The Holy Spirit: The Power of Motivation - Pastor Denny Duron

Welcome to SC Church Podcast! We’re so glad you could join us. Today Pastor Denny Duron shared with us his message:

“The Holy Spirit: The Power of Motivation"

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Well, God is already up to something in this place, isn't He? Wow, what a service we've had so far. And I believe that God is going to meet you at the point of your need. Some of you have come here because you really do have needs. I got a call, uh actually a text this morning from a young pastor in uh Wisconsin. And he just simply texted me one line. He said, I'm really struggling this morning. And I knew that, of course, he was going to be preaching probably at his church. Um, has a great church in Wisconsin. And he was hurting. So I just called him, left a message, and asked him to call me back, and he did. And I just spent time telling him this I said, the grace of God is only sufficient for today. And if you project your worries and your concerns into tomorrow, there's no grace for that. That's why you can't get delivered from fear and dread of tomorrow. Because grace only happens today. God is the God of the now, He's a God of today. But I'm going to tell you this: no matter what you're going through, today He can give you victory. Today He will give you victory. He will give you life. How many of you will say that's good enough? Amen. If you can make it through today, you know, we have songs like that. You know, Lord help me Jesus. And these mournful songs like, if I can just make it through today, well, folks, that's that's that's not a mournful song. That's reality. That's everybody's song. We just have to make it through today. And what I found out is this that God is more than enough in my right now. Amen. Right now, he's more than enough. Well, we've been on an exciting venture over the last three weeks. We've been talking about new and exciting projects at Evangel Christian Academy. I was um standing in the wings just getting ready to come out today, and I was thinking about the faithfulness of my dad and mom. I don't know how if all of you know the story, but in 1958, we rolled into town a tiny church on 69th and Henderson Street in Cedar Grove. It's still there if you want to go by and see it, by the way. It's now called First Baptist Cedar Grove. And that was where I spent my childhood. Um the audience, the, I started to say the audience, when we first came, I think they were more of an audience than a congregation, actually. But um that congregation was 47 people. And frankly, um half of them sit on one side of the church and half of them on the other, and there was a reason for that. They didn't get along very well. And I I remember my dad preaching his heart out, praying sometimes almost all night long. In fact, in those early days, we had all night prayer meetings. We we would pray till dawn, just asking God to move and to work. And finally, the church wasn't growing. Uh, it was so difficult. Uh we supplemented our income by doubling as the church janitors. And so on Saturday night, I can remember when I was a child growing up, we all went over to the church and we cleaned that church till it was sparkling. And then my dad, of course, and mom would minister the next morning. It was tough. And finally, my dad went to the church one day and he got on his knees at one of those altars and and he said, God, I I want to go back into evangelism. He said, It's just not happening. The churches are growing, everything's down, the finances are down, attendance is down. Lord, I I I I can't go on. And the Lord spoke to him so clearly, and he gave him this word, and it was long before you ever heard Hillsong say it. He said this to him in the 1950s, 1959, he said, Don't you leave. The best is yet to come. And the reason we're in this beautiful building is because my dear dad just had an ever-expanding vision. You know, you see how that floor's flat? You know why it's flat? Because he planned for this eventually to be the school. He expected one day to build a sanctuary for 10,000 people. That's the truth. But all I can tell you is this the best is still yet to come. God has not changed his plan. And then my mom in 1980, uh, at the encouragement of my dad, started Evangel Christian Academy. And it was right here on this campus. We had some kids that came over from one of the other schools that had closed down. And boy, I don't know. But it seemed like those are some of the worst kids I've ever been around in my life. And when I would come and visit the school, I didn't know if it was a good idea. I really didn't. I was going, man, this is tough. You got to be kidding. Well, in 1989, uh, there was finally going to be a high school class. And so mom says to me, You promised to start a football team and to give these boys a football experience when they were in high school, and they're in high school. So I thought, how hard can it be? Well, let me tell you, it was a whole lot harder than I thought it was gonna be. I promise you that. And I'd already started a college football team uh years before that. But all I'm saying is now I walk onto that school campus and I feel the glory of God, and I see how beautiful it is, and those wonderful kids that are on that campus, and we're having so much fun just serving the Lord and putting Jesus in the middle of everything we do. And again, it just goes back to the faithfulness of people that went before us, amen. Who said, you know, the best is yet to come. Well, folks, we can't ever give up on that. Amen. And so when we have projects like we've had over the last three weeks where we have determined that we are going to provide facilities to keep up with the growth of Evangel Christian Academy. And when you talk about our major outreaches, we do not have a more effective outreach than Evangel Christian Academy. Our kids are literally all over the world preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the best is yet to come. So today is the time where we're going to receive your offerings of thanksgiving for the legacy, for our heritage, and for the vision that the best is yet to come. So many exciting things happening. It's just amazing. We're doing some new things on the campus right now. I can't wait for you to see them. It's gonna be wonderful for these students. Next year, they're gonna roll onto the campus and they're gonna be so blown away and surprise. We're doing our best to make sure that every corner of that campus is just taken care of with the utmost detail because we believe that the secret to progress in every area of the kingdom is if you're faithful over little, God will make you ruler over much. Amen. And so this is what we're gonna do. We're gonna stand. Everyone stand, please, if you'll stand. And I'm gonna ask you to just prepare your offerings. If you don't have the offering with you and a check, or you're not prepared to give with a credit card, then what I'm gonna ask you to do is just to write the offering that you're going to give this week. Maybe you can uh actually you can give online, or maybe you want to, some of you are a little bit more old-fashioned than that, I am, simply because I don't know anything about a computer much, but uh you want to maybe bring it by the church. That would be fantastic. But I want everybody, listen, I want everybody to determine to do something. And you say, what do you mean something? Well, something, anything. You say, well, why would you want to participate if we couldn't participate with an offering that would make a difference? Every offering makes a difference. Because every offering we give, God determines to multiply it. So I don't care if it's $10, I don't care if it's a buck. I want to tell you, I'd love for everybody to do something. And the reason why is because you begin to get in the path of great, great blessing. When you sow, you will reap. And when you sow in good ground, you will reap 30, 50, 100fold. Let me tell you, this is good ground. You say, What are you doing again, Pastor? Well, we are building three new classrooms, and we're excited about that. But we are also redoing that gym. Have you had the picture up yet? There it is. This is for our kids, and it's it's also for our fellowship in the church. We want to make that clear. There are three pickleball courts there, as you can kind of probably, those of you that are familiar with the game can tell where they are, but I can't. But um, what I will tell you is there are pickleball courts there. Take my word for it. And there's gonna be a lot of fellowship that's gonna be going on in that we need that spot. We need a building and a room that big just for our church as well as the school, our men's meetings and the things that we need to have inside, like dinners and things like that. It's a great, great place for that. And so it's just a great upgrade. It's gonna be wonderful and it's so timely. And can you just give our pastor a hand for having that vision? Boy, I'll tell you, thank you. I love my pastor. I really love my pastor. It just seems like I've loved him his whole life, actually. Praise God. Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna pray right now. Father, I pray in Jesus' name that today this offering will be a part of an ongoing legacy that we'll understand as we prepare as a family of believers to celebrate 70 years of being in Shreeport and leading this great church in just a couple of years. It will be 70 years. And then, Lord God, as we prepare in just three years to uh to celebrate a hundred years of this church being here, I pray that we will not uh be the generation that stops the legacy, that that stops the best is yet to come testimony. But we will continue to build and continue to give and do what you've asked us to do in Jesus' name. This is what I'm gonna ask. I'm gonna ask that you step out and just come, and there are these offering receptacles here, and if you'll just come and bring your offering uh to the front, please, and or either your pledge, and you can just put it right here in these offering receptacles. Let's come right now and give to the legacy. The best is yet to come. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

