Sermon
Advancing God’s Mission with Unstoppable Faith!
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Oh, crossing family, I am so excited to be with you.
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I've been looking forward to this message since we put it on
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the calendar. However, before we jump into the
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message, there are a couple things I need to give you some
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updates about our upcoming weekend.
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We are partnering, as you guys have heard, with Riding High
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Ministries and during each of our services, we are going to
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have a wild horse that is going to go through a tremendous
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transformation. It will be like a service unlike
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any other. Because of that, there are a
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couple things I need all of you to know.
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One, this is the perfect weekend for you to invite somebody that
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you care about. I believe that this service will
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go down as the most memorable service in the history of our
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church. And so I've been asking you to
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be praying about who you're going to invite this week.
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I want you to make the ask #2 I need all of you who call
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yourself a Christian to come early and park far away.
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If you park close to our church and you don't have a handicap
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sticker, we're going to assume you don't know Jesus and I will
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be telling Jesus about your behavior.
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Please, this is a way for us to love people, and I need you to
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love people well #3. If possible, I would love for
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you to prioritize the Thursday services if your campus has one.
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And if you are a super Christian, be willing to sit in
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the overflow if your campus ends up needing one, which I actually
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hope they do #4 if you attend a service that is not 48th St.
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I need you to attend at your local campus. 48th St. cannot
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simply accommodate people driving in from our other
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locations. We are going to be losing
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seating because we're putting a round pin with a horse in our
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auditorium. So if you guys all drive in, it
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will make it almost impossible for the people at 48th St. to be
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able to minister to their friends and family that they're
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inviting. I've watched what he does online
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and on video and we are going to be adding technology and cameras
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to make the service as immersive as possible from wherever you're
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watching from. Now, I heard some people at 48th
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St. we're going. Well, you don't want us to
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attend. No, I want you to show up.
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I want you to be here and I want you to bring your friends.
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I'm just asking the people who attend our other locations,
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Please don't drive in. This is one of the ways that we
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love God and love our neighbor is by prioritizing attending at
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our physical location. Now I don't normally ask you to
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do this, but if you want, you can take out your phone and I'm
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I'm praying that 950 of you would be willing to join me in
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setting your alarm for 9:50 in the morning or 9:50 at night for
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the next 7 to 10 days to pray. I don't even want to say this
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number out loud because you know, but I'm praying for 9500
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people to be at our services on on Super Bowl weekend.
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I've been praying that for the whole month.
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And if you'd like to join me in the last 7 to 10 days and, and
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9:50 in the morning and at 9:50 at a night or one or the other,
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I would love to have 950 people praying at 9:50 for 9500 people.
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Now, I told you a couple weeks ago that when this weekend
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happens, I'm showing up like RIP from Yellowstone and I'm not
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messing around. OK, this is OK.
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All right. That's a that's a good looking
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man right there. Now, if he had a McDonald's at
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Yellowstone Ranch, this is what he would look like.
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OK, I am not. I cannot wait to show up.
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All right, Yeah, That is 100% what I'm wearing.
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And I, I've got aviator glasses. I am.
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I'm going to try. I'm going to try really hard to
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continue to be your pastor. But if you've never been to a
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rodeo, you want to go now Because when I put that outfit
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on, there's not going to be any wild animals left.
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Go quick, because I will. Yeah.
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Changed me all right now we are in a sermon series called There
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has to be a place. There has to be a place
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dedicated to helping people find an intimate personal
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relationship with Jesus Christ. And we have a crazy God sized
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dream to make this region where you and I do life in ministry
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the hardest place on planet earth to get to hell from.
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But in order to create that kind of place, we cannot create that
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place unless we createspace in our lives to become the people
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that God created us to become. So how do you and I create that
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space? We make space in our lives and
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for very specific purposes, and that's what we've been doing
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during this series. Because if we want to create
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that place, we must create the space for very specific things
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for you and I to do. For instance, week one we talked
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about how we need to make space in our lives to be committed to
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the Word of God. If we don't know the word of
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God, how can we be the people of God?
