Acts 5

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

Y'all want to know something?

You can't impress God.

He's not impressed with how good we sing. He's not impressed with how hard we work. He's not impressed with how kind we are. When you realize you can't impress God, you're gonna stop working and start living in faith, because the only way to truly please him is by faith. Sometimes we come to stuff like this and think, man, we really going to show off for God.

He's not impressed.

He's not impressed by how many people in the room. He's not impressed by how many people catch the Holy Ghost.

He's not impressed with how long we pray. The only thing that pleases him is faith.

So I want to build the faith in this room right now, because the only way that heaven is going to smile down on this gathering is by faith.

Why?

Because faith is what saves. And the Bible says that heaven rejoices even with one sinner repenting and believing by faith. So I want you to find something that you're trusting God for that really needs faith.

Man, I don't even—

let me just start by saying this. I'll tell you what I need faith for.

For. I don't want how bad people treat me to reduce my capacity to love them. I need some faith.

I don't want how much people look down on me, how much people stab me in the back, how much people gossip about me, I don't want that to reduce my capacity to love them. That's really the hardest thing I'm trusting God for right now. Everything else— God giving you a job, giving you— sustaining your capacity to love those that hate you.

That's what I'm trusting God for. Effect flies.

And I know my faith in his ability to do that pleases him.

I think y'all get it now.

My faith in his ability to make sure my capacity to love people does not reduce despite how they treat me.

That pleases him. What about you?

Can you express your faith to God right now? And I promise you, as the faith in Israel increases, the likelihood of the thing happening increases too. So let's stretch for another 2 minutes in prayer and just pray full of faith and believe him for that very thing.

All right, let's test your mic.

I am child of God.

I am child of God. I am child of God.

I am no longer a slave.

To feel.

I am child of God.

I'm no longer a slave to fear.

I am child of God.

It's what a beautiful name it is. It's what a beautiful name it is. The name of Jesus Christ my King. It's what a beautiful name it is. Nothing compares to this. It's what a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus. What a beautiful name it is. It's what a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus Christ my King. It's what a beautiful name it is. Nothing compares to this. It's what a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus. 'Cause death could not hold him, the veil tore before him. He silenced the boast of sin and anger. The heavens are roaring with praise of your glory, for you are raised to life, Lord. And you have no rival, you have no equal, now and forever, God. You reign, and yours is the kingdom, yours is the glory, yours is the name above all names. It's what a powerful name it is, it's what a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus Christ my King. It's what a powerful name it is, nothing can stand against. It's what a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus. It's what a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus. Name is the name of Jesus. Worthy is the name Jesus. You deserve the praise. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name, Jesus, 'cause you deserve the praise. And worthy is your name, worthy is your name, Jesus, 'cause you deserve the praise. Holy is your name, holy is your name, Jesus. You deserve praise.

Worthy is your name, worthy is your name, Jesus. You deserve the praise. Worthy is your name. Worthy is your name, Jesus. You deserve the praise. Worthy is your name. Jesus, you deserve praise. Worthy is your name, worthy is your name. Jesus, you deserve praise. Worthy is your name.

All the unlight fade away. All the unlight fade away until there's only me. All the unlight fade away. Jesus, save your Jesus in your eyes. It's Jesus in your eyes. I sing that one more time. All the other names is too terrible. All I know, all the other names, till there's only all the other Jesus, Señor. Jesus, Señor.

A little bit, uh, seasoned.

Got some white scoring in here. Yo. So I remember when I was a kid, I used to hear, uh, those hymns, right? Y'all remember hymns?

Y'all still listen to hymns?

Okay, all right.

And at the time I didn't understand them.

They was just slow and weird and everything.

But as I got older and I matured in the Lord, I started understanding these things.

So it's one that I worship to personally, frequently, every time I go before the Lord in worship.

And it goes like this.

Should give his armies to win a rich treasure. Said, how great the pain of sibling loss! The father turned his face away, as wounds which mar the chosen Bringing these songs to glory. And behold, a man upon the cross, my sin upon his shoulder. Oh, shame, not hear my mocking voice. Called out amongst the sufferers, said it was my sin that kept him there until it was accomplished. Said his dying breath has brought me life, and I know that it is finished. And I will not boast in anything— no gifts, no power, no wisdom— oh, but I will boast in Jesus Christ, his death resurrection. So why should I gain from this reward? I can't give an answer, but this I know in all my heart: there's I paid my ransom. So why should I gain from this reward? I cannot give an answer, but this I know in my heart.

If I could be honest, I'm struggling to start Bible study today. 'Cause I just want to just give more. The things that's been happening this year is, you know, in Exodus when all the plagues were happening all throughout Egypt, And then Joseph and the Israelites lived in the area called Goshen. Everything that was happening in Egypt was not happening in Goshen. I feel like the Lord is creating a Goshen for us. You see, in Goshen, you're not stressed about what's happening in the news. It's happening out there. In Goshen, you're not worried about the Egyptian economy. It's happening out there. You're not worried about the plagues. They don't got nothing to do with me. And you know if you're in Goshen or not by what you worry about. My concern is a lot of believers say they're in Goshen, Goshen, but they live in Egypt. And that's so unfortunate because that means you left Goshen. I know there's a lot going on in the world right now, and I'm apolitical. I don't like to talk about politics. I don't like to talk about wars, none of that. But one thing I'm confident in, I know how it ends. I know how it is. I know how the story ends. They might not know how it ends, so they will stress, they will fuss, they will cry, they will complain. Me, I know how the story ends. It ends in good news. It ends with the coming of the Son of Man. It ends in a wedding between the church and Jesus Christ. I know how the story ends. So whom shall I fear? If the Lord be for me, who can be against me? So I just want to deal with that anxiety in this room right now. I just want to bury it, and I want to assure you there's a Goshen for you. Amen. We can empathize with what's happening in Egypt, but that's Egypt's fault. That's Pharaoh's fault. The Lord was merciful and gave him chance after chance to repent. Y'all might not realize it, but the world is under judgment, and I'm not going to be the one that stand in between God and what he decides to judge. That got nothing to do with me. Y'all ever see y'all brother and sister getting spanked? Did you go there and get spanked too?

No, sir.

