The Power of The Word of God!

Family service. We are blessed to have our one and only youth Pastor,

Kim Streebeck to bring the word shit. Come on up, Kim Ki.

Kim is warmed up first service, and so now anything she didn't like that

she said or didn't get to say, she gets. You get like almost

like forty five minutes this time instead of isn't it hard to cram everything in

in that first time? I feel like an auctioneer when I'm up there at

nine. Yeah, it's very hard. Yes, Oh is this close enough?

You were saying this? Yes? There you go. Okay, Okay,

sorry, y'all, technical difficulties. You're good? Is that better because

I won't be as quiet as time? We're good? Carry? Okay?

Awesome, all right. So if y'all would extend your hands towards Kim,

Lord, I thank you for Kim, Lord. I thank you for the

way she fights for people. Thank you for her tenacity. I thank you

for her love for you and for others. Father, I thank you for

the way that she loves the youth, praise for the youth, longs to

see them set on fire. For you, Lord, I just asked that

you would speak through her this morning. Lord, that you would release everything

on your heart. Lord, she has the authority to teach and to do

what you've called her to do this morning. And Jesus Mighty Name, Amen,

thank you, Justin, thank you, thank you, thank you.

And I said at first service, and I'm saying it again because there's more

of y'all here that we have amazing pastors. I want to tell y'all because

not everybody sees what I get to see, because there's so much they do

that nobody sees. And I feel honored that I get to see some of

that. I know, their stuff I don't even see, but they are

tireless in their efforts to serve this body in the community, the Mercygate,

and it is truly inspiring. And I'm really really thankful to have you guys

as leaders because it's caused me to grow and my love for people because I

need it. I need to and you guys love people better than most leaders

that I've met. So I'm just honored to be a part of what you're

doing. And we all love you very very very much. We're very grateful.

Yeah, even grateful for Justin's jokes. Okay, inspiring, I how

to all right? That last one was good. All right, I'm gonna

pray real quick myself, if y'all don't mind. He prayed for me own

right too. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. It is all about you.

It is all about you. You are the reason we are here. You

are the reason we sing. For some of us, You are the reason

we are alive. Right now, Any victory that we have in our lives

is because of you. Anything great that we do is because of you.

Right now, I just surrender all of my human effort. I surrender all

of it, and I just humble myself before you Lord to do whatever you

want to do, to say whatever you want to say. You know,

I don't take this lightly. God, you are so holy and I am

just your daughter. Help me to talk about you in a way that is

the truth. I pray for every heart that's hearing. I pray for the

ears and the eyes of the people that they would be enlightened by your word

today, that it would go and produce good fruit. I just pray that

we'd be open to hear from you. I just thank you Jesus so much,

and Jesus, amen amen. If I get to quiet, I don't

think I will, but y'all, somebody let me know. Okay. I

don't think I am, though, I think I'm louder this time. Okay,

Okay, this is so weird. I've never done two services before.

First service, I was pretty quiet. Maybe I was tired, I don't

know, but I feel like the Lord is maybe I wanted to do something.

Lord, why something a little different? Maybe similar but different. I

guess that happens because it's a different group of people. But so, this

is my first time doing this. So I asked y'all for grace because I've

never done two services before. I want to talk to y'all still about the

Word. That's why I talked in for service. So I want to talk

to y'all about the Word of God. And first I just want to share

with you kind of where I'm at. I don't want to talk too long

about myself. But I have been doing this challenge, this Bible reading challenge,

and there's people in this room that are doing it along with me.

Raise your hand if you're doing the thirty day Shred. Anybody in here got

too awesome? Awesome. Some people started after first service. Okay, So

so I've been doing that for about twelve days or so, and you read

like two hours of the Bible a day. It's pretty crazy. You also

can listen. I'm not here to give you all the details, but it

is transforming me. There's a scripture here that says, talking about husbands,

love your wives. This part as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up

for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing

of water with the Word, so that he might present the Church to himself

in splendor, without spot or wrinkler or any such thing, that she might

be holy and without blemish, cleansed her by the washing of the water with

the Word. That is what I'm experiencing. There is a cleansing that is

taking place as I read the Word of God. Most days I have found

myself at some point on the ground, going, God, you are so

holy, and what am I? What am I? Without you? I'm

getting so realigned and rearranged inside. And I'm in second Chronicles Old Testament.

