

to answer the call to be a small group leader.

Is that you young man young lady? Are you ready

to answer the call to be on the worship team?

Young lady, are you ready to answer the call

to preach the gospel? You mean I can preach the

gospel too? Yeah, because the Word of God says

the daughter shall prophesy. That means to declare

a message. Come on somebody. Young lady, are

you ready to answer the call? Mom and dad, I

got a question for you. Are you ready to be the

mom and dad that God has called you to be? You

might not have been the best mom and dad in recent

years. Peter wasn't the best disciple either,

but look what happened. Mom and dad, are you

ready to answer the call? Grandma and grandpa,

are you ready to answer the call? Are you ready

to be who Jesus wants you to be? So I'm about

to give two altar calls. The first one is, if

you never called on the name Jesus, and you're

ready to say, I'm ready to call on his name,

I'm ready to find that purpose, This is not a

revival moment. This is an awakening moment.

This is a salvation moment We're about to have

the revival moment But if you're in here you

see I'm ready to call in the name of Jesus I'm

ready to be saved because there's no other name

that can save but the name of Jesus Is that you

where you walk down right now? Yes in front of

everybody because Jesus says if you deny him

in front of his friends He'll deny you in front

of the father. So this is not to embarrass anybody

But this is to rejoice that a soul is being added

into the kingdom of heaven. So we're gonna think

about 10 seconds if that's you. You're ready

to call on the name of Jesus. You're ready to

say today's the day I wanna be saved. Today's

the day I wanna give, surrender my life to Christ

when you come forward. Dear Lord, I pray if there's

anybody in here as I pray that they'll come forward.

Oh may the day be the day of salvation. But we

want to trust that everybody in here is saved.

So this comes in the next part of this altar

call. I know it's snowing outside and I think

it's awesome. But I think I'm about ready for

the fire to fall inside of this place. If you're

in here today and you're ready for revival. And

I'm not just talking about a church -wide thing

where we all come up here and speak in tongues.

No, I'm talking about something inside of your

heart where you know that you have not been living

right, or you know that you haven't been doing

exactly what God has called you to do. If you're

ready for revival, will you come down to this

altar right now? If you're ready for revival,

if you're ready to see your family, I pray that

the wind blows through this place. Now when they

were empowered by the Holy Spirit, they spoke

in other tongues. If you're in it today and you've

not received the Holy Spirit, today can be the

day. And they spoke in other tongues as the Spirit

gave utterance, as the Spirit empowered. So I

want you guys to trust right now that the Holy

Spirit is going to empower you. And I want you

to pray out loud. And as the Holy Spirit gives

you the words to pray, it's going to see foreign

to you. But I want you to pray in other tongues.

Can we do that? I believe God wants to do that

in this place. Dear Heavenly Father, I will start

singing right now, God, we seek you. Oh we seek

you. Oh God we come to you in the mighty name

of Jesus. We come to you in the name that is

greater than any other name. In Jesus we know

about this baptism, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

And dear God in your word we know that Jesus

is the baptizer. So God I pray right now that

you baptize young ladies in the Holy Spirit.

That you baptize young men in the Holy Spirit.

And God that you will just put a spirit of revival

on this church. That you'll put a spirit of revival

in this house. Oh let's lift them up church.

Let's start giving them praise. If you're ready

for that revival. God I pray that the people

in these pews that they find the purpose in their

life. That God they might once been like a Peter.

They may once be the nine. God I pray for the

young man that's running away. That he surrenders

his heart to you God. I pray for the young lady.

I pray for the couple that married. is about

to break. They're gonna pray that your healing

and revival is in that marriage. Oh, let's pray

in the Holy Spirit Church.