The SUNDAY SERVICE | LA PAROLE ETERNELLE -ENGLISH CONGREGATION | 24th MAY 2026.

Ajouté : 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]me against my eneies.

[00:00:05]You take away my fears and deliver me.

[00:00:12]Yes.

[00:00:16]>> One more time we declare he's the God who's present.

[00:00:20]>> Your presence is when I'm not there.

[00:00:27]You defend me against my eneies.

[00:00:34]You take away my fears and deliver me.

[00:00:41]Yes.

[00:00:43]>> One more time. We confess it. He's the God who's present in the house. Let's go.

[00:00:49]>> Your presence is there when I'm not there.

[00:00:56]You defend me against my eneies.

[00:01:03]You take away my fears and deliver me.

[00:01:10]Yes.

[00:01:14]>> Yeshua.

[00:01:17]>> Yes.

[00:01:18]>> Let's declare the name of the God who's above every Yeshu. Yeshua. Yeshua.

[00:01:24]>> Yes. Oh yes.

[00:01:37]Yes.

[00:01:42]You take away my Hallelujah.

[00:01:58]Yeah.

[00:02:06]Help me sing.

[00:02:18]Yes, >> we standing in his presence. Yeshua.

[00:02:42]>> Hallelujah.

[00:02:47]Yes.

[00:02:51]Yes.

[00:02:55]Yes. To >> you're still the same.

[00:03:05]Holy and worth of praise.

[00:03:14]I found you.

[00:03:21]>> Your name, >> your name is Yes, Lord. Your name is still the same.

[00:03:39]Holy and worth of praise.

[00:03:48]I found God. You reign.

[00:03:55]Your name is >> Your name is >> Your name is >> Your name is >> Your name is >> Your name is Y.

[00:04:20]>> Your name is Y.

[00:04:23]Yes.

[00:04:26]>> Your name is >> Your name is >> Your name is >> Your name is >> Your name is Y. Your name is >> Yes. Yeshua Jesus, our Lord and King, our Savior and Redeemer, the one that sustains our lives, the one that keeps us by the power of his word.

[00:05:13]Yes.

[00:05:14]The word says he sustains the universe by the power of his word. He is the one that keeps us alive this afternoon.

[00:05:26]He is the one that has brought us to this place this afternoon and he is the one that we have come to meet.

[00:05:36]I want you to lift up your voice >> and magnify Jesus in your own words.

[00:05:45]>> I want you to think of his mercy in your life.

[00:05:51]I want you to think of his grace.

[00:05:54]You could be going through challenges.

[00:05:56]Yes, you could be going through uncertainty and questions going through your head right now. There could be things you don't understand.

[00:06:08]There could be things that you want to figure out. How will this be? How will this happen?

[00:06:15]But right now, let your focus be shifted to thanking him. Think of all the good that he has done.

[00:06:24]Think of all the good that he has been to you.

[00:06:28]Think of how good the Lord has been to your family.

[00:06:35]Think of how wonderful this name is. The name of Jesus. How wonderful the name of our Lord is. How precious is his present and loving kindness that endures forever.

[00:06:52]Sorrow may last through the night, but his grace, his everlasting love last forever.

[00:07:02]Mourning and crying may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning. Let us think of the goodness of the Lord.

[00:07:11]And let us praise him. Let us honor him with our lips, from our hearts, from our inner being, from our most inner person.

[00:07:23]Lord, more than our lips, our hearts want to exalt you in this place. Our entire person, Lord, our entire being want to honor you this day, Lord. Allow us for these minutes that you have given us to still be alive. For these days that you have borrowed to us to be alive, Lord. Yes, Lord. This breath of life, you have given it to us, Lord, because of your kindness.

[00:07:55]And this salvation, we have it because you chose to give it to us. We did not choose you, but you chose us through your loving kindness.

[00:08:06]Lord, we praise you. We bless your name.

[00:12:37]Lord, be magnified. Lord, in that situation, Lord, even as you did for Paul, as they worshiped you, as they praised you in prison, Lord, you wereified and you showed up, you revealed your glory, Lord. You revealed your glory, Lord. And they were freed. they were released. So we pray that you will be glorified in the uncertainty of our hearts, Lord. In the uncertainty of our minds, Lord, that you will be glorified.

[00:13:15]Lord, I pray for the heart which is restless in this place.

[00:13:20]I pray for the heart, Lord, which is restless in this place, God, even from a distance, Lord.

[00:13:28]We pray that you will be glorified Lord.

[00:13:32]That you will be lifted.

[00:13:34]Yes, Lord. That you will reveal your glory, Lord, and your power, Lord, in that situation, Lord, in a mighty way, Lord. In a mighty way, Jesus.

[00:13:48]Oh yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Jesus.

[00:13:55]Yes, Lord.

[00:13:58]While we continue to pray, I'm going to read a verse in the book of Romans chapter 12 vers 1. The Bible says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

[00:14:28]This is your true and proper worship.

[00:14:34]You're going to pray for yourself and you're going to surrender to the Lord.

[00:14:39]To surrender to the Lord, not just your body but your very own life.

[00:14:45]I know many of us have given our lives to Jesus, but we want to continually surrender all we are to God.

[00:14:56]You're going to say to the Lord, "Today is a Pentecost Sunday and we're going to hear the message that God's servant will bring tonight.

[00:15:07]Pray for yourself that your entire person >> will be surrendered on the altar of God today.

[00:15:15]You're going to say to the to the Lord, give me sensitive ears to listen to what you'll be telling me today and give me to lay my will down before you.

[00:15:27]Give me to lay my desires, ambitions, and personal goals before your altar today to live everything to your own desire and purpose.

[00:15:42]Father in the name of Jesus, you have called us to worship you, not just with singing but also with giving to you, with offering to you, Lord, our living bodies, Lord, our own life, Lord, our most inner thoughts and desires, ambitions and goals and purpose, Lord.

[00:16:09]What are our lives Lord without you?

[00:16:13]What is my life without you Lord and without you saying without you leading it?

[00:16:23]How I can so easily waste it Lord in the world. How I can so easily waste my time and my life in things that do not even honor you in things that are so destructive.

[00:16:39]Lord, this is my choice and desire this afternoon.

[00:16:43]That my life, my body, my mind, my spirit, Lord, will belong to you and you alone. And that you will do your will through this life that you have borrowed to me, Lord. I choose to give it to you, Lord. I choose to surrender it back to you, Lord. Yes, Lord. Because you are worth more than my life. Lord, what you did on the cross, Jesus, is worth more than what I can offer you.

[00:17:19]Lord, accept this small and tiny offering of my life, Lord, that I choose to lay in your hands this afternoon, Lord, and in days to come that you may have your way, Lord. This is a complete surrender to you, Lord, through faith in your name.

[00:17:44]I choose to let you guide, to let you take complete charge and complete control.

[00:17:53]>> Yes Lord.

[00:17:55]Yes Lord.

[00:17:57]This is the prayer Lord for our congregation.

[00:18:01]This is the prayer Lord for our leadership team.

[00:18:06]This is the prayer Lord for everyone for our pastors Lord that you will take our lives once again.

[00:18:18]We know that you still have many things ahead of us that you still want to do and accomplish through us. Lord, as we have heard many times in the preaching, Lord, it is not over yet.

[00:18:34]You are not done yet and you've got it Lord in Jesus name.

[00:18:41]Take complete control of our lives Lord.

[00:18:45]Take them Lord.

[00:18:47]Yes Lord.

