The Reality Of The Resurrection

I do have a message for you and I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Hebrews, chapter one, in our live stream audience as well.

The Word of God is the only thing that and the Holy Spirit that's gonna get us past this crisis.

I said it's the only thing that's gonna get us past this crisis.

If you think that the social distancing and the masks and all of that behind closed doors, and all of the directives that we've been given, we're obeying them out of respect but not out of faith in them.

I mean, you know, I don't go to the grocery store and lick the handle bar of the cart.

Okay, I don't go out of my way.

I know Jesus protects me, but I don't go lay in the middle of the freeway and dare an 18-wheeler to run over me.

I use common sense.

You know, a lot of this could be common sense and we've been taken out of common sense by government decree.

I object to that.

I said I object to that and I believe the Bible.

We gotta get back to the Bible.

The biggest problem is that, you know, I contend that our nation has drifted away from the Bible, drifted away from truth.

The Bible is the truth.

And so let's look at Hebrews, chapter one.

Well, that's not a resurrection script.

Well, you know, it doesn't say resurrection in the verses, but it implies that Jesus rose from the dead.

We know that, don't?

We know that?

Is there a body in the tomb?

There's no body in the tomb.

Amen, the tomb is empty.

Let Hebrews, chapter one, verse one God, who, at various times and in diverse manners, spaking time passed unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, he made you and I.

He knows everything about us.

Who talking about Jesus being the brightness of his glory, the brightness of his father's glory?

That's Jesus.

You wanna know what God looks like?

Look at Jesus.

You wanna know what God does, what his will is?

Look at Jesus.

Look at the word of God.

God in his word, or one, and Jesus is the word.

So who being the brightness of God's glory, in the express image of God's person and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins?

Just think about it.

Purge means pruned, I mean he cut off every sin of humanity.

Nobody's going to hell because of the sin they committed.

There's only one reason they go, and that's because they fail to receive the free gift of righteousness, the free gift of salvation, through accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal savior.

That's the only reason people go to hell.

Hell was not created for man.

It was created for the devil and demon powers.

It breaks God's heart for people to choose.

You have to choose to go there, because every man, woman and child on the face of the earth will ultimately choose, and today could be your day to choose.

Will you receive him by faith when, by himself, he purged our sins, cut them off and he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels, as he hath, by inheritance, obtained a more excellent name than they?

Chapter two, verse 14.

As far as much, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, everybody say that's me, that's me.

See, we're the children of God.

If we're, by faith in Christ and we're flesh and blood, then he also himself took part of the same.

In other words, he became flesh and blood.

Jesus became flesh and blood when he was born of the virgin and that he threw death, that through death he might destroy him.

That hath the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Boy, that kinda looks like right now, doesn't it?

Lots and lots of people are bound by fear and panic.

What is the fear?

Is the fear of Corona?

No, really, behind all of it's the fear of death.

The fear of death is behind every sort of phobia.

I mean, there's a whole section of psychology and psychiatry that's dedicated to helping people with all kind of phobias.

Let me tell you something the greatest help you can get is have the devil canceled in your life and believe God's word.

I mean, really, all this ritual that we're going through, all this social distancing and all this don't touch your hands, don't touch your face and don't do this and don't do all of that is almost like germophobia.

I'm not saying we shouldn't do it at times, but don't trust in it.

I said don't trust.

That's what makes you safe.

You don't get out the blood app.

Have you got apps on your phone?

We have apps on our phone, all kinds of apps.

You know.

You plug into the app, you know and check it and it helps you do things Well.

Take out the blood app.

You know the blood of Jesus.

Glory to God.

It's delivered us, amen.

And so notice, he died to destroy the devil who had the power of death, and deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage For verily.

He took not on them the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

Again, he was a man, he had flesh and blood and wherefore, in all things, it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren.

He isn't it wonderful for Jesus to be called a brother?

Yes, I mean, he is so close.

He's like our older brother and his father is our father.

You know, when we say one nation under God, you know who God that God is, that God is the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that God for the Jew is the father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob hence our Judeo-Christian ethic and that God is not the God of everybody else in the world and every other religion in the world.

We're not all under the same God.

That's the problem in this nation.

We forgot who God is and we forgot who his son is, and we've certainly forgot what he did For today's a good day to get reacquainted and to be reminded.

In some cases I'm getting all excited up here.

