God Is Not Into Body-Building Habakkuk

This is Pastor Daniel Stevenson. I'd like to thank you for choosing this podcast by New Heights

Fellowship Baptist Church of East Toledo. I asked you to engage and listen and reach New Heights in Jesus today.

This is Pastor Daniel Stevenson. I'd like to thank you for choosing this podcast by New Heights

Fellowship Baptist Church of East Toledo

This is Pastor Daniel Stevenson. I'd like to thank you for choosing this podcast by New Heights

This is Pastor Daniel Stevenson. I'd like to thank you for choosing this podcast by New Heights

Hallelujah!

That's why we praise Him, that's why we sing. That's why we offer Him our everything. That's why we bow down and worship this King.

Cause He gave His everything. Cause He gave His everything. That's why we praise Him, that's why we sing. That's why we offer Him our everything.

That's why we bow down and worship this King. Cause He gave His everything. Cause He gave His everything. Cause He gave His everything.

Alright, alright, good morning, good morning. We've got some folks maybe on their way here. So we'll pray for them. We'll pray for the sick and hurting. We've got some folks who are struggling.

So continue to pray for Sherry. She saw the specialist about her shoulder and her neck. But now they're waiting to get approval from insurance before they can do the next thing.

It looks like a good report. It looks like they're going to maybe avoid doing surgery so that would be really good.

But ask you to continue to pray for her that that will turn out.

And then pray for Mike. He was in an emergency room this last week and was diagnosed with two ulcers. So he has two ulcers in his gut. And so pray for him that he will get over it.

I don't know how but he just posted online that it was hurting him pretty bad. So that's all I really know. And I know the diagnosis.

And there are some others as well. There are those in our midst who have health concerns.

And so I would say let us lift one another up in prayer. And God will heal and God will lead us and guide us.

This is an important day to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an important day to stand up for what we know is true.

And the truth is it's really about Jesus empowering us to be his arms, his hands, his feet, and his mouth in this day.

So I ask you to just lift one another up and be strong as you do that.

We're going to pray now. We'll come back after we are for inspirational moments.

I have an opportunity to share a testimony of what's been going on, what you've seen in the Word.

So be thinking about that today. And then that's just two songs away. So let's pray together.

Father in heaven, our awesome God, you are all-powerful, all-mighty, when there was no intervention to be made for man, when there was no payment for sins.

You came in the flesh as God the Son to die on the cross. You have given yourself an eternal witness.

Lord, we confess to you that we've made our mistakes.

There have been times when we've set aside that eternal witness, when we have not received, when we have not believed,

when we have not made choices that honor and glorify you, even times after we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, when our hearts strayed, our minds unfocused or were on the wrong thing.

Lord, we ask you for forgiveness today. As we try to worship you, we need your help. We need your cleansing.

We need you to set us upright, to make us strong, so we can lift our voices to praise your holy name.

We ask you to take over our service today. We also call out the names of the sick and hurting.

There are many. Sometimes folks are able to do, and you look them in the face, and you just don't know what they're going through.

And so Lord, we are grateful that you are with them, and we are asking you Lord to bless them, those who have pushed past barriers to be able to be here today.

To bless those who couldn't get past the barriers to be able to be here today.

Lord, we pray for Miss Chris, Sister Chris and her faithfulness in helping folks, especially through the life station and the phone service there,

and helping people find the resources that they need, praying with folks, encouraging folks.

And yesterday, spilled boiling hot tea on her arm and her side and hurt herself.

And so Lord, we just ask you to bless her, to heal her, to bring her through.

Father, take over this time. Guide lead our service. May everything honor you. And we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Alright, so I need everyone to stand up and join us.

Brotherly spring cleaning in the sunshine, telling all the world why I'm so in love with life.

You lift me up. I'm touching the blue skies, I'm on top of the world. Yeah, there's something I say, oh I love every little thing I love. You lift me up.

Waiting for the sun, riding on the moon, we are taking you so far, farther than I've ever been. You lift me up.

I'm touching the blue skies, I'm on top of the world. Yeah, there's something I say, oh I love every little thing I love. You lift me up.

Oh, it's so graceful here. I mean Lord, all I ever want, all I ever need is right here.

La la la la dee, I'm a flower that I am tree. La la la la dee, I'm a flower that I am tree.

