Our Homes Marriages & Families *Milton Carter

Give him praise if it's possible in his house.

Hallelujah, as you remain standing this morning,

you can go ahead and get your Bible.

So good to have in our fellowship

and part of our fellowship, Dr. Milton Carter.

His bio would read long.

But at the top of that, I call him friend.

We've known each other for several, several years now.

Our relationship developed as I would sit

and hear him instruct and teach.

Leadership guru.

The first son of Barnabas, Barnabas Junior.

The most encouraging, and I say it with all my heart,

you are the most encouraging person that I've ever met.

And it does me good to get close to you.

I need a little of that ooze on me

because I'm not that person.

Try to be, aspire to be, and you give me hope.

Pastor, teacher, professor, educator, he still teaches.

Retired from pastoral ministry,

and somehow the Lord brought him to Hopewell.

Amen?

He and Sister Violet

have found their place here and part of our family.

And sometimes I just know him as Brother Milton.

That's our relationship.

But there's a time when you gotta let folk know

who's among them.

And it is an honor for him to fill our pulpit this morning.

Several weeks ago, actually the Lord laid it way on my heart.

We were planning out our yearly calendar,

and we got to this Sunday,

and the Lord is really in our meeting,

just really just tugged at my heart

to have Brother Milton preach today.

So you know how that excites me,

knowing that that's been coming.

It lets me know that God has something through his servant

to speak into our hearts today.

Amen?

Would you make Brother Milton Carter welcome

as he comes to preach to us today?

Come on, Dr. Carter, preach to us.

Love you brother, appreciate it.

Well, let's give the Lord a great ovation of praise

in his house today, amen.

Would you just give him a wave offering?

Could we just be extravagant in our worship today,

and bless the name of the Lord,

bless the name of the Lord.

Would you just put your other hand up

and invite his manifest presence

to be great and mighty among us.

Father, we give all praise, all glory to you, Lord.

We invite the presence of the Lord to fill the house,

and fill every person here today in Jesus' name.

Let's praise him one more time, amen.

Amen.

Praise God, amen.

You may be seated, and greetings to all of you

church family today.

I do give honor to our wonderful senior pastor and wife,

and pastors Brian and Erica.

After this morning, I'm gonna be on my Ps and Qs

for the rest of my time here at Hopewell.

I'm afraid the pastor will put my phone number

on the screen.

So I'm gonna be very, very careful about what I do.

Praise God, it's so good to be a worshiper of the Lord

with you today.

Are you excited about the presence of the Lord

in this service?

Hallelujah.

There's something wonderful happening in the spirit world

in this sanctuary today.

I felt like the entire church just engaged that song

a few moments ago as we were reminding ourselves

that we're praying to the God of Jacob,

to the God of Moses, hallelujah.

The very God who created the world, our Father,

we're praying to him today.

His eye is upon the Hopewell Church of God.

I'm so grateful for his touch today.

Would you journey with me to the Gospel of Luke

as we spend a few moments in the word of the Lord?

The Gospel of Luke chapter number four,

just four verses of scripture,

as we look at one of the great miracles of Jesus.

This miracle is the story of Jesus healing

Peter's mother-in-law.

It is the fourth miracle of Jesus

out of the 37 miracles recorded in the Gospel.

And John says that there are many other words

and miracles and works that Jesus did

that we don't even have recorded.

Thank God for his unlimited power.

This miracle is sometimes overshadowed

by even greater miracles,

but I think this is still one of the greatest,

it makes my list of the great miracles of Jesus.

Verse 38, and now he arose from the synagogue

and entered Simon's house,

but Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever,

and they made requests of him concerning her.

So he stood over her, pictured Jesus walking over

to the bed where his mother-in-law was lying down,

and Jesus stood over her and rebuked the fever,

and it left her.

Two of the other writers said it immediately left her.

Praise God.

The latter part of verse 19,

and immediately she arose, and immediately she got up,

she arose and served them.

Verse 40, when the sun was setting,

all those who had any who were sick with various diseases

brought them to him,

and he laid his hands on every one of them,

and healed them.

May it so happen in this house of worship today.

And demons also came out of many crying out and saying,

you are the Christ, the Son of God,

and he rebuking them did not allow them to speak.

Praise God for his authority,

for they knew that he was the Christ.

