Speaker 1: Let's pray over the word Father God. I thank you,
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. I yield all of this
Speaker 1: time to you. Change what you need to change, move
Speaker 1: how you need to move. I pray that you would
Speaker 1: prepare these minds and these hearts in this room and
Speaker 1: every voice that hears me today, whether it's on air
Speaker 1: or in person. Lord Holy Spirit, have your way and
Speaker 1: do your work. Thank you, God be our teacher today.
Speaker 1: Let good seed fall into good soil in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen,
Speaker 1: I want to ask you a question. I want to
Speaker 1: start it with this because I think that it is
Speaker 1: an appropriate time. I think far too often the church
Speaker 1: has grown accustomed to a set of prayers or an
Speaker 1: alter call to come and tell you, to ask you
Speaker 1: if you want to give your life to the Lord Jesus.
Speaker 1: I think in times past, we've seen moments in time
Speaker 1: where we feel vulnerable to the call of God, or
Speaker 1: we think we heard from him the moment that he
Speaker 1: called us out of darkness. And I just want to
Speaker 1: ask you and prompt you with this question as we
Speaker 1: go forward, because we're going somewhere together. Did Jesus's words
Speaker 1: to you when you decided to give your life to him.
Speaker 1: Did his response to you was was it this follow me?
Speaker 1: Did he tell you follow me when you believed? Follow
Speaker 1: me looks very different for an apostles life. Follow me
Speaker 1: looks very different for a Disciples life. He only expects
Speaker 1: one thing, and that means changing everything. I know. I'm
Speaker 1: intense because these are intense moments. These are intense moments
Speaker 1: in light of what's happened to our brother Charlie this week.
Speaker 1: I'm just going to get the difficult things out of
Speaker 1: the way. So let's go to Revelation two, verse eight
Speaker 1: through eleven, and to the Angel of the Church of Smyrna.
Speaker 1: Write these things, says the First and the Last who
Speaker 1: was dead and came to life. I know your works,
Speaker 1: tribulations and poverty, but you are rich. Say I am rich,
Speaker 1: and I know the blasphemy of those who say they
Speaker 1: are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Speaker 1: Do not fear any of those things which you are
Speaker 1: about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw
Speaker 1: some of you into prison that you may be tested,
Speaker 1: and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death,
Speaker 1: and I will give you the crown of life. In
Speaker 1: the Bible. The number ten is representative of many things,
Speaker 1: including the ten Commandments. It is a number of completeness,
Speaker 1: divine order, authority, and responsibility. It symbolizes the full extent
Speaker 1: of God's authority and the completion of his plan, and
Speaker 1: the entirety of the human duty. This is why He
Speaker 1: gave us ten commandments. It is for us right, it
Speaker 1: is for his people. It is an institution of His
Speaker 1: bylaws and laws by which a nation is supposed to
Speaker 1: live by. Israel never became a nation until they had
Speaker 1: a constitution, a constitution that was given to them by Moses.
Speaker 1: Through that command. We're talking about fanning the flame of
Speaker 1: reformation today. Verse eleven says, he who has an ear,
Speaker 1: let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.
Speaker 1: He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.
Speaker 1: Say I'm overcoming. Persecution often leads us to revivals. Believe
Speaker 1: it or not, persecution always leads us into revivals. However,
Speaker 1: I've noticed in history that revivals don't always lead to reformation.
Speaker 1: God desires to change something in our generation. I said,
Speaker 1: He desires to change something in our generation. It begins
Speaker 1: here at the church level. I'll tell you a story.
