Sermon
Lessons From a Burn Barrel | Pastor Paul Ensminger | 2.15.26 (Sermon)
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Well, I don't know about you, but I've
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come here to preach a lick or to this
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morning.
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Bless the Lord. If you have your Bibles,
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I'm going to be reading from the book of
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Leviticus,
Leviticus 9 chapter mention
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chapter 9, and also chapter 6.
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I'm going to read also from the book of
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second Timothy chapter 1
2 Timothy 1 chapter mention
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and the book of Acts chapter 1.
Acts 1 chapter mention
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If you'll look with me over here, I'm
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going to start with second Timothy
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chapter number one. Paul writing to his
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young son in the Lord.
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He says to him, "When I call to
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remembrance
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the unfeign
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faith that is in thee,
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which dwelt first, notice, first
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in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother
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Ununice.
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And I am persuaded that in thee also
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there's another legacy. It's just coming
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down."
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He says, "Wherefore I put thee in
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remembrance that thou stir up the gift
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of God
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which is in thee by the putting on of my
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hands.
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For God hath not given us the spirit of
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fear,
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but of power and of love and of a sound
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mind."
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Notice God didn't give us the spirit of
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fear. Amen.
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>> I look in the book of Acts
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and verse number one and verse number
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eight is one that all of us could
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probably quote by heart. We know it.
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But I love it because it's right before
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Jesus is right as Jesus is being
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ascended back to the father. He says,
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"But you shall receive power after that
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the Holy Ghost has come upon you.
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Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
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Jerusalem and in all Judea and in
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Samaria and unto the uttermost part of
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the earth."
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Look with me in the book of Leviticus if
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you would.
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Book of Leviticus.
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Look with me first at chapter number
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nine.
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I want to start reading at verse number
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22.
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The scripture says, "And Aaron lifted up
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his hand toward the people and blessed
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them and came down from offering of the
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sin offering
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and the burnt offering and peace
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offerings.
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And Moses and Aaron went into the
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tabernacle of the congregation
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and came out and blessed the people.
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And the glory of the Lord appeared unto
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all the people.
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And there came a fire out from the Lord.
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A fire come out from the Lord and
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consumed upon the altar the burnt
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offering and the fat.
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When all the people saw, they shouted
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and they fell on their faces.
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Notice with me Leviticus chapter 6
Leviticus 6 chapter mention
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verse number 12.
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And the fire upon the altar shall be
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burning in it. It shall not be put out.
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Don't let your fire be put out. Come on,
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somebody. Hallelujah.
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And the priest shall burn wood on it
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every morning and lay the burnt offering
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in order upon it.
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Lay the burn or offering in order upon
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it. And he shall burn thereon the fat of
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the peace offerings.
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The fire shall ever be burning upon the
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altar, and it shall never go out.
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Praise the Lord. Would you one more time
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just ask God for his anointing? Father,
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we love you this morning. We thank you.
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And I pray God by the fire of that
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anointing,
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I humble myself, Lord, before you and
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before this company of people.
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Lord, as unworthy as I am, Father, I yet
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speak to you and humbly remind you, God,
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that I can do nothing without you. And
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Lord, I need the anointing this morning.
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And I thank you for what you have
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already done in this place. I thank you,
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Lord, for those that you have healed,
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those that you've touched and
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encouraged. But father,
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I am asking you this morning that in the
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name of Jesus that you will anoint me to
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preach
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that your body may be edified
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and God that we would draw closer to you
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that Jesus would be glorified.
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Ask it all in Jesus name and everybody
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says amen and amen. Praise the Lord. You
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may be seated.
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Hallelujah to God. If I could possibly
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title the message this morning,
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I want to title the message lessons
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from a burn barrel.
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Lessons from a burn barrel. Well, first
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of all, let me begin by saying what we
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often see in the Old Testament
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is revealed in the New Testament because
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it has been said that the Old Testament
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is the New Testament concealed and the
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New Testament is the Old Testament
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revealed.
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Now, let me tell you about the birthing
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of this message.
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This message was birthed into my spirit
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when one day a man in our church who
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owns a honeybee business and he had a
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lot of junk on his property that needed
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to be burned.
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He asked me to come help him. In fact,
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he hired me to help him out. And all he
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wanted was the the trash and the debris
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around that place to be burned. And he
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began to bring it. And I mean, we we had
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he he literally took a forklift and pull
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trees and saplings up out of the ground
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and brought it over. And I had a
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chainsaw and loppers and we had old bee
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boxes. And you just name it, we had it.
