 The past two weeks the acts essential series that I've been preaching on dealing with the early church the first century church from the Book of Acts We dealt with the acts of prayer and how that the prayer is the basis of any church's growth if a church is not praying Then it's not growing But church is not praying nobody gets saved nobody gets healed nobody gets delivered because we would know without prayer Whether or not the presence of the Lord was in the place But prayer lays the foundation for everything inside of our life not just in the church But also inside of your life as well Then last week we dealt with the acts of the word of God When prayer the word and the spirit are mixed together you can expect there to be a change Whenever the spirit moved in the beginning that following after that is the fact that God spoke and Today whether or not there are clouds in the sky that you can't see the Sun or the moon or the stars It makes no difference because I know they're still hanging there because everything according to Hebrews chapter 1 hangs on the word of God if God withdraws his word from this universe It would fall into chaos once again as it did in the very beginning before the word spoke and Called it into order. That's the reason why the word is so important I cannot stress to you enough do not allow your Bible to sit dormant from Sunday to Sunday or Wednesday to Sunday Pick it up and read it and digest it on a daily basis You will live and you can die by the ignorance of the word or the knowledge of the word How important that it is that you read and digest David said it's so important that I will hide the word of God in My heart that I might not sin against you the word of God is paramount so much so God said I elevate my word above my name if I don't have a good and if I don't have God said Integrity in my word then my name will mean nothing you can spout your name off to any location But unless the integrity and your reputation precede you then your name will not be as good as it is written on paper How important that it is that we get that in our mind today. I want to pick up part three of the acts of the assembly Hear me carefully because what you're about to hear is not something. I read off of the internet yesterday This is the word of the Lord from the first century church though It will read like you've read the news just this morning the early acts church Lived in a hostile culture Every present threat and arrest every day they were under a present threat of arrest Prosecution and persecution that drove the early church to find creative ways in order to obey God's command And hold fast to their faith in the dangerous pagan culture that they were in Once Christians came about into existence and the church was formed in the book of Acts They were actually called Christians at Antioch the Bible says for the first time before that they were called believers That's what you are before you have a title of a Christian You're a believer you entered into the kingdom of God by believing you trusted in God and in his word That's who they were so in this environment They looked at Christians and believers as being adverse in this hostile culture that they were living in and they would Communicate to one another watch this right here They would communicate with each other using secret imagery and codes that pagans of that day would not understand They would literally stretch into the marble pavements of public places to the eyes of the Roman soldiers and the government Officials the drawings that these Christians made on the ground to be able to communicate one to another look like some kind of child's game But to believers the symbol was actually a secret code using symbols of five Greek letters What I'm about to show you is one of those symbols that they use so on the screen as they throw up there What is called the ectos the ectos is the Greek word for fish if you will please put it on the screen These are the five Greek letters that are found and this is the etching that would take place on the ground To tell other believers that if it was etched out beside a house an apartment or whatever that it placed What that it was that they were gathering together? That would be a sign that that location would be a safe house if you will a place where Christians could gather or Assemble together to worship the Lord. This is not just any kind of symbol This is found a historical fact each one of these letters put the next one up there for me Each one of these Greek letters were a symbol and a and a name Assigned so that Christians knew what those Greek letters were about the first Greek letter In fact, I don't have time to go into the depth of this but the first Greek letter was the name Jesus represented and then Christ and Son was the third one of God the fourth one and savior was the fifth one Understand this my friends It was them looking at these symbols and secret codes to find a place that they could worship from week to week in fact Day to day the Bible says that the early church worship day after day from house to house Breaking bread and having fellowship together and they encourage one another to keep on serving Why was that so important because when the Roman authorities begin to pass watch this pass laws Restricting public and private gatherings of Christians. It was difficult for believers to find safe location It became illegal for Christians to come together anywhere in the Roman Empire Including even in the privacy of their own home I'm talking about historical fact you can read it if you want to those caught Would face such severe reprisals that it could be death for them These restrictions put believers in a very difficult place. Let's see if this sounds familiar The difficulty was is that the scripture? Required believers to obey honor and pray for their authorities in the land Romans 13 But the government the leadership was where they were not permitting them to obey God's command In fact passing laws to keep them from doing it. They had to pray for their leaders But keep on serving the Lord And the new laws that begin to take effect during the times of the Romans Christians found themselves being forced To choose between obeying the laws of God and obeying and following the laws of man And so it was that confrontation came in the book of Acts chapter 4 verse 19 When Peter and John were arrested for picking up a lame man at the gate Beautiful and causing him to rise by the healing power of Jesus Christ and the authority of his name and they arrested them and brought them in As I told you a couple of weeks ago The problem was the evidence was running around