Replay | Do You Need Strength? with Rick Vance

He is glorious.

Behold the one who has come to us.

Welcome to Hub City Vineyard.

To get connected or to give online,

you can go to connect.hcv.church

or give.hcv.church.

If at any time during this message

you feel called to make a change in your life,

text changeme to 970-00.

Thank you and enjoy the message.

Thank you Kelsey.

I miss the somersault, don't you?

You remember Sunday she did the somersault?

Wow, I was impressed.

I've never been able to do somersault.

Well, here I am again folks.

They've let me out of my cage again to speak.

Elizabeth Pointer, before the service,

she was singing right here, Elizabeth won.

She said, I'm really looking forward to what you're going to say.

I'm interested in what you're going to say.

And I said, I am too Elizabeth.

I mean, you never know what God's going to lead you to do.

Well, I don't know.

Some of you may not have been here three weeks ago.

They let me out of my cage to play the saxophone.

Oh boy, Brett's dad, Rick, said just a few minutes ago

when we were out in the hall, he said, I thought you're going to play

your saxophone again.

I said, that would have been cool.

Right at the end of the service I'd say, hey, look,

I just happened to have my sax.

Would you mind if I played you a song?

We'll do another day.

By the way, I sent a link of the service

where I was playing the saxophone to a friend of mine.

I knew he really liked Pink Floyd.

And yeah, and I didn't know what to expect.

He's a retired stevedore and he's living out west of Berkeley Springs,

way out on a mountain where he likes it a lot.

And so I got the response from him and this is what he said.

Wow, that gave me chills.

Great music.

Now listen to this.

Awesome sermon.

Right?

Do you hear what I'm saying?

Share the link.

And if you have trouble picking one out and you didn't like the sax

for any reason, I can't imagine that, but go back to July 18th

and send him a link of Alan doing his cool rap.

Wasn't that good?

And how about last week, you know, when we had the dialogue message?

Wasn't that good, Rhett and Carl?

Oh man, you know, I really appreciate everything people have been doing

and also our sound and video people.

I don't know if you realize it, but like when we do the summer jams,

a lot of times they are here for extra rehearsals.

Like sometimes instead of just Thursday, they're coming in on Saturday and so forth.

Let's give them a hand.

Oh, I asked one more thing.

Pray for John Butler and Tilly Butler and myself this coming week from

Monday to Thursday, we're going to be involved in a Zoom conference

of potential church planters.

And it goes from Monday and to Thursday.

That's a lot of time on Zoom.

So, will you pray God gives us the strength to be able to get through that?

We'd appreciate it.

Thank you.

Which brings us interesting enough to our first point.

God strengthens us.

I'm going to read a scripture from Philippians.

And we share scriptures with you because they're true and because they work.

And God's Word works when you and I put it to work.

If we apply it as the Holy Spirit leads, the Lord will get the job done.

In our next screen, Philippians 4, Apostle Paul says in a practical way,

in any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry,

both of having abundance and suffering need.

I can do all things, and that's the emphasis in the Greek,

all things through Christ who strengthens me.

And notice the all things is not just about the church.

It's not just about Sunday morning.

It's not just about kids group.

It's not just about, you know, our home groups.

It's every single part of our life, every aspect of it.

And this past year, I had the chance to put some of that to test in my own life.

And July, besides COVID, July, actually, I managed that fairly well.

But in July, I had surgery and I had a replacement hip.

And God has healed me in different ways.

Sometimes it's just sovereignly.

I asked Lord to heal me and I'm healed.

Other times he says, go to the doctor and he does work through the doctors.

So anyway, I had surgery on my hip and extremely well, got home the same day.

And two days later, I could not boy it.

And for those of you who need that translate, it means I couldn't go to the bathroom.

And so they gave me a catheter and I had the joy of having seven of them doing that in December.

Now, I am going through rehab, trying to get, you know, leg swings and side swings and back swings.

And with a catheter.

And I want to tell you, it's hard to rehab like that.

And so anyway, I'm going to tell you how I got through it when I started, you know, into the serious part of being rehabilitated and getting back in shape to the point where we even played tennis this past spring.

