Sunday Message (1st service) - Pastor Jim Hockaday (September 27, 2026) | Life Bible Church

Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We

want to thank you for joining us today, and we

hope you find today's sermon impacting as you

listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk.

To find service times and watch messages online,

see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now,

enjoy this week's message. Hallelujah. Thank

you, Lord. What a wonderful day to worship God.

Amen? Praise the Lord. Well, Aaron and I have

really, really enjoyed ourselves here and we

feel as much at home here as we do anywhere in

the United States. So thank you very much for

making us feel like family. It's a wonderful

thing. There are certain places you go where

it's like this and you just seem to fit in with

the pastors and the people seem to be so appreciative.

God is able to then move so wonderfully. So look

at the hands that went up a few moments ago of

those that have received already changes in their

body. And for anyone that your change seems to

be a little slower, that's all it means. It's

just a little slower. And that'll just pick up

with you being encouraged. Amen? So if you were

to ask me, kind of getting into our subject matter

today, What would you focus on in life? I would

put my faith, my belief, and my action and my

words on my relationship with God, meaning the

tangibility of God in my life. Tangibility meaning

his voice is more clear, his presence is more

detected. Because those very two things right

there would literally change the world almost

overnight if we could get Christians to hear

the voice of God and to recognize the presence

of the Lord. Now the interesting thing about

that, sorry I have to come down here again, and

this is Jan's favorite part right here. And the

interesting thing about that is Adam and Eve

and even their children, Cain and Abel, who must

have been in their teens to handle the responsibility

of the sheep and then of the produce of the land.

So Cain and Abel would be second generation sinners.

But all of them had this as sinners. More so

than probably the greatest majority of believers

today. The voice of God and the presence of the

Lord. Adam hid from the presence of the Lord,

so he obviously recognized where it was. Today,

you know the presence of God can come in and

someone's saying, I don't feel anything. Well,

and that's very possible. You don't. And it's

not always a physical feeling as much as it is

a spiritual knowing. The spiritual knowing. I

just know God just came in. Do you feel him?

I don't feel him, but I know it. It's the same

thing as a physical feeling. One is spiritual,

the other is physical. But Adam knew where he

was, so he hid behind a tree to keep himself

from the presence that was coming. And God just

happened to make that tree. So when God said,

where are you? It's not because God was like,

I really can't find my man. Where did he go?

No, he was basically saying, why are you over

there when you should be over here? And then

Adam actually heard his voice in complete sentences.

So God was speaking his language. But also Cain,

getting ready to commit murder, heard the voice

of God in complete sentences. And recognized

his presence. So see, what I'm proposing to the

church is not something very high and lofty.

I mean, if a sinner can have this. then certainly

God's sons and daughters should have this. Because

really and truly, as simple as, okay, in the

day I grew up, Everything was about conservation.

My parents were middle class individuals financially.

My dad was a high school principal. My mom was

a secretary to the president of an oil company.

And they worked hard and they saved. And back

then, we would take a vacation maybe once every

five years. Where now people take them sometimes

two and three times in one year. It just wasn't

that way back then. We just worked hard. You

know, we all had chores on Saturdays. I couldn't

go to play until I finished my chores. And so

I was real good at figuring out how to take the

amount of tools I needed to the perfect place

so I didn't have to retrace my steps because

everything was about playing football. Everything

was about playing baseball. Everything was about

running with the kids. So I wanted to get the

job done as fast as possible. Well, I know that

blesses you. Praise the Lord. I want to get this

job done as fast as possible too. Praise the

Lord. So, you know, back in the day, we had certain

mindsets that just, I think, served being with

God more so than we have today. And we have to

fight for the right to be simple enough to find

God in the day that we live. Amen. And that's

certainly very, very important. So just taking

the whole idea of God being real to you is super,

super important to what you're to experience.

So in other words, instead of putting all your

faith on trying to get healed, why not just stay

connected? So when I grew up, my dad would always

say, it was constant, he said, you know, did

you turn the lights off? I'd say, well, I think

I did. He said, Jimmy, he said, electricity costs

money. Money doesn't grow on trees. Make sure

you turn the lights off. So we go to church because

remember I told you church back then was Sunday

morning, Sunday school, then Sunday morning church.

And then the afternoons, I couldn't play. I couldn't

go even outside. It was strict. It was a day

of rest. So you had to rest in the house. So

I couldn't play with my friends, couldn't do

anything, we're resting. Then we went to church

that night. Well, we'd come home from church

and a quarter mile away, he had asked me earlier,

did you turn the lights off? Yeah, yeah, turn

the lights off. And then a quarter mile away,

the house is lit up like a Christmas tree in

my bedroom. And he'd say, I thought you said

you turned the lights off. Oh, I thought I did.