the room in a man that was lame for all these years that nobody cared about Nobody came to just do anything in fact some wouldn't even drop a little coin in his bucket And yet by the power of God he's now up and running around the synagogue not making this up You should read it running around the synagogue and seeing what's happening Those that were in spiritual leadership and government could not do anything about it except threaten Peter and John and Tell them you're not gonna have church again And whatever you do don't speak the name of Jesus Christ anymore because that causes an incitement and it is politically Incorrect. I'll tell you what they call it today Cancel culture to cancel out the name of Jesus from football games And now they're intruding into the church and into your house listening on your phone. Hello Alexa Siri whoever you are How did they know I was worshiping God inside of my house because we've allowed the invasion and the loosing of our Priorities and the privacy of our home, but I got news for you Alexa better learn how to worship God with me in my house because from me in my house We're gonna serve the Lord and we welcome Alexa to come on in I Will not be canceled out as a Christian I will stand it is a mockery for us to say that we're not gonna lift our hands and assemble together When our forefathers from the book of Acts gathered together under such hostility that they were sown as Sunday They were run through with knives. They were cut into pieces and burned on the stake. The devil is alive You better get yourself your mask and your hangnail and get to the house of God now more than ever before It's time for the church to assemble together. I feel like preaching this morning When the Romans and local laws were in line with God's word early Christians would diligently obey that word and the laws of the Land that would not conflict with the principles clearly outlined in the Bible But whenever it became a conflict for them that to say that I choose life instead of taking life That's when they stood with God's word irrevocably and undeniably Most believers chose to obey God's word over the government mandates I know you sound Pastor you sound like you're preaching out of out of the news from today No, I'm preaching this from the book of Acts This is what the act church was dealing with right here Let me go a little deeper because if you're uncomfortable now, you better tighten up right now fixing to go somewhere There are consequences For serving the law We've had it so comfortable in the United States of America We don't understand what our Chinese brothers and sisters Russian and everywhere else around the globe have been suffering for the Calls of Christ the article a few days ago said that there are hundreds of Christian pastors in China that are now going missing I have no doubt that the government is putting him in some Reeducation camps or maybe they're taking their lives I don't know but I can tell you not one of them is denying the gospel of Jesus Christ For after what the Lord has done inside of your life How can you deny that he is Jesus the Son of God the Savior of the world? I want you to know my hope is not in government My hope is in the Holy Ghost and he's flowing through this room right now I wish I had a few hundred folk in this room that said you know what eyes from me in my house We're gonna serve There are consequences to serving and if you think it's regulated to the book of Acts or some foreign country I'm about to show you something Because when it got so bad with the book of Acts church that the consequences came They started accusing Christians of being insubordinate lawbreakers And what took place? Well the same thing that's happened this past week We need according to Katie Couric to deprogram all these conservative right-wing fundamental radical conspiratorial theorists church-going people What about the congressman miss Cortez who said we need to have funding in order to Deprogram people from their conservative thinking I'm a conservative not because it's a political thing. I'm a conservative because the Bible Tells me the guidelines and I don't get outside of those guidelines Come on. It's about to get tight in here. I can see let's go a little deeper where the Washington Post editor One of the reporters said it's time to deprogram these people They're wanting to cancel out the mindset of anybody that is against what they're standing for I want you to understand something. This is not us against them This is a fight that's going on in the heavenlies that the book of Acts church was dealing with as well And the last thing we need to do is disgrace our forefathers in the Christian faith By laying down and saying well we just go alone to get along the devil is a liar If you've been filled with this powerful sweet Holy Ghost, then you got enough power to fork To be able to push back the gates of hell that shall not prevail against the church If you're not ready for that then you better run for your life because they ain't no room for cowards in the service of the Lord preach faster and This fight will not be on the front lines with sticks baseball bats and guns It will be fought on the knees of people that believe their God is able to do exceedingly abundantly Just sit there. I'm coming for you It's time that the church gets assembled Not gathered the word Has been used the big lie has been gatherings. We don't want you gathering Well, that's the problem the church fell into the gatherings And now we're sipping more coffee than we are communion We're doing everything, but what the agenda of the first church calls us to do Come on somebody and if your church just don't have it my way I'll find one that does and guess what you'll find one that does But for pace assembly, we're about to mobilize Energize and assemble ourselves so that we can do the calling of the kingdom before he pulls the curtain on this thing And the Lord returns in power in great glory Here's the example found in in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 25 This is an example of how the early church Christians were at odds with man's laws Concerning gathering together or assembling together the Roman government passed a law forbidding unauthorized gathering this verse in Hebrews 10 25 Put believers in direct opposition to that law Are you hearing me? The early church Did concern themselves so much with gatherings You'll see the term used over and over again in the word of God in the book of Acts assembled their cells together They were driven to assemble in secret meetings Changing the place in the time of their meeting Made it difficult for