Prepare Ye the Way
Pastor David T. Elms Preached on 12/29/2024
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55:08
Summary
Pastor Elms explores the Gospel of Mark's emphasis on immediate action, challenging the church to move beyond passive attendance into a life of vocal worship and mental transformation. He emphasizes that preparing the way of the Lord requires a re-imaging of ourselves as responsive, Spirit-led believers who exercise the authority found in the name of Jesus.
Key points
- •Mark's Gospel is a book of urgent action, written without a birth narrative to appeal to the Greco-Roman mindset through 18 miracles and frequent adverbs of speed.
- •Biblical repentance (metanoia) is not just feeling regret or turning around; it is a profound transformation of the mind and a re-imagining of one's identity in God.
- •True worship is an active, vocal, and physical response to eternal truths, rather than the passive observation or professional performance seen in some modern settings.
- •The name of Jesus Christ carries specific spiritual authority over demonic forces and is the essential declaration in baptism for the remission of sins.
- •Preparation for the coming of the Lord involves 'building a highway in the desert' by mastering one's emotions and offering praise even in difficult circumstances.
Scripture
Worship
Repentance
Spiritual Authority
Church Growth
Life application
Commit to being an active participant in worship this week by vocalizing your praise and engaging physically, refusing to let social pressure or personal moods silence your response to God's presence.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of your life have you been acting as an 'assessor' rather than an 'actor' for the Kingdom of God?
- How does shifting the definition of repentance from 'regret' to 're-imaging your mind' change your approach to the new year?
- Pastor Elms mentions that 'the action demonstrates what we have become.' What do your current spiritual actions say about your internal reality?
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Full transcript
0:00of you in the house of the Lord today
0:00and we are are taking our text from the
0:01gospel of Mark uh and I want to celebr
0:04at that yesterday we baptized two in the
0:07name of Jesus right in this place we
0:11baptize sister BB Ortiz and sister
0:14Blanca her her sweet
0:17wife sister I said that terribly wrong
0:21her sister in the name of Jesus Christ
0:24yesterday as well and I want you all to
0:26know if you haven't been baptized by
0:29them saying in the name of Jesus Christ
0:32over you you need to get baptized again
0:36we're not disrespecting your previous
0:39baptisms because all of them are
0:41suitable according to the baptism of
0:44John it's toward repentance but the
0:47power of the baptismal de Declaration of
0:51the coming of Jesus was that he would
0:53baptize us with the Holy Ghost and with
0:56fire and that baptism would be not into
1:00John's baptism but into Jesus's baptism
1:04and it's very critical it's not just a a
1:07a matter of word play or word games or
1:11or just word usage it is important that
1:15you use the name Jesus Christ uh same
1:20thing should go if you're attacked by
1:22demons now I know some people don't
1:24believe in demons um but I want to tell
1:26you demons are real forces of evil are
1:28very real forces of Oppression are very
1:31real but whenever a demon comes against
1:33you don't don't say in the name of the
1:35father don't do it it will not scare him
1:38at all doesn't bother him any don't say
1:41in the name of the son I rebuke you it
1:43will not work every Church movement even
1:47those who do not baptize in the name of
1:49Jesus have in their their Creeds when it
1:52comes time for an exorcism you must do
1:55it in the name of Jesus Christ why
1:58because that's where the true power is
2:01and so it is when you're baptized you go
2:04down in water buried in with him buried
2:08with him is what the Bible says in the
2:10Book of Romans with him in baptism and
2:13so the name is very very important I
2:15bring to you a study today that I I find
2:19striking as we prepare our hearts to
2:22seek the Lord this day and also in
2:25assessing the new year that is ahead of
2:28us you have read for your text out of
2:31the Gospel According to mark this was
2:35many times looked at and is looked at as
2:38the very first written Gospel of the
2:42Bible it's known in theological sermon
2:45uh circles as the Maran priori it's the
2:48priority of Mark it's the evidence that
2:51Mark wrote first chronologically and of
2:55course none of that really interests
2:56many people but it is one of those
2:59points that when you're looking at how
3:02things are spread out and spoken of it
3:05is nice to see the very first gospel
