Let the Evidence Speak!

If you have your Bibles with you, can you turn

to Luke chapter 22, verses 31 through 32. It's

Luke 22:31–32

also great to have our pastor and his family

back, that the Lord had his hand of protection

upon them while they were away. And those of

you that were out, amen. We're also glad to see

you back here today as well. Amen. If you have

it, say amen. Amen. So we're going to begin with

our opening scripture in Luke 22, 31, and it

reads, And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, Satan

hath desired to have you, that he may sift you

as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy

faith fail not. And when thou art converted,

strengthen thy brethren. And the Lord said, Simon,

Simon, behold, Satan. Hath desired you. If we

want to. If you can. Turn also to the book of

Revelation. Chapter 12. Verse 11. Amen. In Revelations

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

it reads. And they overcame him by the blood

of the lamb. And by the word of their testimony.

And they loved not their lives. Unto the death.

And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb.

And by the word of their testimony. Amen. You

may be seated. Praise the name of the Lord. Amen.

Now, I want you to imagine with me for just a

brief moment as we lay down the context and paint

the picture for what we're about to get into

today. I want you to picture this. This with

me. I want you to picture a courtroom. Amen.

And a courtroom where you see the judge sitting

in the center of the room. You see the defendant.

You see the accused. You see the witnesses. You

see the jury. Amen. Just a simple courtroom.

Amen. And before I continue, I do want to mention

that I am well versed. In a court of law. Practically

a lawyer. I binge watched all nine seasons of

Suits about eight or nine times. Makes me a lawyer

practically, right? So just want to throw that

out there. Know what I'm talking about a little.

But I want you to imagine the judge sitting on

the bench, the jury in their seats. The attorney

is on both sides, and your life is the center

of attention. Your life is on trial. Because

in a courtroom, nothing moves on feelings. It

doesn't matter how you feel. It doesn't matter

what you meant or what you thought. The only

thing that matters is what can be proven. Evidence.

is what decides the outcome. Not opinions, not

intentions, evidence. And when evidence is submitted

in a court of law, it becomes part of the official

record. And this means that it cannot be ignored,

it has to be considered, and it will influence

the verdict. And here's what we need to understand

today, is that you can be innocent, but if you

don't submit your evidence, you can still lose

your case. If you stay silent, your situation

will speak for you. If you don't declare the

truth, lies will dominate the narrative. If you

don't remind yourself of who you are, Your past

will then redefine who you are. If you don't

present your case, your enemy will. If you don't

speak, the accuser will speak for you. It is

time today that we stand up and we allow the

evidence to speak. Now in the Bible, the Bible...

talks about, and it reminds us that there is

an accuser. In Revelations 12 .10, it says, And

I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is

come salvation and strength in the kingdom of

our God, and the power of his Christ, for the

accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused

them before our God day. And night. We need to

realize that we have an enemy. And the enemy

is the accuser. The enemy or the accuser is building

a case against you every single day to present

to God. For a brief moment. I want to speak on

the topic, let the evidence speak. Let the evidence

speak. This brings us to our first point here

today is that a warning came to Simon that the

enemy is building a case against him. In Luke

22, 31 through 32, it says, and the Lord said,

Simon. And as we examine the opening scripture,

we see that the Lord is forewarning Simon of

what's to come. Now Jesus didn't call out Simon's

name, amen, just to call out his name. The Lord

meant to emphasize on what was to come and what

was about to hit Simon's life. and ministry.

He wanted Simon to understand by repeating his

name that this was serious. They weren't going

to have a calm conversation over coffee. God

wasn't going to talk about the game or how Simon

was doing. This was a warning about what was

to come. A time of great trial and testing in

Simon's life. And Jesus repeats Simon's name.

It was demanding Simon's comprehension. It was

demanding Simon's attention. Now why Simon? Those

of you who know who Simon was and know that later

on that his name was changed to Peter, you would

know that Simon had a great calling and a ministry

that he was called to fulfill. And even though

at the moment Simon did not know or he was not

aware of this, Satan already knew Simon's purpose.

