SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hi, my name is Michelle Steele. Pastor Philip and I want to thank you for listening to this message from Life of Faith Church. We have more resources available to help you build your faith and frame your world by the Word of God. From our website, lifeoffaith.net, you can connect to our YouTube channel. Watch the live stream feed from our church services. Access books and downloads in our web store. And discover more about Life of Faith Church. Producing life city, state, nation, and world. Visit lifeoffaith.net today.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

And uh I want to continue looking at this. The Lord said to us that April was the door to more. And he said, the door is cracked open right now. Now, this was back in February. And he said, in April it will be flung wide open. And April is the door to more. And uh it it does include finances, but there's so much more to it than just that. When we when we look at more, what does the Word of God say about this? And of course, the Lord uh has me on a specific road of revelation. Uh some number of years ago, Pastor Caldwell preached an 11-week series, and he called it uh exposed to a higher standard. And uh throughout that series, he was talking about a higher standard. And for instance, he made the statement that there is uh divine healing, but there is the higher standard of divine health. He talked about the anointing being a higher standard, the kingdom of God's system being a higher standard. And so as I was meditating on this, it began to be a realization in me more is a higher standard. More is coming up to a higher standard. All right? I've got to think more, I've got to believe for more. Now, when I say more, I don't mean think more in the sense of more often or whatever. Think more. More has to be what I think. All right. I have to believe for more, I have to press into more. And um in Psalm 115 and verse 14, it's a it's a verse that's often quoted, but it's where the Lord has directed me to start in each of these messages. He said, The Lord will increase you more and more, you and your children. Well, that's good news. Amen. The word more refers to an increase or a multiplication, specifically of blessings. All right. More emphasizes ongoing abundance. Ongoing abundance, meaning that God will continue to add to and expand the blessings, all right, for you and your descendants. So it's emphasizing ongoing abundance. The amplified Bible says, May the Lord give you increase more and more, you and your children. So increase refers to doing more, to getting more. Doing more, do again, or get more. So whatever God has done for you, He's going to do it again, and you'll get more of it. Hallelujah. So more is an expansion of what God's already done. It's an expansion or an adding to what he's already done. Hallelujah. So the Lord gives us increase increasingly. Our increase increases. Amen. And the door to more has been opened to us, he said. Now in Genesis 13, we start getting a picture of this. And we dealt last week a lot with our covenant. And uh we're not gonna so much deal with that tonight, but we do want to start with Abram again. Genesis 13, and this is after that there had been strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and Lot's cattle, and Abram came and said, You know, don't let there be strife, let's separate. And he told Lot to choose which direction he wanted to go. And of course, he chose the plain of Sodom and Gomorrah. And the Bible says in verse 14, the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, lift up now your eyes and look from where you are. Now, where Abraham was is found in verse 2. Abram was very rich in cattle and in silver and in gold. Alright? So he's in a good spot. He's doing all right, he's doing well. But look from where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever. And I'll make your seed as the dust of the earth, so if man can number the dust of the earth, so then shall your seed be numbered. So notice, look from where you are. Alright, look from where you're at. Everywhere you're at, all right, I've got to look from that place. It doesn't matter how good it is, it doesn't matter how bad it is, it doesn't matter how uh uh abundant it is, it doesn't matter how much lack is there. I've got to start looking from that position. And he said, I want you to look, notice, to the north and to the south and to the east and the west. And he said, All the land, not just where you're at, is what I'm gonna give to you. All right? You got to look from where you're at, and everything that you see, I'm gonna give it to you. And then he said, I want you to get up, I want you to see it, and I want you to walk through it. Amen. God has given the city into the hands of the church for the preaching of the gospel. We've got to look from where we're at to what God wants us to see. Amen. Because that's more. Whatever you have, according to our definition from the Hebrew about more means that whatever God has done, he will do it again, but there will be more of it. Hallelujah. See, the enemy, the enemy is very successful at getting people to stop looking for more because of whatever. They they feel like they failed, they feel like they made a mistake, they feel like they missed their opportunity, their door of opportunity