This sermon emphasizes the importance of embracing the heart of God and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. It highlights the need to lay down personal desires, walk in compassion, and have spiritual authority to impact lives. The message calls for a deep commitment to God's kingdom, understanding the cost of discipleship, and being willing to reach out to the lost and broken with the love of Christ.

How wonderful it is to be back here this morning and just to be able to worship God and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit so strongly. I hope that everyone here that calls this their home church you realize how fortunate you are to be coming into a place where the Spirit of God is. Bless the Lord and this generation thanks be to God. I've been away for a few weeks just after Kate's wedding. I developed, I got a cold that turned into asthma and Pastor David showed up unexpectedly on a Sunday morning and he said the Holy Spirit told me to come and Sister Gwen and they forwent any Christmas festivities they may have planned with their families and they came here and which allowed me to get away and thank God for this sensitivity of Pastor David and this church has always been led by the Holy Spirit and the evidence that the Holy Spirit is leading this church is still with us. I want you to do something for me this morning. I think once in a while we need to put our hands together and praise to the Lord and you give thanks for these pastors that are here and these elders on this platform. Thank you Lord. Thank you Jesus. Thank you. Thank you Lord. Thank you Father. Praise God. Some say it when I got the final bill for Katie's wedding that's when I lost my breath. I did but only momentarily. It was certainly worth it. Praise God. Pastor Neil and Sister Nolina are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary today. My calculations are correct Pastor Neil. I was just a teenager when you got married. I just want everybody to know that. Bless the Lord. Thy kingdom come. It's the title of the message that I have this morning. Matthew chapter 24 please if you'll turn there with me. Thy kingdom come. Father I thank you for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord. Paul said when we are weak then we are strong. I'm asking you Holy Spirit to overshadow all the frailties Lord that are in this vessel and enable me, quicken me and enable me to speak from your heart. Let me fight from heaven today. I pray God there be an understanding of truth that find a lodging place deep in the hearts of your people. Prepare us Lord for the coming days. Prepare us Holy Spirit that we might be able to stand in whatever storms are coming our way that we might stand as lights in the midst of a darkened world. Help us to hear what you speak. Help us God to walk in humility and to be able to acknowledge that we need you. Lord I need you and I thank you God. You've never failed me, never, not at any time or any turn. You've always stood with me. I thank you for your mercy and for your grace to take such a frail vessel and to choose to honor your name through me. God Almighty honor your name today. That's all I ask Jesus be honored. Let your heart be satisfied. Let your heart be pleased when this day is finished. Thank you for this word in Jesus precious name. Matthew chapter 24 beginning at verse 3. And as he said upon the Mount of Olives the disciples came unto him privately saying tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them take heed that no man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceive many. You shall hear of wars and rumors of wars see that you'd be not troubled for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet. For nations shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations then shall the end come. Now there the disciples are asking Jesus tell us when are you coming back and what will it be like at the end of the world? Very very specific question. Now Jesus gives a very clear answer for those who want to hear it. He describes the end of time as a season of great confusion and calamity in the world. In spite of what some might be saying there's a confusion and a calamity coming. It's going to encompass the whole world and if we believe the words of Isaiah it's going to happen very suddenly. One of the old testament prophets says it'll happen at a time when they're saying peace and safety. Perhaps a peace treaty signed finally in Israel and all the world will breathe including Israel this sigh of relief which will be extremely short-lived. Jesus tells us that religious deception will increasingly abound in the last days. He says many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceive many. Now there's two ways of seeing this. First of all there are those who come on the scene and declare themselves to be the Messiah. They should be fairly easy to spot as frauds. But then there's others and I do believe this is the deeper context of this verse that there will be those who stand in pulpits or on television or through the media in some manner and they will say listen to look at me you're looking at Christ because you see everyone knows that Christ indwells a body and that his life becomes the life of his church and there will be those who stand saying in effect if you're looking at my life you're looking at Christ you're looking at what Christ can do. They'll come he said in my name saying I am Christ but you see there'd be everything and anything but Christ. But Jesus says in verse 14 there will be a gospel. He exclusively identifies it as the gospel of the kingdom. A gospel that will be preached unto the end. Now it's interesting because he says to those who've asked him the question his own disciples he said this gospel of the kingdom he identifies the gospel. This is the only gospel actually that carries with it the power of God. This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations and then shall the end come. Now his listeners would be