In this sermon, the preacher begins by praying for God's glory to be revealed in the lives of the listeners. He then introduces the topic of "wedding wine" from John chapter 2. The preacher emphasizes the importance of surrendering to God and allowing Him to work through our lives. He calls for a deeper relationship with Jesus and a reliance on His power to impact the world around us. The sermon concludes with a prayer for God to act in the midst of the darkness of the current times.

I have a word from the Lord today for this gathering, and it has something to do with Nicky and it has something to do with this church as well. So I'm going to ask you to open your heart for the next maybe 20 minutes or so. And when I'm done speaking, I'm going to ask Brother Nicky to come back and pray. Father, I thank you with all of my heart, God, for the touch of heaven that is in this house today, the touch of heaven that has borne witness of your presence in Nicky's life and many others throughout history. Now, Lord, today we live in a dark time, a time that requires that touch of heaven to come once again and touch your people that we might become more than just people with knowledge and words. God, we're asking you to do something in all of us that will affect our city, that will affect every church in the city, that will affect our communities, our homes, and our nation. Lord, this is a time, as the scripture says, it is time for you, Lord, to act, for they have made void your law. It's a time, Lord, when you have to raise up a testimony against this flood of ungodliness that wants to swallow this entire generation. Lord, we ask you, God, for great grace that only you can give to face this moment in history that we're now facing. Thank you, Lord God, for the testimony of what you have done through one life, and again and again, you give us the testimony of who you are and what you can do in a surrendered vessel. Lord Jesus Christ, may it encourage each of our hearts to go deeper, farther in you, Lord, than we've ever gone before. Help us, God, to get out of the boundaries that we've placed around ourselves. Lord, let your name be glorified through every life, everyone, every person who desires it. We thank you for it in Jesus' name. John chapter two, I want to talk to you today about wedding wine. Wedding wine. John chapter two, beginning at verse one. On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now, both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding, and when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. Jesus said to her, woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, whatever he says to you, do it. Now, there were set there six water pots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, fill the water pots with water, and they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, drop some out now and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine and did not know where it came from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew, the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, every man at the beginning sets out the good wine. And when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior, but you have kept the good wine until now. This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. This was a wedding and a wedding celebration begins on a specific day at an exact time when vows are exchanged and a new life begins. Now, traditionally at that time, the bride takes on a brand new name. She moves to a new house and she starts and embarks on a brand new future. And on May 12th, 1978, that's what happened with Nikki Cruz. There was a wedding on that day. Jesus Christ exchanged vows with Nikki Cruz. Nikki became part of the bride of Christ. The Reverend David Wilkerson had officiated in that wedding feast in that wedding celebration. Nikki came into the street where David Wilkerson was preaching as a gang member as diagnosed as unredeemable, a man who was violent, unwanted, and unloved by his own testimony. And you and I must agree that in that present lifestyle he was living, he was certainly destined to die young, but in a moment of time, and that's what the new birth is. It's a miracle. It happens to the heart in a moment of time, we are lifted out of the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light. And from the things he used to be at that particular wedding celebration with the son of God, he became one of the sons of God. In a moment, he was saved from sin and everything that had been done in and through his life was washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. And as the scripture says, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things in his life are passed away and all things become new. The ax as it is, is laid to the root of an old tree. Oh, it may stand for a little while, but it loses its power to govern and guide and dominate and determine the future of that soul. He was saved from sin and a man who was formerly violent and unwanted and unloved became tender. I love the tears that you have in your heart because that, that to me, preaching to the thousands is one thing, but the tears in your eyes today is evidence of Christ in you and the work that he's done in your life, cherished and loved of God and thousands and thousands and thousands of people around the world. And a man who should