I don't know, are y'all excited at all?

Are you just kind of and so used to being behind closed door?

You kind of don't know what to do.

You just go what?

You're looking around?

They're too close to me.

Look at those people over on the front row.

They're all too close.

That's my family over there.

They're all together.

They've been huddled in one spot for a long time.

Part of my family.

Praise God, all right.

So it behooved him to be like unto his brethren.

He might be a merciful and faithful high priest.

What is a high priest?

What is basically a good word for a representative?

God has Jesus represent him, god to us, to mankind, and man has Jesus to represent us to him.

For instance, when we sin, jesus points to his blood, which he took up to the mercy seat and he said father, my blood has been shed for them.

They've been made worthy because of my blood.

That's a good thing to keep in mind when you feel condemned and shamed.

And so he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people in that he himself has suffered, being tempted.

He is able to sucker or comfort them that are tempted.

Jesus has been through everything.

Another verse in Hebrews says he was tempted in all points, like as we are, and yet without sin.

He was tempted to fear but didn't enter into fear.

He was tempted to be sick, but he didn't get sick.

He was tempted in all points.

You think about any temptation.

Sometimes we think about sin as temptation, but sometimes temptation is just temptations.

Tests and trials, frustration, disappointment those are all temptations that we can either resist or enter into unforgiveness.

We're tempted sometimes not to forgive somebody because of the way that we've been treated.

Well, you know, the Bible demands that we forgive, so if he tells us to, then we can.

We can, and Jesus was tempted the same way.

What about Judas?

He was tempted not to forgive him.

You, rascal, you betrayed me.

No, he forgave him, but Judas didn't forgive himself.

Are you with me now?

All right, so, according to the Word, jesus is alive right now.

He's not just some figurehead, he's alive.

He's seated at the right hand of God.

He ever liveth to make intercession for us.

Don't you think his prayers for us hold any weight with God To hear some people way of thinking and they just think God sent this whole thing to test us.

Let me ask you something Are any of you parents out there?

Any of you parents?

Why don't you lift your hands?

See, we've got some parents here.

Would you do that to your children?

Would you make them sick to teach them a lesson?

Would you infect them on purpose?

Well, I'll tell you what you've been misbehaving.

Here's a little virus of flu.

You can suffer with that for a couple of weeks.

Here's some cancer.

Just deal with that, you'll learn something.

No, we wouldn't do that.

We'd be arrested for child abuse and that'd be right.

But no, I mean people.

They accuse God of being a child abuser.

And so he's seated at the father's right hand.

He's faithful as our representative.

The Bible says he's a faithful and merciful high priest.

He's merciful.

Why is he so merciful?

Because he's touched with the feelings of our weaknesses.

He had all the same ones.

He took upon himself this kind of flesh, this kind of blood and bone.

He took upon himself our humanity.

He went through life, yet without sin, praise God.

And he overcame all of that and wants to comfort us today and he wants to grant us mercy, and how is he going to comfort us?

Well, there's no comfort outside of God's Word and God's Holy Spirit.

I mean, when you cut yourself off from those two, then you cut yourself off from any supernatural comfort and what we need is supernatural.

In this entire country we are relying on all kinds of medicine and medical not saying throw it out.

I'm saying there's another dimension that's been missing on live stream.

It can't get out on live stream.

There's not a corresponding corporate anointing or presence of God.

On live stream.

We don't have worship, we're not getting together.

You know, the Bible says neglect, not the assembling of yourself together as puzzle pieces.

One version says, but so much the more as you see the day approaching.

In other words, what day do we see approach?

Jesus is coming.

I don't have a date for him, but he's coming.

He's coming soon.

I don't have a date, I'm not here to say a date.

I'm saying he's nearer than he was.

And so when we see that date and the reality that Jesus is coming, then the reality of the resurrection that's what I'm talking about today the reality Everybody say the reality of the resurrection.

As a nation and as the church, the way I see it, we've been talking about the reality of this virus, the reality of how it's transmitted, and the reality, reality, and most of it is theory, most of it is just somebody's opinion.

They really don't have any proof, much of anything.

In fact, there's no proof that what we're doing is going to help.

Oh, yes, but, but, but, yes, but the numbers are not as bad.

Well, I want you to know all of what we're doing, all of this work, this social distancing and and, and staying in our houses and not touching our hands and washing our hands 150 times a day and not touching our face, and all of those things.