them. That's the reason why they etched out that secret code on the ground and they were Rarely meeting in the same place Always moving to another location because the hostile forces against the church during the first three centuries of its existence Those early believers survived listen to me those early believers survived because they found places to worship So they could hear the word of God Fellowship together and then went out and affected a world with the gospel of Jesus Christ They met in apartments. They met in cemeteries. They met in tree grows They met in remote locations inside the city outside the city It got so bad that they were driven into the catacombs. That is the place where they would put the dead because the law Makers would not go into those catacombs to try to search them out because of what they Identified as spirits and so forth they wouldn't do in there So Christians would go in there and have their secret church meetings and worship God together I want you to know the early church understood the need to assemble together in Fellowship hearing the word of God to build the faith of each one to pray together to worship together And that took place as a result as a result of that that early church spread like fire It was unstoppable because there were a group of people that said we don't care what anybody says We're gonna serve the Lord with all of our hearts soul mind and string Part of the power of that early church was to be assembled for the gospel's sake I want you to hear what I'm saying It's not an accident that I'm preaching about this on team Sunday Because ladies and gentlemen there doesn't need to be one person here or even online that are not engaged in some Activity of helping to build the kingdom up I don't care if it's a cup of cold water or preaching the gospel teaching the gospel Discipling your family the time may come in the near future When you have to gather your own family around in a small group and be able to open that Bible the Bible says that you're To be a workman thoroughly furnished rightly dividing the word of truth Understanding what that word says so you can explain it to the next generation because the next generation is coming up ladies and gentlemen I hit me early this morning. I don't know ladies and gentlemen where and what tomorrow is gonna be But right now we got to have an understanding that this church right here was not just formulated and put together So we could occupy a few acres of ground on highway 90 Somewhere between sister Barton's prayer life and right now we've lost a generation And we're biblically illiterate and people have ignored the assembling of the cells together so much that now It's common and matter and they're doing whatever they want to do on the Lord's Day I passed hundreds of them getting here you're gonna have to make up your mind for yourself if the Lord has saved me He's the top. He's the priority of my life, and I don't care what comes between that I'm gonna move it out of the way because the Lord has got to be first and only in my life The early church understood this the early church understood the power of agreement With God and with one another Please understand Unity itself is neutral until it's given goodness or badness by something else the number one threat of heaven is unity when they got together at the Tower of Babel God observed what was taking place and he said this is a problem because if they get together and build this It will the earth will have to be destroyed again. I will go down. God said and separate Unity people hollering unity listen unity is about purpose in the Greek is harmonious or Oneness here's what the Bible said in Ephesians 4 3 make every effort to keep the unity in the bond of peace Hear me church Your job as a believer is to be able to unify but not just over any kind of issue That's the reason why we're not here holding placards up to enlist you to be in some political party In fact, I'm not sure that everybody in the building of those watching me right now are even part of the church security What do you mean? I'm telling you there should not be one time that we Assembled together that there's not people that come in the doors of this church who do not know Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord But yet have an opportunity because where are they gonna go they can't go to the county commission They can't go to the city hall and find Jesus. They're not gonna find it on the schoolyard They're not gonna find it in the business So the one location that has the salvation message of the kingdom is the church and yes It's essential and yes God help us to keep the doors open and yes help us to have enough people that are hungry enough for God that they Don't care what that world thinks I will pick up my family and go to church today Cuz that's what God said for me to do come on now Unity itself is neutral until it's given goodness or badness You can unify over a bad thing Come on. Let's get together and break some windows and and set things on fire That's bad. That's evil. That's wrong. That's not anything to do with God Or you can get together and say let's unify and and pass out some food to people and help and encourage other people That's a good thing Agreement takes it to another level Agreement is the word we get symphony from it means you may be in unity But it's necessary for you to get together in an agreement in order for the symphony to play It involves the mind the thoughts and speaking in One accord in vision Unity is about the vision the oneness of the vision or dive vision for that matter Agreement is how you carry that out How we make one sound together. I said this to you in November of last year I had I had will play something in one key on the platform same song different keys Remember that If they don't all get together I can assure you won't be lifting your hands and worshiping You'll be looking all cock-eyed at them and saying what's wrong with them today. Can't they get it? That's what God is saying from heaven to the church today I'm not preaching to the government officials. I'm preaching to the church Because when the church gets it together in agreement and you may not like this and you may not like that But it's time we get together and say there's one purpose and one goal and that is the kingdom agenda not mine Agreement that's what took place in the book of Acts. That's how the church started is in agreement 15 plus nationalities that showed up in that location in the upper room in Jerusalem But when the day of Pentecost fully come they were all in one mind and one accord note this It was 50 days after Jesus left. That's