familiar with what he's referring to in the gospel of Matthew alone Jesus refers to the kingdom over 50 times. Now they're familiar with this. He's been teaching on the kingdom. The kingdom of God is like this and the kingdom of God is like this and this is what it would be like in the kingdom of God. So they're very familiar with this terminology. So by the time they get to Matthew 24 when he says this gospel of the kingdom he identifies the gospel. There is only one gospel beloved. There's not a multiplicity of opinions about God. There is a gospel that is truth and it will be the one that is preached to the end of the world. It will be the only one that is carried by Christ. Now I'm not going to go into all 50 illustrations. I'm going to go through some of the scriptures in Matthew and we won't have time to turn to all of them so please don't bother turning unless I ask you to. Now in Matthew chapter 13 and verse 11 Jesus defines the truths of the kingdom as mysteries that are hidden from those who have no heart to know them. Matthew 13 11. Let's just read it for a second. Matthew chapter 13 and verse 11 he said because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but to them it is not given. Now the religious leaders in Jesus day at least to the greater part they had entrenched or immovable religious positions and many people are like this. It's a frailty as it is of the human condition. They had an appearance of pursuing God but it's only to confirm each man's preformed opinions and limitations of God and therefore when truth came that collided with their own religious value system they couldn't understand it. That's why with all of their learning and all of the Old Testament scriptures that very very clearly pointed to Christ. When he finally came on the scene they couldn't understand it because they had formed opinions about God. They had defined limitations of their own surrender and service to God so when the kingdom gospel as it is preached they can't understand it. It's foreign to them. In Matthew chapter 21 verse 43 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders therefore I say unto you the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Now God forbid that should ever be the testimony of this house or of anybody who attends this church that having said unto truth and having chosen to not let it find a resting place in our hearts having chosen to not let truth in the power of the Holy Spirit transform our lives and our characters into what God would have us be in Christ that God would come and say well I'm going to take it from you and I'm going to give it to a nation that will bring forth the fruits of it and we see this throughout history. You see it in Israel with the religious leaders who claim to worship God and then crucify him when he comes as a man on the earth. We see it in various denominations throughout history that that start with a zeal for truth and they are truly walking in the ways of God only to have the Spirit of God lifted from them and there's nothing more fearful than to have God take his Holy Spirit from a specific movement and not even be aware that the Holy Spirit is gone. That is tragic. In Matthew chapter 13 again in verse 18 to 22 Jesus talks about the parable of the sower and in verse 19 he says when anyone hears the word of the kingdom. Now he talks about the seed that the sower is sowing as the word of the kingdom. The kingdom of God has a word. This word is given to men and it's given for the purpose of producing first of all salvation obviously but secondarily the fruit of God in a people called the church of Jesus Christ and if you go through the teaching of the word of the kingdom Jesus taught that unbelief the inability to understand or endure trial and persecution and greed would leave many outside of his kingdom. The word would be preached to different types of people. There are those who just the word would be just outside of their context of what they're willing to give to God that they simply can't understand it. The enemy comes immediately plucks it out of their heart and takes it away and they go on their way in their own deceptive view of God or their own deceptive religion. He talks about others who receive with joy but they they don't understand that to embrace Christ in his fullness means that you are now standing face first into a hurricane of a society that is in rebellion against God and Jesus said if they called me Beelzebub how much more are they going to call those of my house those who are walking with me those who identify with me and see many people come to Christ under a gospel message that doesn't clearly define this doesn't tell people you're going to run in smack into trouble you're not going to be loved when you come to God when you start doing right when you start speaking truth in the midst of a lying environment when you start doing things that are honest when people around you are dishonest and crooked when you start speaking well of people when everyone else is tearing them down when you start doing right you start living right you start thinking right a world that's headlong going into rebellion against God is not going to love you you're going to come into trial and persecution and he says there are people who just receive the word they're receiving at least part of it they want to go to heaven they want to be saved this is they are they hear perhaps that Christ opens prison doors sets people free gives people a new mind and a new heart and they say I want that part that's a good part I want that part but when persecution arises because they begin to live for God Jesus said they're offended that's you I didn't really sign up for this I signed up for a good life I signed up to be prosperous and healthy and happy and to be free from all the oppression of the enemy I didn't sign up to be persecuted and despised and hated and so they're offended and whatever had found a place in their heart quickly dissipates and they can no longer hear