The Danger of Spiritual Performance: A Critical Analysis

• Divine Presence and Action 00:59:33 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor declares that the Commander of the Army of the Lord has come to bring victory, wholeness, healing, and answers to prayers.
• Personal Testimony of Healing 01:00:38 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal story of overcoming months of fatigue and exhaustion through obedience to God's command to keep moving, resulting in restored energy.
• Corporate Worship and Movement 01:04:15 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor encourages the congregation to actively participate in worship by stomping their feet, linking physical movement to spiritual victory and testimony.
• Church Announcements 01:08:48 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor announces the Bethel Church Fall Harvest Festival, including details about line dancing, a cakewalk, and family activities.
• Community Service 01:10:06 ▶️ 📄
  > Information is provided regarding a holiday food and clothing drive and a Thanksgiving celebration for the unhoused community.
• Offering and Faith 01:11:44 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor encourages giving with faith, referencing Hebrews 11:6 and declaring that faith comes by hearing, urging the congregation to attach faith to their giving.
• Testimony of the Holy Spirit 01:14:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The speaker shares his personal journey from a conservative background to embracing the power of the Holy Spirit through his wife and a pivotal encounter with God.
• Power of the Gospel 01:20:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor declares he is not ashamed of the gospel, defining it as the power of God, the demonstration of His love, dominion, and lightnings.
• The Power of the Gospel 01:20:39 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor declares his belief in the gospel's power, love, dominion, and light, expressing love for even its unexplainable parts.
• Encountering Jesus 01:21:11 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor exhorts the congregation to encounter Jesus, instructing them to pray in tongues and tap neighbors to declare this encounter.
• Wildness for the Spirit 01:22:49 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts being 'tame' with being 'wild after the Spirit,' urging the church to chase God's things and not back down.
• Divine Favor and Prophecy Fulfillment 01:24:02 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a story of a dream leading to an academic algorithm and a subsequent move of God in Denmark, illustrating that God's promises endure over time.
• God's Love for the World 01:34:32 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor analyzes John 3:16, emphasizing that God's love is pre-existing, directed at the world (including those who reject Him), and not a response to human deficit.
• God's Unreciprocated Love 01:35:32 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts human love, which is often reciprocal, with God's love, which extends to those who resist or reject Him, describing this as offensive yet beautiful.
• Divine Generosity 01:36:52 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines God as inherently generous, giving continuously even in human states of need and accusation, rather than holding back.
• The Mystery of the Incarnation 01:37:59 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains the theological mystery of God constricting His infiniteness into a finite, temporal body while remaining eternal and holy.
• The Broad Invitation of Faith 01:39:18 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor emphasizes that the invitation to believe is wide, including the wretched and disqualified, and distinguishes mere acknowledgment of Jesus from active faith.
• Eternal Life as Intimacy 01:43:55 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor corrects the misconception that eternal life is merely endless existence, defining it instead as knowing Jesus and experiencing His presence now.
• Signs and Wonders 01:47:05 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that signs and wonders are the 'meat of the gospel' designed to melt hard hearts and reveal Jesus as the Messiah.
• Born Again / Born from Above 01:49:43 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains the necessity of being born of the Spirit rather than flesh, using Nicodemus's confusion to illustrate the choice between natural and spiritual origins.
• Private Spiritual Choice 01:51:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts public religious success with private spiritual choices, urging listeners to choose the Spirit over flesh in secret.
• Choosing the Spirit over Flesh 01:51:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor urges the congregation to choose the Spirit rather than flesh, noting that while no one else may see this choice, God knows it, and it determines whether the resulting fruit is natural or spiritual.
• Unpredictability of the Spirit 01:53:20 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that people of the Spirit should be unpredictable, citing John 3 where the wind blows where it pleases, and rebukes those who have become too predictable or boring in their walk with God.
• Seeking God in Confusion 01:58:52 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that decisions are made in confusing places where faith is not full, urging the congregation to run to Jesus in these dark spaces rather than avoiding them.
• Jesus Entering Locked Rooms 02:02:19 ▶️ 📄
  > Using the example of Jesus walking through locked doors to the disciples, the pastor illustrates that Jesus enters our hidden, fearful spaces to bring peace and breathe the Holy Spirit.

• Sermon Illustration 01:00:38 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts a personal experience from 'Wonder Night' where he was unable to stand in worship due to fatigue. Despite this, God commanded him to keep moving his feet, which led to a powerful shift in the room and his own physical restoration by Friday morning.
• Sermon Illustration 01:14:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts his conversion in a conservative church with an orange mohawk, his marriage to Libby who introduced him to the power of the Holy Spirit, and a specific incident where a 10-year-old student named Pascal prayed for a woman named Norma, resulting in her healing after three years of inability to walk properly.
• Sermon Illustration 01:24:02 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts a dream where an angel gave him a telecommunications algorithm (A-O-D-V) for his master's thesis, which later became the cornerstone of a book published in six countries, illustrating God's favor beyond human skill.
• Sermon Illustration 01:25:27 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes visiting Aalborg, Denmark, 18 years prior, where he prayed for a move of God in a 'dry' spiritual landscape, and later returned to see that same place experience a mighty move of the Spirit.
• Sermon Illustration 01:35:08 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of loving those who reject you to explain the nature of God's love in John 3:16, contrasting it with human reciprocal love.
• Sermon Illustration 01:37:15 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses a personal anecdote about rocking his baby at 3 AM to illustrate God's generosity in moments of human need and exhaustion.
• Sermon Illustration 01:40:29 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a bridge to distinguish between merely acknowledging Jesus exists and having faith by 'walking across' the bridge of belief.
• Sermon Illustration 01:48:12 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references his personal experience meeting his wife Libby as a 'sign and wonder' that filled him with faith to walk the bridge.
• Sermon Illustration 01:45:50 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites the biblical narrative of Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night as the context for John 3:16, illustrating that major spiritual insights often come from private, confused conversations with Jesus.
• Sermon Illustration 01:59:34 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal story about his wife's panic attacks after marriage, where he would kneel under the bathroom door whispering 'I'm not going anywhere' to show his commitment despite her fear.
• Sermon Illustration 01:54:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the story of his friend Dean Rass, who came to Redding with no money and chose to ask the Lord daily what to do, eventually receiving provision through unexpected means rather than strategic planning.
• Sermon Illustration 01:55:33 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes his friend Chris, who is not strategically brilliant but goes behind closed doors to ask the Lord for strategy, resulting in outcomes that appear miraculous but are actually the result of seeking God.
• Sermon Illustration 02:02:19 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the biblical account of Jesus walking through locked doors to the disciples in John 20, breathing on them to give them the Holy Spirit, illustrating how God enters our 'locked rooms' of fear.
• Sermon Illustration 02:06:05 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references Libby's mom, noting that she has an incredible marriage and remarried to a gift from God, illustrating God's ability to redeem all things.

• Pastoral Charge 01:12:10 ▶️ 📄
  > Ask God specifically how much to give during the offering.
• Pastoral Charge 01:12:15 ▶️ 📄
  > Ask God specifically how much the congregation should give during the offering.
• Pastoral Charge 01:12:20 ▶️ 📄
  > Attach personal faith to the act of giving.
• Pastoral Charge 01:12:36 ▶️ 📄
  > Declare specific affirmations of faith and identity out loud.
• Pastoral Charge 01:13:29 ▶️ 📄
  > Welcome the next speaker, Richard Gordon.
• Pastoral Charge 01:15:23 ▶️ 📄
  > Turn to a neighbor and identify/share who provokes them to seek more of God.
• Pastoral Charge 01:21:11 ▶️ 📄
  > Turn to a neighbor, prophesy that they will encounter Jesus, lay hands on them, and pray in tongues.
• Pastoral Charge 01:30:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The congregation is invited to collectively choose to trust God's promises again.
• Pastoral Charge 01:41:16 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor expresses a personal desire to move from acknowledgment to active faith, modeling this for the congregation.
• Pastoral Charge 01:41:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor calls for active engagement in receiving spiritual experiences rather than passive acknowledgment.
• Pastoral Charge 01:41:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor calls the congregation to actively pray for miracles rather than just acknowledging God's ability to heal.
• Pastoral Charge 02:01:38 ▶️ 📄
  > Stand up, close eyes, and open hands in response to the pastor's count.
• Pastoral Charge 02:04:55 ▶️ 📄
  > Raise hands if sensing the Spirit's power.
• Pastoral Charge 02:05:23 ▶️ 📄
  > Move to others with raised hands, place a hand on them, and pray for the Holy Spirit.
• Pastoral Charge 02:05:09 ▶️ 📄
  > Raise hands to indicate feeling God's power and pray for more of the Holy Spirit.
• Pastoral Charge 02:05:23 ▶️ 📄
  > Move to others with raised hands, lay hands on them, and pray for the Holy Spirit.
• Pastoral Charge 02:06:49 ▶️ 📄
  > Verbally rebuke spiritual boredom and monotony.
• Pastoral Charge 02:07:29 ▶️ 📄
  > Cry out to the Lord and pray in tongues for 30 seconds.
• Pastoral Charge 02:09:30 ▶️ 📄
  > Raise hand to signify response to Jesus.
• Pastoral Charge 02:09:42 ▶️ 📄
  > Go to the person who brought you and tell them you need to respond to Jesus.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:00] Happy Sunday. Welcome to Bethel. Hello, hello. Good morning, good afternoon, or good night.
[00:00:04] Hi, guys. We're so happy to be with you today this wonderful Sunday. It is a great day, mainly because top of the league soccer teams.
[00:00:13] With my daughter, we had a big win, played the other top team in the league, and we smoked them.

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:00:18] Yeah, they did great. I wasn't there yesterday. I know. They were sad. My parents are in town.
[00:00:22] Yeah, they are in town. I know. They're in town. So fun. So fun.

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:25] So great. Just met them for the first time. I know. Which is crazy. It's actually crazy.
[00:00:29] actually crazy. It's actually crazy that this is the first time. The last time my parents came to

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:00:32] Redding, California, they were supposed to go to their first Bethel service Friday night. And my dad got bit by a rattlesnake on a mountain. That was so wild. And I had to text Steve and Ruth
[00:00:44] saying, I need emergency prayer. And then he got airlifted by a helicopter to a hospital and they never came to Bethel. But they're here now. And he's fine. And he's fine. He's fine. Everything's

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:56] He just has cool scars.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:00:57] Yeah, yeah, cool scars.
[00:00:59] But I know, so they were supposed to meet many, many, many years ago.
[00:01:03] I think that was seven years ago.
[00:01:05] And yeah, this is their first time here.
[00:01:07] I actually just met one of our faithful online community church members.
[00:01:12] She was in the hallway.
[00:01:13] Her name is Nadege from France.
[00:01:15] Nadege, if you watch this back, you're in the room over there.
[00:01:17] Bonjour.
[00:01:19] But anyways, we love meeting you guys when you come into town, when you come and say hi.

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:01:23] Je suis Stéphane.

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:01:24] That's not how you say it.