Simon had a great purpose. And we know Simon's

name was changed. But before it could be changed,

Simon had to be challenged. Simon Peter was used

in pivotal moments in the word of God that paved

the way. to salvation. Now he was the one that

Jesus would build the church upon in Matthew

16, 18. He was the one that would preach salvation

on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, 38. And he

was the one holding the keys to the kingdom in

Matthew 16 and 19. And I want you to know that

the enemy won't attack anything else but your

purpose. He won't chase your potential. He'll

attack your purpose. And at times when we find

ourselves in a spiritual battle, and at times

when we find ourselves, hallelujah, experiencing

things that we normally would not experience

or feel, there are moments and times where things

are going okay, and then suddenly our lives are

turned upside down. It's in these very moments

that you need to ask yourself, it is not what

I'm doing wrong, but it is what I'm doing right,

hallelujah. We need to understand, hallelujah,

that things happen. intentionally whether it's

the will of God or it's the enemy knocking at

your door. I want you to know that whether you

believe it or not your purpose is far greater

than what you will ever comprehend. Amen. It

doesn't matter what you do on a Sunday. It doesn't

matter what you do throughout the week. God has

called you with intention to a great and mighty

purpose. And when we look at Hebrews 12, 7, it

talks about this. And it reminds us that discipline

comes through enduring hardship. Amen. In Hebrews

12, 6 -11, the first part of it, it talks about

enduring hardship through discipline. And God

treating us as his own children and chastising

the ones that he loves. But when we get to verse

10. It reads like this. They disciplined us for

a little while as they thought best. But God

disciplines us for our good. Someone say for

our good. In order that we may share in his holiness.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time but

painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest

of righteousness and a peace for those who have

trained, who were trained by it. The enemy didn't

desire Simon because he was weak. The enemy desired

him because he was chosen. And Jesus wasn't just

warning Simon about where he was, but he was

warning him about where he was going. We need

to understand that the devil doesn't come to

play games. We need to understand that the devil

isn't playing tic -tac -toe with our lives. That

the devil came to stop you in your tracks. The

devil came to make you to believe and understand

that there is no hope and you have no purpose.

He comes, amen, to cause you to fail. He comes

to cause you to fall. He comes to cause you to

doubt. He comes to cause insecurity. He comes

to cause you, hallelujah, to fail. He comes to

seek, to kill, to destroy. The scripture that

we read in our opening scripture, the Bible says

that he desired Simon. But he desired to sift

him as wheat. And what that simply illustrates

is that when you sift wheat, you don't just sift

wheat by shaking it a little. You don't just

sift wheat by tossing it in the air and hopefully

it separates on its own. In order for you to

successfully sift wheat and to separate the value

or what's valuable, which is the wheat, and to

separate what is useless, which is the chaff,

the dust, and the debris, is you got to shift

it violently. There's got to be a violent shift

that takes place. And this is what the enemy

desires to do in your life. He wants to violently

shake the purpose out of you. He wants to violently

shake the calling out of you. He wants to violently

shake your faith away. It's imperative that in

these moments that we don't... back down, and

we don't give up. In Deuteronomy, it says, with

all you get, get understanding. Know that it

is in these times where we've got to hit our

knees, and we've got to pray harder. Know that

it is in these times, in these moments, where

we got to reach for the Word of God, and we got

to search the Word of God. It is in these times

where we have to acknowledge that God has all

and full authority. And if you said amen to that,

then you also know that that means that the devil

has no authority. That means that when the devil

comes knocking on, that means that when your

children get sick in the middle of the night

and you don't understand what's going on, there

is no authority. There is no weapon forged against

me that will prosper because my God is the true

and only authority. Someone clap your hands,

hallelujah, and say amen. It is not time for

us to take our foot off the gas pedal. It is

time for us to get serious about our lives. It

is time for us to get serious about our walk

with God. It is time for us to tend to what God

wants for us and not what we want for ourselves.