But it's kind of a microcosm because this happened over and over and over.

For example, I would walk down to get the mail, go down the hill about, we're talking about a length, maybe, you know, something like a football field.

And then go down the hill and I get the mail and I start back up and I get about a fourth of the way up and I stop.

And I don't know if I can get up the hill.

I mean, that's where I was.

And so I started, I said, God, I'm going to get up the hill.

And I started, I said, God, now you told me, Lord, you told me this and you say it in your word that in my weakness, you're going to show your strength.

And so, God, I asked you to show your strength and Lord God, you said those who wait on you, who bind together with you, who intertwine with you, who expect you.

Lord God, you said we would mount up with wings like eagle, that you would renew our strength.

Lord God, you said that I will be able to run and not get weary.

You said I will be able to walk and not faint.

And I'd be at the top of the hill.

You see, God's word works when we work it.

He will give us strength to be able to do things that we can't do in our own natural strength.

And when you tell me that, when I tell you that story, and it's true, it was repeated a number of times, it sounds violent, doesn't it?

And I never thought of myself as a violent person, but I am.

I'm a Christian warrior.

You guys are Christian warriors.

And there's times when we become violent.

Because what we're doing is that we're invading the kingdom of darkness and we're bringing the kingdom of light.

That becomes violent.

Now Matthew 11, I want to make sure you know I have a biblical basis for this.

Matthew 11 puts it in an interesting way.

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force.

Sometimes you and I have to seize the kingdom.

We have to go after it.

We have to grab it and not let it go.

And there's a certain amount of violence, of force in doing that.

I want to read to you the Amplified Version.

Because when it translates, it gives you a fuller idea of what it's saying.

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violent assault.

And violent men seize it by force as a precious prize.

Well, you might say, I could never talk to God like that.

I could not express my...why not?

God likes it when we're real.

Years ago, I got to tell you, years ago, I had heart trouble for about four years.

And I said, Lord God, now I'm being very calm about this, okay?

Because it was certainly a lot louder.

I said, Lord God, the least you could do is heal all of us.

Things like my heart.

And the next morning I woke up and my heart was perfect.

So, don't be afraid to be real with God or being angry with God or being sad with God.

I believe that He likes it.

I'm going to...in our next point, it says, God strengthens us for battle.

I'm going to read from Ephesians 6, 10 to 11 and 13, 14.

In conclusion, in other words, He's summing up.

This is important.

Be strong in the Lord.

Draw your strength from Him.

He's saying, you're not enough and I'm not enough.

Draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him

and in the power of His boundless might.

The next screen says, put on the full armor of God, for His precepts are like the splendid armor

of a heavily armed soldier, so that you may be able to successfully stand up against all the schemes

and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

Therefore, put on the complete armor of God so that you will be able to successfully

resist and stand your ground in the evil day of danger.

And having done everything else that the crisis demands,

to stand firm in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious.

So stand firm and hold your ground.

I mean, that's all in Ephesians 6.

And God gives you, has given you a brave heart since you and I are Christian warriors.

And when you read that chapter, and I hope you do this coming week, Ephesians 6,

he talks about us putting on the armor.

And I want you to read because, I mean, he gives us a helmet, he gives us a breastplate of armor,

he gives us a belt of truth, he gives us things to shot our feet with, he gives us,

he gives us what do you call it, a shield of faith, he gives us, you know, the sword of the spirit.

And what do you think that's for?

That's for battle, because we're warriors.

Our third point is, who is our battle against?

And our next screen is going to tell us.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, contending only with physical opponents,

but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this present darkness,

against the spiritual forces of wickedness, and the heavenly supernatural places.

Folks, the battle is not against your spouse.

Women, the battle is not against your husband.

But I have to say now, women, amen, your battle is not against your wife.

Your battle is not against your children.

Your battle is not against your children or your parents.

Your battle is not against your co-workers.

Your battle is not against your schoolmates.

Your battle is against the enemy of our souls, who wants to break you down and tear you down

and demolish you.

Now, in our Vineyard Movement, this next screen says we have keys to our battle,

keys to our battle in the Vineyard Movement.

Well, what are they?