passed by them, or whatever it is. And God's saying, wherever you're at, whatever you're going through, I just need you to lift up your eyes and start looking for more, no matter how much Abraham had, looking north, south, east, and west and seeing all that land, north, south, east, and west, God said, Look from where you're at, and everything you can see, I'll give it to you. Amen. Everything you can see, I'll give it to you. I was watching something the other day, and there's this gentleman, he's uh he does some stuff on YouTube, and he'll meet people outside of like Best Buy, and and he's looking for people that are kind-hearted, right? And he'll ask him, he'll say, you know, I I forgot my wallet and and I need like a couple bucks for you know something. Can you help me out? And very often they will. And a lot of times it's people that you know are going through a hard time, they're there for you know, some small thing or whatever, and he'll say, Okay, here's what I'm gonna do because you are so kind hearted. Anything you can get in your cart for the next 60 seconds, I'll buy it for you. Whatever you put in the cart in the next 60 seconds, I'll buy it for you. Hallelujah. Amen. You know, you you you you watch, I watch some people and they just kind of go in there and they come out with like three things. But then you watch some of these people there just running through, they're putting sticky notes on everything. Just, ha, it's like they're laying hands on people that need demons cast out. They're just laying, right? Left and right. And they come out with two or three carts, right? Because some people are looking for more. Some people are satisfied with what they have, some people are looking for more. God says, wherever you're at, whatever you're dealing with, I need you to look north, south, east, and west, and anything you can see, I'll give it to you. Oh, hallelujah. Amen. He's given the city into the hands of the church for the preaching of the gospel. That's why you can never allow your circumstance to dictate what you're willing to reach for. Because your circumstance can make you feel like, whatever the case may be, you failed, you're not successful, you're not qualified, you don't have what it takes. Listen, failure is an event, it's not a person. Failure is something that happens to people, it's not people. Nobody is a failure if they'll get back up. Nobody is a failure if they'll start reaching for more. Nobody is a failure if they'll keep looking. Amen. The Bible says that if you're gonna wait for all the conditions to be right, that you'll never get anything accomplished, you've got to step out when it when you listen, you've got to step out and believe God for more when you feel like that you're lower than a worm's belly, when you feel like everybody's against you, when you feel like nothing's going right, you've got to step out and believe God for more. Your faith is working at its optimum, no matter what pressure you may feel that you're under. I'm telling you in the name of Jesus, your faith is working. More is coming. Increase will show up if you'll just lift up your eyes and look from where you're at. Just gotta lift my eyes up and look from where I'm at. Hallelujah. Amen. Do you see this? So if I'm looking for more, I can access more, I can move into more. You know, it all involves doing something. Start somewhere. Amen. Do you understand? You you listen, you don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. If I want something good to happen to me, I've got to start doing something. Amen. Hallelujah. I've talked to people before. And and understand when I say this, I'm not a financial expert, I'm not a financial advisor by no means. But I've heard people say, well, you know, it's too late for me to do this or to save this. Look, you've got to start doing something. It's never too late to start. If you don't start doing something, there's nothing for God to bless. If you don't start, money in all of its capacities, even in the natural, money is a seed. The highest, the highest reason for money is it's a seed. If you've invested anything, even naturally, naturally investing, you know that if you don't put it in an account that has compound interest attached to it, it's not going to multiply. But watch the power of compound interest. You put that seed in the ground, compound interest is attached to it, and every day, not every other day, not a few days of the month, every day of the month, that compound interest is working for you. The proof that you're looking for more is the fact that you'll put something in an account and you can't see it accruing, but you want something more than what you currently have. God says, I need you to lift up your eyes. Notice, lift up your, in other words, you're looking wrong. You're looking at the wrong thing. You've got to lift up your eyes and dream a little bit and think a little bit and look for more. More's on the horizon. I've got to be looking for it. Oh, hallelujah. Tell your neighbor, more is on the way. Tell them one more time. Say, more is on the way to you. Oh, hallelujah. I told you there's gonna be a meeting tonight. Meeting tonight, meeting on the old campground. Hallelujah. There's gonna be shouting tonight, shouting tonight. Why we're looking for more? We're looking for more. I say we're looking for more. Doesn't