And when we look at this word desire in Luke

22, 31. This is what kind of will give you a

glimpse or an insight of how we, amen, started

off in the courtroom. Amen. When we look at what

the word desire means in the word of God, first

of all, you have to remember that that word desire

is not a maybe. That word desire, it's not a

maybe. The Bible said that saying desire, Simon,

that's not a maybe. It's not if he gets away

today, that's okay, that's fine. If I don't get

him today, I'll get him tomorrow. It's okay,

that's fine. I will sleep on it. I'll give him

some time. That's not what that word means. What

that word is, it is a hunger. What that word

is, it is a hunger that says I'm not going to

stop until I get him. I'm going to pursue after

Simon. I'm going to go after his family. I'm

going to go after his flock. I'm going to go

after his job. I'm going to go after his career.

I'm going to go after his passion. I'm going

to go after him until I get him. And when we

look at that word desire, amen, in Greek, amen,

that word is ixetao. I had to say it a little

slow so I wouldn't butcher it. And you know what

that word means in Greek? It means to demand

for trial. To demand for trial. The desire of

Satan for Simon was not just to judge him, was

to judge him and to sentence him. The devil's

strategy to see Simon's demise was to bring evidence

before the Lord and to apply a verdict on Simon's

life before he could even begin his ministry.

The desire of Satan was to bring Simon before

the council of the courtroom of heaven and present

an insurmountable amount of evidence against

a man like Simon. The warning was that Satan

was not only after Simon, but that Satan was

building a case against Simon. He was gathering

evidence, amen, because he was going to bring

it before God, amen, and he was going to accuse

Simon of everything and all that he was and was

not doing. And I want you to know that these

tactics are not new. Say in tactics, they are

not new tactics. But he is relentless in his

pursuit of you. In 1 Peter 5 -8, it reads that

your adversary, the devil, walks about like a

roaring lion, seeking who he may devour. And

that shows us that his pursuit is relentless

and that he is always looking and he is always

circling. Ecclesiastes 1 -9, it says, what has

been will be again. And what has been done will

be done again. There is nothing new under the

sun. His tactics are not creative. His tactics

are only recycled. In 2 Corinthians, excuse me,

chapter 2, verse 11, it says, in order that Satan

might not outwit us, for we are not unaware of

his schemes. The same schemes, the same patterns.

It's just different seasons. The enemy doesn't

know new tricks. He just needs you to forget

the old ones. His tactics are predictable, but

his pursuit is persistent. He'll try fear again.

He'll try doubt again. He'll try condemnation

again. Not because it's new, but because it worked

before. We got to understand today, hallelujah,

that when we stand up and we allow our evidence

to speak, we will get there shortly. But when

we take a stand against the enemy and we understand

that these devices are old and they're recycled

and there is nothing new that the devil can remind

me about myself. Yes, I might have been a liar.

Yes, I might have been a cheater. Yes, I might

have done this. And yes, I might have done that.

But today I sit in the house of the Lord saying,

Saved and washed by the precious blood of the

Lamb of God. Hallelujah. Today I am convinced

that the evidence that is presented in this court,

in this case, it is the evidence that I speak

today. Here are a few more examples of Satan

doing the same thing. Remember he did the same

thing to Job. When he went before God, amen,

and he spoke against Job. And he told God, hallelujah,

in Job 9 through 11. He told the Lord, you have

blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks

and his herd spread throughout the land. But

now stretch your hand and strike everything he

has and he will surely curse you to your face.

Satan is presenting the argument before God.

He is challenging Job's integrity. He is going

before God in the courtroom of heaven and presenting

the evidence against Job. He did the same thing

to Joshua in Zechariah 3, 1 -2 where it says

that he showed me Joshua the high priest standing

before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing

at his right side to accuse him. Joshua is standing

before the angel like a defendant, and Satan

is standing at the right hand, positioned as

the accuser. While Joshua stood before God, Satan

stood beside him, ready to accuse. Satan positioned

himself. He made sure he was in the direct side

of Joshua, so that Joshua wouldn't just hear

the accusations, but he would see the accuser

in action. Satan wasn't just attacking Job and

Joshua. He was building a case against them to

prove that they were guilty. And I'm telling

you today that there is a devil that is waiting

outside of that door to do the same to you. He

is waiting to accuse you. He is waiting for you

to make a mistake. He is waiting for you to fall.