So everything was about turning them on and turning

them off. Conserving energy. So I learned right

away, you know, the importance of the on and

off switch. Well, think about this. This is super

simple. If you keep the switch on, the electricity

will continue to flow. And as long as the bulb

can handle putting out that electricity, you'll

have light. If you keep your switch on with God,

concerning how real he is, how would sickness

and disease get back in or how would sickness

and disease that's there be able to stay? Remember,

in him is life and the life is the light of men

and the light shines in darkness and the darkness

tried to comprehend it and could not, John chapter

one. In other words, the darkness tried to seize

the light but it couldn't. Have you ever looked

up a definition of darkness? Darkness is simply

do. To a want of light. Darkness is dark. Because

light isn't there. So if darkness ever went to

the light. It would cease to be dark. So when

you keep light on. Darkness cannot penetrate.

Amen. In fact darkness flees. The brighter the

light. And the more accustomed to the light.

More accustomed to living in the presence of

God. The more light that shines. God has not

limited you with light and life. I came to give

you life and life more abundantly. You'll find

in the realm of the Spirit there are no limitations

and there are no boundaries. Now that's a wonderful

thing for us that live in a world of so many

limitations and boundaries. So for the next few

moments I want to share some things concerning

our relationship with God. Proverbs chapter 4

Proverbs 4:20

verse 20. And the Passion Translation is really,

really good. And it says this, listen carefully,

my dear child, to everything that I teach you.

I like the word listen. In the King James, pay

attention to my word. Well, I don't dislike that.

But again, that then gives a lot of people the

idea I can just read the Bible. You say, what's

wrong with reading the Bible? Nothing at all.

Praise the Lord. Read the Bible. But pay attention

to what you're reading and listen for the revelation.

Amen. I mean, reading the Bible and having no

comprehension is not going to help you. You feel

good like you got a star on your chest. You know,

praise the Lord for stars. Amen. Some feel really

good today that they're here. In other words,

you feel like you actually accomplished something

because you made it to church. And I'll give

you a golf clap, amen for that. But the reason

why you're here is to be able to hear some things

and feel some things and be ministered to along

the lines of some things that will cause you

to actually open up your heart to have your own

church in the next six days before you come back.

Amen. Because once God starts to be included

into your life, of which he really wants to.

Do you remember when I was young, I learned those

verses, Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord

with all your heart. Lean not unto your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him. Now, wait a

minute. Stop right there. In all my ways I am

to acknowledge him. Well, I can't acknowledge

what's not personally present. If Erin and I

happen to travel, she happens to stay home, while

I'm away from her, I can't acknowledge her. Oh,

I can talk about her, but the difference is when

I'm with her and I acknowledge her, I actually

get a response. Are you with me? In other words,

there's interaction when I'm together. Otherwise,

I'm just talking about my wife. So if I'm to

acknowledge him in all my ways, that means he

has to be personally present in everything that

I do. And it would also mean to acknowledge him

in all my ways. Let's say I'm going to a ball

game. Well, possibly while you're at the ball

game, the last thing you're thinking about is

Jesus. But maybe if you were to acknowledge him

in all your ways, you actually would ask Jesus

to come to the ball game with you. I said something

like this, and a woman from the back shouted.

She said, well, I'm too busy for that. So I thought,

well, as long as you interrupt it, then we're

going to have a conversation. So I said, well,

do tell. Why are you so busy? She said, well,

I knit. I said, well, good for you. And she said,

no, I'm really good at it. And I said, I'm sure

you are. Tell me. She said, well, friends of

mine said, what you do in your knitting is so

amazing, people would love to have what you do.

Why don't you market it, put it up on the internet?

She said, I did, and the orders have come in,

and I'm inundated with orders. She said, I don't

have time for anything else. I've got my knitting

needles with me everywhere I go. If I've got

five minutes, I'm doing a couple lines. I said,

have you ever thought about having somebody help

you with it? She said, I asked my mom to help

me, but I do so many corrections of what she's

done wrong that it takes me longer to correct

what she's done wrong than it does for me to

just do it myself. I said, have you ever asked

Jesus to get his knitting needles? She said,

what? I said, have you ever asked Jesus to get

his knitting needles? She said, what do you mean?

He wants us to acknowledge him in everything

that he does, that we do, which means he wants

to be personally present in your entire life.

And just noticing the little attitude that was

about her, I said, it might be really good for

you to let him knit with you because then you'd

probably be happier while you're doing it. You'd

probably get more done and be more efficient.

And then you'd actually be pleasant when you

get home. I just threw that in. And she just

immediately responded, I can do that. I said,

I wasn't giving you anything that you couldn't

do. He just wants to be with you. Wow, that's

pretty interesting, right? Right? So it says,

listen carefully. I like that because now relationship.