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:01:24] Je m'appelle Steven

[00:01:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:01:27] Je m'appelle Cassie Je suis is I am but it's not for the name

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:01:32] That's what Jesus says Je suis

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]
[00:01:35] Right? That's what it says probably in scripture for the French Bible

[00:01:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:01:42] If you are French speaking Paul's name Maybe you can let us know whether or not Je suis It does make sense

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:01:54] Although I do know a little bit more French but it got me kicked out of French class So I had to switch to Spanish.
[00:02:00] So we don't do that.

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[00:02:01] No, no, we don't do that.

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:02:02] My sister knew French and she said on the first day of school, she's like, you should say this.
[00:02:07] It would really impress the teacher.
[00:02:08] I didn't know she was telling me to call the teacher a bad name.
[00:02:13] Really bad.
[00:02:14] And I got kicked out.
[00:02:15] I had no clue what I said.
[00:02:17] I was very innocent.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:02:18] Oh, man.
[00:02:19] That was the one time Steve Moore was innocent doing something sneaky or cheeky, you know?

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:02:24] But enough about that.

[00:02:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:02:25] Yeah.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:02:26] We want to know about you.
[00:02:27] Where are you tuning in from?
[00:02:28] We see people from South Africa on there.
[00:02:30] So good to see you.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:02:32] Do you think it's Georgia the state or Georgia the country?

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:02:34] Oh, let us know.
[00:02:35] Clarify.
[00:02:35] Good morning from Georgia.
[00:02:37] We would guess the state.
[00:02:38] Guten Abend.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:02:39] That's German.
[00:02:40] We see the Germans out here.
[00:02:42] We love that.

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:02:42] Marcus, good to see you.
[00:02:44] Who else?
[00:02:44] Go ahead.
[00:02:45] Put in the chat.
[00:02:45] Where are you tuning in from?
[00:02:47] We want to give you a shout out.
[00:02:48] Say hi.
[00:02:50] Jim, good to see you.
[00:02:51] Dawn, good to see you.
[00:02:53] Dan, Dan.

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:02:54] Tracy, Tina.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:02:55] It's a great handle.

[00:02:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:02:57] Dan Dan. Dan Dan. I would say Dan Dan the Muffin Man, but that's not a song.
[00:03:04] Not a song. Guys, we're so expecting today. We've got Richard Gordon preaching the word.
[00:03:09] Haley Sol Kennedy and Judah Valenzuela leading us in worship today. It's going to be a good day.
[00:03:14] We just finished Immersion Week. Some of our Portuguese speaking people, you're probably tuning in here on the Portuguese stream. Bom dia. That was, I honestly forgot.
[00:03:25] Bon Cui

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:03:26] what is that

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:03:27] I don't think Bon Cui is

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:03:29] isn't that something am I just did I say something bad

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:03:32] I don't know

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:03:33] I didn't if I was I genuinely don't know what that means I just

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:03:37] I'm not sure I just never heard that

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:03:40] I don't want to even say if I heard because I feel like I've heard that before and then that would sound like hopefully it's not so please let me know what I just said maybe let's say
[00:03:49] Obregada

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:03:49] Poco Picanha Ponte Queijo those are all foods guys We're so happy that you're here with us.
[00:03:57] Anything you're feeling today, any, actually, Steve, you did a session with our students who were in town, and you saw so many miracles.
[00:04:05] I heard that so many people, their legs were growing out, people who had issues with their hips, issues with their backs, whatever it is.
[00:04:14] Yeah, tell us what happened.
[00:04:14] What did God do?

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:04:16] God's just really good at His job.
[00:04:18] Yeah.
[00:04:18] So we just, you know, we activated the people in the room.
[00:04:22] I wasn't praying for anybody.
[00:04:24] It was the room praying for people, and people just started getting touched and healed and testifying.
[00:04:29] The whole room, not the whole room, that's an over-exaggeration, but a big chunk of the room was just waving that they got breakthrough within healing on different conditions, and so it was just really beautiful, really special.
[00:04:38] A lot of people, long-term conditions, people with metal in their bodies getting restored mobility and pain disappearing, and so it was a pretty amazing time.

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:04:49] It's so cool, and I love when people actually get to be activated.
[00:04:52] I love what Steve's saying.
[00:04:54] He's not just the one doing it, but actually activating so many people to step into what they have authority over that they can heal the sick and actually go after.
[00:05:03] And so we're super grateful.
[00:05:05] Actually felt like there are people on the call today.
[00:05:08] You are desiring, like you know that what you've read in the word is that people are supposed to be healed and people are supposed to actually, I even feel like there's someone on, you're watching for the first time
[00:05:19] and you're in need of like a desperate miracle.
[00:05:22] I feel like you have stage four cancer and you've wondered, like, can Jesus actually heal me?
[00:05:27] And I felt like there are people on this call who feel so called to pray for the sick, to heal the sick.
[00:05:33] And I even just feel like this is like confirmation, like a little wink from the Lord saying, yes, get equipped.
[00:05:39] Run after the things that you know you're called to do.
[00:05:42] But I want to pray for this person.
[00:05:43] I don't know who you are.
[00:05:44] I felt like it might be, I don't know if it's a woman or a man.
[00:05:48] But God, I just want to pray for this person wherever they are.
[00:05:51] maybe you're sitting in a hospital room, maybe you're at home, but God, we just speak to the cancer right now and tell it to die and leave in Jesus' name, that any cancer cells would
[00:06:01] completely be like clipped off, God, that it would be no longer growing or multiplying in their body, God, that there would be a healthy regeneration of cells and that they would see a complete shift
[00:06:13] and transformation in their body from this point forward, God, that they would, even I just feel like big symptoms. Someone's going through like chemotherapy and it's like big symptoms that you would normally get from chemo would actually begin to cease. And so we just speak blessings
[00:06:27] and life over your body in Jesus name, wherever you are. Yeah. And if you have any pain in your

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:06:32] back, just the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And so I just want you, if you can put your hand on your back, actually just put your hand on your back right now. And if you can't put
[00:06:42] it in the area where the pain is, that's fine. Jesus is really good at his job, but you just chill out for a second. We're going to pray. But Father, I thank you that you're really good at
[00:06:50] your job. And Father, we just declare healing to come over people's backs. We command all pain to leave. God, I thank you for bruises leaving. God, I thank you for migraine headaches lifting off of
[00:06:59] people, necks becoming unstuck. Someone you have like a stuck neck where it's just like takes you a bit to move it. Father, I thank you for a loosening of the neck right now. And we see
[00:07:10] Keys, Kana, I have stage four colon cancer that metastasized into your liver.
[00:07:15] And so Father, right now, we just thank you right now for you touching their body right now.
[00:07:20] We command all cancer to die.
[00:07:23] And we just release the kingdom of heaven in their body.
[00:07:25] We command full restoration of body.
[00:07:27] No more cancer cells.
[00:07:29] They can be completely eradicated from their body.
[00:07:31] All trauma, all effects of the cancer or treatment to be disappeared right now in Jesus' name.
[00:07:39] Peace, peace, peace.
[00:07:41] Thank you, Jesus.

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:07:42] This is going to sound like an interesting word of knowledge, but I'm looking at these macarons.
[00:07:47] This beautiful woman just brought these, like, French macarons.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:07:50] And we were just speaking French.

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:07:51] Je suis.

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:07:54] Je suis macaron.
[00:07:55] No, you're not a macaron.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]
[00:07:58] Strawberry.

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[00:07:59] J'adore macaron.
[00:08:00] Pistachio.
[00:08:01] See, I can't, the accent thing.
[00:08:02] I can't, yeah.
[00:08:02] Yeah, I can't.
[00:08:03] It's hard.
[00:08:03] It's hard for me.

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:08:04] Anyways, I felt like someone, you've been trying to quit sugar.
[00:08:08] I don't, this is such a weird thing, but I felt like the Lord was reminding you there's actually grace to do that.
[00:08:13] I felt like someone, I don't know if there was like a diagnosis or something and you felt like the Lord was asking you to actually quit sugar.
[00:08:18] I don't know if it's for a season, but I saw someone, you were like contemplating and wondering, should I actually do this?
[00:08:24] And I saw the Lord actually pouring out grace for you.
[00:08:26] So whoever you are, whoever that's for, whether you're watching that back or you're on live, if you're on live and you want to tell me, that would be awesome.
[00:08:32] But if you watch it back later, I just bless you that you would experience the grace from heaven that if God's asked you to do something, he will give you the grace to withstand and he'll
[00:08:40] actually help you in the midst, even when it's hard, because oftentimes it is hard, but we endure and we keep going. Yes. Keep going. Come on. Random. Random, but awesome. Random. Yeah. Jesus.
[00:08:54] Jesus. Amen. Amen. You want to say anything else? It's going to be a powerful day. It's going to be a great day. Powerful time. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be awesome. We're so
[00:09:02] thankful to have Richard back. Or maybe he's not back. He hasn't traveled yet. He's about to leave.

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:09:07] No, he traveled a little bit. He traveled. And then he's going again. And then he traveled again.
[00:09:11] Richard's like the Holy Spirit. He just kind of blows to and fro. You don't know where he's

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:09:15] coming from. When you are born of the Spirit, that's what we get to do, right? Wow. Powerful.
[00:09:19] Well, okay. Well, guys, we're expecting for what the Lord is going to do as you guys test out your bodies. If you experienced any shift, even from when Steve was praying for the lower back or for
[00:09:29] any of the conditions we'd love for you to post that in the chat why we just want to celebrate what god is doing want to thank him for it and we want to keep praying we have chat hosts on here
[00:09:38] who can continue to pray with you encourage you love on you um but let's get ready to go worship

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:09:45] the lord come on amen amen guys who got me so nervous

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[00:09:52] Au revoir.

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:09:55] Bon Noir.