He is waiting for you to fail. He is waiting

for you to get angry. He is waiting for you to

get upset. He is waiting for... you hallelujah

to fall short of the glory of God hallelujah

and as a parent I want to remind you just like

Simon before he started his ministry you have

children that have not yet started their ministry

but God has called them with purpose say it is

after your children as well say it is targeting

your children as well this is why we've got to

pray for our children we've got to stand for

our children we've got to fight for our children

we've got to pray against the enemy hallelujah

This is not, amen, a sermon or reminder of fear.

This is just simply an awareness. Hallelujah.

We've got to be aware of our enemy. Just because

everything is okay and everything is all right,

that doesn't mean that the enemy is lurking.

That doesn't mean that the enemy is waiting.

You don't have to walk around in fear because

God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a peace,

a power, and a sound mind. I know sometimes it's

hard for us, amen, to admit that we're not perfect.

I know sometimes it's hard for us, amen, to admit

that sometimes we make mistakes. But let me tell

you something, until we make it to heaven, none

of us are perfect in this place. Until we make

it to heaven, we need all of God's grace. We

need all of God's mercy. We need the blood that

continually flows from Calvary to today. Amen.

To cover us. Amen. And to protect us. Amen. Satan

is walking around and he's recording every argument,

building your case. He's recording every conversation,

building your case. Every web browser that you

open that you shouldn't be opening, he's recording

and building your case. Every lie, amen, every

deceit, every thought, every negative thing that

you say, he's collecting it and he's building

his case. All the things, hallelujah, that we,

amen, disregard and the things that we do not

regard, Satan is collecting it and he's building

his case against you. But I want you to know

when I stand here today, and I'm sure you can

agree with me when I say this. Hey, Satan, go

ahead and build your case. Go ahead. Hallelujah.

Stack it up as high as you want. Stack it up

as high as you can. Because I'm telling you,

when I step into a court of law and Satan is

looking, saying that you're guilty, I have the

best defense attorney under heaven. Hallelujah.

I have God Almighty standing right by my side.

Hallelujah. Take it in, everything that the devil

is trying to convince him that I am guilty. In

Luke 22, 32, the Bible says that God tells Simon,

but I have prayed for thee. Jesus is at your

defense today. Jesus is your defense attorney

today. Come on, someone say amen. If you are

excited about that. He's your defense attorney

today. Before the trial began, he already prayed

for you. Before the failure, he already covered

you. Before the mistake, God was already interceding

for you and I. In Romans 8, 34, 33 -34, it says,

who will bring any charge against those whom

God has chosen? That's you and I. It is God who

justifies, who then is the one who condemns no

one. Christ Jesus who died, more than that, who

was raised to life, is at the right hand of God

and is also interceding for us. He interceded

for you when he was on the cross. He interceded

for you when he closed his eyes and he took his

last breath. He was interceding for you and I.

I want to point this point out to you because

we all know what intercession and what this means.

Interceding. We know what this means. To stand

in between. To be the mediator. To speak on someone

else's behalf. To plead someone's case. Hebrews

7. chapter 7, 25, it says, therefore he is able

to save completely those who came to God through

him because he always lives to intercede for

them. He who then is the one who condemns no

one, Jesus Christ who died, more than that who

is raised to life is the right hand of God also

interceding for us. The covering did not finish

at the cross. Today, right now, at this very

moment, God is actively representing you. God

is actively covering you. Speaking on your behalf.