My dear child, to everything that I teach you,

pay attention to all that I have to say. Fill

your thoughts with my words until they penetrate

deep into your spirit. Then as you unwrap my

words, they will impart true life and radiant

health into the very core of your being. So above

all, guard the affections of your heart. For

they affect all that you are. Pay attention to

the welfare of your innermost being, for from

there flows the wellspring of life. This isn't

a command. But it is how you find God. A woman

called me, a friend of my mother's. And she said,

the tumor's getting bigger. It's starting to

bleed. But I'm praying more, reading more, and

confessing more than I ever have. And then she

said, Jim, what am I supposed to do? Those are

the kind of phone calls I get. So I didn't really

think, which actually works well for me. And

I said, for the next two weeks, don't read your

Bible, don't pray, and don't confess a thing.

And it got deathly quiet on the other end of

the phone. When she came back, she said, could

you repeat that, please? And I laughed a little

bit. And I said, it really wasn't difficult.

I just said, for the next two weeks, don't read

your Bible, don't pray, and don't confess anything.

And then she snapped at me with an attitude and

said, then what am I supposed to do? Which is

very interesting that her whole relationship

with Jesus was based on what she could do for

him instead of what he did for her. No wonder

why she nullified the grace of God. Oops. Oops.

In other words, the very ability that does things

for you that you can't do for yourself, she cut

its legs off. Because it was all about what she

could do. When she said that, excuse me, what

am I supposed to do? I said to her, find God.

And she responded with, what do you mean? I didn't

think that was a bad statement, so I said, find

God. She said, yeah, but I really don't understand

what you're saying. I said, if God was in your

equation, you wouldn't have a tumor. I said,

you gotta find him. Get quiet enough, long enough,

until God becomes real. Remember, sinners at

the beginning, four of them. At the very beginning,

they heard the voice of God in complete sentences

and recognized his presence. If we could get

that inserted into the body of Christ overnight,

we would change the world. Because the boldness

that comes to you when you've heard God, the

knowledge of God is telling me to do something

and he's got my back and I'm going to step out

because I recognize the presence. I'm not alone.

There is a glory on me. When Brother Hagin laid

hands on me in front of 10 ,000 people and I

felt this power go into my hands. And then he

looked at me and he said, now go down to the

people and minister to the people in the name

of Jesus. And he leaned forward and he said,

make sure you use the name Jesus. And I thought,

really? I read your book, The Name of Jesus.

I graduated from, what do you think I'm going

to do? In the name of Tom, Dick, and Harry, come

out? So, you know, I was a little New Yorker.

I was a little bit ticked, but I couldn't say

anything. So I said, all right, I'll use the

name Jesus. Praise the Lord. I'll use it twice

if that'll make you happy. Amen. But now I didn't

know what to do with my hands because I felt

power. I thought if I put them in my pocket,

I fend the Holy Ghost. I just held them out like

a platter and just walked down to the people.

I didn't know what to do. I mean, I'm Baptocostal.

I'm just making the transition. Amen. From Baptists

to Pentecostals. So anyhow, the closer I got

to the people, the more it began to beat like

a heartbeat in my hands. It came out of my hands

and went up my elbows. It's like I put my hands

into oven mitts. And that first person I came

into, you would assume that with that feeling,

I realized I have something in me. When I'm going

to lay hands on them, I'm probably not going

to do it in a very small, intimidated way. I

just said, in the neck. And I went to lay hands

on them and the fire shot out of my hands, hit

them in the top of the head. I never even got

to touch them. And they crumbled to their feet.

To the ground. Now, back in that day, you know,

some people would do that charismatic thing,

like I'm... I was, you know, you saw in a big

line of people, there were like about six or

seven ushers, and one would catch one and then

rotate around to the other and then catch one.

I wish we were that smart back then. We weren't.

It was just me and my buddy Keith, and I caught

the body, and he just took the head and put the

head down. We just went like this, just like

this. Now we would catch 1 ,000 to 3 ,000 people

a night. Not 200. 1 ,000, 2 ,000. I wanted to

get on the microphone after the service and say,

Fast. All day. Brother Hagin would get inspired

and sometimes go, because he knew he would get

so strong, oh, oh, oh, and he'd start laying

hands like this. I mean, he was just like a machine,

you know. So if somebody was doing this, we didn't

have time for that. I'd clip him in the knee

and just take him down. You're holding up the

show. You're coming down. And they'd look at

me like this. It's all right. Just keep on going.

Keep on trucking. Amen. Amen. I mean, sometimes

it was so fast, I'd get a jacket and there was

no one in it. Well, praise the Lord. Just keep

on going. Amen. One time I got hair. I quickly

looked and thought, which is the front and which

is the back? And there was a lady laying down

there. She went like this and she went and she

looked up and grabbed it, put it back and then

went right back down. The things you see, you

wish you didn't. They scar you for life. Praise

the Lord. I tell these stories and then I have

to reconfigure where in the world was I? Oh,

praise the Lord. Come on. I want to get to a

couple things here real quickly. You know, just

talking about this life that we're in. Do you

remember when Paul made statements over there?