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:09:56] Hello, hello, hello.
[00:10:27] Hey, let's stand together if you are in the room.
[00:10:29] And I know everyone's saying hello to everybody.
[00:10:33] We're going to get a chance to do that in just a minute.
[00:10:37] How's everyone this morning?
[00:10:40] Uh-oh.
[00:10:41] A little quieter than I wanted it to be.
[00:10:44] How is everyone this morning?
[00:10:47] Hey, there we go.
[00:10:48] There we go.
[00:10:49] I like that.
[00:10:50] I noticed this morning I woke up and it was a little darker than it was maybe last week so yeah we've been praying just for the weekend and what the Lord's gonna do there's a service
[00:11:05] happening right now at Twinview if you guys didn't know and then they ate this morning man it was really really good I don't know how to judge those things but man the Lord showed up it was so good
[00:11:15] so we're expecting to do the same you guys expect that to happen?
[00:11:18] yeah all right here's the scripture I read this morning give thanks to the Lord for he is oh we'll try one time give thanks to the Lord for he is good and his mercies endure forever
[00:11:34] listen that give thanks thing that is an actual I don't know if you knew this but that's a thing right that's a thing that actually comes out of you right yeah okay yes comes out
[00:11:46] now I know that we can give thanks deep in our heart I know that we can give thanks quietly before the Lord, I know we can do that. But this morning, I think it should come out of us.
[00:11:56] And if you agree, we're going to, just in a moment, we're going to worship the Lord together and we are going to get to give him thanks. Give him thanks. Listen, his mercies are so, so good.
[00:12:08] So good. Woke up this morning, mercies brand new. Brand new, right? That his mercies actually chase us down. And so we're going to give thanks today for what he has done. We're going to give thanks
[00:12:23] today for what he is going to do. And I know in this room, people came with all kinds of different stuff. You came, some of you came thankful. Some of you came thankful, but, but needing something
[00:12:32] from the Lord. God is here. The Holy Spirit is here and he wants to, he wants to show up for you.
[00:12:40] Listen, if you don't believe that, that's okay. I've been praying. I'm just going to tell you right now. And, and we feel like God is going to show up today. And not just, I mean, I do feel
[00:12:51] that way, but I want to know if that's like, actually he wants to show up today. Right?
[00:12:56] Sometimes I listen, sometimes we go, I feel like, and, uh, and I just want to know, I do feel that way, but also it doesn't matter how you feel. Sorry, who am I preaching to today? It doesn't
[00:13:07] matter how you feel. He, he wants, he wants you. He wants to chase you down. He wants to go after you with everything. And so today we get to give him, we get to give him everything and give thanks
[00:13:19] to him this morning. We're going to do that. We're going to do it boldly. Yes, boldly. Some of you.
[00:13:25] Listen, I know that it's, it might be early for some, but we're going to do it boldly for him.
[00:13:30] Right? Listen, I don't know if you were here. I was, I was a bit gone last week.
[00:13:35] I was a bit gone. I was gone. I was in Rochester, Minnesota, and I was getting updates over the, over my phone, people were sending me videos about what I was missing. And I was a little
[00:13:46] jealous, just a little bit jealous. Listen, that, whatever happened last, how many of you were here last week? Did you get touched by the Lord last week? Yeah, listen, that, I don't know if you
[00:13:58] know, but that shouldn't be a one-time experience with the Lord, right? That He is, He is up to something. He is after you and He wants to encounter you, right? So if you're tired, push
[00:14:09] through that. If you don't know, now you know. Right? This is what we're going to do. We're going to give thanks. Give thanks to the Lord because He is good and His mercy endures forever. We're going to give
[00:14:25] thanks. And here's what we'd like to do on almost every Sunday because you get to come in the room and give thanks. Some people you know, some people you don't. But in this room, I want you to just
[00:14:34] scan the room and lock eyes. It's going to be a little awkward. Lock eyes with someone you do not know just lock eyes with them and then walk over to them and say hello engage bless them

[00:14:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:14:46] love on them for a little bit we're going to worship the lord together stepping that we might be redeemed have a testimony that we might give you praise thank you god as we were worshiping
[00:58:58] i heard this passage and it might seem a little strange but i promise you it will make sense in a moment in Joshua 5 13 and it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted his eyes and
[00:59:15] looked and behold a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand and Joshua went to him and said to him are you for us or for our adversaries so he said no but as commander of
[00:59:33] the army of the Lord, I have now come. And that's what I kept hearing over and over and over again over us. As commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come. As commander of the army of the
[00:59:50] Lord, I come with victory. I come with wholeness. I come with healing. I come with the answers that you have long been praying for as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come I believe
[01:00:08] to pronounce to you victory to pronounce to you the testimony that he is he was and he will come again that he is that he was and that he's coming again that he is that he was and that he is coming
[01:00:23] again in your situation not just a future date but today today the testimony is for today i just want to share a little bit about what god has done and how i can tell you with confidence
[01:00:38] and conviction that as the army of the uh the commander of the army of the lords he's come just thursday how many women were at the wonder night yeah oh come on ladies y'all were loud that
[01:00:51] night how many of you guys were at the wonder night so you guys saw I was up here we had that bottleneck when we tried to march around our Jericho but something was happening in my body
[01:01:05] in that moment that you didn't know for weeks for months I have not been able to stand in worship and the times when I haven't been seen I have been at home because my body was so rattled
[01:01:21] and wracked with fatigue and exhaustion that I could hardly get out of bed. I have been to doctors. I have had tests and nothing has been conclusive except for the fact that I could not
[01:01:34] function as I normally would. And it broke my heart because I love the Lord and I am not an old woman. And I have an assignment from God and I have things that I'm meant to do and I wasn't
[01:01:50] able to do it so while you guys were trying to march around this room the lord said to me don't stop moving your feet don't stop moving your feet it may look like you're not going anywhere but you
[01:02:03] are moving and i want you to keep moving don't stop moving your feet things are changing and transforming in the spirit don't stop moving your feet and some of you are catching it and some of
[01:02:15] you are starting to move your feet because you know that the commander of the army of the lord is calling you to make movement to start going in the direction that guarantees your victory huh so I'm up here and I'm watching the ladies not be able to move but the Lord says just because
[01:02:33] you can't move as you thought you would stomp those feet something's changing and the ladies started to lead us they were dead and shouting they were leading the worship team we couldn't even wrap the night up it was so powerful so full of joy right ladies yes and so i'm up here this
[01:02:55] whole time a woman who couldn't stand in worship is up here this whole time stomping believing the lord had put me that if i keep moving my feet that he was gonna do something powerful in my life
[01:03:09] you know it friday morning i wake up done for months i got done on friday thanking the lord the energy had returned one two step speaks on luke there's a jericho i want you to start
[01:04:15] stomping your feet we're doing it we're doing it together testimonies have already begun you can make it back to your seat testimonies have already begun hallelujah amen let's thank the worship team bless you guys for walking us into the presence of god thank you for all that
[01:06:28] you do as you make your way back to your seats if there's a seat next to you can you raise your hand and let someone who might be looking know that you saved them a seat.
[01:06:43] There's some seats up front if you need it.
[01:06:45] Here's Lauren.

[01:06:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:06:49] Jamila just took us to church, y'all.
[01:06:53] Thank you, Miss Jamila.
[01:06:56] Wow, well, as people are gathering themselves off the floor and finding their chairs, I'm so happy to welcome you to Bethel Church again, especially anybody that might be visiting.
[01:07:08] We're gonna see who you are in a minute, but there's so many people moving around the room.
[01:07:12] Would you just keep your hand up if you've got a seat open next to you?
[01:07:14] there's people around the side and the back still looking for seats. Amazing. Yeah. Keep your hands up for just a moment. If you're looking for a chair, just look for a hand up. We've also got
[01:07:23] our overflow room open across the hall to my left. And right now, before we do anything else, I want to just dismiss our junior high students to go to junior high discipleship across the hall.
[01:07:33] If that's you, you are welcome to make your way over there. Okay. Hands down. Looks like we're finding our way. Amazing. Oh, what a joy to worship with you and pray with you and declare
[01:07:44] with you this morning. Welcome to Bethel Church, especially if this is your very first time. If this is your first Sunday ever to Bethel, would you give us a big wave? Amazing church. Look around,
[01:07:54] look at all these first-time guests. Amazing. So good to have you. Our ushers have got something just for you, our first-time guests. So be sure to have somebody in your, yes, enthusiasm to my right. Amazing. Have somebody in your family keep a hand up if you're a first-time guest. Our ushers
[01:08:09] are handing out something just for you guys. And then if you want to find our team in the South Lobby at the Info Center after service. We'd love to pray over you, prophesy over you. And the most
[01:08:19] important thing too is if you're here to stay, we want to make sure you know how to get plugged in and connected here. So we're so glad to have you. Welcome, welcome. I have got one very exciting
[01:08:27] announcement. It is particularly exciting because the weather is finally cooling off. I don't know about you. I have a hard time leaning into fall when it's 100 degrees outside. Hard time. But just in the nick of time we are having cooler weather because we have got our Bethel Church Fall Harvest
[01:08:48] Festival coming up on Tuesday the 20th. You are going to want to write this down in your calendar.
[01:08:53] Rumor has it Haley Braun will be leading line dancing that night. There will be a cakewalk happening like old school style. There are going to be, there's a prize for the best dressed flannel wearer. Okay, listen, there's a lot of information online you can enjoy. There's going to be more
[01:09:10] information in the coming weeks, but I just want you to go ahead and put that in your calendar because you're not going to want to miss it. The fun thing too, is that we're having all the
[01:09:16] families, all ages, stages, welcome. We're going to be all together on campus, outside and in here doing line dancing. So be sure to bring your kids, invite your friends. We're going to have a really
[01:09:25] good, really good time. And in the name of Jesus, it will be cool enough to match the mood. Okay, great. Fantastic. Okay. We've got church news for you. Hi Bethel Church. I'm Ashley Hills,

[01:09:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[01:09:46] church life pastor here at Bethel. We're so happy you're here with us today. And I'm Adam O'Neill,

[01:09:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:09:50] outreach support pastor, and here's what's happening around the church in this week's church news. We adore our city and one way to bless our community this season is through the holiday food and clothing drive. Donations will help provide a free dinner and resources at the
[01:10:06] holiday celebrations. Food and other essential items can be donated in the Hebrews Lobby on November 8th and 15th from 9.30am to 6pm. You can find the full shopping list and suggested donation amounts at Bethel.ws forward slash food and clothing. And with that, we would love to

[01:10:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[01:10:24] invite you to join Bethel Outreach and serve our Reading community on November 26th for our Thanksgiving celebration at the Reading Veterans Hall. Last year, we were able to host and feed over 500 of our unhoused and in need community. We'll have the opportunity to love and share the
[01:10:40] gospel with our city through a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal. To find out what role you can fill and sign up visit bethel.ws forward slash turkeys i want to catch up on anything you've missed you can find all these announcements at bethel.com forward slash church news thanks for

[01:10:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:10:57] staying connected with us we hope you have an amazing week and we're going to see you all

[01:11:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:11:01] next sunday come on well why don't you stand to your feet it's offering time that was a very lame response one person in the whole room it's amazing hey before we get into offering just reminder
[01:11:20] two Sundays ago, we took up commitment cards for our Vision Sunday series about our building project. Some of you took those cards. You can drop them off in the offering buckets today, or if you forgot about it, you can do it next week. If you still need a commitment card,
[01:11:34] they're in the South Lobby. So I want to encourage you to pick that up. We're going to do offering reading number four with the kids, because you need to grow up and be more like a kid, okay?
[01:11:44] This room is a little too serious, even right now, okay? And so we're going to declare this with some faith, right? Faith comes by hearing. So this is why we believe in the power of
[01:11:53] decoration. Also Hebrews 11, six says that it's impossible to please God without faith.
[01:11:59] So this can become a routine. I don't want it to become a routine. I want us to attach faith to this moment. Okay. And so I want you to take a moment, ask the Lord, Hey Lord,
[01:12:10] what do you want me to give today? I actually just want you to take a moment online. Same thing. I just want you to ask the Lord, Lord, what do you want us to give today? And I want you to put faith
[01:12:20] attached to that. Okay. You got that? So with that in mind, I want us to declare this out.
[01:12:26] Sound good? Okay. But I want you to do it like a child would. Okay. Like a kid would. Our kids declare this in kids' church. So let's just tap into our childlikeness here as we declare this.
[01:12:36] You ready? I am powerful and what I believe changes the world. So today I declare God is in a good mood. He loves me all the time. Nothing can separate me from his love. Jesus'
[01:12:55] blood paid for everything. I will tell nations of what he has done. I am important. How he made me is amazing. I was designed for worship. My mouth establishes praise to silence the enemy.
[01:13:12] everywhere I go becomes a perfect health zone and with God nothing is impossible come on ways to give you can go on that QR code or that link there buckets will be passing out and while
[01:13:29] you do that why don't you welcome up Richard Gordon as he comes to speak don't you love Jesus