[00:18:49]Give us ears to listen to you, to wait on you this afternoon, Lord, and to be ready for what you're going to do. Lord, give us to be expectant, Lord, of what you are going to do, Lord, of how you are going to speak to us, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. We lay our expectations to you, Lord.

[00:19:17]Oh yes, Lord.

[00:19:19]Yes, Lord.

[00:19:21]Because your way and your will is the best is the best for us. Lord, we lay before you what we think is good.

[00:19:32]We lay at your feet what we think is good so that we may receive from you what is best Lord. Yes Lord in the name of Jesus.

[00:19:44]Oh we thank you Lord. Oh we praise you Lord. We honor you Lord because we are not praying our own will right now.

[00:19:54]We are praying your will.

[00:19:57]Let your will be done in us through us as it is in heaven.

[00:20:05]Beloved, I want us to pray for our nation.

[00:20:08]I want us to pray against Ebola.

[00:20:11]I want us to pray for our leaders in politics.

[00:20:17]If our prayers do not influence them, the enemy will influence them. Let's pray that God will direct them and give them wisdom and that this Ebola sickness disease will not expand any further.

[00:20:35]Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, you've instructed us, Lord, to pray for those in authority.

[00:20:42]Yes. because you want us to live peaceful and quiet lives while we serve you. We pray for our president, Lord. We pray that he will not be influenced by evil or by evil people. Lord, that he will be influenced by good, by the Holy Spirit, by your word and by your truth. We pray for the ministers.

[00:21:09]We pray God that you Lord will lead them Lord in wisdom to make policies to take decisions that are in the favor of the people. Decisions that will allow your will to be accomplished in this nation.

[00:21:26]Lord, we pray against any evil policy that already exists that it will be removed in this nation. We pray against any evil that has already been established and implemented that is against your will in our nation that you will demolish it Lord and that we will see change we will see transformation Lord. Oh father in the name of Jesus in Jesus name we praise you Lord. We pray for your healing power to touch all those who have been infected by Ebola Lord. And we pray that you'll stop this Ebola Lord from spreading Lord to other provinces Lord in Jesus name that there will be wisdom given to those who are handling this right now Lord. Thank you father. Thank you Lord in Jesus name we have prayed and we say amen.

[00:22:25]Praise the Lord.

[00:22:28]Praise God. Praise God.

[00:22:31]Praise the Lord.

[00:22:34]Straight away, we're going to go into testimonies.

[00:22:38]Has anyone been blessed by the Lord and you want to share? Forgive me for my voice.

[00:22:45]Anyone in this place has a testimony, be free to come forward and share.

[00:22:54]Going once, twice. I see a hand there. Is that a testimony? Ah, okay. Praise God. Thank you, sister Leila.

[00:23:07]>> Hallelujah.

[00:23:09]>> Can we put up for Jesus?

[00:23:12]Thank you, Lord.

[00:23:15]>> Well, it's our praise time. You know, I want to praise somebody.

[00:23:20]>> I want to dance with somebody.

[00:23:23]You know uh while brother Steve was asking for testimony I was thinking myself am I am I really going is it the reason a reason to testify or not? I experienced something very bad this week or last week on Friday I was trying to buy something in one of the shop in my area. I was almost at home. I stopped by a shop just to get something and then thieves came and break in my car and they stole my bag where there's there were my computer my dad's notes everything gone.

[00:23:55]>> I went to anger to tears. This this weekend was just awful for me.

[00:24:00]>> But tonight I'm here to tell the devil my praise is strong.

[00:24:04]>> My praise is strong.

[00:24:08]>> And then in the midst of my enemies I will praise.

[00:24:13]We are going to learn a small chorus. We are going to sing. That's why I'm asking, are you ready to praise the Lord?

[00:24:20]>> Yes. I want if I'm in one accord with the technique, can you just display the the words of the the second song, the second praise song, we're going to learn that chorus quickly before we start. It goes as follows. My praise is strong, joy overflowing, more than a song.

[00:24:42]I cate in the midst of my enemies. I praise. Hallelujah.

[00:24:49]>> In the midst of my enemies, I praise.

[00:24:53]I'll praise. I put my shoes. There's no way that I can lose. I've been the last one standing. I'll be the last one standing.

[00:25:05]I put on my six shoes. There's no way that I can lose. I'll be the last one standing. I'll be the last one standing.

[00:25:15]Very easy. Can we try? My praise is strong. Can we have the words, please?

[00:25:22]>> To help the congregation sing. Don't mind the choir. They can do whatever they want. I won't sing with you.

[00:25:29]My praise is strong.

[00:25:32]Joy overflowing.

[00:25:35]More than a song.

[00:25:37]I'm celebrating.

[00:25:39]In the midst of my enemies, I praise.

[00:25:45]In the midst of my enemies, I praise. I praise. I put on my dancing shoes.

[00:25:53]There's no way that I can lose. I'll be the last one standing. I'll be the last one standing. My praise is strong. My praise is strong.

[00:26:04]Joy overflowing.

[00:26:06]More than a song I'm celebrating. In the midst of my enemies, I praise.

[00:26:16]In the midst of my enemies, I praise. I praise. I put on my destiny shoes.

[00:26:24]There's no way that I can lose. I'll be the last one standing. I'll be the last one standing. I put on my shoes.

[00:26:33]>> No way that I can lose. that I can lose.

[00:26:37]>> I'll be the last one standing. I'll be the last one.

[00:26:41]>> Let it be a confession of faith for somebody. Can you somebody clap for the Lord? Hallelujah.

[00:26:47]There's no way we can lose. Our name is victory. Our name is success. Our name is favor. Our name is miracle.

[00:26:58]Hallelujah.

[00:26:59]Yes. You can shout. You can sing. and shout for the Lord because God is faithful.

[00:27:07]Hallelujah. I know who I am. Ask your Ask your neighbor, who are you?

[00:27:15]>> Who are you?

[00:27:17]>> Do you know who you are?

[00:27:20]>> Do you know who you are?

[00:27:22]>> That if you know who you are, can you celebrate with me? Hallelujah.

[00:27:29]I'm walking IN POWER.

[00:27:33]WALK in miracles.

[00:27:37]I live I live the life of I know who I am.

[00:27:51]Let's go.

[00:27:55]Can we dance for the Lord?

[00:28:00]Dance for the Lord.

[00:28:08]I want to see people moving in the house to the glory of the Lord. Hallelujah.

[00:28:34]We are we are the chosen generations of show excellence.

[00:28:44]All I for me I know who I am.

[00:28:50]>> One more time with >> we are the chosen gender. ation all to show his excellence.

[00:29:00]>> All I require, >> all I require for life.

[00:29:05]I know who I am. I know who God says I am. What he says I am. Where he says I'm God says I am. What he says I am. where he says I'm high. I know who I am.

[00:29:24]>> Walking in power.

[00:29:25]>> Walking in power. I'm walking with God.

[00:29:29]I live a life of favor. Lord, I know who I am.

[00:29:34]>> Walking in power. I'm walking. I live a life of favor. Lord, I know who I am.

[00:29:42]>> This is a song of declaration.

[00:29:45]working power.

[00:29:58]We are a chosen generation. We are present all triumphant.

[00:30:30]I know who I am. I know that I am.

[00:30:36]I am.

[00:30:40]I know who I am. I know that I am.

[00:30:45]I am.

[00:30:48]I know who I am.

[00:30:54]I know who I am. in my life for I know I am shout I know who I am I know I know who I am Oh, I know who I am.