his word and then their last category of people are just Jesus said the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches they they they received the word of God for a moment but they're they're moved back into what they had left behind and their security goes back to the things of this world and the things of this earth and they even enter into certain forms of religion even in God's name that draw them back into places where they lose the seed of God that was planted in their hearts in Matthew chapter 13 verse 40 and 41 Jesus said as the terrors are gathered and burned in the fire so shall it be at the end of this world the son of man shall send forth his angels and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things to defend and them which do iniquity now folks I know that everyone likes to be in a place where a warm and fuzzy Jesus is preached but folks you've got to know the whole truth if there's no fear of God in your heart you'll move in a way that is not good for you Jesus said at the end there are going to be things in my kingdom to defend defend the very nature of Christ defend the life of Christ defend the testimony of Christ and he says you'll send his angels and gather out of his kingdom those things to defend Jesus said in Matthew 25 the kingdom of heaven is like virgins that were waiting for the bridegroom and some were wise and others were foolish and those who were foolish thought they had something within their vessels only to discover that when darkness came they were in fact empty and I can't help but wonder how many people in our generation think that because they're sitting in church somewhere or sitting under some kind of a gospel that they are safe and sound and secure but what are they going to do when darkness comes what's going to happen to the prosperity crowd folks when everything collapses what's going to happen to these people who've been sitting under a gospel where everything is just goodness and great and you have this great big destiny to fulfill and all of a sudden you can't even get a job half the country's unemployed what's going to happen when darkness comes what's going to happen if we have a nuclear exchange somewhere in the world in the not too distant future and all of a sudden everything is thrown out of balance and as the apostle Peter says even the elements themselves are set on fire what's going to happen to people who haven't truly embraced the gospel of the kingdom of God thinking there's something in their vessels thinking that they're they're part of the crowd that's preparing for the return of the Lord only to find out when darkness comes they have nothing inside they're empty they've not really heard the truth of God Jesus said in Luke 17 verses 20 and 21 the kingdom of God has nothing to do with outward show the kingdom of God is within you the kingdom of God is within you it's a work that God is doing in you it's Christ himself coming into your heart if you have received him as savior to sit down with you to begin to commune with you and fellowship with you not just forgiving your sins but bringing you into something of God the kingdom is within you it's not an exterior kingdom it's an interior kingdom it's a work of God in the heart and those who are in this kingdom I don't have to convince you of it you know it day by day there are changes coming into your life you can truly sing with the hymn writer morning by morning new mercies I see I'm not the man or woman I was yesterday and by God's next week I will be different and changed Jesus said in Matthew 12 28 the kingdom of God is evidenced by the casting out of demonic strongholds by the power of the Holy Spirit he said if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God then the kingdom of God has come unto you when Christ comes in everything unholy has to go there has to be a change and there will be a change by the grace of almighty God Matthew chapter 13 verses 31 and 32 he describes the kingdom in this way the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and showed in his field which indeed is the least of all seeds but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof he describes the kingdom as a small seed of faith it's a seed that comes into the heart the moment you and I say Lord Jesus Christ I believe you died on the cross for my sin I believe that you have a life for me that you will live through me yes I will have to put my feet one in front of the other but you give me the power to live this new life and it's a life that will bring honor and glory to you we start with a small seed of faith may 12 1978 I pulled my car over on the side of the road and I wasn't even sure that what I was hearing was true and I remember the prayer I prayed I said Lord if if what this man is telling me is the truth then I want you to be my Lord and Savior not a great prayer of faith it was just a seed a small seed came into my heart hallelujah and yet Jesus said if that kingdom is real that small seed of faith begins to grow and maybe you and I are just a little sapling in a field but suddenly we begin to sprout in every direction and other things that have been created in the kingdom of God find sustenance they find shelter they find a place to lodge words begin to come from our mouths that give hope and courage to those that are cast down spiritual authority is given to us to be able to withstand powers of evil and to call prison doors to have to open to release their prisoners blessed be God blessed be God blessed be God hallelujah a small seed of faith if it's in the right place if it's in the right place if it's in the heart or man or woman that says God Almighty I want to serve you and whatever that means wherever it's going to take me whatever you call me to do God I will believe that you have determined a good purpose to come through my life and Jesus takes that seed and it begins to grow all of a sudden compassion comes into the heart you might have been a very selfish man or woman all of a