matter where you're at, it doesn't matter what you're dealing with. I'm lifting my eyes up. I'm looking for more. Whatever God has done, God will do and He'll do more of it. Amen. You know, I I like those verses. Maybe because when when I first came into the full-time ministry, doing what God told me to do, there wasn't a lot of people for us. There wasn't a lot of people in our corner. Now you would think that would be the opposite. Two young people wanting to get things done for God. But you know that's not always the case. And I found scriptures. One of the scriptures I found was when the prophet said, God delights in taking people from the dung hill and putting them up with princes. Amen. God delights in that. Amen. There's nothing worse than the dung hill. Nothing worse. The refuse pile, the junk heap. But God said, if you'll lift your eyes up and look for more, I'll take you from the junk heap to the palace. Amen. Hallelujah. It's not people that determine how far you go. You determine how far you go. Amen. If I'll keep looking, I can keep going. Oh, hallelujah. The Lord adds daily. Amen. Look at Acts 2.41. As you're going there, say out loud, more is coming. I believe God. I want to show you some things, and and especially as it pertains to this body and what uh over and over Scripture says about the church. In Acts chapter 2 and verse 41, notice it says, Then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls. Oh, hallelujah. Amen. So God added to their number about 3,000 souls. One translation says, On that day alone were added to the number of the disciples, 3,000 souls. Now they had a part to play. Peter had to preach, they had to be obedient, but God added to their number. We got that, see, you got to believe for the increase. You got to do what God says and believe for the increase. Amen. You know, increase doesn't always show up all at once. Increase doesn't always show up overnight. Sometimes it shows up incrementally. Amen. But but it's a little bit here and a little bit there and a little more here and a little more there. And before you know it, you're you you got a lot of mo. You got a lot of mo. Hallelujah. Look at Acts 2.47. It says they were praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Oh, hallelujah. One translation says, every day the Lord continued to add to them the people who were being saved. So the Lord's adding. Every day, the Lord's adding. We pray about our church. We were praying in staff meeting about it today. That we pray over our church, favor over our churches, that people just drive by and they say, Boy, that looks like a good church. That looks like a good place to go. And they show up and they get their needs met. God heals them, God saves them, God delivers them, and what God do, added to the church. Amen. More is coming. We've entered into the door to more. Now, in Acts 1. Acts chapter 1. And verse 8. He said, You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you. And here we go. And you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and under the uttermost parts of the earth. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, uttermost parts of the world. Or city, state, nation, and world. Hallelujah. Glory be to God. City, state, nation, and world. See, that's what that's what God is asking us to do. I remember years ago, uh, this would have been, oh my land, 20, 2001, 2002, something like that. We had a minister in the church at the Kansas location, and uh a very prominent minister, especially at that time. If I mentioned their name, you'd know them. And they they were ministering, and uh Pastor Michelle and I were sitting on the front row over here, and she stopped, and she said, she stopped, and she looked at at both of us, but she spoke is to us this word. But part of it was for both of us, part of it was specifically for my wife, and she said to the both of us, the Lord will give you a vision for the city. All right, and but then she looked at her and she said, and your testimony will go on the airwaves, right? And it'll go national and it will go international, right? And God, God will use the ministry to touch the nation. Hallelujah. Well, he did give us a vision for the city, he's given us a vision for that city, vision for this city. The testimony has gone on the airways, still going on the airways. She's got an interview tomorrow for her testimony at nine o'clock in the morning. The point that I'm trying to make to you is when God gives you a word, it will always be about more. It will be about more. There's more. Hallelujah. So so God gives you a vision. Notice he said, I'm gonna, I want you to do some things in Jerusalem, but also Judea and Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. So I want you to do some things in Pine Bluff, but I want you to go beyond Pine Bluff. I want you to do some things in Little Rock, but I'm talking to you about covering Arkansas. I want you to do some things in Little Rock, but I'm talking to you about city, state, nation, and world. I want you to look at what you used to do in that one place downtown and understand I got more for you to do. I got more for you to get a hold of. Ever what it is, there's more. Hallelujah. And the and the reason why a lot of people feel beat down and they feel like that they're defeated and they feel like they're losing ground is because they failed to start looking for more. You got to keep looking for more. If he gets into your thinking, he paralyzes your action. You've got to keep looking for more. He wants you looking behind. He wants you looking current. God says, I want you to lift up your eyes from where you're at currently and look where I want to take you, and believe me, from More. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Do you see this? Say out loud: more is coming. More is coming. Amen. So he said, touch city, state, nation, and world. Cover Arkansas. Then he said, raise up a spiritual production center, producing life. City, state, nation, and world. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. See, there's more. There's always more. You know, I look over the years, and when Pastor Michelle and I, we first moved to the Kansas City area, and we went to a wonderful church, Deeper Life Christian Ministries. Pastor E. C. Morton and uh uh uh Elder Morton came out of the out of uh uh Kojik, came out of Church of God in Christ, and uh powerful man of God got a hold of the word of faith, and we served with him. I helped him. Uh I I served him faithfully up till I mean we were pastoring our church and and and I was fellowshipping with him. And um uh we were, I mean, we were we were satisfied. And uh then the the the after about two years uh the Lord told me, He said, There's an assignment that I have for you uh at uh this church in Kansas City, Kansas, that we had gone to when we first went to the the city, and and I went over there, the pastor was sick and she needed help. And so for the next two years, I was her assistant pastor and and helping her. And and God did wonderful things there. We saw people healed of cancer. We saw uh, I mean, just miraculous things. There was just a move of God going on. But we're constantly praying, we're praying, seeking the Lord, right? And I'm asking God, what do you want for my life? What do you want me to do with my life? And uh that's when I was contacted by the church that eventually became faith builders, now life of faith, there in DeSoto, Kansas, to come and and and try out to be their pastor. And so I went and and uh and and of course, long story short, nearly 30 years ago, I became the pastor there. But here's the thing I was satisfied helping. You know, I'm a good number two man. I can get things done for you. Right? I'm I'm I'm good at that. I'm I'm I'm I'm a good I'm good support staff, right? But God's saying, I I need you to move, there's something in you that I need you to ask me, I need you to look for and believe for more. Because very often I can get in this place where I'm just I'm satisfied with just this amount of responsibility, and I'm really good at that. But God says, look, there's more giftings and there's more anointings and there's more things, there's more revelation on the inside of you, and I've got to get you to ask me for more and look for more so that I can get that out into the lives of people. Amen. Hallelujah. So he said in the very beginning, you're gonna build people's faith and you're gonna frame their world by the word of God, and that's certainly what we've done as faithfully as we know to do for nearly 30 years. But then at the beginning of uh this, well, this year, last year, the end of last year, beginning of this year, he started talking to me about adding to that vision, raising up a spiritual production center, producing life, city, state, nation, and world. And he said to me, he said, you've been building people's faith, and you'll keep building people's faith and framing their world by the word of God for nearly 30 years. He said, But now you're reaching a place where you're not only gonna build their faith, you're gonna teach them how to live a life of faith. So if he's adding to the vision, it's gonna be a life of faith. Now there's more, something's got to change. And so I kept asking him, what needs to change? And he said, I need you to change the name. And so I told my wife, and and you know, all these iterations of names, you know, you're you're knocking them around. And somebody would bring me one, I said, no, that's not it. And somebody bring me another one. I said, no, that's not it. And finally, somebody, I I forget it might have been her, brought me a name and it had life and faith in it. I don't remember if it was faith first or and then life, or if somebody said, you know, faith, life, church, of course I don't want to do that. That's Brother Moore's ministry. But the point is, it might have been that, but I saw I saw those two words, and it was like they just swapped, and I saw life of faith. Life of faith church. Well, it's not just a name change, it's a move into more. It's a move into more. Amen. Many of you know this. When pastor started Agape, it wasn't agape, it was Agape Country Church. He wanted to build a building and it looked like a barn. That's what he wanted to build a building and look like a barn. When when they came on TV, he came on like he-haw. Remember? Came on like he-haul. How right? And and then God told him, God told him, he said, I don't I don't want a barn. He said, I was born in a barn. I want you to build me a palace. Right? I want more. In other words, this is good. But if you if you talk to him, and I've talked to him about this personally, he said, I was