The Church on fire In the Temple

And I'm going to be reading today out of the book of Acts, chapter two and verse 46.

Acts chapter two, it would be so kind to join me there on your Bible app or if you've got a physical Bible with you, you can turn there today.

Acts chapter two and verse 46. Amen.

We began this series last Sunday sharing what God is doing with us this year.

And we're just grateful for the Lord for the vision that he has given the church. Amen.

And as we look at today's verse, I'm going to invite you to open up your hearts because this is going to be a very important topic.

And I've got a lot to cover, so I hope I can get through it all.

Jesus name verse 46. It reads this way.

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, in the temple and breaking bread from house to house.

They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Amen.

I'm going to preach today with the help of the Holy Ghost on the on the continuation of this series, the church on fire in the temple.

Can someone say in the temple? In the temple.

Let us pray, Father, we love you. Thank you for your word.

Thank you, God, for your presence that we feel in this place.

This is your church. These are your people.

This is your word. And we are gathered today, God, for that purpose, Lord, for you to speak into our lives, give us direction, Lord, to unite us, to empower us, Lord, with a vision, with a purpose.

God, and I ask today, as I humbly submit myself to you, God, I render and I surrender God all my faculties, God, my mind, my soul, my spirit, my lips, my tongue, God, so that it might be an instrument for you.

Let it be your wisdom in your words, God.

And I pray that you would confirm the word of God today with miracles, signs and wonders.

Lord, feel somebody today with the precious gift of the Holy Ghost. God, touch someone's life.

We ask this right now in Jesus' mighty name. Someone say amen.

You can be seated.

I hate to bring this up, but as I was considering today's thought, I had to remember the haunting steelness of those Sundays that we all can remember during the COVID lockdowns.

I know that is a bit of a sore subject. I think many of us have tried in some ways to forget that period of time because it was certainly not a time in our life as families, as a society that we really want to be thinking about every day.

But I remember one particular moment standing here in the sanctuary. I forgot what I came to do. I came maybe to pick up some supplies or do something. But I was standing here and the pews were empty.

The lights were dimmed and the only sound were the creaks in the ceiling that sometimes we hear on windy days. We get a little nervous. What's that?

It's the creaking of the ceiling and cars that were passing by. My mind raced back to those moments in this place where it was alive with worship, with prayer, and the voices of God's people.

And as I stood here, and I'm being transparent with you, this is a very private moment for me. So respectfully speaking, this was something that I never thought I would share, but it was a personal moment.

But I felt to share it because as I stood here in the sanctuary, I was so moved and I was so grieved in many ways in my spirit.

The silence was deafening, not just because the room was empty, but because something deep within me knew that we were missing the essence of what it meant and what it means to be the church.

For months we adjusted to online activities, meetings, and services. And while I'm thankful for the technology that allowed us to do those things, I don't think that it was ever sufficient.

It just wasn't the same. Amen. It was not the same at all. Worship felt incomplete without the echoes of voices surrounding me.

Preaching felt very different. I never prepared in all of my years of training and preparation to preach just to a camera.

Without Amen's, without the anointed atmosphere that we feel in this place today, it was for me like a fish out of water, something that I don't really want to go back to.

And it's not because of just the material things. It wasn't just the building or the other things that we do to make church happen every Sunday.

But it was those intangibles, perhaps those things that we in that moment took for granted.

One of the most painful things for me, especially as a pastor, was that during that period there was no altar. There was no altar calls, no place for people to come forward, to cry out to God.

No physical way for me to lay hands on people, to pray with and to pray for one another.

And that's when I realized, church friend, that's when I realized that gathering in the temple is more than an activity.

It's more than just something that we do because we're church people.

It is a lifeline connected that connects us from God to our soul. It is more than just something that we do because we are religious in many ways.

It is an integral part of what makes us the church.

And I began to understand the devotion, the dedication of the early church when we read that they continue daily with one accord in the temple, daily.

They didn't just go once a week, but there was a daily anticipation, a daily routine.