where you get Pentecost from 50 days after that 10 days after Jesus leaves the earth So for 10 days they were trying to get themselves together in agreement It was very obvious that there was disagreement in the room because the bible says or the history tells us that more There was only 120 gathered in the upper room, but the commentaries tell us there were more than 400 people when that whole prayer meeting started I want you to know everybody that says lord lord is not going to get into the kingdom And I just want to let you know not everything that wears an ectoos Or a cross around your neck belongs to the kingdom of god or should belong in the membership of the church I want you to know we don't baptize sinners. We baptize save folk The bible said you can't even receive this holy ghost Lest the holy spirit imparts it to you the world can't receive this because they don't know him And they don't know how to respond to him, but the church sure better be able to understand and receive the fresh healing of the holy spirit They were all in one accord. That's agreement Look at your neighbor and tell them it's time we get assembled Look at your neighbor and tell them require assembly required. Just tell them assembly required Come on if you understand what i'm talking about You ought to be able to say that a little louder because when your little baby got their first christmas bicycle Then you didn't usually go down and get somebody to put it together You had to assemble that thing though. It was all there. You had to put it all together. I want you to know That's what team sunday's all about. That's what this church is all about It's time we get together not on your purpose your purpose your purpose or even my purpose But the kingdom agenda and when that takes place souls are going to be born into the kingdom My god, I feel the preach They're going to be people baptized in the holy ghost not because we prayed over them for hours But because the atmosphere of the glory of god is such that people get up out of the wheelchairs and walk By the power of god. I want to notice anybody walk that kind of church. That's what i'm praying for That's what i'm hungry for. That's why i'm preaching this message this morning Come on somebody we've talked about it so long and we prayed about it But we're living in the last days say of the lord when he's going to pour out his spirit upon all flesh I wonder are you going to be assembled when that happened? I just go to church Hang out. I got something for you The moment they all got in one mind and one accord you didn't have to beg that holy ghost to fall down in that Upper room he came because they were all in one mind and one accord Their mind wasn't distracted out there over there doing something else He said you tarry until you be in due with power from on high Don't you start no ministries don't try to preach don't lay hands on nobody You stay there and get the same power that feel me because you can't do this on your own you need me to do it If god has done anything Pastor you think god's done it. Oh, yes, he has he's in charge of all things COVID has blown every church program right out of the water Pull the stops in the rug right out from underneath everybody's idea Consulting in this and that and told everybody you're going to start over again and we're going to do it my way this time Come on somebody I can't print enough t-shirts and have enough water to pass you out because somebody who gets that bottle of water Is going to need another one tomorrow, but if I take them to the well that never runs dry They can drink for themselves Lift your hands and bless him. I feel the anointing of god in this room Agreement is not easy Agreement takes connection I can't agree with somebody that i'm not connected to Send me an email to get connected. The devil is a liar. Let's sit down and talk about it eyeball to eyeball It takes negotiation That means that You might have an idea. I might have an idea, but when we get together in agreement, it'll be the best idea Will be your way or my way it'll be the best way Because it'll be the lord's way come on somebody We can't even talk civil to one another in the church today because somebody's got some little thorn sitting in their seat Waiting for something else to drop so they can have an excuse to hit the door You better run in here and you better lock in ladies and gentlemen Because what's about to happen is going to shake this world and god is going to send a mighty rushing wind to the church Lift those hands and say come on jesus Assemble us agreement agreement Agreement you gotta be in the vine. Look at somebody telling you gotta be in the vine John 15 said I'm the vine. You're the branches I'm the vine my father's a husband and every branches in me That beareth not fruity takeeth it away Are you bearing fruit? No, I just come to church Then you're not connected to the vine And every branch that beareth fruit He purges it Why so he can bring forth more fruit? Because god looks at your life and sees your potential And if you're going through a cutback right now If you're going through a cutback Anybody going through a cutback wave at me Going through a cutback. This has been cut out. That's been cut out. I don't know what I can do Just hang in there stay connected to the vine Because the lord loves you so much that he sees more potential in you And if you'll go through the cutback and let him purge you you're going to see more fruit than what you could ever imagine I feel like preaching this morning. I don't know who I'm talking to in here But I feel some rubber hitting the road today I feel like paces simply is about to take a launch into 2021 That the devil thought you better stop him before they get started So the lord says to you in these last days and john 15 and four abide in me And I and you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself Except that abide in the vine come on somebody No poor can you accept you abide in me. I'm the vine of you the branches He that abideth in me and I and him the same bringeth forth much fruit Because jesus said for without me You could do nothing You couldn't breathe out of bed this morning But god said and there you were Go ahead and take another one that's coming from god Go ahead and take another one that's coming from god And then he requires it to give you give you give it back to him He requires you to give it back to him. Well, I don't feel like any national if you felt like it He said let everything that has breath Pray she the lord pray. She's the name of the lord. He's not asking you to do it It's time to do it god's way lifting up holy hands