Courtney said no, sir. I was like, that don't got nothing to do with me. I tried to tell you, get that chicken out the freezer. I tried to tell you. Me, I'm staying in my room. 'Cause even if you out there while the spanking's happening, you get looked at the wrong way, you might get spanked too. That's the world. The world getting disciplined right now, y'all. That don't got nothing to do with us. I beg you, man, stay out this fight. Jews and Muslims having a fight, that don't got nothing to do with me. I pray both of them come to know Jesus. I pray. So now I feel like we can start the Bible study. I want to start by just thanking God for what happened on Saturday. You know, when we had our last head meeting in November, and I announced that day that we weren't going to have any gathering. We're just going to do small gatherings throughout the year. We had no idea any of this was going to happen. We were like, man, we just had a really good year. We traveled, we did all this good stuff. It's time to blow up the tent. And God was just like, sit down. Excuse me? And I can't tell you how being still has led to so much increase this year. It's like the slower you go, the faster you travel. So I just want to encourage you guys to just keep waiting on the Lord. Slow down. Everything that's gonna happen is already in his hands. You just got to be in his hands too. So we're in Acts chapter 5 today, and I'm gonna throw this pad on because it feels like one of them days. We're in Acts chapter 5. Chris, I'm on 3%. If you can help me. Yeah, yeah, you get what I'm saying. That's my wife, y'all. If y'all don't know, that's the first lady. Um, hey, God bless you, Eric. Can y'all celebrate Eric? Hey, one thing I know, I know when people are locked in. Eric is locked in. Like, when I mean locked in, it don't make sense actually, because I met him 27 and a half days ago at the 12-hour prayer. If you was in that 12-hour prayer, let me see your hands up. Hey, look around.

Locked in.

It's okay, we about to have a 12-hour worship. So the folks that ain't make it to 12-hour prayer, come to 12-hour worship. And then what happens after 12-hour worship? Come on, prayer, worship. We're gonna have a 12-hour Bible study. Dang, y'all was not as excited about the 12-hour Bible study. It's all right, me and Eric do it by ourselves. But I really believe that's what's happening next. I think we're gonna do this 12-hour worship and then we're gonna have a 12-hour Bible study. Some of y'all need it. It's Acts chapter 5. Um, actually, the 5 is very interesting. Um, and there's like a lot of different things I want to I want to read about this, and it's a lot of verses, and I'm watching the time. But y'all know we love to stay in God's presence around these parts. So again, if you have to go, feel free. No judgment at all. We are respectful of time, but one of the core pillars of the tent is to stay Like, it's just— they just love to stay. And this is such an important piece of text here because it talks about lying about the Holy Spirit, lying to the Holy Spirit. That's deep. And in this context, it was external parties lying to the apostle, but you can lie to the Holy Spirit yourself. Like, if the Holy Spirit told you to do something and you go around telling people that he didn't tell you to do something, you just lied. This is New Testament. If it was the Old Testament, we'd be like, all right, you offer strange fire to the Lord, we know you're gonna die. You go to the holies of holies and you're not sanctified, we know it's a wrap for you. That's Old Testament God. Y'all remember people say that? Well, this New Testament God, same God yesterday, today, and forevermore. We also learn about the church and their power, but then in verse 33, you hear about this person named Gamaliel, who was actually Paul's teacher. And we see he gave some very powerful advice. So, I mean, some advice that we are going to take upon ourselves this evening. Um, so what I want to do, I want to read through the entire text, um, and then we're going to spend time in maybe two sections, and then we're gonna, we're gonna pray up a storm in here, and then we'll go. Heavenly Father, as we enter into the word, may the word enter into us. May it take root in the name of Jesus. May it bear fruit in the name of Jesus. And we not just be hearers of this word but doers of this word in the name of Jesus. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, now and forevermore, until Christ comes. And the church said, amen. Acts chapter 5, let's read together. I'm in New King James Version. I love your Bible. There's already words and highlights in Acts 5. That means you've been there go. So we're gonna hear from you alive in the name of Jesus. Acts chapter 5, verse 1 to the end. 1, 2, 3, go. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and he kept back a part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God. Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things, and the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. Now it was about 3 hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, tell me whether you sold the land for so much. She said, yes, for so much. Then Peter said to her, how is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord. Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out. Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her life— her last. And the young man came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. And through the hands of the apostles, many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch, yet none of the rest dared join them. But the people esteemed them highly, and believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also, a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. Then the high priest rose up and all those who were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees, and they were filled with indignation and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, go stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and talked. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together with all the elders of the children of Israel and sent sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, saying, indeed, we found the prison shut securely and the guard standing outside before the doors. But when he opened them, we found no one inside. Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. So one came and told them, saying, look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people. Then the captain went with officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name. And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood on us.' But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, 'We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you murdered by hanging on the tree. Him God has exalted to the right hand to be Prince and Savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witness to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the the apostles outside for a little while, and he said to them, men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. For some time ago, Theudas rose up claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about 400, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the senses and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing. But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest you even be found to fight against God. And they they agreed with him. And when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. May the Lord bless the reading of his holy word. There's so much in this text, like, I don't even know where to start. Um, such a sad microphone, and we— I think it was good. You know, as we were coming here— this got nothing to do with the text, but, um, um, I'm like, I want to start buying gear. I feel like we're at a point where we can have our own speaker and our own pianos and put together our own worship teams. So I'm just throwing that out there because I like to use my words, because every time I say stuff, God just be listening to it, it start happening. So I'm just sharing that. Um, there's a lot of things in Acts chapter 5, but one of the themes that I want to make sure that we hit on. I'm sure you guys were meditating on it, underlined, wrote some things down. The Holy Spirit revealed some things to you, and we're going to talk about those things. But the thing that's coming to my heart right now is just like, you can't fight God at war. And unfortunately, Ananias and Sapphira was in the camp, and they didn't have the wisdom that Gamaliel was saying. Gamaliel was a Pharisee and saying, man, we can't fight God and win. Ananias and Sapphira was just like, man, I think we can get away with fighting God. And it goes to show that sometimes it's us inside that don't have the fear that we actually need. So the first portion of Acts, we're gonna, we're gonna just meditate on verses 1 all the way to 14, um, all the way to 11. Um, Ananias and Sapphira, what comes to your heart? What did you see?

But, um, like, am I allowed to mention anything that happened in Acts 4?

Oh, the whole Bible's fair game.