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And we begin to burn it. And I began to
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burn. And he kept bringing stuff. And
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for about three or four hours straight,
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he he brought stuff up and I took stuff
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and I piled it into those burned barrels
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and it just kept burning. Just kept
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burning. Just kept burning. And finally,
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we just we burned for about three or
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four hours. And I think he just finally
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got tired and said, "I think we'll stop
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there for the day." And I think we just
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about got everything done. But
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nevertheless, the next day whenever we
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come back, I we was we parked. He he had
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an old side by side and I got on the
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side by side with him and I rode down to
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the and I rode with him back to the back
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part of the of the property where the
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two burn barrels were. Now whenever he I
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went back there where those two burn
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barrels were, we rode past them. I
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looked at the burn barrels. There was no
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fire in the burn barrel. There was
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nothing that was there. It was just two
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barrels just stand just standing there
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on uh on some blocks. Uh he rolled on
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past it. Now if you know brother Earl,
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you would know that he likes to talk. Uh
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and so he pulled up a little bit little
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play pace uh uh but on the other side of
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the burn barrels and he stopped uh and
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he started pointing his fingers to this
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and to that on the property and just
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beginning to talk and and I'm sitting
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there on that side by side with him
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listening to him and I turned around and
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I looked behind me and I just looked at
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the burn barrel and I thought I saw just
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a little wisp of smoke could begin to
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come up out of that barrel. Well, while
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he was still talking, I just got off of
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the burn barrel and I began to walk over
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there to where it was at and I walked
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over to that burn barrel and I looked
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inside and there was a little bit of
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smoke. Uh, I reached my hand down there
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and I could feel a little bit of heat.
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And so I took and I reached over and
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there was a piece of cloth or something
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on the ground. I just took and I just
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dropped it in there and I walked away.
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Then about that time I turned around and
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looked and that thing had caught back up
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and it began to burn into flame. The
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other burn barrel I picked up a stick
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and I reached in there and I began to
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stir and begin to poke around in it.
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And those red embers begin to glow and
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smoke begin to come up. And I begin to
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look at that and and I begin to think
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about and I begin to look at that and I
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throw stuff in it and the fire will
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begin to burn one more time in that
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place. Uh now as I begin to look at
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that, I begin to realize uh it's
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something begin to begin to uh just
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begin to resonate in my spirit.
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As I begin to think about where Paul
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said to the apostle uh to Timothy rather
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that listen here, don't stir up the gift
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of God. Don't get discouraged. Don't
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quit. Uh you I'm reminding you of the
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faith uh that was in your in your in
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your grandmother and in your mother. I'm
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reminding you of what they had and what
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has been passed down to you through the
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years and what you have received by the
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laying on of hands. I I'm reminding you
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that you need to stir up the gift of
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God. In other words, to fan this back
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into flame. And so when I begin to look
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at that and begin to look in the
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scriptures, I find here in the book of
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Leviticus chapter number six, uh that
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we're told that the fire that was
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burning on the altar was to never go
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out. Uh the priest was to lay wood on
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it. Uh will lay wood on it every morning
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and feed it. Uh and if you want to look
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into history, you will find that for
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eight centuries uh hungry priests uh
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would lay that wood and they kept that
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fire burning for eight centuries. Uh it
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just kept on burning. Uh it was the
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hunger of the priest. It was the hunger
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of the worshippers. Uh, can I tell you
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this morning, Milligan, if you want your
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fire to keep on burning, uh, you got to
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stay hungry and you got to keep on
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worshiping and you got to keep on
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praising. Uh, I just come to tell you
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today that the fire of God still burns.
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Uh, I want you to remember this. Uh,
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life must be fed in order to live and to
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grow. When that baby is born, uh before
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he's born, guess what? Uh he's just
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eating what his mama feeds him. Uh it
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may be turnup greens. It may be
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cornbread. Uh it may be pork chops. It
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may be butter beans. It may be biscuit
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and gravy. Come on, can somebody say
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amen? It may be deer steak and gravy. It
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just may be gravy on gravy. But
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whatever, he's happy to get it. But once
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uh after a while something happens to
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that baby uh and uh and that and and and
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he begins to get pushed out. He says,
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"Wait a minute. I'm happy here. That
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mama's womb says, "No, sir. You've
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kicked me your last time. You're going
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out." Come on. Can you say amen? Uh but
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when he goes out, uh and when he goes
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out, guess what? Uh all of a sudden
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something hits him. All of a sudden that
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that lifeline that has been attached to
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him called the umbilical cord. They cut
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it and something happens in his brain
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and he goes, "What's this?" And he
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breathes fresh air for the first time.
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All of a sudden there's an instinct
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instinct that kicks in and he says, "I
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want something to eat and he learns how
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to suck." It's just instinct. What is he
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doing? He's on survival mode. I said,
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and I want to tell you something. If you
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want to live in the presence and in the
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power of God, you got to stay hungry,
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you got to keep on letting uh yourself
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be fed from the word of God and from the
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spirit of God. Can you say amen? When I
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look at this here, when I looked at this
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one thing here in this altar here, I
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look at the fire's origin. Uh in
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Leviticus chapter 9, the Bible says that
Leviticus 9 chapter mention
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the origination of that fire came down
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from heaven. Uh it was a supernatural
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fire. The fire came from the holy of
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holies. Uh actually came from heaven
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down through the holy of holies. uh
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actually from the ark of the covenant.
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It passed through the veil as well as
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the hanging curtain uh at the front and
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it went through it without burning it.