They're worship, preaching and teaching the Word, Bible study, small groups, mission,

everybody plays, healing, prayer and intercession, church planting.

You know, the enemy does not like any of these things.

And as an example, take our worship, like the worship we did this morning.

That's not just singing.

We're striking out against the enemy and we're making a road for God.

We're stepping into the kingdom and we're seizing the kingdom.

One of the marks about our Vineyard Movement is that we don't just sing about God.

We sing to God because we want a more intimate relationship with Him.

And that's what we foster through our worship.

And I guarantee you, it's taking territory away from the enemy.

And we do that in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Another key to Vineyard Warfare is church planting.

You know, when we plant churches, we establish battle fronts.

That's what we're doing.

We're going into the enemy territory.

We're invading.

What do you think we're doing in this church plant?

We're invading the kingdom of dark and we're bringing the kingdom of light.

That's what you and I are all about.

Now, do you think that the enemy is happy with us?

What was that?

Absolutely not.

The enemy is not going to be happy with us when we're doing these things.

He's going to try to come against us.

And the Lord gives us the opportunity to destroy the enemy's kingdom.

And bring God's kingdom to earth.

Some of you here and some of you online are future church planters.

Now, notice I did not say that you're going to plant a church tomorrow.

You're future church planters.

Some of you had to express that to me.

You said, God's tugging at my heart.

Now, when I say future, that means don't rush into the future.

Don't rush out tomorrow and sell your house, buy a mobile home, and take off.

Okay?

You need to wait on the Lord.

And one of the things He will do is train you as you go through a process.

One of the things that the Lord has been saying is that we have the potential

to plant five to ten churches in the next ten years.

And when you think about things, just think about

the number of musicians and good musicians that we've had.

Excellent musicians that we have here.

You know, we have an abundance.

God is putting people here for a purpose.

And that purpose is to invade the kingdom.

So, at the end of the service, I'm going to ask the Lord,

and Rudy's going to come join me.

I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit to identify people,

to come upon people who are church planters.

And people who are called to pray and intercede.

And one of the reasons that we're doing with intercessions

is that I believe that intercessors are at the forefront of the battle.

In other words, they go ahead of us in a sense to part the way.

Now, when you're thinking about church planting,

you might say, well, I'm not Chris, and I'm not Jessica.

And folks, that's true.

They're unique people.

You're unique people.

God's going to use your gifting and your talents

in the way that He wants to use it.

You know, some of you may take out the trash.

Some of you may be praying.

Some may be leading groups.

Some may be the givers.

Some may be on a worship team.

Some may be knocking on doors.

Who knows what God may call you.

God may call you to.

But just look around here in the multitude of giftings and talents that we have.

And God's using them all to establish His kingdom.

So as you gain experience here,

you will find as you try different things,

as you volunteer for different things,

as you walk into different things,

that we want to help you if you're identified as a church planter or as an intercessor,

because we want to support you in what you're doing.

So let us know.

I know that I'm here and you're here because there have been people that 10 or 12 years ago

said, I'm going to pick up my bat and I'm going to step up the plate and I'm going to take a swing.

Now, they may not have known what they were doing at the time,

but they begin to learn.

And that's how we do it.

We all gain experience.

We all go through things.

I think about myself.

I think about the different steps and I'm not going to go into all of them,

but when you begin to walk in the prophetic,

he starts out with you give someone one little word like balloon,

and you just trust and you give them a little word.

And you just trust and you go for it.

And little by little he brings you into it and helps you to develop.

And that's what he will do with each one of you.

Now, in our fifth screen it says, Our Decision.

What do I mean by that?

We, each one of us here, are faced with a question.

Am I going to do all things through Christ who strengthens me?

Or am I going to try to do it in my own strength?

I don't know about you, but my own strength is just not enough.

The question is, am I going to fight the good fight or not?

Am I going to seize the kingdom of heaven and bring it to earth?

And through the messages this month, I've been hearing over and over.

It's not a question of when.

I mean, a biff, but it's a question of when you will face trials and tribulations.

Every one of us goes through trials and tribulations.

But here's the thing.

When we go through them, we know that Jesus Christ is with us.