What you see at the end of Acts 4 is Barnabas giving everything that he had and him getting kind of like in a way exalted, right, by the gathering, by the congregation. Like, oh, look at what Barnabas did. And it just kind of creates this juxtaposition of fear of God versus fear of man, which is what Pharaoh and her husband had. It's like, oh, we want people to think of us in a higher regard than we're actually committing out there. And it's like, yo, like, it didn't— like, it wasn't about that. They missed the— like, Barnabas wasn't giving all that he had because he wanted the adulation. Man did it out of fear of God. And then on the back end of that, to is like, okay, we see the judgment that they experienced, but on the back end of that was a mighty move of God. You're seeing the numbers of the early church growing. You're seeing the shadows of these apostles bringing about healing and deliverance. And so, you know, I kind of like tied that to what's going on right now, what you were referring to earlier, there's judgment happening right now, but on the other side of this judgment, the judgment is just planting more and more seeds for revival.

Yeah, I love that. What else?

Yeah, so Courtney and I are having a conversation beforehand because we both just love talking about this stuff. Um, something that I think is a fundamental mistruth that makes it very difficult for those either new to the faith or rediscovering their faith is they hear words like giving yourself to God or being his servant or the sacrifices that you make as a disciple of God. But I think people hear from that and they think that that means that they're losing something or they're sacrificing something, some piece of their self, some idol that they have. They're losing something when they give themselves to God and they make the decision to give themselves to God. Case in point, in these verses, they tried to be slick. They tried to keep something for themselves. They tried to have their cake and eat it too.

And where did they end up?

Right?

So that's one thing. The second thing is that they had the misunderstanding that I believe so many people do, which is when you give yourself to God, you don't lose anything, you gain everything.

That's good.

Every issue that you had to go through, everything that you struggle with. If you write a list, I just said earlier, if you write a list of every single thing that you think that you gain from Earth, whether it's drugs, whether it's alcohol, whether it's relationships with your family, whether it's relationships with your friends, every single one of those things can be fulfilled by God to the full extent. And so I think there's just, yeah, there's no purpose in holding back. There's no purpose in, again, we always talk about not being, or being bold. There's no reason not to, because you gain so much from it.

So, yeah, that's my piece.

I remember this chapter, and like, when you were talking to someone, like, they, they, they— it's like, guess what, man and wife, but like, when they started, like, they talked about, um, and not like he, and then they went into— it says that she didn't even know what happened. So it's like, when you think about man and wife, like, you guys supposed to be one, and you are one, but I think in the heart of the individual, because she could have she could have saved herself. She could have, um, like, she didn't have to fear man as much as she did versus like when Peter asked her, you know, that was your chance to kind of recover. That was your chance to kind of, um, think of, well, I'm going to make an enemy out of God. So, you know, they started with him solely and then they went in for her. So, um, I I think just the relationship that, um, it doesn't even have to be like, um, marriage, it could be friendship, you know, anything. Like, where I think relationship is key, this part, is it's like, again, like, she didn't even know what happened. I was later like, um, so yeah, I think that's, that's what's up.

Yeah, okay, revelation is starting to drop. Um, This is one of the things that show you the power of agreement. And me and my wife are just having this conversation about this week, about how, um, something powerful happens when, you know, husband and wife agree. Like, it's— the scripture says in verse 9, how is it that you have agreed together to test the spirit. This right here is just Genesis all over again. I mean, Ananias is Adam and bit that apple. Disobedience. And though two becomes one, when you stand before God, he's a two, right? Because it says two shall become one flesh, but you're still separate Souls. So this, this might seem heavy, but this is kind of like a symbology of Judgment Day. When you stand before God in judgment, it's not going to be, but my husband said— marrying the right husband will make your judgment better, right? Cuz honestly, if my man Ananias wasn't this way, if he would have been like, nah, we selling everything, Sapphire would have been like, cool, and they both would have been alive. But agreement, and then agreeing with someone when they did wrong— so I'mma stop right there, but Yeah, I think it's very intentional that God aligned husband and wife so early in the church. Like, it set the tone for the church. Like, people were like, like, what you gonna do? You live— leave church Sunday morning and then Deacon Ananias and Deaconess Sapphira just getting carried out the church. You like, I ain't going to that church. Hey, they're getting carried out, and not in the Holy Ghost. Like, I think these things had to happen because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And right now, honestly, I'll just leave that.

Holly, you was going to remind me of is Matthew 10, like 35-37, where, um, Jesus is just saying that he came to divide, like mother and daughter, father and son. Um, and it goes on to say, if you love anything more than you love me— yeah, you know what I mean? Like, you must love me first, which is a very hard truth. And I came to the realization that through experience with family and then being like, man, like, this isn't right. And just because y'all my family don't mean I'm about to be recognizing with y'all on this. I'm not, you know what I mean? This is what it says. And oftentimes I think that we can feel divided when we're in those situations because we tend to idealize family, family over everything. Yeah, you know what I mean? Your husband over everything, your kids over everything. And we end up in situations where we end up compromising parts of us, um, and compromising the relationship with God for the sake of what we put above him and what we put before him in regards to man. So it goes back to, you know, talking about the fear of man. Um, and this story has always been interesting to me, um, because she did have an opportunity, not knowing what happened before.

Yep.

Not even knowing that he was dead.

They were locked in.

Opportunity to just, um, have some integrity and just be honest about about what happened and she wasn't.

And you see the consequences of that.

And so it was very sobering.

They were literally ride or die and they died, unfortunately. We'll go Brittany and then we'll go Destiny back there, right? You too short to be sitting down right there. You want to take this too, Destiny?

There you go.

Now you're a giant.

It's a great question. It's a great question. Somebody take that. Jasmine.

So I think that was an amazing question because none of this was required, and I think it's a good example of how God gives us free will. And when we give ourselves to him, it's also our free will. So we're holding back, it's just, well, you didn't have to do it in the first place, so why are you lying? Because we didn't ask people for it. We didn't ask for equality. We didn't ask for all this. And I think this story is insinuating how they kind of wanted merit or admiration for giving too. So it's like, oh look, I'm giving to God. All these people are seeing. And then they're trying to steal the glory. Story of that instead of just getting—

Can I add something to that?

Yeah, that's actually going to be my point.

Can you state your name so everybody can hear you?