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Uh this was a visible manifestation of
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God upon the sacrifice. Uh the glory of
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God appeared unto the people. uh in
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Hebrews 1:es 1 and two we find that the
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Bible said that God spoke uh at sunundry
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times uh meaning at different at
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different intervals in history God would
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speak uh and I want to tell you that God
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is speaking today he's speaking in ways
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to his people he's trying to get people
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to wake up and to realize uh that
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there's an event that's about to take
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place That's going to be something uh
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that you and I, it's called the hope of
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the glory. It's all called the hope of
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the church. Uh it's called the rapture.
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Come on. Uh but in the meantime, he's
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talking to somebody. And did you listen
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to that pastor this morning, brother
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Jesse? He began to talk about what God
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has been speaking to him. He said he
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didn't have time to tell it all. I want
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to sit around and listen to him when
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he's got time to tell it all. Can you
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say amen?
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Hallelujah to God. So, what did I learn
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from a burn barrel? Think about it. What
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did I learn from that? In fact, uh I
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took a burn barrel and put it on the
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platform of my church. Uh and I took a
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big long stick, used it for a poker, and
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I preached this message. Uh but anyway,
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this is what I learned from the burn
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barrel. First of all, I learned that
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from that burn barrel, this right here,
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that smoke uh is a sign there. You know,
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that the smoke was telling me that
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there's something in that barrel that I
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haven't seen yet. Uh that smoke, it was
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telling me uh that there's something
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over there. How many of you ever been
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driving down the road uh and there's a
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fire way over here and you look and you
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the first thing you see is smoke. Uh
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when you see the smoke, you have to say,
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"Well, there's got to be a fire over
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there or used to be a fire over there,
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but there's some smoke over there.
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There's something." But I want you to
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understand something. I'm not living for
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the smoke. There's an old Pentecostal
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saying that says if you've been born in
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the fire, the smoke will not do. Uh,
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hallelujah. Smoke uh normally has no use
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uh in it. Uh the only kind of smoke that
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I really have any use for is the kind
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that I put in my smoker and I smoke a
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smoke smoke some ribs or Boston butt or
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some chicken. Can you say amen? But
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other than that, uh I don't really have
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I really am not that excited about
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smoke. Uh but at least whenever I saw
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the smoke coming out of that barrel that
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was over there, I said, "There's got to
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be some heat in that thing." Uh there's
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got to be some fire in that thing. Uh
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some of you this morning, uh you a
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little bit smoky. Uh you ain't been able
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to worship like you want to, but yet
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you're trying to get there. You know
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why? Because uh there's a little bit of
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ash uh or a little bit of fire, some
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coals that's down there. There's
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something in you that's desiring to come
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out and to break loose. Uh I want to
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tell you something. You need to let go
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and let the Holy Ghost break through and
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quit worrying about what somebody's
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going to think, BUT LET GOD BE GOD. COME
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ON, SOMEBODY. Can you say amen? Praise
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the Lord. It may be weak. It may be
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weak, but the fire is here. It may be a
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little bit. It may be just a little
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puffy, but it's still there. I want you
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to understand that smoke reminded me of
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a memory. You know what the memory I had
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was? I remembered the day before when
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you couldn't get too close to it or
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you'd get burned because uh of the
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flames that was coming out from the top
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of that barrel. uh all of a sudden I
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begin to take this uh and transpose it
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over to today. We in our Pentecostal
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churches uh and so many places uh all we
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have uh is the faded memory when people
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used to shout uh when people used to
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sing uh when people used to come to
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church uh and they got excited about God
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uh and they got excited about being holy
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and righteous before God. They got
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excited about the Pentecostal power, but
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now then they've reduced theirel up and
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down uh to nothing but a prayer and a
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poem. But my friend, I want to tell you
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something. There still it may be a
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memory, but I want to tell you
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something. It's reality today. Uh it's a
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reality. Uh it's still real. Uh we still
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shout. Uh there's still something around
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us that WE CAN SHOUT ABOUT. I'M GOING TO
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TELL YOU THE MEMORY CAN STILL BE
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REALITY.
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>> Hallelujah to God. Blessed be the name
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of the Lord. Well, I begin to think
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about that. You know, I I just can I
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just slow down just a minute? I want to
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tell you something.
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Sometimes we just remember stuff.
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>> We remember how we used to shake. So, we
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go
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Some people let the memory they just
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want to wash it away and if it comes
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faded and they wonder was it ever really
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real. I want to tell you something. It's
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real. It's real. It changed my life. I
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want to tell you it gave me something
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that the world couldn't give. It changed
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me. It made a difference in me. It's
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still real. I STILL HUNGER FOR IT. I
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STILL long for it. I STILL BREATHE FOR
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IT. I STILL CRY FOR IT. I STILL PRAY FOR
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MOVE OF GOD.
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Hallelujah to God.
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Well, the next thing I learned about
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that burn barrel, I looked over there
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and I began to and I had this stick,
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this real long pine stick that had been
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that was just about that long or
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whatever. And I and I and I used it as a
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poker. How many How many has ever been
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poked before?
