RADAH CHURCH VIRTUAL WORSHIP | HOW LOVELY IS HIS CHURCH | DR MIKE WOODS | 7-19-2020

Well, grace and peace be multiplied to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For those of you who are uninitiated, my name is Dr. Michael Lyris Woods, and welcome to Rhoda Church. Welcome to our virtual worship experience. I'm super amped and super excited to share the word of the Lord with you today and to invite you into our worship experience. Listen, we're going to get started like we always do with the word of God. You know, the Bible says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was God. So let's read today from Isaiah chapter number 6. Praise the name of the Lord. And we're going to read verses 1, 2, 3, and 4. Glory to God. Here beginneth the reading of the word. The Bible says, in the year King Uzziah died I saw the Lord, praise God, high and exalted, seated on a throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Verse 2: Above him were seraphim. Each had 6 wings. With 2 wings they covered their faces, and with 2 they covered their feet, and with 2 they were flying. Verse 3: And they were calling to each other, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices, the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple— here it is— was filled with smoke. So far, glory to the name of God, the scripture. Listen, I'm going to pray for this service today and pray for you, and we're going to go right into worship. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, this is the day you've made, and Father, we rejoice and we are glad in it. Thank you for another opportunity, dear God, to share, to teach your word. I pray for every person under the sound of my voice. It is my prayer, God, it is my earnest desire that they will receive from you today. Bless this service, bless every song. Bless the word as it goes out. And I thank you that many will be transformed by what you do here today. And we praise you for it now, in Jesus' name. Amen. And thanks be to God. All right, well, listen, I'm excited to get started. Let's go right into worship. Glory to the name of God. And you know, I'm really missing church. I'm missing the sanctuary. So what I did I went and pulled out some old worship things that we've done in the past. Glory to the name of God. While we were in church. So today, glory to the name of God, during our worship experience, my wife, Lady Felicia Woods, she's going to lead us in a worship song. And I promise you, you're going to be blessed. So I want to challenge you, turn up your television, worship along with her, and your life, I'm telling you right now, is not going to be the same. Open up. So God can fill you with his power. He can fill you with his glory. Let's go into this worship experience already happening.

more and more. Come on, y'all, hear me say it. I'm taking after you, no matter what I have to do. I need you more and more, more and more, more and more, more and more. More and more. More and more. More and more. I'm chasing after you no matter what I have to do. I need you more and more. How many are chasing after him? I'm chasing after you no matter what I have to do. I need you more and more. I'm chasing after you, chasing after you, no matter what I have to do. I need you more and more. I'm chasing after you, no matter what I have to do. I need you more and more. Yeah, I'm praising my way through just to be closer to you. Yes, I'm chasing after you. Y'all chasing him, come on! I'm chasing after you. I'm praising my way, praising my way, just to be close to you, close to you. I'm chasing after you, chasing after you, more and more, more and more, more and more, more and more. More and more. More and more. More and more. I'm chasing after you no matter what I have to do. I need you more and more. I'm chasing, I'm chasing after you. No matter what I have to do, I need you more and more. I'm chasing after you no matter what. I need you, I need you, Lord, more and more. I'm chasing after you no matter what. Lord! I need you more— More? —and mo'... Moar'n'more ...moor'in mo'. Moor—in moooorr?! Mooorr-in moooorr!! Mooreeen boourr!!! Mooseerrnnn boooorr!!!!! Mooren boooooohrr!!!! Mooreen boollohr!! Worry more, more and more. I'm chasing after you. I'm praising my way through just to be closer to you. Oh yes, I chase I'm chasing after you. I'm chasing after you. I'm praising my way through just to be closer to you. I'm chasing after you. More and more! More and more! More and more! More and more! More and more! More and more! More and more! More and more! When you're chasing somebody, you kind of got to move fast. Hold a little more energy than what I'm seeing out here today. If we're chasing after him, we ought to be excited, we ought to be on the move. Hallelujah! We can't chase him with our hands folded, we barely opening our mouths. But when you want something, persistence pays off. Hallelujah! Glory to God! Hallelujah! How many of you want to be filled? Hallelujah! Touch your neighbor and say, Lord, fill me up, God! Fill me up, God! Hallelujah! Let my cup overflow. Hallelujah, hallelujah, Jesus. Oh God, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Oh, if you provide the fire, I provide the sacrifice. If you provide the Spirit. I will open up inside. Fill me up, God. Fill me up, God. Fill me up, God. Fill me up. Fill me up, God. Fill me up, God. Fill me up, God. Fill me up. If you provide the fire. I provide the sacrifice if you provide your spirit. I will offer me up inside. Fill me up, God. Fill me up. Oh God! Feel me up, God! Heal me up! Heal me up, God! Heal me up, God! Heal me up, God! Heal me up— If you provide the fire, I'll provide the sacrifice. Oh yes, I will, if you provide the spirit. I will open up inside. Fill me up, God. Fill me up, God. Fill me up, God. Fill me up. Fill me up, God. Fill me up, God. Fill me up, God. Fill me up. Fill me up. Until I overflow, I won't