[00:31:33]I am I am I am glory.

[00:31:46]I am beautiful powering miracle.

[00:32:16]I know. I know.

[00:32:24]I know.

[00:32:36]Hallelujah.

[00:32:40]I know who I am.

[00:32:48]For I know who I am.

[00:32:56]For I know I am.

[00:33:04]I want to encourage somebody look at your neighbor and tell them take a look at me. I'm a water. It doesn't matter what the people think. Oh yes. Can we do that? I want to see people active when they are doing what they are saying. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[00:33:24]Come on.

[00:33:26]One more time.

[00:33:34]speak to your neighbor.

[00:33:38]Take a look. Take a look. I'm a wonder I know who I am to me. I'm a wonder for I know who I am. I'm a wonder.

[00:34:02]I know who I am.

[00:34:11]I know who I am.

[00:34:12]>> Everybody shout.

[00:34:18]>> I know.

[00:34:19]>> I know who I am.

[00:34:26]>> I know.

[00:34:27]>> I know who I am.

[00:34:35]I know why everybody shout.

[00:34:39]Go.

[00:34:42]>> I know.

[00:34:43]>> I know.

[00:34:47]And we shall go.

[00:35:08]>> My praise is strong. Joy overflowing.

[00:35:12]More than a song. I celebrate. In the midst of my enemies, I praise.

[00:35:19]>> Can we sing?

[00:35:20]>> In the midst of my enemies, I praise. I praise. I put on my destiny shoes.

[00:35:27]There's no way that I can lose. I'll be the last one standing. I'll be the last one standing.

[00:35:33]I put on my destiny shoes. There's no way that I can lose. I'll be the last one standing. I'll be the last one.

[00:35:42]My praise is strong. Joy overflowing more than a song. I cate the midst of my enemies. I praise in the midst of my enemies. I praise. I praise. I put on my shoes. There's no way that I can lose.

[00:36:07]I put on my shoes. There's no way that I can lose >> now.

[00:36:23]Can I sing with somebody?

[00:36:25]>> My name is my name. My name my name. Victory is my name. My name my name. My name is my name. Victory is my name. My name my name. My name victory is my name. My name my name my name. Victory is my name. My name my name. My name is my name. My name my name my name.

[00:36:53]Victory is my name. My name my name. My name is my name. My name follow me.

[00:37:14]Goodness.

[00:37:17]Follow me on all my days. All my days will follow me on my days. All my days my behind my way.

[00:43:35]Yeah, Yeah.

[00:44:03]How do we sing?

[00:44:09]True.

[00:44:13]Hey, yes. Yesuh.

[00:44:35]Yes.

[00:44:38]Lift your arms and say yes.

[00:44:45]You are Yeshua. Yes.

[00:45:14]Yes to your still the same for my praise.

[00:45:34]My power you see all And of power You let your name are your Every day you are not Anyone who are here is alive.

[00:47:19]Yes. Yes.

[00:47:22]Just sing his name.

[00:47:25]quiet.

[00:47:40]>> Worship worthy of all that.

[00:47:46]Jesus, who I am. Yes, I am.

[00:47:54]>> Yes, you are.

[00:48:07]>> Yes, you are. Yes, you are. Yes, I am. Yes, you are.

[00:48:15]Yes, I am.

[00:48:20]Yes, I am. Yes, I am. That's who I am.

[00:48:29]I am I am Yes, I am.

[00:48:49]Yes, I am.

[00:48:53]Yes, I am.

[00:48:57]Yes, I am.

[00:49:01]Yes, I am Jesus.

[00:49:14]Yes.

[00:49:18]Yes. I am Yes.

[00:49:27]Yes. I am. We acknowledge your kingdom.

[00:49:32]We We acknowledge, oh Lord Jesus, your kingship. We acknowledge your majesty, your God. We acknowledge that you are the only one in your category. There is no other God besides you, Father. You are our Yeshua. And we sing for you.

[00:49:51]Thank you, oh Lord, for giving us your spirit. Oh, reaching your presence in us. We can stand, oh Lord, and leave your life and portray your character because you can pour out your spirit in us. Hallelujah. Oh God. Yes.

[00:50:13]Yes.

[00:50:17]Yes.

[00:50:21]Yes.

[00:50:25]Yes.

[00:50:28]Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for your presence.

[00:50:33]Oh God.

[00:50:38]Yes.

[00:50:48]You are God. Hallelujah.

[00:51:02]Let it roll and it's wrong.

[00:51:07]Let it flow. Let it flow.

[00:51:11]Let it flow. Let it flow. Let it flow right to your right.

[00:51:20]Let it flow. Let it flow.

[00:51:24]Let it flow. Let it flow.

[00:51:29]Let it flow. Let it flow. Oh, let it flow. to your right. Let it flow. Let it flow.

[00:51:37]>> Let it flow. Let it flow.

[00:51:40]>> Let it flow. Let it flow.

[00:51:42]>> Let it flow. Let it flow.

[00:51:44]>> Let it flow. Let it flow.

[00:51:46]>> Let it flow. Let it flow. Oh, let it flow. Right here, right now.

[00:51:53]>> Let it flow. Let it flow.

[00:51:55]>> Let it flow. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go.

[00:52:00]>> Let it go. Let it go.

[00:52:02]>> Let it flow. Let it go. Let it flow. Let it go. Let it flow. I right now. The river of the river of joy right now is to bring everything to life.

[00:52:44]right now.

[00:52:48]Let it go.

[00:52:51]Let it go. Let it go.

[00:52:56]Let it go. Let it go. Let it go right here right now. Let it go.

[00:53:04]Let it go. Let it go.

[00:53:08]Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it flow. Right here, right now. Let it flow.

[00:53:21]Let it go. Let it flow.

[00:53:25]Let it go. Let it go.

[00:53:29]Let it flow. Let it go. Oh, let it go.

[00:53:33]Right here.

[00:53:39]Wow.

[00:53:50]Hallelujah.

[00:54:14]Hallelujah.

[00:54:16]Out of my way shall flow.

[00:54:23]Rivers, rivers of living waters.

[00:54:30]Come on, sing with me.

[00:54:34]>> Out of my belly shall flow rivers, rivers of living waters.

[00:54:47]I shall flow.

[00:54:52]>> Out of my belly shall flow.

[00:54:59]Rivers, rivers of living waters.

[00:55:09]Out of my belly shall flow out of my belly shall flow.

[00:55:18]Rivers of living waters.

[00:55:28]I am standing in your presence.

[00:55:35]I need more of you again.

[00:55:40]Yeah.

[00:55:42]Yeah.

[00:55:46]Here I am standing in your presence.

[00:55:53]I need more of you again.

[00:55:58]Yeah.

[00:56:02]Here I am standing. Here I am standing in your presence.

[00:56:11]I need more of you again.

[00:56:16]Yeah.

[00:56:20]You again.

[00:56:22]>> Are you again?

[00:56:25]Yeah.

[00:56:29]You again. are on you again.

[00:56:41]>> Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord. You do not leave us. You do not abandon us.

[00:56:49]You keep us.

[00:56:52]>> You guide us.

[00:56:54]>> You are with us. Lord, thank you for your presence.

[00:56:59]Father, as we step into your word, as we study what the spirit is saying to the English congregation this afternoon, Father, I ask that you help us to be sensitive to your voice, to hear what you have to tell us, to instruct us, to encourage us, and Lord, above all things, let you be glorified, honored, magnified, put in the middle of everything here, Lord. We pray this in Jesus name.