I got you sing this.

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All of my hope is in the name, the name of Jesus.

SPEAKER_03 15:33

I know you're doing your aerobics today, but I'm gonna ask everyone to stand one more time. I want you to turn in in your Bibles to the book of Galatians and please hear me, hear what I'm about to say, and I hope this goes straight to your heart. I love you. Thank you. Thank you for flowing with the vision of this church. You see, evangel is is not our church school where our church kids go. Um probably we don't have 10% of the kids at Evangel that go to this church, they're from everywhere, and the only hope many of those children have, the only hope they have spiritually is showing up to that campus every day. You are expanding that hope. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Amen. Now I'm gonna ask you to turn to Galatians, the fifth chapter, and we'll start reading with the 16th verse. But I say, walk by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Wow. But if you are led by the spirit, you're not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, let me just say this to you, even though that's also true, uh This doesn't say the kingdom of heaven. It says the kingdom of God. What it's talking about is our complete all-encompassing lives on this earth. It's talking about everything that has to do with your happiness, your fulfillment, and your future. The kingdom of God. You won't have the best in life. It only comes from the kingdom of God if this is your behavior. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things. There is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Praise God. May the Lord add his blessing to his word today. I want to speak to you on the third power of the Holy Ghost, the power of motivation. You may be seated. I actually went to the gym and worked out this morning. After three weeks of being a member, I finally got there. How many of you understand motivation is easier said than done? Do you remember when you lost it? Not really. No, you don't. It just is gone. There was a time when you were motivated to read. And now you're just not. There was a time when you were motivated to study, and I don't know where that went. There was a time when you were motivated to work out. Somewhere that was lost 30 years ago. There was a time when you were motivated to get with people, but you hadn't had anybody over in four or five years. Motivation, that that that word, it is such a powerful concept, isn't it? Because you're gonna have great intentions and no motivation, and it won't do you one bit of good. You know, I uh I see Pop Houston is here today on the front row, and how I love Pop Houston. Now, everybody knows that Pop is one of the top quarterbacks in America, but I really know Pop, and I know a lot of great things about him. One of the things I know is that he loves the Lord, and he's one of the most humble, honest kids I've been around in my lifetime. Um, we had a seven on seven for the young guys. Last Thursday, and we went down or up to uh Washita Baptist University. And Briggs Berlin, who's going to be our ninth-grade quarterback, was quarterbacking. Well, wouldn't you know it? When they got there, I saw that Pop Houston piled out of the truck with Brock Berlin and Briggs. He had ridden up there with them. And then every single snap, that is, when the ball is passed to the quarterback, you don't have a regular center in these passing tournaments. You just have one stand and throw it to the quarterback. And who was throwing it to the ninth grade quarterback every single snap but Pop Houston? That's just who he is. But I'll tell you something else about him. When we work out in the mornings, which is about eight o'clock every morning, I guess, or 7:30 perhaps, we start. And then he comes and does our workout with us. And then he's back in the afternoon and he works out. You see, success and greatness always comes with a price, and it takes motivatation. Here's what you also have to understand it takes motivation to live a godly life. You got to be motivated. That Bible doesn't just read itself. You've got to be motivated to pray. I gave our football players their plan because you have to start where you are. Can you say amen? And this past week I gave them their plan. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs. Everybody that knew that, raise your hand. Now that's perfect for what? Somebody say it. Right, for one month, exactly. Um you can read one a day. Every month, you will read Proverbs through, and it is the book of wisdom. You will get wise reading Proverbs. And then it's also important that you read a chapter from somewhere else in the Bible. And then I challenged our kids, our football players, to pray for five minutes. You say, Oh man, I'll pray longer than that. Oh, just try it. You'll pray five minutes, and the first time you'll be looking at your watch, going, How long have I been praying? But I can tell you this if these boys would be motivated to read a chapter in Proverbs, to read a chapter in the New Testament, and to pray for five minutes, do you understand how their spiritual life would be transformed? But we've got to start where we are and we've got to get motivated. But it is almost, if not totally, impossible for that to happen on our own. Not spiritually, and neither can I. And that's why God sent the power of the Holy Spirit. He is the power of motivation. Turn to the person next to you and say, You got that right. He is the power of motivation. And the word of God says this: you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses. You see, this motivation that comes from the Holy Spirit doesn't just motivate us to say good stuff about Jesus. That's what a lot of people think a witness is. A witness is your verbal testimony about Jesus and your relationship with Him. Well, that's part of it. But that is so far short of all that a witness encompasses. A witness is not just a voice leading someone in the sinner's prayer. A witness is what the Holy Spirit empowers us to become, and you shall be my witnesses. That's where the emphasis is. You see, Jesus said it this way in the Sermon on the Mount. You are, say I am, the light of the world. You are, say I am a city set on a hill. Let your light shine before others. What do you mean, your light?

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Everything about you. You are the witness. You are the presence of God.