It was embedded not only in the Jewish mindset who had converted to Christianity, this relationship to God through the temple,

but it became a very much cornerstone, a part of the early church. It was adapted.

It was modified for Christian worship and the disciples and the early church were very much about coming together at the temple for worship and for prayer.

It was a part of Jesus's custom to frequent the temple.

And so today I want to, for the moment that I had today, to preach about the power and the importance of gathering in the temple.

And there are four things that I want to point out that must be present in an apostolic service.

We are today in an apostolic service. We are in a Jesus name, Holy Ghost field, one God, Pentecostal, apostolic service.

Amen, somebody. Let's give God a hand. Praise today. Amen.

That's the kind of service that we are in, but the kind of service we are in does not happen on its own.

There are some particular things that must be present for it to be an apostolic service.

And the things that I'm going to mention, these four things are not just traditions.

I don't want you to think about this through the lens of tradition, through the lens of what we are familiar with, through the lens of what we are used to.

Or if you were raised in the church, what we are accustomed to, these things are not just traditions.

They are they are actually oils. They are oils.

They are oils that in the same way an oil sparks and sustains fire.

These things are oils that spark and sustain fire revival in an apostolic service.

So let us today dissect what is an apostolic service.

Now, I want to tell you right now, I've only got four I'm going to talk about.

But in prayer and preparation, there's probably more things that we could bring out as well.

But just let me let me just bring these to you.

The first oil of an apostolic service is the oil of exuberant praise.

Praise. Can somebody say praise? Come on, let's all say praise.

One of the hallmarks of a Holy Ghost field apostolic church is exuberant and expressive praise.

I want to go out on a limb today and say that there is nothing like apostolic praise in all of the world.

There is nothing like apostolic praise.

I am 100 percent confident in saying that apostolic praise is second to none.

Do I have a witness out there today? Apostolic music is in a league all by itself.

I am very zealous and jealous for the things of God.

And that's so I have no there is there is nothing in me.

I have no hesitation. I have no trepidation.

And going out insane that there is nothing in the religious world and beyond that compares to apostolic praise and worship.

Nothing that compares to apostolic worship, apostolic music, apostolic musicians.

And there is such a significant and special oil that exists within the app.

How many of you believe what I am saying here today?

We as an apostolic church have a distinct sound that cannot that cannot be duplicated.

There are others that try to replicate it or that try to copy it, but it cannot be duplicated.

Why? Because it is an oil.

It is an anointing. It is something that God gives a Holy Ghost filled Jesus named church that cannot be compared to anything else in the world.

I don't care how talented it is. I don't care how gifted it is.

God can do more with an apostolic worship and praise than all of those things combined.

Because it is the oil. Someone say the oil.

It is the oil of joy.

And Isaiah, can I preach this like I want to today?

Someone say go ahead. Hallelujah.

In Isaiah sixty three or sixty one three, God gives us the oil of joy for morning.

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

Joy has an oil to it.

There is something about the joy of the Lord, the joy unspeakable and full of glory.

When you are fire baptized with the Holy Ghost and speak with other tongues as the spirit gives you the utterance.

We no longer just worship and praise him like every other created thing in this world.

Now we are offering up God an anointed praise, an anointed worship.

We don't just sing because we know the song.

We don't just sing because we have the gift of singing.

We sing from the overflow and from the abundance of a joy filled heart.

I come to tell you today that it's the joy of oil that's in our praise.

Hallelujah. It's the joy. The joy is the oil of our praise.

And so that is why church, we can never lose the joy of the Holy Ghost that infuses and permeates every aspect of our lives.

Am I preaching today to a joyful people? Am I preaching?

Is there anybody today that's got joy in your heart?

I wonder if you can give God a joyful hand clap, a joyful shout, a joyful pray.

Come on somebody this afternoon.

The Psalm is said in Psalm 100 and verse 1.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye at lands, and serve the Lord with gladness.

Come before his presence with singing.

I've come to tell you today that you don't have the right to come to God any way you feel like it.