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>> Well, I I took that stick over there. I
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pulled down into that down beyond that
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ash and everything and I began to stir
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it and below that ash there was live red
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coals of fire. They just needed to be
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stirred. Uh Paul said to Timothy stir up
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the gift of God. Uh when you look at
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that he is saying fan the gift of God
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back into flame. Uh Timothy, just don't
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sit there uh and say, "I got it. I got
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it." Uh but Timothy, stir it up. Uh get
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stirred up. How many of you How many of
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you realize we need to get stirred up? I
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look at this nation today. Uh I look at
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people protesting. Uh I look at people
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out there rioting. Uh they're stirred up
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by something. They're stirred up by the
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devil. Uh we need to get stirred up by
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God. uh and proclaim to this world that
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Jesus Christ is still king of kings.
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He's still lord of lords. Uh he's still
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the hope of this world. That Jesus
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Christ is still coming. He still saves.
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Uh he still baptizes in the Holy Ghost.
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Uh he's still a healer. He's still a
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deliverer. Come on, can you say amen? uh
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he's still the one that'll put a dance
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in yourself and cause you to rejoice uh
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when there's nothing else to rejoice
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about. YOU CAN SAY, "I PRAISE GOD
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BECAUSE I KNOW IN WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED."
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COME ON. UH you need to POKE SOMEBODY.
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YOU NEED TO LET THE HOLY GHOST POKE YOU
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INTO REALITY THAT I'M HERE BECAUSE GOD
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IS GOOD.
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HALLELUJAH.
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>> Praise God.
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>> And then I'm going to talk about this
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point twice. There's the ashes.
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>> I looked down there at the ashes. And
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when I first looked in there, I didn't
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see anything. All I saw was dull gray.
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All I saw was that. But I looked down
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there and it was just ashes. It had
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covered up the fire. Why had the fire
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died down? Leviticus 6:12 said, "It
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shall not be put out. The priest shall
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put wood on it." It died down because I
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quit putting wood on it. Uh, it died
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down. And your fire's going to die down
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when you quit praising. Your fire's
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going to die down when you quit praying.
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Uh, your fire is going to die down when
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you quit reading the word of God. your
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fire is going to die down. Whenever you
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go whenever you back off of going to
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church. Uh can I just say this here
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parenthetically? Church is still a big
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deal in my life. It's still a big deal
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to us. Uh we still need the church. Uh
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we still need the fellowship. Uh one
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with another. I want to tell you
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something. That fire's going to die down
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whenever you pull away from God. I ain't
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through with the ashes yet. You got to
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feed that fire to keep it going.
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Sometimes you got to stir it. And the
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Bible tells us to provoke one another in
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love.
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>> How many you've ever been provoked?
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Sir, your wife tells you she's going to
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go on a diet and she's going to lose 10
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pounds. And then you look over there at
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her and she's eating chocolate cake. You
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need to provoke her and say, "I thought
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you said you was going on a date.
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That's dangerous territory, but I ain't
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talking about my wife.
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We need to provoke one another.
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>> I heard a pastor talking one time. This
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is when I was a little boy. And people
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probably didn't think I paid attention
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in church, but I did hear some things
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back when I was just a little boy, seven
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or eight years old. But I remember him
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talking about said, "You need some
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goats.
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I'm going somewhere. Y'all bear y'all
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bear with me.
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He's You know, you know when you don't
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have fire, when the fire goes out, what
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happens? The temperature goes down.
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>> What happens when the sheep get cold?
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They all just bundle up together
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>> and they don't move and they don't do
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anything. But you know, he said, he
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said, "It takes that goat going out
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there and butting the sheep to get them
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to move in so they don't freeze to
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death." I want to tell you, sometimes uh
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there's got to be an old goat to come
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along to butt us.
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and to get us to moving. Get us to
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praying. Get us to worshiping. Get us to
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calling up on God. Get us to calling up
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on and asking for the old path and to
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say, "God, this old goat's getting under
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my skin." He says, "Why don't you just
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come on and GET CLOSER TO ME?" COME ON,
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SOMEBODY. Can somebody say amen?
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Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. The
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fire of God today is still, let me tell
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you what I'm talking about. This Holy
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Ghost that you felt this morning, that's
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the same Holy Ghost that they felt in
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the upper room. Uh that's the same Holy
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Ghost uh that Jesus said whenever you
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will receive power after that the Holy
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Ghost has come upon you. How many of you
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know who the Holy Ghost is? How many of
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you have been touched by the Holy Ghost?
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Uh how many of you know that the Holy
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Ghost uh is still powerful? He's still
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on the Come on, somebody. Uh it's the
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same fire. God has always had a remnant.
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Uh now, when I look at this uh and I and
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I come to this place right here, I want
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you to know it's the same fire. It's the
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same move of God. Uh well, I I I as I
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begin to look at this and begin to
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realize, I know that there are people
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out there that's saying, "Well, that
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died that went away with the apostles.