comfortable with that. I was comfortable on that level. I was comfortable there. God was trying to get me out of my comfort zone. If you start feeling uncomfortable, don't panic, don't worry about it. It's that God's got more for you. More comes with uncomfortableness. The more you press into, the more uncomfortable you will get. Why? Because you've never been there before. You've not experienced more the way that you're going to experience it. Oh, hallelujah. Glory to God. And we all have a part in this. We all have a part in in Ephesians 6. Oh, there's going to be a meeting tonight. Meeting tonight. Hallelujah. Meeting on the old campground. There's going to be a meeting tonight. Meeting tonight. Hallelujah. Then somebody said, There's going to be victory tonight. Victory tonight. Victory on the old campground. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Ephesians 6 and 16. I said 6, I meant four, excuse me. 6, 16 was good. It's talking about the body of Christ, the church, and it says, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Hallelujah. Now, in the Greek it says this, each part doing its share causes growth. Each part doing its share causes growth. See, the the the body has a part. We all have a part. Amen. God puts churches in cities, God gives pastors to churches, God brings people to that church, and everybody's got a part. For the what? The more. The more. Not just one person can bring the more. Amen. Now I know I bring up my pastor a lot, but he's taught me a lot over the years. And he said to me time and time and time and time again, he said, there's no pastor on his own that can perfect the church. Cannot do it. Because the Bible says you need the five-fold ministries for the perfecting of the saints. The prophet, apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. You need prayer to bring more. You need help ministries to bring more. Amen. Hallelujah. I knew a minister one time. He was talking about a church where the preaching was good and the music was good and the helps ministries was good, but they they couldn't grow. And the question was, well, why couldn't they grow? They had one bathroom for everybody. One. You know, we may only have four stalls, but at least we got two right now. But but but but newcomers would come, and you know, when you gotta go, you gotta go. And everybody that came to the church was trained not to drink any coffee or water before they come. You know, gotta wait in the hallway. Well, here's the thing that that that was limiting their growth. It was limiting their more. When every part of the body begins to function and to flow, each part doing its share causes growth. Amen. When God brings you to a church, he calls you to use your part to cause growth, ever what it may be. If you're a prayer, and and we all should pray, but there are people that feel like that's a specific flow in their life, then I need to be praying for that church. I need to be praying for that pastor. I need to be praying for the surrounding area. What does God want to do in our city? What does God want to do in our neighborhood? I'm praying it out, praying for more, and it causes growth. Oh, hallelujah. Amen. I believe there's gonna be a lot of pastors that stand before God and get ready to receive their great big trophy and great big reward. And when it comes time to talk about their church, God's gonna call some little woman or some little man from what they would call the back corner and say, I need you to come up and take the reward for this church because you prayed the pastor in, you prayed the church in, you prayed the move of God down, you took your part and pressed into more. Never let what you do be made insignificant. Because it's important. No matter what, no matter what it is. Hallelujah. We got people on the cameras tonight. Well, they're just following you around. No, they're helping us take the everlasting gospel to other nations, to other cities, to other states. They're helping us do more. It does no good to have cameras if you don't have somebody that can help you run them. It does no good to have recording capability if nobody will press play. How many know you need somebody to press play? Amen. Well, that's all I do is press play. Praise God. And you recorded the everlasting word of God. You recorded something that has the ability to set people free, destroy bondages off of their life. You're taking your part to cause growth. Oh, hallelujah. You know, there's Pastor again talking about the local church. Yes, the hope of the world. The local church, the hope of the world. Amen. That listen, there's nobody in here that would be saved without the influence of the local church. There's nobody in here that'd be filled with the Holy Spirit without the influence of the local church. There are people in here that you were wherever you were in your life before you got saved. But when you connected to the local church, things begin to change in your life. Because that's the portal for mourn. Oh, hallelujah. Look at Acts chapter 2. Woo! DJ, that's a good place to say, come on in. Hallelujah. Come on in. Acts chapter 2, verse 46. And it says, They continuing daily with one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, ate their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. One accord, one mind, one cord, one accord. And notice what