He said, to be absent from the body is to be

present with the Lord. Remember that? Well, if

you use that for life instead of death, what

would that do for you? the more absent I am from

being so mindful of this world and the flesh,

the more open I am to become mindful of the realm

of the Spirit. Amen. So to the degree that I

don't know God, I probably know all too well

me. So in a sense, less of me gives me a lot

of room for more of him. Amen? And that's not

as easy in a world that's actually now taking

pictures of themselves. I did that once many

years ago and sent it to my oldest daughter.

She immediately replied and said, Dad, don't

ever do this again. I thought, what was so wrong

with it? It was just a picture of me. And I guess

the whole idea of me looking into a phone and

taking a picture of myself really blew her mind.

So I don't do that anymore, except when we're

together, my arms are longer, so I'm the one

that usually takes the picture. But it's not

just of me. But isn't it interesting now? Have

you seen the funny little clips and reels of

people that are looking at their phone and just

fall into things and bump into light poles and

stuff? You ever seen that? Wow, we really like

ourselves. So the more we like ourselves, the

less we know him. I love this over here in the

Message Bible. You don't have to turn, but Romans

12, 1 and 2, it says, So here's what I want you

to do. God helping you. Take your everyday, ordinary

life, your sleeping, eating, going to work, and

walking around life, and place it before God

as an offering. Embracing what God does for you

is the best thing you can do for Him. Don't become

so well adjusted to your culture that you fit

into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your

attention on God. You'll be changed from the

inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from

you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture

around you, always dragging you down to its level

of immaturity, God brings the best out of you,

develops well -formed maturity in you. I was

on my computer years ago and I said, I'm going

to just look up some things on fasting. Not that

I want to. Who really wants to? But anyhow. I

thought, I'm going to look up some things on

fasting. So I'm of the generation that actually

uses all my fingers. Is there anybody else that

uses all your fingers? Isn't that awesome that

we can use all our fingers today? It's pretty

much thumbs. But anyhow, I just typed in real

quick, F -A -S -T -I -N -G, boom. And what came

up on my computer is the word pistis for believe

in Vine's expository dictionary. And I looked

at that and I thought, huh. So I clicked out

of it real quick and went F -A -S -T -I -N -G.

And believe came up. So I clicked out of it again

because I'm not as fast as you. And I went F

-A -S -T -I -N -G. And believe came up in Vine's

expository dictionary, the word pistis. So after

the third time, I said, God, you're messing with

my computer. And you obviously want me to read

this. And the angel there is probably going,

no, no. If it weren't for the blonde hair, I

wouldn't excuse it. But I get it. I get it. So

anyhow, I read it. And it was the passage in

Genesis 15 about Abram. Before he turned Abraham

in the covenant. And Abram was questioning the

things that God had said to him. Is Eliezer of

Damascus going to be the one that's my child?

Or are you really going to give me a child at

this age? And then later he questioned, are you

really going to give me the land? Well, God can't

work with somebody who's questioning him. That's

not faith. So God's response was to him, Abraham,

you shall have your own child. And as a sign,

go outside and see if you can number the stars,

so shall your descendants be. Well, God just

gave Abram something to do that was exactly what

Abram already understood. He was a moon worshiper.

And if you're going to worship the moon at night,

you're going to see the stars. So it wasn't like

God gave him something foreign to do. figure

out Einstein's law of relativity. Who's Einstein?

You see what I mean? God's not trying to show

off with his knowledge at the expense of you

being left out. He will work with you on a level

of what you understand to bring you into the

concept and understanding of connecting with

him. That's why he talked to fishermen about

fish and he talked to farmers about seed and

so on and so forth and why he gives us a world

that's so beautiful and filled with the residue

of himself so that you can even go out into the

woods and you can feel that there's something

there that you don't even see that's there and

it's his presence. Because he wants to draw you

in to a relationship. Can you say amen with that?

Well, Abram went outside and he believed. And

God put it on his credit card as righteousness.

Okay? Now, here's the interesting thing. In the

Vines Expository Dictionary, this is what it

said. Abram did not believe the impersonal words

of God. Stop right there. I thought, wow, that

is good. Because what makes something impersonal?

Well, you don't know them. Right? Somebody says

something to you that's paramount and you say,

well, who are they? Right? Somebody says something

to you where you're going to have to put yourself

in a position that you don't necessarily want

to put yourself in. And if you don't know them,

you're going to question it. Well, who are they?

What's their background? Why are they talking

to me? Right? But when you know somebody and

you know somebody has your back and they say

something, that's entirely different. So this

is what I said. Abram did not believe in the

impersonal words of God. Abram believed God himself.

And I said, Lord, thank you for messing with

my computer. I needed that. You see, because

we can get to the point where we're so wordy.