[00:57:29]Amen.

[00:57:30]Amen. Amen.

[00:57:34]Hallelujah.

[00:57:37]Wow. I'm looking over the congregation this evening looking for someone in particular and I don't know that I see her.

[00:57:48]I'm still looking.

[00:57:53]Nope, I don't see her. Unless you're hiding.

[00:57:57]I don't think you're hiding.

[00:58:02]Who? That young lady we met last Sunday who came for the first time.

[00:58:08]Yeah. Yeah. Steve, do you see her? I don't see her.

[00:58:14]Okay. Okay. No problem. Well, you know, we have we have it it's interesting uh our English congregation because we are adding more uh passports to our to our visitors, more people are coming from different nations. We had had a young lady who came here is only going to be here for a few months, I believe, doing a work study or doing something with a a contract, but uh she is from Eratria.

[00:58:40]Yeah, Ethiopian. Eratria, your neighbor.

[00:58:43]All right. And uh I was I was quite uh I was quite excited to see that that that she heard about our English congregation and that she decided to be a part of us.

[00:58:54]And I was I was thinking and hoping she would be with us this afternoon. Yes, she is. That's Sorrow. Sorrow, how are you? Okay, I'm okay. Good. Thank you.

[00:59:04]I'm I'm going to go say hello.

[00:59:09]>> Thank you for standing up. Okay. I want to introduce this is this is my who's who for the day. All right. This is Sorrow Sorrow, right? Sorrow and she is from Eratria. If you don't know where Eratria is, it's over by Ethiopia somewhere. And uh could just say something about yourself if you would please.

[00:59:28]>> Okay.

[00:59:30]>> What you're doing, >> whatever.

[00:59:33]>> Okay. First I like to give honor and praise for God and for letting me save here peacefully for my life. My name is I as pastor told you my name is Saron.

[00:59:46]I'm I came from Itria.

[00:59:49]I for a time being I'm going to stay here by work. That's all.

[00:59:55]>> Okay. God be.

[00:59:57]>> Okay. Yeah. Hallelujah. Okay. Well Sarah Sorrow from Eratria Okay, >> I'm not going to say anything, but she doesn't have one of these.

[01:00:09]I'm just saying. I'm just saying.

[01:00:14]Sorrow.

[01:00:15]Hallelujah. Well, it's Friday.

[01:00:19]It's Friday.

[01:00:21]And the devil said, "I'm going to mess you up. I'm going to mess up May 24th, Pentecost Sunday at the English congregation. and I'm gonna mess you up because I'm gonna inspire a thief to come break a window down over a car of a young lady that just left Ebetide and I'm going to steal her computer and she's going to be the one moderating and leading worship and she's going to be so upset. I'm going to mess you up. It's Friday, but Sunday's coming.

[01:00:54]And we made a decision. This young lady made a decision. I'm not going to let the enemy win. And so we just spent time in the presence of God. Hallelujah.

[01:01:05]Yeah. It was Friday and the enemy thought, "I'm going to win. I'm going to beat him. I'm going to mess you up."

[01:01:11]Huh? Well, he was wrong.

[01:01:14]>> He was wrong.

[01:01:16]>> He was wrong.

[01:01:18]>> And here we are.

[01:01:20]>> It's Pentecost Sunday. very interesting that it's I did some study this week and I realized that um Pentecost Sunday was not celebrated by the primitive church.

[01:01:30]When I talk about the primitive church, I'm talking about the church in the first two or three centuries of the history of the uh the church starting in Jerusalem and then going out. you know, the the messages of the the missionary journeys of Paul, those churches that were established and under great persecution with the Roman Empire, uh they did not celebrate the day of Pentecost like we do today. It was not on the church calendar. It was just simply another Sunday. And the reason for that was because they were they were living Pentecost. They were experiencing Pentecost. And it's interesting how this particular day on our Christian calendar 50 days after the Passover, it has become a bit controversial. Not not a bit, it has really become controversial because we have a lot of believers, a lot of brothers and sisters in Christ who do not accept that that what we accept as Pentecostals, as people who believe in the day of Pentecost, that they don't they don't think that the Holy Spirit is as active as we do.

[01:02:35]Well, he was he did his thing back there in that first century and and he established the word. He established the the the New Testament and and we got that written and after that, well, he kind of stopped. And there's always been some some real controversy about about Pentecost, about about the gifts of the spirit, about uh this whole idea of, and people are going to shudder when I say it, speaking in tongues. People freak out about that. They get upset about that. They they don't know what to do.

[01:03:03]and and and we don't want to take we don't want to take away the value of what God did in Acts chapter 2. We don't want to take away value from that, but we don't want to put so much emphasis on it that we lose our direction. What are we trying to do? What are we trying to accomplish here? What kind of a church are we trying to be? What kind of a congregation are we trying to be? What kind of a family are we trying to become? What are we going to allow God to do in 2026 as he reveals his glory?

[01:03:40]Because, believe me, on that day of Pentecost, that was a revelation of God's glory. That was a an that was the the the accomplishment. That was the the final touch on something that God started 1,400 years earlier.

[01:03:58]Okay? When we talk about the feast of Pentecost, the feast of weeks, all right, the seven weeks between Passover and now, it was a feast that was established by Moses out of Exodus, in Leviticus, in Deuteronomy. It's very clear. There's several chapters there where where God told Moses, "Celebrate this feast of weeks, feast of the first fruit." and uh and and Pentecost was set up so that the people wherever they were, wherever faithful Jews were located in Israel, anywhere that they were located, they were required to go back to Jerusalem and be there in Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost. That that that was it was all set up 1,400 years, 1400 years before the day of Pentecost actually happened. When we have Acts chapter 2, we can go back 1,400 years and that's where God started the whole process.

[01:04:56]God established it was not just for the Jews. It was just not for for the the the the temple and the tabernacle and all of the all of the festivals and the sacrifices, all the things that that in the Mosaic law that was set up that that people were supposed to follow during that time. It was it was a program that God established and did not fulfill for more than 1,400 years. What does that tell you and me? What does that tell you and me? That tells you and me that God knows what's going on and that he knows what what is supposed to happen in our lives. That we're not we're not just left a drift. We're not just just kind of wandering about and and and and what's going to happen in the world. Oh my goodness. Yeah, I thought the Ukraine war was bad enough and all the the increase and and and and then and then there's Gaza and there's Ukraine and and now there's there's Iran and and now we've got a shortage of fuel and and they're talking about well, we've already seen diesel fuel has gone up a thousand Franks and and and now we're talking about Ebola. My goodness, what else can happen? You know, what else is going to happen in this world? There is so much uncertainty that we live with.

[01:06:12]There's so much that that that our future.

[01:06:18]You know, I I think about my own children. I think about my two daughters and their husbands and and our grandchildren. What kind of future are they going to have? What kind of future are we going to have here in in the DR Congo? What's going to happen with these children that are being born? What's going to happen to Elakeim? What's going to happen to to Oh my goodness. I'm I can't get started now. I know Eliakim because he's my neighbor. Okay, he's close by. All right, don't think I'm favoring Stephen and Grace, but that I just know them because they're right down the street from us. But what kind of future? Shannon. Okay, I kn I knew it the name would come eventually.

[01:06:54]What's going to happen if God could begin and establish the feast of Pentecost 1,400 years and bring it to fruition, bring it to accomplishment in Acts chapter 2. My friends, surely he knows what's going to happen to us tomorrow.

[01:07:15]>> Surely he knows what's going to happen and he is preparing us for what's going to happen.