happened in that atmosphere. The Lord added daily to the church. Such as should be saved. When when they're in one accord, and the Lord's adding to the church. Hallelujah. In Acts chapter 4, and uh verse 23. It says, When they were let go, they went to their own company and reported all the chief priests and elders had said to them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, you are God that's made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them is. So once again we see one mind, one accord. Alright, and what followed that? The Bible says what followed that was with great power the apostles gave witness of the resurrection of Christ. And about five thousand people got born again not too long after that. Hallelujah. In Psalm 133 in verse 1. This is a key to more. See, more involves finances. When the Lord started talking to me about the door to more, he cautioned me not to get fixated on finances because it more covers every area of our life. It has to do with finances, but you can't get caught off track by just focused on finances. Hallelujah. In Psalm 133 and verse 1, behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. In unity. Amen. A unit is what the word unity means. A unit. Now, if you've been in the military, a unit speaks to you. Because your unit is the closest people to you. You're together with them, you train with them, you live with them. A unit. Hallelujah. Together or all together. And notice it says that that's where the Lord commanded the blessing. On the place of unity. So together or all together, the church, the local church, is pressing into more together. More together. There's unity, there's unity of purpose, unity of vision, unity of desire. We're pressing into more together, and that's where the blessings poured out. That's where the blessings poured out. Amen. Any local church is always better off, even if it's a small contingency, to have somebody, some group of people that are united in purpose behind the vision God has given that place, given that man or woman of God, because God can pour out the blessing there. Amen. Hallelujah. The local church is not just a place we go, it's a body to which we are vitally connected. It's a body to which we're vitally connected. So what does that mean? Every person that's connected is important. Now I know I know that seems elementary, but I often ask this question which part of your body would you like to do without? Me personally? None. Right? Amen. You know, there are parts of my body, I don't even know they exist. But I learned something about this. I'm told, and and I wasn't, I didn't see it, but you know, I'm told your your gallbladder is not very big. Right? But one night we were we were sitting up, and all of a sudden, Pastor Michelle just started having excruciating pain. And that's unusual. She never has pain. And so I began to pray for her. I didn't know what was going on, and and uh, of course, you know, I I kept praying for her, and the pain kind of subsided, and she started looking, and they said it might be, you know, your gallbladder. Well, from what I'm told, you know, that that those ducts in the gallbladder get blocked and nothing can flow through it, and it causes excruciating pain. Well, I've never seen my gallbladder. Don't ever want to see it. So I'm not volunteering to have it taken out. She had to have hers taken out because it's painful. Right? There's no part of the body that isn't crucial. If God brought you here, it's because you have some part of the body, some service to the body that will help this body move into more. And it doesn't matter what it is, if it's just support, meaning if you just bring your supply in the spirit. The Lord showed me these things. The body has to want more, the body has to press into more. Amen. And how do I do that? I do that by bringing my supply, bringing my spiritual supply. Amen. In prayer, in being spiritual, my spiritual supply. Every time I come to church, I bring my supply. I'm here, I'm ready, I'm ready to receive. I have my supply. I'm not just gonna take, I brought something. Amen. So I want to bring my supply. I want to bring my support. I want to bring my financial support. I want to bring my spiritual support. I want to bring my partnership support to help the body move into more. I want to bring my service. I want to get involved. I want to get on a team. I want to be doing something for God. Amen. Why? Because I help the body move into more. Tommy Barnett used to say this. I don't know if anybody knows who Tommy Barnett was. At one time he pastored uh three three different times he pastored the largest church in America and uh Davenport, Iowa, Phoenix, Arizona, and Los Angeles, California. And uh he always used to say this find a hole and fill it. Find a hole and fill it. Find a problem and solve it. Right? Whatever it may be, why? I'm bringing my supply. I'm bringing my support to do more. You know, just like we said, somebody's got to press play. If you don't, if somebody doesn't press play, it doesn't get done. That can be my support, that can be my supply. Oh, hallelujah. You remember in Acts chapter 6, verse 7, the apostle Peter, they were having a problem with the Moor was showing up. And they were trying to feed all the widows, and the 12 were doing it. And the Grecian widows got upset because they were not getting