You will see in just a moment on the screen

that I am in alignment with Pastor Waters' vision

for this year.

Advancing, what a great word.

Advancing beyond all limitations,

and specifically this morning,

I wanna invite you to pray with me

and seek the Lord with me that this might be a year

when we in our homes could advance,

and move forward in our faith to gather in our marriages

and in our families, praise God.

I believe this is very biblical

because we know from the very earliest of times,

God established the home as the primary building block

of all society.

In Genesis chapter two, when God created Adam and Eve,

he said, and the man shall leave his father and mother,

and the man shall cleave or hold fast to his wife,

and they will be one flesh.

God is a God who established the family

long before the church.

No surprise, you know this.

The very first churches were not even constructed

until about 200 AD, so for the first 200 years,

we know that the early church, the early Christians

worshiped in homes, they went from house to house.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians,

and he spoke of Aquila and Priscilla,

and he mentioned the house church that they were leading.

When he wrote to Philemon, he mentions in greeting

those who would be around Philemon

that he also had a house church.

And I wanna thank God today that our homes

can still be sanctuaries of the Lord.

Hallelujah.

I've heard it many times that whatever happens in church

should also happen in our homes,

and I agree with that 100%.

But I also believe that whatever happens in the home

should also be duplicated, it should be the model

for what happens in the house of God.

All week long, while we're praying and worshiping

and seeking God in our homes, could we just get

in our automobile and drive to church

and just continue what we've been doing

all week long in our homes in the name of Jesus?

Praise God.

Perhaps you've heard the story of a man

by the name of Richard Orlansky.

I saw this many years ago in a morning news report.

I was in the car, and I had finished breakfast,

and I was getting ready to leave for the day

and just looking at the news headlines,

and the story of Richard Orlansky was told

by one of the morning news programs.

Richard Orlansky, just a few days before,

on Long Island, New York, had been out garage selling,

yard selling with his wife, and he found

at one particular place an oil painting

leaning up against the garage.

And he looked at it with his eyes.

The story was that he actually wanted it for the frame.

He thought that would be a nice frame.

I can take that painting home, and sure enough,

he bought it for $21.

He went home and sat in his basement for a few days,

and a few days later, he walks down,

wipes off all of the dust, and gently takes a brush

and brushes off the canvas and cleans it, literally,

the canvas, and began to think how he could repurpose

the frame.

He noticed in the right-hand corner a name

that looked kind of familiar.

He had an eye for artists and artistic works,

and he thought, I need to get this checked.

Long story short, he went into New York City,

took his painting, $21 worth of oil painting,

and found out that he had a rare painting that

was worth $1.4 million.

When I heard that story that day, I looked at Violet,

and I said, honey, go yard selling any time you want to go.

There will be gas in the car.

Go to every garage sale, and be sure to go to the art department

of every yard sale.

I don't think in my home there's anything

worth $1.4 million.

Wouldn't that be nice?

But I do know there's something more valuable than gold

or silver in my home.

There is a possession in my home and in your home

that far exceeds the worth of this world,

and that's the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's the faith of Jesus Christ that dwells in our homes.

Hallelujah.

Some have said, I sure would like

to have been there when the children of Israel

were walking through the wilderness

and to look out at night and see the pillar of fire,

how comforting that must have been.

And others have said to walk out in the daytime

and see that cloud hovering over the encampment

and how it was visibly reminding them that God is with us.

I want to tell you it's possible every day in our homes

to know that he is with us, that he lives in us,

that he dwells in us.

I want to see God and meet God in my home.

Hallelujah.

Praise God.

As we look at this passage of scripture this morning,

the first thing we see is that Jesus was in the synagogue

on the Sabbath day.

It must have been a wonderful day in the synagogue that day.

It must have been a great day for the city of Capernaum

where Jesus was there with his good friends who had just

become his disciples, Peter and Andrew.

John and James were there with him.

There were other men and women and children

in the synagogue that day.

And the Bible says on this particular Sabbath day,

the people were astonished at the power and the authority

which Jesus spoke.

The Bible says that he was explaining to them

the kingdom of God and the truths of God.

And Luke says in verse 32 that they were astonished.

They were mesmerized by his teaching.

And they ask, where does he possess

this kind of authority?