He's in our hearts.

And He carries us through us and supports us in these crises.

We don't go it alone.

And that makes a big difference.

In our sixth screen, it says, and this is a very important thing for you and I here at the Vineyard.

It says, I am doing exceeding abundantly beyond what you ask or think.

Now, that's not the exact Scripture.

And I want to give you the exact Scripture now.

And it says, Ephesians 3 20, the Father is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond what we ask or think

according to the power that works within us.

Now, the reason I wanted to put that down is because, you know, I've said that to the Lord.

I said, Lord, you are able.

I know that's not the exact Scripture.

You know, I've said that to the Lord, I said, Lord, you are able. I know you're capable of doing,

you know, exceeding abundantly beyond what I ask of you.

But for the last six months, what I've been hearing,

I am doing exceeding abundantly beyond all you ask or think.

He's saying that to us.

And I want you to connect with it.

And I've been thanking Him, you know, for doing that.

He is giving us a new release of favor in our church.

And not just in here on Sunday mornings, but also in our personal lives outside of church.

We've been seeing that already.

And we may not even understand how it happens except it's God.

We cannot take credit for it.

We cannot walk in pride about it.

We cannot make it happen.

God makes it happen.

And in this church, every Sunday, we've been seeing people invite Jesus into their heart.

And sometimes people are reclaiming things that they have lost in the past.

So you will see Him doing exceeding abundantly outside in your personal life as well as here in the church.

I want to give you several examples.

I give them from my personal life because I, you know, walk through them.

And we had a family get-together of one side of the family down in Riceville Beach, North Carolina.

Over the July 4th weekend.

And we gathered there for a couple of reasons.

One was we, on the Friday, we had a service in the morning for one of the members of the extended family.

He's a 32-year-old man.

And he died of a drug overdose right here in Agra town.

And, you know, people didn't even know he was in Haggardstown.

And since I was here, I was able to go and be with the family at Barrettus Hospital.

And then on Saturday, we, you know, celebrated another person's birthday.

And so it was that kind of weekend.

We hung out at the beach and so forth.

Now on Friday night, we went out to eat.

And we went to a place that does not take reservations.

And there were 16 of us.

And Raymond, one of the guys in our group, went up to the wait staff and said, you know, we would like a reservation.

This is 6 p.m.

And at 6 p.m., I start getting a little hungry.

And so she said, we asked how much of a wait for 16 people.

And she said, an hour and a half.

I didn't feel completely comfortable with that.

But I stayed.

And so being the patient guy I was, about 40 minutes into it, 20 minutes to 7, I walked over to the two people with their iPads, putting down people's names.

And I said, hey, you know, the Raymond reservation, about how long do we have?

And the one person said, it looks like an hour to an hour and a half.

Well, that made me real happy.

And so anyway, I had already asked one of our daughters, I said, and by the way, we have another one of our daughters here this morning, which I'm glad, with one of our granddaughters.

And I walked over and I'd already talked with her and I said, would it make any difference if we did not stay?

And she said, absolutely not.

And so Lynn and I went around, my wife Lynn, and we said our goodbyes quickly.

And I turned to leave, and a young woman walked up to me and she said, your table will be ready in 10 minutes.

I said, 10 minutes?

Because I was thinking we were going to eat about a quarter of nine.

And so five minutes later, we were at the table.

I had been to that restaurant, I don't know how many times when I was growing up, and through my adult life, that has never happened.

There's always a wait.

And so I knew that God was doing exceeding abundantly beyond anything I could conceive, you know, for that restaurant.

And that's going to happen more and more in our lives.

Now, on July 10th, I was driving to, there's another example of it, because I want you to get this, and I want you to start looking for it.

I was driving out to Illinois, we were doing a prayer ministry school that I'm a part of and helped to direct.

And I spent the night in Indiana, got into the motel maybe 8.30, 20 of 9, checked in.

Around the corner was a Taco Bell, I went to the Taco Bell.

And I, you know, made my order.

I waited and the order came out, and the young man gave me the order, and I reached for my billfold.

He said, there's no charge.

I don't know about you, I have never been in a fast food restaurant where they said, hey, there's no charge.