3:09written if you have studied when books
3:12are written in the New Testament the
3:14very first New Testament book that was
3:17written was the book of James James was
3:20written between 40 and 42 ad it was
3:24written by the brother of Jesus so this
3:26was just simply nine years after Jesus
3:31ascended James writes his book Jesus
3:34descends around 30 to 33 ad and 40 to 42
3:39ad J James writes his book herid decides
3:43to behead or kill James after this has
3:47occurred and it's one of the most cruel
3:50things Herod was a very cruel Governor
3:54uh back in those days Rome ruled the
3:56Mediterranean region with a hand of iron
4:00and they did it with great effect
4:02because of their power but they they
4:04also did it by situating cruel governors
4:07in various places that would uh
4:10stimulate or put forth the iron hand of
4:13power and Herod was one of the most
4:16cruel of them all you know the story of
4:19Jesus's birth after he was born the wise
4:21men came saying we come seeking the king
4:24of the Jews and Herod pretended to go
4:27along with it but then he declared that
4:30all boy children two years and under
4:33will be killed in the city of Bethlehem
4:36this is not just a biblically recorded
4:38thing this is something that all of
4:40history has told us occurred in fact
4:43Caesar spoke of the cruelty of Herod and
4:46said it is better to be herod's Pig than
4:50his son this is how cruel he was he
4:53would kill uh even his own children he
4:55would kill his own wives because of his
4:58desperate clutching of power now we can
5:02re-engineer history when we look back
5:04from our wonderful peaceful existence
5:08that we live in today I know many times
5:10we don't think this is peaceful but
5:12relative to history this is a very very
5:15peaceful time that we're living in and
5:17of course the the value of human life is
5:20much more precious today than it was in
5:24former days so as we educate our minds
5:27we educate our minds towards worship and
5:30to the response of the word of the Lord
5:33and my preaching today is to get you to
5:36reimagine yourself being a worshipper
5:40being a a verbal prayer being one that
5:44is quick to lay hands on other people in
5:48the transfer of prayer like the Bible
5:51said through the establishing of the
5:53foundation of the laying on of hands
5:56this kind of church is the kind of
5:59church that you're we're building here
6:01at the Cathedral of Pentecost we refuse
6:04to build a non-biblical church there is
6:06no pressure from this culture that
6:09causes us to adapt away from scripture
6:12we're in the world we're just not of the
6:15world and so when you come into church
6:18you have to reformulate your definition
6:21of what it means to be a part of the
6:24church and so through that it doesn't
6:26happen because someone stands up here
6:28and inspires you to say something
6:31because they have some pithy or powerful
6:34phrase no it's because resident innately
6:37in you is a knowledge that when you hear
6:40something that is agreeable with eternal
6:44values you refuse to be still and you
6:47refuse to be quiet and you refuse to be
6:50unemotional and
6:52nonresponsive you have decided that my
6:55responses will go to things that are not
6:59temporal but they are Eternal and that's
7:02a decision you make
7:04it's a simple decision that you have to
7:07make when you come to the way of the
7:08Lord and when you come into the Church
7:10of the Living God I think it's a
7:12travesty that many churches are creating
7:15environments where the people who attend
7:18the environment can sit still
7:20nonresponsive and just staring at the
7:24front when the Bible is very clear that
7:27there is no professional worshippers
7:29there are no worshippers that are just
7:32paid or propped up but that the body of
7:35Christ becomes worshippers and if you're
7:38not in the body then we're not surprised
7:40that you're not a worshipper but if you
7:42pretend to say that you're a part of the
7:45body of Christ and you do not worship
7:47then we experience a disconnect between
7:50the words you say and the actions you
7:53portray there has got to be in the
7:55family go of God a knowledge based
7:59response that is not buil on emotive
8:02responses even though you're emotions
8:04will be a part of it it's built on
8:07knowledge and when the knowledge
8:09encounters the fruitfulness of Eternal
8:11truths then you refuse to be
8:15silent so I I I'm telling you as we go
8:19to this learning about our Gospel
8:21reading today we read out of the first
8:24chapter of the first verse of the Gospel
8:27of Mark which was the first gospel
8:30written understand the way they're laid
8:32out in the New Testament is not
8:34chronologically placed the first book
8:37written was the book of James and then
