Jerry Jones - NOT IN A CORNER — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00The 26th chapter of the book of Acts,
2. 0:04I'm going to start reading at verse 24
3. 0:06and read three verses.
4. 0:09And as he thus spake for himself, this
5. 0:12is the Apostle Paul
6. 0:15speaking before Festus
7. 0:18who is judging him and will determine
8. 0:21whether he goes to prison or not.
9. 0:24Festus said with a loud voice, "PAUL,
10. 0:29THOU ART BESIDE THYSELF.
11. 0:32Much learning
12. 0:34doth make thee mad."
13. 0:37But Paul answered Festus and said, "I'm
14. 0:40not crazy, most noble Festus,
15. 0:43but speak forth the words of truth and
16. 0:47soberness.
17. 0:49For the king knoweth of these things,
18. 0:52before whom also I speak freely.
19. 0:56For I am persuaded that none of these
20. 0:58things are" He's talking about the
21. 1:01ministry, death, burial, resurrection of
22. 1:04Jesus Christ, the outpouring of the Holy
23. 1:06Ghost, the explosion of the Christian
24. 1:09church.
25. 1:11I am persuaded that none of these things
26. 1:14are hidden from him, for this thing
27. 1:17was not done
28. 1:20in a corner.
29. 1:23And that's what I want to preach about
30. 1:25today.
31. 1:26Not in a corner.
32. 1:28Lord, thank you for your word, for this
33. 1:30incredible service, for this weekend of
34. 1:32celebration.
35. 1:34Thank you for the leadership of this
36. 1:35church. Thank you for the opportunity to
37. 1:38be part of what is happening here. Now,
38. 1:41I pray your anointing on your word, on
39. 1:44me, on all of us to hear and receive it
40. 1:47in Jesus' name.
41. 1:49Amen.
42. 1:50Amen. Thank you. Please be seated. I
43. 1:53will not preach long here today.
44. 1:56I do, however, want to lay a quick
45. 1:59foundation for what I will preach.
46. 2:02I want to point out that we believe with
47. 2:05all of our heart and live our lives in
48. 2:07the shadow of this belief
49. 2:09that things
50. 2:12that are of experimental investigation
51. 2:17are not all discovered through that
52. 2:20process.
53. 2:21Not all truth can be found in a
54. 2:24laboratory experiment, under a
55. 2:27microscope, or through a telescope.
56. 2:31To think that the whole world is wrapped
57. 2:33up in science and in knowledge able to
58. 2:37be obtained through human observation is
59. 2:40absolutely wrong.
60. 2:43There are things you can't find in a
61. 2:45lab. There are things you cannot prove
62. 2:49through a mathematical formula. And yet,
63. 2:52our world is moving ever nearer that
64. 2:56moment where they will declare and are
65. 2:59declaring that if I can't prove it
66. 3:02scientifically,
67. 3:04I will not believe it.
68. 3:07Sasha Sagan, the daughter of Carl Sagan,
69. 3:10who was an astronomer and an
70. 3:12anti-religion activist, wrote a
71. 3:15melancholy article about her famous
72. 3:17parents.
73. 3:19And in this article, perhaps
74. 3:20inadvertently, she revealed the thinking
75. 3:23of her father's insistence on science as
76. 3:26the only revealer of truth. SHE SAYS
77. 3:28WHEN SHE WAS very young, she asked her
78. 3:31father about his parents, whom she never
79. 3:35knew. AND HE SAID, "THE REASON YOU NEVER
80. 3:38MET them is they died before you were
81. 3:40born." Just a child, she asked her
82. 3:43father, "Will you ever see them again?"
83. 3:46He considered his answer carefully, she
84. 3:48writes. Finally, he said there was
85. 3:51nothing he would like more in the world
86. 3:54than to see his mother and father again,
87. 3:56but he simply had no reason and no
88. 3:59evidence to support the idea of an
89. 4:03afterlife. So, he cannot, he said, give
90. 4:07in to the temptation. As far as I
91. 4:10remember, she wrote, "This is the first
92. 4:12time I began to understand the
93. 4:15permanence of death."
94. 4:18Here's the gospel of the Sagans of our
95. 4:21world and ever increasingly most of our
96. 4:24world. Someday, he wrote, "Our
97. 4:27civilization will crumble. In the
98. 4:30biggest sense, our our species will
99. 4:33eventually die out or transform into
100. 4:36something else. And then, a few billion
101. 4:39years from now, when the sun meets its
102. 4:42own end, ALL LIFE ON Earth will die with
103. 4:47it."
104. 4:49So, here's our choice.
105. 4:51Hope
106. 4:52or hopelessness.
107. 4:55THE TRUTH IS ALL TRUTH IS blind faith.