My God, you don't have the right to show up to church any way you feel like it.

I'm talking to the saints right now. I'm talking to the church right now.

You don't have the right to just come any old kind of way and offer God any old kind of lousy, casual pray.

God has been too good to you to give him a casual, whatever's left over in your body kind of praise.

No, we've got the joy of the Lord in our hearts.

And God expects us to bring him a joyful praise.

Apostolic services are different because we don't just come to him any way we want.

We must enter his gates with thanksgiving.

How many of you are thankful today?

I said how many of you are thankful today?

Enter his gates with thanksgiving into his courts with praise.

God's got a prescribed way. We ought to come to him.

That's why the moment that your foot steps out on the parking lot and you arrive here at 1425 South Springer Road,

and by the time you walk into those doors and you begin to make your,

you've got to make sure that every step in your walk is filled with the joy of the Lord.

And if that's not the case, you better check yourself on the way to church and say,

get this nasty attitude out of my mind.

Get those bad thoughts out of my spirit because when I get to the house of the Lord,

I want to be like David that said I was glad when they said unto me,

let us go into the house. Am I talking to somebody here today?

That's the attitude that we've got to come with.

We've got to come every time and say, I'm going to get, I'm going to sweat through this shirt today.

I'm at home. My God. Hallelujah. Oh, nobody wants to go there now.

I don't care how I look. I don't care how it sounds. I don't care.

Oh, Lord, when I get into your presence, God, I'm going to I'm not holding nothing back.

I'm giving everything to you. Come on. How about somebody say amen today?

Where hallelujah does the oil of praise take place? And what does it sound like?

Oh, I'm so glad that our Bible talks to us the way that it does because of someone 50.

It tells us where the praise takes place. Oh, yes, Lord.

It takes place in the temple for all you folk that say, well, I just praise him in my car.

And I don't need to act like that in church. And I got a lot of. Yeah, right.

You have a lot of joy in your room in your car. I don't believe that.

There is a way that when we get into the house of God, it says praise the Lord.

Where does it say praise God? Praise God in his sanctuary.

Praise him in his mighty firmament. Praise him. Oh, my Lord, I get excited for his mighty acts.

Praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet.

Praise him with the loot and the heart. Praise him with the tremble and the damp.

Praise him with string instruments and flute. Praise him with loud cymbals. Praise him with clashing cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. I wonder if for the next 30 seconds you can open up your mouth.

You can stand up on your feet. You can lift up your head and give God a joy.

Come on, church. Oh, come on, somebody. Come on, church.

Come on. What kind of church are we today? Come on. Don't stop now.

Don't stop now. Don't stop now. We don't need the music up here today. We don't need the praise team right now.

You are the praise team right there where you are.

You know the problem is, brother, we can become so dependent on just watching the praise team worship,

watching the musicians play while we sit back and observe everything that's going on. That's not what apostolic praise looks like.

Hallelujah. Apostolic praise says, I will bless the Lord at all times and his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

When I was growing up in the apostolic church, we didn't even have a praise team.

You know what we had? We had a brother behind the pulpit who couldn't even sing, praise be to God.

And we had musicians that could play pretty good, but it's nothing like the talent and the musicians and the praise team that we had today.

But we were a loud church and we were a worshiping church.

Now it seems the tables have been turned. We got all the sound. We got all the praise. And that's wonderful and great.

But that's not to take your place in worshiping God.

I did not come here to be entertained. I didn't come here for a performance. I came here to entertain the presence of the Lord.

And we got to get back to that kind of praise. Got to get back to shouting and dancing and crawling on the walls and swinging on these chandeliers.

Hallelujah. Just make sure we got enough insurance for in case anything happens. Hallelujah. We got to get back.

You say, but pastor, why do we got to? We're more dignified. I mean, we kind of evolved from that kind of stuff.

We're, you know, we're a little more buttoned up now. You know what I'm saying? Like my picture might get posted on Instagram.

I don't know if I want to look like that. I don't know if I want to get my hair messed up.