have died young in the streets of New York city, because of Christ is destined to live in eternity with God forever. Thank God for a life that is well-lived. Now the wedding wine at a wedding represents the joy of that moment. I have no doubt that when you came to Christ, angels were high-fiving all around the throne of God. I have little doubt that some of the saints of old were looking over the balcony saying, you got to see this one. You got to see this one. You're not going to believe this. What, what the Lord Jesus Christ has just done in the heart of a man that was diagnosed as unredeemable by people whose only power and only thinking process is of this world. The wedding wine represents the miracle of a new union where two are no longer separate, but they become one. That's why we're still so moved at weddings. No matter how hard your heart might be, there's something inside that melts every time you go to a wedding. And most people don't even know why, because Paul, the apostle said it is the closest earthly type that we have or can see of the union between Jesus Christ and his church on the earth. The promise of new life is represented by this. The joy of knowing that the old things are passed away and I have a new heart. I have a new home. I have a new future. We don't fully understand it, but somehow we've been grafted into a new family, a new life, a new union with God, a new hope for the future, new authority, new power, new giftings of God, completely new creations. That's who we are. That's why we're not called to be an argument in any generation. We're called to be a wonder before the people. We're called to represent something of God. That's not attainable by human effort or human devotion only by the inward presence of God himself working inside of our lives. This is incredible promise of new life that comes when two become one. And Nikki, you don't understand it, but the origins of this church came about with your wedding to Jesus Christ. If you hadn't come to Christ, David Wilkerson probably would preach the rest of his life in Pennsylvania. The cross and the switchblade wouldn't be written. He wouldn't have become famous. There would have been no teen challenge, no world challenge, and no Times Square church. I want you to understand that your life has been a miracle and has borne much fruit for the kingdom of God. Nikki has preached in over 52 countries. No, not more than that. A hundred countries to 52 million people up to the present time. That's what God can do. That's what God can do. And we have been experiencing in great measure, the overflow of the joy of that moment. There has always, always been a manifested presence of God in this sanctuary. Every time we meet, we don't have to work it up. We don't have to try to clap it up. His presence is just here. Every time we get together because, and I believe Nikki that God's brought you here for a specific reason today. This is prophetic. It's not just a birthday today. I was thinking as I was sitting there that it was when Moses was 80, that God called him to deliver the people of Israel. Well, here's the point at a certain point in the wedding, they ran out of wine. They, they, they had no shortage of water. You know, the Bible declares that the word of God is, is a water. The word of God washes the word of God cleanses. And we have in this church, and I speak to you now as your pastor, we have no shortage of water here. We have no shortage of water in all of our churches in America. We've got more Bibles, more teaching, more tapes. You can, you can get water almost anywhere. You can drink water until your belly bloats. But I want to tell you something. We've run out of wine. We've run out of that, that miracle, that miracle of a transformed life, that miracle when chains are broken and the least likely of people become a testimony of God. And they rise up and they do something in the earth that only God can do through them. That's what your life has represented. And I feel like I'm, I feel like the person who came to the table and said, they have no wine. And I don't know about anybody else here, but I'm tired of water. You see that one represents that we become one of the children of God, that we are given the power to walk away from sin. I weary sometimes with trying to convince people they should walk away from sin. I believe it's time for God to convince people to walk away from sin, that inward working of God, that, that longing for the joy that only Christ can give in the human heart. And so Jesus said, bring these water pots, go gather all the water and bring these water pots over here. And then he said, draw out some now and take it to the master of the feast. And this is what the Lord spoke to my heart, Nikki. I'm going to give an altar call. And the altar call is for people who want a new name. They want a miracle. They want to feel loved and have the promise of life. And they want to be the parents of spiritual children. Like you said today, it's people who say, I'm just, I'm tired of always learning, but never coming to the knowledge of where that truth is supposed to lead me. I'm tired of knowing Hebrew and Greek meanings of words, but yet I am so powerless to even stand for Christ, even in my own home, my own office, my own community where I live and dwell. Surely the kingdom of God has to be more than just