without doubt him without rest as a god Which I could preach this thing this morning what I see on the horizon Is the outpouring of god's spirit and if you can get together in agreement god is not defeated And I don't and if you're in the kingdom and you are by there watch what god's gonna do When it comes to god It takes time to agree with god. I wish I could agree with god Every time he says something But more times than not because isaia 55 says his thoughts Higher than my thoughts his ways Higher than my ways i've got to change my thinking because you know god ain't changing his I say god ain't changing his mind. He's on the track toward bringing his son back to this earth It's about time you change your mind about the way thing. I don't believe in raising an over loudness You went to the ball game to the concert and everything else You stay at a church because of covet and now you're gonna complain because somebody gets excited The devil is a liar if you lived in that early church They had to keep it here. We gotta get together The devil's doing everything he can to try to divide and conquer So if he can put black against white rich against poor Then he'll drive that wedge right down in the church. Don't you let him do it? I said, don't you let him do it? I can't cancel it enough. I can't tell you enough Every person in this building is equal under god in his sight And I got news for you when the church realizes what we have you will listen to that world out there Satan is throwing everything he can against the church today The bible says in a must three and one how can two walk together unless they agree What's the book of acts model pastor? Peter and john will own their way to the temple And it's passed by the gate beautiful and they got together and said let's come into agreement You know why because jesus said if two of you agree That's touching any one thing it shall be done They looked at a man that had been laying there for years I wonder who you're going to come across in the days ahead that has been lame at the gate for years But because you're a believer my god, I feel this surgeon out of me like fire You're going to lay hands on the sick in the marketplace and you're going to raise them up to the glory of god They're going to see the power They raised him up paul and silas started preaching and cast the devil out of a girl You would think everybody would be happy about that Problem was it messed with their economy Had to shut down their diana doll factory Had to shut down their netflix and everything else because christians quit paying money to be able to have it come into their houses filled at garbage In the days that are ahead, you're going to have to decide what you watch what you listen to and not let your mind be in neutral You are the church of the lord jesus christ washed in the blood of the lamb Don't let your garments be tattered by the nonsense and the activizations of this i'm trying i'm trying Jesus got 70 of them together and he didn't send them out one by one the bible said he sent them out two by two When they got out there They came back and said hey, we got some news What's the news the news is even the demons are subject to us. We're casting out devils. He said that ain't nothing new You got the same spirit that's in me Oh, you got the same holy ghost in me. I put it in you I say lord breathe on pace assembly until everybody in the house. Tell them it's time to get assembled The devil's trying to kill still and destroy. It's time to get assembled We got to get into agreement otherwise. He'll divide us and kill us He wants to kill your family your marriage your mind your health your salvation Your church and your business. He wants to wear you out physically mentally and spiritually That's the reason why god knows the power of agreement. It's time to get into an assembled position Find my place in the body of christ and then be ready to do whatever god said for me to do if we get together Power follows agreement So you've been shot now I'm about to give you something now. We got to get together church Because obviously there are some in the clergy Who do not believe that this bible is the inerrant word of god Even the pope said we're going to change the model prayer to read something else And clergy will stand in the pulpit today and deceive their members Into everything but the word of god has been an absolute true divine and inspired of the holy ghost So let's get together over this I want to know how many of you in this building right now those of you watching Believe that the word of god from sin is a derevelation is the absolute inerrant inescapable Indestructible word of almighty god for faith for living for life come on somebody Oh, let's let's take it up another notch How many of you believe that god is pro-life and he is not about blessing anything That's going to take the unborn whether it's in the conception on the surgical table Oh, i'm finding out my church here this morning. I'm finding out who's going to be in the church Because somebody voted for somebody somebody did something for somebody and you don't believe it But I got news for you god is pro-life and the church better get an agreement about that We better get in agreement and in assembly that the church has a purpose and it's got one purpose And that is the kingdom agenda. How many of you believe the church is the organism? That's going to bring the kingdom of god into fruition and save the lost and heal the sick come on Let me see your hand worship him now We better believe that the power of prayer is still evident People have said in covet because my loved one died my prayers don't work. The devil is a liar I've had too many prayers that have been answered in the affirmative for people healed saved and delivered To deny that god doesn't answer prayer not only does he answer it You've got to change your mind to agree with god I've had to bury some of my loved ones that have served a life of righteousness And I had to kiss them goodbye and walk away from the grave But if this bible is right and it is There will come a sound from heaven like the russian of a mighty wind I could go on but I won't Because i'm about to preach my message The bible says that if you don't love the truth, you'll be given over to a strong delusion So why am I telling you about agreement today? Because there are forces of hell that are trying to divide And conquer the church A worldwide And here's a question i pose to you today my friends Can america survive if americans christians and the church can't agree on a core common set of values That god is god jahoba is the only god that the bible is right and