I want to tell you when Jesus begins to speak into our lives,

when he begins to speak to us, we

sense that there is the authority of heaven

behind every word.

Hallelujah.

I love this blessed book that we have in our homes

and we have in our hearts.

It is the word of the Lord for us today.

Hallelujah.

Praise God.

I, too, am astonished, amazed.

I stand in awe of the authority of the word, the life-giving

power of the word of the living God.

Hallelujah.

Thank you, Lord.

And in particular on this day, Luke gives us an occurrence.

The scripture says that in attendance

that day in the synagogue was a man who

was possessed by a demon spirit.

I thank God that he was there.

Some might say, well, let's just keep

all of those incorrigible people.

Let's keep all of those marginalized, unwanted people

out.

They need Jesus.

We need to get them to Jesus.

We need to take the church to them.

However, how he came that day with someone or by his own,

thank God.

He was in the presence of Jesus.

Praise God.

And the Bible says that that demon began to cry out.

After Jesus had astonished the people with his teaching,

he now turned to that demon-possessed man.

And the Bible says that he rebuked the demon power that

was in him.

And the power was so real that the demon threw the man down

on the floor, but he was not hurt, Luke says.

But the scripture says that the demon came out of the man,

and he was set free at that very moment of time.

Could we just praise God this morning

for his incredible power?

His power is incredible.

Hallelujah.

Thank you, Lord.

And they, once again, were amazed that Jesus could do that.

You're talking about going beyond and advancing

all limits.

Thank God.

That synagogue pastor was advancing beyond all limits.

Would you join with me in prayer during this coming year

that God would so touch our congregation

that we would advance in the power of God

and the power of the Holy Spirit?

Would you pray with me that this is the year that we not set

back and be pushed back, we not set on the sidelines,

but, oh, God, pour your anointing on us

and move us that we might advance in the work of God,

in the spiritual things that God has for us yet to discover?

Praise God.

Thank you, Lord.

Secondly, we see in this wonderful miracle of Jesus

that Jesus went home with Peter.

Praise God.

I'm so glad for this two-verse miracle in the Bible.

It shows us so much.

Jesus went home with Peter.

Thank God.

Jesus, you're always welcome in our homes.

Would you just tell him that this morning?

Jesus, you are always a special guest.

We will honor you in our homes.

I thank God this morning that Peter, a married man,

perhaps even a father, we know that on this particular day,

Peter was not only a future leader among the disciples,

but he was a leader in his home.

Men, let's step up in the name of Jesus

and be the spiritual leaders like Peter in our homes.

I believe the devil has so misguided us

and so misdirected us that men, we think we should be hesitant.

I know every woman and every wife that I've ever counseled,

they have said things to me.

I just wish my husband would lead in prayer.

I wish my husband would be the spiritual authority in our home.

Men, let's follow the model of Peter

and rise up in the name of Jesus

and lead our families in the things of God.

Hallelujah.

Praise God.

Hallelujah.

I don't know that there's any greater ministry we can have

than to do that.

Praise God.

In this miracle of Jesus being in the home,

he not only manifests his presence in the synagogue,

there was not only a miracle in the synagogue,

but there was miracle working power in the home of Peter.

Praise God.

There is a hunger in my heart this morning

for the miracle working presence of Jesus in my marriage

and in my home.

May I say that one more time?

There is a hunger in my heart.

There is an urgent plea,

Lord Jesus, manifest your miraculous power in my home.

I want the presence of Jesus in my home because I want, I need,

I must have, Violet and I must have the presence

of the living God in our home.

I'm talking about the Shekinah glory moments.

I'm talking about the same kind of presence of God

that Moses experienced around the burning bush.

I believe we can have burning bush moments in our homes

when we pray together, when we seek the Lord together,

and the presence of God is manifest

in great and mighty ways.

Hallelujah.

I want that.

Oh, Lord.

I want your presence.

Secondly, I want the provision of God in my home.

God, I want you to provide for all of our needs.

Lord, on this Sunday morning, I say to you,

I'm going to trust you first.

I thank God for the income.

I thank God for the medical care we receive.

I thank God for everything on the list.

But God, I'm going to trust you first.

I'm going to believe you first.

You are Jehovah Jireh.