We've got so many scriptures, but God wants to

go. past just having scriptures over into those

scriptures bring you to him. Remember, lights

on, switch on, lights on. Your switch is on 24

hours a day. How can anything penetrate the life

and light of God? This is how you stay healed.

This is how you keep from being sick. Come on,

everybody. Think for just a moment here as I

take you to something that's absolutely phenomenal.

And that is what? That's over here in John chapter

John 5 · chapter mention

5, 16 through 21. Now, Jesus is at the pool of

Bethesda. And he goes to one person. And I think

I have time just to mess with you a little bit

while you're turning. He goes to one person.

Isn't it interesting he went to one person and

there's five porches full of sick people? If

anybody ever says to you, well, you really believe

you can heal? You believe that God heals? Well,

then go to a hospital and let's just see you

clean it out. Here's your response to that. Because

we're not opposed to going to a hospital. I already

told you years ago, we were sitting next to,

and I didn't know, she was just a friend, the

mother of my daughter's friend in gymnastics.

And we would sit next to her a couple times a

week. And then one day Erin told me, she said,

you know, what's, do you remember her name? Anyhow,

do you know this individual? She said, she is

the director, the administrator of South Crest

Hospital, Melissa. And I said, she's what? Well,

she's the administrator of South Crest Hospital.

Well, my mind went somewhere when she said that.

And I thought, oh Lord. This is a setup. The

next time we sat next to her, I made sure to

sit next to her. Because you know, most of the

time I'm sitting on this side, Aaron's here,

Melissa's there, okay? I sat next to her. I said,

so Melissa, tell me about being the administrator

of South Crest Hospital. She began to tell me

about the amount of time that she's been there

and all of her duties and everything as the administrator

of the whole hospital. I said, let me just ask

you a question. What would you think? If I trained

people to know how to release the power of God

in a simple prayer and we called them chaplains

and brought them into your hospital with whatever

protocol you need us to follow. She thought for

a second. She said, you know what? I like it.

I said, I'm going to get busy and I'll get back

with you. And that's where I met my cowboy friend

years ago when we had 121 people that signed

up. Now, we only got about 12 or 13 of them in

the hospital because you lose everybody, you

know. But in those days, we saw some pretty phenomenal

things happen. My first couple that I took into

the hospital to train them, I was actually nervous.

And I do this all the time. I walked into the

room, saw that individual. You know, I had it.

already pre -planned. Again, when I don't think

it works better than when I think it out, you

know. And I already had it pre -planned what

I'm going to say and I messed it all up and I

just felt so bad because this couple's with me

wanting to see how I do it. And my prayer was

at best, you know, a C minus. And because it's

really not about words, it's about the intent.

but I was trying to make words sound good. And

I just did a horrible job. I went out into, after

I said amen, and I just left real quickly, went

out in the hall, started laughing. They said,

what are you laughing about? I said, let me just

tell you right now. I said, do not follow what

just happened in there. I said, and if that person

gets healed, that lets you know God can supersede

and go well beyond our inabilities. Let me tell

you right now. So I came back the next day with

another couple. And I wanted to go into the room

and say hi to that individual, and they were

gone. So I went out and got the nurse, and I

said, where's so -and -so? We were just here

yesterday. We went in and prayed. I said, what

happened? Oh, we sent him home this morning.

I said, well, what do you mean? Well, they were

diabetic and had a wound, and it wouldn't close

back up. And we were treating that wound for

quite a few days and it wouldn't close up. But

overnight it closed right up. We have no idea

how. And I thought, good Lord in heaven, you

healed that person with that prayer. Wow. But

here's my point that I'll make very quickly.

Why did Jesus just go to one? Because he was

led. to go to one. Don't you know you can take

one healing, magnify it in the midst of a crowd,

and get other people to say, well, if he'll heal

that person, he'll heal me. And like throwing

a pebble into a still pond, ripples will start

to work where healings will start working all

the way around the room. Jesus could have stood

up with that one individual that got up and said,

everybody. I am the way, the truth, and the life.

And all of a sudden, five porches are coming

to him to be healed. Do you know why he didn't?

Because they chose their method of healing. Even

the man said, I don't have a man to get me in

the water. Others have servants. They've got

friends. They've got relatives that help them

to get in before me when the waters are troubled.

What does that mean? They actually could have

had all those people that helped him to get into

the water. They could have taken him to Jesus'

crusade, which was a mile out of town, where

every person that touched him was made perfectly

whole. But instead, they chose the waters. If

someone's not asking you to come into the hospital

to get healed, you can't just barge in and get

them healed against their will. Jesus couldn't

do that in his own hometown. It didn't mean he

didn't try to get them healed. Where would you

want to actually hit a home run? In your own

hometown. Amen? Aunt Bessie, you'd like to hear

her say, son, you've really made something of

yourself. I'll tell you what, we're so proud

of you. You'd like to hear that in your own hometown.