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You are the hope of the world. When you walk in, the whole room should light up with your presence. Because you are the emissary, the representative, the ambassador of the most high God. You are, but we understand we are theoretically. But how do we practically become the light of the world? How do we practically become the presence of God in this demented and deceived society that we live in? We must be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. Ask the Holy Spirit right now. Say, Lord, let me receive this today. Come on, just lift your hands. All of this place. Say, Lord, let me receive this today. Let me be motivated by the Holy Spirit. You see, first of all, this power of motivation has this impact on us. We are empowered to discern spirit-led attitudes. Now, let me just make that simpler for you. When you receive the power of the Holy Spirit, He lets you know when your attitude's good and when it's not. How many of you understand we are able to rationalize anything? Aren't we? Y'all know what that word means? Rationalize? Sure you do. I explain it this way. When I first got married, Deonza and I were getting to know each other. So we are having all of these revelations about this individual that we're now going to spend the rest of our lives with. So I took her one night. We got all dressed up. I took her one night to one of the fanciest restaurants in Kansas City, Missouri. And boy, it was beautiful. There were torches out front, tiki torches, and man, we drove in that uh driveway that went right up, and I got out and opened the door for her and let her out. And man, it was just gonna be cool. White tablecloths and you know, fancy menu. I I couldn't wait. We got to the end of the night, and um we decided to order dessert. Well, I didn't think she was gonna order any because earlier that day I had gotten my favorite breakfast, which was white powdered donuts, and I got in the car to eat them, and she looked and said, Ooh, white powdered donuts. Do you know how much sawdust is in those? And I said, What are you talking about? They're wonderful. Oh, do you know how many teaspoons of sugar are in one of those? Well, by that time I was sitting there holding my favorite dessert, and it had dissolved into just a pile of sawdust and sugar. But now we're at the tiki torch restaurant, and we're ordering dessert. She said, Well, yes, I'd like your chocolate mousse. I didn't even know what that was. She's really helped me as far as the food I eat. I eat exotic food now that I'm married, Deonsa. She she's Italian, she's got all kinds of great food that she was already eating as a single gal, you know, and I she brought that into my world. I'm very grateful. So is my waistline. But I just sat back wondering how many teaspoons of sugar are in chocolate mousse. But you see, the fact is, that's what we do. We rationalize our behavior. Anyone'd be mad at that? I'm not letting that go. I'm putting my foot down this time. I can't believe she said she said that. Really? She's she said it just like that. I mean, folks, let me just tell you, I've heard some Christians rationalize some attitudes. Well, Jesus drove them out of the temple with a whip, hallelujah. I'm I I'm just righteously indignant. No, you're not, you got a bad attitude. And when you are empowered with the Holy Spirit, you will have an alarm system. He will speak to you if you listen to him. But unless you are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, you will never know. And if you do know, you will very quickly move past that frame of life and not learn the lesson of life so that you can live life to the fullest. You gotta hear me, folks. You have got to be empowered of the Holy Spirit so that you have a discernment when the attitude is wrong. I was uh one day walking across our yard. It was at night. I was going out to get something out of our studio. This is when we lived back at the other place years ago. And I was walking across the backyard to get something out of the studio. I was so angry, I was so angry at Deonza, I'll tell you. You know, you could have fried an egg on my neck. I was mad. I was just, I was angry. And I have no idea what she could have done that would have made me like that, but I'm walking and and uh I'm just kind of talking to myself, and the Holy Spirit broke in. You see, this is what will happen when you're empowered by the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit broke in and said, Well, uh, okay, are her faults worse than yours? Now I knew I didn't tell myself that. I I was let me just tell you, I was not prepared to hear that from anybody, and especially not myself, but I knew who told me that it was the power of the Holy Spirit. You know, though it not only humbled me, it scared me. How many of you have ever experienced the fear of God? The fear of God came on me. It was like Daddy God speaking to me, rebuking me. And I said, Oh, Holy Spirit, I'm so sorry. Forgive me, of course, of course, her faults are not as bad as mine. Lord, I ask your forgiveness. Forgive me for being presumptuous in that way. You see, the fact is, your attitudes are going to be a part of your witness your whole life. And you will not be able to touch people at any point in any season of your life if you are not motivated by the Holy Spirit to rightly discern what you are really feeling. Some of you have over the past just few months, perhaps, stopped speaking to somebody. Now, if your experience with the Holy Spirit is fresh, the Holy Spirit has already been dealing with you about that. He's already let you know that that is not acceptable. You don't judge somebody that severely unless you want God to stop talking to you. Because that is the principle. Says, I will forgive you exactly as you forgive others. That is the principle of scripture. God will treat you exactly as you treat others. If you forgive people their sins, God will forgive you your sins. And I'm talking about the sins that you think they've committed against you. Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna tell you that that guy that guy robbed me. Yeah, and you need to pray for them. Because the Bible says, pray for your enemies. You say, what do you pray for your enemies? I'll pray for them. I'll I'll the Bible says that if you forgive your enemies and you do good things for your enemies, that that God will put hot coals on their head. I'll just pray God will burn their brains out. No, that's not the way you pray. The way you pray is this Father God, get them right with you. Let them come to an altar of repentance, let them be filled with the Holy Spirit the way I'm filled with the Holy Spirit, so that you can bless them, so that you can bless their families, so that they can go to heaven. God, I want the same thing for them, I want for myself. I want you to forgive me my debts as I forgive my debtors. That only comes from the Holy Spirit. That's not natural knowledge, comes from the Holy Spirit. You see, this is what you've got to understand. Our natural mind is incapable on its own of godly attitudes. The reason for that is the kingdom of God is in total opposition to the kingdom of this world, and there is a stark contrast between worldly values and the values of God's kingdom. And that often turns societal norms and expectations upside down. The kingdom of God is the upside down way of life. You say, what do you mean? Well, let me cite a few examples. Jesus' statement, the last will be first, the first will be last. Now I want to tell you that's not gonna fly in any corporate setting. You don't get invited back to speak to those folks if you come up with that. The last shall be first, the first will be last. And this principle is illustrated in the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Remember in Matthew 20, 1 through 16, where the laborers were hired at different times, you know, like one was hired at 8 o'clock in the morning, worked all day, the other one's hired like at five o'clock in the evening and had like an hour left to work. And the good master said, I'm gonna pay all of them equally. Well, that's not fair. I know, it's the kingdom of God. That amazing. What he was talking about was this that there were Jews that had believed in the living God their whole lives and for generations. And then there are these Gentiles that are gonna come in and they get in at the last hour through the cross. And Jesus was saying, I'm gonna pay everybody the same thing. Everybody gets heaven. Hallelujah. Long before Oprah, God said it. Everybody gets one, everybody gets heaven, everybody gets faith, everybody gets hope, everybody gets love, everybody lives in joy, everybody has their sins forgiven. Everybody gets delivered, everybody prospers. That's the kingdom of God. You have to have the Holy Ghost to buy it. Hallelujah. Humble yourselves before the Lord, He will exalt you. What's that about? You have to have the Holy Ghost to get it, to understand it, and to pursue it. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly and despised things of the world and the things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast in his present. Only the Holy Ghost can allow you to get your brain around that. Listen, my beloved brothers. Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised, those who love him, only the Holy Ghost can give you that revelation. That is backwards. That is upside down. Hallelujah. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither my ways your ways. No kidding. No kidding. Yeah. You can say that again. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your thoughts, and my thoughts than your thoughts. You know what you should respond the first time you read this? Then what chance do we have? That should be the human response. Then what chance do we have if that's the truth? We are not called to figure it out on our own. Somebody say amen. And it begins with our attitudes. The Holy Spirit points out wrong thinking, which is the basis for every wrong attitude, which is the basis for most wrong conversation and relational problems, and on to our next point, which is the basis for ungodly behavior. The passage that we read at the beginning, Galatians 5, is powerful because it outlines the gifts of the Spirit, but it's also powerful because it gives a very graphic description of the works of the flesh. In fact, a little bit too graphic at times. It's amazing. You just list all of these works of the flesh. Now, let me just say this to you. You don't have to have the Holy Ghost to know that those are the works of the flesh. You know that immediately when you read them. In fact, the Bible says that. It says that, you know, that this is obvious. You might want to underline that in your Bible. It's obvious that sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, adultery, witchcraft, on and on are works of the flesh. But now we're going to get the other side of behavior, and really logically, this whole discussion should continue with a transition that says.

