Greater Works: Answering the Call of God

all right okay I have to get a little bit more support yeah we’re going to put our H side effects over here thank you sure right there great don’t ask me if this is really going to work in my world here today but whatever it it was shown to me so it may okay hi I’m not going to lie you guys are going to get my half version because one of my hands is taken holding this microphone and if you know me when I speak I speak with my hands

01:00:25 so here we go go I’m going to try my best to get the whole thing out in this moment um and I’m going to start here just by saying I probably don’t have to say anything because this whole entire service has basically just been like pieces of what God has been preparing in my heart to share with you today so ditto go all right and there there you have it best sermon ever huh out of here in a minute all right like she said um like Pastor Shelley said I have taught in junior high all over the place you don’t

01:01:06 have to sit in your seat when you’re in here with me um I ask if you fart please say excuse me that’s about the only about respect I ask around here but you can move if you are moved by holy spirit let him move you if you need to get uncomfortable which you might that’s okay um I won’t be offended by that and the doors are open so all right there you have it um so this series of overcoming Overcoming By the blood of the Lamb by not loving Our Lives living for God and for his promise which is greater than anything we could

01:01:49 imagine through faithfulness and through perseverance knowing where we are going and are why that is what God has led our pastors to speak to our congregation for our church for right now and today I’m On Assignment to share through examples of some Churches in Revelation pamam and leod deia that clearly State what will prevent a church from being the overcoming Church you see today we’re going to talk about compromise and submitting to the ways of the world and how that will never add up to overcoming and you’re going to say gosh

01:02:36 Shelly taught last week it was so uplifting God spoke to her churches and was so gently guiding them I think she did that on purpose but I believe today my message for you is actually about life and death and I think that that was spoken from God today because I’m here my friends to talk to you about something so serious and it’s going to be uncomfortable we are going to talk about drugs sex and probably a little bit of music not George’s Music but some other music right and if you’re not uncomfortable

01:03:26 then I imagine um you’re probably wearing some earbuds that are noise cancelling and that’s okay too cuz you should be uncomfortable in this space When God says um I’m here to talk to you today about some deep things inside of your heart because he wants to speak to each and every one of us even the people who walked in here and thought you were God’s gift to the church that you were his second son he sent his Savior and then he sent you to do the rest of the work believe it or not I think God has something to say

01:04:05 even to you I don’t think it I know it I know so the first thing I asked myself and I’d suggest that you do it to yourselves as well okay when I got this assignment overcoming church I had to ask myself a question and I’m saying this because some of you might be showing up to church thinking there’s some kind of message happening it’s for just the group out here you never thought to sit and ask what does this mean to me sorry I’m already getting a dry mouth and I would tell you that you can sit in this room and what God has to say

01:04:48 can come and roll right off of the back of your shoulders and never even touch you or you could do yourself a favor uh favor and say God what does this mean to me take some of these words Define them for yourself and then hear what I have to say through you with it based on what you believe what does overcoming Church mean to you who’s the church great who else is the church I am we are we are theur church is a personal thing the church is a a congregational thing the church is a local thing the church is a global thing

01:05:35 so this overcoming church it’s about you right star this is a personal message to you today it’s a personal message to pel today the pastors are asking us what do we need to know about the overcoming Church what does overcome mean have you ever thought about that Rose what does overcome mean to you to me when I went and Googled it it said to win a victory overcome it actually comes from a Greek word Nikos grammatically implying not a single Victory but a continuous abiding in Victory both now and in the

01:06:31 future it reminded me of a scripture where Jesus said I came to overcome the world he didn’t do it just at the at the grave he didn’t do it just on the cross he did it in his resurrection he’s doing it today he’s going to do it tomorrow he still got the victory it is a victory of overcoming that has existed for a long time and will exist until God comes back back to Earth so what this message today is and um this is actually for my spirit 3 group all right my message today we are talking about the church me you locally globally

01:07:15 overcoming finding victory that has already been been won and winning it every day of our life finding Victory to overcome the assignment of death and to persevere in life and to the life that will never have to experience death This is how to walk in our calling of eternal life the overcoming church will never have to die are you hearing me you will never have to die if you’re not excited you might be deaf this is an exciting message this is the message that we have been called to eternal life