somebody's wrong That life is worth living and life has liberty and the pursuit of happiness We're in a great crossroads ladies and gentlemen and this nation and the nations of this world are being divided And the only group of people who have the answer is the church that is wholeheartedly in unity and in agreement about that And are assembled together to make it accomplished Because here's what's about to happen already happening From this week's announcement from the liberty council A church in kentucky this past year on easter 700 seat auditorium socially distanced everything was in order People in the parking lot people in the building, but the governor of the state of kentucky Sent the state troopers to the parking lot took the license plate numbers of everyone there and commanded them all to go into quarantine And to take their temperature on a daily basis and report to the health department locally Some people were terminated from their jobs when their employers said were you there at that church? You're out some were pushed back some others laid off But the fact is the home depot was full that day the kroger was full that day Walmart was full that day But the government said that church can't formulate the devil is a liar in washington state A pastor fights for an online service because he left his home To go singularly to the church where the online broadcast could be broadcast And was arrested and fined for being the only one in the sanctuary Oh, it gets better that great pastor of the of the church in california Baptist pastor there Brother brother uh traver you saw him. I brought him on this on this platform on the screen to show you What was going on they ordered for a cease and desist They said that you can't have service in there or we'll find you currently They're up to a hundred thousand plus dollars in fines for that Baptist church for having church in the sanctuary The pastor said we can't take it no more. We're gonna have to go into parking lot So now they're in the parking lot with less people people that are discouraged people that won't assemble themselves People that said if it gets too hot I ain't gonna show up And I looked online and saw a handful of cars out there at that great church that's got thousands of people In california another one, you know, it's going to come from california They ordered a church only to use percussion instruments not wind instruments Even though they were only broadcasting online And no more than four of you gathered together Y'all don't like this because I speak the truth In virginia a church with two hundred and ninety seats the governor ordered no more than 10 people But the liquor stores were open and they were full this church has no internet They have drug addicts that come to this church and there were 16 people in attendance on the day of palm sunday They cited and fined and arrested the pastor with an incarceration of a year in prison or $2,500 fine and all those that showed up at that church would also get the 500 a fine And so they decided that they wouldn't go back to church and now it's dissipated that church from being able to be in existence Talking about now the book of acts. I'm talking about what's happening in america right now. This is russia china This is not checoslovakia. This is not the soviet bloc This is the united states of america and if you don't know what your constitutional rights are and what that book says I know that i'm gonna abide by the constitution, but when they start making laws against that constitution I'm stepping up to a higher law and I will obey god come hell in high water I wonder is there anybody in here that's gonna do the same or are you gonna tower down this close to the coming of the law In new mexico, they said we won't allow five of you more than five of you to get together I think that's hilarious They should read the book. I don't need five All I need is two you don't show up. I got me and him that's two and a half In mississippi The police came and gave a five hundred dollar fine to every person assembled in the parking lot listening to their pastor online They since resolved that And only because those at liberty council stood up matt staver and the light stood up against that Unlawful act against the church in america ladies and gentlemen. Jesus said the apostle paul said in his word Having done all stand And now this past week I'm gonna say it out loud because I don't know how long facebook is going to carry me on here now Thank you for that one vote of confidence The organization called faithful america Has called and said they have 17 000 signatures To cancel out and remove franklin graham From the headship of samaritan's purse And from the leadership of the billy graham evangelistic association The son of billy graham Is being pulled on the carpet to be removed from his own organization That when the covet was going on a new york city Without any asking got permission by the governor Set up tents of samaritan's purse and cared for people in the streets of united of of new york city at no charge to the city But they were thrown out later because they said they were not uh tolerant of lgbt So they would rather die than to have a christian come alongside I got news for you you pray for franklin graham and anybody wants to take me away from my daddy It's nothing but a devil. Come on This is the spirit we're working with Now my message I'm sorry If you want the seeker church just down the road going down there you can get 20 minutes in a popsicle and you'll be fine But here we're going to get some word today I'm tired You better get tired of that and not tired of this There may come a day when you show up here and the county's shown up and put a padlock on the door What you gonna do then That preacher right over there told this church years and years and years ago There's gonna come a day when the tax exemption is going to be taken away from the church And then we're gonna find out who really believes the book and was just given for their own tax exemption I got news for you ladies and gentlemen the great pastor pastor jeffers of first baptist church has called his church today to order And said we are going to rename the church of first baptist dallas to the battleship baptist church. We're going to war God bless you brother jeffers. We're with you We're gonna stand in agreement if you preach the gospel. We're gonna stand together red yellow black and white We're all together in this thing Write this down I'm gonna give you something. I'm out of your way In the book of hebrus chapter 10 verse 22 through 25, there's four admonitions given here My new associate ben