8:39following that the First Gospel there
8:41were several other letters Galatians 1 2
8:44Thessalonians 1 and 2 Corinthians and
8:46Romans were all written before Mark was
8:49written but then of all the gospel
8:51narratives the stories the biographies
8:54if you will of Jesus they are starting
8:57in the late 50s Mark writes first it's
9:01important for you to know that Mark's
9:03mentor was the Apostle Peter this is
9:06John M Mark that's written about in the
9:08book of Acts and he went around and all
9:10the narrative all the story and if you
9:13study The Book of Mark you can tell that
9:15his Source material is coming from the
9:17Apostle Peter now stay with me the
9:20Apostle Peter is the one to whom is the
9:23given the Keys of the Kingdom the
9:25Apostle Peter was the one who Jesus said
9:28whom do men say that I am and Peter said
9:31Thou Art the Christ
9:34now now you may just hear Christ and you
9:36think that's a a a curse word out there
9:39but Christ is not a curse word Christ is
9:42a word that means Messiah you are
9:46Messiah you are Messiah you are the
9:51Savior that the heavens have written
9:54about the prophets have foretold the
9:57people that left Egypt through the Red
9:59Sea pursued and all of the poets sang of
10:03You Are are that one and when Jesus
10:06responded to Peter he said flesh and
10:08blood has not revealed this unto you but
10:11my Father which is in heaven has told
10:14you who I am so Peter is a important
10:18figure when we're studying the book of
10:20uh the the Bible and in throughout the
10:23entirety of the scripture Whenever there
10:25is a list given of the disciples Peter
10:29is always listed first that's not
10:31haphazard that's on purpose because
10:34Peter has been given the keys ladies and
10:37gentlemen if you're going to a locked
10:39house and you're a child who are you
10:42waiting
10:43on the one with the
10:46keys you ever stood there as a child and
10:49waited for
10:50Keys have you ever stood at a door
10:52wondering where's the
10:54key how many of you all have a hidden
10:59key why because to get into a place you
11:02got to have access to that place and the
11:05Lord said Peter would be given the Keys
11:08of the Kingdom and this is why when we
11:10look through the book of Acts Peter's
11:12preaching is so important because
11:15Peter's the one that Jesus said you got
11:17it Buster Brown you're the man that has
11:19been given access and when Peter stands
11:22up to preach in Acts the 2 chapter when
11:24he stands up to preach to the city uh in
11:27to to Cornelius the Centurion it is the
11:29Apostle Peter who breaks the way open to
11:33the different various people of the Lord
11:36and so when we study this it's important
11:38for us to know Peter's The Source
11:40material now back to Mark are you still
11:43with
11:45me it's interesting in mark As the First
11:49Gospel
11:50written this gospel is written right
11:53before neero would start persecuting the
11:55Christians in Rome neero fiddled while
11:58Rome burned is not a fable it is real
12:02Nero started his City on fire and
12:0571% of Rome burned they thought they had
12:09it contained around the the the the
12:12massive arena in the marketplace but it
12:15was not contained and it broke out until
12:1871% of Rome burned and because of that
12:22Nero the Caesar blamed the Christians
12:25this happened about 64 ad and the
12:28Christians were blamed even though Nero
12:31it's well thought he started the fire
12:33himself to just uh create things and so
12:37this process of killing the Christians
12:40systematically started with the fire at
12:43Rome now Mark is writing his gospel the
12:48first one the need was real to get the
12:52story of who Jesus was out there there's
12:55been Revival there's been great increase
12:58in Ephesus and Corinth and Thessalon
13:01there's been great Revival throughout
13:03the e the the the eastern and the Asian
13:06cities and the Holy Ghost has been
13:08poured out people are being baptized in
13:10the name of Jesus everywhere that is the
13:12only way they're baptizing in that time
13:15and uh and so here they are baptizing
13:18having Revival but they are losing
13:21because of time the reality of why and
13:24who they're serving so Mark writes the
13:28first book now James wrote to the Jews
13:32Mark was not written to the Jews Mark
13:35was written to the
13:37Gentiles because when he starts out his
13:40story it's very very interesting that
13:43there are 18 Miracles told of in this
13:46book and there is no birth story have
13:50you noticed that did you read the
13:52beginning of the book we're so used to
13:55having this story of Jesus's birth we've
13:58had just had Christmas time we read it
14:00out of Luke Matthew and uh John tells us
14:03different story but there's no real