01:07:56 all right so the churches and Revelations that we are going to explore today unlike last week’s churches which were lovingly warned by God these churches were condemned by God yeah great he had some serious feelings about what was going on in those churches he had such a serious need he sent a warning call to them saying wake up wake up people compromise in the church and conforming to the way of the world will not bring you to the promised land in fact it’s going to bring you to a place of judgment with those that you were

01:08:35 supposedly ministering to so laying down this Foundation what does compromise mean it’s an agreement or settlement to make a concession to accept standards that are lower than desirable to make accommodations in matters of your faith and moral principle the Church of pergamum in Revelations 2 was a church that was nestled right into the world they sat in a seat right next to Satan in his world where the church could shine so brightly because the darkness was so dark you could feel it in this story of the church pergamum

01:09:26 there were Witnesses and Believers that watched people die for the faith they watched people that were martyred that went to their death because they believed that they wanted to worship their God and they weren’t going to have anyone say differently so there were Believers in this church that saw it all and then Satan realized they weren’t even being moved by people dying his tactics weren’t working so he said you know what I’m going to stir things up instead of trying to go to the church from the

01:10:00 outside in I’m going to come into the church and join them mhm he went and he joined with the government and said hey Christians you’re all good we’ll let you worship you can worship on our terms s Satan inserted himself into the church in Revelations and we’re going to read read about bayac the one who is the king of Moab and balum who was a prophet of God who turned traitor to secure worldly gain and favor balum showed BAC how to set a trap for the children of Israel for God’s people to entice them into the sin of

01:10:46 idolatry and fornication Samuel I’m using the FW in church today just in case you were wondering fornication don’t Google it you’re going to have a weird like stuff following you okay the compromising Church in the new King James version okay and I’m not going to lie I had to print out all my Bible verses because I think I might be getting to that age where I might need classes but I’m not going there yet so Cera says I’m definitely at that age I’ve been there for a while so instead I printed everything really big so I could

01:11:27 see it which totally reminds me and this is so funny I don’t know why I just in junior church for years Miss Cindy you were there we used to write the Bible in really big script for people who were like losing their sight because the translations and the different Bibles weren’t printed in big enough a print so that was part of our like Junior Church time we were writing the Bible and we would write we wrote so much the Bible in really big script I should find that Bible okay so the compromising Church

01:12:03 Revelations 22-17 we’re going to read from the Bible an angel from the church writes these things say he who has the sharp two-edged sword I know your works and where you dwell where Satan’s Throne is and you hold fast to my name and did not deny my faith even in the days in which Antipas was my faith martyr who was killed among you where Satan dwells but I have a few things against you because you have those who hold the doctrine of balum who taught balac to put something stumbling to put a stumbling block before the children of

01:12:43 Israel to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality thus you have also have those that hold the doctrine of the nians which to thing I hate repent or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with my sword of my mouth he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches to him who overcomes I will give him of the Hidden Mana to eat and I will give him a white stone and on a stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it

01:13:26 God is showing up in this church and saying in this church he wasn’t talking about in the world he was saying in the church he was finding people that were holding to the doctrines of the world with Idols of the world and sexual immorality in this church this is God talking saying what are you giving room to individually in your church in your church in your church what are you allow ing what are we making allowance for because now the government of this world is finally accepting us as Christians

01:14:03 because the government of toam County finally sees us as Word of Life Fellowship and we’re acceptable what are we doing and allowing in our church just to get that credibility from them just to get the honor from the world what are we doing in our church basically on the foundational purpose of needing to be accepted and honored by the system of the world in verse 15 God says he hates that’s a strong word he hates the doctrine of nickola I had to look that up I thought there must be something more if he had to write about how much

01:14:44 he hates it and that means it was referencing a people wanting to have one B foot in both worlds one foot in both worlds wanting to be accepted by God wanting his grace and wanting whatever the world is showing them in that illusion God is basically saying repent and he throws it in verse 17 to whom to him who overcomes I will give some hidden Mana God God has more for us hidden Mana that was like a secret like guess what if you continue in this if you see what your promise is if you keep going I still