He's proving your case. God is not pleading your

case. He's proving your case. Because the enemy

never sleeps. Because he is the accuser. The

Bible says that he goes before the Lord day and

night accusing each and every one of us. I got

some good news for you today because God is also

interceding day and night on our behalf. God

has always stepped in, amen, and is always there

to catch us when we fall. That's why when we

read scriptures that he will never leave us nor

forsake us. That he would be with us until the

end of the earth, amen. That is not just, amen,

a good word or good news. That is a literal sense

that when we walk in his spirit, we live in his

spirit. God will always be with us. God will

never leave us. God will never forsake us. Satan

speaks about your past, but God speaks about

your covering. The Bible says that the enemy

accuses us day and night, and at the same time,

Jesus lives to make intercession for us. Every

accusation is being answered by intercession.

And I am so grateful for this, Bishop. I am so

grateful for this. Hallelujah. Because it's the

reason why I am here today. It's the reason why

you and I are here today. I am so grateful that

he kept me. I am so grateful that he covered

me. I am so grateful that he sustained me. Even

in my weakest moments. Because when I am weak,

he makes me strong. His intercession keeps me.

It keeps me safe. It protects me. His intercession.

It vindicates me. In Psalms 23 .5, it reads,

you prepare a table before the presence of your

enemies and you anoint my head with oil. My cup

overflows. In the courtroom of heaven, this does

not mean or give an escape. But what it does,

it presents a public vindication. God doesn't

remove the enemy first. He sets a table right

in front of him. In other words, the same place

the enemy expected your defeat, amen, becomes

a place that God displays your favor. The anointing

of oil upon my head, it represents authority

and identity. God is saying you are still chosen.

You are still covered. You are still appointed

even after you fail. My cup runs over. It means

that there's not enough evidence. It means that

there's overflowing evidence. It means that there

is more evidence, that there is more grace, that

there is enough mercy, that there is more than

enough proof that God, hallelujah, has been with

you all along. The enemy shows up with accusation,

but God sets the table of evidence. The enemy

points to your past, but God anoints your identity.

The enemy focuses on your downfall, but God will

prove your covering and the overflowing of grace

before the enemy. So there's no need to argue.

There's no need to defend or to be indefensive

or to fall under a defensive mindset because

I don't have to defend myself. God is defending

me as we speak. When I come short of the glory

of God and I repent and I ask God to cover me

and I ask God to create in me a clean heart,

to renew a right spirit within me, God then stands

up before the enemy and says he is no longer

guilty. He is no longer at fault. I have covered

him. He's repented. This is why we cannot blow

an opportunity when we come to church. This is

not why that we blow an opportunity every time

we have a moment to come to the altar. Every

time you have a moment to lift your hands in

worship. We cannot blow the opportunity. Hallelujah

for God to continue to cover us. I know I heard

someone say a while ago that just because they

have an altar call, I don't need to go. Well,

you're right. You don't have to. But if you want

God's covering, you better lift up your hands

and pray to God. We cannot walk into this place

and think that we are going to be changed by

not opening up our mouths. The Bible says to

confess, amen, to confess. We've got to confess,

amen, that we've been saved. We've got to confess,

amen, that we need repentance. We've got to confess

that we need a touch from God. We've got to confess

that we cannot do this on our own, but by the

strength and the all, amen, the power of the

almighty God. His blood has saved us. His intercession

has covered us. And this is all the evidence

that we need. But we have to do our part. This

brings me to the third and last point is we have

to let the evidence speak. Revelation 12, 11,

it says, and they have overcame him by the blood

of the lamb and by the word of their testimony.

If you're baptized, amen, today in the name of

Jesus Christ, and you have been washed, amen,

by the blood of the slain lamb, then that means

that God has cleansed you and made you whole.

That means that God, amen, has forgiven you.

That means that you have been transformed. You've

been created new, a new creature in God. But

that is what Jesus did. That's what he did. And

it is up to us, amen, to proclaim this. We not

only need the blood, but we need our testimony.

The blood covers us, but our testimony proves

who you are. Your testimony is evidence submitted.