14:06telling of the birth story of Jesus
14:09Christ why is Mark brushing past a
14:13stable and a manger and a star and
14:16Shepherds and wise men and angels
14:19appearing to Mary why is he rushing past
14:23uh the the the propheus who stood in the
14:25Temple's Courtyard why is he pushing
14:28beyond that the reason is because the
14:31Grecian people are driven by action and
14:34they're not so tied to this story of the
14:37prophets in fact Mark they say many
14:41times it's the shortest of the gospels
14:43but it's really not it's the longest of
14:46the gospels if you would take out the
14:48quoting of Old Testament prophets that
14:50are done in the other Gospels it quotes
14:53them the least in fact very rarely does
14:55it even reference the prophet that is
14:58quoting Mark just said as the prophets
15:00have said why because he's writing to
15:03people who don't know the story of Torah
15:06they don't understand all this the the
15:08Red Sea and the the plagues of Egypt and
15:11the coming out of a lamb and the Pascal
15:13lamb that is to die no the grecians are
15:16people of action action action there's
15:20no decree of Caesar Augustus there's no
15:22Shepherds no wise men not even a Mary
15:25and a Joseph it goes straight to action
15:29in fact when you study The Book of Mark
15:31it uses hurry up
15:34adverbs 42 times in the book words like
15:38and immediately they went forth or
15:41straight way they pressed forward and so
15:44there is this urgency that is compelled
15:47on the reader by Mark it is moving into
15:50something that is not theoretical but
15:53it's reality in other words I have come
15:56to live my life in a way of godliness
15:58but what shows that my decision of my
16:02mind demonstrates what I have become so
16:06Mark's gospel opens with this wild
16:08Prophet so I'm I'm giving you the what
16:11okay this is the what does the gospel
16:14say Mark gospel opens with his story of
16:17a wild Prophet describes John the
16:20Baptist even tells what he wears what he
16:23eats the the the way he preaches and he
16:26it emphasizes that he's preaching a
16:29message of repentance everybody say
16:31repentance repentance repentance is a
16:34word that we preach often and we know
16:37that it comes uh from the word metanoia
16:40in the Greek but many times we look at
16:42it as the word repent and we quote the
16:45German mindset of a turnaround in the
16:48military instead of saying about face in
16:51the German military they say repente and
16:54that that means to turn around and face
16:56another Direction but that is not an
16:59accurate to the depths of the the
17:02essence of what repentance is many times
17:05people say well I'm just going to turn
17:06away from the world and I'm going to
17:07start work walking to the Lord that's
17:09one perspective of repentance but that's
17:12not the true meaning of the word that's
17:15given to us by Mark Mark takes this
17:18Greek word metanoia which means to have
17:20a change of mind it's not just a
17:23turnaround but it's a transformation of
17:26thought it means I thought one way now
17:28I'm thinking an again I'm thinking a new
17:32it is the ability ability to dream a new
17:35dream about oneself it is about seeing
17:39things differently than you have seen
17:41them before or
17:43reorienting one's self to think
17:47differently after to turn around is
17:50really too shallow of an explanation it
17:54is a profound shift of perception not
17:58just of regret for the way I was going
18:01but a reorientation your mind to see the
18:05power and the beauty of where I'm now
18:14going there's a lot of times when you
18:16first come to the Lord you come in
18:18regret okay uh most of us were saved
18:21from the depths of sin most of us had
18:23things that we wish we could have never
18:25have done before we came to God there's
18:27a lot of regret that pushes us into the
18:30ways of God but if your walk with God is
18:33just built on the standard of regret it
18:36is too shallow and too weak and as we
18:39March into this new year I want you to
18:41formulate your thinking and your spirit
18:43around the understanding it's not just a
18:46matter of the Lord saving me from the
18:48bad stuff but it's understanding he's
18:50saving us to the extravagant things he's
18:54not just saving us from temporary
18:56Pursuits but he's saving us to Eternal
19:00accomplishments he's not just saving us
19:03from the low menial things of the world
19:06but he's saving us to the high and the
19:08Grand and the tremendous things of
19:12Eternity now as a student of preaching I
19:17know that the analysis analysis of
19:21preaching has changed throughout my
19:23Ministry years ago and throughout
19:26America's history there was a lot of
19:28topical preaching done topical preaching