And I've read the Bible for twenty years. I've read the Bible, but

I am seeing things in ways I have never seen them, Because, as

y'all know, the Word is alive right. It's living. It's a living,

breathing being. Because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word

was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in

the beginning, Jesus was the Word made flesh that dwelt among us. And

this word is life. And when we have this word sitting here and we're

not in the word, and we're not having a relationship with the Word and

abiding in the word, it's the book. But when we open it up

with hearts hungry to hear from him, it is life. It is life.

I'm just hang on, I'm thinking, I'm praying, really okay,

Timothy says, For we have the living Word of God, which is full

of energy, like a two mouths sword. It will even penetrate to the

very core of our being, where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meat.

It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts.

There is not one person that can hide their thoughts from God. For nothing

that we do remains a secret, and nothing created is concealed, but everything

is exposed and defenseless before His eyes, to whom we must render an account.

So then we must cling and face to all we know to be true,

and how will we know what is true if we have not read That's

my part. I'm saying that how will we know, how will we know

what to clean to if we have not read the word that is life.

You know, I spend a lot of time in this word, especially when

my kids were little, and I know that doesn't kind of that really doesn't

make sense, because how did you do that? I was a stay home

mom, but I looked forward to their nap times every single day, and

during that time, I would pour myself into the Word. I would fill

up my heart and my mind with the word. And then when they didn't

have nap time anymore, I did it. I made them have a quiet

time so that I have one right. And there have been many seasons where

I said it down and I've stepped away, and I've wrestled, and I've

wrestled or I've gotten distracted or whatever. I have wrestled with my faith so

much, especially in the past maybe six years, back and forth, back

and forth. And what I find is, I can't live on the word

from yesterday. I this is like that's old bread, It's stale. This

is when you read it, this is fresh bread. Jesus said, it

is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word

that comes from the mouth of God. That is why we should daily be

eating this word, be chewing it, digesting it slowly, sometimes quickly,

depending on seasons, but getting that word as our nourishment. And I have

not always done that, even as a minister of the Word of God.

God. Even as a minister, I read my word very often. But

when you start reading it a couple hours a day, You're like, oh

no, there's so much more to be had here. There's so much more

food. There's such a feast. When I was maybe getting snacks, sometimes

there's such a feast, and it's so alive, and it is washing.

It is washing my mind. There are things that I wanted that I don't

want anymore. There are things that I was drawn to that I'm not drawn

to anymore. And part of it is because I have this goal of reading

so much every day, so I don't have time for it, which is

great, but also it just doesn't feed me like the word feeds me.

And now I can feel the difference. I can feel it. There's a

different effect. And it is so funny because how often have we gotten into

our word it's so so so good. We get drawn away, we get

eaten something else, a different meal, and we think it's so good,

and we forget about that meal that was so like the like the Israelites forgot

about how God fed him in the wilderness with the manna, that was like

so good. They forget after a while. And it's so much a goal

of the enemy to keep us from getting into this word for ourselves. It

is so much a goal because it is a live Let me read all this.

Oh no, I read that part see first service, second service.

I get confused. So I'm gonna oh yeah, okay, I'm good.

I'm a divert real quick. One of the things about reading the Word right

now is I'm reading the Old Testament. It's bloody. It is so bloody.

And Jane, we were just talking about this. She's like, it's

dark, it is, but I have been on my knees. Oh,

just so grateful, so grateful to God because as y'all or maybe you don't

know, when the children were in the wilderness, it Israelites were in the

wilderness, and God was at Mount Sinai. He told Moses, have them

come to the mountain, and they said, oh no, no, no,

no, we can't Moses, you go for us. They didn't want

to hear for themselves his voice. They were terrified. You guys, our

God is a consuming fire. Do y'all know that when we see him we

will not be able to stand. We will not be able to stand.