01:15:36 have more to give you you haven’t received it all and I’m going to come back and circle back to that promise from God but here what God has to say to the church repent and I will give you all that you need this Mana is the bread of life it made me think of the Mana from Heaven that the is Israelites received while they were out in the wilderness and they were going towards their promised land they were out there and everything they needed was provided in that Mana not you don’t have an account of how they were

01:16:08 iron deficient and they had like you know all these other things going on with their bodies no the Mana that God provided for them was enough it sustained them it gave them the energy to keep walking it gave them the energy to live with their brothers the thousands and millions of people they were doing this long Trek with aiming for a Promised Land some of us would have needed a lot more Mana than others right to be in that scenario so the next Church in Revelations we’re going to look at is Leo

01:16:44 deia I’m doing my best Shelly I don’t know why she chose these chapters I mean there’s a lot of interesting words in here I I did listen last week and I was like oh good I’m glad she struggles too okay so if you guys want to find us Shelley and I are going to be in grammar school learning some other languages here in the near future um so this church Leo deia this church was known for being the home of the apostate Church apostate are some of you going uhhuh I know what that means but you don’t really mhm that’s what I did I was

01:17:24 like move right along I better Define that word someone who has once believed and then rejects the truth of God so I was like reading about this church it’s really interesting they were like positioned perfectly in this country they were like close enough to water where like they got like lots of visitors they had people that were coming from the East to the west from the north to the South like they were like a they were a city that was positioned well they were a city that was known for um banking for law for

01:18:02 Commerce they were they considered themselves good Roman people I mean they followed the law they were a part of it and they did well they were a prosperous country they needed for nothing in fact there was this weird part in history where apparently they had like this major like earthquake that destroyed the like so much of the land and Rome came and is like oh you poor little country let us help you here’s some money and they’re like no thanks we got it covered we’ve got everything we need they had

01:18:37 all their finances they’re like we’ll do it on our own dime they were sufficient in all that they had and there was a church that duplicated that right inside of that City so um it says that that because of their prosperity the congregation profess professed Believers boasted that they did not need anything so as we read in Revelations God was not impressed with this church he talked about them being lukewarm in fact we’re going to read in Revelations 3:14 through 22 and I’m going to read out of the new King James version again

01:19:20 the angel in this um City says these things says the amen the faithful and the true witness the beginning of the creation of God I know your works that you are neither cold nor hot I could wish you were cold or hot so then because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot I will vomit you out of my mouth because you say I am rich became wealthy and have need of nothing and do not know that you are wretched miserable poor blind and naked I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire that you may not be revealed and anoint

01:20:05 your eyes with I slave s that you may see as many as I love I rebuke and chasen therefore be zealous and repent behold I stand at the door and knock and if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come to him and dine with him and him with me to him who overcomes I grant I will sit with him at my Throne as I also overcame and sat at my father’s Throne he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit of the Lord is saying what I believe this church God is saying to us today in these scriptures

01:20:47 can relate to our church directly I hate to offend but both individually and corporately God has blessed us we are a rich Church some of us physically you know there were choices that were made people went and relocated and gave their lives to God they tithed God saw their ties promised them prospered them they live well God has done that for us he’s done something even bigger than that he’s opened up Mysteries out of his Bible he has shared doctrines with us he has established this church on fundamental principles that there are

01:21:31 Christians across the world that pray for a day that God would reveal what he has revealed to us and through God’s leading we many of us have found repentance deliverance and re Redemption through his faithfulness and I would propose to you that he has not shown at all he hasn’t shown us at all yet he still has more there are still Mysteries and wonders that God wants to show each and every one of us this warning is for the church that he has been given a lot from God perhaps he has revealed many of his secrets and

01:22:15 things of the spirit can just seem like everyday part of life I’m going to say something inappropriate here some of us have been doing church so long God doesn’t even have to show up anymore sometimes we’re so interested in making sure our church is acceptable for somebody off the street to walk in that we’re afraid to allow God and holy spirit to show up in the place so that he could do the real work this scripture right here the reason why we’re talking about this is because the overcoming church has got to