Hi everyone, I'm DeAndrea. Um, this reminded me of Mark 12, um, verses 41-44, the widow's offering. And so essentially in that portion it talks about how many we should Many rich people gave large sums, while a poor widow came and she put two small copper coins in the jar. And then Jesus said, truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box, for they are contributing out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put everything she had, all that she had to live on. And I think that this speaks to just our trust in the Lord that sometimes we don't give all because we don't trust that, um, he will sustain us. We say that, oh, he's Jehovah Jireh, but we're like, I don't know if you're really going to provide, so let me keep this on the side just in case that you don't. Or, you know, I don't want to fully give all that I have, even if you do have it, right? Like, there's sometimes where we're honest and we're like, all I have to give you is Jesus, I love you, and some days, some days we need to give so much more. And it's from a perspective of kind of like a poverty mindset and kind of selfishness, where we don't believe that one, God is worthy, but that he is sufficient enough to sustain us when we give him our all. And so that kind of reminded me of them, where it's like they gave, but they didn't give all that they had. And so it's also kind humbling for us to be like, for the one who gave all for us and then some, who are we to be like, yeah, you can have a little bit of this, but like this area, no, I'm not going to give you that. Like, you could be in my kitchen, but you can't be in my living room. You could touch, you know, my finances, but you can't touch my bitterness. So I think that—

just say my name. You just, you just, just, just—

hey, I'm saying my name.

Oh man, um, it's all type of messed up. Um, I wanna— man, it don't make no sense, right? I feel like the devil just fighting me to see— he's a liar, liar. Um, but man, it's like If we just be real honest with ourselves right now, like, you just— you will find a part of you that's been holding back. Like, we're supposed to preach the gospel, right? The Lord is pressing you to go share something with that person on the side of the bus. And you're like, I don't have enough boldness. Meanwhile, he gave you enough boldness. You Ananias, you Sapphira. It's like you are telling God he didn't give— I think that was the judgment. You literally saying this is all God gave you. God like, ain't nah. I'm gonna put my stamp on this. I did more than that for you. When you give God half of your praise, that's all that— that's all I gave you? When you thank God for half the things he done, come on now. God, like, that's that. I'm sure that, man, I'm a father. There are times I'd be looking at my kids like, y'all acting like we ain't give you all of this. You acting like we ain't give you this food, these clothes. You acting like you don't pay no rent, man. You acting ungrateful. That's how we be to God. So thank you for that. That was amazing, man. I feel God moving right now.

I'mma contain myself, but I'll be quick, but when I see this, I see a lesson about the kingdom of God. Because right before that, in Acts 32, which I think you were kind of getting at too, it talks about how they were all on one accord. They all had one heart and one mind. But what I see, one of the purposes for them giving everything they have, is that no one among them would need anything.

Yeah, that's good.

Of how that translates to the kingdom of God, which I think essentially was being mirrored, was that in the kingdom we are all on one accord. We all have one heart, we all have one mind. The Holy Spirit was dwelling within them, so they were one with Christ. But in the kingdom, we don't need nothing. Like, there are no needs. We don't have any possessions. It all belongs to God. And so what I see I see over and over a pattern throughout history, even in the New Testament, the Lord was always trying to teach them where the boundaries of the kingdom were. Just like he would tell the Israelites, don't go over there kicking it with the Canaanites and the Moabites. And if you wanted to, there were consequences to that. I think what I see here happening is that they stepped out of bounds. That we're saying, the power of agreement, but they also agreed to be one with everyone else so that no one would lack anything. And it's like the moment we step out of bounds in the kingdom of God, there are consequences. We may not always see the seriousness of it because God is so merciful and so loving and kind to us, but what they were modeling was like a kingdom culture. That was like a kingdom family.

And so what happened to Ananias and Sapphira, would you see that as mercy?

I see it as necessary. I mean, like, honestly, and I might be harsh when I say this, but like, he is a God of love and justice.

Right?

Jesus is the Lion and the Lamb. And I think sometimes we don't always get to see the other side of the grace message, which is that there's a reality to sin. And so I think without us seeing examples of that throughout scripture, we might think that it's okay and abuse that grace.

Yeah, lots of hands. We gonna get this. Thank you, Jesus. Yes.

Um, all right, but mine is, um, what Peter said actually to Ananias.

He said, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? And that line really stuck out to me because I feel like in this, in this one question It's black and white, you know, like in a world where there could be gray spots and it could be, oh, but you know, like you could justify things. In this, like, one question is like, if it's not God, then it's Satan. And in many situations, that's too much, y'all. I feel like this can help a lot of people when you, when you just look at your life in all situations that you're in. Don't try to find that middle area.

Don't—

there ain't none.

And it was no question about it. He wasn't like, why did you do it?

And like, I think it also gives Like, Peter was a powerful person, first of all, because his discernment was sharp. Like, and we don't got time to meditate on that, but think about it. He like, you lied, go next. Like, he was— and this, this, that's the same Elijah spirit.

Right?

Elijah got called bald and he was just like, beers. Like, I think— all right, who hasn't spoken yet? Deuce.

Um, so right after what Christine just talked about, verse 4, where it says, didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing?

This part got me because, hey, he's—

they getting fried.

I want to just say, not only did Satan fill your heart, but how about before you made the decision to give everything to God? It was yours, okay, we understand that. And then after you sold it, it was your decision what to do with the money, and you decided to give it to God. And And that was like the point, like, okay, we're gonna give it to God. And then the not giving all was the issue. So like Christine was just saying, the black and white, it's just revelation, like the possession. Like people, a lot of people want just the possession of the thing. And I feel like back to how specific details of certain things aren't included in the text, like there's obviously more that happened that probably didn't make it in here. But in terms of the property, it never said that the property was something special. It just says that they sold a piece of property. So it's not like— it doesn't sound like the property was something that was so important that they couldn't sell it. So in being able to sell that, not giving all the money just doesn't make sense. Like it doesn't really read as sensible to me. So I feel like it's just very important the way that that was worded, like the moments that they had and where like a decision was made and then how that ended up with their outcome.