And one of the things that has captivated me this past couple of weeks is

the fear of the Lord. He is mighty, and he destroys his enemies,

he destroys them. And some of that it's hard to understand reading the

Old Testament if you don't have a full picture of the story. It's a

it's a full picture of history when you look from beginning to end. What

I'm trying to get this out is hard to But what has made me hit

my niece so much is the fact that that now where the children of Israel

were trembling, and they did not want to hear God's voice. And and

and also if you know about the Tabernacle, the tabernacle, the cleansing that

had to take place in order for the priests to go into the Holy of

Holies, I mean, the list was so long. I'm thinking if anybody

struggles with like attention deficit disorders or you know, they are maybe struggle with

like instructions like me, you're dead, You're just dead. You're just like

Bam God. Because one thing that would be wrong in this preparation of going

into the Holy of Holies and you're done. They actually tied a rope around

the leg of the high priest just in case, just in case he wasn't

cleansed enough to go in there, so they could pull him out because they

didn't want to go in and get him, because they priyed I too,

And what has made me hit my knees. I'm just gonna read the scripture

a second, just a second, let me get it. Since then we

have a great high Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son

of God. Let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have

a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who

is in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us, then, with confidence, draw near to the throne of Grace,

that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in our time of

need. Hang on, therefore, brothers, let me back up where there

is forgiveness of these there is no longer any offering for sin. Okay,

therefore, brother since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood

of Jesus, you guys, that holy place we have confidence to enter.

Oh my goodness, this gets me by the new and living way that He

opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh. And

since we have a great high priest over the House of God, let us

draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith. With our hearts

sprinkle clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who

promised is faithful, you guys. One, it says that from the foundations

of the earth, he chose us. He chose us, and in Christ

we are now holy and blameless without fault. Before the foundations of the earth,

that's before you even knew he existed. What Moses had to put a

veil over his face because of the glory that would reflect off of him after

he spent time with God. That people were scared of that. And yet

we are invited. We don't have to have a veil. We don't have

there's no veil between us and God. Do we understand what Jesus has done.

I'm not saying I do, but I'm saying I have a little glimpse

of it, and it makes me go, oh, my gosh, oh

Jesus. I can't say anything but Jesus, because I didn't do anything to

deserve this place, and I made light of it. I have made light

of it. I have made light of the word. I have sometimes tried

to make the word say what I wanted to say. But our God is

holy, he is mighty, His word is alive. I don't need to

add anything to this. I don't know that we understand, y'all. There's

pages and pages and pages of rules and regulations of sacrifices and exactly what the

sacrifice needed to be and exactly how it needed to be killed, and how

the blood needed to be splattered, and what part of it the fat and

the There's so much and we do not have to do that, Thank you

Jesus. And you. We don't have to get all clean before we come

to him and say God, please help me. We get to talk to

him as a friend whoa we have bold access through the blood of Jesus.

So that's where I've been, and I've known that in my mind, and

I've read pieces here and there. But let me tell you, immersing myself

in scripture is taking me to a whole other level. And I know we

don't all have time for two hours a day, okay, And I'm not

saying I'm able to do it every day. But what I'm saying is the

Lord is saying we need to get in our words. We need to get

in his word. We need to let his word breathe on us, because

it is his breath. And the words of the Lord are flawless, like

silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. My son,

be attentive to my words. Incline your ear to my sayings. Let them

not escape from your sight, keep them within your heart, for they are

life to those that find them, and healing to all their flesh. There's

people in here that need healing, and you're going to find it in the

word You're Some of you are going to find it when hands are laid on

you. Some of you are going to find it when you hear scripture.

It might be when you read it out loud. It might be today because

I'm going to be reading it to you. It might be when you're sitting

there with the Lord and you're reading the word and you're letting him speak to

you through it. Psalm one of seven to twenty. He sent out his

word and healed them, He rescued them from the grave. Hang on,

there's a scripture. I've put it out of place. Okay, I can't

find it, but that's okay. It says his word will not return void,

that it will send out that which he has accomplished it to do.