I mean, hey, I'm ready for it.

I wasn't ready for it that night.

I said, what are you talking about?

And he said, there's no charge.

And I said, why is that?

And he said, well, he said, I get free dinners here, and I don't like the food.

It doesn't agree with me.

That made me think, I guarantee you.

When I took that first bite, he said, uh-oh.

And he said, so I'm giving it to you.

That has never happened to me.

All right, so August 8th, I take my old grab floor with,

it has a, on the front, in front of the sunroof, it has a deflector, one of those plastic gray things, you know.

It goes out, stands up like this, and it had begun to come apart, and it was whistling under the, you know, I'd be driving along,

you know, if you start going at higher speeds, like 45, it starts whistling.

I wanted to do away with the whistles, so I went up to Steve's Auto Body in Berkeley Springs,

and I told them what the deal was.

And so Steve and a guy named Mike came over, they took it off, stripped off that old double-faced sticky tape,

put new stickum on there after they cleaned off the, you know, the adhesive from the top of the vehicle,

put the whole thing back down, and I said, how much is that going to be?

And Steve said, no charge.

I don't know about you, but I love going into an auto body place and tell me there's no charge for this, right?

But I believe it was God's favor, and I told him, I said, look, I want to pay for this.

You guys did the work. He said, nah. He said, we'll make it up.

Oh, okay. So now, oh, I left there and I went to get some eggs.

Stopped by a friend's house where I get them and got three dozen eggs, 250 a piece, da-da-da-da, 750.

And I had it in my pocket, and his wife said there's no charge for it.

Folks, this doesn't happen. You know what I mean? It's a rarity.

So, last Sunday, I finished, we finished here, and my wife and I went over to Lowe's.

I was returning a part, and I go up to the cashier to return the part, and six feet away,

there was a guy, he was returning something, and I'm standing there and he says to me,

there's money at your feet. I looked over at him, and I looked down.

There's a $10 bill. I'm thinking, I don't think I took a $10 bill out of my pocket.

And so I reached down and picked it up, and I said, here, you want it?

And he said, no, I don't want it.

I mean, you know, folks, this is sort of unusual, right?

And so I gave the cashier my telephone number and my name, and I said,

look, if someone is missing $10, please give me a call.

Now, I'm saying this to you because God is giving us favor.

He is doing exceeding abundantly above, beyond all we can ask or think.

And there's other people here that's happening to you.

I mean, I've heard some of your stories.

I have one buddy here who was in the First Service, but he told me, you know,

his company closed down and he didn't have a job to go to, but after a couple weeks,

somebody said, hey, why don't you come do this?

And he started, and pretty soon he's got his own business, and he's doing so well

that now he's thinking about expanding.

I talked with someone on the phone Friday morning, and she said that, she said,

you know, I went for an interview this morning and I got the job.

And I got, she got a phenomenal bonus, and she got more than she thought she was going

to make per hour, and she gets a monthly bonus on top of it.

I'll tell you, folks, this is a time of favor.

We go through seasons, and I believe this is a time of favor for the Vineyard.

I would like you to look again at this last screen, and I'd like you to say it with me.

It's the screen that says, I am doing exceeding abundantly beyond all you think or ask.

Would you say that with me?

Here we go.

I am doing exceeding abundantly beyond all you think or ask.

And sign it, God.

I'm going to have a prayer here in a minute, and don't leave because there's two more things

we're going to do afterwards, and I'm going to invite Rudy to come up and join me,

Rudy Rudisill, and after I pray the prayer, he'll be up here.

I found out, by the way, that there is a possibility that Rudy and I are related.

Wouldn't that be wild?

We both have someone called Mamie Rudisill in our family lines, so we're trying to check

that out to see if we're, you know, if we are really distant cousins.

Let's pray, folks.

Lord, we are so thankful for Your life, and we're thankful for Your life in us and through

us, and we thank You for the favor You've given us, are giving us, and will give us,

and we thank You, Lord, that You are doing exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think,

in Jesus' mighty name.

And everybody said,

Now, what I'm going to do is I'm going to invite the Holy Spirit to come upon us,

and for two particular groups, and hi, Rudy.