01:22:59 have the wakeup call that says not for me not for my church not for my church we have to like be just tight in ourselves knowing yes I am blessed yes I have been given so much but he still has more he didn’t bring me to this point to leave me here he brought me to this point because he has more for me he has more for you he didn’t come and deliver you out of just the shackles of hell and say it’s so you can halfway be here he delivered each and every one of us because he has more he has a promise of

01:23:39 Joy he has a promise of life he has a promise of redemption he has a promise that you’ll never have to see death in some of us know that deep down inside and yet we’ve watched people die some of us live Dead We Live walking over our Graves of our life we live looking at the things that we thought where promises because we refuse to let go of them and give them back to God we compromised in our lives we stand in one side and the other and we say figure it out God and I will stand here and wait for it but I’m going to just go ahead

01:24:21 and be depressed I’m going to be so sad that this is as good as it gets I’m going to be so content with I’ve served in the church already I’ve done my time I’ve given enough heck I might be in my 60s or my 70s God gave me a promise back then but you know it’s not for now some of his promises are just left to the side I’m here to say to you today that’s your compromise God the God I serve he is a faithful God the God I serve he is a promisee keeper he is a way maker he is not here to just show up part way like Jonathan

01:25:24 was was talking he is here to forgive us he is here to just meet your every single need and I’m telling you as like a girl who stands in front of you and thinks why would you even choose me God why today why over this topic I’m like the girl that was in that city that was surrounded by people that should have been throwing the stone to kill her that’s the sin in my life that I know and many of you know that about me why would he choose me to be here because you know what he knew I was going to be here today he knew before I

01:26:03 was even born that I was going to be here today to share this message with you to share with you that it’s okay to let that go it’s okay to let God do what he really wants to do it’s okay to let go the cigarette the cigarette that’s just holding you there that’s helping you deal with your anxiety it’s okay to let that go he doesn’t want you to live in anxiety for those of you that are in bed with somebody else because you just need to think that you matter enough or that you’re loved he’s here to say it’s

01:26:40 okay CU you know what he put you in the room with a girl who’s going to have to say you with no sin be the first one to throw the rock that’s the god that I’m serving right now because he brings me here and he says Belle you’re standing amongst other people maybe their sin doesn’t look like what your sin looks like maybe their compromise doesn’t look like your compromise but you know you know what yours is and you know how much your father has redeemed you so I can’t pick up that stone and throw

01:27:20 it but I can’t stand in front of you and say his great Grace is Enough his grace is enough for each and every one of us his grace shows up into the little cracks that each and every one of us maybe don’t even think other people can see and it just kind of slithers in there and it makes you stronger cuz his grace is enough you know when I started seeking God about this um message he reminded me here we did we announced Camp okay so funny that that gets announced he reminded me of a time when I met God face to face

01:28:24 some of you were there for this I was a kid and I’m just going to invite you you don’t have to stink in your chair but I want to invite every single one of you to close your eyes or lay down but I want you to remember the time where you met God where you saw him face to face where you experienced his presence my time was on a camp floor I just remember being pinned to the ground the weight of his love was so much in that moment his presence met needs I didn’t even know I had I was so full of so much joy and

01:29:58 refreshing and healing there was crying there was laughing I remember just laying on that floor and I don’t know if hours went by but I experienced his face and God’s just saying remind them have them come and remember his presence and if you haven’t experienced him face to face I’m telling you he is in this room right now he is walking amongst us but more importantly that feeling of being in his presence is that God wants us to be in relationship with him that feeling that is memorialized in your

01:31:13 life he actually intended for us to live that daily can you believe that I think what could I get accomplished if I lived like that daily right but that’s if you think about it is like Adam and Eve in the garden in Eden like they needed for nothing there’s no scriptures about how they were really hungry and they went hiking for a really long time and then they had to build this and build that like everything they needed was found in the presence of God Satan showed up with a distraction with a what