108. 4:59Even the faith that there is nothing
109. 5:02beyond those things that they can be
110. 5:04seen by the eye or proven in a
111. 5:06laboratory. LET ME TELL YOU, BELIEVING
112. 5:09IN THE BIG BANG is no LESS BLIND FAITH
113. 5:12THAN BELIEVING in a God who created the
114. 5:15universe.
115. 5:16NEITHER HAS EVER BEEN OBSERVED. NEITHER
116. 5:19HAS EVER BEEN DUPLICATED IN A LAB. YOU
117. 5:22GOT TO DECIDE WHICH ONE YOU'RE GOING TO
118. 5:24TAKE ON FAITH. AND SINCE IT IS A MATTER
119. 5:28of faith in choosing WHAT TO BELIEVE, I
120. 5:32CHOOSE TO BELIEVE IN THE FAITH OF HOPE.
121. 5:35I BELIEVE IN A LIVING [screaming] GOD. I
122. 5:37BELIEVE HE KNOWS MY NAME. I BELIEVE HE
123. 5:41SPOKE THE UNIVERSE INTO EXISTENCE. I
124. 5:45BELIEVE HE CREATED [screaming] US IN HIS
125. 5:49LIKENESS AND IN HIS IMAGE.
126. 5:52I believe there ARE SOME THINGS I CANNOT
127. 5:56HOLD in my hands OR SEE WITH MY EYES OR
128. 6:00EXAMINE WITH A MICROSCOPE OR SEE THROUGH
129. 6:03A TELESCOPE. I BELIEVE IN THE
130. 6:05SUPERNATURAL. I BELIEVE CANCERS CAN
131. 6:09DISAPPEAR. ALCOHOLICS CAN SIMPLY STOP
132. 6:13BEING ALCOHOLICS.
133. 6:16I BELIEVE [screaming] NEW BEGINNINGS ARE
134. 6:19POSSIBLE FOR WHOSOEVER WILL.
135. 6:25I BELIEVE THAT NOT [screaming] ONLY DID
136. 6:28OUR GOD CREATE THE HEAVENS AND THE
137. 6:31EARTH, BUT THAT HE PUT [screaming] ON
138. 6:33FLESH AND HE WALKED AMONG US AND HE
139. 6:38CONQUERED [screaming] DEATH, HELL, AND
140. 6:40THE GRAVE AND HE SENT HIS SPIRIT
141. 6:45TO LIVE
142. 6:47IN OUR HEARTS.
143. 6:50I BELIEVE THERE IS SUPERNATURAL IN OUR
144. 6:53PAST.
145. 6:55I BELIEVE IN WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY AT
146. 6:59THE HAND OF GOD, [screaming]
147. 7:01INEXPLICABLE,
148. 7:02UNEXPLAINABLE.
149. 7:04I BELIEVE THAT'S PROOF POSITIVE THERE IS
150. 7:07SUPERNATURAL EVENTS IN OUR FUTURE. THAT
151. 7:11WHAT ONCE [screaming] HAPPENED AT NEW
152. 7:13LIFE WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. AND IF ANY
153. 7:17[screaming] HAVE EVER BEEN HEALED HERE,
154. 7:20YOU CAN BE HEALED HERE. IF ANY HAVE BEEN
155. 7:24DELIVERED HERE, [screaming]
156. 7:26YOU CAN BE DELIVERED HERE.
157. 7:35IF THERE is no supernatural,
158. 7:38then there is no resurrection.
159. 7:42AND IF THERE IS NO RESURRECTION,
160. 7:46DEATH [screaming]
161. 7:47IS SIMPLY
162. 7:49THE END.
163. 7:52And life has no
164. 7:57meaning.
165. 7:58If we are here by sheer accident and
166. 8:02nothing we do has ANY RHYME OR REASON,
167. 8:07THEN LIFE
168. 8:09IS
169. 8:10FOR NOTHING.
170. 8:18THE APOSTLE UNDERSTOOD this connection
171. 8:21between faith in the miraculous, the
172. 8:23supernatural,
173. 8:25and the meaning of the resurrection OF
174. 8:27JESUS CHRIST.
175. 8:29HIS RESURRECTION IS THE HEART OF OUR
176. 8:31FAITH.
177. 8:33LET ME SAY IT LIKE THIS. Christianity
178. 8:35began WITH A MIRACLE.