I'm touching the blue sky I'm telling the world

Getting closer to heaven And never will I be alone

Yeah, I'm getting closer to heaven And never will I be alone

And never will I be alone I'm touching the blue sky

I'm talking to the world Getting closer to heaven

And never will I be alone

Every secret, every shame, every fear, every pain

We live inside the dark But that's not who we are We are children of the dead

So wake up, sleep, or lift your head We've been born for the dead

In the shadows, blind or deaf Take the mold to the sky, we have a lamp

We are the light of the world We are the city on a hill

We are the light of the world We got to, we got to, we got to let the light shine

We are the light of the world We are the city on a hill

We are the light of the world We got to, we got to, we got to let the light shine

Let the light shine, let the light shine

We are called to spread the news Tell the world the simple truth

Jesus came to save The created are with Him saved So let His love break through

We are the light of the world We are the city on a hill

We are the light of the world We got to, we got to, we got to let the light shine

We are the light of the world We are the city on a hill

We are the light of the world We got to, we got to, we got to let the light shine

We are the light, we are the light, we are the light So let your blood shine brighter

We are the light, we are the light, we are the light Jesus, you are the light, you are the light, you are the light

So we will keep to fire and shine, shine, shine

We are the light of the world We are the city on a hill

We are the light of the world We got to, we got to, we got to let the light shine

We are the light of the world We are the city on a hill

We are the light of the world We got to, we got to, we got to let the light shine

Alright, you can be seated this time.

Alright, I warned you it was coming. Just two songs away. We're at that moment where you can share a testimony, something that you've seen this week or something I hope maybe you've read something in the word.

We're in the middle of our emphasis on study. So I encourage you to read the Bible and write something down, study the cipher, break it down, figure out what God is saying.

Maybe you've done that this week and came ready to share. I'm hoping somebody did. What do you got? Jason.

I've got two things. One, my friend Alexis is finally back from school. She came back from the Columbus Children's Ohio and she is now able to walk without a walker.

Good! Praise the Lord. We were praying for her, especially that Tuesday. That's cool. What else? And I found out that when we came back on Tuesday to school, I found out that one of my best friends, five month old brother passed away because there was vanilla cinnamon in the baby food that they were feeding and he died because of it.

And he was allergic to it. Yes. So we're praying for that family. Do you know their last name? What's his last name? I don't know. You get that for us. His name is Camlin. The one that died or the one that's... Camlin is the one that told me.

So we're praying for Camlin. Maybe you've seen something and want to share something. What do you got? I've got my thumb in the spot. Go ahead. I've got a song. I'm going to hear it back there.

It should be put up here. It should be put up.

It's coming.

There it is.

But at the same time, I see Satan's plot to destroy.

And I know I'm the only one for God so loved the world and he gave his only son. And Satan tried to knock him too, but when they knocked the nails in his hands, Colossus took him in 15. But yet I still see a common theme that's breaking the dopes and it's plaguing the teams. When Jesus died, he did more than just give us some help. So help me understand why we still living for self.

We live for our families, for our money and cause. We live for our happiness because our budget is long. But these we see yet and the message doesn't work. We're living for self yet only leads to dozens of hurt. Please hear my heart.

We're taking steps toward death. We're looking for hope. Because we were captured by Satan. We were seized. Now we need to be captured again. That's why we need to pick the strictest up. Don't bring in the past and if that's your father, forgive us. Forgive us for laziness. Forgive us for our wrongs. Forgive us for early list. Forgive us for the lust inside.

Please don't fall from killing us. Please don't throw my selfishness. Please don't throw my fear away. We need more than help from this. We confess our lack of love. We confess selfish ambition. We confess to you our lust. Oh Lord bring us to repentance.

Please don't throw my selfishness. Please don't throw my selfishness. Please don't throw my fear away. We confess our lack of love. We confess to you our lust. Oh Lord bring us to repentance. We confess to you our lust. Oh Lord bring us to repentance.

We have your blessing. We will see you how we do. We'll be captured again. And captured again. And captured again. And captured again. And captured again.

What do you got to say about that? So, I always encourage people. I think once that CD I have that can burn. I just never know what people need. But that song I listen to a lot that's really been, everybody knows me. Right now I call it Tales of a Broken Heart. Just for now. I'm just having a lot of sunburns kind of in my life.