Everybody say, hello, Rudy.

He's a good guy, isn't he?

In spite of what you heard.

All right, come on. So, the first group is people who are called to pray, and every one

of us prays, but some of us have an unusual unction.

We're more driven about it, and we don't step in that role overnight.

Again, it's a process.

So, I'm going to ask you to bow your head, and we're going to ask the Holy Spirit to come,

and we're going to ask the Holy Spirit to be upon you, especially those who are upon

intercessors, and then Rudy and I are going to pray over them.

So, Holy Spirit, we love you, dear Holy Spirit, Spirit of God,

and we invite you to come and rest upon your people.

And Lord, we ask you to stir up on the inside, not the intellect, that'll come.

Don't let our minds interfere with what you're speaking into, our spirit person.

And we ask you to stir us up.

Lord, if you're calling us to be prayer warriors, we ask Lord God that you let us know

personally, individually, come Holy Spirit, come.

And Lord, people online, too, don't let them get away.

This is for you all online as well.

Come Holy Spirit.

And what I'm going to ask, and if we can bring the lights up a little bit,

you know, just as the Holy Spirit is coming, if you sense the Holy Spirit is tugging at

your heart about praying for people and praying on their behalf, I'm just going to ask you

to stand so that we can pray for you.

Will you stand as the Holy Spirit comes on you?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hallelujah.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes.

Thank you.

Now, there's some of you that may not feel comfortable standing.

That's okay.

I don't want you to feel bad about that.

But as Rudy and I pray, will you please receive the prayer for yourself?

And, you know, if you're led to just extend your, you don't have to touch, but you can

extend your hands out toward these people, and we're going to pray.

Rudy, do you want to start it?

Do you all want to say no?

Am I on?

Am I on?

I don't want to, but the Holy Spirit told me I had to, so.

Oh, good.

I'm sure glad for that.

Go ahead.

All right.

Holy Spirit come.

Yes.

You, Holy Spirit, have given us everything we need to pray on other people's behalf.

And most of us don't even know that we have all the tools.

And I just pray right now that you make those tools evident.

Yes.

To everyone who's standing and all those who have not yet stood.

Yes.

And Lord, we ask that you keep these safe and protected.

And we ask Lord that because they are tenderhearted people, and intercessors many times have very

tender hearts and they feel beaten up a lot, we ask Lord God that you help them to guard

their hearts in every possible way.

Show them how to guard their hearts in you.

Be everything they need.

And help them, Lord, when they walk out of the closet to be able to walk in your fun

and joy in their daily lives.

In Jesus' name.

And everybody said amen.

Okay.

Be seated.

Let's give the Lord a hand for that.

Hallelujah.

So the next group we're going to pray for are those who are called to church planting,

to be a church planter in some form or fashion.

And so, Holy Spirit, come.

We ask that you come, bow your head if you will, and just, you know, you and God, it's

between you and God right now.

And Lord, we ask that you come upon people who are future church planters.

That people you're going to teach through their involvement here and other places who

are going to gain experience that they're going to be able to go out and invade the

enemy's kingdom and bring your kingdom.

Holy Spirit, come.

Stir the people up.

And as you feel the Holy Spirit moving on you or in you, will you just stand?

Because we're going to pray.

Thank you.

Yes, thank you.

And just stand and thank you.

You may not be able to analyze this, by the way, because it's in your spirit person.

Thank you.

Is there another person over here?

Thank you.

Two more over here.

Yes, thank you.

Thank you.

Hallelujah.

All right.

We're going to pray for you.

Lord, right now, we just extend your blessings upon these lives.

Lord, you've already called them to be leaders in their lives.

And they know that in some respect, whether it's here at work or out in their community

or in their families, they are leaders.

And we ask, Lord, that you bless them, help them every step of the way, help us to support

them in the way they need to be supported, help us to give them the experience that they

need in the coming years in Jesus' mighty name.

And, Lord, we thank you for that.

If anything else?

So Rick asked me to speak and then I forgot because usually I would want to prepare something.

But as I was thinking about it, like I got up and got dressed and forgot, right?

But I think that I need to speak to – you guys can sit down.