179. 8:41CHRISTIANITY [screaming] IS NOT THE
180. 8:43FIGMENT OF HUMAN IMAGINATION. IT WASN'T
181. 8:46DEVISED [screaming]
182. 8:47BY SUPERSTITION OR MYTH. IT BEGAN WITH
183. 8:51WITH A FLASH [screaming] OF LIGHT. THE
184. 8:53SEAL OF ROME WAS BROKEN. THE GUARDS WERE
185. 8:57SCATTERED. THE STONE ROLLED [screaming]
186. 8:59BACK. AND HE THAT WAS DEAD STEPPED OUT
187. 9:03OF THAT [screaming] TOMB AND IS NOW
188. 9:06ALIVE
189. 9:07FOREVERMORE. [screaming]
190. 9:11>> [applause]
191. 9:15>> PAUL SAID THIS IN 1 CORINTHIANS 15, "But
192. 9:18if there be no resurrection OF THE DEAD,
193. 9:20THEN CHRIST IS NOT RISEN.
194. 9:22AND IF CHRIST [screaming] IS NOT RISEN,
195. 9:24OUR PREACHING IS VAIN. YOUR FAITH IS
196. 9:27ALSO VAIN. IF CHRIST IS NOT RAISED, YOU
197. 9:31ARE YET IN YOUR SINS. THEN THEY ALSO
198. 9:34WHICH ARE FALLEN ASLEEP IN CHRIST ARE
199. 9:36PERISHED. IF IN THIS LIFE ONLY WE HAVE
200. 9:41HOPE IN CHRIST, WE ARE OF ALL
201. 9:42[screaming] MEN MOST MISERABLE. WE WILL
202. 9:47SEE [screaming] THEM AGAIN. WE WILL WALK
203. 9:50IN HIS PRESENCE. WE'LL HUG THE NECKS OF
204. 9:54THE LOVED AND LOST. WE WILL CELEBRATE
205. 9:57THE GREATEST HOMECOMING THAT HAS EVER
206. 10:00BEEN KNOWN BECAUSE HE LIVES, [screaming]
207. 10:04WE SHALL LIVE ALSO.
208. 10:14BUT PAUL DOES NOT ASK US
209. 10:17TO ACCEPT the miracle of Jesus'
210. 10:20resurrection on faith only.
211. 10:23Oh, it takes faith, all right.
212. 10:26But unlike creation,
213. 10:28there were FOLKS THERE
214. 10:31WHO SAW IT,
215. 10:34WHO LIVED [screaming] IT,
216. 10:37AND WHO LEFT US THEIR TESTIMONY.
217. 10:41HERE'S WHAT PAUL SAYS.
218. 10:431 CORINTHIANS 15 ALSO, FOR I DELIVERED
219. 10:46into you first OF ALL
220. 10:48THAT WHICH I ALSO RECEIVED, HOW THAT
221. 10:51CHRIST DIED for our sins according to
222. 10:53the scriptures,
223. 10:54and that he was buried, AND THAT HE ROSE
224. 10:56AGAIN THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE
225. 10:59SCRIPTURES,
226. 11:00AND THAT HE WAS SEEN OF PETER, THEN OF
227. 11:03THE 12. AFTER THAT, HE WAS SEEN OF ABOVE
228. 11:06500 BRETHREN AT ONCE, OF WHOM THE
229. 11:09GREATER PART REMAIN UNTO THIS PRESENT,
230. 11:11THOUGH SOME HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP. AFTER
231. 11:14THAT, HE WAS SEEN OF JAMES, AND THEN ALL
232. 11:16THE APOSTLES, AND LAST OF ALL, he was
233. 11:19seen of me also as one born out OF DUE
234. 11:22TIME. TODAY, NO ONE IS ALIVE THAT SAW
235. 11:25THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG OR THE BATTLE
236. 11:27OF BUNKER HILL OR HEARD THE DEBATES THAT
237. 11:30LED TO THE CONSTITUTION OR THE
238. 11:33DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, BUT WE KNOW
239. 11:35THEY HAPPENED BECAUSE WE KNOW OF THOSE
240. 11:38WHO WERE THERE AND [screaming] SAW IT
241. 11:41AND HEARD IT. AND SO IT IS WITH THE MOST
242. 11:44IMPORTANT EVENT THAT EVER HAPPENED IN
243. 11:46HUMAN HISTORY. HE PROVED HIMSELF ALIVE
244. 11:50[screaming]
245. 11:51BY INFALLIBLE PROOFS. THEY SAW HIM DIE,
246. 11:56AND THEN THEY SAW [screaming] HIM ALIVE
247. 12:00AGAIN.
248. 12:08SO, PAUL GETS arrested during a riot
249. 12:11at Jerusalem.
250. 12:13It was It was all a sham.
251. 12:16It was staged.
252. 12:18There was a group of of Pharisees who
253. 12:21wanted to kill Paul,
254. 12:23and they started that riot as cover for
255. 12:26the assassination.
256. 12:30You know, God has a sense of humor.
257. 12:34You know that?