water. There's got to be wine at this wedding. There's got to be joy. There's got to be life. There's got to be something that only God can provide. I'm tired of being fruitless in the kingdom of God. When God has set before us examples like Nikki Cruz of what he's able to do, there's got to come a point in each one of our lives where we say, Lord, Jesus Christ, do something through my life. And we, we, we start to call out. I, I, I I'm learning. I thank God for the learning. Thank God that I, I know the books of the Bible. Thank God that I can cross reference and I understand old Testament history and new Testament truth. But at some point, Lord, doesn't it bear fruit in my life? At some point, doesn't the water in me turn to wine at some point? Don't I become a vessel that brings joy and brings people in society back to a reminder of the fact that there's a wedding coming, that this world is going to end soon. Christ is coming back. He's coming for his church. He's coming for a bride. There's, there's a point where like the prophet Isaiah, we cry out, not somebody else, not some high-profile preacher, but all of us crowd and say, come ye who are thirsty and have no money. And you have no ability for the things that are set before you come and get it without money and without price. There has to be a point where God does something so profound inside of each of our lives. And it comes with a thirst. It says, God, I don't want to know any more things and just add to the list of things that I feel incapable of doing. And Jesus said, fill these water pots with water. And I believe in this generation, we are filled with water, filled. Never have we had more churches in America and had less impact on our society. 120 people came out of the upper room and changed the whole of the known world. Even Rome bent its knee eventually to these people didn't have a weapon, a strategy, a committee resources, nothing, but they were filled with the spirit of God. And they were abandoned to the work of God. Now we have 120 churches on every block and we don't even affect our community. It's time folks. It's time. It's time for you and I to say, this generation is not going to hell on my watch. The children, the children on my block are not going to die in their sin or be lied to any longer. As long as God's spirit is within me, I will rise by the presence and power of God and make a difference. It's time for the whole church to rise up in this generation and become everything that God has called each of us to be each of us. You know, the good news is that God saves the best wine for the end of the feast. That's my hope. It's my hope. That's why the Lord's brought you here, Nikki, because this was our origin. This was, this was the roots of where we are today. This is what God did. And now he's literally saying to us, who wants to walk this way with me? Who wants to let me be God? Who wants to rise up out of the multitudes and say, here, my Lord, send me. Who wants the water turned to wine? And Jesus said, draw some out now and take it to the governor of the feast. And this is why God brought you here, because people are going to gather at this altar and there's going to be a lot of us gathered here, just are filled with water. And the Lord said to the servant, draw it out now, draw it out and take it to the master. And this, this could be one of the most defining moments of your life, because I'm not speaking of myself. God spoke to me this one of the most defining moments that you can, he said, Nikki, I want you to draw out the water. And as you draw it out, it will turn to wine. And when, when you've done it, take it to the master, take it to the master. So father today, Lord today, God, not tomorrow today, today, Lord, you are speaking to this church today. Lord, you are reminding us of where we've come from today. Lord, you are showing us what is available to each of us who have the desire not to drop back, but to go the full distance of what you have for each of our lives today, Lord, you are willing to take all of the knowledge that we've accumulated over many years in some cases, and turn that knowledge into the sweetness of the presence of God for the sake of those who are yet to be invited to the wedding. So Lord Jesus Christ, I'm asking you, God, to move upon every hungry heart, everyone here who wants a new name, the name that you call them, Lord, a miracle to feel your love and know your love and to have the promise of bearing life. Everyone here who says by the spirit of God within me, my life will make a difference. For the kingdom of heaven, in Jesus name, we're going to stand. And if that's you, if that's you, so I want the water in my life turned to wine, the wine of God, would you come slip out balcony, go to either exit, main sanctuary, and Nikki is going to pray for you. Those at home in our home fellowships, you can step stand up in your living room, please. North Jersey as well. In the education annex, just come move in close, please. Greg is going to lead us in the song. And I'm believing with all my heart, this is a miracle moment for somebody, if not everybody. God have mercy on us. God have mercy. God have mercy. We do not want to be a wedding feast that has no wine. Don't let that be said of us Lord in eternity. Don't let us start in the spirit and finish in the flesh. We ask you Lord to quicken