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Uh that ended uh that ended way back in
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the first century. Uh we just go to
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church. Uh and we just sit here real
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quiet. Uh we'll let them hear. We'll
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we'll listen to a little poem. We'll
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listen to a little sermon. Uh, we'll get
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a little bit of inspiration. Uh, but
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don't take too long because the ball
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game's going to be coming on in a little
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bit. And I don't want to miss it. Uh, I
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got a family picnic, but who cares? Uh,
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when God begins to move, I don't care
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what's going on. I want to have a move
-
of God. Uh, and so, uh, when I look at
-
this, I realize, uh, God's always had a
-
remnant. Uh, there has always been a
-
move of God. Please bear with me. Uh Dr.
-
Raymond Co Pepper, he uh he wrote a book
-
on the Holy Spirit. I'm going to read
-
you something out of that book. Uh
-
because he asked the question, did the
-
practice of tongues cease uh with the
-
apostles? Uh what what what answer did
-
the first century facts support? Acts 2
-
records that the people saw and heard on
-
the day of Pentecost, including the
-
phenomenon of speaking in other tongues
-
when they were filled with the Holy
-
Ghost. Uh, Acts 8 tells the story of
-
people who were baptized uh in the Holy
-
Ghost at Samaria one year after the day
-
of Pentecost. Uh about 8 years later
-
after the day of Pentecost there was an
-
outpouring of the Holy Ghost uh in the
-
house of Cornelius uh who were the first
-
gentile recipients. uh we find that some
-
uh uh we we find that uh that as that
-
begin to take place that Acts 19
-
recounts another outpouring of the Holy
-
Spirit where the recipient spoke with
-
tongues and prophesied and that took
-
place about 20 years after the day of
-
Pentecost. Uh and then Paul talks at
-
length uh in 1 Corinthians 14 on the
-
gifts of tongues uh written more than 20
-
years after the day of Pentecost. Uh and
-
so what historical facts do we have uh
-
about the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.
-
Uh the interpreter's dictionary the
-
Bible states uh through the centuries
-
glossalia has frequently appeared among
-
Christian groups. Uh the encyclopedia of
-
Britannica asserts uh that miraculous
-
utterances reoccur in Christian revivals
-
uh in every age. Uh the 20th century
-
encyclopedia of religious knowledge says
-
the phenomenon of speaking with other
-
tongues as the spirit gives utterance
-
has appeared in all ages of the church.
-
Uh Dr. Phillip uh Dr. Philip Sha in his
-
history of the apostolic church wrote uh
-
that speaking in with tongues however
-
was not confined to the day of
-
Pentecost. This gift perpetuated itself
-
and we find traces of it still in the
-
second and the third centuries. Uh we
-
find here that the Catholic good oh my
-
goodness the Catholics are preaching
-
now. It says that the Catholic biblical
-
encyclopedia firms uh in regard to
-
perpetuation of these uh chariotisms uh
-
uh it may be said that although they
-
were manifested more frequently in the
-
infant church uh and the first centuries
-
uh they have never been completely
-
lacking in the church uh glossia
-
is still a true charisma of the holy
-
spirit. Uh Alvin Butler in his book the
-
lies of the stain says that St. Pakamos
-
uh a 4th century Egyptian monk was
-
reported to have spoken the language of
-
angels and after seasons of prayer under
-
the power of the spirit was able to
-
preach languages he had never learned.
-
The encyclopedia bratannica points out
-
the miracles of the utterance recurred
-
among the among the benisscent friars of
-
the 13th century. Again, Philip Sha and
-
his comprehensive work, the history of
-
the Christian church, writes about
-
Vincent Frier, a great missionary who
-
died in 1419. He was able to speak only
-
Spanish. His sermons, though not
-
interpreted or reported to have been
-
understood in France and Italy, the gift
-
of tongues and the gift of miracles were
-
both ascribed unto him. I want to skip
-
down to this place here in 1896.
-
In the hills of North Carolina, the 20th
-
century awakening began marked by
-
speaking in tongues which almost
-
simultaneously occurred in Topeka,
-
Kansas, uh Isuza Street in Los Angeles,
-
uh Corpus Christi, Texas, Korea, Sweden,
-
Chile, and South of Africa. And I want
-
you to know that the answer to the
-
question, did the practice of tongues
-
that the practice of the baptism of the
-
Holy Spirit uh did it cease? Uh it did
-
not. It's still there. Its tongues has
-
never ceased. Uh they were not conjured
-
up. Uh and in fact, according to
-
history, they have been a part of the
-
ministry of the church uh throughout the
-
ages.
-
And so I want to submit unto you right
-
now if the fire has burned for the last
-
20 centuries. I I believe it's safe to
-
conclude that we need the very fire of
-
God to burn within us one more time. I
-
want to tell you something. There were
-
those uh that did not believe, did not
-
understand, but they were hungry for God
-
and they got along with God. And all of
-
a sudden, the power of the Holy Ghost
-
came upon them. And they began to speak
-
in tongues that the spirit gave them
-
utterance. They said, "I don't know
-
what's going on. I don't understand it.
-
Uh, but I SURE DO LIKE WHAT GOD'S DOING
-
IN MY LIFE. UH, I come to tell you this
-
morning that the power of God is still
-
real today. UH, I STILL LIKE IT. I STILL
-
LOVE IT. I still live FOR THE SHOUT AND
-
I LIVE FOR HIM. CAN you say amen?