His word will not return void. Oh there, it's right there. So

is my word that goes out from my mouth, bes Isaiah fifty five.

It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and

achieve the purpose for which I scent it. John six sixty three. The

spirit gives life. The flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken

to you, they are full of spirit and life. That's what this is.

Full of spirit and life. God has transmitted his very substance into every

scripture. For it is God breathed. It will empower you by its instruction

and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you

deeper into the path of Godliness. Then you will be God's servant, fully

mature and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you. That's two Timothy

three sixteen. Give me just a minute. Thank you Jesus. I have

realized something that I was actually down on the floor thinking after first service.

I was like, Oh, I'm not feeling very confident right now. Lord,

I am realizing how rich his word is and how unrich mine are.

His word is so rich, and but so often when I have gotten the

opportunity to come up here, I really do lean a lot on my abilities

to be able to speak. And I feel like there is a stripping away

for me that he is really talking to me about the fear of the Lord

versus the fear of man. I have been so encumbered by the fear of

man. I've been so like the thing you said about fear. Was it

you that just said that earlier about fear. No, you did the boat

and this fear in my mind, and the enemy uses that to keep us

from speaking the truth. And I have been somebody that has not felt free

and open to speak the truth of the Word of God totally, because I've

been so afraid of how people will react and how they will think. And

I knew today that I was gonna do something a little different because I'm going

to read the Word for a few minutes and some of y'all might not like

that. And I was really scared today getting up here, especially for service.

I'm a little better now, but if that's what God tells me to

do, I'm gonna do it, and I'm not gonna apologize. So I

want to read this because I think this doesn't just apply to me. I

think it probably applies to some of you out there, and I think it

will be helpful when you're thinking of the fear of man. Paul said this

in One Corinthians Two, My brothers and sisters, when I first came to

proclaimed you the secrets of God, I refused to come as an expert,

trying to impress you with my eloquent speech and lofty wisdom. For while I

was with you, I was determined to be consumed with one topic, Jesus

the crucified Messiah. I stood before you, feeling inadequate, filled with reverence

for God and trembling under the sense of the importance of my words. The

message I preached and how I preached It was not an attempt to sway you

with persuasive arguments, but to prove to you the almighty power of God's Holy

Spirit. For God intended that your faith not be established on man's wisdom,

but by trusting in His almighty power. This is not about my wisdom right

now, because compared to him, I've got none. Any wisdom that I'm

speaking is because He is giving it to me. So, Hi, Hi,

all you kids, by the way, I see some of the kids

out there, Okay, So I'm gonna read some of the Word to you,

okay, and I here's my goal. I am gonna pray for you.

I'm gonna pray for your hearts. I'm gonna pay for all of us.

And the goal is that we get hungry for the Word because that's what

He wants. And God's gonna partner with that desire. If you if you're

not hungry for the Word right now, but you want to be hungry,

and if you maybe don't want to even be hungry, but you want to

want to be hungry, you know what I'm saying. You know what I'm

saying, because that happens. I've prayed that parallel. I don't wanna,

but I want to wanna, So you can wanta wanna and he will.

Oh boy, he works with that. How many of y'all have ever wanted

wanted and he's working with Yes, Okay, he works with it. Any

little entrance to give in. Oh and speaking of interest, he says that

the entrance of his word brings light. It's not his word sitting there that

brings light. It's the insurance when we read it or hear it and it

goes in, that's what brings light. So that's also a goal as I

read these scriptures to you. The goal is that the entrance of this word

into your heart will go in there and do some stuff you might not even

know, even in your body, even in your mind. Okay. So

I'm gonna pray God. I pray that you would open our hearts to your

word of truth. I pray that the entrance of your word would bring light

and life to our hearts. I pray that you would correct us, that

you would rearrange us, that you would realign us, that you would change

us by it. Lord, I pray that you would help us focus says

the Word is read, help us to focus, and that the hardness of

our hearts towards the word would just fall away. And I also pray that

those with ears to hear would hear and listen to what you're saying. Lord,

in Jesus' name, I'm gonna encourage all to just listen. You don't

need to read. I'm gonna read straight from the word. I'm reading the

s V. If you just want another version and whatever, Justine, he's

just got to not reading the passion. Okay. I was tempted, all

right. I tried to do this without my glasses. Okay, look,

go on for these right here. Thank you for healing Jesus. All right,

y'all, just listen. Paul an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will

of God to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus.