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And how can we tell people what God can do if we don't even know
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what God can do? No, we talked about we need to
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createspace in our lives to be reliant on prayer.
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We want to invite God into every aspect of our lives.
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We want to be a part of something so special, so
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significant that only God could have made it happen.
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I wrote at the top of my prayer thing this year.
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I've never had a prayer journal before, but I got a prayer
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journal this year. And at the very, the very first
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prayer is do it again God and do it again in US.
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Week 3, we talked about that we need to createspace in our lives
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to be dedicated to the mission of God, that we need to make
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space to serve our community and our church to help people find
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and experience what we have found and experienced in Jesus.
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And we realize that every single one of us has a gift and ability
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and God expects us to use it and he will reward us when we do.
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And then last week we talked about what it means to be a
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Christian and that God in His great mercy, has allowed you and
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I to participate in His mission, that we are His ambassadors.
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So that means that you and I have to createspace in our lives
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to help people find and live out an intimate personal
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relationship with Jesus Christ. Hear me clearly.
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We are either the focus of the mission or we are part of the
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mission. And there is no middle ground.
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You are either part of doing the reaching or you are the one
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being reached. We've been talking a lot about
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the spiritual spectrum. And when I put this up there,
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you know, some people get a little nervous.
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But everyone, everyone, everyone listen to my voice.
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Everybody you ever meet, everybody you ever lay eyes on,
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they are somewhere on the spiritual spectrum.
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And everyone on this spiritual spectrum is loved by God,
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created by God, has a gift from God, and matters to this church.
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And the goal of this series has not been so much about where are
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you on the spiritual spectrum, but committing to moving from
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left to right on the spiritual spectrum.
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How do you and I move from left to right?
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Through faith and obedience. Our faith will never outpace are
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obedience. They are connected, they move at
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the same speed. If you are struggling in your
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faith, it will manifest itself in your obedience.
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And the reason you and I need to move from left to right is
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because God calls us to it. The people you love need you to
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move in the direction of God and this region desperately needs
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people that are chasing after God.
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And as you look through scripture, it becomes very clear
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that there is a priority placed on those on the left side of the
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spiritual spectrum. Luke chapter 15 verse 7 says
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this. I tell you in the same way that
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there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one Sinner who
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repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to
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repent. Jesus himself stated later on in
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Luke chapter 19 verse 10 that his mission was to seek and save
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the lost and Jesus's last words before he ascended into heaven.
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You guys have heard me talk about these multiple times
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during this series. Matthew chapter 28 verses 18
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through 20. Then Jesus came to them and
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said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
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me. Therefore go and make disciples
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of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
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the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
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everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always
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to the very end of the age. You and I do not get to come up
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with our own mission. Jesus has all authority, and
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those who have given their lives over to Him are bound to be
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obedient to Him. Therefore, Christians must make
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Jesus's last words our first priority.
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And that is why I am so glad that all of you are here today,
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whether you're joining at one of our physical locations, whether
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you're watching online or you are part of our crossing inside
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family. I'm also so thankful to those of
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you who are new here, whether it is your first time or your first
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time in a long time. No matter where you are today on
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the spiritual spectrum, I need you to know you matter to God
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and you matter to us. I titled my message today, can't
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stop, won't stop. Then someone told me that I
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guess Miley Cyrus has a song titled that which I'll listen to
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that on the way home and see what that's all about.
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Turn to your neighbors, say can't stop.
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If you're watching on the chat, go ahead and type in won't,
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won't stop. If you're turn to your other
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neighbors, say won't stop. Turn back to your first
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neighbor, say can't stop. Turn to your other neighbor
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won't stop. Do it one more time.