19:31is more or less finding a scripture and
19:33building that scripture and building a
19:35theme by pulling out verses throughout
19:37the scripture that has to do with the
19:39topic and it builds to an extravagant
19:42ending and it is a wonderful way to
19:45preach it's not something that is to be
19:47abandoned there is though a Revival of
19:51expository preaching that has come in
19:54this last day and expository preaching
19:56is when you take the text and you break
19:58it down verse by verse and that kind of
20:02preaching I love to do if you don't know
20:04that just come on Tuesday night I love
20:06to break a verse down and and go through
20:09it and I'm we're in one right now
20:11talking about the power of faith and uh
20:14it's it's wonderful thing we'll pick
20:16back up in the new year but the
20:18expository preaching is dissecting a
20:21text now I am doing a little bit of both
20:23today I am taking this text and letting
20:25you see a big picture of why does Mark
20:29start his gospel the way he starts it
20:33what in the world is Mark doing by
20:35forgetting about a star at Bethlehem why
20:38is he forgetting about a babe in a
20:40Manger why is he forgetting about babies
20:42killed at Bethlehem why is he not
20:45telling us about Shepherds that saw
20:47angels on high why did he not tell us
20:49about peace on Earth Goodwill toward man
20:52why does he start with this wild Herald
20:55her uh wild haired honey eating camel
21:01skin wearing preacher that's just
21:04talking about changing your vision and
21:07your self-image and your mindset and
21:10getting a brand new imagination on what
21:13you are to look like what you're to walk
21:15like what you're to talk like how you're
21:17to pray I why does it start on this
21:20change idea and it's because Mark is
21:25talking to a world that needed to move
21:29in a different direction they didn't
21:31need to hear about star at Bethlehem
21:33even though that's glorious and it's a
21:34part of the tapestry of scripture it is
21:37about what do you see yourself
21:41doing you know the famous optical
21:43illusion where the same image can be one
21:46way look like an old woman and you turn
21:48it upside down and it looks like a young
21:51woman how many are familiar with that
21:53optical illusion it's a wonderful thing
21:55you put it down and man it's just real
21:57old woman got a wart on her nose
21:59whatever uh and then you turn it over
22:01and it's just Cinderella it's just some
22:03beautiful little thing right there and
22:06it's just awesome two images but it's
22:09what do you see hell has projected in
22:13your mind an image of what you're
22:16supposed to look like it starts when
22:18you're young and Parents try to reshape
22:21that image but all of us know how to
22:25lie all of us know how to cheat all of
22:28us know how to be selfish there's no
22:30education needed for any of that
22:33if you don't know about it just have a
22:35child and yes all your children are a
22:37bunch of
22:41liars my grandchildren lie like crazy
22:45and stare me down as if I don't know
22:47what's going
22:49on it takes no gifting and I love my
22:52grandchildren to Pieces please don't
22:54think I'm down on children they're the
22:56they're the Kings and the Queens around
22:57this church they're what God sends for
23:00to for Revival but but it does doesn't
23:03take any training and the parents have
23:05to
23:06reimage their child they all eat like a
23:12dog they all eat with their
23:17hands it takes parenting that have a
23:21understanding of the beauty of
23:23manners to teach them how to eat like a
23:27human
23:28being because they won't do it on their
23:31own you have to re image them well the
23:36same thing goes for being a child of God
23:39in
23:4220205 I know we're not there yet but
23:44stay with me as a church why does Mark
23:49start by not telling us the sappy story
23:53of Bethlehem and manger and stars in the
23:56night sky why does he go straight to
23:59this raw boned camel haired hun eaten
24:04rough heun preacher that didn't take
24:07time for an introduction in sweet
24:09manners but just said except you repent
24:13you shall likewise perish that he would
24:15come preaching a message of prepare
24:19ye the way of the Lord because when it
24:23all boils down there's one duty that we
24:25have on this Earth and that is to image
24:28ourselves in a manner of preparing the
24:32way of the Lord not the Lord preparing
24:34his way we prepare the way of the Lord
24:39how much have you prepared his way in
24:41this service today if you haven't lifted
24:44your voice with the praise of the Lord
24:46if you haven't heard yourself say
24:47hallelujah if you haven't heard yourself
24:50say his name then you haven't
24:52contributed today I'm glad you're here I