every heart. We ask you, my God, to put the fire of your Holy spirit in each one of us. We ask you for courage to face our fears. We ask you for power over our enemies. We ask you for spiritual authority to command the gates of hell to release their prisoners. We ask you for the gifts of healing. We ask you, my God, the power to cast out devils. We ask you, Lord, that we would lay hands on the sick and they would recover. We ask you that each one of us would become an evangelist in this church, no longer leaving it just to one or two. Everyone, everyone, a witness for Christ everywhere we go. We ask you Lord for the privilege of winning a countless number of people to Christ in this city alone and throughout the nation. We ask you for the wind of God to visit every church on every corner with every name on every door. We ask you God to meet and touch your people again and let it begin here today. Oh God, at this moment, Lord draw wine out of the water in Jesus name. You know what I had learned in my life that we forgot how to be broken so many times. And sometime that it seemed like we try to search for words to pray and it seems like our word is dry. And the things that we have to understand, don't walk in the book of numbers. That's the problem. We want to have the biggest, biggest churches bigger than the other one. What the Holy Spirit is telling you is to walk to the pages of the book of Acts where the miracles, miracle can happen. And that is what's going to happen here. Some of you need to be broken, really broken. When was the last time you cried or you shared a tear? When will be that last time that you feel that you got to break loose and allow the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit to come in and just turn you around and believe in miracle, believe in miracle. Look at this. This is a new generation. You need to be filled with the Holy Spirit because we have a battle to fight and you cannot do it on your own. You will lose, but you need the Holy Spirit. Do you understand what I'm saying? You need the Holy Spirit. I need the Holy Spirit. I need anointing of the Holy Ghost. I need to see the glory of the Lord, miracles, healing, salvation above all things. Raise your hands right now, everyone in this room. If you are ashamed to raise your hands, I'm going to go and put a gun on and give you a hold up. My God. Next, from up there, down here, the other rooms, I want you. I don't want to pray. You pray. You have the power. You got the key. You got the key. I want to hear you pray. This church is a church of prayer. Come on. Start it all over. God, open up yourself and say, I want this. I'm tired to be the same. I want to be used. Use me. Break me. Do whatever you want to do with my life. Hello? Pray. Just pray. Pray. Nobody going to force you. Pray. It's through prayer that we're going to break through. Our churches are going to break through. It's true. There's too many churches and less salvation. I want to hear you up there from the balcony. Send a message to us. Pray with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. We need you, Jesus. We're tired. We're tired of seeing the same thing. We need a new wine. Turn our life. Protect us from the evil one, Jesus. Give us the power to overcome temptations. All over around there's temptation, lust, and all these things. Fear is possessing the minds of many people, especially many Christians. Give us the faith. Fill us with your holy love. Thank you for salvation. You know what? I'm tired. Dr. Bernard, Pastor Carl, Victor, and all the pastors, Mike, and Bonnie, Bobby, and Annie. I'm going to be 80. It's all right, because I'm still good looking, and I still... It's all right. It's all right. But I want to tell you something strange happened. My daughter, Alicia, had been sick. We had been attacked by sickness. My wife was sick, and we came from Russia. It's a miracle she's here. I tell you one thing. I got mad. You don't mean angry. I asked God for a miracle. There's one thing that you have that you cannot let it go, and that is faith, that God can do it. God can use you. We're going to come right now, and we're going to rumble. We're going to fight the evil one, knowing our strength, knowing in our way, in Jesus' way. And now, in this very morning, in this moment, I declare a spirit of healing all over this place for those who have been sick in the church of the Lord physically. And let's thank Jesus for healing right now. Thank Him. Thank Him. Thank Him. I'm healed. In the name of Jesus, I'm healed. Heal the body of Christ. Heal our wife. Heal our children, our husband, our pastor, our Holy Spirit. Heal us. Receive the healing. Receive it. In the name of Jesus, you filthy, no good, dirty, you devil, you have been defeated. You are now the blood of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. Anointing of God come upon every minister here. Oh, Jesus. Hallelujah. Don't try to be sophisticated. Holy Spirit. Go ahead. Go ahead. All of you, everybody in the choir. You just pick up your microphone. And let's send a message to the devil. He has been defeated by the blood of Jesus Christ. There's power in the blood. There's power in the blood of Jesus Christ. There's healing. There's salvation. There's baptism of the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Bless Him in the holy name of Jesus. Come on, sing it.