01:32:07 if just an altering little idea right they had no idea they didn’t actually need anything it wasn’t until this apple that all of a sudden Eve was like oh dang it we’re naked what I need clothes she had no idea she had everything in his presence God wants us to overcome to come back to that his intention for an overcoming church is that we would eventually walk back to that moment where every single one of our needs is met in the presence of God this is a place that we need to experience but more importantly we need

01:33:02 to choose because guess what God’s here each and every one of us we need to choose I was just thinking of this knocking at the door and what God was really showing me through this knocking is that um I actually believe the distraction the Apple the things that Satan’s got us going on the busyness with kids or the business with Ministry or um oh I really need to have a cigarette in order to you know let my anxiety go some of us are leaning against the door that God’s at smoking a cigarette right we are

01:33:47 chilling into our distractions whatever they may be and we are leaning up against the door we’re leaning up against a door that I’m telling you God is knocking at and I’m just going to say this right now I don’t know how this would go over but I was just thinking a knocking from God the God Almighty oh no no no I’m telling you we’re talking about a [Music] Knocking by Holy Spirit right now I am releasing God knocking on your door this is the sound of the god almighty knocking on doors of your heart do you hear him

01:34:38 [Music] now this is the knocking of our father he is Relentless he loves you so much he wants to be here with you he is knocking the god that is knocking is a promis keeper he’s our deliverer he’s Our Redeemer he is everything that you need but he is first and foremost a gentleman and he will not barge into that door that he is knocking on your heavenly father has come to us throughout this entire service to say I am here to meet with you I am here knocking on your door some of us have had things that we are so consumed with

01:35:33 taking care of our own needs being caught up in our screen time numbing time numbing feelings there’s a lot of ways distraction can come through some of us eat through that distraction right what is God doing what door in your heart is he knocking on saying will you will you let me in will you let me in what’s the door of Despair that you’re leaning up against holding on to your device that’s helping you handle it and not answering the door because your heavenly father is here to say I am on the other side of the door I am moving

01:36:14 mountains so that I can come and meet with you today Stephanie I am moving mountains to take care of things that youve felt you’ve had to hold on to I am here in this place today to be your Redeemer to be your healer to be all that you need I am here are you willing to open the door are you willing to join me in this he is not going to barge in he’s not going to drag you um kicking and screaming he’s just here he is here wanting to be with you he is here wanting to be with me if we say yes to one thing it’s a no to

01:36:59 God that’s how simple this is we’re talking about life and death it’s a yes and no yes I’m going to take care of this on my own God don’t worry about it means no I don’t need your grace there’s no maybe in between there’s no definitely yasher might go with you God right Samuel I’m definitely for sure probably going to go in the direction that God wants me to go MH no it’s either yes God or no God there’s no maybe in this and that’s this message that we’re getting from these churches today that’s what God is

01:37:45 bringing us here to you God did not come to partially heal he did not come to partially deliver he did not come to bring coping mechanisms to the church he didn’t come to leave our dreams and Inspirations to minister or do something great in this world he didn’t come to just leave those at the at the altar and for them to never exist and sometimes we think our sin is something major and obvious like that lady that was standing in the middle of the entire town being ready to be stoned to death those are

01:38:20 really easy sins but I promise you the sin that is going to actually beset us in the church the sin that is going to hold on to us here locally is going to be this sin that I’ve got enough of God already and I don’t need him to join me here today the sin that I’m in cruise control I’m just moving through I’ve got all that I need and God’s on the other side in the passenger seat slamming on The Brak going come on pel for the Love For The Love slow down join me into this conversation for some of us we might be in the cruise

01:38:56 control and the slow lane doing church and God’s over there like where is that gas pedal let me add it let me add it right only the parents that have ever had a kid in driver’s Zed understand about that imaginary gas or break these are the things we use to take control these vices coping mechanisms to say I don’t need God in this area of my life I have it all under control the world has provided these distractions the Satan has provided these distractions what this thought process says is I don’t need Grace we can be