But when I hear that song, and I think a lot of songs are inspirational, but when I listen to that song, I know where it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, it says that they'll escape just by escaping the house on fire. They just got there by the skin of their teeth.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

And just escape the flame. They're just saying that it can happen. It's not what Paul was intending, but it's possible just to escape by the flame. And so the reason I say that is this song I don't think is going to escape by the flame.

Because it's eternal encouragement. The word itself is true even today. This came out in 2002. And if there's some 2020 you got that you can show me, I'm not trying to make fun of anyone or anything. What I'm saying is that the words are true.

It don't matter if it was playing techno with a bongo. It could be country, it could be jazz. I don't care what it is. It's not the rhythm, it's the word. It doesn't mean, there are words today that make us feel good or make us, we need that moment.

But if we don't have the eternal word, we don't have what follows the scriptures. If we don't have that, then literally I would say to the test of time, I mean that's what it is. Through the past, present, future, today, that word is going to remain.

And so what I want to encourage you and what encourages me is I hope you have that. We have that in the Bible first. But if you're listening to something, will it stand the test of time? When you're doing something, will it stand the test of time? Is it eternal?

So I ask once you just kind of think about your life and how you live it, does it stand the test of time? Is it eternal? Will it last forever? So that's just kind of what I want to say. The other thing I was going to say is people always used to say this, I'm just moving to the Holy Ghost.

And I get it, it's true. We are moving. But you don't always feel God's Spirit. You don't always feel God's presence. You don't always have to have a sensation or build up. You could be your hardest days. You could be struggling to the point of just where you feel like you're dead inside.

You're going to just, you feel dead. But that doesn't mean that God's not there. And so what I've always said, it's not a Holy Ghost movement. We don't need to wait for another revival. It's a movement to the Holy Ghost. God's Spirit's here, let's move. God's Spirit's here, let's get up. God's Spirit's here, let's repent. God's Spirit's here, let's encourage each other.

The Holy Spirit hasn't gone anywhere today. If we drift off, it's okay because we do drift off. But God's not drifting. And so we can continue on through His faithfulness to try or even the same, remain faithful. So I just encourage you, God is ever-present, every day of our lives. So continue on with Christ.

Amen. That's a good word. Anybody else?

I don't know if that's weird, yet. When I had a situation in Oswald a while back, you know what I'm saying, I came to church and I tried to draw near a guy. I had an experience of mortality and it shook him to my core.

All the way down. And I don't understand it because the first time I went to a heart surgery, I was in peace.

For some reason, maybe it's self-induced, I don't know, maybe it's just a devil, I don't know. This time it wasn't like that. I tried to make it be that way but I can't make anything happen.

I learned that that day when I couldn't make myself breathe. I'm not. I was barely out of depression, real bad.

I used to be able to do this and I used to be able to do that. God gave me the good, the good, and what the world has given you is a gift from God, an opportunity.

Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's hard. It's impossible to stand alone. And I've done that a lot in my life.

I've been home. In fact, I've been into a lot of places because I've been alone and I didn't have fear.

And so I've been into a lot of places that people weren't ready to go to. The devil loved it. He pretty much had played around with my life, my flesh, this time I was a kid.

I was six years old. And recently, in my endeavors to overcome this, on my own, I got the drink in front of my face.

And I've been safe since I was a little kid. My wife beat me up and I beat myself up.

But I'm safe. I was six years old. I found cover in a school. It's a simple prayer my mom taught me.

I went to church when I was little. And we've got, I didn't even do any of this nonsense that happened to me in my life.

For whatever reason, he's committed to having it. About free will, I guess. I'm just here. I'm glad to be here.

I want to thank you. I want to thank God for letting you guys come and call on me. I'm just sitting here in my basement in my house, afraid to move.

Because I don't want to leave. I've enjoyed the last 15, 16 years of my life, watching my grandchildren grow to be young men.

I have nothing to complain about. Absolutely nothing. God has been true in His Word. He's given me a home.

I have free will. I have a means to provide for myself and my family. I have children of these young people.

My old, scraggish son is leading a Bible study online. His mother is putting through it. And that's, by the way, underneath him, I'm thinking of his mother.