I don't know if I want to break this high heel. If those high heels are too cute, sisters, that you can't dance in the Lord, leave them at home.

Oh, did I say something? Hallelujah. Leave them at home. If you can't praise God.

And you know, you said, Pastor, you've been wearing a tie lately. You've been getting all dressed up. You know why?

Because when we first started this church, a part of me thought, well, maybe we'll make it a little more casual and people will be a little more, you know,

a little more welcoming and a little more casual and they can move around a little more without a suit and a tie.

But then I realized that this has nothing to do with the way people dress. You're either going to praise God whether you like it or not.

And for those of you, Pastor, I thought you were just casual. No, I grew up wearing a suit and a tie.

I started putting one back on because I realized that, you know what? It's not about, oh, I know how to praise God like this.

I know how to loosen up this tie if I need to a little bit and let God do what He wants to do.

It's not a don't let nothing hold you back from giving God the glory. Hallelujah.

Oh, if you got tennis shoes on, at least use them and run around this place a little bit.

Oh, Lord. So maybe some of you could join me and put on a tie out there, brother, and let's come to the Lord.

You say, you know what? What do we really have to do? No, we don't have to do that. But here's the point.

If we're giving God our best and we're coming before the Lord and we have joy in our hearts for all that He's done,

let's not let nothing stand between us and giving God an exuberant praise that He is worthy of.

Oh, I wonder if they would say like they said to David when he danced before the Lord with all of his mind,

his wife thought that she had lost his, he had lost his mind.

And he said, why is it that you're dancing like that, David, when the presence of God had come back?

And he said in my version paraphrase, he said, if you think this is bad, I'm about to get more undignified than this.

I wonder if we can start making our neighbors a little uncomfortable, making them sweat a little bit like,

oh, you're being a little too expressive. You're being a little too joyful.

That's right, because the joy of the Lord has come into my life. Oh, God has been too good to me.

He's been too good to me. Oh, hallelujah. Why don't we just love the Lord one more time right now?

Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Oh, and then we also need not only, I could just preach about praise all this.

I could just take the rest of this sermon and preach on praise because I got a feeling like I was just about halfway there with some of you right now.

But let's move on to the next one because I got a few more. And the second oil is the oil of anointed preaching.

Oh, hallelujah. Oh, thank you for the preached word of God.

Every message that is preached from this pulpit, whether it's me or another preacher, must be saturated with the oil of the Holy Ghost.

Oh, hallelujah. Jesus said in Isaiah, he read from Isaiah and he said, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel.

You cannot just preach. You've got to preach with the anointing. Oh, hallelujah.

I say this to all that are here because every one of you is a mouthpiece for God in some way.

But considering the apostolic service in particular, every deacon, every minister, every man of God that stands behind this pulpit for whatever purpose it is,

better make sure that the oil is on your life, because what we need more than ever is Holy Ghost filled anointed preaching.

Oh, hallelujah. A lot of what modern day Christians call preaching is nothing more than just motivational speeches and religious pep talk

where preachers get up on Sundays and they tell the congregation what they want to hear. That's not what's going to be preached in this church.

This is going to be an anointed word of God. It's going to be the word of the Lord. It's not going to be a self centered message.

It's going to be a God centered message. And this is what makes an apostolic church an apostolic church.

We don't believe in the prosperity gospel. We don't believe in a me centered gospel.

We don't believe that Jesus is your genie and he's here to give you your three wishes and make your life super comfortable.

That's not what the Bible teaches us about God. Jesus said, deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me.

That's what the word of the Lord says. And so I have a great responsibility as I stand before the sacred desk with fear and with trembling

that this is not my employment desk. This is God's deployment desk. This is not for me to air out what I want to say.

This is the pulpit. This is the apostolic pulpit. And this is the apostolic message that when it gets preacher, it is the unadulterated word of God.

Oh, it is my job to preach this word in season and out of season and to plant the seed of the word into your heart to build up your faith in God.