their portion consistently. Well, there's only the 12, and you can readily imagine. I mean, we've already seen it went from 12 to 120 to 3,000, and by Acts chapter 6, there's another 5,000, so you've got 8,120, where just a couple months before it was 12. And then after Acts chapter 6, the Bible just starts saying multitudes were added. Wow. So you can see how they'd have a hard time getting all the food boxes to everybody. And remember what Peter said? Choose out from among you seven men full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, right? That we can set over this job. We'll give ourselves continually to the study of the word in prayer. Now here's my question. It says they so they chose seven. What if the seven had said no? Because we always talk about you know that after the seven got involved, the word of God increased. What if the seven say no? See, one I I I find this a detriment. You do whatever you want to. I'm I'm a I'm your pastor, I'm a pastor. When you go to Somebody in the local church and and and you say, Hey, you know, I need can can you help us out here? Well, I'll pray about it. What do you got to pray about? Exactly. What do you have to pray about? You're being asked to get involved, and the church is feeding your spirit. What is there to pray about? Well, I need to find out if it's God's will. Oh, you're not supposed to be here? If it's God's will for you to be here, it's God's will for you to be doing something here. Moving right along. Look, let me let me let me finish here. 1 Corinthians 16, 15. Now see, this is important because if we think about that, more came, but how did more come? People got involved. People got involved. The most spiritual thing anybody can do in a church is get involved. Ever what it is, ever what area it is. See, I'm exposing myself to a higher standard. Hallelujah. You know, the Bible says that remember David left the ark of God at Obed Edom's house? And it said that the word came to David and said, the Lord's blessed Obed Edom. And remember David had to go back and get the ark, he figured out how to do it and he went back and got the ark. Study this sometime and find out from then on. You see Obed Edom at the door, you see Obed-Edom helping in help's ministry, you see Obed Edom and his family in the choir. Why? He had been exposed to the presence of God. What God does for me, I want him to do for somebody else. Because there are other people that need to lift their eyes up and see more. I can help them do that. In 1 Corinthians 16 and 15. 1 Corinthians 16 and 15, notice. The apostle Paul is writing, he says, I beseech you, brethren, you know the house of Stephanus, that it is the first fruits of Achaia. And they have, noticed, addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. Now they're the first fruits of that region. They're the first family that was saved in that region. And notice, it had such an impact on their lives that they addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. See what it says? Why? Because they found more. And I want other people to find more. What God has done for me, I want him to do for other people. I want to be a part of that. If it isn't anything but opening the door, if it isn't anything but helping usher, if it isn't anything but working in a department, I want God to do something for me. See, we run into this problem in that we don't understand that these things have to be cultivated. The Bible says to whom much is given, much is required. So if I want to move into more, I've got to do something. And I know a lot of people don't like this. I've got to show God that what He did for me means more to me than anything else in the world. Hallelujah. Do you see that? Well, you know, but it's it's it's you know, Pastor, it's all about grace and it's not about works. Listen, listen, that we're not talking about works. We're talking about doing what God's asked me to do in the place that He's called me to be a part of. Now, and let me let me finish with this. And it may, you may not just be involved on a service team. You may be involved praying, you may be involved in in giving. Understand, I understand people have lives, and and I understand that everybody's not going to be as involved as others. There's going to be levels of involvement, but I can be involved to whatever level I'm capable of. I remember Brother Hagin telling a story about a lady. He was uh at this pastor's church, and the pastor and his family lived in a uh a duplex. And the lady that lived the duplex, lived uh in the duplex next to them, owned the duplex. She was an older lady, and uh they were talking about her one night after church, you know, she had been over visiting, and and she said, Well, I'm gonna go home. And uh so she left, and the pastor began to talk about her and uh and began to tell Brother Hagin the story, how that, you know, they said, you know, she prays all the time. And you know, she's a widow, and uh, you know, she just prays all the time, and she prayed that church into the town, and prayed that pastor into the town, prayed full of gospel churches all around that region. Amen. Doing her part to bring more. See, more involves finances, but what more is intended for is that the city can be touched, the lives can be touched, that lives can be changed. Whatever God's done for you, he wants to do for