Just as you provided, we sang a moment ago,

just as you provided, then you are providing now.

I feel led to tell you on this Sunday morning

that what you've been seeking God for is already there.

It's already been provided for.

Release your faith and trust God first for His provision.

Thirdly, I want the protection of God in my home.

Hallelujah.

We're living in the last days, and the writers

of the New Testament said of the last days,

the spirit of Antichrist will be loosed all over the world.

It's in our culture.

It's in our government.

It's in every authoritative institution of our world.

But thanks be unto God, greater is He that is in us

than He that is in the world.

Hallelujah.

I'm not fearful of some demon coming against us

because we have the power, the authority of the Lord Jesus

Christ.

I know that there are some who think, well, tomorrow I'm

going to get up and I'm going to be discouraged

or something bad is going to happen to me.

And there is this attitude of negativity,

and it's almost like we expect bad things to happen.

But I declare to you this morning

that God is in control of every situation.

He's in our homes, and I know that we

can believe that every day is the day of the Lord.

We can lift up our eyes to the heels

from whence cometh our help.

Our help cometh in the name of the Lord.

Hallelujah.

Praise God.

I want His protection.

I pray every day for our children and their spouses

and our grandchildren, asking God

to put a hedge of protection round about them.

I pray for other friends, children, and families

that are on my prayer list and people that I meet.

Sometimes I bump into strangers, and I'll just

feel a nudge of the Spirit.

Pray for that person.

Pray for that person.

I want to tell you this morning, God wants to protect your home.

He wants to protect your marriage.

He wants to protect your children.

He wants to protect your grandchildren,

your great grandchildren.

He wants to protect this church.

May I say that again?

There is a wall of Holy Ghost protection round about us

this morning.

Could we just lift up our hands and yield

to the Holy Spirit's blessed touch around us today?

Father, let us be aware of your presence

that protects us today in Jesus' name.

I want the peace of God in our homes,

just as Jesus brought peace into the home of Peter.

Jesus, would you step through the front door

through the Holy Spirit of my home?

And would you just fill every room with your peace?

Praise God.

It's a peace that goes beyond this world.

It's a peace that passes all understanding,

and it will keep and guard our hearts and minds.

Thank God for the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And lastly, as I've already mentioned,

I want the power of God every day in my marriage

and in my home.

May I declare over you, may the power of God,

may the awesome power of God be overshadowing your home

every day of our lives in Jesus' name.

Hallelujah.

As we look at this miracle in verse 38b,

the Bible says that upon entering the home,

immediately there was this urgent plea for help to Jesus.

Can we thank God for prayer this morning?

This is a form of prayer.

Whoever it was, it could have been Peter's wife,

maybe one of the other women present there.

But someone urgently requested that Jesus give attention

to Mary, to Peter's mother.

We don't really know her name, but to his mother-in-law.

And the Bible says that they requested him on her behalf.

Prayer should always be welcome in our home.

Jesus just stopped everything he was doing.

I believe they were really going there to eat and rest.

But they stopped everything that they could call upon the name

of the Lord, that they could invite the touch of Jesus

upon Peter's mother-in-law.

Thank God.

What a model that is for us.

Oh, Holy Spirit, help us to not be so busy that we can't stop

in our tracks and call upon the name of Jesus

in our hour of need.

Hallelujah.

Oh, praise God.

And the Bible says that Jesus immediately walked over to her.

The third point in this miracle is that there was a great healing

in the home of Peter and his wife and his mother-in-law.

The same manifestation of the synagogue

was now happening in the home of Peter.

And Luke says that she had a high fever.

Literally, the Greek word means that she had a great fever.

It was possibly something that was even

moving towards a life-threatening situation.

But even if it was just an everyday, ordinary fever,

it shows us that Jesus can handle the big things

like a demon-possessed man.

And he can take care of the small things,

the insignificant things that we might categorize them

like a fever.

Thank God.

He's Lord over the great, and He's Lord over the little.

It does not matter what the need is.

His incredible power can take care of it all.

Hallelujah.

Thank you, Lord.

And just as Jesus had rebuked the demon,

just as He had rebuked the stormy winds on the Sea of Galilee,

He one more time rebukes this disease, this illness, whatever

was causing this fever.

The word rebuked is really a good word.

It literally means to stop.