I mean some of that's common sense, some of it's overkill, and that was factored into the models already, and so they still could have said oh, 240,000 Americans are going to die.

No, there is no way it's going to be that way.

I said this two weeks ago.

I pointed to the microphone on a live stream.

I wouldn't prophesy it, I declared it.

I said it won't be 240,000.

It won't be 100,000.

It won't be 50,000.

It won't even be 25,000.

It'll be less than the flu.

It's just the flu, it's another version of flu.

They didn't show it to call it the Wuhan flu, because then we wouldn't have taken it as seriously as we've taken it and we wouldn't have given up our rights like we have folks.

We've given up our rights.

You know, governments.

I like the last statement on our website, a statement on the COVID.

But it says on our website, and I believe this you know, governments can be corrupted and freedom not practiced as freedom stolen.

We have to practice our freedoms.

We have to, we have to allow ourselves to embrace our freedom.

Oh well, that was a good reason.

Well, what was it a good reason?

I don't know that it was.

There wasn't any debate about it.

There wasn't any alternative medical opinions expressed.

We've got at least one doctor that doesn't agree with it.

He went to medical schools, practiced for up to 10 years, and we have many others.

We have one that made a statement in our suit that doesn't agree.

So you know what I'm saying, pastor.

You're talking about politics.

I'm talking about the truth.

Now.

The truth, only the truth that you know and apply in your life can make you free.

Not just some concept of truth, but what we, what we believe enough to practice.

Are you with me now?

Jesus is the answer and it takes the word and his Holy spirit to do it Now.

In Hebrews 2 14, it says here.

It says that he took a part of our own flesh and blood, that through death he might destroy him.

That had the power of death, even the devil.

The devil destroy there does not mean that that the devil ceased to exist.

He did.

He still exists.

Demon powers exist.

There's angels, there's demons.

There's God, there's a devil.

A lot of Christians don't even want to talk about the devil.

They act like the devil's died.

Well, no, he's still alive, he's doing things.

That's what he's doing right now.

But Jesus, well, if Jesus destroyed him, then he's well.

Yeah, he destroyed him, but it's up to you to believe that and apply and act like that.

So the word destroy there let me give it to you.

You know he did that to destroy the devil and deliver those who all their lifetime were subject to the fear of death.

They were in bondage Sounds like the world today and that he might see.

The word might, might there's on our side, not his.

He did something and it's up to us to believe it.

Why do we believe it?

Cause we can see it.

No, faith doesn't believe what it can see, because you don't need faith to believe what.

You see.

Faith believes the unseen is a fact.

So, in spite of this, whatever it is, you can call it a pandemic.

I don't even you know.

It's worldwide.

It's taken a lot of lives.

In fact, the entire death rate all over the world is not 240,000, much less America.

So their numbers of their estimates were completely wrong and they're trying to say well, that's, that's just how models are.

What if that's how models are?

Let's not go by models, let's go by facts.

Let's go by facts.

Can we go by facts?

What's wrong with facts?

And so he delivered.

He might deliver, he might destroy.

You see, it's up to us to receive that.

It's up to us to act like that.

It's up to us to believe that.

And so he did everything he needed to do 2000 years ago.

There's nothing more he needs to do.

All we need to do is activate and walk in the reality of his resurrection, the reality of it.

Most of us believe in the concept of it, but do we believe?

See, believe is an action verb.

It requires corresponding action in order to be effective.

And so I want to give you a couple of other scriptural versions, different kinds of Bibles that gave a different interpretation of that verse about Jesus destroyed him.

That had the power of death.

He broke the grip of the devil.

He rendered inoperative.

Another one says he rendered the devil ineffectual, irrelevant.

It's not what they said.

The church was irrelevant Basically.

We're not essential, so we're irrelevant.

So get behind your doors, shut up.

You can have church online, but just otherwise, be quiet and don't say anything.

Well, I just couldn't take it anymore.

Did that 15 days.

We had to do something else.

Why?

Because of this right here, this right here.

This has to rule.

I said this has to rule.

I mean, didn't the disciples have the same thing?

They whipped them and beat them and said don't you dare teaching preaching that name?

Well, you know, if it's against the law, you look after it, but we cannot help but teaching preaching that name.

And they went back to their own company.