fail. I wanna run over! Fill me up until I overflow! I wanna run over! I wanna run over! Fill me up until I overflow! I want to— I wanna run over, I wanna run over, I wanna run over, over, fill me up until I overflow. I wanna run over, I wanna run over, Fill me up. I wanna run over. I wanna run over. Fill me up. Can I overflow? Can I overflow? I wanna run over. I wanna run over. I wanna run over. Oh, fill me up, Lord. Fill me up until I overflow. Till I overflow. I want to run over. I want to run over. I want to run over. Fill me up, Lord. Fill me up, Lord. Till I I wanna run over, fill me up. Hallelujah. Till I overflow. I mean, you wanna overflow. I wanna run over. I gotta run over, fill me up. Until I overflow, I wanna run over. I wanna run over. Feel my cup overflow and let it overflow. Feel my cup flow Oh, right there. Praise him right there, right there, right there. Hallelujah, hallelujah, Jesus. Hallelujah. Hey God, hallelujah, Jesus. I see you. Feel like a boy. Feel like a boy. Feel like a Feel like the Lord— Like the woman at the well, Lord! We're like the woman at the well, Lord! We're like the woman at the well, Lord! Feel like the flow of it all over me, let it overflow on me, God! Let it open up my heart to you, oh Father! Let it overflow through me, God! Let it open up my life for your glory, Jesus Christ! Let it overflowing out from within me, O God! Let it overflow down upon this altar today, Holy Spirit! Let it overflow into our lives right now, Father!

Well, hallelujah, praise God! Don't you want the Lord to just fill you up and overflow through you and in you? Let me tell you something, there's nothing like being feel with the very person of God. You know, he can really live in us, and his promises and power can be manifested in every single part of our life. Lord, we love you. Lord, we thank you. Why don't you just take a few moments to give him thanks and give him glory? Hallelujah. And just tell him how very special he is. Oh my God, he's such a wonderful God. Hallelujah. Listen, before we go into the word I want to challenge your hearts today. Glory to the name of God. To be a blessing to ministry. Listen, the Bible declares, give, Luke 6:38, and it shall be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over shall men give to your bosom. Some things do not move until we give. And at the end of the day, many of us have been praying for breakthrough. We've been praying for more. And we need more in these times. And the most sure investment you have in these days and time, I'm telling you right now, is the Kingdom of God. The stock market is in trouble. Job— the job market is in tremendous trouble through all of the things that have been happening in the earth. But let me tell you something. There's one thing that stands sure, and it is the Word of the Living God. This book walk will never change. And the Bible says again, if we give, it will be given to us good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will men give to our bosom. So I want to challenge you today. Listen, if you're part of our church, definitely you need to be tithing. Let me explain to you what a tithe is. If for those of you that don't know, a tithe is 10% of your gross income, the first fruits of your increase. Glory to God. So you give God 10% of that and you trust him to expand and multiply the 90%. Listen, you really can't— people say, I can't afford to tithe. Listen, you really cannot afford not to tithe. So I want to challenge you to tithe today. And secondly, I want you to give glory to the name of God your offering. Make a sacrifice to God. We are in the process— we're getting ready to go back to church, y'all, and I am so excited. Listen, of remodeling our sanctuary, getting things in order so— and putting things in place so that we can make sure that people are not only just experiencing the glory, the power, and the word that comes from corporate worship, but they are safe in the midst of that. So we're going to put things in place for those that want to feel safe coming to the sanctuary. So there's work we're doing and we need your help. The ways to give, glory to the name of God, are really simple. You can give via Cash App, you can give online at radachurch.com/donate, or you can give by text by simply texting the words RADAGIVE, R-A-D-A-H-G-I-V-E, to the 31996. Glory to the name of God. So the ways to give are on the screen, and while you prepare your giving, we're going to keep flashing those on the screen as we go into this next segment. My son Benjamin Emmanuel Woods is challenging us in times like these to rise up. Let's hear this prophetic cry in song, and after Ben is done, I'm gonna come back for real and we're going to teach the word. You don't want to miss this word today, so stay with us. And while Ben is singing, do your giving. Get your seed and your tithe together, and I promise you, you'll be glad you did. God bless you.

You're broken down and tired of living life on a merry-go-round. You can't find a fighter But I see it in you, so we can walk it out and move mountains. We can walk it out and move mountains. And I'll rise up, I'll rise like the day, I'll rise up. I'll rise unafraid. I'll rise up and I'll do it a thousand times again. And I'll rise up, I'll rise like the waves. I'll rise up in spite of the ache. I'll rise up and I'll do it a thousand times again. Oh, mountains. And I'll rise up, I'll rise like the day. I'll rise up, I'll rise unafraid. I'll rise up and I'll do it a thousand times again. And I'll rise up, I'll rise like the Waves I'll rise up in spite of the ache. I will write a thousand times again for you, for you, for you. Oh, we need, oh, we need this hope, and for that we have each other, and for that we have each other. Hey, we will rise We will rise! We will rise! Oh oh oh— we will rise! And I'll rise up, I'll rise like the day. I'll rise up, I'll arise unafraid. I'll rise up...