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This is the way you ought to behave.

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That's not what it says. It says this. These are the works of the flesh. Everybody knows that. But then instead of the transition of this is the way you ought to behave, it says this. But now the fruit of the spirit is. Did you get that? You know what I'm trying to say here? Do you? I'm trying to say this to you. Is that you don't look at one list of bad behavior, which everybody gets, and then try to create an alternative list of good behavior, which you are going to accomplish. No, no, no, no, because you can't do it. Try. Go ahead. Try. Give it your best shot. You can't do it. You are not going to be able to do that. Nobody in this place, nobody is going to be able to love at all times, to live in perfect joy, to live in peace, in patience, in kindness, in goodness, in faithfulness. Nobody is just gentle and always has self-control. That's why he doesn't say, do this. You don't find it anywhere there. He doesn't command us, do this. Instead, he says this. He said, The fruit of the Spirit is. The fruit of the Spirit is. In other words, we've got to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. And then it becomes a natural outflow of our being. We are gentle because of who is in us. We do love because of the Holy Ghost. We are patient because that's what the Holy Spirit is. We receive his power and then we become who he is because the third person of the Godhead lives in us. He will get it done. Somebody say amen. The Apostle Paul was basically converted by the Holy Spirit-empowered behavior of a young man by the name of Stephen as he was being stoned. The Apostle Paul was standing there in the streets. And he was holding the coats of the men that were stoning Stephen to death. Can you imagine? I want you to see this. Just watching the young men die. Who was this guy? What kind of sickle was this guy? Saul of Tarsus. Destined to be the Apostle Paul. So the guys are killing this guy in the street. Watching it.

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Giving approval to it.