[01:07:21]Oh my goodness, it's the day of Pentecost. I want us to be clear about several things. I want us to be understanding how God sets things up.

[01:07:29]How how it's not haphazard. It's not it's not it's not oops, oh that happened. No, it's this happened and then this happened and then this happened. I want you to turn in your Bibles if you have them this afternoon in your phones or wherever you have your Bibles to Acts chapter 2:es 1-4.

[01:07:47]Beautiful p portion of scripture, a beautiful situation. And I want us to take some time this afternoon to really begin to understand what what's going on, what's happening, and what is supposed to happen today. I don't want us to be in confusion. I don't want us to be in competition. I don't want us to be to be uh in in in in in in uh in suspense in terms of what we're expecting God to do among us every Sunday afternoon and every time we meet as a cell group or every time the football club gets together and every time that we have a our anniversary, any kind of special event, but certainly every Sunday afternoon that that we have that liberty and that we have the assurance that God is doing something among us. Acts chapter 2 verse 1. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting and they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. In verse four, all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit enabled them.

[01:09:01]Wow. And yet we see that that that whole event of Acts chapter 2, that day of Pentecost, God had pre-programmed, God had pre-planned, he had everything set up 1,400 years prior to that day that he spoke to Moses. He spoke, we can go back to the book of Genesis to to the Garden of Eden. He spoke to Adam and Eve after they fell and he said, "Hey, you you you have fallen. you have. But understand this that that out of your descendants, out of your great great great great great great grandchildren will come the Messiah and he will crush the head of the serpent. That God knows what he is doing. That's what happened on that day.

[01:09:46]It was not all of a sudden, oh, oh, this is something that caught us off guard.

[01:09:51]Not at all. 1,400 years prior to that, God established through Moses this feast of weeks, this feast of Pentecost so that we could enjoy what we enjoy today, my friends. It's not something to be afraid of. It's not something to to to to try to avoid. It's something for us to cherish. It's something for us to experience. This is something for us to understand in our day today that we need to have the infilling of the Holy Spirit that God was setting this all up. You know, when we look at Acts chapter 2, before we can really understand Acts chapter 2 and the fact that God established this week of this feast of weeks of,400 years earlier, let's go back to the beginning of Acts chapter 1 because there we see something that that again God was establishing. God was putting this in practice. He was putting this in order. Acts chapter 1, beginning with verse one. In my former book, in my former book, Theophilos, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven.

[01:11:04]And after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen, take note of that. After giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen after his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.

[01:11:24]Notice this next sentence as well. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

[01:11:33]And on one occasion while he was eating with them, the value of swallowship, my friends, as he was eating with them, he gave them this command. Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

[01:12:00]He was not talking to unconverted people. He was talking to people who'd already believed in Jesus after the resurrection. They had already received the Holy Spirit in Luke 24:49.

[01:12:11]They already had believed that Jesus was the Messiah. They were already believers. And yet he says, "Wait in Jerusalem until in a few days as John baptized with water, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." And so he said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

[01:12:48]My friends, we are experiencing the fulfillment of a prophecy. We are we are experiencing the fulfillment of a promise that God gave the apostles on that on that before that that day of Pentecost. There's something I want us to notice here is that uh as we look at at how chapter 2 begins to develop as we see that they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they they did speak in unknown tongues and and and and and what happened after that it was all set up that God was putting this all in order.

[01:13:21]All right. A if I guess if there's anything that I want us to understand this afternoon is that we can relax.

[01:13:29]Okay, we don't need to be nervous. We don't need to be so so so so frightened by what the Holy Spirit is going to do.

[01:13:40]It's not like he's going to make us do crazy strange things. Okay? And and this is where we have to understand uh there has been a lot of abuse of the gifts of the spirit. There's been a lot of abuse of of even this particular gift of speaking in in unknown tongues. It's it's it's been a a very controversial thing. And people can accept eight of the nine gifts, but we start talking about speaking in tong. Oh, I don't think so. I don't think so. All right, let's relax. Okay, let's relax. First of all, let's not get too upset about this whole thing. It is something that I practice. It's something that Sonia practices. Many of us, we practice that.

[01:14:23]And as far as I can tell, you may have a different opinion, but I'm not crazy.

[01:14:30]You could say, "Amen."

[01:14:35]Maybe I'll talk to my wife tonight.

[01:14:36]Okay? You guys can just listen to me talk to Sony because she's not going to say I'm crazy. No, we're not crazy. All right? We don't want to abuse the presence of God. We don't want to abuse the infilling of the Holy Spirit. We don't want to abuse this this thing called baptism in the Holy Spirit. We want to be able to to be effective in what we do. We want it to touch every part of our life. It's not just simply well, I speak in tongues and that's it.

[01:15:00]No, I I I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I don't want to have just a little bit a little experience. I want the full experience. I don't want to think think about this in terms of theory. I want to understand it. I want to practice it to the fullest that I can that I can be. I can be all that God wants me to be. All right? So, let's let's let's take a let's take a balanced approach. Let's look at this the right way. Let's let's pursue it in a way that will be helpful to all of us. All right?

[01:15:37]Because I know right now you're thinking, "Oh my message, okay, speaking in tongues. Oh, good grief. This is not going to be I don't like this. Is it makes me uncomfortable?"

[01:15:46]I'll be honest with you.

[01:15:49]Some people practice that particular experience and I'm not comfortable with it either.

[01:15:54]It's abused. It's misused. It's not done right. It's done what whatever way they want to. They It's just not done right.

[01:16:03]All right. And because it's not done right, because it is abused, people walk away from it. That's not for me. Okay.

[01:16:09]Well, you make your own decision this evening. You make your own decision this evening. And we're going to explore that just a little bit more so we can understand how the Holy Spirit really works in our life. But he said, Jesus, he said, if you if you hang on, if you stay in Jerusalem, guys and women, there's 120 of them that were there.

[01:16:26]Acts 1:1 15 about 120 hung around when they could have been pursued by the Roman authorities when the Sanhedrin was looking for these followers of Jesus.

[01:16:36]They could have left and gone back to Galile. But they decided, "No, we're going to stay in Jerusalem because Jesus promised us that we'd be baptized in the Holy Spirit."

[01:16:49]In Luke chapter 24, it gives further expression of what was going on there.

[01:16:53]In Luke chapter 24, that last chapter of the Gospel of Luke, he says uh that uh this is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled as it was written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms. He was talking about all the Old Testament prophecies and the laws of Moses. Then it says verse 45, then he opened his minds so they could understand the scriptures.

[01:17:20]Okay.

[01:17:21]Interesting.

[01:17:23]He spent 40 days explaining the kingdom of God. He exp takes this time opening up their minds so they could understand the scriptures. What they did on the day of Pentecost was respond to the promises of God that they were explained to them that were explained to them by Jesus postresurrection.

[01:17:42]They were promises. They were there were things in the prophets. There were things in in in in in the in the law.

[01:17:47]There were there were there were there were there were shadows of understanding in the Old Testament that came to pass on the day of Pentecost. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

[01:18:03]Speaking of John the Baptist, he spoke about this baptism. He said, he said in Matthew 3 11 and 12, I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Verse 12, his winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Interesting.

[01:18:35]Here is John the Baptist inaugurating the ministry of Jesus at the baptism of Jesus. If you remember the message that I gave several months ago about the baptism of Jesus and why he had to be baptized and how that inaugurated his ministry and and verified that he was truly the Messiah. John the Baptist says he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire and with fire. That's always been a question mark into many of our minds as to why baptized in the Holy Spirit and with fire. But let's see what happens.