I need to speak to everyone in here that has been coming for the last couple months.

Or maybe today is your first day.

And you've heard Chris or John or Reg or any of the speakers that we've had on stage,

you've heard them say, hey, if you feel called, raise your hand.

If you feel called, stand.

And I believe that there are a number of people in here that have felt like they need to raise

their hand and they haven't.

I'm not going to make you raise your hand.

You know who you are.

I didn't.

Can I add something to that?

I've raised my hand.

There are some people – Elizabeth Pointer, before we started, gave a prophetic word and she said,

there are some people here who at one point in your life you've accepted Christ.

Well, I don't know where that might be or how old you were,

but you are not in the same place you were then and He's calling you back.

So we invite you, too, to be a part of this.

Go ahead.

So, again, I had no idea what I was going to say, but the Spirit gives you the words you need.

A young lady named Anna shared this with me today.

It's lyrics from a song called Gloria.

I'll share the band if you want to know later.

And one of the words or one of the lines says this,

I just want to be something more than the mud in your eyes.

I want to be the clay in your hands.

And I believe that most everyone in here has had a Jesus experience.

We all have been blind and Jesus spit in some mud, right?

Some of us are still living on that experience and now we need to become the clay.

And that means stepping out.

Because Rich talked about Chris and Jess and he said, You aren't Chris or Jess.

Guess what?

Chris wasn't Chris when he started.

Not the Chris we know.

And Jessica wasn't Jess.

Not the Jessica we know.

They stepped out.

And being molded by Jesus doesn't mean I sit in my bedroom or in my safe, quiet place reading the Bible.

Although you do need to do that.

Being molded is when you take that step out.

So I believe that some people in here are being called for something.

And Rich also talked about a lady giving him eggs.

That lady was being molded by Jesus.

And Steve that fixed his car was being molded by Jesus because they were being Jesus.

And those of you that were afraid to put your hand up, you were already being molded because you were already being a light of Jesus in whatever way that looks for you.

But as you walk this walk, you're going to continue to be molded.

And I just want to pray for everyone who, even if you have raised your hand, if you are that person that has felt that tug on your heart, I'm being called.

Because listen, there's a couple people in this crowd that know the knucklehead Rudy before Hub City Vineyard.

Right?

And they know I'm still really that knucklehead.

But they know the knucklehead that is being guided by the Holy Spirit.

And you may be thinking, I'm that knucklehead.

I can never do it.

You won't do it by yourself, but the Spirit will give you the words like he did to me just now.

So if you want to raise your hand, raise your hand.

But if not, put your hands out like this in front of you.

Come Holy Spirit.

I know that there are people in here that want to step up and be your light.

I know that there are people that have been leading through your light in the workplace.

I know that there are people that have you have been molding, and they are now ready to step up and take control and be the statue that you have molded them into.

Whether it's lead a small group or lead a team here at church or all those people that raise their hand for church planning.

God's not going to give you all the answers right now, but Holy Spirit, just give them that seed that they need to take the next step.

Yes.

Lord, right now in your hearts for those who want to invite Jesus into your heart and those who did at one time but need to reclaim that and come back to him.

I'm going to pray the prayer in your heart.

Will you pray and agree with me?

Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus Christ.

And we ask Lord that you come into each of our hearts here this morning.

And Lord that you forgive our sins.

We claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

We thank you that he died for us.

We thank you that he made possible for us to be a part of the new covenant in his blood.

And we thank you Lord for forgiving our sins and the mistakes and the mishaps that we've made in the past.

And we ask your Holy Spirit that you come and fill each of our lives, fill our lives with your life.

Give us that abundance of your spirit so much so that it pours over to other people that we're able to do things we simply cannot do in our flesh.

And we give you the honor.

We give you the glory. And we thank you in Jesus' name.

And Lord, right now, I speak your safety and protection on each person here.

And I speak your peace on each person to be go in front of them, go behind them, surround them at all times.

And help them to walk the walk that you want them to walk in Jesus' mighty name.

And everybody said, Amen. Go God.

Now, wait a minute. I taught you better than that. Go God.

All right. See you next Sunday.