Jesus said, fever, I want you to stop.

I want you to stop right now.

I want Peter's mother-in-law, whatever her name was,

to become normal.

Oh, Jesus, I want you to say stop to some things.

I want you to rebuke some challenges.

I want you to rebuke some harassing problems.

I want you to raise up a wall of power in my home

and rebuke that which pulls us down.

Oh, praise God.

Would you do some spiritual warfare with me here

this morning?

Just lift up a hand to the Lord.

If there's anything going on in your life that's

a spiritual harassment right now,

if you're troubled in any way, come on, church.

Let's just rebuke it.

Lord, we take authority in this sanctuary

today over any problem, over any discouragement, anything

that's hindering us.

We rebuke it in the name of Jesus.

And everybody said, praise the Lord.

Hallelujah.

I believe in the power of Jesus.

Praise God.

You see, a fever that's left unattended

can have serious repercussions.

Fevers are serious business.

There have been times in our parenting,

as I'm sure every parent here knows about,

when one of our children would awaken

in the middle of the night with a fever,

and you immediately begin to pray and go get the baby

aspirin or the Tylenol.

And if it wasn't better or the cold rag on the head,

and my favorite is ginger ale.

I'm sorry.

I'm one of those old school, I've

got to have my ginger ale if I get sick.

And in the morning, if the fever's still there,

you call the doctor, because a fever unattended

can lead to serious consequences.

Fevers are an indication that there's something

wrong on the inside.

It could be an infection.

There's something causing this fever.

I believe this morning that our homes, our marriages,

are beset with fevers.

Some of them literally have become an epidemic

raging throughout the world.

There's first of all, the spiritual fever

of restlessness and discontentment

in the Christian world and in our homes today.

There are many believers today that just,

I'm not saying that would be your home,

but there are many believers that I've

known over the years who just could never really

find the rest and the peace and the contentment

and that faith to hang on to Jesus.

There was this sense of worry, and there

was this sense of anxiety.

We pastored one lady one time.

I think she thought anxiety was a gift of the spirit.

She was worried about this, and she was worried about that.

But I tell you on this Sunday morning

that when we let Jesus Christ come into our homes

and into our lives, He's the one that

can give us peace in the storm.

He's the one that gives us personal contentment.

Hallelujah.

The Bible says, as the apostle Paul was exhorting people,

he just said, be content.

God has a way of bringing contentment into our lives.

Paul said, but godliness, godliness with contentment

is great gain.

Hallelujah.

Would you just reach out to the Lord this morning

and fill your soul with the contentment

that the Holy Spirit gives on this Sunday morning?

Hallelujah.

Praise God.

To the Philippians, Paul said, I know how to be brought low,

and I know how to abound.

I've been low, and I've been high.

But he said, in any and every situation,

I've learned the secret of in times of plenty,

in times of being forsaken, I've learned to be content.

Praise God.

And I love what he followed up with that verse.

He said, I can do all things through Christ.

I can do all things through Christ.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

As one person said, there's nothing

going to come up today that God and I cannot handle.

Hallelujah.

He assures us today that we can do all things through Him.

Hallelujah.

The second fever that might be raging around us

is the fever of this thirsting for temporal things.

Fevers can make us thirsty.

You crave water when you're coming out of or dealing

with a fever.

It's amazing to me how believers today are not always

satisfied with the things of God.

It's like we've got to have another material possession.

We've got to have another thing.

I'm not against having things.

I just don't want them to own me.

I don't want them to possess me.

It's OK for you to have stuff.

Just don't let stuff ruin and ruin your soul.

Thank God.

Thank God that Jesus makes the soul happy.

He makes the soul joyful.

He fills us with His love, His peace.

And we are content in Him.

Hallelujah.

Praise God.

John, 1 John chapter 2, he said, love not the world.

1 John 2 · chapter mention

That's not an option for me.

John said, Milton Carter, don't love the world.

Neither the things that are in the world for all

that is in the world.

He describes it as not of God.

It could bring serious harm to me.

And I love what Paul said.

He said, set your thing, your affections.

Set your heart, your love, your affections

on things that are above in Jesus' name,

not on things of the earth, for you are dead

and your life is hid with Christ.

Sometimes when a fever strikes us,

nothing seems to taste good.