They assembled in a big old group and they prayed and the place shook.

I'll tell you the place is shaking and baking in here today.

He put an end to the devil.

He pair.

I like this one.

He paralyzed the devil.

He paralyzed the devil.

He dethroned the Lord of death.

Oh, I like that one.

Right there, the Lord of death has been dethroned.

So the resurrection is proof that we've got a right to be free from the bondage of fear and death.

But we have to enforce, we have to believe.

Our part is to believe.

He did it already.

Well, I can't see it.

This and, pastor, I know all that stuff's in the Bible, but I tell you I ain't.

I'm not in the habit of believing what I can't see.

I don't believe it unless I can see it.

That's all there is to it.

That's just how I roll.

I believe it when I see it.

Well, have you ever seen your brains?

All right.

So when Jesus rose from the dead, he found his disciples had self-quarantined.

I mean, they disappeared.

I mean, john hung around a little while with Mother Mary, you know.

But after the crucifixion he joined his brothers over there in an undisclosed location and they were not afraid of the COVID-19.

They were afraid of the Roman 33 AD.

They were.

They had a difficult time believing that Jesus rose from the dead.

They thought he was all over and Jesus told them.

He said I'm gonna see you later, I'm gonna go to Galilee, I'll meet you there.

I mean, it was like they never said it.

They spent three and a half years with the master.

They saw him touch the leper and make him clean.

Now, jesus didn't socially distance himself from disease.

He touched the leper.

In fact that's even against the Jewish religion.

They're not supposed to, they're not even supposed to be in public.

They're supposed to say unclean, unclean.

Everybody's supposed to scatter, socially distant, but Jesus didn't.

He didn't socially distance himself from the little woman who had the issue of blood.

She's unclean, but he, she touched him right on the hem of his garment.

Jesus just didn't pay too much attention to manmade rules.

He paid attention to seeking to save the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Are you with me now?

And so they had a difficult time.

And Jesus in Acts, chapter one, verse three, the Bible says that Jesus spent 40 more days with them after the resurrection.

And he showed himself alive by many infallible proofs.

Yes, yes, showed himself alive.

You'd think the first time they saw him after the resurrection, that would settle it.

Now you know they didn't believe.

Mary and the other Mary, mary Magdalene and the other Mary, went to the tomb.

They were gonna finish the job of anointing his body.

They didn't have time because that day, the day that Jesus died, was Passover.

It was Passover and so he became the Passover lamb.

He fulfilled all of the types and shadows.

He's the Passover lamb.

We just had Passover Wednesday night and Thursday, so that's like a Sabbath, in other words, you have to stop at sundown, a Passover, from working and you don't work for the whole next two days, and then the next after that was the Sabbath.

You don't work on that day, so by the time they could get back to the tomb, it was first day of the week, sunday morning, first day of the week.

That's why it took.

He was there three days and nights, but when they came back he was gone, baby, not there.

And the angel said he is risen.

As he said, I mean, even the Romans knew he was gonna race in the dead, because they put soldiers out there to keep the stone in place, to keep the disciples from stealing his body and making it look like he rose.

Except an angel came down.

And when the angel came down, he countenance was fierce like lightning and those keepers started shaking it.

They were the original Quakers right there.

They would be original ones.

And then they fell like dead men and then they left and they told their story and then it just the story died, just like today, there's a lot of stories that are dying.

We don't understand how politicians and government officials can lie like this.

Well, we've seen it, haven't we?

Are you like me?

Do you not trust just everybody, cause they say something?

I want some facts, folks.

Time to wake up church.

But here.

So Jesus, you'd think.

When he went after the Mary, they came back and said oh, he's risen, we saw him.

They didn't believe it.

John and Peter ran to the tomb and they looked in and sure enough, and they came back to tell the rest up and they didn't believe it.

So by the time Jesus showed up, he upgraded them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they didn't believe.

And then he stuck with him.

He's so merciful.

He could have said you know what?

I'm through with you.

I'm going to repeat this whole thing.

I'm going to come back again.

I'm going to find me up.

Some more disciples and her.

No, he stuck with those guys, I said.

He stuck with them All their faults and all their unbelief and all their doubts and all their fears.

And he stuck with them 40 days to make sure they had a good start and he declared to them the things concerning and taught them more perfectly the things concerning the kingdom of God.