sudden you want to forgive others that have wronged you these are supernatural things begin to happen in your life you haven't sat down and determined to do this one day you've found these truths in the word of God and the Holy Spirit came and made them a reality in your heart the kingdom of God found a lodging place within you and you begin to grow in this knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ verse 33 of chapter 13 he describes this kingdom as a kingdom that never stops growing he said the kingdom of heaven is like to leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened praise God praise God praise God the kingdom never stops growing we never get to the place where we say well I've arrived we never get there as long as God is alive there has to be change coming into my heart and into my life the kingdom never stops and folks once you're in the right kingdom once you're receiving the right word there's an excitement that comes into your heart they say Lord take me deeper farther oh God do more give me the courage to lay down my frail securities that I hold to and help me to embrace your heart and your kingdom help me God to walk in the way that you want me to go that true glory might be brought to your name and in verse chapter 13 verse 23 he says he that receives seed into the good ground is he that hears the word and understands it which also bears fruit and brings forth some a hundred fold some 60 and some 30 those who hear the word of God the word of the kingdom they bear fruit and they bring forth there's a change that comes we don't walk in the same course as the those that are lost in this world we take another path it's a narrow path and there are not many that are on it as Christ has already said but we begin to find that path and that path makes us a things this world that where every man really deep down is animated by his own self-lust and his own concept of what's right and wrong and all of a sudden there are people walking through the midst of this that are so different from the society around them not different because we want to be different because we are because Christ is in us there's a quite a difference and Jesus said in Matthew chapter 25 verse 14 the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling into a far country who called his own servants and delivered to them his goods praise be to God when Christ rose from the dead and went to sit at the right hand of the father he gave us his goods he called us and gave us his goods now the goods of Christ is the heart of God that caused him to become a man in the first place that's the goods of God in Christ he gave us his heart we are his body we are to continue his work upon the earth he says i i'm limited technically in the scriptures he says you're going to do greater works than these because he was limited to one body in one country in one place at one time but he said soon i'm going to have a church and i'm going to indwell this church the work is not going to be different than what you read in the gospels it will be the same work but through many many more people throughout the whole world this gospel will be preached the kingdom of God will have come the victory of Christ will be realized there will be people in the earth who are moving and living and having their being in the victory of God through Jesus Christ they will be touching they will they will be moving to another voice they will be part of another kingdom not the kingdom of darkness but a kingdom of incredible light chapter 13 and verse 44 Jesus said again the kingdom of heaven is like the treasure hid in the field which when a man has found he hides and for joy goes and sells all that he has and buys the field you see this is the kingdom of heaven he does whatever he has to bring that treasure into his possession you see it's the man and woman who sees who Christ is and i realize when i come to Christ that i'm altogether different than him but i see something in him and what i see a desire and i say God almighty help me to sell what i need to sell help me to get rid of what i need to get rid of help me to let go of what i need to let go of Lord that i might possess this life that you want for me on calvary that i might truly truly truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ that i might move in a compassion that doesn't come from the natural heart that i might hear thoughts oh God that don't come from my natural mind that i might be led God by a voice that has nothing to do with any of my own understanding God that i might live and move and have my being in you that i might care about a perishing society and not live my days out caring about myself he goes and sells what he has to bring that treasure into his possession now it's not only for his own good but he knows that there's something in the life of Christ that he possesses that will move him towards the betterment of others now folks many people don't want to go there that's why they can't hear the gospel of the kingdom they want every benefit of heaven that is available but they do not want to walk the path that leads them to others that leads them to the poor and the addicted and the afflicted to the oppressed not only in this society and or in their own homes but also throughout the world they don't want to move in that path and so the word that God wanted to sow eventually becomes something that very well may offend the character of Jesus Christ John speaks of this kind of a heart that knows God Jesus rather in the gospel of Luke please don't turn there but in chapter 15 he talks about a man who has 99 sheep and he leaves them because one is lost the heart of God the heart of God's kingdom is to be moved to leave one's own security to pursue one last sheep until he finds it and brings it home praise God I wonder who the person is going to be that wins the last soul of Christ before he returns bless God would be to God that we have the courage to leave our own pursuit of our own security to