Speaker 1: The day after I became the Connect Group director, I
Speaker 1: was already going to attend a conference, and the conference
Speaker 1: had nothing to do with what I'm going to tell
Speaker 1: you about, because it was more about Holy Spirit, and
Speaker 1: of course everything has to do with Holy Spirit when
Speaker 1: it comes to church matters. Okay, I'll say that now. However,
Speaker 1: it was interesting that the speaker was up to speak,
Speaker 1: and then he started to speak about this thing called
Speaker 1: the Velvet Revolution. Have you heard of it? The Velvet
Speaker 1: Revolution happened in nineteen eighty nine, but before that, prior
Speaker 1: to that revolution, there was there was a ceasing of
Speaker 1: power in Czechoslovakia that happened in nineteen forty eight. The
Speaker 1: result of this ceasing of power was that there was
Speaker 1: heavy persecution against churches. Was false accusation against pastors of
Speaker 1: the flock there was. They were made to confess false
Speaker 1: accusations under duress of harm to their bodies or to
Speaker 1: their families. They were beaten to death for not cooperating
Speaker 1: with government officials. They even implanted their own pastoral heads.
Speaker 1: The government did this, implanted their own pastoral heads in
Speaker 1: churches in Czechoslovakia at that time. This led, however, to
Speaker 1: a underground revival that was led and spearheaded by connect
Speaker 1: groups and small groups. Do you think it was a
Speaker 1: coincidence that after I said yes to the Lord and
Speaker 1: to Pastor Douayne, of course, thank you for the opportunity
Speaker 1: Pastor Doaine to direct connect groups, that this man of
Speaker 1: God comes and speaks on connect groups and small groups
Speaker 1: for about twenty four minutes out of his whole sermon.
Speaker 1: You think that's a coincidence. It's divine order. This is
Speaker 1: the Lord, And so I was reminded of that during
Speaker 1: this time, and then this tragedy happened. Was that coincidence?
Speaker 1: Talk about small groups were needed to continue in pure
Speaker 1: faith at that time because they were teaching the wrong
Speaker 1: things according to what the government wanted the churches to teach.
Speaker 1: In order to build social capital, they needed to ordain
Speaker 1: in the underground new pastors. There was a study that
Speaker 1: came later on after the Velvet Revolution took place, and
Speaker 1: they came to find out that wherever there was a
Speaker 1: centralized pastor or a connect group leader, right wherever there
Speaker 1: was a centralized underground pastor that was ordained, there was
Speaker 1: the strongest protest and resistance against communism because those people
Speaker 1: were able to connect the community together. We're talking about
Speaker 1: connecting connecting us, connecting us to the community around us,
Speaker 1: and connecting us to one another to be strengthened and encouraged,
Speaker 1: lifted up right and taught the right things. Historically, persecutions
Speaker 1: of the faith create perfect environments for the sharing of
Speaker 1: the gospel. This is the truth. The advancement of the
Speaker 1: Gospel often comes from persecution, and that's not always talked about.
Speaker 1: Let's look at the explosion in China that is being suppressed.
Speaker 1: In Chris Ris Janity, heavenly persecuted, a lot of miracles,
Speaker 1: a lot of signs, a lot of wonders of people
Speaker 1: who are being revived in the underground by millions, and
Speaker 1: it's suppressed by the media. Iran heavenly persecuted Church of
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. Men are coming and knocking on pastors' doors
Speaker 1: who are also underground, saying a man named Jesus spoke
Speaker 1: to me in a dream. He told me to knock
Speaker 1: on your door, and he said, do you know who
Speaker 1: I'm talking about? He says, I do, and you're about
Speaker 1: the two hundred person that's done this in the last year.
Speaker 1: It's being suppressed in the media. When this tragedy struck,
Speaker 1: they started to twist the narrative. They wanted to control
Speaker 1: the narrative of what actually was happening to him. There
Speaker 1: was deception. See, this is what the enemy wants to do.