They didn't understand what we're preaching here today.

They didn't have the Bible, they didn't have the New Testament.

Yet God gave them a little space.

He gave them a little, you know, a little room to learn.

We don't always know everything when we first start out.

Thank God, I've never quit going being a student.

In John, chapter 20, verses 30 and 31, it says here that many signs John said many signs that he in the presence of the disciples, many other signs that are not written here that he did.

John 20:30

Why would he do those in the presence of the disciples to prove himself alive?

Now let me ask you something If those disciples, 2000 years ago, needed that much proof of his resurrection, can we see?

Why, then, people nowadays doubt?

Can it be because, listen, we don't see Jesus, we don't see the empty tomb, we don't see anything?

But what we do have is we have the Bible, and I'm telling you, a lot of I went into this Bible.

A lot of people died to get us this Bible, and we have his Holy spirit.

And so, really and truly, we have no reason to doubt.

We have the witness, we have the testimony.

It's time to believe it and act on it.

Are you with me now?

So far, everybody say the reality of the resurrection.

See, that's the word.

The word gives us the reality.

Three quick realities that you probably already know, but we need to remind ourselves today.

Reality number one Jesus died for our sins.

I mean, that's exactly what Paul said.

He wasn't one of the original disciples but he started preaching and he had his Damascus road experience because he was hauling Christians off to jail.

And then he met Jesus face to face.

Most of us haven't met him face to face, but Paul did.

And he told the Corinthians, in chapter 15, first Corinthians 15, which is the resurrection chapter, he makes the case for the resurrection, how it's not optional in Christianity to believe that you either believe that or you're lost.

That's what he said.

And he said in verse three, for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures.

A lot of people don't know that they're trying to earn their way to heaven.

They're trying to be good.

They're trying to do this and do that.

They're trying to be a good neighbor.

They're trying to do the golden rule.

The golden rule won't save you.

The golden rule is not.

I mean it's.

We ought to do it, but that doesn't save you.

Jesus is the only one that can save you and he's already done it.

We have to receive it.

We need to receive it.

He bore our sins.

And then in first Peter, 2, 24, reality number two is in first Peter.

I want you to see.

That's all of that's past tense.

You know, paul said past tense, he died for our sins.

He was in our place, in other words.

And then in first Peter, chapter two, verse 24, it says here himself, for he bore our sins on his body on the tree, that we, being dead to sin, should live under righteousness.

Say, there it is again.

He died for our sins.

He bore them on the tree by whose stripes we were healed, and he's quoting Isaiah 53, that was prophesied of Jesus.

There again, jesus fulfilled all of the verses.

So at the same sacrifice for sin, he sacrificed himself for our sicknesses and diseases.

He literally bore them.

But as we were singing this morning, death could not hold him down.

Another way to say it sickness couldn't hold him down, cancer couldn't hold him down.

Coronavirus couldn't hold him down.

He came out of the grave.

The resurrection.

The reality of resurrection is we don't have to have COVID.

We might expose ourselves to it where we ought to get it, but we don't have to have it.

And if we get it, we certainly don't have to die from it and we certainly don't have to have the worst symptoms.

Well, you don't understand.

I've got certain things that I'm battling.

Well, let's get rid of those too.

While we're at it, let's get rid of the complicating factors like diabetes and COPD and all the other things they're talking about.

Can't do much about old age.

We'd like to all turn back the clock.

I'm turning back my clock every day, but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

No, my youth is renewed like the Eagles.

All right.

So the resurrection reality is that we're healed, passed in.

We don't have to beg him oh God, please take away this, the corona.

No, we rebuke it.

We have authority over it.

If we don't do something, it won't get done.

Jesus already did it all.

You want him to come back down here?

He's saying do I have to come back down there?

Did your mom ever tell you that?

Have I got to come to that back seat and straighten you all out back there in the back seat.

I know none of you have kids that fight in the back seat.

All right, so All right.

Reality number three, second Corinthians eight nine we all know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be rich.

Might.

What's the might?

The might is we have to believe it and appropriate it.

Might we have a part to play in it.

Well, I'm rich, I'm my family's not rich.

I don't, I'm not in it.

No, rich just doesn't mean a millionaire.

It means having an abundant supply.

It doesn't mean barely get a long boulevard at the corner of Lack Lane.

It doesn't mean starving.