01:39:39 Christians we can be leaders we can be pastors we can be fully engaged in this church thing and yet have doors to parts of our lives that God is knocking at and we are just leaning up against them we must choose to put one thing down so we can take hold of another and this is on the daily if we do not choose to put down the sins and the distractions we choose to live a life of death dying slowly in some cases choosing just to exist rather than choosing to live in a way that we were called to live

01:40:20 abundantly I would propose that as the body of Christ a church together we can have distractions and vices here that help us just get by if we don’t come to church just to be served just to be entertained are we coming to create a church a place that is accepted by the world that we live in or do we come to church thinking we have it all that we’ve been given enough from God and we need no more from him or do we come to the church bringing our faith together to create an environment where God want

01:40:53 wants to dwell a place where he’s invited to be where he’s invited to walk through the room to touch and to deliver to speak and to reveal to us to himself he’s is he invited to release living Mana his word Living Word is he invited into every area of your life to release that Jesus walked on Earth and prayed for dead people to come to life he prayed for leopards to be healed he prayed and he delivered people from the sentence of death and yet he looked and he took the time to write and said Greater Works than these shall you

01:41:39 do are we here standing in the excitement of that are we here en energized by that are we here motivated by that that there are Greater Works we’re talking about a God who created Earth and created it to spin at such a capacity that it’s one ounce off this all goes to heck right the ocean all of a sudden doesn’t even know where to stop like he cared about so many of those details and yet he said Greater Works than that you’re going to do there are things that are still meant to be created in this world there are things

01:42:15 that are still meant to be done there are things that have not been revealed to us but we are part of that you and me this church me individually us locally globally we’re on different continents today speaking this message of life that there is more there is more are you willing to hear the Lord knocking on that door of your heart are you willing to hear from him are you willing to answer because Greater Works than these shall you do Greater Works than these and I know that I can’t even say anymore I’m going to leave it with

01:43:01 this God is here today he has been here from the get-go he is walking in this room and I would challenge each and every one of us to think for a moment if I could just turn down the outside noise is there a door in your heart that God is knocking at and it sounds like this cuz he wants it to be here he wants to shake you up he wants to get you ready he wants you to respond but all you have have to do is open that door and I don’t think we can leave this space without creating an opportunity to answer I know this is a hard message to

01:44:17 hear but this message is actually for the pastors of this church church for the leaders they’re for each and every one of us sin can’t be welcomed here but his grace is here right he came here today to say that and his grace is enough are we willing to answer the door I have to ask myself that personally and I know that the pastors are going to have to ask that of us as a church because I believe that there’s still more for us to do but God won’t force you [Music] and if the door you’re leaning up

01:45:29 against and you’re afraid to open it that sweet Jesus is here to say he’s going to make it okay whatever it is it’s not too much for him to hold he’s been knocking on that door waiting to carry it with [Music] you cuz he has so much more in store he has so much more life for us [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] we’re going to sing a [Music] song respond the hardest thing is to take a team and bring them to a place of Victory because it takes everything it takes everything that you can call out the opposition looks larger than

01:47:16 [Music] you but church we want to be an overcoming Church we want to be a church that’s following Jesus we want to be a church that’s United in their pursuit of the call we’re all at different stages of this journey but it’s the [Music] pursuit so father we bring you our hearts today [Music] we’re not worthy Lord but you [Music] are there is no fear our God is here here in the beauty of his presence this is the time to lift our hands and lift a song of love to heaven and he breaks the chains and lifts the Y

01:48:55 this is the power of His presence and he lights the path and shows the way so we can know the joy of Heaven it’s time to Bow before his [Music] Throne it’s time to let the burdens go cuz there is nothing there is nothing there is nothing like the presence of the Lord there is nothing oh there is nothing there is nothing like the presence of the Lord hallelu Hallelujah hallelu Hal hallelu hallelu hallelu hallelu Hallelujah he breaks the chain and lift the Yoke this is the power of His presence and he lights the

01:51:33 path and shows the way so we can know the joys of Heaven it’s time to Bow before his throne it’s time to let the burdens go cuz there is freedom oh there is freedom yes there is freedom in the presence of the Lord there is freedom oh there is freedom yes there is [Applause] freedom in the presence of the Lord