24:55appreciate your warm body using up our
24:57BTUs here cold air but you haven't
25:01contributed you have been in imaged in a
25:03dead aspect of how to go to church the
25:07only way for you to get become a soldier
25:10of the Cross is to
25:12re-image yourself to where you refuse to
25:17be silent you refuse to hold your peace
25:21you refuse to not be heard saying the
25:25name somebody needs to hear themsel say
25:28the name there's power in the name
25:33there's glory in the name there's
25:36Majesty in the name when you say his
25:39name demons tremble when you say his
25:42name sickness flees when you say his
25:45name demons have to clear the room when
25:48you say his name depression has to walk
25:51away when you say his name anxiety
25:55subsid when you say his name you walk
25:58into a power that's not man-made when
26:02you say his name your soul begins to
26:05LEAP within when you say his name you
26:09understand all of heaven will say glory
26:13to God in the highest peace on Earth
26:16Good Will toward men when you say his
26:18name on the tip of every tongue that
26:21name's going to be spoken of the things
26:24in heaven of the things on earth of the
26:27things beneath the Earth and every
26:29tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ
26:32is the Lord say the
26:37[Applause]
26:46name Deliverance is in the name hope is
26:50in the
26:51name
26:53joy
26:54unspeakable is in the name happiness
26:58that the world cannot give is in the
27:01name Lord I Am With You Always even
27:04until the end of the
27:09age now now now now now sit
27:12down sit down if you think I did all
27:16that to get these 30 to 50 people
27:19standing you're so
27:23mistaken if you think my desire is to
27:26keep a church in the Pentecostal style
27:30then you're bound by paralysis of anal
27:33is and Academia has put its blanket of
27:36heaviness over your head and you will
27:39consistently be assessing instead of
27:42acting I am not trying to build a church
27:46of
27:46assessors this is a church of people
27:50that is built on action action action I
27:55come with prepare preparation of
27:57knowledge I come with preparation of
28:00study and I bring you good material but
28:04ladies and gentlemen I cannot feel your
28:06mind and still silence your soul church
28:11is when the Mind Cs and the Soul sings
28:17church is when you celebrate the fact I
28:20don't need to analyze and hypothesize
28:24and homogenize anymore I know that this
28:27is the house of the Lord and I will
28:29enter into his gates with Thanksgiving
28:33action action action and I will enter
28:35into his cour with praise action action
28:39action I will be thankful unto him and
28:41bless his
28:47name hell wants to lock you into a
28:50Stillness when you get in the presence
28:52of the Lord hell wants you to only see
28:55yourself as standing all stoic in the
28:59presence of the Lord hell want you to
29:01think that the first look is all just to
29:04turn around and nothing else is
29:06accomplishing in it it wants you to have
29:09a static reality in church well let me
29:13remind you who we are we are not that
29:17church we are a church that from the
29:19back wall to the front Pew there's going
29:22to be responsiveness in the house of God
29:26we will never have a show for you if
29:30these musicians and I know the leader
29:32I'm married to her if she thinks that
29:35any of these singers and you singers can
29:37say a the whether it's true or not if
29:40she thinks that they're just going
29:42through the motions they'll stop the
29:45practice right there and sister Elms
29:47will get up on her Holy Ghost pulpit and
29:50she'll say ladies and gentlemen why are
29:54we here we're not here to perform we're
29:57not here to put on a show we are here to
30:00get in the presence of the Lord and in
30:02his presence there's fullness of joy you
30:06enjoy get in his presence you can be in
30:09the house but not be in his presence you
30:12can be in the room but not be in his
30:15presence because the only way you get in
30:17his presence is you got to enter with
30:20praise you got to praise him your mouth
30:24has got to open and you will say the
30:26words your hands the Bible said oh lift
30:29your hands all your people wave unto the
30:33Lord I don't have an assignment for you
30:36I'm telling you figure it
30:40[Applause]
30:49out sometimes when people go through a
30:51storm you can tell by the way they
30:54pray just listen to them pray it's been
30:57a while since you've heard them pray
30:59very passionately things are going
31:01pretty good
31:03but if they've ever learned about the
31:04power of God you'll hear them in a
31:07prayer room you'll hear them before
31:09church when it's not all that stirred up
31:12they'll just sit there and kind of look