Speaker 1: He wants to silence the voice of the martyr. He
Speaker 1: wants to silence the move of the spirit. He wants
Speaker 1: to keep you in the shadows, so that way you
Speaker 1: can't know. If it wasn't for our very own centralized
Speaker 1: pastors and evangelists and people who are daring to put
Speaker 1: their lives on the line to communicate with the rest
Speaker 1: of the world what is happening across the globe, you
Speaker 1: would have no idea, And I'd have no idea what
Speaker 1: is happening in China and Iran and all the other
Speaker 1: countries that are being persecuted for his name's sake and
Speaker 1: to his glory. They can't stop it, that's right. Historically,
Speaker 1: revivals led to a lull. Seldom did they actually lead
Speaker 1: to reformation. Some of the greatest reformations were spearheaded by
Speaker 1: the Apostles much after they died. The blood of the
Speaker 1: Apostles martyrdom led to the Reformation of Rome. See there's
Speaker 1: something God wants to do in our generation. There is
Speaker 1: something about this moment that God wants to do in
Speaker 1: this Generationiah. Unlike most revivals. In nineteen eighty nine, that
Speaker 1: Velvet Revolution transformed that nation, and it was led by
Speaker 1: peaceful people, peaceful protests, by a body of Jesus who
Speaker 1: led the way, and it overturned an entire communist nation
Speaker 1: fifty years about. They ruled transformed like that because the
Speaker 1: people of God were growing in boldness and strength. The
Speaker 1: people of God were doing something that God designed for
Speaker 1: us to be connected. He designed it this way for
Speaker 1: us to have fellowship. It's his design. It's not our idea.
Speaker 1: We weren't the ones to create it. I'm not the
Speaker 1: one who started directing it all of the sudden. This
Speaker 1: is his plan that the invisible Rabbi Holy Spirit will
Speaker 1: come into each one of these leaders that are in
Speaker 1: the room, and that he would be in you for
Speaker 1: you to confirm that you're listening to the truth. That's
Speaker 1: why he says you need no man teach you, but
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth. What
Speaker 1: He gave his life for all truth. Even though demons
Speaker 1: and Satan tried to silence the voice of the martyrs.
Speaker 1: The gospel was preached. Even the ones who hated him,
Speaker 1: the gospel they heard. All it takes is courageous men
Speaker 1: and women of God to share that. They'll think to themselves, someday,
Speaker 1: why did he do that? Could it be that it
Speaker 1: was actually true? I really love this story that my
Speaker 1: wife shared with me. A social media personality who was
Speaker 1: an influencer. He's dressed like a woman with colorful hair,
Speaker 1: long nails, and he's talking and he says, I don't
Speaker 1: understand why you guys are all cheering about his death.
Speaker 1: He's talking to people who follow him. Now listen, He's
Speaker 1: got millions of followers. He says, I don't know why
Speaker 1: you're rejoiced. I respect that man because even though I
Speaker 1: didn't agree with all of his viewpoints, he was never
Speaker 1: he was never attacking personally, and what he spoke about
Speaker 1: was true. You are living in a delusion, literally, he says,
Speaker 1: you are delusional in your thinking. This man spoke the truth.
Speaker 1: The gospel was preached. Don't ever back down from the truth.
Speaker 1: I believe that what we are witnessing is is this
Speaker 1: man's ultimate devotion to God. Well, we got to read
Speaker 1: from was his devotion time to the Lord. He understood
Speaker 1: that this god man from Nazareth came to a world
Speaker 1: who hated him, and yet says, and yet he died
Speaker 1: while for me, while I was yet a sinner, although
Speaker 1: the world hated him, he yet died for it, while
Speaker 1: they are all yet sinners. I think he understood this
Speaker 1: kind of love, and I think God wants us to
Speaker 1: grab a hold of this devotion time. I believe we
Speaker 1: can accomplish this through small groups. This is how it
Speaker 1: applies to us. What can you do? She'll be focused
Speaker 1: on what the media is doing. She'll be focused on
Speaker 1: what people are saying, whether it's good or bad. I
Speaker 1: believe that small groups can lead you into a personal
Speaker 1: time of revival, which can spur you forward into an
Speaker 1: outward expression of reformation. I think that's what God is
Speaker 1: telling us. He can help to you to reform every
Speaker 1: area of influence and your life. Let's go to this,
Speaker 1: Let's go to Luke ten, verse thirty eight. Actually, sorry, hey,
Speaker 1: let's go back. Let's go to Philippians. I need to
Speaker 1: talk about this. Here's what I think, and I believe
Speaker 1: that our friend Charlie would tell us if he can
Speaker 1: still communicate to us. I believe, much like the Word
Speaker 1: says that the blood still speaks. They defeated the enemy
Speaker 1: by the blood of the Lamb and the word of
Speaker 1: their testimony. Right, So let's talk about this, because here's
Speaker 1: what I believe. This is what came to my mind
Speaker 1: as I was thinking about him Philippians one, twelve three eighteen.