[01:13:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[01:13:46] why don't you turn with me to John chapter 3 we are going to let the scriptures read us today We're not going to just read the scripture.
[01:14:02] The scripture is going to read us.
[01:14:06] And as you turn there, I want to share a little bit of a testimony with you.
[01:14:12] But first, some of you know me.
[01:14:15] Some of you, it's our first date.
[01:14:17] So let me share a little bit about myself.
[01:14:22] I got saved first in a 104-year-old conservative church.
[01:14:29] I walked in the back of the church with an orange mohawk.
[01:14:32] And it was at the sound of the singing saints that my heart responded.
[01:14:37] And I said, this whole thing must be real.
[01:14:39] And they introduced me to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Scriptures.
[01:14:43] But it wasn't until I met Libby, my now wife, that...
[01:14:48] Thank you. Thank you for that.
[01:14:51] My now wife is that I met the power of the Holy Spirit.
[01:14:57] She would walk in rooms and the whole atmosphere would change.
[01:15:01] She would put her hand on people and their bodies would get well.
[01:15:04] She would look at people in the eyes and she would know details about their lives.
[01:15:08] She was one of those weird Christians.
[01:15:10] She was one of those wild Christians.
[01:15:13] She knew the Holy Ghost.
[01:15:15] I don't know if you've ever met people that almost provoke you that there has to be more of God.
[01:15:23] Why don't you turn to someone next to you and share that person.
[01:15:25] Who's that person for you that kind of just provokes you that there has to be more of God?
[01:15:30] Just turn to share with the person next to you who that person is.
[01:15:43] And I met an invitation in the flesh.
[01:15:46] I thought to myself, maybe in this window of my world, this is an angel that I'm entertaining.
[01:15:51] And I did marry that angel.
[01:15:53] And our children are not the Nephilim.
[01:15:55] But she is just incredible and beautiful.
[01:16:00] She introduced me to the Holy Spirit.
[01:16:03] I love meeting people that are so spirit-led that they offend your natural and your journey with God.
[01:16:13] I want to be one of those people.
[01:16:15] I want to be so wild for Jesus that me meeting someone, it provokes them into more of a life in Christ.
[01:16:25] I want to be wild for God.
[01:16:28] And she took me to a prophetic meeting.
[01:16:30] I'd never been to a meeting like this before.
[01:16:32] people were falling down and screaming and laughing and rushing the front and for a conservative like me I was like this is weird but I like it and it was on the third night they were praying for people and I was trying to get out the way and the power of God touched me
[01:16:48] and I fell back two rows of chairs took out a section of people and two grandmothers and I went into an encounter with God that lasted seven days as the power of God came upon me
[01:17:00] Charismatics are like, yes.
[01:17:02] Conservatives are like, no.
[01:17:04] I was definitely in the no camp.
[01:17:08] But I just loved it.
[01:17:10] And it was after that encounter with Jesus, with the power of the Holy Spirit, that I prayed the same prayers, but now people are getting filled with the power of God.
[01:17:20] They prayed the same prayers, now people are getting miraculously healed in their body through Jesus' power.
[01:17:26] I was teaching a Sunday school class at the time, grades five and six, and they're around about 10 and 11 years old. And I thought to myself, let me try it out with these kids. And in this conservative
[01:17:39] church, they were the first to start feeling the fire of God, falling out in the spirit, weeping under the power of God, hearing the whispers of heaven. They were the first in my more conservative community to receive it. And when I saw them get it, I thought to myself,
[01:17:56] game on this wild intimate love relationship with Jesus is not for the select few it's for all there is no junior holy spirit and so I remember you can imagine a conservative setting when the kids start getting full to the power of God the adults start getting a little nervous
[01:18:16] but they loved the miracles so they invited me to preach at the big church so I got to preach at big church. And I remember praying for the power of God to come upon people. And I had only trained
[01:18:29] my kids in ministering in the power and ministering in the spirit. So my ministry team was a bunch of 10-year-olds up at the front. At the end of the message, we called people to come forward to
[01:18:42] receive the power of God and miracles. And there was this lady by the name of Norma. She comes forward she must have been about 306 years old actually probably about 68 those who have white
[01:18:55] hair I just bless you white hair is a it's a picture of deep honor and respect in the scriptures but today in our day we color our hair in their day white hair was a crown to be worn
[01:19:08] and so she Norma comes forward she hadn't been able to walk properly for three years and she hobbles forward with her walker and I remember this little 10 year old Pascal starts to tremble under the power of the Holy Spirit she whispers to me and says people are looking at me I said
[01:19:26] don't worry I've got you just put that hand on Norma and we'll see the power of God touch her and Pascal prayed for Norma and she falls down under the power of the Holy Spirit
[01:19:35] she trembles and weeps she gets up and she walks for the first time properly in three years This was a defining moment in my life, an absolute defining moment.
[01:19:49] Norma said this to me, with tears in her eyes, she said, for 22 years I've been a Christian and this is the first time I've experienced His power.
[01:19:59] And I don't know if you have these moments where everything, it's a pivotal moment where your whole life gets like, and this was a pivotal moment for me, it was a defining moment where I made a decision
[01:20:10] that I will give the rest of my life to introduce the fullness of the gospel to humanity, that I will not hide parts of God, but the full power of God.
[01:20:25] For I believe that I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God.
[01:20:32] And to all those who believe salvation, some people like to take out the power and just say, I believe in the gospel.
[01:20:39] I am not ashamed of the power of the gospel, the demonstration of His love, the demonstration of His dominion, the demonstration of the lightnings of God. I love all of the gospel, even the parts I can't fully explain. There was a turning point in my life and I dedicated my life
[01:21:01] to see people filled with the fire and the power of God. If you're in this room, I'm excited for you're gonna encounter Jesus.
[01:21:11] So turn to someone next to you and say, you're gonna encounter Jesus.
[01:21:16] Tap that same person and say, I'm worried about you for the Lord's going to touch you.
[01:21:23] And then just put a hand on them and just start to pray in tongues right now.
[01:21:27] Shete keremaso to korebe shete.
[01:21:30] Thank you, God.
[01:21:33] This is not just a meeting, but this is a meeting with you, Jesus.
[01:21:37] This isn't just a teaching, but it's from the Son of Man, God.
[01:21:40] We ask, God, that you would touch a people with your fire.
[01:21:45] God, just like you touched a nine-year-old and a 10-year-old.
[01:21:49] God, you can mock even us.
[01:21:51] Even if you're 300 in this room, God, mock the people with your fire.
[01:21:58] Oh, God, where life has become boring, God, we ask for the wild Jesus to ignite a people.
[01:22:07] fire fire fire glory glory glory Jesus last Sunday there was just an outcry calling out for more of God just laying down compromise and mixture and the church just erupted into something I mean into someone and we thank you Jesus for the invitation of the more of God you know where
[01:22:34] Libby was an invitation to the more of God.
[01:22:37] I believe Bethel Church is an invitation to the globe into the more of God.
[01:22:42] And I sense the Spirit of the Lord saying, just whispering to us as a community, it's not time to be tame.
[01:22:49] It's time to be wild after the Spirit.
[01:22:53] It's time to chase the things of God.
[01:22:55] It's time to be forerunners for the things of the Lord.
[01:22:59] It's not time to back down and back off.
[01:23:01] It's time to run head forward in Jesus' Name.
[01:23:07] Many of you didn't move to Reading because of a job opportunity.
[01:23:11] You moved to Reading because the Spirit drew you here.
[01:23:17] You didn't come to Reading for a new opportunity in X, Y.
[01:23:22] You came because the Spirit led you.
[01:23:24] And it was probably a wild journey that you gave up many things.
[01:23:29] You are one of the crazy ones that inspires your friends.
[01:23:32] and my hope that today as I preach from the Word is that I'll rebuke the boring out of you.
[01:23:43] I'd rebuke any boring out of you and I'd exhort you to stay wild for Jesus, to be one that follows the Spirit and would be a sign and a wonder, just like Israel was a sign and a wonder to the earth.
[01:24:02] It was two weeks after, oof, I failed the Lord.
[01:24:05] It was two weeks after being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit that I had a dream.
[01:24:12] I was studying my master's degree and the hand of the angel of the Lord came to me and in his hand was a scroll.
[01:24:18] And God said, this is a telecommunications algorithm for your master's thesis.
[01:24:23] I was studying engineering with the military, encryption, decryption.
[01:24:27] And as that scroll opened up, there was an algorithm right there, A-O-D-V.
[01:24:32] and I woke up in a cold sweat and that turned out to be an algorithm called Ad Hoc On Demand Distance Vectors, became the cornerstone of the book, academic book that I wrote and it got published in six countries
[01:24:45] because when God's glory rests on something, there's the favor of God that opens up bigger than your skills and abilities.
[01:24:54] A life in the glory is a adventurous life, A life led cautiously, you'll only see what your abilities can have.
[01:25:10] And I got published in six places internationally.
[01:25:14] The first place I got published that was not South Africa was in a country called Denmark.
[01:25:22] And it was in a city called Aalborg.
[01:25:27] Amen.
[01:25:27] And it was 18 years ago, I get flown to the city of Aalborg and I speak at the engineering department of the University of Aalborg and I give a seminar on the technology God gave
[01:25:41] me through a dream and I won best paper there and I remember I was very poor at the time and so I wanted to stay on and travel.
[01:25:50] It would be the first time I'd left Africa and I contacted some pastors and I asked if I could stay in their church and just pray and a friend of a friend of a friend so I land up in
[01:26:01] this church praying and fasting for about a week fasting partly because I was very poor and partly because I love Jesus so radically and I remember while I prayed in that place I remember it was the first country the Lord said to me you will have favor in this land and there will be a
[01:26:22] move of God in this place. And then I remember this pastor that I sat with, and he would tell me stories. And he said, for 10 years, I've been a pastor here in Denmark. And in 10 years, I've
[01:26:34] seen one salvation. He said, the ground here is so dry. And then I remember walking the beaches of Denmark with a very wealthy Christian businessman. And he had said to me, I have spent a large portion of all my personal wealth.
[01:26:51] I've helped bring out Benny Hinn.
[01:26:53] I've helped bring out Reinhard Bonnke and Rich.
[01:26:56] The impact has been so little.
[01:26:58] He said, this is a very dry, dry place.
[01:27:02] But while I was there, it was just by myself, the Lord whispered, there's gonna be a move of God in that land.
[01:27:09] There's gonna be a move of the Spirit that people will be touched by the power of God in that place.
[01:27:15] This is 18 years ago.
[01:27:16] well last weekend I went back to Denmark and you know what city I went to Aalborg and went to a church where it's the second largest Pentecostal church in the nation and the leader of the
[01:27:35] Pentecostal movement flew in to to be part of it and we saw a mighty move of the spirit I couldn't believe it. Last Sunday night, Bill preached on answered prayers. And this was an 18-year prayer that was answered. I don't know if you've ever had promises and these promises
[01:27:58] that you're sitting with for years and years and years. Let me tell you, they're not fictional fantasy. This is the God of faith. 18 years ago, the Lord said in a dry place, there would be a
[01:28:12] move of the Spirit and I would come back and in the very place I gave my first seminar of my engineering publication is the very same city that we saw this crazy, wild move of the Spirit. They
[01:28:27] said they haven't had meetings like that for the power of God filled this place. They were really nervous to have the meeting. I don't know if I can. They were really, really nervous to have the
[01:28:42] mean they actually almost cancelled the meeting this the whole event partly because of everything that we've gone through everything and and then partly because I was coming and I'm a little bit of a wilder package and so it was so fun and so wonderful and they wouldn't mind me saying this
[01:29:06] but they felt to make a bridge for the community for these radical encounters.
[01:29:13] And my title for each message was, the first one I had to, I spoke on healthy encounters.
[01:29:19] The next one I spoke on healthy prophetic.
[01:29:23] The next one I spoke on healthy charismatic.
[01:29:25] And it was so much fun.
[01:29:28] You know, when the stakes are high, God always comes through.
[01:29:32] And preached the word and we invited the power of God to come.
[01:29:37] And my goodness, did the power of God come.
[01:29:40] And people started getting touched by the Holy Spirit all across the room.
[01:29:43] Miracles, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
[01:29:46] Tap someone next to you and say, pop, pop, pop.
[01:29:50] What's so exciting for me is that 18 years ago, the Lord whispered.
[01:29:56] And 18 years later, the Lord confirmed.
[01:29:59] I believe that there are prayers and prophecies over this church that have been 20 years old, 30 years old, and they are still to come true.
[01:30:09] I believe you're only crazy until the cancer gets healed.
[01:30:13] You're only crazy until the tumor falls off.
[01:30:16] You're only crazy until that prophetic word about becoming mayor, Julie Winters, comes true and you become mayor.
[01:30:24] You're only crazy until that whisper of God becomes a waterfall on this earth.
[01:30:30] Would you be wild with me to trust again?
[01:30:34] These whispers that happen in closed rooms where you're like, I don't know, I don't know.
[01:30:40] And some you've put on the shelf.
[01:30:43] When I was 21, the Lord said, I will go to India and see a great move of God.
[01:30:47] I haven't gone to India yet.
[01:30:49] I can't wait to get to India.
[01:30:51] I can't wait to see the power of God come to India.
[01:30:56] There's so many of these opportunities waiting for us.
[01:31:01] The Spirit of the Lord is hovering over this house and He's just going, there's so much more.
[01:31:08] there is so much more partner with me for the more of God oh look there's my son and my wife I love you hey Moses hey Ella John chapter 3 and I'm going to read from 3 16 you know John 3 16 my
[01:31:31] favorite just before I read it this right here this scripture is the loudest shout of the Bible Theologians call it the Everest of theology.
[01:31:43] It is a chasm of God's grace to dive into and a dessert, a five course meal of God to feast upon.
[01:31:53] And this book that has been the most sold book in all of history, this book who has transformed the world, this book whose words are not just words but are living and active, cutting us as we read them,
[01:32:10] This book right here, of all the words in this book, this scripture is the one that is the loudest to all of humanity. It's the one that's gripped humanity's mind, heart, and spirit more than any
[01:32:25] other scripture. Crazy. Let's read it.
[01:32:42] eternal life this is so good it's gorgeous to the unbeliever and an absolute invitation of his love and grace to the believer I want to go through it but I want the scripture to read you for God
[01:33:03] it didn't start with man it didn't start with sin it didn't start with separation it didn't start with disqualification. It started with God. For God. God did not respond to a problem. No, He existed. Father, Son, and Spirit. For God so loved. It didn't say for God loved,
[01:33:31] so loved. How do you measure so? How do you measure the depths of the ocean? How do you measure an infinite God? How do you measure something that is not tangible? This never-ending love. For God
[01:33:48] so loved. This love was not a response to a deficit. For God's love was there before man was created. God's love was not a response for a lonely God that needed fellowship. No, it was the
[01:34:05] Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, wildly in love, in union, in communion.
[01:34:11] God's love is pre-existing man's creation.
[01:34:16] For God so loved and a place of His infinite love, creation was birthed.
[01:34:23] Not an answer simply to our deficit.
[01:34:30] For God so loved the world.
[01:34:32] not the church not the holy not those who respond to his love for God so loved the world love it if he loves the world it means he cares deeply about the technology space he cares deeply
[01:34:51] about the engineering space and the doctor's space and the education space and he loves the world I thought he just loved church meetings. No, he loves the world. And how crazy is this?
[01:35:08] His love is directed to a group that actively reject him. Imagine this. Imagine all your love was directed to a group that always reject you. If I had to write a list of the people that I love
[01:35:32] that reciprocate my love, that list would be very long. If I had to write a list of the people that I love that don't reciprocate my love, actually resist my love, I think that list would be kind
[01:35:45] of small. God's love is towards those who reject him. This is one of the most offensive things for the believer. If you have created a bubble where you only love where love is reciprocal, you're
[01:36:02] not stepping into the fullness of his love.
[01:36:06] And this is so good because if you're far from God here, or if you even have found yourself here, someone's dragged you and you hate God, let me tell you good news.
[01:36:14] He loves you.
[01:36:19] So much is his love that it climbs over every mountain of offense.
[01:36:28] I wanna love like Jesus loved.
[01:36:32] I mean, imagine loving those who reject you.
[01:36:35] I want to love like Jesus loved. For God so loved the world that He gave. He didn't just give Jesus as a baby and then He's done giving. No, giving is who He is. He is the generous God. He is this
[01:36:52] generous God that just keeps giving and giving. And what's beautiful about that is that when we approach Him with our need, He's not holding back. He is a generous God that gives and gives.
[01:37:07] This is the gospel. It is so good. It borders on the line of fiction and fantasy. It is so wild.
[01:37:15] He's so generous to me. At the night when I'm rocking my baby and it's three in the morning and I've had no sleep and he is generous to me in my love. In my state of need where I have
[01:37:29] accusation upon me, he is generous towards me. Everything you need, you can come to God.
[01:37:36] his only forgotten son what I like about this is it shows God as a father he gave a son means he must be a dad I love being a dad to these kids they're the cutest in the world it taught me so
[01:37:59] much about God the great mystery of the incarnation I think we've become too familiar with that he gave us son. This mystery that God in all his infiniteness, he constricts himself to a finite body, but still he is infinite. This God that is eternal constricts himself to a temporal body,
[01:38:25] a body, a temporal space, but still he is eternal himself. This God who is, this God who is the Holy One, He assumes humanity without sharing in our sin.
[01:38:43] The incarnation is this mystery, this gorgeous, gorgeous mystery.
[01:38:50] The one who the heavens cannot contain, Mary holds in her arms.
[01:38:55] And that one who the heavens cannot contain, He finds a home in me.
[01:39:02] This incarnation is such a mystery to dive into, that whoever believes in him, everyone say whoever, the invitation is wide.
[01:39:18] The invitation is so broad.
[01:39:21] Not whoever is holy, not whoever has done X, Y, and not, no, this invitation includes even the wretched.
[01:39:32] This invitation even includes the disqualified.
[01:39:38] It's not because of your morality.
[01:39:43] It's not because of your past and your background.
[01:39:46] It's whoever.
[01:39:49] Now, this is so good if you are not saved and you're here interested, but this is gorgeous too for the believer.
[01:39:57] If you need God, whoever believes can reach out.
[01:40:05] That's me.
[01:40:05] I can call on Jesus believes in him belief is not the same as acknowledgement you can acknowledge that Jesus Christ was a man you can acknowledge that Jesus Christ existed but to believe in him
[01:40:29] that will transform everything you can acknowledge that a bridge exists but to have faith in that bridge means you're going to walk across it. You can acknowledge that God still does miracles today but faith looks like walking across that bridge still today. You can acknowledge that oh yeah
[01:40:52] God provides supernatural miracles for finances but to walk that bridge of faith, this is what believing is. Whoever believes, this is a wide invitation not only to the unbeliever. Are there areas in your life where you've just acknowledged him and stopped walking the bridge? I want to walk
[01:41:16] that bridge. Oh man, I want to walk the bridge with faith. I don't want to just acknowledge that he's a God of fire. I want to walk that bridge of faith and receive the baptism of fire. I don't want to
[01:41:30] just acknowledge that he's a God that heals. I want to walk that bridge of faith and pray for miracles. Maybe you've been coming here a long time, you've just been acknowledging and God says it's time
[01:41:41] to walk across that bridge, should not perish.
[01:41:48] Can I get the keys player up here?
[01:41:53] I love this because there is a perishing.
[01:41:58] There's not just a perishing when you die, there's actually a perishing now.
[01:42:02] There's a perishing.
[01:42:04] And a low view of sin gives a low view of salvation.
[01:42:10] A low view of mixture and compromise gives a low view of purity and a Christ-like life.
[01:42:20] There's a perishing.
[01:42:22] This is not just an eternal, there's not just a hell, there is also a perishing right here.