You are the light of the world.

A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

Let's rise up once again. Oh my goodness, wow! Yo, Benjamin never ceases to amaze me. Wow, wow, wow! You ought to be prophetically charged. I know I am, to rise up and conquer everything that the Lord has put in front of you to do in the earth. In times like these. There's no time for backing away, being still, punking out. We got to rise up and do absolutely every single thing the Lord is asking of us. Praise the name of God. Well, it's teaching time, guys. I'm going to share what thus saith the Lord, and I believe that there is indeed a word from the Lord for us today. Glory to God. And I want to talk about something. Let's go to Psalm 84, the 84th 4th division of Psalm. Because, you know, as Ben sang so prophetically today, praise God, I want you to be aware, glory to the name of God, that the truth is what liberates us, okay? And in times like these, we could be very— and I'm gonna get into scripture, but I want to lay a backdrop to where I'm going, okay? And the subject today is How lovely is His church. How lovely is His church. And this message, glory to the name of God, is going to challenge us to gain a revelation of just how powerful the church really is. You know, I don't know about you, but in this time where we've been quarantined, we've been isolated, and seemingly kicked out of the church building. Hear me. I personally have grown to have a— even though I grew up in the church, this has given me an even greater— church is my life. I'm a church guy. Glory to the name of God. That's all I've ever known, really. But this situation, ladies and gentlemen, has given me a revelation of how valuable the church is. Now, I've talked to people who, you know, that's not their core philosophy. They think that this has given us a revelation of how easy it is to not go to the building, but that's not God's plan for us, okay? It's not his plan for us to not engage the gates of the church. So I want to talk about how lovely is the church, and we really got to rise up. We got to immerse church. And I want to commend those, man, even though we haven't been having church through it, but I want to commend those who have. You know, what we hear in the media is about the people that went to church, and we hear about the few cases where several people got infected with COVID-19, somebody died. And at the end of the day, there's still yet hundreds, even hundreds, multiple hundreds of churches still having church right here in our state that never stopped. My son in Mississippi never stopped having church. Not one case of COVID-19. But let me tell you something. The reality here is, ladies and gentlemen, you know, the glory of God is real. COVID-19 is real, but God is more real. Let me say that the disease is real. But God is more real than COVID-19. He's more real than a pandemic. Come on now. So I want to look really closely today at how lovely the church is. Glory to God. I'm reading out of the NIV Bible, Psalm 84, verse number 1. The Bible says, watch this. How lovely is your dwelling place. The King James says, how lovely, how amiable are thy tabernacles. I'm moving. Lord Almighty. It says verse 2, my soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord. Wow, come on now. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Hear this, even the sparrow has found a home. And the swallow a nest for herself where she may have her young, a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, they are ever praising you. Verse 5: Blessed are those whose strength is in you. Hear this, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. So far the scripture— I'm gonna talk about those verses in a few moments, but listen, I need to lay a backdrop. But I'm so tempted to teach that, start teaching it right now, but I need to lay this backdrop and lay a foundation of this for you. Because listen, the house of God is so very lovely. Let me start today— I mean, really, for real— with giving you some facts about the coronavirus, okay? Because I want you to be very clear that the Antichrist, all right, and the spirit of fear— that's how he operates— uh, can manipulate the media in such a way. And the media has been the Antichrist's tool through this so-called pandemic. Hear me. And it has incited so much fear in our society that it almost constrains us from functioning. It has constrained us really from functioning with the momentum we need to advance the agenda of God. I'm not even talking— I'm not talking about the agenda of the world right now. But the agenda of God has to be advanced and, and propelled forward. But when you're moving in fear, fear is infeasible. It impeaches and impedes large service. Fear obstructs movement. And what the media has done is injected fear through the coronavirus that has caused us to stand still and not be progressive. But can I tell you something this morning? God is— oh, shatabadnikusketadabaya— God is progressive, and he wants us to move forward. And we cannot allow ourselves to be stuck. And let me make this disclaimer: when I go out, I wear a mask. When I'm in public, I wear a mask. And at the end of the day, glory to the name of God, it doesn't say I'm afraid. It just say I'm following the ordinances that have been set. And I want to make sure I'm safe and others safe. Okay, I'm exercising my right to submit to the agenda that the scientists are saying will slow it down. That's what I'm doing. Now, with that said, I am clear. And so should you be, that God is bigger than this disease, that the power of God can defeat the disease. And then as a leader, I need to be an example for those that don't have faith. So when I'm out, I'm wearing my mask. Glory to God. When I'm out, I'm following the rules of social distancing, because at the end of the day, I acknowledge the realness of the disease. But we cannot allow this realness of this disease to forfeit what we believe. So let me give you some facts that kind of can contradict the fear. These facts are from the CDC. I actually pulled these off of the CDC website. So the first one, this is a fact. Diseases, period, can make anyone sick regardless of their race or ethnicity. All this stuff in the media, they're saying Black people are more subject, or they can be subjugated in an accelerated way to coronavirus over other races. Come on, man, that's, that's a bunch of malarkey. It's not the truth, all right? It's not the truth. And I want you to understand, the fear factor that has been prognosticated by the media has us all out of whack. I'm— and again, I'm not on here telling you not to wear a mask in public. I want you to grab this, but I'm going somewhere. Stay with me, all right? I'm gonna balance this whole thing out by the time I'm done. 