Speaker 1: But I want you to know, brethren, that the things
Speaker 1: which happen to me have actually turned out for the
Speaker 1: furtherance of the Gospel. This is what is happening presently
Speaker 1: right now next verse, so that it has become evident
Speaker 1: to the whole palace guard and to all the rest,
Speaker 1: that my chains are in Christ martyred for faith, and
Speaker 1: the most of the brethren in the Lord, having become
Speaker 1: confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak
Speaker 1: the Word without fear. The Lord is giving us strength
Speaker 1: and boldness at this time. Some indeed preach Christ even
Speaker 1: for envy and strife, and some also from goodwill. The
Speaker 1: former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely supposing to
Speaker 1: add affliction to my change those that are still coming
Speaker 1: against even His name or his memory right next verse.
Speaker 1: But the latter out of love, knowing that I'm appointed
Speaker 1: to the defense of the Gospel. Even right now, there
Speaker 1: are going to be people who hear what he has
Speaker 1: spoken in the past. Why do people hate him so much?
Speaker 1: I need to go hear what this man was talking about.
Speaker 1: When the truth pierces their hearts, there will be a change.
Speaker 1: What then, only that in every way, whether in pretense
Speaker 1: or in truth, Christ is preached this and in this
Speaker 1: I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.
Speaker 2: Hallelujah, hallelujah.
Speaker 1: Come on, come on. That story I told you about
Speaker 1: Christ is being preached without him, even without that man,
Speaker 1: even using the name of Jesus. He was pointing at
Speaker 1: the faith of the man. Now it happened in Luke ten.
Speaker 1: Let's go to the most popular This is what I
Speaker 1: call it, the most popular connect group you've ever been
Speaker 1: to that you read about. Okay, Now, it happened as
Speaker 1: they went that he entered a certain village, and a
Speaker 1: certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And
Speaker 1: she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at
Speaker 1: the feet uh at Jesus's feet and heard his words.
Speaker 1: But Martha was distracted with much serving, say distracted, and
Speaker 1: she approached him and said, Lord, do you not care
Speaker 1: that my sister has left me to serve alone. Tell
Speaker 1: her then to help me. But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha,
Speaker 1: you are I'm going to read it in my version
Speaker 1: because you guys have a different one up there, and
Speaker 1: that's good version. Keep it there, Martha, Martha, you are
Speaker 1: worried and troubled about many things. Let's read that verse
Speaker 1: again in forty one. But the Lord answered Martha, Martha,
Speaker 1: you are anxious and troubled about many things verse forty two.
Speaker 1: But one thing is needed in my version, and Mary
Speaker 1: has chosen that good part which will not be taken
Speaker 1: away from her. Observe Jesus' compassion. A lot of teachers
Speaker 1: teach this like it was a rebuke. No, this is
Speaker 1: the teacher who's sitting down, the Messiah who is sitting
Speaker 1: down right here. I'll take one of your pages. Roman,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get a prop too. He's sitting down, and
Speaker 1: she approaches him and he just sets her down. And
Speaker 1: notice how he doesn't attack what she's doing on the outward.
Speaker 1: Notice how he doesn't rebuke for what she's asking for.
Speaker 1: What he is pointing out is something that is happening inwardly.
Speaker 1: Jesus grabs hold of her and sets her down, and
Speaker 1: he teaches. Because when the teacher is sitting, the students
Speaker 1: and the disciples are listening. So this is the posture
Speaker 1: of a rabbi's teaching, is to sit. When the god
Speaker 1: Man shows up in your small group, suddenly there's peace.