258. 12:35You know how he saved Paul out of that
259. 12:38riot in Jerusalem?
260. 12:40There were 200 Roman soldiers,
261. 12:43Roman soldiers,
262. 12:45them pagan heathens
263. 12:48on their horses
264. 12:50who happened to be riding by,
265. 12:53AND THEY SAW THEM CLOSING IN ON Paul
266. 12:57with their stealing knives,
267. 12:59AND THEY SIMPLY STOPPED, SURROUNDED
268. 13:02PAUL, PUT HIM ON A HORSE, [screaming]
269. 13:04AND THEY YOU KNOW MY FAVORITE PART OF
270. 13:06THAT STORY?
271. 13:07Is those fellows that wanted to kill
272. 13:09Paul
273. 13:10took an oath,
274. 13:12"We're not going to eat or drink until
275. 13:14he's dead."
276. 13:18I can how they felt as those horses
277. 13:20disappeared.
278. 13:22Paul's riding right in the middle of
279. 13:24them.
280. 13:25Their stomachs are already growling.
281. 13:29He's brought to Caesarea, and he's put
282. 13:32in prison, and he's there for 2 years.
283. 13:35Finally, the moment of his defense is at
284. 13:37hand,
285. 13:39and he stands up for himself BY
286. 13:42PREACHING THE GOSPEL,
287. 13:45AND TELLING FESTUS ABOUT WHO JESUS WAS
288. 13:50AND WHAT JESUS DID.
289. 13:53HE must have acted a little bit of like
290. 13:57Pastor
291. 14:00while he was preaching,
292. 14:01and Bishop Tracy
293. 14:04and me.
294. 14:06Somebody said, "You still get red in the
295. 14:07face when you're preaching."
296. 14:12CUZ FESTUS SAID, "YOU'RE [screaming]
297. 14:13MAD.
298. 14:16ALL YOUR SCHOOLING HAS DRIVEN YOU
299. 14:18CRAZY."
300. 14:20PAUL SAYS, "I'M not crazy. I'm not mad.
301. 14:22Oh, no.
302. 14:24I'm telling you what happened. I'm
303. 14:26telling YOU THE SERIOUSNESS
304. 14:31DID [screaming]
305. 14:32FOR US."
306. 14:33AND THEN HE SAYS A remarkable thing, and
307. 14:36this is really what I want to PREACH
308. 14:37ABOUT. HE SAYS, "BUT YOU KNOW, FESTUS,
309. 14:40I'M NOT SHARING SECRETS
310. 14:43WITH YOU.
311. 14:45I'M NOT [screaming] TELLING YOU
312. 14:46SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW.
313. 14:51I'M NOT [screaming] TALKING ABOUT THINGS
314. 14:53THAT YOU'RE UNAWARE OF BECAUSE WHAT
315. 14:57JESUS DID AND WHAT JESUS SAID AND HIS
316. 15:02DEATH AND [screaming] HIS RESURRECTION,
317. 15:05YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD OF THEM BECAUSE
318. 15:08THIS WASN'T DONE IN SOME CORNER.
319. 15:11>> [screaming]
320. 15:11>> IT WAS DONE RIGHT OUT IN THE BROAD
321. 15:14DAYLIGHT TO LET THIS WORLD [screaming]
322. 15:17KNOW WHAT GOD IS DOING. LADIES AND
323. 15:22GENTLEMEN, WHAT GOD DOES THROUGH HIS
324. 15:24CHURCH HAS NEVER BEEN STUCK IN A CORNER
325. 15:28OF [screaming] LIFE. IT'S NEVER BEEN
326. 15:31INSIGNIFICANT.
327. 15:32IT'S NEVER BEEN UNREALIZED.
328. 15:35IT'S NEVER BEEN [screaming]
329. 15:36UNRECOGNIZED.
330. 15:38THE WORLD WOULD WANT TO CONVINCE US THAT
331. 15:41WHAT GUY AND LILLY [screaming] ROWE DID
332. 15:43IN THEIR LIVING ROOM 75 YEARS AGO WAS
333. 15:47UNHERALDED. [screaming] I'VE COME TO
334. 15:49TELL YOU NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM
335. 15:52THE TRUTH. THIS CITY KNOWS WHAT THEY
336. 15:56DID. THIS REGION KNOWS WHAT THEY
337. 16:00[screaming] ACCOMPLISHED, BUT MORE
338. 16:03IMPORTANTLY, HELL KNOWS WHAT THEY DID
339. 16:07AND STILL TREMBLES
340. 16:10AT THEIR NAMES. AND I'M HERE TO TELL
341. 16:13[screaming] YOU THAT EVERYONE THAT HAS
342. 16:15WALKED THROUGH THOSE DOORS HAS BEEN A
343. 16:18TESTIMONY THAT [screaming] THE WORLD
344. 16:20KNOWS THERE'S A CHURCH. THE WORLD KNOWS
345. 16:23THERE'S A GOSPEL. THE WORLD [screaming]
346. 16:26KNOWS THAT PENTECOST
347. 16:28IS STILL
348. 16:30REAL.