[01:42:31] Sin is devastating and a low view of its destruction says it's a low view of His cross and His salvation.
[01:42:43] If we can see that there's a perishing, why would God have to give His Son?
[01:42:52] The value of the gift you give equals the value you have for the person you're giving it to.
[01:43:00] He gave all of himself for you.
[01:43:09] But have an everlasting life.
[01:43:10] Go to John 17 verse three.
[01:43:15] We've mistaken everlasting life for this.
[01:43:18] That it would be simply we will exist forever in our humanity.
[01:43:23] That we get an opportunity to live forever.
[01:43:26] Oh yeah, we get to live forever in heaven.
[01:43:29] We think that's eternal life.
[01:43:33] But John 17, 3 tells us truly what eternal life is.
[01:43:40] And it says this, Eternal life is not forever existence.
[01:43:55] Eternal life is intimacy with Jesus.
[01:43:59] Eternal life is not a forever existence.
[01:44:02] Eternal life is knowing Jesus Christ.
[01:44:06] Eternal life is His presence.
[01:44:10] This is not when we die, this is right now.
[01:44:13] Eternal life is available to me for all whomever believes.
[01:44:22] Eternal life in my marriage, the presence of Jesus.
[01:44:25] Eternal life in my job, the presence of Jesus.
[01:44:28] Eternal life in that conflict.
[01:44:31] Jesus, I need you.
[01:44:36] I want eternal life, not just when I die.
[01:44:45] For God so loved the world that He sends His one and only Son that whomever believes shall not perish but should have eternal life.
[01:44:53] There is so much more to discover of Jesus.
[01:44:58] Being with Jesus is the eternal life that He promised.
[01:45:02] Oh, He paid for that.
[01:45:07] The Israelites camped around His presence, not around a sermon.
[01:45:12] Where did the greatest shout, this John 3, 16 come from?
[01:45:17] I love this.
[01:45:18] You would think that the loudest Scripture of all the Scriptures came from a mountaintop moment.
[01:45:26] The Scripture that resonates and touches humanity more than any other Scripture.
[01:45:31] You thought maybe it's a high point.
[01:45:33] the Everest of theology came maybe on one of Jesus's greatest moments. I want to show you where it came from. It came from a conversation with a confused man in a dark place. It came from
[01:45:50] a conversation with Jesus and a confused man. The loudest shouts of the scriptures came.
[01:45:58] And I want to propose that your loudest legacy shouts are not found on mountaintops or platforms.
[01:46:04] But your loudest legacy shouts happen behind closed doors when you're a little confused and you have a conversation with Jesus.
[01:46:14] Nicodemus, verse one, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, verse two, he came to Jesus at night and said, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher who has come from God.
[01:46:25] For no one could perform these signs.
[01:46:27] Everyone say signs.
[01:46:31] For no one could perform these signs you are doing if God were not with them.
[01:46:34] Nicodemus was not just any man.
[01:46:36] And he was one of the most resistant to the gospel.
[01:46:41] He was from the group that put him on the cross.
[01:46:45] He was a Pharisee of Pharisees.
[01:46:47] He was a religious of religious zealots.
[01:46:50] But it was the signs and wonders that turned a hard heart and melted that hard heart.
[01:46:57] I love signs and wonders.
[01:47:00] Signs and wonders can turn the hardest of heart to Jesus.
[01:47:05] Signs and wonders are not the desserts of the gospel, but they are the meat of the gospel.
[01:47:10] When Jesus came to earth, born of a virgin, discovered by a star, revealed by changing water to wine, revealed as Messiah by seeing the lame walk in the blind sea.
[01:47:23] His death was a fireworks display of signs and wonders as the sky changed color and His resurrection was an explosion of signs and wonders that displayed He conquered sin and sickness and death.
[01:47:38] And then He just trumps it all by floating up on a cloud.
[01:47:42] We serve a God of signs and wonders.
[01:47:47] And still to this day, the signs and the wonders reveal Jesus and they melt the heart of the hardest person, even my heart.
[01:47:58] There's areas in my heart where I've chosen to stop walking across the bridge of faith and I need to see you God work so that I would be filled and my hard heart would turn
[01:48:10] and I'd walk again.
[01:48:12] When I met Libby, she was a sign and a wonder to me and it filled me with faith to walk a bridge.
[01:48:25] Every sign and wonder reveals Jesus in John chapter six, he feeds the 5,000 and then in John 6, 35, he says, I am the bread of life.
[01:48:37] In John nine, he heals the blind man and then He says in John 9, 5, I am the light of the world.
[01:48:44] In John 11, He raises Lazarus from the dead.
[01:48:47] And in John 11, 25, He says, I am the resurrection and the life.
[01:48:52] Every sign reveals Jesus.
[01:48:55] And you can go through every sign and wonder.
[01:48:58] And what He's doing is He is shouting to the world, I am the Messiah.
[01:49:04] And He is turning hearts that are hot.
[01:49:06] He is turning religious hearts still to this day that said, God cannot do that, He's turning my heart. He's turning my heart. You're only crazy until that tumor falls off. You're only crazy until that cancer gets healed. You're only crazy
[01:49:26] until that visa comes that you've been trusting. You're only crazy until God comes through and melts the heart of the heart. Verse three, very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of
[01:49:43] God unless they are born again. That word again means from above. That means that there was a birth lower than above, which was the earth. We are to be born of the heavens. How can someone be
[01:49:57] born when they are old? Nicodemus asked. Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born. Jesus answered, very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God
[01:50:08] unless they are born of water and the spirit.
[01:50:12] Verse six, flesh gives birth to flesh, but spirit gives birth to spirit.
[01:50:18] Someone say spirit like a South African.
[01:50:25] You should not be surprised by my saying, you must be born again.
[01:50:28] The wind blows wherever it pleases.
[01:50:31] You hear it sounds, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
[01:50:35] So it is with everyone born of the spirit.
[01:50:38] I won't read all the way down, but if you keep going, this is the birth of John 3 16. It's from this conversation John 3 16 comes. A man who is confused. The man who comes in the dark of night and he has a conversation with Jesus and the
[01:50:55] conversation goes like this. Is it going to be flesh or is it going to be spirit? Are you going to be born of the natural? Are you going to be born of the heavens? And I believe that the loudest
[01:51:07] shouts of our life will not be on stages but behind closed doors where you're a little confused.
[01:51:13] you've been pushed up against the back of a wall a little bit and it's just you and Jesus and you're having a conversation and He's inviting you, choose the Spirit, not flesh.
[01:51:25] And no one will know, no one will see that you chose flesh or Spirit.
[01:51:31] Even in this church world, we can kind of work out what success looks like and we can create a pattern of what success looks like so we can get the applause of a crowd.
[01:51:41] but the Lord knows if you've chosen the Spirit.
[01:51:45] The Lord knows if you've chosen the Spirit and no one will know but Him.
[01:51:51] And nine months later, either it's gonna be a natural fruit that's born or it's gonna be a Spirit fruit that's born.
[01:51:59] For my example, with Denmark, it was 18 years later, there was a Spirit fruit that was born.
[01:52:06] And I believe that Bethel Church, we're in a moment where we're having a conversation as Brad Clansmith would talk about this scripture, he would say Nicodemus is the old covenant and Jesus is the new covenant.
[01:52:19] What would a conversation between the old covenant and the new covenant look like?
[01:52:23] Just this, would you choose flesh or would you choose spirit?
[01:52:28] But I know this is gonna look good in front of my friends, but have you sought the Lord and have you chosen the way of the Spirit?
[01:52:37] this scripture I have lived in for three years it has been the anchor point that has helped me lead in this house for the last three years this is what I go to when there's hard decisions to
[01:52:52] be made and the options are average average average average and average I go to this and I say God I need to seek you am I making a natural decision or is the spirit breathing on this
[01:53:07] this has been the anchor for my life this has been the anchor for the last three years that has seen and I believe as a church we are stepping into a conversation with Jesus would we choose
[01:53:20] flesh or would we choose spirit I believe that people of the spirits are a little bit unpredictable I don't believe that because I'm a charismatic I believe that because the scriptures say it the wind blows wherever it pleases you hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from
[01:53:38] or where it is going.
[01:53:39] So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
[01:53:44] If you have become too predictable in your journey with Jesus, this is me rebuking you.
[01:53:51] Stop being so boring.
[01:53:54] If you have become so predictable in your journey with God, I wanna lovingly rebuke you.
[01:54:04] It's time to stop being so boring and it's time to follow the Spirit.
[01:54:12] It's time to ask God, what am I supposed to do?
[01:54:16] And maybe He says, go onto that mountain and stop waving that flag.
[01:54:22] A friend of mine, Dean Rass, he came to Redding, California with no money.
[01:54:27] It offended me so much.
[01:54:29] He chose to do BSSM and I asked him, what are you gonna do?
[01:54:32] He said, every day I'm gonna ask the Lord what to do.
[01:54:35] I thought, you Christian, you always have these crazy people that inspire us.
[01:54:43] And I said, well, what did He ask you to do today?
[01:54:45] He said, today He asked me to go down to the river and pray.
[01:54:48] I said, did it work?
[01:54:50] He said, no money yet.
[01:54:52] And the next day I asked Him, what did He ask you to do today?
[01:54:55] He said, the Lord told me to email these three CEOs and ask them to invest.
[01:55:01] A week later I said, did they even reply?
[01:55:03] He said, nope, not one of them.
[01:55:05] Four weeks later, not from any of those people, but from someone else, the outpouring of provision came to Him.
[01:55:14] Was the Lord in the methodology and the strategy or was in the Lord that He followed the Spirit?
[01:55:22] To me, Dean was crazy.
[01:55:25] To me, Dean offended me.
[01:55:28] But he was tapping something of heaven.
[01:55:31] I love Chris.
[01:55:33] Chris is not the most strategic, brilliant leader in the world.
[01:55:36] What he does is he goes behind closed doors and he asks the Lord for a strategy from heaven and he comes out and he has the strategy.
[01:55:46] And we may think, oh man, that's just incredible strategy.
[01:55:52] It's not because the strategy is because we sought the Lord.
[01:55:58] It's because we went behind.
[01:55:59] It says He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
[01:56:05] What is the reward?
[01:56:06] Him.
[01:56:08] Have you ever noticed some people come and preach and when they preach on their topic, there's such an anointing.
[01:56:16] You can have it, a mom can come up and preach on motherhood and it's like the presence of God comes.
[01:56:22] Someone can come and preach on finances and the presence of God comes.
[01:56:27] Someone can preach on the glory and the fire and the presence of God comes.
[01:56:33] Is the Lord anointing the topic or is the Lord anointing the revelation where you went behind closed doors, you sought Him, you got something of substance, you got something that drips of Jesus, you got something that's of the Spirit,
[01:56:48] not of your flesh that doesn't point towards you, but points towards God.
[01:56:52] And then you come into the public and you say, here's what I've got.
[01:56:55] It may be simple, but it is dripping with oil.
[01:56:59] That's what revelation is.
[01:57:03] And I'm saying it's time for us to be weird again.
[01:57:08] What do you mean, Rich?
[01:57:09] Not for weird sake.
[01:57:11] Follow the Spirit.
[01:57:13] To follow the Spirit and break your protocol, to break your own protocol.
[01:57:19] Have you become so predictable to yourself that you've stopped walking across the bridge of faith.
[01:57:25] You've become so predictable that you have stopped following the spirit, the wild ones, the Libby's that inspired me that there must be more of God.
[01:57:40] The ones that would step out and would be crazy.
[01:57:46] You didn't come to Reading because you got a great job offer.
[01:57:51] You came to Reading because the spirit led you here.
[01:57:57] and this is me in a kind and loving way exhorting Bethel Church.
[01:58:06] Oh, foolish Galatians, you started in grace and the Spirit, but oh, you've ended in the flesh.
[01:58:11] I'm saying, let's not forget where we came from.
[01:58:13] We are the wild ones.
[01:58:18] I have a bit of an agenda.
[01:58:20] I believe that part of my agenda is to keep Bethel weird.
[01:58:26] I'll reframe it, to keep Bethel so Spirit-led and not just strategic focused.
[01:58:33] God, we need Your Spirit.
[01:58:35] For if we are going to see a Spirit result, we need to be a people of the Spirit.
[01:58:43] I'm talking to myself here.
[01:58:45] This has been my God.
[01:58:48] We need to be a people of the Spirit.
[01:58:52] Where are those decisions made?
[01:58:54] It's made in the confusing places.
[01:58:56] It's not made where you're full of faith.
[01:58:59] It's made where you have questions that are not answered.
[01:59:02] But you're drawn to a conversation with Jesus.
[01:59:06] And then He says, flesh or spirit, you choose.
[01:59:12] I'm not going to force you.
[01:59:13] I'm not going to control you.
[01:59:15] And out of that decision births a movement in your life.
[01:59:22] I remember when me and my wife first got married, she started having panic attacks because her parents' marriage was not the best and it invoked deep fear inside of her.
[01:59:34] And so she would run and hide herself in the room and say, you can't see me until I've got all this sorted out.
[01:59:43] And I would run and try and put my foot in the door because if separation is the solution for a problem, if it's a big problem, big separation will happen.
[01:59:57] And then I remember the one time she ran and hid in the bathroom and I ran and I knelt under that door where there's a little crack and I'd whisper, I'm not going anywhere.
[02:00:08] I love you, I love you.
[02:00:11] The thing that I would probably be, the biggest shout in my life is the power of God and my love for my wife and my family.
[02:00:19] Those are the two probably the biggest shouts of my life.
[02:00:21] But those moments came from moments like that.
[02:00:26] That's where the loudest shouts come from, in a confused and a dark space.
[02:00:32] And if you would say to me, hey, Rich, I've got a couple of those spaces.
[02:00:39] You know what?
[02:00:40] I'm excited for you because this is where movements are birthed.
[02:00:45] This is where the Spirit is birthed.
[02:00:49] Intention in these moments.
[02:00:54] If there was no Red Sea moment, Israel would not have a history.
[02:00:57] If there was no manna provided and they had all the food they needed, there would be no history of the miracles.
[02:01:03] If there was no prison in Egypt, there would be no history of the getting out of Egypt.
[02:01:09] This is so exciting.
[02:01:12] Your confused spaces are a waiting, a launching pad for your greatest John 3, 16 shout.
[02:01:22] If you would say to me, hey, Rich, I've got a couple of those places that I wanna invite the Spirit of the Lord into.
[02:01:31] I'm gonna count to three and I want you to respond.
[02:01:34] There's a couple of places where I don't know what the outcome is gonna be.
[02:01:38] I'm a little confused, but I wanna run to Jesus in those areas.
[02:01:42] maybe you're far from God, this is you too. But if that's you, when I count to three, I want you to stand to your feet. One, two, and three. And just close your eyes, open your hands. Holy Spirit,
[02:02:01] I thank You for Your fire that searches us, the fire that purifies us, and the fire that anoints us, Lord. Oh, I pray for Your fire, God. Another dark and confusing moment was in John 20.
[02:02:19] Jesus has died and He's raised again and now the disciples are sitting in a locked room full of fear.
[02:02:28] And you know what Jesus does?
[02:02:29] He walks through the locked door.
[02:02:34] He's spirit enough to walk through walls, but flesh enough to eat fish with them.
[02:02:40] And He walks through the locked door and He shows them His hands and His side.
[02:02:47] And He says, peace be with you.
[02:02:48] And then He breathes upon them and says, receive the Holy Spirit.
[02:02:55] The other time God breathed was in Eden where He breathed and a new creation, Adam, was birthed.
[02:03:02] And again, He breathes in a dark and a confused space and a new creation is birthed.
[02:03:11] The disciples are no longer with Jesus.
[02:03:13] The disciples have Jesus, the Spirit within.
[02:03:18] And you may be standing, you're like, man, I've got some locked doors of my heart.
[02:03:22] let me tell you, Jesus is gonna walk right through them.
[02:03:25] You may be like, no, that area, no, that area, I've hidden that away, I've locked that one away.
[02:03:32] Jesus, I pray You would walk through the locked door of our hearts, that You would walk into those spaces for You are closer than our most secretive thoughts.
[02:03:41] That Jesus, You would come in and that You would come into that place and show us Your hands, show us Your side.
[02:03:49] Jesus, speak to us in those places places. And God, I choose Your Spirit. And right now, if you are standing, just open your hands.
[02:04:00] And if those that are around them, why don't you just put your hands upon them. God, I ask right now for the fire of the Holy Ghost, that we breathe upon the disciples and they were filled
[02:04:10] with the Spirit. I pray, Jesus, that You would fill them with the Spirit, that You would fill them right now in this confused and dark place. I see You crying right now, the fire of God right
[02:04:21] upon you in Jesus' Name. Luke over your life, I declare in Jesus' Name, there is more of Jesus' power and healing to come through your life and your hands. God, we declare in Jesus' Name in a
[02:04:34] confusing space, the loudest shouts of Rory and Mari's ministry would be birthed. The loudest cry of their ministry would come in this hour, in this time. We thank You, Lord Jesus, for the fire of God that touches enclosed, locked rooms, God, across this place. If you sense the Spirit
[02:04:55] of the Lord upon you, I want you to just raise your hands right now. If you feel His power just on you. God, we ask more of Your Spirit right now. More of Your Spirit right now. More of Your Spirit
[02:05:09] right now. Receive the Holy Spirit. God, we pray that You would breathe into the locked rooms, that you would breathe into the locked room and if someone has their hands up around you, I want you to partner with what the Lord is doing
[02:05:23] and just move to them and put your hand upon them and say, more God, more Holy Spirit, more Holy Spirit, more Holy Spirit of this couple right now in Jesus' name.
[02:05:34] Fire, God, fire of the Holy Ghost.
[02:05:37] Fire of the Holy Ghost.
[02:05:42] Fire, God, fire, God, fire, God.
[02:05:44] thank you Holy Ghost and I love that the Lord would redeem all things I even think of Libby's mom she has the most incredible marriage now she got remarried to the most incredible person that
[02:06:05] is a gift from God I love that the Lord can do all things God we thank you Jesus that in the hardest of spaces you provide you're a generous God God I ask for the fire of the Holy Ghost in
[02:06:19] Jesus' Name right across this place. Fill the temple with Your love. Fill the temple with Your love, God. Fill the temple with Your love. Across this room, would you join me and just start to
[02:06:32] pray in the Spirit that there would be such an atmosphere that men in this community and women in this community would choose not the natural, but the Spirit. God, start to pray across this community that there would be a people of the wind. I rebuke the boring out of you. I rebuke
[02:06:49] the boring out of you. I rebuke the boring out of you. I declare in Jesus' name that you would raise up men and women of the Spirit. God, we thank you for a life of the Spirit is a wild life.
[02:07:05] I thank you for a life of the Spirit is an adventurous life. God, deliver us from monotony.
[02:07:12] deliver us, Lord God, from a life that is just not followed by You, God. We thank You, Jesus.
[02:07:19] Fill this place with Your Spirit, Lord. Just across this place, just for 30 more seconds, just cry out to the Lord. Just start to pray in tongues.
[02:07:29] Over our community, over our community, make us wild, God, for You. Make us wild for You, God.
[02:07:36] make us wild for you Jesus make us wild God pour out the oil of heaven in this place I thank you Jesus for a lamp stand called Bethel Church there would be a sound and a
[02:07:52] wonder to the earth trusting for the crazy trusting for cancer to be healed trusting for the resurrection power of God to touch a people trusting that the weak would be made mighty God We thank You, Jesus.
[02:08:16] Fire of the Holy Ghost.
[02:08:18] Oh, I feel the Lord so strong in this place.
[02:08:21] I feel the Lord so strong.
[02:08:22] God, this week decisions are being made in marriages.
[02:08:25] Decisions are being made on leadership teams.
[02:08:28] Decisions are being made with businesses.
[02:08:30] Decisions are being made.
[02:08:31] And if you're in this room or you're watching online and you do not know Jesus, let me tell you, this is the decision that will flip your life around.
[02:08:40] For there is a perishing, but there is an eternal life.
[02:08:43] and that eternal life is to know Jesus and His presence and whomever, whomever believes, not acknowledges, believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God will be saved.
[02:08:59] If you need to give your whole life to Jesus, if you're far from God or if you have just compromised, there is an invitation to surrender everything to Jesus.
[02:09:12] There's even someone watching online right now.
[02:09:15] You're an older man and you are, there's an invitation right now to you to surrender your life to Jesus.
[02:09:25] God, we pray for all of those people right now.
[02:09:26] If you need to respond to Jesus, I want you to just raise your hand.
[02:09:30] If that's you, just respond to the Lord.
[02:09:35] And if someone brought you here, don't leave this place without going to them and say, I need to respond to Jesus.
[02:09:42] Thank you, God.
[02:09:48] Let's just give the Lord a clap right now.