See, we need to understand by the grace of God

and the covering of the blood of the lamb that

God did his part. But I think that we have forgotten

just how powerful our testimony is. I think that

we have forgotten, amen, that when you tell someone

about the goodness of God, when you tell someone

that you once were lost but now you are found,

when you tell someone, amen, that God made a

way out of no way. We just got through singing

Waymaker. How many times has God made a way?

How many times and not just over your life, day

after day, moment after moment, minute after

minute, God is continually working in your life.

Because what your testimony is saying, this is

what God did for me. This is what God did for

me. This is what the blood did for me. Hey, I

might not be perfect and I might be struggling.

But I am still here today by the power of my

testimony. Because God has acquitted me. It is

not enough for the blood just to run down the

hill of Calvary alone. And for it to cover us

and we not say anything. Your testimony is powerful.

In Acts 4 .33 it says with great power the apostles

continued to testify. Where's brother Tony? Come

on up. With great power the apostles continued

to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

And God's grace was so powerful at work in them

all. Do you understand that when you release,

amen, your testimony, you are releasing the power

of God. You are releasing the power of Calvary.

You are releasing the power of the blood. Hallelujah.

I'll be honest with you. When I was younger,

I was ashamed that my father was a heroin addict.

When I was younger, I was ashamed that we had

to wear the same clothes over and over again.

When I was younger, I was ashamed that I had

to stand in that welfare line and get that. That

big old white, hallelujah, block of cheese. Amen.

That just said cheese really big in big black

letters. And on the back side it said ingredients.

It said cheese. That's all it said. I was ashamed

when I had to stand in line and I had to collect

that book. Amen. So that my mom could go get

us groceries. I was ashamed of where I lived.

I was ashamed of how I was raised and how I was

brought up. And that shame sometimes will keep

us from sharing our testimony. Because some of

us are still shameful of where we came from.

Some of us are still shameful of where God brought

us from. But I want to tell you right now, there's

nothing to be ashamed about. You want to know

countless times I've been able to witness to

the drug addict because of what God did for my

father? Can I tell you? that most times I can

witness to people who have money and people who

don't have money because of what I experienced

and what God brought me through? I can tell you

that there are times where I've witnessed to

people, amen, who were demon -possessed, people

who were afflicted, people who were afflicted

with anxiety, people who were afflicted with

stress and concern, and they were... How? By

the power of my testimony. Because I know who

I am. Because I know where God brought me from.

And sometimes this is where people get lost when

we talk about losing our identity. It's not about

losing who you are now. You forgot about who

you were. And you forgot about where God brought

you from. My friend, I don't care what you've

done. And I don't care what you've been through.

And I don't care about the mistakes. And I don't

care about what it is that's ailing you and what's

burdening you and what has you. I'm here to tell

you that you can stand up. Hallelujah. If you

can stand up and if you can speak your evidence.

If you can speak against those things. Hey, hallelujah.

I know things are not all right. I know things

are not okay. Maybe things are a little tough.

But I'm going to speak. The evidence today. I've

been freed by the blood of the lamb. Hallelujah.

I've been liberated by the lamb. Hallelujah.

I've been liberated by Calvary. I've been baptized

in the name of Jesus. I've been forgiven. Stand

with me. You've got to understand the power of

your testimony. The devil is going to accuse

you. The devil is going to charge you. The enemy

is always going to be whispering in your ear,

telling you that you're not enough, telling you

that you're not doing enough. Hey, man, bringing

that shame back onto you. Remember where you

used to be. Remember who you used to be. It's

a constant fight. The Bible says that he accuses

us day and night. The devil doesn't sleep. And

we need to remind ourselves that any time we

feel down, any time we don't feel like we're

enough, any time we don't feel like we are enough,

that we can speak the evidence. God is still

with me. Even though I am weak, he makes me strong.

I can push through this. My ministry is just

around the corner. My blessing is just around

the corner. My calling is still active. Hallelujah.

All I got to do is speak the evidence. Speak

the truth. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. That I am

more than a conqueror. That I am more than a

conqueror. That God has already given me the

victory. Hallelujah. That I have the greatest

defense. And that God was slain. The price has

already been paid.