'Cause the tabernacle of God, the church of God, is amiable, it's lovely, it's worthy to be loved, and we need to have a passion for it. Are you hearing me? Number 2, I got this off the CDC's website. Here's some facts about coronavirus. For most people, the immediate risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to be low. Okay, all right, so the, the, the number of people that can actually get seriously ill— this is the CDC saying, you know, it's, it's really a low probability. And if you look at the numbers, I'm not gonna run through those numbers today because that's not what this is about. I just need to lay a backdrop because I don't want us to live in fear and be afraid to advance the kingdom. Because that's what we get. We got to advance God's agenda, all right? And that's going to be a continuity throughout this teaching today. We must advance God's agenda, and the church is important to advancing that agenda. Number 3, got this off social— I'm sorry, CDC website. It says someone, listen to this, who has completed quarantine or has been released from isolation— hear this— does not pose a risk of infection to other people. So once you quarantine the 14 days— hear me— and you had the symptoms, you quarantine 14 days. They said after you come out of that quarantine, the CDC says you do not propose a risk to other people. Okay. So, so that means if you follow the rules, quarantine, take care of yourself, get better, and they say more people die from it in the hospital than they do through quarantine at home. Oh my God. Oh my God. So they give some simple things, number 4, that you can do to keep yourself and others healthy. 1, wash your hands. We've been hearing that. 2, avoid touching your face, face, with unwashed hands. 3, stay at home when you're sick. 4, always cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and discard that tissue into the trash. They go on to say you can help stop COVID-19 by knowing the signs and symptoms: fever, cough, and other symptoms. Most people have mild illness and are able to recover at home. Are y'all listening to this? 'If you think you've been exposed to COVID-19, contact your health provider.' And it tells you, 'Keep track of your symptoms, and if you have an emergency, a warning sign like trouble breathing, get emergency medical care immediately.' They're telling you what to do to slow it down, right? The fear that has been incited is crazy. Because it has got people working at home. It's got us doing church at home. Are y'all hearing me? And let's look at really how COVID has affected— hear me— the church. So today, again, we're talking— I just want to lay a backdrop so that we can counteract what I just read and the fear. Hallelujah. So that again, we can advance the kingdom. We can advance God's agenda. And we understand that that advancement of God's agenda includes the church. And when I say it includes the church, it includes the corporate church. Are you hearing me? Let's go to Hebrews 10 and verse 25. Glory to God. Hebrews 10:25. The scriptures declare— watch this, praise God— I'm reading out of King James, not forsaking. Listen to me. So COVID-19 has caused the church to be disobedient in some ways. Watch this, it says not forsaking. I don't care about a video that's going viral, little preacher getting up in the pulpit saying, well, we ain't having church the church closed until further notice. That don't make that right, okay? Just because he— that video went viral, a lot of people liked it. And then, you know, the truth of the matter, some of y'all listen to me, you know, not just— not just around the church, but every person listening to me around the world. Let me tell you something, some of y'all want to stay at home anyway. You don't want to go to the church because you— it's convenient. And what is happening, phones and iPads and Computers have made it easy for you to work God into your fleshly routines and without you making the sacrifice of a pilgrimage to the house. Woo! We're gonna talk about that in a minute, but watch this. COVID-19 has affected the church because it gives us a direct deprivation of corporate assembly. Hebrews 10:25 says, not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together. The scripture, right? It said not forsaking. Sometimes, oh, we're assembling when we are on Zoom or when we're on Facebook Live. That's not what this means. Remember we read in Psalm 84. Let's go back there. Psalm 84. We read that— watch this— verse 5, it says, blessed are those, blessed are those who whose strength is in you. So this text is about going to the house of God, and he's saying, blessed are those who strengthen you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. That means to leave where you are. And watch this, in the, in the Old Testament, that church wasn't around the corner. Some of y'all complain about driving 10 miles to church. Listen, that church, they had to make a pilgrimage to the tabernacle. They looked forward to the Sabbath when they would rise and make a pilgrimage to the church. Oh my God. Hallelujah. They looked forward to making a pilgrimage to the church, y'all. I need you to hear me. They look forward to getting up, getting themselves together, going to worship