You know what, what just came to mind for me at the beginning of each covenant. Ooh, so good. At the beginning of each covenant, there was a moment of idolatry in camps. Remember when the Ten Commandments was given? Moses came down shining with glory. Aaron, "Excuse me? Y'all just made this golden calf? All right, let me go back up there." God like, "I'm about to kill them!" Moses had to intercede, but still, 3,000 people died. New covenant given. We're 5 chapters in. Apostles come down the mountain, face shining with glory. Ananias? All right, we got to make an example so people can understand that a covenant was just given. And when you think about what is being showcased here, It's like God would stop at nothing to destroy our idols, even if that means destroying us. Hey, you shall have no other god before me. So if it's before him, either he kills it or he kills you, but it won't stand before him. And I believe if he peeped into the hearts, he was just like, man, they might not give up this idol. So they might not give up this idol. It's the same question that God asked. If you're for me, come here. If you're not, stay out there. And then God told everybody that came with Moses, take up the sword. Everybody outside the camp, kill them all. Because these people in the camp might stop the progress of the lineage of this gospel message. So maybe Ananias being alive will prevent me from hearing the gospel. And God is saying, no, my judgment is also an act of mercy. Because he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy. So when God wants to express mercy, it's never just to one person. His mercies, they endure forever. So he's thinking of someone that might need mercy 10 years from now, and an act of judgment today might be an expression of his mercy 10 years.

Are y'all hearing me?

Our responsibility is to make sure we never stand in the way of that. Like, you might do something, the moment I do it— you see, that's why I never got into certain drugs. I'm straight up. I'm like, y'all, I know the moment I, I will be that one.

It would be me.

It's like, I ain't even gonna try it. I'm not like— I mean, you know, I smoke some weed. That's what I said. That's as far as I went. I'm like, man, y'all smoking crack?

It couldn't be me, man.

Like, it just— that's, you know, now I gotta bring it to the holy context. That's how I That's how I walk with God. Like, y'all be doing— going to the club. The one time I decide I'm going to the club, that's going to be the same time that whole thing just get blown up. Like, I'm not going. Just like you said, why would he give him a chance? I would never give a chance. This stuff's getting deep, but we're going to continue. Jasmine. Oh, Jesus.

Piggybacking on what Christine said, in Mark 3:28, there's the unforgivable sin.

Talk about it.

Assuredly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whoever blasphemes—

they may—

whatever blasphemies they may utter, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is subject to eternal condemnation because they said he had an unclean spirit. So I think the importance of this in realizing that they lied in the presence of the Holy Spirit because he was already dispersed in the community is why they immediately were done. Because they already accepted Jesus. After that, you don't have anything. So there was nothing— there's nothing else that you could do. The Spirit— and the Spirit can't be amongst impurities. So Satan filling the heart— the Holy Spirit and Satan, they can't be in the same place. Even when you think about the tabernacle and how important it was, everything was clean, everything was pure. I think that's the significance of why they were killed after lying to the Holy Spirit. So it's like they already had the mercy and they went against that. So I think that is the point God is making in this passage.

Gotcha. Brittany.

2 points. Um, going back to what we were talking about before, verse 4, what it is bringing to my memory is the importance of keeping your word when you say you're going to do something.

I think there are several passages throughout scripture that indicate when you say you're going to do something, how God holds you to it.

And this to me is that.

It is, you said you were going to give it all. Nobody told you you had to, but you made that commitment. You said it.

You lied. You judged.

It's like a vow.

And then the second piece was, it just makes me really grateful for Jesus, because when you look at how swiftly they were judged, immediate.

And you think about how many times that we have done this very thing.

Thank you for mercy.

And went back on our word or not given everything we told him we would, and we don't suffer that same punishment. So thank God for Jesus.

And I, I want to use it as a moment to, to read from 11. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. That includes us. Like, you should— this thing should help regulate the fear of God in you, man. I fear God, and I thank God that I can read examples. As unfortunate as it is, it's a sobering reminder to fear the Lord. A holy fear. It's like, God, if you tell me to give $100, I'm not giving 99.9. I shared my testimony how I did that before. The Holy Spirit told me to give my mom $10,000. I'm like, I'll give her half now, half later. I was in it nice. I'm just still alive. Thank God for mercy. I gave 50%. I didn't have to agree and say, "I'm gonna give this amount," but I did. Those words came out my mouth. It was a vow. And vows will be redeemed. Either by your actions or by your blood. That's the truth. God takes vows very seriously, which is why— are we gonna go there today? He says, let your yes be yes and your no be no. Don't swear on your head, don't swear on your mama, don't swear on anything that you don't have any control over. He takes this stuff seriously. One more thing on this portion of text before we move on.

Oh, this is just related to just like the fear of God in general. When I was younger and I would hear that, I— it didn't really make sense to me because I was like, if Jesus died for our sins and he loves us and we're gonna go to heaven, like, why should we fear him? Like, why should we fear God? It never really clicked in my mind until, like, I grew up, like, later. And as I'm reading more, like, going to church more, obviously. And there's just, like, with discipline, there's a fear, like, in respecting your parents and things like that. Like, you fear them a little bit so you don't do certain things, or you fear their discipline so you don't do certain things. And then I was like, I was like, oh, okay, well, God the Father. So it's like a father. And then the way that you fear him, you're not terrified of what could happen. It's a level of respect in that fear. So I feel like that's something that I don't know if it just needs to be explained a little bit more. But for me, when I was a kid, even though I've always been in church, like, I don't think it was explicitly be like expounded upon, like what that fear looks like, or like what's the purpose of that fear.

So it's to lead to wisdom.

That's what it says. Because exactly what you said, it's like, oh, the fear that you have of God leads you to not do certain things. Those certain things that you don't do actually are to your benefit. I saw this thing this week, and I forget like the word of it. And just bear with me for a second, cuz I actually think it's very fascinating. Apparently, when you are out in the world living life, fornicating and stuff like that, biologically what's happening when a man leaves his semen in you, even if you don't get pregnant—

I saw that.

Yeah, his DNA being inside you makes it so that when you eventually get a husband and you guys get pregnant, there will be traits of your past partners in your— in the child that's in your womb.

That's wild.

And like, this is something that is like cutting-edge science, like the breakthrough just happened. They see it in animals all the time. I'll just say this real quick. They did a thing with, um, horses and zebras. Tried to get horses and zebras to mate. They would get these zebras, male zebras, have them sleep with female horses. Couldn't work, it wouldn't happen. But when they reintroduced the horses back to horses, when the female horse gave birth to a horse, the horse would have zebra stripes. So we see this in the animal kingdom. Them. And now they're starting to be like, oh, this is actually happening in human beings as well. But when the Bible tells you, hey, any type of sex outside of marriage is adultery, and we just think, yeah, well, you know, culturally, like, whatever, if you fear the Lord, you don't do certain things. If you don't do certain things, it actually makes your life better.