31:13them around it won't be a big deal but
31:16whenever they walk in Hell staring them
31:18down if ever they've got a Biblical
31:21understanding if they understand the
31:23power of God's spoken word and how when
31:26you speak things change you'll know how
31:30they pray oh God let this church be a
31:32speaker speaking church I'm not talking
31:34about a speaking Pulpit I'm not talking
31:36about speaking musicians or speaking
31:39singers I'm talking about a sanctuary
31:42that if we had none of this there would
31:43be the Roar of God's people as they
31:47respond out of the depths of their soul
31:50to what God is
31:54doing hell wants to lock you into an
31:57imagination have you ever seen yourself
31:59standing up by yourself during the
32:01preaching of the word
32:03have you ever seen that of yourself are
32:05you so locked down that nothing could
32:08move you out of to standing during the
32:10word of the Lord I guess you're like
32:12those who go to the Dolphins games and
32:14never stand up or do those people
32:20exist I always love when they show the
32:22real big high dollar sweets I love it
32:26because I look at those high dollar
32:28suites and I think even the Most Blessed
32:31children of God God have it better than
32:33those people but look at them worshiping
32:36their football
32:38God they sit in those Suites and Oh e
32:41they're always boom boom they may not be
32:43as rabid as some of those down in the
32:45front row you know I ain't gonna be
32:46those people no matter what now for
32:49God I'm going to worship him with
32:53diligence but I'm not going to do it in
32:55such a manner that they think they think
32:57I'm absolutely crazy I know the Bible
33:00says after the manner that they call
33:01heresy but heresy and craziness is not
33:04the same thing there are some that have
33:06misinterpreted scripture and say you got
33:07to be more crazy because if you want to
33:10be really wacko crazy then you you're
33:12into heresy heresy has nothing to do
33:14with whacko crazy I've seen some
33:16Churches think they're so much Holier
33:18because they got about five people that
33:19go nuts when they're preaching they're
33:21shouting brings God no glory it's just
33:24another crazy wacko going crazy I stand
33:26there and say well all right have fun
33:29y'all but that's not heresy phy is built
33:33on the lack of understanding and you do
33:35it without the understanding you do it a
33:39skew from the way that God prescribes
33:41and God does say oh shout unto the Lord
33:44he says oh clap your hands all you
33:46people it says leap for Joy it says wave
33:49your hands before the Lord it says serve
33:52the Lord with gladness come before his
33:55presence with singing know ye that the
33:58Lord he is God it is he that hath made
34:01us cannot we ourselves we are his people
34:04and the Sheep of his
34:06[Music]
34:08pasture so worship must fill the
34:12house and sometimes we got to unmake the
34:16heresy that we've gleaned so we can get
34:19back in the scripture that is the
34:21biblical manner of worship have you
34:23imagined yourself praying in such a way
34:26that you're the only one praying and
34:28everybody else is around here and and
34:30you just don't care
34:33when was the last time you heard
34:34yourself do that hey all of you
34:37apostolics we're getting ready for 2025
34:40when was the last time you heard
34:41yourself be the dominant voice for
34:43prayer in the room tell me I'm asking
34:46you real question because hell wants to
34:50put the freeze on you to where all you
34:53do is stand around and you're the
34:59assessor you're judging if it's a good
35:01prayer or not
35:03is this a good prayer I would have said
35:05it a little differently well get on the
35:08field get out of the stands why don't
35:11you be the dominant prayer voice in the
35:13room that doesn't mean everybody has to
35:16sit there and listen to you because
35:18everybody needs to get a hold of the
35:20Lord you can't do my praising for me you
35:24can't do my praying for me you can't
35:26make my worship for me I got to worship
35:29him all by myself
35:361 Corinthians
35:3715:49 says and as we have borne the
35:40image sister Elms come of the Earthly we
35:43shall also bear the image of the
35:47Heavenly when we get to heaven is it
35:50going to be a day of
35:54rejoicing because if you don't act on
35:57Earth and practice for what you're going
35:59to act like in heaven you're not not
36:02listening to what I'm trying to say you
36:04need to practice right
36:07here you need to practice right here
36:10what does that look like I'm not telling
36:12you what it looks like just make sure it
36:13looks
36:14biblical make sure it's responsive to
36:17the word of the go Lord in the manner
36:19that you know is founded as a desired