[02:10:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[02:10:02] There's a grace in the room right now.
[02:10:04] We're going to close in a second.
[02:10:06] There's a grace in the room right now to have the Lord transform your life.
[02:10:11] If you're in a spot where you're like, I need a new life.
[02:10:16] I need a new operating system.
[02:10:18] I'm stuck.
[02:10:20] I backslid and whatever.
[02:10:21] I'm not in good standing with God.
[02:10:24] The Lord led me out of addiction.
[02:10:27] The Lord walked me through a divorce in my life.
[02:10:30] He walked me through a nervous breakdown where I couldn't use my arms for a year.
[02:10:34] The Lord has redeemed and restored my life.
[02:10:37] That's our testimony here.
[02:10:40] That's all of our testimony is what God has done in our life.
[02:10:43] And I just wanna put another invitation out for you to be bold and to take a step forward and go, I need that.
[02:10:51] I need the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in my life.
[02:10:55] The Bible says where the spirit of the Lord is, there's freedom.
[02:11:00] So today, if that's you, if you're like, man, I'm in a spot where my life is not free.
[02:11:05] I just wanna invite you, come up to the front here, start a journey where you surrender, you completely surrender your life to Christ and watch what he does in your life.
[02:11:16] Can we get excited about that?
[02:11:18] If I can have the prayer ministry team come forward, we wanna pray with you.
[02:11:27] We believe that God is interested in coming and transforming your life, no matter where you're at, that the spirit of the Lord is gonna meet you today and that there's gonna be freedom released.
[02:11:39] And so if I could have the ministry team come forward, if you need prayer, healing, if you need life released into your body, into your mind, into your soul, please come forward.
[02:11:52] We wanna pray with you.
[02:11:53] Prayer servants, please bring up your things with you that you've brought.
[02:11:59] And then for the rest of you, be blessed.
[02:12:02] We love you.
[02:12:03] Have an incredible week.
[02:12:05] We will see you next week.
[02:12:06] And go with the spirit.
[02:12:09] Ask the spirit of God, what do you want to do?
[02:12:11] And what do you want to do through my life today, this week?
[02:12:15] We love you guys.