Yeah, man, we got to get back to holiness. Like, we don't know the repercussions of all of our actions in totality. Like, there's something called the butterfly effect. A butterfly flapping its wings on the western part of America move the wind just enough to affect a caterpillar. Caterpillar crawls a different way. Now all of a sudden, an animal that will have its way, want to have it there. That animal now finds some sustenance and lives long enough to find itself in the mountain. Somebody happened to be walking down that mountain. Lion finds New victim. How in God's green earth does a butterfly have an effect on the life of some man or woman that had to go on the wall? You know what has a much greater effect? Sin. Scripture talks to us about sin and tells us with the lineage of Judah. Every time somebody in Judah committed an act, for 10 generations they would not have somebody on the throne. One person's sin, lineages after lineages after lineages after lineages. How can the mistake of one person in Genesis still affect us to this day? So what I want to do, because we're at— can y'all believe it is 9 o'clock? This house. So we're about to get— we gotta do part 2, you know. But what I want to do is I do want to talk about out. Um, and if anybody has something to contribute, please. But I'm gonna just run and then we're gonna pray. Yeah, God bless you, brother. Um, Gamaliel's advice, because I actually want to use this to pray. Um, before we get there, let's just talk about the power of God and how the apostles being in prison and God himself unlocking them doors. Like, and why? Because they were preaching his word. God is never going to stop in the way of people being saved. In fact, he wills that all men be saved. So if you are looking for God's will, find out what you do and how it aligns result in someone's salvation. That is the will of God. If you are ever confused about God's will, about what you should do, where you should go, who you should marry, where you should live, is this decision going to result in someone's being saved? If it is, you have a good indication that this might be the will of God. So, these people are in prison right now. Remember, God wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of God. If you are in prison and that is stopping somebody from hearing the word of God, what is God going to do? He gonna open up them doors. So when you can find yourself praying for healing and the only person that benefits from that healing is you— God, you give me another year of this life, watch how many people I preach to. Your heart. Align everything you do with making disciples. But we're not doing that. We're not doing that. Align everything you do. This job, what part of the disciple-making process does that job fit in?

What part?

We got some strict commandments in Matthew 28. Go preach, teach, baptize. You're not preaching nothing, teaching nothing, never baptized a person in your life. I want the will of God. Start there. Start there. So then we get to this point, and this is where I really want to pray. Gamaliel says something, verse 38. Now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing. This person don't know Jesus, but he know if it's for men, it will come to nothing. The psalmist David said they will take their counsel, it will come to nothing. Everything you do for men will come to nothing, every single thing. Me pleasing my wife, If it don't please God, it comes to nothing. You work in this career, your boss loves you, you get raise after raise after raise after raise, pleasing men. The whole point, if I can sum up these scriptures, would you rather obey God or obey men? That's what it comes down to. Ananias and Sapphira, they agreed to obey each other. Oh, we just going to keep up. We agree that we're going to keep— we just learned that they sold all of their possessions. That's what was going on.

Us?

Nah, we got a different agreement. We're going to give a portion. They were so afraid of each other, they forgot what it meant to fear God. I pray you never forget what it means to fear God. So verse 39, but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest you even be found to fight against God. This is the biggest point I can make. When Peter talked to Ananias, he said, you didn't lie to men, you lied to God. Gamaliel, he's not a believer. He's saying if we fight these men, we're not fighting them, we're fighting God. Flip it to a positive. You are working for God. Anybody that's resisting you is resisting who? You got to move with that boldness. The unbelievers understood it.

The believers understood it.

There's one principle that crossed both sides. If this is God— I mean, you can go to an atheist and show them a miracle, and they'll be like, man, this gotta be God. There are some things that can happen in a person's life that it would be undeniable, this must be God. We saw that in Acts 4. They were doing all of these miracles. They say they could not deny that this was God. I'm trying to come to a gathering like this and we all leave this place like, man, that had to be God. There had to have been God. We need more believers in this world. That means we need to make them believe. We need to— I'm so tired of people mocking God. I'm so tired of scrolling on social media. I'm so tired of watching these videos of people hooting and hollering. They lack the fear of God. And you know why? Because we're not bringing it to them. We're not. They don't respect our religion. Don't that, don't that make you sad? I'm pouring my heart into this. I'm praying in the morning, I'm praying in the evening, I'm studying my Bible. I wear this on every single piece of my clothing and people out there laughing. We more jealous when somebody talk about our spouse the wrong way. We more mad if somebody said something crazy about our children. Somebody talk about our best friend and we ready to fight. They mock your God and you mock it with them. These apostles were living in this Bible. They told them, stop preaching Jesus. They left that prison and what they do?

They couldn't mock Peter in the church or outside of it.

What do you do when you throw somebody in jail and they walk right out?

What do you do, man?

This power didn't go nowhere. It didn't go nowhere. People's capacity for it just reduced. The Bible says Elijah was a man of like passion. That means Elijah was just like you and I, but he prayed fervently that there would be no rain. And there was no rain. The Acts of the Apostles, that's the post-resurrection reality of a believer. And I'm not a cessationist. I don't believe that thing ended with Acts 28. This power is available. As long as there is an unbeliever in the world, the power to make them believe is inside of you. As long as there's an unbeliever in your family, God has allocated a portion of power in you to make them believe. As long as there's an unbeliever in your workplace, an unbeliever in your neighborhood, an unbeliever in this country, that power to make them believe is stuck in the church, but people don't need the church. So that power just stuck.

It's stuck.

Why? Because that power was made manifest in the streets.

They brought their sick people to the streets.

They didn't know nothing about Jesus, but they knew something was happening in this village.

Bring your sick.

Maybe the shadow of a man. Maybe the shadow of a man. Now we got folk laying hands and nothing happen.

Come on, man.

I was driving down the South Side of Chicago today, nothing like that. Ain't no power in South Side Chicago. There's churches, ain't no power. Because why do I feel so much despair still? Why do I feel so sad every time I drive down? Why I feel so, so broken every time I go through these, these streets?