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And he watches it. And he begins to preach. And it's amazing what he says. It's so powerful. The only message the young man got to preach in his lifetime was his last. And he preaches. And it's riveting. And then he gets to the end of his preaching. And his life is ebbing out because the contusions and the gashes are so profound that blood is spurting everywhere. He is now crouched in a pool of his own blood, and he will be dead in moments. And he looks up and declares, I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And the man holding the coats would never be the same after that moment. You see, the fact is, we get filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, and even in our most difficult moments, the fruit of the Spirit is. Hallelujah. When Jesus appeared to Paul on that road to Damascus that day, because he was on the road to Damascus and he had his men with him. They were mounted on horses and they were headed into Damascus to find Christians and do the same thing to them they had done to Stephen. And suddenly he sees a light and he falls off of his horse and he's there on his back in the middle of the road. And he looks up to heaven. And he cries, Who are you, Lord? And this is what the Lord said to him first. He said, It's hard for you to kick against the goads, isn't it? You see, goads were what you use to prod cattle. They were sharp sticks. And so he was saying this. He was saying this to Paul. He was saying, It's hard for you to get away from the conviction of what you saw that day when Stephen preached. You can't get away from it, can you, Saul? You're bugged by it, you're tormented by it. You can't get away from the sharp sticks that are sticking into your soul because of what you saw and what you heard. And it was that day, of course, that the greatest apostle of all was born again. And God wouldn't let him go preach. Listen, until he got full of the Holy Ghost. Stand with me, please, all over this place. The last point is very simple. This power of motivation empowers us to make spirit-led choices. I was thinking this week just about the choices that I've made in my life and how important they were to so many other people that are in my life right now. God has spoken to me about my life in ways that honestly have been very confusing to some more traditional people. But yet, if I had not heard the voice of the Holy Spirit, it would have impacted not just my life, but the way my family looks, uh the way this congregation looks. And I'm just so grateful for the power of motivation that motivates us to make right choices, just right choices. You know, I keep uh referring to Pop here, and I don't want to wear him out. He might not ever want to sit on the front row again. I don't know. I'm just uh this is I'll I'll not do this again to you, Pop. But I gotta share this. Yeah, yesterday, as we were walking off the field at LSU, we had just been in a seven-on-seven competition, and we were the only undefeated team there. We we went five and oh, and it was wonderful, and we we prayed it up, you know, which we always do after everything and before everything. And then we're walking off, and I I reached over to uh to pop's dad. And I said, Sean, I said, you know, God put this whole thing together for you. I said you being an evangel with pop and being able to be with him for these three years, actually to coach. I said, This is God, it's totally the Lord. You say, Why would you say that? Well, because when Sean, Pop's dad, was just a little boy, about 10 years old, 11 years old, he was the little godbrother of one of our defensive linemen by the name of Eric Jefferson. And so Eric would bring him places because he loved football and he loved Eric and he loved Evangel just as a little boy. And so when we were going to our second state championship on the bus, somehow Sean had gotten on that bus, and he's set by a seventh grader named Brock Berlin, and they rode to the championship together, and they actually spent some time together during that week. Sean didn't go to Evangel, his mom um made the decision for him to go to another school, but even then he would sometimes drive across town as fast as he could after their ball games so that he could watch the end of our football games. One day we look out at practice, and Sean and uh Payton were out working out on our field. And we open our field for kids all over town to come work out. Whatever God gives you, you use it for the kingdom. Amen. And so they're working out. All my coaches just said, hey, hey, there he is. I said, There, who is? Said, that's Pop Houston. Said, he's the that number one quarterback in the in the ninth grade. He's he's going into the ninth, going into the ninth grade. You can go talk to him. He's on our turf. Go talk to him. I said, that's not in the rules, guys. I'm sorry. I I can't go recruit him just because he's on our dirt. That's I can't do that. But I did walk out and uh said hello to Sean first. And Sean walked over to me and he said, Oh, Pastor Denny, you have to tell me who you are. He said, I probably know more about Evangel than you do, sir. And he did. He knew every player, he knew every season. It was amazing. Then I walked over to Pop and I shook his hand and I said, Pop, I said, I've heard so many wonderful things about you. Remember, Pop and I said, I said, you have a great coach, Coach Gwen, at Calvary. And I said, I love Coach Gwen. I said, he's my guy. And I said, let me tell you, he got Dak Prescott there, he'll get you there. Isn't that what I told you? Walk back in, never think anything of it. But a few weeks later, I'm sitting in my office with Coach Gwen's number dialed on my phone, and I'm waiting for the arrival of the Houston family. They had dropped out of the school of Calvary where they were, and they walked in to my meeting room, and as soon as they sat down, I punched sinned and I put it on speaker so that they could hear. And I said, Coach Gunn, I said, I got one of your quarterbacks here with his family. I said, You want to tell me about that? He said, Oh, Danny, he said, I've got a quarterback controversy. I can't negotiate, I can't handle it. And he said, They're the most wonderful people in the world. And he said, I told them I wouldn't go anywhere but to you. He said, I sent them to you. But here's the thing that all started when Sean was 10 years old. You say, Well, what are you saying, Pastor? Well, I'm saying the God who knows the end from the beginning sends you the connective tissue of life, which is an encounter and a filling of the Holy Ghost. And once that happens in you, you begin to make choices. Divine, glorious, supernatural choices. How did I end up with this company? The Holy Ghost. How did I end up in this church? The Holy Ghost. And that's why you have to be careful that you don't get in the flesh and make hasty decisions in the flesh that cost you time and opportunity and success in life. You see, the Holy Spirit wants you to make it. That's the plan of God. But you must depend on the comforter if you're going to see it happen. It's pretty amazing, isn't it? Let's just get real plain. That you literally could come to the front of a place like this, lift your hands, and that Almighty God could just literally fill you up with the comforter, the power of the Holy Ghost. That the power of the Holy Ghost just would come and live in you.