349. 16:34OH, somebody ought to praise him
350. 16:39while I catch my breath.
351. 16:42>> [applause]
352. 16:43>> Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. [laughter]
353. 16:48JESUS DIDN'T SNEAK OUT OF THAT TOMB AND
354. 16:51LEAVE IT TO A HANDFUL OF DISCIPLES TO
355. 16:54CONVINCE THE WORLD. SEAL OF ROME WAS
356. 16:57BROKEN. THE SOLDIERS WERE SCATTERED.
357. 17:00ANGELS [screaming] SAT IN THAT TOMB TO
358. 17:03SAY, "HE'S NOT HERE. HE [screaming] HAS
359. 17:08ARISEN."
360. 17:15THE disciples didn't try to just blend
361. 17:18in and kind of work behind the scenes.
362. 17:21WHEN THE HOLY GHOST FELL on Pentecost,
363. 17:23they didn't stay in the church house.
364. 17:30When I was a
365. 17:32teenager,
366. 17:34I had the incredible privilege of
367. 17:37being part of a little country church
368. 17:40down in south central Mississippi,
369. 17:43and uh
370. 17:46with no air conditioning back then.
371. 17:50So, you had church with all the windows
372. 17:52open.
373. 17:55And you know, if
374. 17:57if the bugs weren't too bad, you'd have
375. 17:59the doors open.
376. 18:01Although, why worry about Well, forget
377. 18:03it.
378. 18:09And when he got right at the old State
379. 18:11Line Church,
380. 18:14WHEN THE HOLY GHOST FELL,
381. 18:17WHEN THE POWER of God moved.
382. 18:20Now, this was awesome today, and and it
383. 18:21was awesome last night, but y'all ain't
384. 18:24got nothing
385. 18:26over those rednecks down there. Let me
386. 18:28tell you,
387. 18:31they knew how to worship God.
388. 18:35They didn't worry about the house across
389. 18:37the road.
390. 18:38THEY DIDN'T WORRY ABOUT THAT FELLOW DOWN
391. 18:40THE ROAD that hated Pentecost and
392. 18:41everything it stood for.
393. 18:44They didn't hardly have a PA system.
394. 18:47In my earliest years, we didn't have a
395. 18:49PA. It didn't matter.
396. 18:51When you yell loud enough
397. 18:54and the windows are open
398. 18:56and the doors standing open,
399. 18:58the whole neighborhood knows them
400. 19:01Pentecostals, THOSE HOLY ROLLERS,
401. 19:04THEY'RE AT IT AGAIN.
402. 19:06OH, BUT WHEN IT got really right,
403. 19:09Brother Ansley Barber went OVER TO THE
404. 19:11SIDE ROOM, GOT A BIG OLD BASS DRUM. HE
405. 19:15DIDN'T HAVE NO STRAP TO PUT IT AROUND
406. 19:17HIS NECK. HE HELD IT WITH ONE HAND
407. 19:19AGAINST HIS BELLY, AND THEN HE PLAYED IT
408. 19:22IN TIME TO THE MUSIC, more or less, BUT
409. 19:24HE DIDN'T PLAY IT WITH A STICK OR WITH
410. 19:26HIS HAND. HE PLAYED IT WITH A
411. 19:28TAMBOURINE. AND YOU AIN'T HEARD WORSHIP
412. 19:31UNTIL YOU'VE EVER HEARD ANSLEY BARBER
413. 19:34PLAYING [screaming] A BASS DRUM WITH A
414. 19:36TAMBOURINE.
415. 19:38AND WHEN BROTHER BARBER CAME OUT, PEOPLE
416. 19:40GOT UP. IT WAS TIME FOR A VERY SPECIAL
417. 19:45EVENT. IT WAS TIME
418. 19:48>> [screaming]
419. 19:48>> FOR A VICTORY MARCH.
420. 19:54Y'all know a victory march is?
421. 19:57It's when you march FOR VICTORY.
422. 20:00WHEN EVERYBODY STARTS MOVING TOGETHER.