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Can't stop. I'm going to try and get you to
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remember this sermon. I work too hard for you to
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forget them by the time you eat. In Acts chapter 1, Jesus ascends
Acts 1 chapter mention
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into heaven, tells his followers that they will be his witnesses,
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His testimony, his ambassadors in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,
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and eventually to the ends of the earth.
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That's true because you and I know about Jesus because of what
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happened all the way back in Jerusalem in Acts chapter 2.
Acts 2 chapter mention
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One chapter later, the Holy Spirit comes down and empowers
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the followers of Jesus and Peter goes out and he preaches the
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very first gospel message and the people get done here in the
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message and they say, what shall we do?
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And he says, repent and be baptized, everyone of you for
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the forgiveness of your sins, and you'll receive the gift of
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the Holy Spirit. And guess what?
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On that day, 3000, people believed his message and were
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baptized in Acts chapter 3. One chapter later, Peter and
Acts 3 chapter mention
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John, 2 followers of Jesus, are on their way to the temple to
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pray at 3:00 PM in the afternoon.
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As they got close they met a lame man, a person who could not
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walk, and he had been that way since his birth, and he was
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begging them for money. Peter and John looked at him and
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they said silver and gold we do not have, but what we do have we
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give to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
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Get up and walk. Peter reaches down, grabs him by
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the hand, pulls him to his feet and immediately he was healed.
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This healing drew such a large crowd that they gathered around
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him and Peter said, there's a large crowd here.
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You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to talk to all of
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these people about Jesus. So he preached a gospel message
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and when he was done, the authorities started to came and
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or came and they arrested Peter and John.
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However, not before so many people heard the message and
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responded to the message that the book of Acts in chapter 3
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records that at the end of the message the number of followers
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of Jesus went from 3000 to 5000. We pick up the story in Acts
Acts 4 chapter mention
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chapter 4. Here's what it says.
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The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and
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teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem.
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Anis, the high priest, was there, along with Caiaphas, John
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Alexander, and the other relatives of the high priest.
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They brought in the two disciples and demanded By what
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power or in whose name have you done this?
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Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers and
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elders of our people, are we being questioned today because
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we've done a good deed for a crippled man?
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Do you want to know how he was healed?
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Oh, I love it. He's setting them up.
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Here it comes. Let me clearly state to all of
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you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the
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powerful name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, the man you
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crucified but whom God raised from the dead.
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Let's keep going. For Jesus is the one referred to
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in the Scriptures where it says the stone you builders rejected
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has now become the cornerstone. Here's the Gospel message for
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you. There is salvation in no one
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else. Let me pause.
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No matter where you think you can get it, there's only one
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place you can get it. The only way that you and I get
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salvation is through what Jesus Christ did on our behalf on the
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cross and through the resurrection.
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Let's keep going. God has given no other name
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under heaven by which we must be saved.
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The members of the council were amazed when they saw the
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boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were
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ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures.
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They also recognize them as men who had been with Jesus.
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Pause. These men had created space in
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their lives to become the people that God created them to become.
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And because they had created space to spend time with Jesus,
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they created a place for people to find him like never before.
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But since they could see that the man who had been healed
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standing right there among them, there was nothing the council
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could say. So they ordered Peter and John
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out of the council chamber and conferred among themselves.
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What should we do with these men?
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They asked each other. We can't deny that they have
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performed a miraculous sign and everybody in Jerusalem knows
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about it, but to keep them from spreading their propaganda any
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further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus name
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again. So they called the apostles back
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in and commanded them never to speak or teach in the name of
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Jesus. But Peter and John replied, Do
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you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?
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We cannot stop. You know where I got the title
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of my message? Right there.
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The title of my message is can't stop.
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OK, six of you. God bless you.
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We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and are
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seen and heard. Crossing family.
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If I could have any prayer answered this year in our
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church, it would be that this year we can't stop, won't stop
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telling people about Jesus. It would be that this year we
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can't stop, won't stop praying to God for the lost in our
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region. It would be that this year we
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can't stop. We won't stop learning about God
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in His word. That this year we can't stop and
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we won't stop praying to God to do it again and to do it again
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in us. That this year we can't stop and
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we won't stop serving His mission.