leave what we think is going to bring us fulfillment I'm talking about in our hearts I'm not talking about everybody here gets up and resigns from your job on Monday morning would be ridiculous but your security is not there your dreams are not there your future is not there there's something in your heart that says God I've got to go and find that one I've got to find that one that's lost somewhere crying out to you and there's nobody else hears this bleeding voice but you Holy Spirit and you've got to reveal it to me you've got to let me know what's going on in the hearts of people folks there are people walking these streets every day in New York City and God is the only one who hears the cry he's the he's the one who hears the cry tough looking teenagers on their way to school or college he knows what they're saying at night when they get beside their bed if they even have a bed he knows what they're saying he hears the cry of the widow and everybody gets up in the morning and puts on their tough face they put on their work face and put on their mask but the Holy Spirit knows and those who are in the kingdom of God he will reveal it to you he'll speak it to your heart he'll give you a word in season and you begin to move in the supernatural I was leaving Starbucks one day coming back to the office and here's a young man standing beside our building in his maybe early 20s got a cup in his hand and he's a beggar and I'm just about to walk by him and the Holy Spirit gripped my heart I stopped I looked him in the eye and said what are you doing here on the street what are you doing here and he looked at me rather curiousness and you've got a Christian mother you come from a home and look at what you're becoming in your rejection of God the tears started to come down his face I said I'm right aren't I and he said yeah you're right I said well out here you're a beggar it was Tuesday I said around the corner seven o'clock tonight you're the son of a king be there be in the house of God Jesus goes on and Luke and he says this heart that knows God will be like a woman who has a lot of coins but lost one and goes and lights a candle and sweeps the house and looks in darkened corners to find that person who is alone and seemingly of no value but of great value to the heart of God you are preaching the gospel of the kingdom folks when you begin to see people that society says are of no value as great value in the sight of God you have moved into preaching the gospel of the kingdom you are preaching the gospel of the kingdom when you buy your groceries and you have to buy an extra loaf of bread because you can no longer pass by that hungry family next door to you without doing something about it even if it's only a small thing you are preaching the gospel of the kingdom and Jesus said this is the gospel that will be preached unto the end not a theory not just a theology but it will be a body living and moving and having the heart of God within it in this generation right to the end of the age it'll be people who are doing something it's not people are talking about doing something they are doing something because God's heart is motivating them to do something for others that are around them the last part of Luke 15 talks about a son coming home and his father meeting him and those who know this heart of God will be meeting on the road those that have failed to be everything that God intended them to be and many have brought disgrace to the name of God but they will be there to meet them to restore them to see them empowered and commissioned in the work of God they'll be agents of healing and restoration the religious will have hardened their hearts the religious will point their fingers the religious will want to rub their noses in their sin but those who are walking in the kingdom will understand the heart of God is restoration and not judgment mercy triumphs over judgment the scripture says in Matthew chapter 25 Jesus said it this way in verse 34 he says then shall the king say to them on his right hand come you blessed my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for i was hungry and you gave me meat i was thirsty and you gave me drink i was a stranger and you took me in naked and you clothed me i was sick and you visited me i was in prison and you came to me then the righteous will answer saying lord when did we see you hungry and feed you were thirsty and gave you drink when did we see you a stranger and took you in or naked and clothed you or when did we see a sicker and in prison it came to you and the king shall answer and say unto them verily i sent you in as much as you've done it unto one of the least of these my brethren you've done it unto me the least of these we can assume from the scripture that in measure at least many of these people were one to Christ because somebody went to them now i want you to go with me to Matthew chapter 16 if you will please i'm going to conclude with this scripture well actually i'm not going to conclude but be very close to it okay verse 15 and he said unto them but who say ye that i am then simon peter answered and said thou art the christ the son of the living god and jesus answered and said unto him blessed art thou simon barjona for flesh and blood is not revealed unto thee but my father which is in heaven and i send to thee thou art peter and upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it and i'll give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven now this is an incredible thing when you look at it now this is not just about getting the name right this is you know it's uh who do you say oh i say you're jesus well i'll build my church on this and uh you're going to have authority no there's something deeper than this when peter looks at him and he says you're the christ now he's heard the teaching of christ he has been there in measure and experienced the rejection that comes from association with him he has watched him touch the untouchable he's seen him forgive