[01:19:07]Let's see what happens after verse four of Acts chapter 2. We're going to go back to Acts chapter 2 right now and we're going to take a look at what happens in verse 5. After they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in tongues as the Holy Spirit gave them the opportunity and the verb and the words to say, this is what happened. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews of every nation under heaven. And when they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment because each one of them heard their own language being spoken.

[01:19:40]And utterly amazed, they asked, "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans?"

[01:19:45]And how then is it that each one of us hears them in our own native language?

[01:19:50]Parththeians, Mes and Elilummites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Capidoshia, Pontius and Asia, Friia and Pampha, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Sirene, Africa, visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, creatins and Arabs.

[01:20:07]We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own language, in our own tongues. Amazed and perplexed, he says, they asked one another, "What does this mean?

[01:20:20]What does this mean?

[01:20:22]Then right after that, some however made fun of them and said they have had too much wine.

[01:20:32]John the Baptist says, "I will baptize.

[01:20:35]He who is coming after me will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire."

[01:20:40]When we look at the word fire, when we see the the manifestation of fire in the Old Testament, there's two possibilities. I've shared with this shared this with you before. The two possibilities when fire comes down from heaven are for two things for two reasons. Number one to accept the offering to accept that what we have offered on the altar has been accepted by God. It's a blessing to have the fire fall.

[01:21:03]But on the other hand, there are those when the fire falls, it is fire of judgment like Naab and Abaiu. other times when when uh when people were rebelling against Moses, fire, wham.

[01:21:16]That's it. Judgment. And when Jesus was speaking when when uh excuse me, John the Baptist was speaking Matthew chapter 3, he was speaking about judgment. He was speaking about that he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

[01:21:32]That fire part is the fire of judgment.

[01:21:34]And look at what happened there on the day of Pentecost. those who were gathered from all the nations of the world, those god-fearing Jews from Pontius and all these other places, they said, "Oh, this is amazing. What can this mean?" But then there was a bunch of people there that said, "This is crazy.

[01:21:50]These people have had too much wine."

[01:21:53]Okay, so we have a choice in terms of what we do with Jesus, in terms of what we do with the baptism in the Holy Spirit as well. We have a choice, my friends.

[01:22:05]We can pursue this baptism in the Holy Spirit, this baptism in the Holy Spirit, or we can be those who said, "Oh, we're making fun of them and they've had too much wine. They're crazy. These people are crazy." And if there's anything I want us to have as a reputation in our English congregation is not that we are crazy, but that we are solid, that we know what we're doing, that we are always available to what God is wanting to do in our lives. That we are not going off on some tangent somewhere.

[01:22:33]We're not chasing after some kind of prophet. I'll guarantee you, as long as I'm here, as long as I'm here, we're not going to have craziness going on. We're not going to have foolishness going and we're not going to just let things go.

[01:22:46]You know, some people think, "Oh, the Holy Spirit is moving me. I had a time.

[01:22:50]Oh my goodness. Let's go back 40 years."

[01:22:52]No, let's go back 38 years. You're now in the village of Santra Kopi Benua in the Vulture region of Ghana on the border of Togo and Ghana. You're in this little village of Santra Kopi Binua and you're a missionary and you started a church in that town and you're having a Wednesday afternoon, Wednesday evening Bible study and there's people that are coming and people that are visiting.

[01:23:13]It's a brand new church and you're there and and uh and you're having some worship time and you notice a a lady who is fairly coto kind of not a not not a little not a little lady but a big lady.

[01:23:27]All right. and she's in the congregation and we start to worship the Lord and we start to worship God and she starts to worship God and she's being very expressive. Ahaen she's just she's just getting really into the worship but instead of raising her arms like this kind of going back and forth like this, she puts her arms up like this going like this.

[01:23:55]The only problem that we had was there were people right next to her. But man, she was moved by the Holy Spirit. Bam, bam, bam, bam. And the only thing the people that were next to her were not thinking about the Holy Spirit in the presence of God. They're thinking, "Make this woman stop." All right. We're not going to do that. We're not going to get We're not going to get crazy like that.

[01:24:18]That's not what the Holy Spirit's all about. That's not what what the gifts of the spirit are all about. The gifts of the spirit are meant to make us stronger.

[01:24:26]>> They're meant to make us harder. They're meant to make us more more balanced.

[01:24:29]They're meant to make us better people.

[01:24:31]They're meant to make make better marriages and better parents and better workers. And we my friends, the gifts of the spirit are not to be played around with. What did I say about the presence of God and Nab and Abayu?

[01:24:46]They offered strange fire. Hey my friends, we are not going to offer strange fire to the Lord. Not on my watch. We're not going to do that. We're just not go. But I want us to have a window of opportunity.

[01:25:00]See, there's something that we're not there's something we there's something that's that's that's that's lacking. I I won't say it's missing, but it's lacking in our in our Sunday afternoons. Okay?

[01:25:12]You see, you see, we're a body of believers. We are together. And I tried I I was I was led by the honestly I was led by the Holy Spirit. And that's a dangerous thing to say because this lady, she was led by the Holy Spirit, too. Okay.

[01:25:28]Oh, so she said, "Okay, but I was led by the Holy Spirit." You know, that that that little window of time that when we're done with our worship and I step up and and and you know, I'll be giving the message or one of our guys will be or ladies will be giving the message, um, there's a little window of time where there's there's just a little bit of a pause. Okay. And and if we're going to be full full Holy Spirit congregation, there there needs to be an opportunity for God to speak to us because in the gifts of the spirit, there's nine gifts of the spirit. All right? And then those nine gifts are divided. We can divide them into three separate uh groups of three gifts each. There's the power gifts. That's the gift of faith, the gift of miracles, and the gift of uh healing of de of of many healings. Okay, that's the power gifts. Then we have the uh the u the um Okay, come on, Bill. I I know this. I'm I'm I'm a professor.

[01:26:32]There's the communication gifts, the power gifts, the communication gifts, and and the and the wisdom gifts, the revelation gifts. We'll say that. I don't like the word revelation, but but we'll use that term. The three revelation gifts is the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, and the discerning of spirits. Okay, those those are the revelation gifts. The communication gifts, those message gifts, that's a message in tongues with interpretation. That's two that's two gifts. And the third one is prophecy.

[01:27:06]All right. But there are times where I believe that in in our cell groups, in our in our in our in our intercession times, in in our Sunday afternoon uh session, in our our our gatherings on Sunday afternoon, that we need to leave a window open for something like that to happen that someone in the congregation could feel that they have a word from the Lord. All right. I'm taking a big risk right now because there are some people, Steve, there's some people who can, oh yeah, that's my opportunity to grab the mic and preach. No, that's not the opportunity for you to grab the mic and preach. It's for you to be humbly used by God to give a message. And we're going to study that out a little bit more so we understand what we're trying to do. And we're not going to be crazy.

[01:27:48]>> We are just not going to be crazy. We're going to be edifying. We're going to be encouraging. We're going to be offering because there are people who come every Sunday afternoon. Every Sunday afternoon, there are people who come here who are struggling. Not all of us, but some of us. And I want us to be able to be a full full Holy Spirit congregation that we allow that to happen. Okay? Will you work with me in that regard?

[01:28:14]>> Okay? So, we we'll talk some more about that. We'll let we'll get some instruction. We'll get some more Bible in there to help us understand because that's that's what it's all about.