somebody else. And he places a local church in that city for that purpose, for more to be attained. If you ever feel like you're just spinning your wheels, you gotta stop and lift your eyes up and look for more. I gotta look for more. Amen. Well, I used to do this and I used to do that, and I used to, and I used you gotta stop and look for more. Because that's where the key's at. Amen. Oh, Father, we thank you tonight for exposing us to a higher standard. We thank you for showing us your desire for more to come into our lives. So, Father, I just, Lord, I pray over every minister that's present tonight. And I just pray for the anointing of God to function in their life, Lord, at to another degree. To another degree, as they submit and as they okay, as they submit to that call, that direction, that that mandate that you've placed on their life. Father, I just pray that that anointing would increase. I pray for every person involved in the ministry in this church, on whatever level it is, Father, whatever their involvement may be. I pray, Father, that that same anointing that the Apostle Paul talked about in Philippians chapter 1, he said, because of your fellowship in the gospel and your help with the ministry, you're all partakers of my grace. And so, Father, I thank you. I thank you that the favor of God on this ministry and on Pastor Michelle and myself falls upon the people that you've called here and it lives in their life and it flows in their life and it manifests in their life, Father. Every time, Father, every time they're faced with situations that look difficult and look challenging. Father, I ask that you would bring to their remembrance that they are connected to a group that is awash with the favor of God. Father, just absolutely sloshing with God's favor. And I thank you, Father, for that in the name of Jesus. I thank you that that connection brings promotion. I thank you that that connection brings advancement in the name of Jesus. And that promotion shall come, and that advancement shall come. And you should remember, the Lord says, you should remember that I have spoken in my word and declared that not only would no weapon formed against you prosper, every tongue that would rise up against you in condemnation, you would cause it to be put in the wrong. Hallelujah. Those things that I've asked you to do, you shall see them, you shall experience them, you shall watch them come to pass. For this is the time of more, and it'll get the door has opened in April, and the heaviness of it will be experienced over the next three months. It'll continue throughout the year. You'll still be getting more in December. But it'll be very heavy the next three months, and you can watch it and you can see it, and there's a lot of barricades that are going to be moved out of the way. I said, the Lord says in the word that I gave you at the first part of the year, that there will be things that seem like they were just dragging on. They'll be put to a stop this year, and they won't be dragging on any longer, they'll be gone. Hallelujah. And so it shall happen, it shall occur, and it shall be done in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank you, Father. I can say no more or no less. Thank you. Hallelujah. Oh, I glorify you, Jesus. I glorify you, Jesus. I glorify you, Jesus. Thank you, Father. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And the Lord says, if you'll listen closely, if you'll listen closely, you've been hearing whispers in your spirit. You've been hearing, it's almost like a stirring. Sometimes it's not even so much like a word as it is just a stirring. But that stirring is a whisper. It's a whisper. I just need you to slow down. I need you to turn some things off. Turn some things down and just listen. Because I'm saying some things. And they're directives. And they are plans. And they are blueprints that I want to show you and share with you. Straight from the throne about those things that I desire for you. So don't sit around anymore and say, I wonder about this and I wonder about that. Just calm down. Get calm. Get quiet and listen for the whisper. Because I'm going to say some things to you. Oh, hallelujah. And those things that you're facing, that it seemed like you've hit a wall where the money's concerned. Seem like you've hit a wall there. Hallelujah. Well, that's going to break open. It's going to break open. Hallelujah. And you're going to see that come. Especially these next three months. Including April and May and June and July. It's going to be very heavy there. You're already seeing people pay debts off, getting testimonies of people paying $50,000 of student debt off. Finished with it. Looked like it would never end. But all of a sudden, you got the testimony. All of a sudden, God just showed up and brought the money and they paid it off. Because that's that's part of more. Ah, hallelujah. Thank you, Father. Can you just lift your hands one moment? Just lift your hands one moment and thank him. Thank you, Father. Thank you for the manifestation of your spirit, your presence, your anointing. We're so honored to be a part of what you would have us to be a part of. We're so grateful, Lord, that you've chosen us to do this. And we thank you. Oh, we thank you. Oh, we thank you. In the name of Jesus. Oh, hallelujah.

unknown 57:49

Oh, hallelujah.