unknown 59:11

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 59:12

And from then on, you would have the wisdom of God. Is that glorious? You would have the ability to make choices that are right for you and your family forever. I don't know. Are you are you hearing me this morning? You say, Well, what are you telling me, Pastor? I'm telling you that if you have never been baptized on the Holy Ghost, you need to get baptized on the Holy Ghost. But I'm also telling you that if somehow the oil of joy of the Holy Spirit has seeped out of your life because you've been walking according to your own ways, that it's time to come back to the altar and to repent and to get things right and allow him to fill you afresh and anew. He will fill you again. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Right now, I want you just to lift your hands all over this place, wherever you are. Just lift your hands, lift your hands. Holy Spirit, the thing that I've been praying is that you will fill everyone in this congregation with your power. Lord, if we have ever needed the power to discern right attitudes, it's today. If there's so much division in the world, Lord God, we absolutely refuse it here. We claim rather the rule of the Holy Ghost in our lives. We will not become part of the conversation, Lord, or the infighting that is going on right now in every corner of our nation. We will stand strong by the gospel and keep pure hearts in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Lord God, I pray. Empower us, Lord, for our behavior. We can't do it on our own. We have understood that as we have bumped up against principalities and powers, that they are too much for us. That's why we have to have the power of the Holy Spirit to stand against them. Lord, you have given us power and victory. Fill us with the Holy Spirit. Fill us with the Holy Spirit. Come on, just lift your hands and just say, Lord Jesus, fill me with your spirit. Fill me with your spirit, Lord Jesus. Fill me right now with your spirit.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:43

Oh God, fill me with your Holy Spirit. Glory God. Oh, we love you, Lord. We love you, Jesus. We praise you, God.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:59