the unforgivable he's watched him move with this incredible compassion and seen the ire of a religious society who were hating him and virtually plotting his death and his destruction and so he says who do you say that i am and see this is a question that you and i each have to answer you know peter could have said well you're a good man but you're not exactly what i've been looking for in god no peter says no you're the christ you see you're the one that the prophets have prophesied that joel spoke about that's going to come and fill all things you're the one in whom we're going to find our life and our reason for existence as a people and as a nation and as a world you're the one you're the christ you're the one who's going to forgive us and nurture us and strengthen us and carry us and peter was saying in effect i've seen who you are and i want you i want you i want everything you're doing now peter of course didn't have the strength to do that until the holy spirit came upon him but he wanted it and jesus saw this that's why he says to him you know he doesn't say peter you're blessed you got my name right no he says peter you're blessed because flesh and blood didn't reveal this unto you and the natural man can't receive this the natural man doesn't want this kind of a christ the natural man won't go this way the natural man wants a christ who will make him successful and happy and free and there's no cost to this there's no walk involved in this there's no rejection there's no self-sacrifice there's no cross involved in it no that's the natural man jesus looks at him and says no you're blessed because flesh and blood hasn't shown this to you my father in heaven showed this to you now he says you're peter and on this rock of your understanding and your desire for who i am and your desire to walk with me i will build my church that's the church that will be preaching the gospel of the kingdom until christ returns and the gates of hell will not prevail against it satan will come against you from every side but will not triumph over you you will not be overthrown this is the one message that will endure to the end hallelujah when other fads about christ come and go this message will carry on it is gospel of the kingdom and he says i'll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven in other words i'm going to give you access to the provision and power of heaven and whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven he says those who walk with me and embrace my heart you'll have authority to hold darkness back and to see evil have to set its captives free there'll be a spiritual authority and those who have traveled with us and you've gone to different countries you've seen this authority you know what this authority is you'll have authority because you have received the christ of the bible you are walking with the christ of the bible not trying to use him for your own gain but you are allowing god to use your life for the gain of others that many may come to know they have a father and a husband and a provider in heaven and a savior who died on the cross for their sins you'll have authority praise god there are many who talk about spiritual authority in this or any other generation but true authority comes when through your life men and women who have no hope are finding hope in god who have no freedom are coming out of places of imprisonment whose hearts have been bruised by the circumstances of this life are finding the healing that only god can give through the holy spirit through your life and through your voice the disciples asked jesus they said teach us how to pray tell us how to pray and he started by saying this is how you should pray our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name i've always taught that hallowed means holy and that's an inclusive term that goes without saying but the the greatest practical definition from the greek new testament here's what it means it means to withdraw from fellowship with the world by first gaining fellowship with god amazing when you see it how should we pray our father who art in heaven here let me paraphrase it for you it's worth giving up fellowship with the world to have fellowship with you that's what he was saying that's how we're to pray oh god it is worth giving up fellowship with the world to have fellowship with you then he says you say thy kingdom come thy will be done that's the second part god give me your heart god let your heart be made known to me help me lord help me god i'm as weak as any other man help me lord to lay down the desires of my heart help me to be yielded to you lord i'll just come back from i guess almost three weeks in canada spent time with my family got to play with my grandson and it was a marvelous time for me and i during these seasons it's very it's nice i'm going to just say it straight the way it is folks it's nice to get out from under all the pressure i live under i live under pressure almost all the time and not just under pressure but i don't carry very good health in this body and so you add the inability to breathe to everything everything else and it can be pretty tough and i started thinking when i was in canada i'm 54 now i would really like to just enjoy my family i'd really like to watch this little boy grow and i could do a lot of things i could speak at different churches and i'd like to get out from under the pressure and just enjoy my children and i began to pray and the holy spirit came on me and i started weeping and the lord said carter i i would like to enjoy my children too and uh but you see you got to go get them because they're not home yet and uh it's my children first he said he brought me to the parable of a servant who comes in from serving all day in the field and the lord says no you serve me first then you eat he says no you use my children first he said there's there's going to be a day whether it's in time or eternity when you get to enjoy your children but it's mine first lest you