Not because you're puffed up, but just because

you're so endeared to these people. Amen? I mean,

in my hometown, I'm the black sheep. I mean,

you know E .F. Hutton, everybody stops to listen.

I'm better than E .F. Hutton. They can be washing

dishes, hear the clanging of dishes, and somebody

hear that someone said, hey, Jim, what do you

think about something? Dishes stop, sinks stop,

people peer around the corner and say, what's

this idiot gonna say? That left our denomination

and went into those tongues and that healing

stuff and that prophecy stuff. well, praise the

Lord. So Jesus is now battling with a mindset

that didn't even say, this was amazing to see

this guy healed. They just wanted to rail him

as a result of doing this on the Sabbath. And

Jesus said, for this reason, the Jews persecuted

Jesus, sought to kill him because he had done

these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered

them and said, my father has been working until

now and I have been working. One translation

is that my father is always working and I too

am always working. Therefore, the Jews sought

all the more to kill him because he not only

broke the Sabbath, but he also said that God

was his father, making himself equal with God.

As a man, Jesus was equal with God. As a man,

you are equal with God. Equal with is different

than equal to. Equal with means able to represent.

Equal to means able to replace. You can't replace

God. You're the created. The pot can't replace

the potter. But he made us in his image and likeness

so the things he's required us to do are just

on the same level as what he can do so that we

can represent him thoroughly. When you heal somebody,

it's the same as if Jesus healed somebody. When

Jesus healed somebody, it's the same as if the

father healed somebody. That's why Jesus told

Philip, are you kidding me? How long have I been

with you? Don't you know I am representing my

dad? Like I don't do this to puff myself up.

That's why Jesus always made the comment. When

people said, it's amazing what you do. He said,

no, that's my father. But at the same time, he

said, that's my father. He never included the

father in on the healing. You see, you didn't

get that. There's a cycle. Jesus would pull himself

away to make sure he was connected at all times

to the Father to get specific information. Because

even as he walked and talked with people, he

was connected. The people didn't distract him

from his connection. Even his own family didn't.

distract him from his connection. His brothers

said, go up to the feast. And Jesus didn't follow

the brothers' information. But he went up to

the feast after the brothers had said that because

the father had told him to go up to the feast.

Jesus said, everything that I say is because

I hear my father saying it. Everything that I

do is because I see my father doing it. So was

he connected to his father? Absolutely. That's

key in life. If you keep the light switch on

and stay connected, you will walk in a constant

flow of signs, wonders, and miracles. It's impossible

not to. When you're following the unction of

the Holy Ghost, he only leads you into the miraculous.

You're a light to dispel darkness. And if darkness

is comfortable around you, we won't even go there,

okay? Because that's a sad thought. Amen. So

look at what else Jesus said. Then Jesus answered

and said, Most surely I say to you, the Son can

do nothing of himself but what he sees the Father

do. For whatever he does, the Son also does in

like manner. Now get this. For the Father loves

the Son and shows him all things that he himself

does, and he will show him greater works than

these that you may marvel. For as the Father

raises the dead and gives life to them, even

so the Son gives life to whom he will. And that's

a whole other sermon right there. But I want

to show you the father loves the son. You would

think this would be the word agape for the God

kind of love, but it happens to be the word phileo.

Philadelphia is what? The city of brotherly love.

Amen. So what does that mean? Brotherly love

is like best friends. I'm sharing something with

you this morning, even though it's taken a few

moments to get there, that when I'm done, this

will become to you a sermon. You'll say, that's

so absolutely simple, yet it's profound. That

all God's looking for is a friend. He's not looking

for a friend for 30 minutes in a service. but

you never hang out with him. And he asks you

all the time, can I go with you? And you don't

even respond. Can I hang out with you today?

And you don't even hear him. And that doesn't

become a best friend. Best friends interact with

each other on a regular basis. And if there was

someone at the fair that you knew you would see

if you saw Sally, it would be her best friend.

And you wouldn't be surprised if you saw them

together. Because they're always together. Isn't

that a reason why, you know, as individuals that

aren't married, you know, you get information,

people say things like, well, make sure you date

them long enough to make sure you like them.

Just like Brother Jan said, you know, you can

love somebody, but not necessarily like them

at times. It's really good to actually like your

spouse. Amen. Like I like her. Amen. I love her,

but I like her. Now there's times I don't know.

I'm just kidding. We can get on each other's

nerves at times because we're both strong personalities.

But not much. The older we get, the easier it

is to not consider certain things that would

get on your nerves. Just stay in a place of enjoying

one another. My uncle is from El Salvador. My

aunt was a missionary. She married an El Salvadorian

preacher. And he couldn't speak English, but

he wanted to tell me before I got married. He

said, Jimmy. And he would say, hola. That was

all he would say. And I would say, hola, back

to him. Amen. And I'd say a few more things I

learned in Spanish. But then he couldn't respond

in English. So anyhow, I go through interpretation.