Why?

It's because we allowed other people to come build idols on top of our churches. We playing patty cake with Muslims. Y'all, y'all don't know How conniving the enemy is. And we got believers advocating for the enemy. It don't make sense to me. We got believers opening up doors for the enemy, and we wonder why there's so So much despair. There's only one that saves. It's not Buddha. It's not Krishna. It's not Muhammad. There's no name that man be saved apart from the name of Jesus. Don't let this Abrahamic religion ideology fool you. Abraham is not Jesus. Y'all hear me? Abraham's not Jesus. It was through him he fathered the lineages, yes, but just because you shared the same daddy with Abraham don't mean you share the same God with me. I had a Muslim come talk to me over the summer. He was so confident we worship the same God. I'm like, we don't.

I was just going to say that.

I mean, I'm sorry, bro. I love you, but don't disrespect me like that. Don't disrespect me like that. You might not take offense to it because there's no real power where you stay. I know where I belong. Because what that really means is that Jesus died for nothing. Y'all hear me? That's disrespectful. That's disrespectful. You're saying my Jesus died for nothing? You empty the cross of his power. You telling me you, you can get to heaven without Jesus? Then why did God send him? Don't let people disrespect y'all. Let's rise up and pray. I must say this time and time again, if you in this room, you're called to ministry.

You're called to ministry.

And some people don't believe in spiritual warfare. Let me share with you something the Lord's been teaching me about spiritual warfare. It's true, everything is not demonic. You know what else is true? Everything's not holy either. You know what's more true? Those are your only two options. Choose this day who you will serve. If God be God, serve him. You ever watched a basketball team play and they told you there was a third team that could win? Never seen it in my life. It's only two teams in this court.

I won.

I already won. But if we don't act like we won, that means we're not on a team, man. I've seen sports. I've seen people who never played a second celebrate their heart out when the team won, cuz all you got to do is be a part of the This kingdom, that give you the right, that give you the authority. I don't know why this is so heavy in my heart, but the writing on the wall— there's going to be a time— we read, read the Book of Revelation— there's going to be a time where everybody is going to have to decide If you be for God, serve him. The truth of the matter is that there will be a great falling away. People that come to church with you, they won't serve Jesus no more. That mark of the beast is going to be planted in the people that are on pulpits. The ride is on the It's not time to pre-patricate. It's not. God is coming back for his church. And every parable teaches there's 10 virgins. There's 10. 10. You wait and you wait. Let time have its way. Let time pass a little. There's 10 people in the Bible study. There's 10 people in the prayers. There's 10 people going to seminary. There's 10 people. There's 10 people. And there's 10 people. And then at some point, there was 5. Because 5 had oil. And all the symbolic of the Holy Spirit and how God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power. Believe it or not, at the end of the day, you either have the Holy Spirit or you don't, because the only thing that is going back with you is the Holy Holy Spirit. So when the Holy Spirit clings onto your soul and your body falls away, the Holy Spirit says it's not the end for you. And the Holy Spirit carries your soul and you stay with God forever. If the Holy Spirit is not taking your soul with you, your soul clings to the flesh And that flesh will be consumed with the holy fire. If you have the Holy Spirit inside you, can you begin to pray? That Holy Spirit is the most important thing in your life. That Holy Spirit is the most important thing in your life. We just read about what happens when someone lies to the Holy Spirit. It is the most holy thing about you. It is the most righteous thing about you. It's the greatest part of your existence right now. There's nothing better about you than the Holy Spirit. Can you begin to pray? Can you begin to pray? Can you begin to pray? The Holy Spirit of God is inside of you. I thought you would be more bold. The Holy Spirit of God, you can use it to destroy fear right now.

Whom shall I fear? I am not afraid of no man. I am not afraid of no system, of no government, of no ideology, of no man-made religion. If God be for me, I need somebody to pray This Holy Spirit is the most precious thing about you. This Holy Spirit is what keeps you.

It's what sustains you when you don't know what to pray. The Holy Spirit makes groaning that cannot be understood by man.

There's a yearning because the Holy Spirit will do everything to be with the Father. So when the Holy Spirit is inside of you, everything about you wants to be with him.

There's more, there's more.

You can get closer to God. You can talk to him more. You can feel his presence more. Your discernment discernment can be sharper. You too can know when people are lying to you. Woman, hear me, you cannot keep letting these men lie to you, not when you have the Holy Spirit. You cannot keep letting people treat you anyhow. You cannot get surprised when things don't happen, not when you have the Holy Spirit.

Your life can't be a surprise every day.

There's a knowing. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will bring all things to your remembrance. The Spirit of Truth will lead you in all truth.

Everything you need is inside the Holy Spirit. This is where your confidence comes from.

This is where your boldness come from. You're too timid. Every time somebody says something negative to you, you cry.

Not when you have the Holy Ghost.

They can't bully you lest they fight God. This is how you enter into those rooms. This is how you walk into those board meetings. Have the wrath of my boss And I know the Holy Spirit is inside of you, and I can say to him, 'Thus says the Lord.' I can go to Pharaoh and tell Pharaoh, 'Let my people go, and if you don't respond, there's a God behind me waiting to deal with you because you are not talking to me.' I'm just a vessel for you to interact with the Holy Spirit. It's not I that lives, but he that lives in me. The Holy Spirit of God is no longer I.

You're not dealing with P.O.

You're not dealing with Brittany, you're not dealing with Courtney, you're not dealing with Christine, you're not dealing with Eric, you're not dealing with Kevin. You are dealing with the Holy Spirit. It's not about my inadequacies, it's not about my insecurities, it's not about what I don't have. It's about what he does have.

This is my confidence that when I come to him and ask anything in his name.

This is why I can get up in front of pulpits and preach to bishops, because your God is not bigger than my God.

You can't little bro me.

You can't little bro me.

I have a God who never fails, who never falls, and he's my Father.

This is the boldness that I have. If I can talk to God, I can talk to any man. If I can talk to God, I can talk to any owner.

Any politician, because you're not greater than my God.

I am not more afraid of men than I am of God. He's my everything. He's the hope that I have, the air that I breathe, the reason I sing, the Holy Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit.