God. Their heart was set on pilgrimage, and they needed strength for that journey. Let's— you ought to tell God, give me strength to make the pilgrimage. Watch this. Verse 2 said, my soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord. That's why they was willing to walk, not drive, miles upon miles to the tabernacle so that they can worship God. Because they yearn. In other words, they understood that assembly in the church was a life source. And then the Hebrew writer picks it up and says, we shouldn't forsake the assembly of ourselves together as the manner of some is. Yeah, a whole lot of us are— right now it's Sunday. But God knows I love golf so much, man. And let me just be very transparent with you. A couple of times, and I've never played golf on a Sunday until the pandemic. And, and last— not last week, week before last, I did it. And I felt really bad because while I was out there swinging my golf clubs, it was church time. And I was like, man, you should be in church. I mean, I had already preached my message for virtual It's only an hour. I had that time in the day and I'm out. But no, man, that day is dedicated to the Lord. It's the Lord's Day. Oh God, I'm just honest enough to tell on myself. Glory to God. I really need you to grab this. We— a whole lot of people are forsaking assembly. So, well, I show up to the lives, but you watch them on your inconvenience. There's no discipline. There's no pilgrimage. You need to be looking forward to the word when it's taught. You need to look forward to worshiping and going to the house of God. Oh man, I gotta go, man. He said, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. So in this day and time, he's saying we need to come— exhort means to comfort. We need to be able to comfort each other in the corporate assembly. I don't care what you say, there's something different when you're in person versus watching through a phone or tablet or computer or TV. It's different. Although the anointing can translate through these means, it's totally different when you're in the presence of the people you worship with. Let me, let me give you 5 benefits, and I'm gonna get out of here today. Of corporate worship. All right. First of all, the first benefit is awakening. The first benefit of us assembling ourselves— and I didn't say gather, the scripture said assembled. See, hopefully we'll emerge out of this thing and learn how to assemble and not gather. A whole lot of people gather, but there are very few people who actually assemble. When my oldest son Michael— I got this revelation when he was about 6. I bought him a bike for Christmas. On the outside of the box it said, "Assembly is required." So I opened up the box, poured the pieces out, and guess what? They were just gathered there. All on top of each other. Nothing had significance. Nothing worked because it was a gathering. In the church today, there are a whole lot of gathering, very few assemblies. That's why on Outside of the Box it said assembly is required. Can I tell you something? In the church, assembly is required, and we gotta do like I did. We gotta put the bicycle together, we gotta put the body together so that every part that is there has distinction. As I begin to get my little wrench and put stuff together, put the tires on, the pedals on, the seat on, the chain on, and get the bike together, the handlebars on, everything now had distinction and the product could work. It could be mobile. It could move. If the church is to advance for the kingdom, we must not gather. We have to assemble. So when we do go to church, we got to assemble with the mindset that every person assembling has a purpose, and we got to connect one another and comfort one another according to what's in each one of us. Man, my time's almost gone, y'all. So, 5 benefits to assembly and corporate worship. The first one is awakening. What is awakening? Awakening is a supernatural emergence from the stress, the pressure, and the fog of life. Martin Luther found corporate worship powerful when he awakened his spiritual fire. He said this, and I quote, "At home in my own house, there is no warmth or vigor in me. But in the church, when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through." And end quote. Now, that's not Martin Luther King, that's Martin Luther. The Protestant apostle that protested against the Catholic Church and tacked a thesis on the Catholic Church and started what we know today as Protestant churches. All of us that teach from the Bible, we are protesters against Catholicism. Oh my God. Because they tried to twist the scripture to lean to their own understanding. Martin Luther wasn't having it. But here's what he said. He said, at home. Oh my God. At home in my own house, there's no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church there's a fire ignited. Can I tell you something? There's something that awakens in us when we assemble corporately that will not happen over these videos. I'm telling you right now, there's something that happens when we connect as a family. There's a fire that begins to burn that consumes disease. Oh God, there's a fire that begins to burn. Glory to the name of God, that consumes poverty, that can— that gives breakthrough to the people that need it. Because our fires come together and we start a big barn fire in the name of Jesus that brings change and transformation. Oh God, to everybody that's in our midst, you ought to clap your hands and praise God right now for awakening. Oh my God. And that's why even if you're assembling and you putting things together. The awakening happens when we connect it, when we connect fire. Woo! So that anybody comes in there with anything that ain't like God, it consumes it. I'm telling you, the fire of God can consume coronavirus. I'm telling you, the fire of God can consume cancer. I'm telling you, the fire of God— oh my gosh. Can consume diabetes and high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The fire of God can consume it.

Woo!