So my aunt's interpreting to me and she said,

Uncle Eliseo wants to share some wisdom with

you. And he said, before you get married, open

both eyes very wide. He said, after you get married,

close one and squint with the other. I mean,

what? What you don't see, it won't bother you.

Real quickly, John chapter 15 and verse 14 and

John 15 · chapter mention

15 in the Amplified it said, Jesus said, you

are my friends. If you keep doing the things

which I command you to do, I do not call you

servants any longer, for a servant does not know

what his master is doing. But I call you friends

because I have made known to you everything that

I have heard from my father. I have revealed

to you everything that I have learned from him.

Isn't this interesting? Jesus is saying, the

reason why my dad tells me the things he tells

me and shows me the things he shows me, which

end up in signs, wonders, and miracles, is because

he and I are alike. Best friends. So Jesus isn't

a best friend to the Father because he's going

to get something out of him. Jesus is a best

friend to the Father because he loves him. And

the Father loves Jesus. And because Jesus constantly

stays connected, what does that say? But that's

a true best friend. Amen? Now think with me.

What goes into being a best friend? Time, tangibility,

and shared experiences. And that, if you're taking

notes, is what a connection means. Being connected

to God is time, tangibility, and shared experiences.

And what do people say so often today? I don't

have time. So if there's no time, there's no

tangibility. If there's no tangibility, there's

not a shared experience. You may say you're a

friend. You may think you're a best friend. But

it's possible the person you think is your best

friend has other ideas about them and their thoughts

about you. Because you're not faithful. You don't

show up when you're supposed to. You talk behind

their backs at times. They find out about it.

Come on. And so on and so forth. And I'm not

trying to make anybody feel bad, but we understand

this whole realm. We live constantly in a world

where we have people we like a whole lot more

than we don't like others. We spend time and

choose to spend time with certain individuals

because we get along with them. And we like to

share our hearts with them. And it's interesting,

when you have a best friend, it's almost like

there's nothing you can't share with them because

you know they have your back. They're not going

to condemn you. They're just going to be there

to support you and help you and encourage you.

And yeah, they may say some things that are strong

and to the point with you, but you know they

love you, so you're able to handle that. Come

on. these things I'm saying right here, God wants

to be that with you. There's this old professor

at a school, college school. He had quite a schedule

through his teaching and then through his counseling.

And one day God said to him, because he loved

the Lord with all his heart, one day God said

to him, I'd really like to hang out with you.

Do you have some time for me? And he said what

he said with sincerity, which was, Lord, I need

to check my schedule. Now, I know some people,

when I've said that, have felt like, oh, that's

horrible. No, what he was saying was, I really

want to find time, but my schedule's so packed,

I've got to look so that when I tell you this

is the time I have, that's the time I give. And

he said the only time he had was from 12 o 'clock

at night till 2 o 'clock in the morning. I think

I'm usually sleeping then. Is anybody else sleeping

then? Okay, okay. So he told the Lord, he said,

12 o 'clock to two o 'clock in the morning. And

so that night, 12 o 'clock came and he sat down

in a chair and he put another chair in front

of him. And he said, Lord, this is gonna be fun.

And after his first week of interacting with

the Lord, it became overnight his most favorite

time. of his day between 12 and two. And this

went on for a couple of months and he enjoyed

every night and looked forward to it all day

long until one night he sat down as usual, 12

o 'clock pronto. And there was the chair right

there across from him where he would talk with

the Lord. And all of a sudden he heard the front

door open and he heard as it were some type of

shoe that was hard on the hardwood floor, walk

down the aisle. the hallway. He didn't get up

and into the room walked Jesus, the son of God.

And he went right over, took the chair and sat

down and said, I wanted you to know that I've

been here every night and I'm just as excited

about meeting with you as you have been meeting

with me. And he said, do you know why? I don't

have many friends. Is it possible that we could

see things and hear things and know things that

would make our life kind of like pinch me? It's

too good to be true if we were just friends with

the Lord. Like what I'm sharing this morning

isn't like theologically deep. It really is just

simple, but... It's totally in the Bible. John

16, 26 and 27. In that day you will ask in my

name, and I do not say that I shall pray the

Father for you, for the Father himself phileos

you because you have phileoed me. The Father

thinks you're amazing because you are friends

with the Son. and have believed that I can. So

even prayers being answered. Why? Because you're

like a best friend with God. I am a friend of

God. I am a friend of God. He loves me so. Come

on, think for a moment. Could this be easier

than we made it? We're all into our theology

and theology is good because it gives you a foundation.

But is it possible someone could just actually

hang out with God like my friend Mary Fran? She's

Roman Catholic. She didn't understand the things

that God, but she got filled with the Holy Ghost

and the Holy Ghost started talking to her. And

she listened. And God said to her one day, the

Holy Ghost said, I'd really like to hang out

with you all day. And she said, Holy Spirit.