423. 20:03WHEN THEY'RE CLAPPING HANDS AND WALKING
424. 20:04AT THE SAME TIME, WONDERFUL THING. AND
425. 20:07THE HOLY GHOST [screaming] IS MOVING AND
426. 20:08SOME ARE DANCING, SOME ARE PIROUETTING,
427. 20:11AND SOME ARE LEAPING FOR JOY. SOME BEGAN
428. 20:14TO RUN, BUT ALL [screaming] THAT VICTORY
429. 20:17MARCH, THERE WAS TOO MANY FOLKS FOR IT
430. 20:19TO STAY INSIDE. AND BEFORE LONG
431. 20:21[screaming] IT WOVE ITS WAY OUT THE
432. 20:23DOORS AND INTO THE PARKING LOT, AND
433. 20:26AROUND [screaming]
434. 20:27AND AROUND THEY WENT. DIDN'T MATTER THAT
435. 20:29THE MUSIC WAS ALL BACK INSIDE. THEY HAD
436. 20:32THEIR OWN MUSIC. THEY WERE IN TUNE WITH
437. 20:36THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST. HEAR THIS,
438. 20:39PREACHER. WE'VE NEVER COWERED IN THE
439. 20:41CORNER OF SOME PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT OR
440. 20:44SOME CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT. WE'VE ALWAYS
441. 20:47[screaming] TAKEN CENTER STAGE. WE ARE
442. 20:49ONE GOD. WE ARE APOSTOLIC.
443. 20:53WE ARE JESUS NAME. WE LEAP. WE DANCE. WE
444. 20:58SHOUT. WE [screaming] FALL OUT. THIS HAS
445. 21:00NEVER BEEN DONE IN A CORNER.
446. 21:09SOMEBODY praise him right now. I feel
447. 21:11his presence.
448. 21:17>> [applause]
449. 21:20>> THEY BOILED OUT OF THAT UPPER ROOM. THEY
450. 21:22WENT INTO THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM.
451. 21:24PEOPLE SAID, "WHAT'S [screaming] GOING
452. 21:26ON? WHAT MEANETH THIS?" AND PETER STOOD
453. 21:29UP WITH THE OTHER [screaming] 11 AND
454. 21:31SAID, "THIS IS THAT SPOKEN OF BY THE
455. 21:34PROPHET JOEL. IN THE LAST DAYS, I WILL
456. 21:37POUR [screaming] OUT MY SPIRIT UPON ALL
457. 21:40FLESH." YOU HEAR ME, BRIDGETON? YOU HEAR
458. 21:43ME, ST. LOUIS? WE'RE HERE TO PROCLAIM,
459. 21:46"THIS IS STILL THAT." IT'S THE POWER
460. 21:50[screaming]
461. 21:51OF THE HOLY GHOST.
462. 22:00I'm hurrying.
463. 22:02I brought my copy.
464. 22:05Y'all have seen this?
465. 22:08God answers prayer
466. 22:11at New Life.
467. 22:15You hadn't seen it? You need to get
468. 22:16this.
469. 22:18There's about 20 miracles, at least,
470. 22:21chronicled in this little pamphlet.
471. 22:24They cover the first
472. 22:2635 or so years
473. 22:29of this church's history.
474. 22:31The first half
475. 22:33of what God did here.
476. 22:36These were the
477. 22:37remarkable miracles.
478. 22:40PEOPLE THAT SHOULD HAVE DIED AND DIDN'T
479. 22:42DIE.
480. 22:44PEOPLE THAT DOCTORS WALKED OUT OF THEIR
481. 22:46ROOMS SHAKING their head.
482. 22:48PEOPLE THAT SHOULD HAVE PERISHED.
483. 22:49THERE'S A PICTURE OF A CAR WRECK IN
484. 22:51HERE. THERE'S NO WAY. [screaming]
485. 22:54BUT THERE IS A WAY.
486. 22:56>> [cheering and applause]
487. 22:57>> AND HIS [screaming] NAME IS JESUS.
488. 23:03>> [applause]
489. 23:08>> WE'RE WORKING ON THE SECOND HALF.
490. 23:11>> [applause]
491. 23:15>> I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY'S WRITING IT,
492. 23:17BUT GOD'S ALREADY NEARLY DONE WITH
493. 23:19VOLUME TWO. THE MIRACLES THAT HAVE
494. 23:22HAPPENED HERE
495. 23:23>> [screaming]
496. 23:23>> ARE REMARKABLE. THEY'RE REMARKABLE FOR
497. 23:27THEIR POWER, FOR THEIR DEMONSTRATION OF
498. 23:31GOD'S PRESENCE. AND LET ME [screaming]
499. 23:32TELL YOU, THE FUTURE WILL ONLY BE RICHER
500. 23:36WITH THE POWER AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
501. 23:40[screaming]
502. 23:40BECAUSE NO, FESTUS, THIS WASN'T DONE IN
503. 23:44A CORNER. HELL KNEW WHEN GUY AND LILLY
504. 23:47ROME [screaming]
505. 23:48STARTED HAVING CHURCH AT THAT LITTLE
506. 23:50CHURCH HOUSE IN U CITY, AT THE SECOND
507. 23:53BUILDING THERE. AND THEY KNEW IN THE
508. 23:56MENFOLK AND LADYFOLK OF THIS CHURCH WITH
509. 23:59THEIR OWN HANDS BUILT THIS MAGNIFICENT
510. 24:02SANCTUARY. AND HELL IS MORE WORRIED
511. 24:06TODAY THAN IT EVER HAS [screaming]
512. 24:10BEEN. BECAUSE TOMORROW
513. 24:16WILL be better
514. 24:19than today.