Speaker 1: When Jesus is teaching and he's in the room, suddenly
Speaker 1: anxieties begin to melt away. His turning towards Martha was
Speaker 1: much like his turning towards the church at this time.
Speaker 1: Don't be anxious about the persecutions. I'm turning my I
Speaker 1: gaze on you, the Church of Smyrna. He didn't even
Speaker 1: address the persecutions. He didn't even tell them I'm going
Speaker 1: to take them away. He said, if you endure, If
Speaker 1: you endure, I will give you the crown of life.
Speaker 1: Jesus said it perfectly already. If they hate you, they
Speaker 1: hated me first. Rather, the rabbi turns to Martha and
Speaker 1: he tells her what things she should be focused on.
Speaker 1: He tells her, I want you to do like your
Speaker 1: sister and contend for that good part. Yeah, contend for
Speaker 1: things which are eternal. Yeah, stop contending for the many
Speaker 1: things which cause you anxiety. I think our friend Charlie
Speaker 1: understood this, and this is where he got his infeeling
Speaker 1: at by sitting at the feet of the rabbi. That's
Speaker 1: where his boldness came from. That's where his confidence came
Speaker 1: from his devotion. In small group gatherings, we obtained more
Speaker 1: than a good time. We obtained that good part which
Speaker 1: lasts into eternity. We obtain knowledge and wisdom about the
Speaker 1: one who we will live with forever. In small groups
Speaker 1: we go to connect with God while connecting with others.
Speaker 1: This is where we get equipped. It reminds us that
Speaker 1: there are more people who believe like us than just me.
Speaker 1: Small groups are a place sometimes where it is difficult
Speaker 1: to hide. It is a place of vulnerability. It is
Speaker 1: a place of fellowship, accountability, healing, restoration, prayer and trust.
Speaker 1: It is a place where you can sit at the
Speaker 1: feet of Jesus and be refreshed for the journey ahead.
Speaker 1: I believe that in this season God is doing something
Speaker 1: amazing with his people, with his children, and he's taking
Speaker 1: the position of rabbi. What is your response to him
Speaker 1: taking a seat? He said to Jesus. This is God
Speaker 1: saying to Jesus, Come sit at my right hand while
Speaker 1: I make all your enemies your footstool says in the
Speaker 1: Word that we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Speaker 1: God will not waste an opportunity for the spread of
Speaker 1: the gospel. God will not waste the precious blood of
Speaker 1: his martyrs or his children. God will hear the outcry
Speaker 1: of his people and the outcry of the blood that
Speaker 1: was spilt. God will respond to the persecution. But what
Speaker 1: is his church's response to the persecution? Will you begin
Speaker 1: this season with being equipped in order to become a
Speaker 1: revived person who can reform from a people, a city,
Speaker 1: a nation, a world. What did you hear him say
Speaker 1: when you got saved? Was it follow me? Maybe you
Speaker 1: didn't hear anything at all. Maybe you just decided you
Speaker 1: wanted to do whatever you wanted to do and that
Speaker 1: God was just gonna have to settle for Sunday. I
Speaker 1: know what Charlie heard. I know he heard follow me.
Speaker 1: This is what leads a man to speak courageously and
Speaker 1: boldly in the name of Jesus, the truth in the
Speaker 1: face of adversity, in the face of a people who
Speaker 1: gnash their teeth like they did to Jesus, and he
Speaker 1: tells them God loves you and he has better for you.
Speaker 1: And we're afraid to tell our friends about Jesus, and
Speaker 1: we're afraid to mention the name of Jesus in our
Speaker 1: family gatherings. Did he say follow me when you believed?
Speaker 1: I want us to obtain the good part that leads
Speaker 1: in to eternity. That's what these groups are about. That's
Speaker 1: what this whole walk has been about. This is how
Speaker 1: people can come together and transformation. It's not to be
Speaker 1: taken lightly. I know I'm intense. These are intense times.