The Bible says in first Corinthians chapter one and verse twenty one for since though in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God.

It pleased God through the foolishness of preaching or the message preach to save those who believe it is the wisdom of God emanating or coming out through the voice of the preacher.

It is the foolishness of preaching. Why does that use that term foolishness of preaching?

Because this message is foolishness to those who are perishing. This message is foolishness to those without the gospel.

But to us, it is the grace of God. To us, it is the voice of the Lord.

They think it's foolish for a man like me to stand behind a pulpit all dressed up, yelling and screaming and declaring and shouting in the world's eyes.

Hear me today. What your pastor is doing every Sunday morning is a foolish act.

Do you get what I'm saying today? It is foolishness for me to come up here and make myself the way that I do sweating and preaching and yelling and compelling and persuading.

They consider me to be crazy, unintelligent and uncultured.

They would question my sanity. They would question my intelligence. They would question the sensibilities that I have as a modern day man.

But thanks be to God that my life nor is my calling connected to the approval of man or secular society.

Because there's one thing that I've got clear in my mind is that I work for God and not man.

And so what thus saith the Lord, if I've got what they don't understand, is that every Sunday, every time I preach or the preacher preach, we're not just giving a motivational speech.

Are you hearing me today? We're not just giving you five steps to a nicer life.

We have come to stand between heaven and hell and warn people to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

My job is not to become your best friend. My job is to help you get to heaven.

And I might offend you sometimes. And if the word of God offends you, then so be it.

Because some of us are just one fence away from getting right with God.

For conviction of the Holy Spirit and conviction of the word to grab ahold of us and bring us to an altar so that we might give it to the Lord.

That is an apostolic service. And this church, if it's going to be on fire and stay on fire, I declare to you today, we need more preaching, not less.

How shall they hear except for a preacher?

We got a world where there are so many other voices, podcasts and videos and YouTube's and all kinds of things.

You need apostolic preaching in your life like never before. More, not less. More, not less.

Again, forgive me if I go back to my apostolic upbringing where I was in church three to four times a week, hearing preaching, preaching, preaching, preaching.

But that's where I come from. And we live in a society today. Some of you already looked at your phones. You're like, Pastor, you're going to you might be going over your time.

Who told you? I never told you what my time was. Looking on my phone.

We live in a generation that can put up with only 30 minutes of preaching.

Let's go. Chipotle, wherever it is we're going.

30 minutes. Whoo.

But we can, but you can binge watch.

You can binge watch two, three series on Netflix.

Pause it, run to the restroom, come back.

Some of you don't even do that. You hold it through the whole show.

But in the church, we're looking for reasons to check out.

Because your carnal man doesn't want to hear what's being preached.

Hallelujah. There's a war going on in your flesh with the spirit. And these two are contrary to each other.

But if you would just lend your spiritual ear today to what the say of the Lord, it might just save you from a catastrophe.

It might just bring you one step closer to God. How many of you want to be one step closer to God today?

Clap your hands and let's give God a hand.

Hallelujah.

The third oil is the oil of good fellowship.

Another distinction of an apostolic service is the beautiful fellowship before, during and after a gathering.

It is the people of God that invest time understanding the purpose, the beauty of being together with the church.

I need you to understand today that the church is not just a social activity.

It is a spiritual togetherness that produces an oil.

Lord, help me convince somebody right now who may be thinking that this thing we call fellowship or togetherness

is just nothing but socialization. Help somebody understand today, God, that there is a spiritual component.

We read in Psalms 133, behold, how good, someone say how good, and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

It is like the precious oil upon the head running down the beard, the beard of Aaron running down the edge of the garments.

The apostolic service is a place to connect in fellowship and that fellowship produces an oil that keeps the fire burning.

It's not just about, oh, God bless you. Praise the Lord. See you next week.

There's something deeper that must take place. Watch what happens in the early church, Acts 2, 42.

Just give me a few more moments of your time. Listen, it says they continue steadfastly.

Steadfastly, that means arduently. That means the strongly that they were just over and above committed to what?