And in this 21st century, it's possible to get so caught up

in what's going on in the world.

And I've got to have this and I've got to have that

that we don't realize how good we really have it.

We don't realize sometimes just how good we really have it.

Can I tell you this morning that we are saved by the power,

the blood of Jesus?

Can I tell you this morning that your name

is written in the Lamb's Book of Life?

Hallelujah.

Can I tell you this morning that there

is a promise of God in this blessed Book for every challenge

that you face?

There is a promise in the Book for everything

that knocks on your door this morning.

I am blessed in the morning.

I am blessed at noontime.

And when I lay my head to rest, I am blessed, blessed, blessed.

Praise God.

I'm blessed wherever I go, whatever I do.

It doesn't matter what's going on.

We have the blessing of the Lord and it maketh us rich.

Somebody praise God in this house today.

Praise God.

And I just want to rebuke that fever that's

raging in our culture today.

And I want to say fever, stop.

I don't have to be satisfied by the world any longer.

I don't need another gimmick.

I don't need another program on my computer.

I don't need another gadget.

And I have Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

Would you praise God today that Jesus Christ is in your home

and in your life?

Hallelujah.

Praise God.

Sometimes it can be difficult to be around a person who

has a fever.

Fevers can make us irritable.

We're not really ourself at all.

And I just want to tell you this morning, if things haven't

been going so good for you lately,

it could be some fever, spiritual fever.

Would you just receive the power of Jesus

on this Sunday morning?

Don't wait another day and let the power

and the presence of Jesus rebuke whatever that hindrance is

and give you his peace.

Hallelujah.

Oh, praise God.

Irritability is not a fruit of the spirit.

Can I just remind us of that this morning?

It's the power of Jesus that helps us to enjoy life.

Let me say it again.

When Jesus is in our homes, I believe

that we can have an abundant life.

I said we can have an abundant life.

Jesus said, I am come that you might have life

and you might have it more abundantly.

That means that we're going to have more peace than we've

ever had, more love than we've ever had.

Hallelujah.

He hears and answers my prayers.

That's huge this morning.

Praise God.

He helps us to live an overcoming life.

Hallelujah.

Through him, we are more than overcomers.

Hallelujah.

Praise God, church.

We are blessed this morning.

Thank you, Lord.

Number four lesson in this great miracle

is what Dr. Luke says, and he says it alone.

Matthew and Mark record this miracle differently.

It's not that anybody was wrong.

We need all three versions of this miracle.

But because Luke was a physician of the day,

he gave special insight.

He says that Jesus walked over to where

Peter's mother-in-law lay, and he stood over her.

That is very significant.

Matthew says he touched her hand.

Thank you, Matthew, for that.

And Mark says that he just simply took her by the hand

and lifted up.

But I believe before he ever lifted her up,

before he ever touched her, he stood over her.

That was a way of saying, I've got this, mother-in-law,

with Peter.

That was a way of saying, my authority is over you.

That was a way of saying, I know what's going on in your life.

Oh, Lord Jesus, would you stand over my marriage?

Would you stand over my home?

Would you stand over my church?

Would you stand over my children, Jesus?

Would you stand over my grandchildren?

If you've got a wayward son or a daughter today,

send Jesus through the Holy Spirit

to stand over them right now in the name of Jesus.

Praise God.

Oh, I feel God doing that.

Would you give God some praise right now?

There's something happening in the spirit world right now.

Oh, praise God.

Can we just give him a wave offering of praise

here this morning?

Would you just kind of loosen up in the spirit world

and let the Holy Ghost minister to you this morning?

Oh, praise God.

In the name of Jesus.

Praise God.

He stood over her during the past 40 years.

Violet and I have been blessed to live

in five different states.

During that time, I've had at least five

different primary care doctors and some specialists.

I thank God for all of them.

Some of these men and women were well trained.

In fact, I should say all of them were, at least all but one

that I know of.

They were all well-educated people.

Some of them were persons of faith, some were not.

But when I go to the physician's office,

I really don't look at what's on the diploma hanging

on the wall.

I'm just glad there's one there.

But what I really like is a physician who will kind

of stand over me, who will at least know that I'm not

just another number.

I'm not just another one of the 35 patients

that the insurance companies mandate

that he or she's got to see.