[01:28:24]There's something that that that God wants to do to enliven us to to to strengthen us to give us a greater understanding and to to experience the presence of God to see his glory.

[01:28:38]Okay. All right. So, we have we have these these two types of people. People who said, "Well, this is really amazing. What's going on here?"

[01:28:48]And the other said, "This is ridiculous.

[01:28:50]This this should not be happening because these people are drunk. They're drunk with with with wine. All right.

[01:28:56]Now, let's continue on. After after they heard them in their own languages speaking in other tongues. All right. Then in verse 14, an interesting thing happens. There's a guy by the name of Peter. You ever heard of a man named Peter? The Apostle Peter.

[01:29:14]What did Peter do before before the crucifixion?

[01:29:17]Somebody tell me. What did he do?

[01:29:21]>> He what? He denied Jesus. Be before the Sanhedrin, before the judges, before whom?

[01:29:29]A young girl, Peter, who was the buff fisher man. Okay, he had muscles upon muscles. He knew how to work. He was a man's man. And he stood before a young lady and said, "You're a Galilean. You know Jesus." I don't know him.

[01:29:46]I don't know who this Jesus is. What else did he do? What else did he do? He was an impulsive kind of guy. What else did he do when Jesus was arrested?

[01:29:55]Cut off some GUY'S EAR. YEAH. WHAM. All right. Not exactly the most stable individual prior to the crucifixion.

[01:30:05]All right. After the crucifixion, all right. It's women who go to the tomb. First of all, Steve, the wives win. Okay. They're the ones that go to the empty tomb first and then they call the other guys and they come and and and Peter and John the other, they check it out. All right.

[01:30:24]What happens after they're filled with the Holy Spirit? That's what's amazing to me is the fact that Peter, who denied Christ, who Peter had this conversation with Jesus. Do you love me, Peter? Feed my lambs. Do you love me, Peter? Feed my sheep. Do you love me, Peter? Okay, I love you. Good grief. I love you. Okay, get it over. Get get over with it. All right. But the day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in those unknown tongues and begin to express their their praises to God in a way that they themselves did not understand.

[01:31:01]Then it says Peter stood up with the 11, raised his voice and addressed the crowd.

[01:31:06]They were still being sought after by the authorities. They could have been arrested at any moment in time. They should have been in hiding, but instead they were out in public in that upper room. But Jesus, but Peter stood up with the 11 and raised his voice and addressed the crowd. Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you. Listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk as you suppose. It's only 9:00 in the morning. No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. In the last days, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.

[01:31:41]Amen.

[01:31:43]>> And your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. And your old men will dream dreams. And even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days. And they will prophesy.

[01:31:57]>> There's something about that verse. In the last days, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.

[01:32:05]That's you and me. That's you and me.

[01:32:08]That's a promise that that God gave to Joel. That was a promise that Jesus taught his disciples in those 40 days as he was explaining to them the scriptures. Hey guys, listen. You are born again. You are you are my disciples. But there's something else that's going to be happening called the baptism in the Holy Spirit. And if you stay in Jerusalem, if you're obedient to me, then something's going to happen.

[01:32:30]You're going to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And a power will come into you that you will not have before.

[01:32:37]Oh Jesus.

[01:32:41]I'm running out of time.

[01:32:44]The baptism in the Holy Spirit.

[01:32:46]If you do a study of the number of times that that this kind of thing happens in the book of Acts, you're going to find that there's a number of different kinds of words or verbs that are being used to explain this experience. One of those words that's used is to receive. You receive the Holy Spirit. But what is interesting about that is that there are times when when like in in in in in John chapter 20 where Jesus said uh it says in the scripture in John's gospel and he breathed on them and they received he said he breathed on he said received the Holy Spirit that was for salvation that was for believing in Christ they received the Holy Spirit other times it talks about receiving the Holy Spirit they had not yet received the Holy Spirit but it was talking about this second experience erience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit in Samaria.

[01:33:37]They had not yet received the Holy Spirit. They were already believers.

[01:33:42]So this second experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit was was also receiving the Holy Spirit. But if I but if you want if you come to my house and I receive you. All right. Normally normally I need to invite you. Okay. Yeah. You can come. You can you can you you can come whenever you want to. Okay. But it says receive the Holy Spirit. To receive someone, you really need to invite them first. And that's something that we need to understand about this second experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the fact that we need to invite him. The need we need to want it.

[01:34:20]We need to want to have this this intimate relationship. It's something that we invite to have happen to us.

[01:34:26]There's so many times that people get confused because they're waiting for for for the Holy Spirit to invade them.

[01:34:32]They're waiting for the Holy Spirit just to take over them. They're waiting for for for them to become a little a little puppet, a marionette. Okay, now start moving the strings and I'll obey you.

[01:34:43]That's not what happens. We invite him in. We invite him into our life in baptism of the Holy Spirit. It's an invitation that we offer. So many times they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. It talks about the Holy Spirit coming on them a number of times. Acts 18, but you when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and Paul laid his hands in Acts chapter 19, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to speak in tongues and to express themselves as prophets.

[01:35:14]All right? Coming on that means that was a definite experience. It was not something that was kind of cloudy. Maybe it was just something we know we had this experience. There was what we want to call in our in our Pentecostal doctrine of the initial physical evidence. There's something that makes it clear that there's something that has happened to us.

[01:35:37]What is amazing about this is the fact that Peter not only was when he was baptized in the Holy Spirit, there was a change in his character.

[01:35:48]There was a change in his character. He was not the same man as he was. He was he was a believer. But there was something that changed in him. This man that had denied Christ before a little girl was now declaring the word of God before a great multitude of people who were hostile, some of them hostile against him. That he had found a a level of bravery and courage and and audacity saying, "I'm going to speak what Jesus promised me was going to happen, and I'm going to speak what he taught me. I'm going to say and declare the word publicly. And on that particular day, after Peter was done preaching, 3,000 people came to faith and the church was born. My friend, that's what God is wanting us to do. This whole thing about about about the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to make us better people.

[01:36:36]Okay, are you still with me?

[01:36:39]>> Okay, I I see that hand. Thank you.

[01:36:43]It's not meant to to make us arrogant.

[01:36:46]It's not meant to make us proud of what we have. It's to make us aware of his presence in our life in a way that changes our very personality.

[01:36:58]All right? That changes our very person coming on. It says descending on.

[01:37:03]There's a number of times in Luke chapter 3, Acts chapter 8, Acts chapter 10, Acts chapter 11. I can post these all these references on our on our WhatsApp page later on, our WhatsApp group, but it talks about the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus falling upon them. It fell upon uh the people who were listening to the word that Peter was preaching in Acts chapter 10. In Acts chapter 11, he says to the people that were they were trying to find out what was going on with with this baptism in the Holy Spirit that the Holy Spirit fell on them. If something falls on you, what is required?

[01:37:36]Okay. It says the Holy Spirit fell on them. If something's going to fall on me, it has to be higher than I am. Duh.

[01:37:44]Right. I can't I can't say I can't say this this bottle is going to fall on me if it's below me. But if it's above me, it can fall on me. It can hit me from above. But it talks about the Holy Spirit descending on them. What does that really mean? There's an analogy.

[01:38:01]There's the little truth inside there.

[01:38:03]And that is the fact that when something is higher than us, we have to respect it. We have to acknowledge its authority over our life. We have to understand that it's higher than we are. And that we have to find ourselves in submission to it. And so when we are having this baptism in the Holy Spirit, we have to recognize that he is sovereign. He is authoritative over us. He has authority over us and we are not our own. That's why Paul said, "You are not your own.