martin went to sam's this past week To pick up some lettuce for all of y'all so you can have some lettuce on your hamburger Unfortunately the first time he's done something like this He overbought of the lettuce So today i'm gonna preach four lettuces for you here today The first one is this Let us draw near to god. This is the ammunition of the hour. Look at your neighbor and tell him let us draw near to god You better draw near to god like you never have with the full assurance of faith having your heart sprinkled from an evil conscience And your body's washed with pure water. Let us draw near let us draw near Let us draw near to god. Here's the promise of god's word. He said if you draw near to me Oh god, I wish you come you start making a move and he'll meet you more than halfway Draw near to god If you think it's going to be without opposition you better wake up because the devil don't want you drawing near to god Try to get down and start praying Add your privacy of your own home And the devil will put you to sleep Cause every person in the world will call you on the cell phone text you email you Come on the amazon driver will pull by to drop off a package. You never even order It'll be all kind of confusion. You better turn that world off and draw near to god I'm just I'm not even going to preach on these. He said number two. Let us hold fast to our faith I want you to understand this very clearly. You haven't heard this teaching, but I'm going to bring it to you in a few weeks People say what am I supposed to do with faith? And if you listen to the faith teachers, they'll tell you You got to have faith. Well, how much? One more Well, where's the end of it? How much do I need to have? And besides that if jesus said a seed will move the mountain if you've got a seed of faith Then why then do I have to have a whole bunch of faith? These are good questions that I had brought up this morning the book says let us hold fast To the profession of our faith Because it's not about how much you have do I need to increase it? Absolutely because that creates trust in god The more you know The more you'll trust I'm going to teach you in a few weeks. This is your faith He said let us hold fast to our profession of faith. Okay. I got faith But something's not working faith faith Is it Is it your faith? The bible says we have one lord one baptism one faith But where you place that faith Is where it matters Because it's not how much that I have Because I had faith in jesus christ to save me and I didn't have a whole Great big pile of five gallons of faith at that moment. I just took the one faith I had And throwed it right down at the cross and say that's where I'm going to stand from now till Now everything about the devil is to try to push you away from keeping your faith in the cross You should grow your faith faith comes by hearing hearing by the word of god But whatever you do positionally don't take your faith in these last days and put it in money Put it in government put it in church put it in your bible reading You put your faith centrally and exclusively in the cross of jesus christ and don't move it And I can assure you while i'm preaching right now The devil is listening and the principalities are because they know the one place they were forever defeated Was at the cross that's why we'll not move My faith from the cross Let us let us Let us what's number three head of let us let us provoke one another To love and to good work Let us provoke one another That word also means stir, but I like provoke First of all it fits in the other peas that are in the other verses Y'all miss that You better stay with me here Let us provoke one another So if you see somebody missing from church Don't wait for the clergy in the office and somebody else to call them you call them up And when you call them up and say hey, man Missed you And they look at you or listen to you or they say back to you Hey, I'll be there. Don't worry about me Consider yourself a provoker You know what a thousand years from now because you made that phone call to them And they're not burning in the abyss of hell in the lake of fire They'll say thank you for that call. You made me so mad. I wanted to bite your head off, but I'm so glad somebody can Provoke to what provoke to love Don't we need some love in america right now? Well, where's it coming from? It certainly is not going to come from other entities If the church doesn't do it who how are they going to know love? Come on somebody Unconditional love They don't look like me. They don't act like me, but I love you anyway Come on somebody Provoke them to love and to good works Come on Let's go out to team sunday and sign up and get involved in what's going on because the greatest thing happening Is the kingdom of god work Here's the fourth head of lettuce Not forsaking Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together and the climax of my message Y'all still with me? You got quiet I promise you it's about to get real interesting Not forsaking the assembling of yourself together as a manner Some is but so much the more as you See the day approaching I got to go all the way to the end and ask you this question Do you do you See the day approaching That's a direct reference to the coming of jesus christ So much the more as you see the day now. I just want to let you know Based upon miss congressman cortez's statements She doesn't see the day approaching She called calls me and all of you that believe in the coming of the lord conspiracy theorists Well, first of all It's not a theory that hasn't been proven I think i'll preach a little bit right here whether you want to hear it or not A theory would be an unproven thing the missing link Listen look down the look down a row right now Just look down a row at somebody down there. I want you to know they are the missing link Just go ahead and just tell them right now. You've been missing. We're glad you're here theory Not proven Problem is it's been proven time and again The bible said enic walked with god and was not for god took him the first rapture The bible says the uh the prophet elijah was out there on the other side of the jordan river and suddenly there came swooping down out of heaven A chariot of fire and lifting him right up into heaven. He's alive And he's going to come back during the tribulation period and call that same fire that he did down on bale And everybody around this world because elijah had a rapture too Flipping on over there and the saints of god are going to have a rapture on great Getting up morning if you call it that the resurrection morning and it is not unprecedented. It's not a theory