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It would be that this year you and I would live a life where we
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can't stop and we won't stop pursuing Jesus with absolutely
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everything we have. In the Gospel of Luke Chapter 9,
Luke 9 chapter mention
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it records a story of Jesus gathering his followers and
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sending them out to go and to do his ministry work.
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Right before this He teaches them how to cast out demons.
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So he sends them out and his disciples are trying to cast out
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demons in the region. They encounter a demon possessed
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boy in Luke Chapter 9 and they can't drive the demon out.
Luke 9 chapter mention
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The father overcome with emotion.
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Can you imagine your child is trapped with a demon and you're
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wanting your the demon to leave your son and he goes to Jesus
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and he says, when the evil spirit seizes my son, it throws
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him down into convulsions, makes him foam at the mouth.
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And then he tells Jesus, I begged your followers, your
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disciples, your messengers to cast out the demon, but they
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could not do it. You have to go all the way to
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the Gospel of Mark Chapter 9 to hear when Jesus says, well, this
Mark 9 chapter mention
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kind of demon only gets cast out through prayer.
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And then Jesus casts out the demon.
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And Luke Chapter 9, the disciples are going out and they
Luke 9 chapter mention
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are trying to do a good work for God, but it's not going the way
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they had planned for it to go. So if you Fast forward to Luke
Luke 10 chapter mention
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chapter 10, it tells another story.
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Jesus gathers his disciples again and he sends them out, and
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this time he sends them out to accomplish his mission and to
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cast out demons. At this time in Luke chapter 10,
Luke 10 chapter mention
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when all of his followers come back, they are full of joy and
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they are saying even the demons submit to us in your name and
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Jesus says something really cool.
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At the end of this Luke chapter 10 verse 18, I saw Satan fall
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like lightning from heaven. Jesus is speaking figuratively
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here, but what He is saying to His followers is I see Satan
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being defeated. The Kingdom of God is expanding
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and the Kingdom of evil is shrinking.
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I saw you go out and you are accomplishing the work that I
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commissioned you to do and when you are doing it, I saw Satan
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fall like lightning. The disciples experienced
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hardship and defeat in Luke Chapter 9, but they can't stop,
Luke 9 chapter mention
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won't stop. And 1 chapter later Jesus says I
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saw Satan fall like lightning crossing family.
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I want God to say the same thing about.
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Our region this year where the crossing people were gathered,
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where the crossing people were being sent out, when the
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crossing people were spending time in the word, spending time
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praying, spending time serving the mission, spending time
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helping other people find what they have found in me, that I
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saw Satan fall like lightning. That is Jesus's way of saying
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we're going to make this region the hardest place on planet
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earth to get the hell from. I came today with a very simple
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message. Can't stop, won't stop.
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Hear me? There's some of you.
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I got a special message. There's some of you right now
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that are living in a Luke 9 reality.
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You're operating in Luke 9 moments, Luke 9 prayers, Luke
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nine seasons, but can't stop. Won't stop until you see and
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experience something in Luke chapter 10.
Luke 10 chapter mention
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In Luke Chapter 9, you're getting defeated.
Luke 9 chapter mention
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In Luke Chapter 9, you're punched in the gut.
Luke 9 chapter mention
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Chapter 9. Can't stop, Won't stop till I
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see Satan for like lightning in my family, in my home, in my
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workplace, in Luke chapter 10. I came to preach a message
Luke 10 chapter mention
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today. Can't stop, won't stop.
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I'll I'll preach you if you don't get it together.