515. 24:23Oh, somebody praise him right now.
516. 24:29>> [applause]
517. 24:34>> Why don't they come and get ready to
518. 24:36worship? I I've skipped over.
519. 24:39I'm about done.
520. 24:42When we lost Guy Rome,
521. 24:44>> [snorts]
522. 24:47>> I remember right here in this building,
523. 24:54at the wake,
524. 24:56place was full.
525. 25:00People passed by for hours.
526. 25:06I'll never forget a backslider
527. 25:08came through the line.
528. 25:14Doesn't matter who it was. I've already
529. 25:15forgotten anyway, but
530. 25:22she came up to me
531. 25:24standing near the
532. 25:26head.
533. 25:29She shook my hand.
534. 25:33She said, "Oh, we loved him so much.
535. 25:37Brother Rome helped so many people.
536. 25:42There's hundreds
537. 25:46that he touched our lives. He made such
538. 25:48a difference.
539. 25:50But it was just so hard, you know?
540. 25:53He preached such standard.
541. 25:58It was just it was just, you know, we
542. 26:00loved him, but
543. 26:02all that holiness stuff.
544. 26:08There would be hundreds more in your
545. 26:10church
546. 26:12if you'd quit preaching that stuff.
547. 26:17I took her hand back.
548. 26:20I said, "Oh, but look around.
549. 26:23There's hundreds
550. 26:26that not only loved Guy Rome,
551. 26:29but they loved the gospel he preached.
552. 26:33They loved the life change that the
553. 26:35Bible and Guy Rome tells us all to live.
554. 26:40It isn't enough to celebrate the past.
555. 26:43WE HAVE TO LET THE PAST INTO OUR
556. 26:46PRESENT. AND WE HAVE TO LET THE PAST
557. 26:49SHOW [screaming] US THE ROUTE AND THE
558. 26:51WAY INTO THE FUTURE. THIS CHURCH HAS
559. 26:56NEVER HID THAT IT IS A HOLINESS CHURCH.
560. 27:00IT IS A [screaming] ONE GOD CHURCH. IT
561. 27:03STILL BELIEVES THAT [screaming] OUR GOD
562. 27:07IS ALIVE AND WELL IN THIS GENERATION.
563. 27:11THIS CHURCH STILL PREACHES, "YOU MUST
564. 27:14REPENT. YOU MUST [screaming] BE BAPTIZED
565. 27:17IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE
566. 27:20REMISSION OF SINS, AND YOU SHALL
567. 27:22[screaming]
568. 27:23RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST AND
569. 27:28SPEAK IN OTHER TONGUES."
570. 27:35PASTOR TRACY,
571. 27:36>> [music]
572. 27:37>> PASTOR BATCHELOR, PASTOR JONES,
573. 27:39[screaming]
574. 27:41WE DIDN'T PREACH IT CUZ GUY Rome
575. 27:42preached it,
576. 27:44as much as we loved and revered him.
577. 27:47We didn't preach it cuz he preached it.
578. 27:50We preached it cuz HE PREACHED THE
579. 27:51BIBLE, THE WORD OF GOD. [screaming]
580. 28:01AND THE MESSAGE hasn't changed because
581. 28:04it's God speaking.
582. 28:08God speaks.
583. 28:10GOD HEALS.
584. 28:12GOD DELIVERS.
585. 28:15RIGHT HERE.
586. 28:17At New Life.
587. 28:19HE ALWAYS HAS.
588. 28:22AND HE ALWAYS WILL.
589. 28:26Because this thing has never been shoved
590. 28:28into The devil needs to learn it's
591. 28:29dangerous to corner some things.
592. 28:34>> [music]
593. 28:35>> And when HE TRIES TO SHOVE THE CHURCH IN
594. 28:37THE CORNER, SOMETHING'S COMING AT HIM
595. 28:40THAT HE CAN'T HANDLE.