We've got people in the society right now that are asking for help that have never before had to ask for help.

It's a shameful for them.

They feel shamed, they feel condemned that they're having to do this.

You know this is the answer.

The reality of the resurrection is Jesus wants to supply your need.

He, can I tell you, he knows where the coin is in the fish's mouth.

One time he owed taxes.

They were demanding taxes.

He told Peter, go fishing and get the coin out of the first fish's mouth and give it to him from your taxes and mine.

He still knows where the gold is, he knows where the silver, he knows where the opportunities are.

Praise God, come on, let's lift our hands right now.

The reality of the resurrection, the reality of the resurrection.

Glory to God.

Now I want to pray for people that need healing today, and I want to pray also for people who have the financial need today.

And then I want to begin by praying for Don Eifert.

Don, I trust you're watching from Sarasota Springs, new York.

Don heard about our church opening last week and she was rejoicing because she had prayed that churches would open for Easter and she considered our church opening for service as an answer to her prayer Isn't that precious?

Watched it on live stream and she asked if we would take a Palm Branch because last Sunday was Palm Sunday.

Well, we didn't get her communication in time to do this, so we're doing it today for you.

And she needs healing in her body.

So she said, would you just sprinkle the palm with holy water?

Well, you know I was raised Catholic dawn.

We did a lot of holy water back in my younger days.

But you know what, in other times, a lot of times, I've been known to just get up here and bless water and I've been known to just throw it like this as a prophetic act, consignifying the Holy Ghost falling.

So y'all forgive me if I be a little sloppy up here and I'm just gonna say, in Jesus' name, we're gonna put this water, let it be as the blood of Jesus, the life-giving water of the Holy Ghost.

And, father, I pray for dawn, I rebuke the sickness and disease that she's been plagued with.

We know now from this word that the reality of the resurrection is that she was healed and, father, I thank you.

Now she has the raw material of faith because she's heard this word preached in faith, coming by, hearing by the word of God.

And we, father, we declare dawn free, we declare her healed and whole, and when she gets this in the mail, it'll just be a confirmation and she can rejoice.

Let's all rejoice that she is healed.

She is healed.

Praise God, hallelujah.

I love the Holy Ghost and how he puts things together, amen.

Well, if you're here today and you want a prayer for your healing, we're not gonna have you come up, but we want you to stand where you are, stand right where you are.

And now the reality of the resurrection is that Jesus has already done everything that he needs to do for you to be healed.

All you need to do is receive it today.

And so when we pray, I'm not gonna pray.

Oh God, please heal them, because he's already done it.

See, that'd be kind of a silly prayer, wouldn't it?

Based on what we just got through seeing, a more appropriate prayer would be to rebuke the sickness and disease.

You know, jesus never prayed for the sick, he just rebuke the sickness.

I mean, he came up to Peter's mother, who she was laying down.

She had a fever and the Bible says he touched her.

There it is again he touched her and he rebuke the fever and it left and she got up and served him and all of his entombed.

You know, when Jesus showed up at your house, you had to serve all the disciples and at one time there were 70 of them.

That's a lot of folks that come to your house looking for iced tea and crumpets or whatever they serve.

Philophaled, yeah, philophaled, okay, and so so lift your.

You can touch if you will.

Now, if you can touch the party of body discreetly that you're having trouble with, you can touch that If you'd rather not touch that part of your body.

Just touch your arm and maybe you're having trouble in your teeth while they're telling us not to touch our face.

Okay, whatever, just touch your arm.

The touching part is just you just thinking about Jesus touching you.

Okay, just think about Jesus touching you.

We would have you come up and I would lay my hands on you.

Our life team members would lay our hands on you.

We're not doing that out of respect for the governor and it's directive.

So you touch yourself like this or wherever you're hurting.

And now we're gonna decree and declare say Jesus, you're my healer, father, you sent him to bear my sicknesses, my disease.

He carried my pains.

Therefore, I refuse to be sick, I resist disease and I banish pain from my body in Jesus' name, and now I give you praise.

I thank you.

Right now, come on, let's all join and thank God.

We declare you well and we declare you whole.

Now listen, I've done this all over the world.

I've had big crowds of people.

I couldn't lay hands on them.

I have them do something similar and I'm telling you, when I asked for testimonies, the altar would flood.

People would come up and say they had all kinds of asthma, they had breathing difficulties.