It needs to be awakened. But better than Martin Luther's quote, oh my God, that's the— is the experience of the psalmist in Psalm 73 in the Bible, y'all. Watch this. He talks about in 73:2-15, I can't read all of that, but he talks, he begins to lament or despair over the prosperity of his wicked peers. He saw wicked people prospering and he was upset about that. But the fog clears, watch this, in verses 16 and 17, when he comes consciously and deliberately into the presence of God. See, the world around him seemed to be, uh, oh my God, uh, pressuring him, and he was foggy. But the Bible says in Psalm 73, verses 16 and 17, hear this: When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then I discerned their end. See, in the sanctuary, we're reminded of our hope. We're reminded of the promises and the covenant of God. Somebody say, oh, Michael Woods, Apostle Michael Woods, you can remind me of the hope on this live stream. You could share with me what the hope is. But listen again, there's something that awakens in live service that doesn't happen Hallelujah! Through videos, the Bible said when he consciously went to the sanctuary of God in the midst of corporate worship, in a culture of awakening, he was able to see clearly. See, some things you won't see sitting in the comfort of your home because your kids are running around, you're distracted to scroll past this message. Some things you won't totally get because you're not focused. Which brings me to my next point. Here's another benefit of corporate assembly, corporate worship. Watch this. It is assurance. This is the community aspect of assembly. It's a dynamic that cannot be disdained. That's why the writer in Hebrews said, forsake not the assembly, because I want to put you in a place where you can exhort other people and you can be exhorted by other people. And watch this, when you see others worshiping, it builds your faith because it lets you know you're not the only one that believes. When the church gathers, it is a testament to the world that we're not, that we're not individual in this thing, that when people rise out of their beds to assemble in their assemblies of worship, it lets the world know that there are people on this planet who are assured that God is God. And in order to get to him, the doorway, the gate is the church. To close living, up close living, to built faith. How can you hear without a preacher? Sometimes I can hear you on Facebook Live. I know you can, but it's different live. I want you to grab this. So if this Yes, yes, Lord, I hear you. If this assurance that I'm speaking of is the community dynamic of church, uh, it, it proclaims to us again that we not only have fellowship, but we have a catalyst or context for this assurance. Uh, Genesis 2:18 says this, it says, it's not good for a man to be alone. Again, the church provides a context that somebody else believes, that we're not alone in believing. I know we took Genesis 2:18 and we made it totally a relationship marriage scripture, but that's not all it is. God said out of his mouth, period, point blank, it ain't good for a man to be alone. It's not good for single people to have to worship virtually every week and not be able to connect with other singles and give that each other hope through singles ministry. It's not good for married people to just be worshiping at home with their spouse and not be able to gather and assemble, praise God, to get hope from other couples. Youth getting hope from other youth, giving a context that what we're doing is right. Because guess what? When the live stream is over, when the Zoom is over, there's no community. There's no one outside of your world that you're actually immediately connected to. Who? God. That builds your hope, that builds your faith. So we need the house to give us assurance. Here's the third benefit. I'm almost done. Ah, it's advance. I started talking about this in the beginning, and I was trying to lay up off it because I knew I was coming here. We got to advance the agenda. We got to advance the kingdom of God. See, assembly offers us the opportunity to be equipped to advance the kingdom. Iron sharpens iron. Many impartations come through the laying on of hands. I can't lay hands on you through this. Hallelujah. Hallelujah! Gifts are stirred by the laying on of hands. Oh Jesus, we need equipment. Corporate worship plays an indispensable part in our sanctification. What— not, not sanctification. As I grew up in the church I grew up in, I grew up in a holiness Pentecostal church, and I love it. It gave— it's given me great foundation, great footing. And some of the things I saw growing up in church— sanctification, you were sanctified, long dress, no makeup, no earrings, that kind of stuff. That's not what sanctification is. By definition, sanctification is to be set apart, not to look the part, but to literally be set apart for a particular assignment, work, or action. God has set us apart to do something specific, to do something authentic in the advancement of his kingdom. That's what, that's what it means to be sanctified. Every one of you watching me, not the antiquated way of looking the part, but sanctification means I am set apart to actually do something, and I realize that I'm going to do it through the help of God. See, each one of us have a role to play in the kingdom. Watch this. Our progressive growth in sanctification is to be really transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Yeah, let's look at Romans 8:29. Let's look at this. The Bible said, for whom he did foreknow, proginosko in Greek, uh, pro meaning before or in advance, genosko means, watch this, absolute or exact knowledge. So God in advance knew absolutely and exactly who you and I were, and, and through that knowing, he predestinated us. Two words again, predestination. So before he set a destination, a point, an appointment— an appointment is a pre-arranged meeting. So before we got here, he knew absolutely who we were. Then he set up an appointment in advance, before we even got in our mother's belly, a destination that we would arrive to that would be of assistance to advancing the kingdom of God. I want to tell you, you're going somewhere. How? Glory to God, you're going somewhere. I don't care what it looks like right now, you, my friend, are going somewhere. He predestinated you to be a son, a daughter of God. I'm almost done, man. God, I got to get out of here. Watch this. So that you may be the firstborn among many brethren. So he's the firstborn of many brethren, and then you become the firstborn of many brethren. So he's, he's the firstborn. And then the people in your sphere of influence to advance the kingdom, you begin to multiply like he multiplies. You begin to give birth to those that are assigned to you, your brothers and sisters that's supposed to come out of your bosom, out of your belly, because the more you transform and sanctify into his identity— see, here's what I know. 1 Corinthians 14:3 says that Corporate worship is for the upbuilding and encouragement and consolation of the body. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, it talks about we are all being transformed into the same image, image, from one degree of glory to another. So sanctification happens as we're upbuilt through the word, as we're upbuilt through training, as we're upbuilt through worship, and we're constantly being transformed from one degree of glory to another degree of glory as we produce a culture of glory in the house where the glory of God superimposes itself on corporate worship. Do you know the building itself is not just a place where we assemble, sing songs, and get the word? It's a place where God abides. It's his dwelling place. And we read in Psalm 84:1 earlier, how amiable, how lovely— this is our text. Are thy tabernacles, is your dwelling place. See, God, he takes up a residence in the house of God. It's not just brick and mortar, but when we worship, the Bible says he inhabits the praises of Israel. He inhabits the praises of his people. So every time we offer up worship, every time we offer up worship to our Father, he superimposes his presence and essence, and he dwells there. And that's why it's a longing, because we know God is there. See, church has become so iconolistic that people go to church to see a man, their popular preacher. Man, you ought to be longing to go to the church, 'cause God there. I know he live in you too. I know he lives in us too, yes. But something happens when we get all of us together that have him in us. Ooh! And we begin to worship him. His glory is revealed from faith to faith.