But I like those physicians who shake my hand

and they take time to listen to me.

And they diagnose me.

And they find out what I've been doing and what's been going on.

I'm not real happy with those.

Just brush off and we'll see you next time, Carter.

I like those doctors that really try to find out what's going on.

You know where I'm going.

The one who stands over to your soul this morning

knows what's going on.

I want to tell you this morning that you are loved immensely

by our Heavenly Father.

He's watching over you.

He's standing over you.

He takes the time because he loves you.

He cares for you.

Jesus was showing forth that in the home and in this marriage,

there was a place for his love and his care.

Oh, praise God.

Holy Spirit, remind us this morning

that Jesus Christ is watching over us.

He stands over us today.

I've got to praise God for that this morning.

Hallelujah.

Oh, hallelujah.

Thank you for that, Lord.

You see, no one is insignificant to God.

We don't know her name.

We don't know a lot about Peter's mother-in-law,

but she was not insignificant to Jesus.

Whoever we are this morning, he knows who we are.

He considers us his child today.

We belong to him.

Hallelujah.

If it's a fever or a cancer, if it's a disease,

he can deliver us from it all.

Praise God.

Oh, thank you, Lord, for standing over us today.

And lastly, as I bring this in for a landing,

the Bible says in verse 40 that Jesus lifted up Peter's

mother-in-law. I love that.

Praise God.

Mark and Matthew make a significant contribution

to this miracle by telling us that Jesus lifted her up.

The word in Mark's gospel that speaks to Jesus lifting her up,

raising her up, is the connotation.

Picture Jesus raising her up.

Oh, I feel a release of the Holy Spirit in this place

right now.

Praise God.

I feel like the Lord is just going to lift somebody up

this morning.

Praise God.

Sister Rita, could I just hold your hand this morning?

Would you be Peter's mother-in-law this morning?

The Bible says that Jesus lifted her up.

Would you stand up with me?

Praise God.

She had been sick with a great fever,

but my Jesus lifted her up, and he will lift you up.

And Mark uses the same word.

I want you to hear this this morning.

The same word that's used in the Greek.

Thank you, Rita.

When Jesus was raised from the grave from his dead,

when the angels went there and they found that Jesus had been

raised, it's the same word used in this miracle.

If the power that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in us,

he will give us life.

Hallelujah, hallelujah.

I want to tell you this morning that the resurrection power of

Jesus is not just something we celebrate in the springtime on

Resurrection Sunday, but every day that we live,

we're raised up by the power of Jesus.

I said every day that we're raised up,

we're raised up from another problem.

We're raised up from another dissatisfaction of life.

We're raised up from another hindrance.

Jesus is always moving, raising people up.

Praise God.

And Jesus, I want to be raised up here on this Sunday morning.

Oh, praise God.

Praise God.

The Bible says that she was strengthened to serve.

Hallelujah.

It's not God's will for us to be prevented from serving him.

It's not the will of God for us to be prevented from worshiping

the Lord and doing his will.

The Bible shows us such power here of Jesus touching her.

And her response was she raised up,

and she began to serve Jesus.

She began to serve Jesus and all that were in the house.

Would you stand with me this morning?

May the Lord touch us that we might serve him.

Praise God.

Praise God.

Praise God.

Praise God.

I'd like for under the pastor's direction and authority

this morning, I need about six or eight prayer warriors

just to come and stand with me in this altar today.

If you know how to pray, would you come?

Some of the ministers that are here,

the leaders of the church, thank you Ken and Rita, others.

I just want some prayer partners here this morning.

I'm going to ask you to come for a specific reason this morning.

Praise God.

Feel the Holy Spirit moving like a mighty, mighty wave

over our souls this morning.

Would you just turn around and face the congregation, please?

I want to ask every husband and wife to come for prayer

this morning and be laid, be prayed by the laying on of hands.

I'm going to ask our prayer team this morning

to lay their hands upon every couple.

Would you just begin to step out?

I want to ask every family, if your children are here,

go to one of the persons in the altar.

We're going to pray over you this morning.

In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus,

praise God.

If you happen to be a widow or a widower this morning,

you're in my family.

If you happen to be a single adult,

you're loved and you're wanted here this morning.

We want to pray for every single adult today.

You still have a home.

Praise God.

Praise God.