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Can't stop. If you're in Luke Chapter 9, you
Luke 9 chapter mention
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can't stop. And yeah, let me tell you a
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story. 20 years ago, 20 years ago, there were cards at the
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steps at the crossing church, and somebody wrote four names on
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or five names on a card. And for 20 years, for 20 years,
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they prayed prayers. For 20 years, they lived in Luke
Luke 9 chapter mention
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Chapter 9. For 20 years, every time they
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opened up their wallet, there was the card, the names of
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people that they loved, the names of people they want to see
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get baptized into Christ day after day, week after week,
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month after month, year after year.
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Luke Chapter 9, These are the names.
Luke 9 chapter mention
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This is the card. It's his brothers and his mom
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and dad. For 20 years they lived in Luke
Luke 9 chapter mention
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Chapter 9, and this was the prayer that one day they would
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be baptized. After 16 years, one of the names
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on that card got baptized into Christ with his wife here at our
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church. For 19 1/2 years, he lived in
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Luke Chapter 9 until six months ago during our men's conference,
Luke 9 chapter mention
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his brother said it's time for me to get baptized.
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And he got baptized here at our church.
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And two weekends ago, surrounded by the two brothers that he
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prayed for for 16 years, the brother he prayed for 19 1/2
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years, his mom and dad, who he'd been praying for for 20 years,
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were baptized into Christ at this church.
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Say it with me. Can't stop, won't stop.
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Oh my goodness. For 16 years, it was Luke
Luke 9 chapter mention
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Chapter 9 for just a Luke 10 moment.
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Then it was 3 1/2 more years of Luke Chapter 9 for a Luke 10
Luke 9 chapter mention
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moment. But hear me, when you saw see
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Satan fall like lightning, when you see this region becoming the
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hardest place on planet earth to get the hell from, you can't
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stop. And we won't stop.
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It has been heartbreaking to watch the LA fires sweep through
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that region. Over 48,000 acres in the Los
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Angeles region have absolutely been decimated.
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In fact, I'm, I'm pleased to announce that today we sent
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$25,000 to churches to help them rebuild and help families.
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But do you know, yeah. Do you know where the safest
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place in LA County is right now? Do you know where the safest
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place is? Where the fire has already
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burned because the land can't burn twice.
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Stay with me. Because of God's love for you
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and me, Jesus gladly endured the fires of judgment on the cross
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of Calvary. And as followers of Jesus, you
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and I stand in the land where the fires have already been.
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But the flame could not touch us because there was nothing left
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to burn, because Jesus was burned on our behalf.
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And because Jesus fought the flames, you and I move from
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death to life and become a new creation in Him, serving the
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Lord God Almighty, who is eternally doing a new work in US
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and promising that one day He will make all things new because
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He went through the fire on our behalf.
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First Peter chapter 3 says Jesus suffered once for sins, the
1 Peter 3 chapter mention
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righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring you and I to
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God. The fires cannot burn us because
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they burned Jesus. Because Jesus walked through the
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fire of hell. The Lord promises that He will
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make a way for us to spend eternity in heaven with Him.
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As we continue to pray for the people in Los Angeles, may we
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thank the Lord Jesus for allowing you and I to stand
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where the fire has already been, on the land, on the Holy Land
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that was purchased in the blood of Jesus crossing family.
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We can't stop and we won't stop because we believe that God is
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real. We can't stop and we won't stop
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because we believe that Jesus is alive.
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We can't stop and we won't stop because we believe that the
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Bible is true. We can't stop and we won't stop
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because we believe God loves the whole world.
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We can't stop and we won't stop because we believe the debt has
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been paid. We can't stop, and we won't stop
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because we believe that there is hope for the hopeless, peace for
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the ancient, this healing for the broken.
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We can't stop and we won't stop because we believe that there is
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nobody, absolutely nobody, who is too far gone, who can outrun
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the love of God. We can't stop, and we won't stop
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because we believe that Luke chapter 10 comes right after
Luke 10 chapter mention
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Luke Chapter 9. We can't stop, and we won't stop
Luke 9 chapter mention
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crossing family until this region is the hardest place on
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planet earth to get to hell from.