I say to miss congressman cortez and everybody else that believes i'm a theorist of conspiracy I got news for you on that day when the trumpet of god sounds You can say whatever you want to but i won't be here and you'll know it wasn't conspiratorial and it's not a theory It's a bible fact Not forsaking not forsaking Hang out with me just a second Not forsaking the bible says jesus said i'll never leave you and i'll never forsake you Leaving is a physical thing forsaking is an emotional thing So you can stay with somebody but forsake them in your mind and be emotionally absent In other words god said you can come to church, but if you forsake in the church you can sit right in here This morning or be online and be totally detached Disconnected So what was going on in the early church? He said to them. I know you're under persecution But don't forsake the assembling of yourself together. I know you're under fears and danger I know that some of you are neglecting To come to the house of god Some of you are ignoring Coming to the house of god some of you have doubts. This is the one that is the most important right now doubts about the necessity Of coming to the house of god And in reading the commentaries they added this He said there was going to be a whole group of people that were being admonished by this Who said i got a problem with the preacher Somebody in the church hurt me I don't like this and i don't like that He said do not forsake The assembling of yourself together And i'm going to just tell you If i'm drowning in the gulf of mexico I don't care if it's a white hand a black hand a yellow hand or a red hand Somebody save me up in here up in here i got it He said don't forsake it that means forsaking the assembly Assembly means to fit separate parts together for a common purpose Everybody in this building who calls place assembly your home church You are a part of the body and you fit specifically in a place and we cannot do it without you He says exhorting one another encourage one another build one another up talk good things to one another Stop talking about stuff of the past and talk about the goodness of god And don't be like the manner of some is People have gotten so accustomed during covid last year That they're not assembling together and i don't want you to know that's the entrance gate to apostasy Why and what was the motive for assembling together he said so much the more As you see the coming of jesus christ They've been talking about gathering Gathering There it is I mean here's the screws that hold it together I mean actually I've gathered it What is that? Come on somebody. What is that? It's not a trick question. What is that right there? It's a chip Is it really? What sure it is it's gathered together problem We can gather together but be dysfunctional We can gather together, but nobody is offering a seat to anybody We can gather together and sing praises into god, but he has no place to sit down Just because we've gathered together at ten o'clock on sunday morning doesn't mean that we're doing what god has called us to do We're without purpose all we're gathered together praise the lord brother I don't like what they're singing There you sit Like the picture somebody sent to me at bernie sanders They superimposed him sitting on the front row when I said give me five more minutes and there he sat right there Yeah, that's that zep family. I'm telling you right now There's one thing about being gathered But it's another thing for that thing to be a symbol When it's put together fitly joined together and all the parts are put together suddenly now. What is this? Come on. It's not a trick question. Here it is right here. What is this? What is that? A mess. Thank you very much That's the way some people are trying to have church today They just gather together leave out and nobody contributes to putting the thing assembled together But i'm calling pace assembly to the assembly right now and i'm saying to all of you It's time. We begin to function like the body of christ. What's this? What's this? What is that? It's an abuse chair Somebody been kicked around somebody been mocked and lied on somebody's down there who's always putting me down pastor But what is it? I'll tell you what it is It's still a chair and if we'll stay together ladies and gentlemen When the ladies and gentlemen we can function like god wants us to Come here take I want you to run that thing right out that door right out there and go right outside hurry Chair back in here anybody getting a hold of this this morning Anybody understand that you might be the back and you might be the seed and you might be the frame And some of you say you might just be something that holds it together But i'm telling you everybody in the building come here bring that What happened when you took the same chair outside? Nothing It's still what assembled what you mean we weren't inside of the church right We were outside of the church right was the chair still assembled Yes, did it fall apart out there? I mean was it cold out there? No, was it hot out there? Was it nice out there? It was just fine out there and it was in the parking lot But it was still assembled and so that same assembled chair came back in the house of god and it's still assembled But you took it outside and it stayed assembled and it went on its job and it stayed assembled And it went to walmart and it stayed assembled and you went down to the drug store and stayed assembled And when you got back to the house of god it stayed assembled Why does god want us to assemble because whenever we get together in here and we send up the praise God said i will sit down in your chair of praise and Get on your feet and make a joyful noise under the lord all your land I hope you've enjoyed today's program and that it's bringing faith into your heart and others of your family and friends I want to pray for you right now father in the name of jesus May the presence of god and your peace around their life with all that is taking place in our world You're the god of peace. You're the god of understanding. You're the god of hope So i pray that you had touched my friend today And bring them that hope that peace and that strength today in jesus name Amen I'm so glad that you've joined us. I want you to check back on our social media on a regular basis every sunday morning We're live streaming the 10 a.m. Service so you can be a part of it around the world So check us out on all the social media sites as well as our website at pace assembly dot org and our pace assembly app And until the next time we get together around god's word remember jesus christ Is coming soon