Speaker 1: We've been in the warfare and it's hit home. I
Speaker 1: think it's time for us to become a revived people
Speaker 1: and fan the flames of reformation. And it starts with
Speaker 1: sitting at the feet of the rabbi. But you can't
Speaker 1: do that if you didn't hear him say follow me good.
Speaker 1: How can you know your marching detail orders without sitting
Speaker 1: there and listening to the general give them? How can
Speaker 1: you even walk your purpose out if you've not even
Speaker 1: heard the call at lease? Bow your heads, everybody across
Speaker 1: the room, just bow your head. Let's close our eyes.
Speaker 1: I want us to talk to the Lord. I know
Speaker 1: I'm going longer, but I think this is really important
Speaker 1: for this time. We need to be real with the Lord.
Speaker 1: Anyone if you who don't know what I'm talking about,
Speaker 1: who've never accepted the Lord Jesus into your life, and
Speaker 1: this has moved you, this tragedy has moved you. Now
Speaker 1: to make sure that you know, like you need a
Speaker 1: surety of salvation, like I need to know that God
Speaker 1: called me. I need to know that he said follow me.
Speaker 1: I need to know. I have to know. I want
Speaker 1: you to be desperate for it because guess what. The
Speaker 1: magnitude at which you respond right now is how you'll
Speaker 1: always live your life as a Christian. I'm not going
Speaker 1: to rush this. This has to be from you. I'm
Speaker 1: not going to compel you to do anything. So just
Speaker 1: where you're at, as everybody's head is bowed, just raise
Speaker 1: your hand if that's you. If you're tired of living
Speaker 1: a double life where you're just a Christian on a Sunday,
Speaker 1: but every other day you live it however you want to,
Speaker 1: I'm telling you right now in these moments, moments like this,
Speaker 1: you're confronted with a decision whether you're going to continue
Speaker 1: to be lukewarm and take a chance at eternity, or
Speaker 1: you're going to know for sure that you'll be standing
Speaker 1: like our friend Charlie, and the Lord will tell you
Speaker 1: well done, good and faithful servant. So if that's you
Speaker 1: right there where you're at, just raise your hand a
Speaker 1: little bit. You're tired of the sin that you continue
Speaker 1: to do. You're fed up with it living a double life.
Speaker 1: You're fed up with being a sham. You're fed up
Speaker 1: with feeling like a hypocrite. You're fed up with the pornography.
Speaker 1: You're fed up with the drugs. You're fed up with
Speaker 1: the addiction. You're fed up with it. You're done. God's
Speaker 1: not here to condemn you. God's not here to tell
Speaker 1: you that you're not going to make it. God is
Speaker 1: here to invite you in. Do you want to sit
Speaker 1: at the feet of the Rabbi. You are welcome to
Speaker 1: become a disciple. He's telling you follow me, but you
Speaker 1: get a response. Just speak to him. Lord. I'm here, Lord,
Speaker 1: I'm here. I will follow you. Lord, I'm here. I'm
Speaker 1: tired of living how I want to. I see your hand.
Speaker 1: That's good. Just talk to the Lord in your own words. Lord,
Speaker 1: I'm here. I'm here, Lord. I will follow you wherever
Speaker 1: you go. I will follow you for the rest of
Speaker 1: my life. I will do what you have called me
Speaker 1: to do. I will speak to those who you've called
Speaker 1: me to speak to. I will influence them for the kingdom.
Speaker 1: Oh Lord, everyone else in the room too, Let's do
Speaker 1: this together. Lord. I'm here, Rabbi, I'm here. I'm here
Speaker 1: to follow you. Restore to me the joy of my salvation.
Speaker 1: Thank you for authority. Thank you for the keys to
Speaker 1: the Kingdom of Heaven. I thank you that what we
Speaker 1: bind on earth is bound in heaven. I thank you
Speaker 1: that what we lose on earth is loose in heaven too.
Speaker 1: Thank you for the responsibility of being your child, and
Speaker 1: I will follow you all my days in Jesus name. Amen. Amen,
Speaker 1: w