They had this, they had a knot, they had a growth, they had limbs that were hurting them.

I mean, people were healed, many were instant, but some of Jesus' miracles were not instant, like the man that was born blind and he didn't even ask to be healed.

Jesus saw him and he said he spit on the ground and made clay.

Just think of that.

Jesus spit on the ground.

That's not real kosher, is it?

I mean God, it's spit.

I mean doesn't that transfer disease and dirt, dirt and spit, you know, I mean that together looks like that would be really nasty.

And he anointed the man's eyes with this mess, this spit and mud, put it on his eyes and said go wash in the pool of salon.

And the guy was blind.

He left and he went blind, all the way to the pool, blind.

He wasn't healed instantly, was he?

He had to go.

What if he had not gone?

Well, he would have still been blind, blind all of his life.

And, as a matter of fact, he was later in the testimony.

It's a beggar.

Everybody knew him.

The Jews knew him because they had to give to him as part of their religion.

And he went to the pool of salon.

He washed that mud out of his eyes, came back seeing, and later on, because he said Jesus healed him, they kicked him out of the temple and then they kicked his parents out of the temple.

I tell you, religion hates Jesus.

Religion doesn't stand for what we stand for, even though they say God, listen, listen.

I'm telling you there's only one Jesus, there's only one Father God, there's only one way to him and that's through Jesus, amen.

So what I'm saying is keep the switch of faith turned on, just from the rest of the day, whether you feel any difference in your body or not, just thank Him Every time you think about this disease or pain or whatever it was that you wanted to help from.

Just thank God and it'll come to pass All right.

I wanna pray for everybody that needs finances.

You're in a financial bind right now.

I think that's most people, but not everybody.

If that's you, just stand up.

I wanna pray over you Live stream audience.

I pray you're participating with this.

Just stand up and if you're a man, get your wallet out and hold it up.

If you're a woman, just get your handbag.

See, I used to call them purses, but anyway, and nobody's blessed in here, I don't see it.

Let me get my night vision binoculars and let me scan.

Nobody is standing.

Oh, I get it.

You believe you're rich?

Okay, I got it, I got it, I got it.

Wow, what a novel idea to actually believe the Word.

I'm gonna pray anyway, because I know we have live stream watching.

Father, I lift my hand for all of those not just our church, but others that are watching that are having trouble financially.

Jesus, you were made poor that they might be rich.

My God shall supply all their need according to His riches and glory.

By Christ Jesus, father, we dispatch angels to go to the North, the South, the East, the West, and bring provision, bring opportunities to get back to work.

Thank you, father, that you're touching our leaders to get us back to work.

We wanna work, we don't wanna sit at home.

And, father, we thank you for great breakthroughs financially for the body of Christ.

In Jesus' name, everybody shout it amen, amen, hallelujah, glory to God.

Thank you, lord.

Now for the most important, as I wanna address those that are watching, as I wanna address those that perhaps you've never asked Jesus into your life.

That was me.

I was a Catholic.

I didn't know I needed to do that.

I was trained eight years by the nuns.

All through eighth grade, I thought being a Catholic meant salvation.

I thought, because I was a Catholic, if my good outweighed my bad, if I didn't commit a mortal sin sometime in between when I died, if I had a mismatch on Sunday, then I knew I'd go to hell.

If I didn't, I'd go to heaven.

When I got to being an adult, I didn't go to Mass, hardly at all.

So I kind of figured I was going to hell.

I mean, that was what I was taught.

I was taught that the Catholic Church was a one-true church chosen by God.

So everybody else I was just suspicious of.

But oh, I tell you, one day the good news came and I got saved and my life changed.

I had to receive him.

I had to ask him.

You know, jesus said in the book of Revelation.

He said behold, I stand at the door and I knock.

If any man open, I will come in and I will sup with him or I will eat with him and he with me.

In other words, the highest amount of fellowship in the Jewish tradition is meal time.

And Jesus is saying I'm gonna have intimacy with you, but you have to open the door to your heart, he will not open the door, he will not barge in.

You have to invite him in, and if you've never done that, I want you to stand up right where you are.

I want you to boldly stand.

And we're not playing a bunch of hymns, we're not making an atmosphere, we just want you right now.

Let's let this Easter be the true beginning of something brand new.

And when Easter happened, when Jesus rose from the dead, everything changed.