The Apostles doctrine, the word of God, and fellowship. Someone say fellowship.

In the breaking of bread. Ooh, how many of you like to break bread? Oh, I wasn't convinced.

I said how many of you like to break bread? How many of you like to eat? Hallelujah. All right.

Some of you don't understand. I was being too spiritual when I said, amen, break bread.

In prayers, they were steadfast.

They were committed to fellowship, to living life together with their fellow brother and sister in Christ,

to knowing and being known by others within the faith community.

And they understood the principle of spiritual fellowship and interconnectedness within the body of Christ, doing life together, going and eating together.

The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia. This is a beautiful term.

It's a term that can be defined as holding something in common.

It's when a group of people come together for a common purpose, they come together.

And what is our common purpose? It's us gathering under the banner of the name of Jesus Christ and edifying each other as the body.

Now, I know this point doesn't excite some of us the way that maybe the point on praise and preaching does.

But let me tell you, it's just as important. Some people don't believe in fellowship. They don't want it. They don't need it.

They don't feel they need it. They avoid it. That is not apostolic.

We've got to get to a place in our minds and in our hearts where fellowship, you know, again, sorry, going back to my apostolic upbringing,

where the dining hall was just as important as the sanctuary.

In fact, sometimes back then, you know, a lot of the churches, the kitchen was like just one wall over.

When you start smelling the food, you know, church better wrap up, man.

That sister, that Ammanah is cooking something back there. We got to get to it. Hallelujah.

The dining hall was important back then. You know what the past they used to have to kick the people out of the church.

Hello, go home. How many remember that one brother just flip the lights on.

Time to go.

Back then, we used to have to fight for people to leave.

But in the 21st century, we have to fight for people to stay.

And the fellowship and to connect and to break bread. You say, but there's no kitchen here.

Well, there's at least 100 restaurants around this vicinity.

When's the last time you took another brother or sister and just broke bread with them, got to know them, talking, sharing, laughing, equipment.

You don't have to get into all the deep things of life. Talk about whatever it is you want to.

Hallelujah. Just don't talk about other people. Amen. But but but that's where the oil is.

That's where the oil is. And that's how someone could be restored. And that's how someone could be strengthened.

And that is the key to apostolic revival.

That's the key to keep it burning. You got to look at your circle and say, OK, circle.

This circle has been the same for the last five years. It's time to widen the circle.

It's time to include others. I don't want to invite that person in my house.

You know, who knows what bad spirits are going to bring in? They're going to make my house smell or whatever.

Did you forget the day when you had bad spirits and someone had to let you into their house or into their world?

But then if we go out there, if we go out to you with that man, they never have money.

You know, we're going to end up paying.

Take him to McDonald's. You know what?

We know that it's going to be an investment if we go out with them on a Friday night or whatever.

Why don't we just bless them? Just bless them and tell them beforehand.

Just just show up. Order what you want. I just want to spend time with you.

Is this apostolic? It is.

Get to know your brothers. Some of us have been in the same. You don't even know what each other's favorite color is.

Let's get to know each other.

The last one, and I'm going to end with this. I know I've gone into like extra innings today, but watch.

It's the oil of powerful altars.

The altar is a central part of our apostolic DNA.

As apostolic, we are altar people.

You say, why is that? I'll tell you why, brothers. Let me help you.

Because we strongly believe in the doctrine of the laying on of hands.

That is one of our pinnacle, foundational apostolic.

I know it doesn't get the same runtime as other doctors we teach and preach, but it's just as important.

We strongly believe in the doctrine of laying on of hands.

Next slide.

Here the writer talks about the various doctrines of baptisms of the laying on of hands.

Right there in the middle of the resurrection of the dead.

Eternal judgment is the doctrine of the laying on of hands.

So why does the apostolic church, Pentecostal churches, and even some non-denominational practice altar?

Because if we believe strongly in the doctrine of the laying on of hands,

then coming to an altar is a matter of practical means.