596. 28:42WE'RE A CHURCH OF APOSTOLIC POWER. WE'RE
597. 28:45A CHURCH OF APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY. WE'RE A
598. 28:49CHURCH THAT HAS SURVIVED NOT BECAUSE OF
599. 28:52BUSINESS PROCESSES, NOT BECAUSE OF HUMAN
600. 28:55TALENT OR HUMAN ABILITY.
601. 28:57>> [screaming]
602. 28:58>> WE'RE HERE BECAUSE THIS IS THE CHURCH OF
603. 29:01THE LIVING GOD. IT'S NOT IN A CORNER.
604. 29:05IT'S SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF WHAT GOD
605. 29:09IS DOING
606. 29:11IN OUR GENERATION.
607. 29:13Stand with me, would you?
608. 29:16And so here, in our final celebratory
609. 29:18service,
610. 29:20of thanking God for those who have gone
611. 29:22before, the Romes,
612. 29:25Tracys, JONESES,
613. 29:28THANKING GOD FOR THE PRIVILEGE
614. 29:30AND THE BATCHELORS THAT WE'VE HAD
615. 29:33of leading this church.
616. 29:35But we all know
617. 29:37we played a role.
618. 29:39But the star of the show
619. 29:43was in that little three-room house.
620. 29:47Was in that little frame church in U
621. 29:49City.
622. 29:51Was in the second church and has been
623. 29:53here.
624. 29:55And what happens here
625. 29:57lives
626. 29:59forever.
627. 30:04If you're here today on this our final
628. 30:06time together
629. 30:07celebrating 75 years.
630. 30:12Maybe you haven't been part of the
631. 30:13[music] past 75.
632. 30:17Maybe you're here for the first time.
633. 30:19Doesn't really matter.
634. 30:21But if you want to be part of the next
635. 30:2375
636. 30:26if you want to see God at his best
637. 30:29changing lives, saving lives
638. 30:32putting families back together,
639. 30:34delivering the drug addicts and the
640. 30:36alcoholic
641. 30:38taking hate and jealousy and and
642. 30:40prejudice [music] out of human hearts
643. 30:43if you WANT TO SEE GOD AND WHAT HE CAN
644. 30:45DO
645. 30:47YOU want to be part
646. 30:49not just of the past, but of the future.
647. 30:52I'm going to open the front of the
648. 30:54church and I would invite you to come.
649. 30:57And here [music]
650. 30:58at what we call the altars
651. 31:01here at the front of the church
652. 31:03I want this power that transcends time
653. 31:05and place. [music]
654. 31:07I want this power that goes beyond
655. 31:09language and borders, nationalities
656. 31:12and
657. 31:13and cultures and societies. I WANT TO BE
658. 31:16PART OF THIS [screaming]
659. 31:17>> [music]
660. 31:18>> THAT HAS BEEN FRONT AND center for 2,000
661. 31:21years.
662. 31:23I want to know that God.
663. 31:25That God
664. 31:29who has been at work in this place.
665. 31:59Speak, oh Lord. Speak, oh Lord.
666. 32:03Speak, oh Lord.
667. 32:49You are my strength.
668. 32:55God himself has given the altar call
669. 32:57today and if you would like to step out,
670. 32:59it's a matter who you are, Pentecostal
671. 33:02or not, Christian or not, religious or
672. 33:04not, but you feel something drawing you
673. 33:07close, now is your time.
674. 33:09>> [music]
675. 33:09>> I want you to press in. Everybody as
676. 33:11close as you can. So many want to come.
677. 33:13[music] There's still some room. Come
678. 33:15now. Out of the balcony, make your way
679. 33:18down. God is going to do miracles here
680. 33:21today. God is going to show what he can
681. 33:24do in this house today.
682. 33:27Let's lift our hands right now and begin
683. 33:29to worship him. Reach up to him. Pray.
684. 33:33Make your heart known to him in Jesus'
685. 33:35name.
686. 33:43>> [music]
687. 33:49[singing]
688. 33:51[music]
689. 33:53[singing]
690. 33:58[music and singing]
691. 34:04[music]
692. 34:08[music]
693. 34:09[singing]
694. 34:16[music and singing]
695. 34:23[music]
696. 34:27[singing]
697. 34:29[music]
698. 34:35[music]
699. 34:39[music]
700. 34:47[music]
701. 34:54[music]
702. 34:59[music]
703. 35:03>> Reach out and pray with someone right
704. 35:05now. Would you do it? Just reach OUT.
705. 35:07PUT A HAND ON someone's shoulder. Begin
706. 35:10to pray with them. God, we want the
707. 35:12future to be filled with your power or
708. 35:15with your spirit. [music] We want, OH
709. 35:17GOD, OUR LIVES TO BE ATTUNED to what
710. 35:20YOU'RE DOING IN OUR GENERATION. In
711. 35:23Jesus' name. In Jesus' name.