Hallelujah. As your heads are bowed and your eyes are closed, just for a moment, just for a moment. You know what? I love the distinction that the scripture made. It said, bad behavior is obvious. Well, here's what else is obvious. We know when we're really walking with Jesus and when we're not. And you know what? Here's what I want to tell you as a father of the faith, as a dad, who, on behalf of your heavenly dad, wants to tell you today it doesn't matter how long you haven't been walking close to the Father. He is so ready to put his arms around you and to never mention what you've done. Right now, that's what he wants to do. And to restore you today. Isn't that amazing? That just today, in this moment, that could be the factor that turns everything in your life around right now, today. As your heads are bowed and you're shut away with God, this is what I ask. How many of you right here will say, Pastor Denny, I've been cold in my heart really toward the Lord. I have not been where I should be. And maybe you don't even know what that means because you don't know where you should be, but you just know this that whatever I was talking about, you don't have that. And you'll say, I Pastor Denny, I I want Jesus to have total control of my life. And you'll say, I can't, and this is the key part, I can't honestly say that Jesus is the controller of my life and the Lord of my life right now at this stage. You'll say, I want him to clean things up in my heart, and I want him to give me a new heart and a new future. You'll say, I want to give my life to Jesus today. In a fresh, new way. I want to give my life to Jesus. I want to get right with God. I'm not right with God, but I want to get right with God. I'm going to ask you on the count of three to raise your hand all over this place if I'm talking to you. Because this is your time to be able to go home with peace in your heart for a long, for the first time in a long time. Hallelujah. As I count to three, I want you to lift your hand if I'm talking to you. One, two, three. Raise your hand, please, all over this place. Raise your hand all over this place. I'm going to ask everyone who's lifted your hand. I want you to step out of the aisle and come and stand right here. I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to pray for you right now. This is going to be a new beginning for you. God's going to do something extra special in your life today. He's going to do something extra special in your life. God's going to move in this place. So come on, put your hands together and thank God for what he's doing in these people's lives. Thank you, Jesus. I need people that know how to pray to just come and stand behind them, please. If you'll just come and stand behind them, put your hand on their shoulder and just pray for them where they can hear you pray. Hallelujah. Praise God. Praise God. Pray this prayer with me right now. Lord Jesus, I've come today because I'm not right with you, but I am so ready. I'm the only one who knows my secrets. But I want you to clean up my life. By the power of the blood of Jesus, and fill me with the power of your spirit. Let this be my day. Lord God, forgive me for straying away from you, but I'm coming home. In Jesus' name. Now, folks, here's what I'm going to tell you. There are things that can derail you. And just because they haven't derailed you yet, is no reason that you should play with anything that has the power to throw you off track. Some of you right now are dealing. Listen, I didn't say you were bitter. I didn't say that you you're committed to unforgiveness, but you're fighting. You're fighting to do the right thing. I want to help you fight. Can I help you? I want you right now, if you'll say, Pastor Denny, I'm having problems with somebody in my life. I need God to help me. I want you to step out right now and come to the front of this place because I want to pray for you. I want to join my faith with your faith because we will not allow this to sidetrack you. Come right now, quickly, quickly, quickly, all over this place. I'm having problems with somebody in my life and I need to get it right. If you're having problems with a mom or a dad, if you're having problems with a child, if you're having problems with a business associate, with somebody that has been good to you in the past, but suddenly has turned a cold shoulder towards you. I want you to come and I want you to stand here. Maybe you're having problems because you've got a daughter or a son. They just don't want to include you. And you're so hurt because you're left out of the circle of love. I want you to come right now. You know, some of these kids are going to these squirrely counselors that are telling them that they need to cut off their families. And let me tell you, that's straight from the pit of hell. The Bible says, honor your mother and your father, that your days may be long upon the earth. So right now, somebody may be dealing with that. I want you to come and stand right here quickly, quickly, quickly. Hallelujah. Put your hands out toward these people, folks, right now. We want to do surgery today. Lord, I pray right now, with surgical precision, Holy Ghost, that you will make the adjustment and give everyone here confidence. That Lord, this that they are dealing with, Lord, this issue is something that you have already taken care of. You already have the solution. You already know exactly what is to be done. And I pray, Lord, that as they remove the obstacle of their feelings and of their attitudes toward this, that you'll be able to speak to them clearly in Jesus' name. I pray that as they pray for their enemies, Lord, that you will come in might and power and do something only you can do. I ask, oh God, that today will be the day that they finally can breathe and they finally have peace and they finally have freedom from all of the feelings that have been bombarding them. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Hallelujah. Now just say amen if you believe God has answered this prayer. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Now, hear me, church. These three Sundays have been a kickoff to a summer of seeking God. You're going to be hearing from our pastor as he gives us special moments and days to be able to come together for prayer meetings and to seek the Lord. We feel that God is about to move this church into even deeper waters and that God is going to do something through us to still shake this city in Jesus' name. We have never given up on our dream to see Shreeport taken by the power of God. Amen. Hallelujah. If you believe that, put your hands together and give the Lord a shout. Lord, we love you. We bless you. We give you glory. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And Lord, I pray you'll bless your people in Jesus' name. God, those that are struggling and have hardships financially in Jesus' name, I pray for a turnaround. I pray for a turnaround in the name of the Lord. I ask, oh God, that you'll do something that'll amaze them. And I pray it'll happen within the next two weeks in Jesus' name. And Lord God, I pray for those that are sick. In the name of Jesus, I rebuke sickness. Cancer, I come against you in the name of Jesus. I pray that every abnormal cell will die and will reverse itself. I pray in Jesus' name that every tumor will be gone. I pray in the name of the Lord that every disease that has come against your people will turn and run from the power of the blood and the stripes on Jesus' back. I thank you that you are still the healer after 2,000 years. Make your people well and whole, that they may do your work, and we give you the glory in Christ's name. And everybody said, Amen. I listen, ready? Everybody said, Amen. I want to bless you right now. And as you leave, I want you to go in great confidence. May the God of Jacob protect you from all harm. May the Lord answer you when you're in distress. May He send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May remember all your best sacrifices and accept your best offerings. And may He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed. And yes, we will shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God. Come on, shout at everybody. May the Lord answer all your prayers. Hallelujah. God bless you.

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Thank you for connecting with us today. The first step to a new life in Christ is receiving the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. If you have never received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, repeat this prayer after me. Jesus, I believe you died on a cross and rose again for me. I ask that you come into my heart and be the Lord of my life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Whether you committed your life to Jesus for the first time today or are already on your journey of faith, we would love to stay connected with you. Please visit sfchurch.com and follow SC Church on all social media platforms. And remember, the best is yet to come.