I have so much to be grateful for. And each and every one of us do, too. The next time you face the Lord, thank Him.

Don't ask Him for relief. Thank Him. Be eager to face it. Thank God. Be courageous.

Most importantly, pull close to the body of Christ. Because there's strength in the numbers. There's no way you guys do. I'm hurting so bad.

I always try to play like it's not. You know? Just keep me in your prayers that my faith continues to go to the direction that's happy right now.

I don't think He's done me. He said, you know, they blew me at Mo, and told me that basically what He was saying was, I couldn't believe what He was saying when He was saying it to me.

Like basically, that's it. You know what I'm saying? That's what I'm going to do. Now He's going to write a score. And it will hit all in my head.

And beat me up. I will report my boots and tie up my shoes and suck it up and say, grrr! Yeah, right there. You can't grrr through this one. Ain't no grrr there. Ain't no nothing my flesh, I can do.

But my guys, guys, something coming in here. And I'm standing here dead breathing talking to y'all. And God willing I'll be there. I'm out of the study and I'll be here feeling the events.

Instead of pulling away again, I'll pull closer. I hope we all keep you in your prayers and together we'll climb out of this hole on Him.

Please check on me. Feel free. I'll invite you. You have an open invitation in all times to call me, come to my home, wherever you see me.

Please pull up on me and talk to me. I want to talk to you. Maybe we can together go to someone and talk to somebody else. We'll see. I just want to tell you how God loves each and every one of us. And He wants us to do the right thing.

I like the world we're at right now. The world we're looking at. You can see all this violence and misery and suffering. Right now as we speak people are being slaughtered in the streets. It's terrible to walk down the street and see death everywhere.

Cain houses and people values and morality. It's gone. It doesn't exist anymore. It's all about just do it. It's a Nike commercial man. Come to life. It's reality. It's destroying the whole world. Not just America. The whole world.

We are going to song to life and we are going to shine. As much as we can. As a brother. Thanks.

That was good. Appreciate you.

Alright.

Anybody else have anything real quick? Otherwise we're going to pray and go. I'll bring this next week. Yes sir. Me and Jason were having a talk in the car about just stuff that's been going on. And one of the things that came up was he wanted to stay home and not do anything.

I was like well there are days for that. There's plenty of days where you can sit home and do nothing. However we were made to work. As human beings since the very beginning of time we were created to work.

And there are days for rest. There is time for rest. But when there's a job that needs to be done that's what we're here for. That's why God created Adam and Eve was to tend to the garden. He created them to work.

And we were talking back and forth and we got on the topic of games and phones and stuff like that and I said it's the same thing. There's nothing wrong with playing on a phone. There's nothing wrong with playing on a game. But it's how you live the rest of your life.

If you want to spend your entire life wasting away on a video game or on a phone and not doing the work that God has for you you're not going to accomplish anything.

So we have to remember that there are times for rest. There is time for peace and quiet. But when there's a job to be done there's a job to be done.

And it's up to us to do that job. And it's whatever God calls you to do it could be any number of things. But whatever that job is that God's calling you to do that is your job that you need to be doing.

Okay so we're going to pray at this time and we're going to transition to tithing off and do a little more worship. Children's lessons, it's all coming. So we're excited to be together today. Brother Ron Mack would you pray for us as we transition?

Father in heaven we thank you so much for the privilege and the honor to be here in your house to worship you as a collected body today Lord. God I know we're called to praise and worship you every day of our lives and that should be truly a blessing on our hearts to do so.

God thank you for a full packed house today. It's such an encouragement to see people come together to want to learn from you and to hear from you. Lord I pray for everybody in this building and everybody that should be here that isn't here today.

Lord I pray a blessing upon everybody's hearts. I pray for the people in Ukraine right now and the people in Russia who got some stuff going on. Lord I pray that you'll work it out peacefully.

And that there will be a de-escalation in conflict. Lord I pray for the state of this country. I pray for the state of our nation that we could rise up and become unified and come together and truly serve a risen Savior.

Lord be with our tithes and offerings. I pray that the money and the time and the love and everything that is given that you would use them to your benefit and to your kingdom's advance.

And that we would be good stewards of what you've given us. Help us to praise and worship you. These last couple songs. I pray that we will see and feel a great movement of your Holy Spirit in this body.

Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.

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