Everything can change you in your life with one decision, with one decision.

I don't see anybody standing.

Well, there may be people here that are backslip.

You were saved and you have lived as a Christian and you know that you're born again, but you haven't been living like it.

The Bible calls you a backslider.

That's someone that quit going to church, quit praying on a regular basis, quit fellowshiping with other Christians, quit reading their Bible.

You just kind of drift away and you just kind of start living like the world.

You get entertained by the world and the world is your major thought all day long and every day.

And Jesus is far.

Listen.

Now's the time to draw near.

I believe.

Millions of Americans are searching for salvation and millions of Christians are recommitting to the Lord.

This fear and panic has driven them to God.

I don't want fear and panic for you, but I want you to draw near to God.

He said draw near to me and I'll draw near to you.

Notice he doesn't draw near first.

You draw near, and if you're someone that you just need to commit your life fresh and new to God, you want him to forgive you and cleanse you and give you a new start.

If that's you, just stand up right where you are.

We'll pray for you this morning.

Anyone, anyone, just stand up.

Just stand up where you are and make it official.

Make it official.

Thank you.

Anyone else I know you're not the only one, sir, but I salute you.

There's another one back there.

Well, I'm embarrassed.

Well, listen, jesus always called his disciples publicly.

I remember where they said many people believed on Jesus in Jerusalem, but they didn't make themselves known because of fear.

Listen, that's weak.

That won't help you.

You need to boldly confess it, boldly confess it.

So I want you to do one more thing.

I want you to come forward and stand here.

You can still stay apart.

Just come and stand here, because I think it's active faith that will really mean a lot.

It says Jesus, I'm ready to serve you.

You're saying just face this direction, face me, because I'm gonna talk to you.

You're saying, by coming up here, goodbye world, hello Jesus.

This is a fresh commitment.

You were saved before.

You were saved before you were saved before, but this is a day of brand new beginnings.

It's like your honeymoon is gonna start over again and I believe that God is gonna open things up for you so that you aren't confused.

A lot of times, people fall away from Jesus because, well, the Bible is a big, thick book and we don't always understand it and we don't know how to read it and we don't know what to make of a lot of things.

And we hear this and we hear that, and we see this on YouTube, we see that on Facebook, and there's confusion.

Listen, you need a good church, and so that's the beginning of everything.

That was the beginning for me.

When I got in a good church, it changed my life.

Not only did I have a great pastor, but I had other people besides him, individuals that drew near to me and helped me and answered my question and put their arm around me and held me accountable and got me down the road.

You know, baby.

You can't just go off and leave the baby in the corner.

You gotta nurture that baby.

You gotta feed that baby.

You got to love that baby and whisper to that baby and calm its fears and all that.

That's what any Christian needs, kind of that way.

Spiritual life is growth.

So I want you to lift your hand to heaven now and everybody lift your hand with them and pray this prayer.

Say, oh God, mean it from your heart, say it out loud with your mouth.

Oh God, I know, without Jesus I'm lost.

Without Jesus I'll die and go to hell.

But oh God, I want to be saved.

I want to go to heaven.

Jesus, I believe you're the son of God.

I believe you died for my sins, but God raised you from the dead.

Come into my heart.

I open the door.

Please come in.

I want to be close to you again.

I want to serve you with all of my heart and I'm asking you to help me serve you.

I want you to be able to get out of my life.

You're not my Lord.

Jesus is my Lord.

Thank God, I'm saved.

I'm not trying to be saved, I'm not gonna be saved.

I want you to say it Jesus is my Lord and I am saved.

Amen, amen.

Come on, give them a hand clap.

Amen, amen.

I want to announce to you that all your sins are forgiven.

All your sins are forgiven.

There's not a record of one of them.

There's no memory anywhere, except in your head and in the devil's head.

But God doesn't remember a thing wrong that you've ever done.

He sees you through the eyes of love, through the eyes of mercy, and so we're gonna give you a card, a connection card.

Ask you to fill it out, and someone will contact you and pray with you and help you to take the next steps on how to serve God.

Okay, give them a hand clap as they go.

Here's a man who got the card for you.

Please fill it out and drop it off in the lobby as you leave.

Praise God, and that's awesome today.

Glory to God.

Thank you, lord.

Thank you, lord, for the harvest.

The harvest is ripe.