-
>> You can't live without fire. Fire is the
-
necessity.
-
>> God is a consuming fire.
-
>> We need this fire in our church more
-
today than what we have ever needed it.
-
When I look in the word of God, I
-
discovered there was a man by the name
-
of Jeremiah.
-
Understand? Jeremiah
-
had been beaten. Not only had he been
-
beaten, but he had been humiliated. He
-
had been brought to the gate. I I can't
-
remember the name of the gate, but he
-
had been brought to the gate. And one
-
thing I know about it was that they
-
lifted him up. They put him in a place
-
where everybody could see him. And they
-
humiliated him in front of everyone in
-
the city. They beat him. They imprisoned
-
him. They saw him as he was uh as he was
-
lifted up. And they knew that he was
-
being beaten for what he was prophesying
-
and for what he was saying. Jeremiah got
-
a little bit discouraged. Uh he says,
-
"I'm not going to talk about it anymore.
-
I'm not going to say it. Uh, but all of
-
a sudden, something happened to him. And
-
he said, but I couldn't stay. I couldn't
-
keep my mouth shut. I couldn't back off
-
because it was a fire that was shut up
-
in my bones. Uh what I'm saying today uh
-
is oh God uh give me that fire uh that
-
in the face of opposition in the face of
-
fear in the in the place of where I
-
don't know what's going to happen next
-
that the one thing that I desire is that
-
the fire of God would flow through me.
-
Come on. I need that fire. GIVE ME THE
-
FIRE THAT JEREMIAH HAD.
-
Hallelujah to God.
-
See, this fire cleanses. It sanctifies.
-
It prepares you for service. It's not
-
just feel good, but I'm telling you,
-
God's doing something on the inside.
-
Hallelujah.
-
>> You see, we see in the fire in Acts two
-
hit, it transformed
-
ordinary people
-
into soldiers for the Lord Jesus Christ.
-
>> Hallelujah.
-
>> I said I was coming back to the ashes.
-
When we fail to feed the fire, it dies
-
down.
-
And when the fire begins to die down, it
-
begins to be covered with ash.
-
What I want to ask somebody here this
-
morning is just simply this. What's got
-
you covered up?
-
>> What's blanketing you this morning?
-
>> Oh God, help me to preach here, please.
-
In the name of Jesus, point your hand
-
this way and say, "God, give him a
-
double dose." Hallelujah.
-
Hallelujah.
-
You see, when I begin to look at that
-
that that that ash and everything that's
-
over the top of that fire that's holding
-
that fire back, that's covering up the
-
bright glow of the of the of the coals
-
uh that is uh that is causing the heat
-
not to be able to come forth and the
-
flame not to come forth. And all of this
-
here, I begin to realize that there are
-
some things in our life that causes us
-
uh to lose our joy, to lose our peace,
-
to lose our hope. Uh there's things
-
within us that cause us uh if we're not
-
careful where our praise becomes quiet.
-
Uh where our worship is snuffed out. Uh
-
and we sit there uh on the pews and sit
-
in the chairs and we go home and we just
-
wonder is there any hope whatsoever?
-
because we begin to lose out. Uh you see
-
what happens uh is whenever the whenever
-
we fail to feed it and the ash begins to
-
fall upon us. Uh that represents the
-
cares of this life. Uh that represents
-
worry. Uh that represents fear this
-
morning. Uh sometimes we get distracted.
-
Sometimes we get complacent. Uh
-
sometimes we get lazy. Uh and we won't
-
read our Bible all of a sudden. and uh
-
we'd rather read something else. Uh one
-
of the one of the biggest time stealers
-
uh that every one of us got uh it's this
-
right here. Come on. Can you say amen?
-
Uh you hear what I'm saying? Uh it takes
-
it takes you away from relationship. Uh
-
it'll take you away from spending time
-
with your family. It'll take you away
-
from uh Have you ever went to lunch with
-
somebody and they just sit there, look
-
at their phone, they won't look at you?
-
Come on. And I I'm just here to tell
-
you, I imagine most of us are guilty of
-
it at one way or other. But I want you
-
to know something. The ash uh gets up on
-
us. Uh and it begins to steal our time.
-
Uh it begins to take us. Uh and it
-
begins to and it begins to move up in
-
our life. And all of a sudden, whenever
-
that fire's not burning, worry begins to
-
come in. When that fire's not burning,
-
fear begins to come in. uh when that
-
fire is not burning uh our faith begins
-
to dwindle down where we can't believe
-
God uh and we begin to look at our
-
family uh and our family gets away from
-
God uh and all we can think about is uh
-
oh God what's going on uh and sometimes
-
you sometimes God is saying uh you need
-
to shake off uh those heavy bands uh you
-
need to lift up some holy hands uh you
-
need to shake off the ash uh and begin
-
to praise uh and to glorify God. Uh you
-
see when I look at that uh when I look
-
in that old barrel over there uh it
-
ain't nothing but ashes that I see.