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Would you help me out? We and we, we're moving to a
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time of decision. Those of you here are watching
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online who don't have an intimate personal relationship
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with Jesus Christ. Hell's coming for you, but it
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won't touch you. If you're in Christ, you can
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stand in the land where the fire has already burned.
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And this is my promise to you as a church.
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We will keep pointing, keep praying, keep giving you all the
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space you need until you find Jesus.
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Because I've already made-up my mind that I can't stop, and I
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won't stop until you experience everything that I've experienced
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in Him. And if you're here today and
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you've never started an intimate personal relationship with Jesus
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Christ, may you not stop until you do.
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And just a few moments, the people around you are going to
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stand and sing. Some of them are going to come
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to the steps and pray. And I want to encourage you to
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walk right over there underneath that screen and next to the
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baptistry and say, I got to get some things figured out.
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And I need to get it figured out right now.
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To those of you in the room who already have a relationship with
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Jesus Christ, if you've been sitting on the sidelines, if
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you're apathetic in your walk, lazy with your efforts, watching
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the glorious mission pass you by, I'm coming for you because I
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can't stop. And I won't stop until you
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participate in the mission that was purchased on your behalf.
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I refuse to let you have the love of God wash over you and
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not do your part to help it wash over other people.
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And I can't stop. And I won't stop until I make
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this the most uncomfortable hour of your life because I love you
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too much and we love the mission too much and we've been given
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too much. So maybe today you've been
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saying can't stop, won't stop. But it's time for you to start
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living it, doing something with it, being able to draw a really
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clear, short line between your life and your commitment to the
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gospel, to all of you in the room.
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I know that as I was preaching about Luke Chapter 9, and I was
Luke 9 chapter mention
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preaching about the family that has been getting saved here at
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our church, you were thinking of your own names.
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You were thinking of your own friends and your own family.
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And you're like, man, I can't wait.
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Well, I want you to know we're going to give you a chance.
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We've got cards up here and pens.
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And maybe today you start your journey of just writing down the
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people that you want to see come to faith in Jesus and you're
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signing yourself up. I'm going to start praying over
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these names. I'm going to invite these names.
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I'm going to love these names. I'm going to serve these names.
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And hear me, hear me, I didn't tell you a story about somebody
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who got serious about Jesus last week and prayed 2 prayers and
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their entire family got saved. That's not the story I told you
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today. If you're gone, I've seen him do
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it. But I specifically told you a
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story that was 20 years in the making because can't stop, won't
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stop. You don't need, can't stop,
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won't stop for three days. You don't need can't stop won't
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stop for 30 days. But you do need can't stop won't
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stop through a diagnosis. You need can't stop won't stop
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through a period of your teenagers wandering from the
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Lord. You need can't stop, won't stop
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for a prayer that you don't see come to fruition for five years,
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10 years, 20 years. But right now, you and I are
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going to make a decision. Am I going to have a can't stop,
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won't stop commitment to Christ? Am I going to have a can't stop,
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won't stop commitment to this region?
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Am I going to have a can't stop, won't stop commitment to people
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who are far from God? Well, this is our time and it's
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not about coming up with names on a card.
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A monkey can come up with names on a card.
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I'm asking you to be a person who does something about what
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you wrote on the card. We kind of can't stop, won't
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stop people that deep down inside I actually believe we
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want to be. And better than that, I actually
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think that's who God created us to be.
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So let's get it. Would you stand with me?
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There's so much purity right now in our hearts because we want to
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do everything you want us to do. And maybe one of the areas of
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your grace that I just missed too much is how perfectly aware
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of how fickle and weak we are. So would you pour concrete on
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our commitment? Would you put steel in our
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hearts and our commitment to your mission?
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Would you create in us a steadfastness in our walk?
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I guess I'm asking the same thing I ask every week.
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Would you do what only you can do in ways that only you can do
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it? Would you start a fire in this
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church that Satan can't put out? Name I pray.
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Amen.