They said leave them alone because if it's God— some people are about to leave you alone about tonight. Some people are about to leave you alone because they will know there's a God in your life. They're about to leave you alone Those prison doors are about to open because there's a God. They can't touch you in the house because they cannot deny the power of God in your life. They can't keep rejecting you. They can't keep turning you down. They can't keep walking over you. They can't keep looking down on you. Lest they treat God this way. Jesus said, if you do to the least of me, you do unto me. The Holy Spirit. And this is what you do to pray. Of whom shall I fear? The Holy Spirit. You need him. And just because you are a believer does not mean you have him. Did you receive it when you believed? Did you receive it when you believed? Some people don't even know it's the Holy Spirit. Some people don't even know. Some people don't even know. But I see some people in the room that will make the Holy Spirit known.

I see some people in the room that will make sure Jesus is lifted.

I will be the one. I will be a billboard for Jesus. I will be a billboard for Jesus. Holy Spirit, advertise through my life. Advertise through my life. Advertise through my life. I'm a walking ad for Jesus. When you see me, you see Jesus. When you hear me, you hear Jesus. I just want to speak the name of Jesus. I just want to speak the name of Jesus over every heart and every soul. I just want to speak the name of Jesus. I just want to I just want to speak the name of Jesus. I just want to speak the name of Jesus. Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwell inside of you. You have a right to call him Abba Father. You have a right to call him Abba Father. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, for thine is the power, for thine is the glory, forever and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever! And to his kingdom there will be no end!

He's not a Republican!

He's not a Democrat— how dare you? How dare you reduce my God to your graven images? How dare you place my God in a political party? My God is above all. His kingdom is not here on earth, it's in the hearts of men. Lord, have your way. Take control of my life, Lord. You You are my king, my Lord. I'm subject to your authority. I will not give you half of me.

All of me.

All of me. I give you all of me. I give you all of me. I give you all of me. I give you all of me. There's something happening inside of you right now. He's expanding his territory in your life. He doesn't just want your finances, he also wants your health. He doesn't just want your giving, he wants your intellect. He wants your relationships. He wants your workplaces. He wants your business. Lord, have it all. I will not be like Ananias and give you just a portion. Lord, when you give me a prophecy, I will not be afraid to say it. You have all of my voice. You have my whole voice. When you give me a word of knowledge, I will share it because you have that peace in me too. If you tell me to have another child, I will because you are all needed in my procreation. There's some pregnant women in this house. God bless you. You are carrying the child of promise. You don't know the outcome of this birth. There will be salvation through the fruit of your womb. People will come to know Jesus because what you are giving birth to is not an ordinary vessel. It's my savior, a child unto the Lord that will speak, that will preach, that will proclaim the good news of Jesus. And Lord knows we need more in this army. We need more in this army so your womb cannot be barren, because the Lord is in need of a prophet.

The Lord is in need of a donkey.

Unloose it, let it go. Because the King of Glory wants to ride into it. He wants to ride in on it. He wants to ride in on your voice. He wants to ride in on your gift. You have a gift. Unloosen it. The Lord is in need of it. He needs your photography skills. He needs your administrative abilities. He needs your voice. He needs your poems. He needs your substat post. Have it all. He needs your motherhood. He needs your fatherhood. He needs your sisterhood.

Lord, have it all.

Have it all. Search my heart, oh Lord. See if you find anything, anything that I'm holding on to too tight.

Some of y'all holding on to some relationships too tight, and they're taking up space.

The Lord can't send a person if you're holding on to the wrong one.

God is not an infidel. God is not a home wrecker. It's your choice. Anything that is occupying space in my life, any dead weight that I'm carrying, I shed it tonight.

Because narrow is the way that leads to hell, but wide is the road that leads to destruction. It is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter. There are some things you must shed to enter.

I let it go.

Oh, I let it go.

I release. I release.

I loose my tongue to the Lord.

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. For some of you, your Ananias moment is when the Lord told you to say something and you didn't say it. Do your words belong to him? Do your voice belong to him? He told you to make a post and you didn't make that post because you're afraid of what people will say. You held back what belongs to him. Repent and believe.

My life is not my own. To you I belong.

I give myself, I give myself away. I give myself, I give myself away.

My life is not my own, to you I belong.

I give myself, I give myself to him. I give myself, I give myself to him. All power, all glory, All honor to him. Holy Father, we wait on you. Precious Jesus, for fire. The Lord is kind.

Come here, please.

That's exactly what we waiting for.

I know we all here worshiping, you know, but the Lord wants us to worship in spirit.

Anybody need to be set free?

Does anybody need to be set free? Anything? If you leave here and you know it's something holding you back, that's fine, we'll separate.

But I feel like so much is going on right now, and it's almost like somebody is oppressed in here, and He's not getting through.

If we going to do this for real, let's do it for real.

If you need to be set free, let it be right now while we're—

while it's here in the room.

You walk away, you walk away, but freedom is worth today if you want it.

Come here. You know what's funny?

I wanted to ask that so bad, but I didn't have permission to. I didn't have permission to. So when we're praying, if we're saying— if the Lord is telling you to to say something and you hold back, you are selfishly preventing somebody from moving forward in the Lord. The biggest problem with Ananias is that what they held back could have blessed somebody. So that word you keep bearing in your heart is doing you no good, and neither Worse, the person that needs to hear it never will. Can y'all shut your ass down?

There's still time.

The Lord is patient. If that's you, then you room.

They about to receive something life-changing. They about to receive something life-changing.

The Lord has marked them.

So like the church in Acts, we pray Every prison door be open.

Anyone fighting you, there's room.

God bless y'all. May I stretch our hands to them? You have come to Mount Zion, the city of the Living God, and upon Mount There shall be holiness, there shall be deliverance. Can I pour into them? We about to set them free.

Those prison doors that was preventing Peter from preaching the gospel cannot hold them back. So what the Lord has prepared you for cannot hold you back. Those doors are opening.

Jesus, I'm about to lay hands on you, but these are not my hands because I can't give you anything. But there is one that sits on the throne, that's come to set the captives free.

And whoever the Son of Man sets free is free indeed.

So Lord God, anoint these hands for your glory. We are about to bless them. Hey, can y'all lift our voice and begin to pray?

We are not going to leave any room for the enemy.

We are not about to Leave it to any chance. Tonight is the night. You got to pray a little bit more. We about to live out the Acts of the Apostles. In the name of Jesus.