You know what it does? It puts you in position for the hand that can bless you to lay on you.

There are more people in this room than there are hand layers.

So coming to an altar, an altar call, what is an altar call?

It's practicing our belief in the doctrine of the laying on of hands.

You say, why is that important? Read your Bible.

Because through the laying on of hands, there are certain things that God will transmit to your life.

Spiritual blessing. Healing in your body.

Jesus said, lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

The infilling of the Holy Ghost. The Apostle Paul and Peter laid hands and people received the Holy Ghost.

The imparting of gifts.

Paul said to Timothy, don't forget the gift of God that you got in your life didn't happen because I sent a prayer your way.

No, I laid hands on you.

If we believe in the doctrine of the laying on of hands and we understand its principle,

then we ought to take every opportunity we can to put ourselves in a position to receive that blessing from God.

So why is that important? Because we're apostolic.

And I don't want there to be one moment.

And you can say, well, I don't need any blessings today.

I'm good. If that's the case, then what we also have is an opportunity.

I feel this in my spirit. An opportunity to pray for others.

An opportunity to respond in faith.

When an altar call is made. Let me tell you something. There is nothing that is anointed about this carpet.

Friend, church member, this carpet is not more anointed than the pew that you're sitting in.

The anointing is not in this pink carpet.

The anointing and the power is in your obedience to the call of God.

Jesus only went to heal people who physically could not get to him.

Who were lame or unconscious.

But every person who could.

Had to come to him.

Imagine if the woman with the issue of blood said, well, God can bless me over here.

She never would have got her healing.

She said, I don't care what I've got to do. I'm going to crawl.

I'm going to push my way through the crowds so that I can touch the him of his garment.

And what we need now.

If you'd be so kind to stand with me today.

We need apostolic praise.

We need apostolic preaching.

We need apostolic fellowship.

And we need apostolic alters.

Sometimes I come to an altar.

You know why? Not because I have a need necessarily.

I come to an altar to create an atmosphere.

I come to an altar because for someone else, they need to see somebody else at the altar for them to go.

I come to create an atmosphere.

I come to prepare an atmosphere and a place of faith and worship and prayer that is conducive to others coming and receiving.

Ready to receive them and pray with them and love on them and help hold up their hands and pray.

This is what we call alter working.

And maybe this is something we're going to do in our church in the future is give an alter working session.

How to pray with someone at the alter.

Maybe there are those today who have just simply never been taught how to do so.

And God, I think God's going to help us do that in a greater way this year.

But it creates an atmosphere.

I don't just want to have church.

I want to have apostolic service.

And I want it to be full of praise and glory.

Right there.

Can we just go before God?

I feel something happening here today.

God is dealing with each of us.

God is dealing with each of us.

I told you I had more.

I went way over my time.

But listen, there's other things that we could talk about.

I could preach about God laid on my heart.

But these were the things that God said.

If you want the fire to burn.

So I need God to get a hold of somebody today.

I need God to deal with somebody today.

And say, Lord, take me back to where I first believed, God.

Lord, take me back.

Ushala, my candle.

Lord, take me back.

To an altar, God, take me back, God.

To that place, Lord.

To a place of subrant praise, God.

Ushala, my candle.

Oh, God, take me back, God.

I wonder if there's somebody today that could commit yourself

to these things.

Oh, hallelujah, somebody today that could.

I'm going to praise you, God, like I've never praised you

before.

God, I'm going to lift my hands, Lord, as high as I can.

Hallelujah.

I'm going to shout God like I've never shouted, Lord.

God, I want to get back to the days where I would lose my voice

in church, Lord.

From all the shouting and the singing that I did.

God, I want to get back to a place, Lord, where I let the

Word of God convict my spirit.

I let the Word, Lord, do what it was sent to do in me.

God, when I get back, God.

Lord, I want fellowship to break out in my life, Lord Jesus.

Oh, God, I want to be friendlier, Lord.

God, I want to be, Lord, I want to be more open, God, to those

that you placed around me.

I want to be.