think i don't pay a price to stand here i'm beaten on daily by hell itself and i have longings and desires like each of you have but ultimately we is it going to be my kingdom or his it's the choice that you and i make and he said pray thy kingdom come i spent a lot of time weeping the other day i started speaking clearly to my heart and i said lord i i lay it all down again one more time all my desires even the good ones and i choose as long as i have life and breath to find your children and bring them home thy kingdom come that's the only gospel folks that's going to last everything else is going to fail no other gospel has the power to reach men and women in this generation i have a simple altar call this morning thy kingdom come every person here who needs to lay something down that you may have fellowship with god and know his heart i want to pray for everyone who says what i'm hearing is right and i don't want to be among those who don't understand or are offended because of persecution or are choked because of cares and riches i i want what i've heard today to find a lodging place in my heart and i want it to bear fruit and bring forth to the glory of god any preacher that tells you there's no cross in the christian life is a liar and doesn't know god there is a cross and it's simply where we do what jesus did die to our own desires and live to the desires of god trusting the lord that there will be these seasons of refreshing and there will be joy it's not like we walk around weeping all day there will be great joy and then at the end god will give us a hundred fold more than anything we could have ever gotten in our own strength and reasoning if the holy spirit is drawing you see as a church it's not the excitement of the choir as wonderful as they are that's going to win this city it's uh it's not the preaching it's you it's 8 000 people that are going to be infused into the boroughs of this city and to surrounding states where you're from who are allowing the gospel of the kingdom to be preached through them are moving in this compassion of christ and are bearing within them the heart of god for people who are not saved this is how the gospel will be preached this is the only thing that will make a difference in new york city now god help us to understand god help us set in your heart today a goal maybe ask the holy spirit how many people would you like to win to christ through my life now i'm not this is not a program folks god can speak it to you if it's one person before you die it's worth it it's that one sheep it's that one coin it's worth it it's worth it settle it in your heart praise god when all hell breaks out and people are fleeing and afraid you will be standing you will stand like paul stood the storm because your whole value system is right your focus is clear and clean you've not been using god for the things of this world you've been walking with god for his purpose and you fully understand the scriptures now blessed be god father i thank you lord with all my heart oh holy spirit lead us into the future now help us god to walk with you to be a people in a place where truly the message of christ is preached thank you for this lord with all my heart help us to hear to allow our hearts to be open and to bear fruit and bring forth to the glory of god thank you for this with everything in me in jesus name as we stand if the holy spirit is drawing you that's the cry of your heart lord thy kingdom come just come and please just join me here in the annex you can stand between the screens we'll just pray together and believe god that this seed will truly find a lodging place you bless the lord jesus thy kingdom come lord in me that thy will be done in me as it is in heaven father we ask you this morning to grip our hearts let us see as valuable the work of god help us to understand that let the word of the kingdom find rich soil in us lord as a people god help us in this we thank you for it lord with everything in his god we praise you bless your holy name lord bless your holy name lord we choose to let the word go deep we choose lord we choose to let your work be done in us oh god thank you lord that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached you said so until the end thank you lord god preach it through me preach it through those that have gathered here lord today preach the gospel of the kingdom of god thank you lord thank you father help us lord help us god to embrace the heart of christ help us holy spirit we can only long for it but you have to make it a reality in us now help us to embrace it oh god make us kind people lord help us to care to have true compassion give us spiritual authority to stand against the works of darkness in people's lives and command prison doors to let their prisoners go god help us give us eyes to see what you see in ears to hear what you hear as we walk the streets of the city lord help us to hear the cries in the people's hearts oh god help us not to look at the things in the natural eyes see give us spiritual eyes lord help us god almighty to make a great difference in this city not only today but in the days to come we praise you for this god we bless you lord i bless you god hallowed be thy name lord hallowed be thy name thank you lord thank you jesus thank you god now you and i can rejoice because if he's seen that cry in your heart first of all the lord put it there and i bring to you the word that jesus gave to peter he said blessed are you you will be a rock and on this truth that i'm the christ i'll build my church in you and the gates of hell will not prevail against you blessed be god and the lord will give you authority spiritual authority and you're starting in your own life and then your home your family and places where god will send you you'll never be willing to take no for an answer when god says yes hallelujah praise be to god father thank you lord thank you god we bless your holy name lord thank you jesus thank you lord thank you god hallelujah