What would that look like? And he said, Mary

Fran, I want to be with you like right now in

everything you do. She said, well, I'm getting

ready to go do laundry. Would you like to help

me with the laundry? He said, I'd love to help

you with the laundry. She took her laundry basket

down and kept talking to him because she acknowledged

his presence, which made it easier for her to

know that he's actually right here. And she began

to develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit

to the degree that she could hear him at all

times and recognize his presence from morning

till night to the point where she didn't want

to do life without knowing that he was real.

One day she woke up and her hand was paralyzed,

literally flopped her whole arm. It wouldn't

work. And she said, Holy Spirit, what do you

have to say about this? And he said, Mary Fran,

maybe it's not real. She said, what do you mean,

Holy Spirit? And she walked by her piano and

he said, play for me, Mary Fran. And she said,

Holy Ghost, you know, I can't play for you. I've

only got one hand that works. He said, play for

me, Mary Fran. I love it when you play. So she

sat down and flopped this arm on the piano and

with her other hand began to play. And within

seconds, this hand picked up and began to play.

And it never was paralyzed from that moment.

And she began to walk with him like this and

talk with him like this and sees things and knows

things. And that realm has become really normal

to her only because she made a friend. Now, if

we applied this even in the smallest sense, that

would do away with you got to get all spiritual

for church on Sunday morning. You know what I

mean? Because now, like you're hanging out with

him. And so Sunday mornings, another morning

to interact with someone who actually is messing

with my life. Because the moment you let him

in like that, because he is an all -purpose tool,

he can fix everything. And he always has his

tools with him. So as you begin to do life and

you let him be real to you, oh, he fixes this

and he fixes that. And you're perfectly on time

when you normally wouldn't be. Here I am. It

is 20 minutes to the hour. And I'm on the other

side of town with 17 traffic lights to go through

or about seven traffic lights to go through to

get to a highway. And I'm thinking to myself,

wow, man, I got this morning free. What should

I do? And I get a text that says, do you want

a latte before healing school? Oh, healing school.

Blonde hair, remember? Blonde hair. Healing school.

Oh, no. I can't make it. How am I going to do

this? And I got upset. Anxiety set in momentarily

at that stoplight. And then I immediately remembered,

you can't allow him to be real when you think

he can't help. Oh, Lord, this is going to be

fun. Do you know what? Guys, I'm going to take

the longer route just to let you show me how

wonderful it is to be connected to you. So I'm

going to go through 17 traffic lights. And I

know I can't get there, but I'll actually get

there. So I text back and said, yes, I would

like a latte before healing school. Because if

I have caffeine before I speak, it's really dangerous.

I turned left instead of going toward the highway.

Green light, green light, green light, green

light, green light, green light, green light,

green light, green light, green light, green

light, green light, green light, green light,

green light, green light, green light, green

light. 13 minutes, I'm home. Changed real quick.

Went to the church. Walked in with three minutes

to spare. Grabbed my latte like I had been studying

all morning long. Amen? And all of a sudden,

you get the idea that if I can in any way start

to even a little bit live like this, what would

my life be like? That's why we have the YouTube

channel Adventures in Grace. Because when he

starts to be your friend, you will begin to have

adventures. I'm telling you, Jesus made provision

for all the things that we are seeking him for

so that we wouldn't have to spend time on trivial

things like getting a body healed because it's

already healed. We could just hang out and do

stuff together. The bigger picture is really

wonderful. And I just don't want to get to heaven

and see the bigger picture and think, shoot,

how did I miss that? Like, I'd like to enjoy

some of that right here, right now. Like God

being in my life, going before me and doing things

and setting me up for success after success and

watching things happen that are God moments and

God situations where you go back home and you

just say, you are really too much. And the more

you kind of say things like that to your best

friend, the more your best friend's thinking,

well, what else can I do? Golly gee, let's just

make this next day a day he'll never forget.

And do you realize that's what's going to happen

in heaven? He's going to show us another side

of his loving kindness and grace for all eternity.

He's going to blow our socks off. That's why

I don't wear any. Lift your hands. Father, thank

you for the things that we share that are simple

enough to be put into immediate action. And everyone

in this room, I ask you, Lord, to take the words

of best friend, make an imprint in their heart,

and give them a hunger and a desire to be friends

and even best friends with you. Because if they'll

hunger it, if they'll desire it, if they'll even

put their mind to the task of figuring out how

this afternoon they can hang out with you, you

will fill them, you will cause them to be saturated,

and you, Lord God, forever will begin to work

in their lives. And I declare over this congregation,

not only is this a place of healing, these people

are a people who know their God. and they are

strong, and they do exploits. In the name of

Jesus, somebody say amen. Amen. Praise the Lord.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to this

week's message. We are so grateful for those

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