[02:12:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:12:16] What a powerful day.
[02:12:26] We're so grateful.
[02:12:27] I know a lot of you are responding right now.
[02:12:28] I need you, Jesus.
[02:12:31] If you are making a decision to trust the Lord, whether it's for the first time or maybe you're coming back to the Lord, maybe you've walked away maybe you haven't trusted him as your Lord and Savior
[02:12:42] and you actually feel that invitation now to even come back to Jesus we'd love to pray with you I know our chat hosts have put links in the chat that you can let us know
[02:12:52] if you'd like to respond to him but we'd love to just pray with you do you want to pray?

[02:12:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:12:56] yes absolutely yeah if that's you just hold out your hands like you're about to receive a gift and you can even just repeat after me of, you can just say, Jesus, I need you in my life.
[02:13:13] Father, would you just come even right now, take hold of my life, cleanse me of everything right now.
[02:13:21] Like I just, I'm gonna interrupt, I'm so sorry, but I just feel like there's, I feel like God's infilling people again and people actually dedicating their life to Christ for the first time.
[02:13:32] And the infilling again is, he never left you.
[02:13:36] let me just be clear, but I just feel this fresh infilling of restoration coming to your soul of God, just coming in and filling those spaces again. And so I just want to encourage you in
[02:13:47] your own words, actually, just to be raw with God. And if you've never given your life to Jesus before, I just want to encourage you just to invite him in. He paid the ultimate price on
[02:13:56] the cross so that you could be forgiven, that your sin could be walked away, that your old man could die and go away. And we actually get to live this new life in Christ. He is the savior
[02:14:06] of the world. He did die and rise again for the forgiveness of your sins, but not just for that, but so that you could actually have fellowship with him, that you could do this life with him.
[02:14:17] So I just want to encourage you, if that's you, just to pray. We're going to have links that come up. And if you've given your life to Jesus, I want you to click on the link that says start here.
[02:14:25] We're also going to have ministry rooms later that we want to pray with you. But I just want to pray for the people right now that are just asking God for a fresh touch, a new infilling.
[02:14:33] And I saw many of you putting in the chat, I need more, God.
[02:14:37] Like, I need more.
[02:14:39] And so, Father, we just thank you just for the more of heaven coming over people right now.
[02:14:43] Father, we just ask for increase of your spirit, increase of your grace, increase our awareness and our capacity to become aware of you, to be more in tune with what you're doing.
[02:14:54] So, Father, we just thank you for a fresh fire and a fresh start in Jesus' name.