[01:38:29]You were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body.

[01:38:35]>> He's up here. He's descending on us.

[01:38:40]We invite him in. It's an experience that we we we truly experience. He descends on us. And he says he's giving the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:13. Be encouraged by this verse, my friends. If then you wicked as you are know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

[01:39:06]He will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. Acts 5:32, we are witnesses of all this with the Holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him.

[01:39:20]Acts 15. And God who knows hearts was born w has borne witness to them giving them the Holy Spirit as well as to us giving.

[01:39:33]We don't earn it.

[01:39:35]We don't deserve it. We don't make ourselves better. Okay? It's a gift.

[01:39:43]It's a gift.

[01:39:45]We're not considered extra special because we receive the gift. The gift never speaks to the person who receives.

[01:39:51]The gift never speaks to the value of the person receiving the gift. The gift speaks to the value of the person that's giving the gift.

[01:40:02]Are you following me?

[01:40:04]It's not about how special we are.

[01:40:08]I I I give God abundant reasons every week why he why he should send me to hell. Okay? I give him ample reasons why. And whatever I receive from him, I receive from him as a gift of his grace.

[01:40:25]And my friends, this whole baptism in the Holy Spirit is not something that we have to work up. We have to do all these kinds of things. No, not at all. It's a gift. And it speaks more to the of the value of the giver than the one who receives.

[01:40:39]>> May God help us to understand that.

[01:40:41]Finally, it talks about pouring out my spirit. Acts chapter 2. In the last days, says God, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. In the last days, Let it open the gates of heaven.

[01:47:22]Let it rain. Let it rain.

[01:47:27]Let it rain.

[01:47:29]>> Let it open the flates of heaven.

[01:47:38]Let it rain.

[01:47:43]Let it rain.

[01:47:51]Heat.

[01:48:11]Heat.

[01:48:34]Let it rain.

[01:48:37]Open the flates of heaven.

[01:48:43]Let >> in this place open the dark gates of heaven.

[01:48:59]Let it rain. Let it rain.

[01:49:04]>> Let it rain.

[01:49:10]Open the gates of heaven.

[01:49:19]>> Anyway, anywhere.

[01:49:26]>> Open the flates of heaven.

[01:49:32]Let it rain.

[01:49:42]Open the gates of heaven.

[01:49:48]Let it rain.

[01:49:53]>> Hallelujah.

[01:49:53]>> Let it rain.

[01:49:55]>> Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.

[01:49:58]Oh, the flood gets of heaven.

[01:50:05]Let it rain.

[01:50:10]Let it rain.

[01:50:14]>> Hallelujah.

[01:50:16]>> Open.

[01:50:21]>> Thank you, Jesus.

[01:50:25]Lord, you promised >> and you deliver.

[01:50:29]>> Thank you, Father, for the work of your Holy Spirit this afternoon in our lives.

[01:50:32]Lord, let it continue.

[01:50:35]We don't want that to stop. We want to develop. We want to go farther. We want to understand. We want to do more. We want to be more effective. So, Lord, help us honestly. Lord, help us.

[01:50:48]Let it transform us. Father, I pray this in Jesus name.

[01:50:53]Amen. Amen. Go ahead. You be seated.

[01:51:02]I know you can do better than that.

[01:51:06]Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.

[01:51:10]Are you blessed tonight? Has somebody been filled tonight? God is doing it.

[01:51:16]>> Amen.

[01:51:18]>> Praise God. Thank you, Pastor Bill, for the word. We praise God for this and may he refresh you. Amen.

[01:51:28]>> All right. Right now, we're going to pray for the offerings. We're going to close our eyes and pray for our offerings. If you need an envelope, you raise your hand. The ushers will bring you an envelope. The envelope is for special offerings for dyes and anything specific that you want to give.

[01:51:46]Otherwise, the baskets will also be going around for your normal offerings.

[01:51:51]Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, Lord, >> we thank you, Lord. We thank you for this opportunity, Lord, to give back to you, Lord, because we have been blessed so much, not only materially, but also with your Holy Spirit this day. Yes, Lord, out of heart of gratitude, we pray that you receive these offerings that are being given to you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.

[01:52:21]DCC. Are we ready for announcement?

[01:52:36]Praise God.

[01:52:39]Let's continue the offerings as they are setting up the announcement.

[01:53:04]Joseph.

[01:53:09]>> Okay. While they're getting ready, I'll be giving you some.

[01:53:13]>> Okay.

[01:53:15]I'll begin with um on Monday. Monday we have our home sale, a home sale in Casapa. They meet from uh 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Anyone living in the Casapa area, you are welcome to meet with our brother Paul, brother Paul or our sister Benedict. I saw somewhere.

[01:53:40]Oh, thank you.

[01:54:03]Whether you're watching or welcome every session.

[01:54:23]So you are welcome to join them from 6 to 7 a.m.

[01:54:46]Bring your kids ready to work on them. to ourselves every Monday or 6 to 7 p.m.

[01:55:03]on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m.

[01:55:13]area all those days from 6 to 7 p.m. If you need more information, you can see we also have the baptism classes and even the membership classes.

[01:55:31]part of our you can see to orient you and to give you more information about us and for further information or you can contact us on these numbers.

[01:55:43]Thank you.

[01:55:51]>> Praise God. Let's clap for them. Wow, they're actually doing a good job.

[01:55:56]Praise God.

[01:55:58]Praise God. Okay, right now we want to welcome those of you that are here for the very first time. We want to show you how important you are to us. Kindly stand to your feet if you are here for the first time. Anyone here for the first time?

[01:56:16]We want to see you. Don't hide.

[01:56:21]Praise God. There they are. Let's encourage them.

[01:56:29]Praise God. Now, kindly follow the the the directions from the ashes. They will lead you to our dear brother Zash in the back. He has a small gift for you. Thank you. Our pastor is going to bless us and we close the service.

[01:56:46]>> My thank you, Steve. Would you please stand to your feet one more time before we leave the building?

[01:57:12]Nobody freak out. Okay, we're on good ground. All right, we're on good ground. Solid ground. All right, we're going somewhere. All right, just want to remind some. If you're nervous, don't be nervous. All right. Last time I checked, God is still God. The Lord is still the Lord.

[01:57:33]>> And we're going to meet here again next Sunday afternoon at 3:30.

[01:57:37]>> And we're going to see his glory.

[01:57:39]Father, I thank you in Jesus name for this family, for this congregation, for those who have come to join us this afternoon to add their voices to our own. Lord, as we worship you, as we have studied your word, as we have been in your presence, as we have listened to the Holy Spirit, as we have tried to experience more of what you have for us, Lord, thank you for being faithful to your word, being faithful to your people, being faithful to our purpose, Lord, that you have for our lives. I pray, Lord, your divine protection on everyone that has come to join us this afternoon. I thank you, Lord, that you are faithful to your promises and to your people. Lord, may your name always be honored and glorified by whatever we say and do. Father, help us to have a great week, understanding more about who you are and who we are and what you want to do in our lives. I thank you Lord for that in Jesus name. Amen and amen. God bless you my friends.

[01:58:35]Great to see you. Great to see your smiling faces. Would you please greet somebody next to you? Say hello to someone. Hey, say hello to Sorrow. Okay, our who's who for the day. And we certainly hope to see you again this next Sunday afternoon at the English congregation of La Parole Eternel. God bless you my friends.

[01:59:14]I know.