Wow, man.

Here's the fourth benefit of assembly. I got to get out of here. Fourth benefit of assembly. So it's not just awakening, assurance, glory to the name of God, advance. The fourth benefit of assembly is acceptance. Respecting another's leading. Corporate worship gives us the opportunity alongside our brothers and sisters to learn and worship in humility at the leadership of others, because in the house the scriptures have declared a leadership structure. So it teaches us to follow God in man. Leadership is influence, the ability to influence followers and lead them to God. Really, that's what godly leadership is, to influence followers to follow God. And at the end of the day, what church does, it gives you— and it shows God that you have a willingness to submit to leadership. See, the pandemic have been perfect for these wild folk that do not want a leader, do not want a pastor. They want to do their own thing. I've seen so many preachers start churches in the pandemic because they got an opportunity now. They don't have to get a building, they got to get chairs, they got to get— Lord have mercy— they don't have to get a charter, they don't have to incorporate. They just get on, start preaching and say, I'm a church. That's wrong. If you're not called a pastor, turn your camera off. Stop it in the name of Jesus. I, I need you to understand, this gives us an opportunity. We're simple to submit to authority, not be a, a donkey bucking against authority. Leadership is God's way of getting things done. Oh boy. Amen. So one important distinction between public worship and private worship is the place of our initiative and discipline. It's where we discipline ourselves. I'm coming to a close, as the old preacher would say. I'm getting ready to close. I'm coming to a close, y'all. It's our initiative, our deliberate initiative to go to the church and submit to what somebody else is saying. How can you hear without a preacher? How can he preach except he be sent? Woo, God! Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So the preacher needs to be sent, number one, not just got a phone. And can set up in their living room and start teaching. You need to be sent by God. And there's a sending anointing in apostolic houses because the apostle is a sent one. Oh God, people just don't go. Hallelujah. They, they are sent, they are deployed because of the deployment anointing that rests heavy on apostles. And that's the structure in the body. And when you're in the apostolic house, you better believe at some point you're going to be sent and deployed into some assignment to serve the king. Oh my God. Corporate worship reminds us that our faith— watch this— is fundamentally reception, not— watch this— initiation. It's so— it's not initiation when it comes to our faith. Our faith is receiving what is being said from the leader. Faith come by hearing, and we grow and we build. In other words, you can't give yourself that. All of us need to hear the word to build our faith, and the more you hear it, the more your faith grows. And hearing and hearing and hearing the word of God, hearing over and over and over and over again. See, in private devotion, we lead ourselves in some sense, man. But in corporate worship, we're made to have to submit to what somebody else is doing, whether somebody's singing a song, whether it's a preacher preaching, giving instructions, whether it's somebody in a Sunday school class, whether it's somebody leading children's church, whatever is happening. The reality is, inside of the house, it creates an opportunity to deliberately be disciplined, to deliberately be submissive. Here's what this generation don't like. That's why they wanted to have church online, because I don't have to have any accountability to anything. And that is so far from what God wants for us and from us. I'm almost done, guy. Number 5. 5th benefit. So praise God. So we have awakening, assurance, advance, accepting another's leading. Number 5, accentuated joy. The heightening experience of worship in, in a corporate context, y'all. Oh, it is so accentuated and and magnified beyond what we do in private when it's done right. I'm not talking about you go to the church of the deep freeze and there's no fire there and there's no real worship that taps into God, that crosses over into the realm of the spirit and things happen because God is there. I'm talking about being in a house full of fire, full of glory. The joy is accentuated. Joy is sheyar in Hebrew. It means, oh my God, oh my God. It means profit. Ask a businessman to define profit. He'll tell you what's left over. So the joy that we have, we have a profitable experience in the sanctuary that we leave and carry with us throughout the week. And we come back and get more because we fed off our brothers and sisters. We fed off our leader. And so now the profit that we receive is greater. Listen, our own awe of God is accentuated when we see others in awe around us. Our own adoration, our own joy is doubled, tripled, and quadrupled when we worship God together. Are y'all hearing me? Are you hearing this? So this is why we got to be in the house. So Psalm 84 again. Hallelujah. Verse 1, how amiable, how lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty. We got to start looking at the house of God as a lovely place and the place we want to be. Verse 2, he says, my soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh Cry out for the living God. When was the last time your heart and your flesh really cried out for the living God? Did you understand what he's saying? I can't live without you. I mean, that's really what the psalmist is saying. If I'm not in your dwelling place, if I'm not where you are, I want to be where you are. Hallelujah, Jesus. I got to be where you are. That, that has to be our— oh my God, that has to be our plight. We want to be where he is for your glory. Ah, I will do anything just to see you and behold you as my king. I want to be where you are. That has to be your heart's desire. You got to get to a point where, just like food, just like water, you, you make up in your mind, I can't live without this guy. This is— that's when your joy is accentuated. That's when you know— I listen, when you really love something, someone, or somebody, you want to be around them. You want to be in their presence. Glory to God. You miss them when they're away. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. God knows I love my wife. There's some days I'm at work and I don't want to be there. I'm in the office working and I'm like, I want to be where she is. And glory to the name of God, that's love. Because how amiable, oh my God, are your tabernacles of God. You ought to want to be inside the church. And not just sitting there watching this on your phone, your tablet, your computer, your TV. Oh God, somebody say, Apostle, come on, man, we got to be safe. Yeah, we're in the glory, we're safe. And, and guess what? As we go back to Rhoda Church, we're putting all of the things in place to make sure for those that are afraid can feel comfortable in the house, because that's how bad we want you there. We're going to take your temperature at the door. You have to register in advance online. We're going to ask you some questions just so everybody's safe. And if you got there, you got a temperature, if you act— we're not going to stop you from coming in. We're going to pray for you on the spot and watch the glory break your fever. Watch the glory heal you of COVID-19. How about that? Oh, he says The sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young, a place near the altar. So the sparrow even gets on the altar of God to live, so it has peace and protection. Why is it that we don't long for the altars of God? I'm not talking about the one you set up in your house. Thank God for the altar in your house. I just told you 5 benefits of coming to the altar. Oh, Shaddai, breke de bekushkadi. He said, blessed are those who dwell in your house, they are ever praising you. Your heart should be to dwell, to live in the presence of God and worship him. You know what? Church is rehearsal for heaven, because if the only difference between heaven and earth is the Spirit of God then we can have him— oh my God, I'm closing my Bible— then we can have heaven on earth. Can I tell you something? It's time, guys, to reoccupy the sanctuary. Let's pray. Father, in Jesus' name, bless your word. Help us, God. To understand just how lovely your house is. And I pray for every person under the sound of my voice that you will give them a heart of desire to rise up and return to your house, that we may experience awakening. Hallelujah! True awakening, true assurance, that we may— glory to the name of God— advance the kingdom, that we may accept leadership from others on purpose and deliberately. And God, that we may have joy that is accentuated. I pray, God, that you will magnify the joy walk in the person of every person. Oh my God, in every person under the sound of my voice, magnify their joy walk. God, in the mighty name of Jesus, I pray for healing right now, for your word says healing and deliverance is the children's bread. Heal your people people, God, and make them whole in Jesus' name. Amen. And thank God. Well guys, my time is gone. Thank you for joining our virtual service today. It's been real, it's been awesome, it's been phenomenal. I pray you take this word and heed it. It's time for us to go back to church. Listen, for every person watching, I want to invite you to Toronto Church. We're going back to church in August. We're currently, glory to the name of God, working on our building, getting it ready. And listen, I want you to visit roddochurch.com and look at the protocols that we're going to be putting in place, glory to the name of God, for this. And we're returning to the house, amen. And I'm really praying about, glory to the name of God, the miraculous things that are going to happen when we return. And I'm so excited. I want you to get excited too. We're going back to church. Hallelujah! Isn't that— I'm— it's like you telling a kid, for me, that he's going to Disney World. I'm excited that we're going back to the house of God. I love everyone. Y'all be blessed. Again, follow us on Facebook at Rhoda Church. Follow us on YouTube at Rhoda TV. Follow us on Instagram at Rhoda Church. Follow us. Glory to the name of God. Hallelujah! On Facebook also at Dr. Michael Lyris Woods, and on Instagram at Apostle Mike. So listen, we are excited. Please give your offering. We've put up the ways to give in the— in this video somewhere. And I'm telling you right now, you're going to be blessed in a very high way. I love you all. I gotta go, my time's gone. Y'all be blessed. Peace.