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus

Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who

blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Even as

He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should

be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us for adoption

to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

to the praise of his glorious grace with which He has blessed us in

the beloved. In Him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness

of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished

upon us in all wisdom and in sight, making known to us the mystery

of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ

as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him,

things in heaven and things on us earth. Okay, this is going

to take about five more minutes. So y'all settled in in Him, we

have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who

works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we,

who were the first to hope in Christ, may be to the praise of

His glory in Him. You also, when you heard the Word of Truth,

the Gospel of your salvation and believed him, were sealed with the promised

Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of

it, to the praise of His glory. For this reason, because I

have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the

saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in

my prayers, that the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father

of Glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the

knowledge of him, having your eyes the eyes of your heart enlightened, that

you may know h what is the hope to which He has called you,

And what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, And what

is the immeasurable greatness of His power towards us who believe according to the working

of his great might that he worked in Christ, when he raised him from

the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far

above all rule and authority, and power and dominion, and above every name

that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to

come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him his head

over all things, to the Church, which is his body, the fullness

of Him who fills all in all. And you were dead in trespasses and

sins in which you once walked, falling the course of this world, falling

the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at

work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the

passion of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,

and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. But

God, but God, ha I love this part. But God, being

rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us,

even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us a lot together with

Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up with Him and

seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, so that

in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness

towards us. In Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through

faith. And this is not your own doing. It is a gift of

God, not a result of works. So that no one may boast,

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God

prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Therefore, remember that at

one time you gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision, by what is called

the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you

were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel,

and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in

the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off,

have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He himself is

our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down in

his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in

ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in the place of

two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body

through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace

to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near,

For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. So

then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with

the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of

the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, and whom

the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple to the

Lord. In Him, you are also being built together into a dwelling place

for God by His Spirit. For this reason, I, Paul, a

prisoner of Christ Jesus, on behalf of you gentiles, assuming that you have

heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you,

how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written

briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery

of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men and other

generations, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by

the Spirit. This mystery is that the gentiles are fellow heirs, men,

members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.

Through the Gospel. Of this gospel, I was made a minister. According

to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of

His power to me, though I'm the very least of all the saints.

This grace was given to preach to all the gentiles of the unsearchable riches of

Christ, and to bring delight for everyone. What is the plan of the

mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through

the Church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the

rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose

that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, and whom we have boldness

and access with confidence through our faith in Him. So I ask you not

to lose heart over what I'm suffering for you, which is your glory.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family

in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His

glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through His spirit in

your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart's your faith,

that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend

with all the saints. What is the breath and the length, and the

depth and the height. And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to

Him to who is able to do far abundantly more than we can ask or

think, according to the power at work within us. To Him be the

glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, forever and

ever. Amen. Amen, Amen, Amen, Thank you God, Thank

you Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus. Oh that's a lot.

That's a lot that should your brain, your heart might It should feel

pretty full. It should feel pretty full, because those things are too great

even for comprehension unless you dig. But the amazing thing is that it can

surpass your brain, it can surpass your knowledge, and it can go and

drop into your heart even if you don't have full understanding of what I was

reading. There's so much in that. So my call to you is to

get into the Word of God for yourself, begin to read it. Justin

made this challenge for first service, so I'll do it for him for the

second. A challenge to start start some kind of reading plan. It if

you get into the word and you dig in there for yourself, you read

it, and you read it with faith, believing that even if you don't

have like a lot, and you have doubts getting into it anyway, God

will begin to speak to you through this word and it will begin to wash

over you in ways that I can't express with humans human words. Really,

so, how many of y'all would like to take that challenge? I want

to see hands? How many of y'all feel inspired to take that challenge?

Okay, all right, so we're gonna just we're gonna take that before the

Lord, right now, Lord, we say yes. We say yes to

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