[02:14:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:14:58] Absolutely.
[02:14:59] And guys, if you're watching this and you're thinking, I'm in that place where I'm having hard conversations with the Lord, like you're in great company.
[02:15:08] I love what Rich is preaching on.
[02:15:10] And just that, the story of Nicodemus having these conversations with the Lord and these profound things happening from these conversations.
[02:15:18] And I pray even this week, even today, that you would begin to invite the Lord into places that feel difficult.
[02:15:25] Maybe it's a scenario with a loved one.
[02:15:27] maybe it's a relationship that didn't go the way that you thought it would invite God in have the hard conversations like talk to him about the things that are on your heart I really felt like
[02:15:37] as he was preaching that and opening up the word allowing the scripture to um just reveal truth and life I felt so many people were actually going to feel that invitation this week to say
[02:15:48] I have had the hard conversations with people but I have not had it with the Lord yes I feel like so many of you are saying, would you pray for me? But you've not talked to the Lord. Now I am not
[02:15:58] downplaying. I love the body. I need to invite people into my life to pray for me, to cover me, to celebrate me. But I also get to have a relationship with the Lord. And if you haven't
[02:16:09] already engaged with him, this isn't shame. This is invitation. This is invitation to say, Jesus, would you talk to me about these areas that are scary? Would you talk to me about these areas I feel difficult or hard or what do I do?
[02:16:23] I mean, Nicodemus was, he knew the Bible, or well, he knew what he would have known of the Bible was probably what the Torah at that point.
[02:16:30] Like he knew the word.
[02:16:31] He prophesied.
[02:16:32] Okay, okay.
[02:16:33] He would have known as a rabbi, he would have known.
[02:16:37] So as a ruler of the Jews, he would have had a really good idea of what had been in the scriptures.
[02:16:43] And so there's sometimes these times where we have to really open ourselves up and say, you actually know more than I do. I know so much, but you know more than I do. And I saw people
[02:16:54] surrendering. I saw people saying, God, I've tried to fight this battle for so long. I've tried to do this by myself for so long, but actually I need to invite you in. And so if
[02:17:03] that's you, you can just even just say, Lord, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to pray this. I don't know how to invite you in, but I need to talk about this. This is hard for me.
[02:17:11] This is difficult. Help me understand this. Help me understand that. I find that when I ask God more like an open-ended question.
[02:17:19] If I go, should I do that?
[02:17:20] Yes or no?
[02:17:22] I don't always get the answer that I want to hear, but when I ask God, how do I position my heart?
[02:17:26] How do I posture myself to prepare for what you're doing in my life?
[02:17:29] How do I do these things?
[02:17:31] Usually the how, man, the how will bring out a conversation with God.
[02:17:35] And obviously you can do that however you need to, but it is an invitation, I believe, from the Lord inviting us in to navigate these kinds of hard conversations and hard things.

[02:17:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:17:47] Yes.
[02:17:47] Come on.
[02:17:48] We rebuke the boring out of you.

[02:17:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:17:50] I want to live by the Spirit.

[02:17:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:17:53] It's time to have fun, to break loose, and to go on adventures with God again.
[02:17:59] Come on.
[02:17:59] And I'm going to give, Avalyn's been asking consistently in the Bethel chat, give a shout out to my mom, Alexandria.
[02:18:07] It's her birthday.
[02:18:08] Happy birthday, Alexandra.
[02:18:10] Alexandra, we hope you have an amazing day.

[02:18:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:18:12] If you were moving by the spirit, how would you wish Alexandra?

[02:18:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[02:18:21] Happy birthday to you.
[02:18:25] Happy, happy.

[02:18:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:18:26] Happy birthday to you.
[02:18:29] Birthday.
[02:18:30] Happy birthday, dear Alexandra.

[02:18:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[02:18:34] Alexandra.

[02:18:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[02:18:38] Happy birthday.
[02:18:39] Happy.

[02:18:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[02:18:44] That's how I'd be led.
[02:18:45] You can hire us to sing for all of your birthday celebrations.
[02:18:48] I'm just kidding.

[02:18:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:18:49] So crop that moment.
[02:18:50] I hope it lives with you for the rest of your life.

[02:18:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:18:53] That's amazing.
[02:18:54] We love you, Avalee.
[02:18:55] Sending all those wishes to her.
[02:18:58] But seriously, I think sometimes we are so stuck in the routine.
[02:19:02] So stuck.
[02:19:02] The normal.
[02:19:03] We do things by the flesh because we're used to it.
[02:19:06] And yet, he's inviting us to live by the Spirit.

[02:19:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:19:09] Ouch.
[02:19:09] Crystal, just saying terrible singing, Steve.
[02:19:12] Bam.
[02:19:13] Wow.
[02:19:14] Well, here's the real singing, okay?
[02:19:16] Here's the real voice, because that was just my comedic voice, okay?
[02:19:19] I'm joking.
[02:19:20] I'm not going to do it.

[02:19:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[02:19:22] I was honestly like, what will it be?
[02:19:25] Because I stand next to him at church a lot.

[02:19:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:19:28] Whoa.

[02:19:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[02:19:29] No, I'm not saying it was bad.
[02:19:30] I never said it was bad.
[02:19:31] You just said different.

[02:19:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:19:32] It's just a steady baritone, okay?

[02:19:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[02:19:36] Oh, man.

[02:19:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:19:37] I was in chamber singers in high school, but I got kicked out for laughing too much.
[02:19:41] True story.

[02:19:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:19:42] It makes sense.

[02:19:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:19:42] The director came up to me and said, Steve, you can either get serious, be a part of the team, and stop laughing, or you can get out.
[02:19:50] And I said, I'm so sorry.
[02:19:52] I can't give up laughing.
[02:19:55] And I left.

[02:19:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[02:19:55] Because of the joy of the Lord.

[02:19:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:19:59] Joy is one third of the kingdom.

[02:19:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[02:19:59] And my mom said, you're such an idiot.

[02:20:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:20:02] Your mom would never say that.

[02:20:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:20:04] No, she didn't.
[02:20:05] Jane is literally the most encouraging woman ever.
[02:20:07] She goes, you said what?
[02:20:09] And I go, I said, I'm not going to give up laughing.
[02:20:10] She's like, he wasn't asking you to give up laughing.
[02:20:13] I go, well, it felt like it.
[02:20:16] She goes, you're just unbelievable.
[02:20:19] Then she's like, are you sure you want to quit?
[02:20:21] I go, mom, I don't care.

[02:20:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:20:22] Are you guys so glad that Steve had a person like that in his life?
[02:20:26] Because I would have said the same thing.
[02:20:27] I go, that's not what they said to you.
[02:20:30] They weren't saying if you would stop laughing.
[02:20:32] My mom has to do that all the time.

[02:20:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:20:33] I use it as an opportunity to get out of there.

[02:20:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:20:39] So he quit the choir.

[02:20:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:20:40] I was laughing too much in the concerts.

[02:20:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:20:43] you know I was laughing too much oh we need more joy in our lives god I pray that even as we learn to move more by the spirit we would be radically met by joy I would be a little scared if I had
[02:20:56] more joy I wouldn't I think Steve needs it Steve has joy right now we need Monday at like one o'clock p.m during the workday Steve to be radically hit with joy why don't you guys okay online family
[02:21:09] Why don't you just extend your hands to the camera at Steve and just say, more joy.
[02:21:15] More joy.

[02:21:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[02:21:18] Not just now.
[02:21:19] I'm getting delivered right now.
[02:21:20] Not just now.
[02:21:22] More joy.

[02:21:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]
[02:21:24] Oh, bless him, God.
[02:21:26] Bless him, God.
[02:21:28] Amen.
[02:21:29] I receive it, and I'll never be the same again.

[02:21:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:21:35] Wow.
[02:21:35] We love Steve Buckland around here as well.
[02:21:39] Steve, why don't you pray for them since they just got to bless you?
[02:21:42] I'm going to pray.

[02:21:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:21:43] You're going to have a great day.
[02:21:44] It's not going to be boring.
[02:21:45] It's going to be filled with joy.
[02:21:46] Have some fun.
[02:21:47] Tell some jokes.
[02:21:47] Look up some funny videos.
[02:21:49] Go bless some people.
[02:21:50] Be the weird Holy Spirit person, you know, whatever Chris is doing.
[02:21:53] Swing your arms around, you know, like Rich if you need.
[02:21:57] Flick the hair back, you know, if you need.
[02:21:59] Okay.
[02:22:00] I just, I really want us to do baptisms here.
[02:22:02] Have Rich to do the baptisms.
[02:22:04] But then someone dunk him and then him flick the dreads up, you know.

[02:22:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:22:08] And this is where we get to ask, is that idea born of the flesh?

[02:22:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:22:12] Oh, it's of the spirit.
[02:22:13] Or is it born of the spirit?
[02:22:14] It's of the spirit.
[02:22:15] We have to ask the question.
[02:22:16] Because there is healing in his hair.
[02:22:20] Not in his wings, and it's in his hair.
[02:22:23] That's not a theological statement.
[02:22:24] It's a joke.
[02:22:25] So please don't drop this.
[02:22:26] Please, please don't.
[02:22:26] Don't put it on an exoskeleton of, listen to this guy's theology.
[02:22:29] Oh, my God.

[02:22:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[02:22:29] Okay, guys, we love you.
[02:22:32] We bless you.
[02:22:33] We bless what God's doing in your lives.
[02:22:34] We have ministry rooms available, and they're opening up right now.
[02:22:37] Our teams would love to pray for you, prophesy.
[02:22:39] If you have a need in your body, click on that link.
[02:22:42] We love you guys.
[02:22:43] Please mute his mic.
[02:22:44] Okay, guys, we love you.

[02:22:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[02:22:45] We love you.
[02:22:46] Bye-bye.