-
But there's a scripture that comes to my
-
mind. Uh he will give you beauty for
-
ashes. Uh whenever you stand in the
-
middle of an ash pit, uh when you're
-
standing in the place where you don't
-
know where to go and you don't know what
-
to do, he will give you beauty. He will
-
raise you up. You hear what I'm saying?
-
I said God is able to raise you up. He
-
was able to bring water out of a rock.
-
Come on, can you say amen? He fed him
-
with mana. He parted the Red Sea. He
-
parted the Jordan. Uh he was a God that
-
was before them. And I'm telling you
-
this morning that the God that I serve
-
uh he is able to do exceedingly
-
abundantly above all that we're able to
-
ask or to think. Come on. Can you say
-
amen? I think about this ash. I begin to
-
think about it. I begin to look up and
-
there's some there's some Hebrew Hebrew
-
words with praise. Uh how many of you
-
believe in praising God?
-
How many believe it's beneficial to
-
praise God? Well, there's a word called
-
hal. Uh it's that word that we get the
-
word hallelujah. The spiritual tone is
-
it uh is joyful abandon. It's the
-
exuberant praise uh that David praised
-
uh when he danced before the ark. Uh it
-
is God just done something. Uh sometimes
-
we shout hallelujah when our favorite
-
team scores a touchdown. But I want to
-
tell you something. God is saying I want
-
you to SHOUT HALLELUJAH BECAUSE I JUST
-
DONE SOMETHING. Worked a miracle within
-
your life. Uh come on somebody. We need
-
to SHOUT HALLELUJAH FOR THE POWER OF GOD
-
THAT FLOWS IN OUR HEARTS UH IN our
-
lives. Can you say amen? You see when I
-
look at this uh also there's a another
-
word. But I'm not going to go through
-
all seven of them. But there is that
-
there is that word of yada. It means uh
-
it is associated with the surrender or
-
the public acknowledgment. Uh that is
-
God. It means to extend the hand in
-
thanksgiving or confession. It's
-
openhanded worship. It's declaring trust
-
and gratitude and raising hands unto God
-
in worship out of gratitude. that song
-
that we sang while ago where he's given
-
me chance after chance after chance
-
after chance. I want to I want to show
-
GRATITUDE UH UNTO GOD. I WANT TO THANK
-
GOD uh that I'm going to that I'm behind
-
a pull pit talking about the GOODNESS OF
-
GOD THAT I'M NOT LAYING OUT THERE IN A
-
DITCH DRUNK. UH BUT I'M SAVED BY THE
-
POWER OF GOD.
-
HALLELUJAH.
-
>> I want I'm fixing to quit.
-
>> But there is a there is a Hebrew word
-
and this is where I want to go and this
-
is where I'm going to quit. It's called
-
toada toadah.
-
>> Amen.
-
>> It's a thanksgiving choir of offering of
-
thanks.
-
It's whenever praise is offered
-
before the answer comes.
-
>> It's faithfilled
-
with gratitude.
-
It's entering into his gates with
-
thanksgiving. Hallelujah.
-
I said entering into his gates with
-
thanksgiving. We enter into his church
-
house uh into this place of worship with
-
thanksgiving. Come on. Can you say amen?
-
uh enter into those gates. Uh I remember
-
some years ago my brother, my oldest
-
living brother told me a story not too
-
long ago uh about my mom. I got a
-
brother that he's always reliving
-
history, but he told the story about my
-
mother. You see, back in 1951, my mom
-
got saved uh in a Brush Harbor camp
-
meeting uh that was preached by brother
-
WL Swagger uh and she got saved in that
-
meeting. Uh from that meeting, uh the
-
Wisner Assembly of God was birthed. Uh
-
and my mom was a was a became one of the
-
charter members uh of that church. Uh
-
and back in that day it was just an old
-
church uh out there sandwiched in
-
between some cow pastures. Uh but yet uh
-
yet they would they would take turns uh
-
cleaning the church. It was her day to
-
clean the church. Uh my brother told me
-
he gave her a ride to church. Uh not in
-
a not in a car, not in a pickup truck,
-
but on a Ford tractor, an old gasoline
-
Ford tractor. Imagine what that looked
-
like uh back in the 1950s before I was
-
born. Uh but she gave her a ride. Uh she
-
stood there with her feet on the on the
-
on the on that uh on on the running
-
boards and leaned up against the against
-
the fender while my brother was driving
-
that church that tractor up to the
-
church house uh about a fivemile drive.
-
And she said, "My mama," he said, "my
-
mama sang all the way to that church."
-
to understand something. When she got to
-
the church, I don't know what they was
-
cleaning up. Uh the bathroom was no
-
bathroom in it. There was outside
-
toilet. Uh they had it was a big toilet.
-
Uh and after Sunday school, you would
-
see uh you would see the men standing on
-
one side, the ladies standing on the
-
other because it was separated. Come on.
-
Uh and the and you know and so there was
-
a line always after Sunday school of the
-
men on over here and the women over
-
here. But nevertheless uh she went in
-
there, she cleaned up that church. Uh
-
and my brother told me that the next day
-
when they walked into that church, uh my
-
mama walked in there, she turned around
-
and looked at him and she said, "You
-
know what? I just feel like something
-
good is about to happen." Uh, she said
-
it before old Roberts ever did. Uh, she
-
just said, "I feel like something good
-
is about to happen." Uh, something
-
good's going to happen today. Uh, and
-
she and then my brother told me that
-
that was the day that my mama was
-
baptized uh in the mighty Holy Ghost.
-
Come on, can you say amen? I just want
-
you to know that it was real then. Uh,
-
it was the Tata praise. uh she was
-
praising God for something uh before it
-
ever happened. How many of you were
-
fighting some battles this morning? How
-
many of you have got children that are
-
not saved? You got a husband or a wife
-
that's not saved? Uh how many of you
-
were facing financial crisis? Uh how
-
many of you are saying, "I just don't
-
know what I'm going to do." Uh why don't
-
you just lift up your hands uh and give
-
God a praise offering uh and say, "God,
-
I want to thank you for saving my
-
family. God, I want to thank you uh I
-
want to thank you for this miracle that
-
I have in my life. Uh I want to thank
-
you uh for healing. Uh I want to thank
-
you for healing my body. There ain't
-
nothing too hard that God can't do. Uh
-
there is not a MARRIAGE SO BROKEN THAT
-
GOD CAN'T FIX IT. UH THERE'S NOT A BODY
-
SO SICK UH THAT GOD can't raise it up.
-
Why don't somebody JUST DARE TO GIVE GOD
-
A PRAISE OFFERING? I DARE YOU TO give
-
him a t OF PRAISE. UH I DARE YOU TO LIFT
-
UP JESUS. I DARE YOU TO I DARE you to
-
put that devil UP UNDER YOUR FEET. COME
-
ON, SOMEBODY. HE IS WORTHY. He is
-
Come on, praise God. Come on, praise
-
God. Come on, praise God. Come on,
-
praise God. I said the fire hadn't gone
-
out. Oh my God. It's more than a burn
-
barrel. I said it's more than a burn
-
barrel. It's a fire. It's not ignited.
-
is not ignited by human will. It's
-
ignited by heaven. Heaven. Heaven.
-
HEAVEN. IT'S A FIRE THAT COMES DOWN from
-
God.
-
Woo. Come on.
-
Hallelujah.
-
I look over this crowd. I don't have to
-
have great
-
I don't have to have great spiritual
-
insight to say I know that there's some
-
needs here this morning.
-
>> I don't have to say there's people here
-
that's in need have a great thanks but I
-
know that somebody is in need of a
-
miracle here this morning. Come on. Can
-
you say amen?
-
>> We're going to praise our way through
-
it. How many believe you can praise your
-
way through anything?
-
Hallelujah.
-
Hallelujah to God. Praise the Lord.
-
Brother Jesse, you got a you got a altar
-
working team or whatever. Why don't you
-
have them to come down here? Hallelujah.
-
Praise the Lord. I want you to lift your
-
hands to heaven. Come on.
-
Come on. Lift your hands to heaven.
-
I say to you today that my fire is
-
burning in this house. I say to you
-
today, do not walk out of here with your
-
fire dwindling or out. Today I will
-
restore to you. I will come and I will
-
burn in your life to where every need
-
you have will be supplied. I am God and
-
I change not and today come to me and I
-
will restore to you everything the enemy
-
tried to steal, says the Lord God.
-
>> Hallelujah.
-
Those of you that
-
work with welding or work with steel and
-
cutting torches, you know what I'm about
-
to say.
-
I've worked in the shipyards and I know
-
what it's like to take a cutting torch
-
and put it on metal and get it hot
-
and begin to bend it
-
and mold it to the place that you want
-
it to be.
-
That's what this title of praise is. You
-
begin,
-
you begin to praise that situation in
-
the direction you want it to go. Cuz the
-
fire of God, it's not you, it's God's
-
fire that's moving.
-
>> Come on.
-
Praise the Lord. I want you to those of
-
you in this place, you need something
-
from God. Come here and stand before
-
these people or just find a place at
-
this altar. But come Hallelujah. Let the
-
fire of God touch you. Come on. Come on,
-
somebody. I dare you to praise him. Come
-
on. Begin to praise him. Begin to say,
-
"God, I thank you for saving my son."
-
Begin to say, "God, I thank you for
-
healing my loved ones." Uh, begin to
-
say, "God, I thank you about this
-
situation at work. Uh God, I thank you,
-
Lord, that you're going to give me
-
peace. Uh I thank you, God. Uh Lord,
-
that you're going to restore my joy.
-
God, I thank you. You're going to
-
restore my anointing. Uh God, I thank
-
you today. Come on. Hallelujah. God, I
-
thank you for restoration. Come on. Come
-
on. I dare you. Come on. Praise him.
-
Begin to praise him. Begin to praise
-
him. Begin to praise him. Come on.
-
Hallelujah. begin to direct your praise.
-
Uh direct your praise. Hallelujah.