36:22aspect by the Lord and and as we have
36:25borne the image of the Earthly we shall
36:28also bear the image of the Heavenly 2
36:31Corinthians
36:333:18 talks about this walk with God but
36:36we all with open face beholding as in a
36:39glass that's a mirror the glory of the
36:41Lord are changed into the same
36:45image from glory to glory and so
36:49sometimes I worship when I don't feel
36:50like
36:53it see some people think that stoicism
36:56means controlling your emotions and they
36:59Define it as controlling your emotions
37:01mean you don't ever never show emotion
37:03stoicism is not controlling your emotion
37:05it's mastering your emotion in other
37:08words there's times you know you got a
37:10praise to be made so you refuse to be
37:13quiet because now is when a praise is to
37:16be made I master my emotions I'm a
37:20little bit with a tiny bit of a headache
37:22but guess what I say that my worship
37:25supersedes my tiny little headache
37:28because I'm a master of my emotions I
37:31know now demands a little twostep and so
37:35I'm going to offer the Lord a little
37:36twostep my twostep looks differently
37:39than your twostep but hell only sees the
37:42twostep it doesn't know what's going on
37:45inside of me it thought that it had
37:48destroyed me all week long and there I
37:51am at church offering God a little
37:55[Applause]
38:06don't you wish you could do
38:08this so you think I'm embarrassed up
38:11here you're dead wrong this
38:15joy that I
38:18[Applause]
38:21have this joy that I have it's not
38:26determined by what I'm feeling it's time
38:29to praise him
38:31[Applause]
38:34hallelujah hallelujah oh that's
38:37Pentecostal style you're dead wrong the
38:40Lord says that he loves the dancing of
38:44his
38:49people you know what the church
38:51is the people who walked in
38:55darkness I've
39:00seen f folks the future belongs to
39:04God I know the Red Sea story is
39:08celebrated I'm always impressed on
39:11Saturdays in South Florida I love
39:13watching all these families walking into
39:15their Sabbath
39:17celebration I'm telling you my heart
39:19just wants to get out of the car and
39:21walk with
39:22them these fathers with their sons and
39:25daughters walking down the road and
39:29mamas I saw about four Mamas and about
39:3210 kids
39:35yesterday I just wanted to
39:37shout because they they're honoring the
39:40fact that the Red Sea
39:43parted and they got out of
39:46Egypt and it happened on dry ground and
39:50in yes the Godless son Sentinel it's
39:53going to say on the year
39:552025 happy
39:58Passover you know why they'll say that
40:01because the death Angel forget the ones
40:03that lived it killed all the
40:07firstborn you you don't believe in the
40:09death angel go ask those who lost their
40:12child passed over and that celebration
40:17means yesterday belong to God some
40:20debate whether today belongs to God
40:23folks today belongs to God and you know
40:26what about tomorrow bring on robots
40:28everywhere bring on ai ai everywhere
40:30bring on bitcoin all around the world
40:32bring it all on I'm all for all these
40:35advancements of of better better life
40:38and less government Bring it
40:41on I want less of them sticking their
40:45hand in my pocket and calling it
40:50theirs it's not theirs it's
40:53mine but I will gladly pay to live in
40:56this nation okay if you don't like this
40:58nation's fees go check out the other
41:00nation's fees figure it out pick your
41:03choice I'll take this one but I still
41:07know it's too
41:08much and always saying well we got to do
41:11this we're investing no you're stealing
41:14from my
41:15pocket or whatever I don't want to say
41:18stealing because Jesus Paid the taxes
41:21but here's the
41:22point I know that tomorrow belongs to
41:27God righteousness is going to
41:29rain the Lord is going to
41:32rule the voice of him crying in the
41:34wilderness said prepare ye the way of
41:39the Lord make his paths straight who was
41:45supposed to do that we were make a
41:49highway this is Isaiah 40 a highway in
41:52the desert have you ever had to work in
41:54the
41:54desert everybody do
41:57this none of
41:59y'all well I don't know brother Marty
42:01worked in the Middle East was it desert
42:03where you
42:06worked it was all right okay how many's
42:10worked in the desert let me see a hand
42:12to those who have work okay there's
42:14there's a soldier that's worked in the
42:16desert worked in the desert there's one
42:18who's worked in the desert listen in the
42:20desert it costs just to
42:24breathe there's no moisture in that
42:27air you got to provide moisture just to
42:30get the air where it can be taken into
42:33your body the desert is a hard place to
42:38work it's unrelenting its heat is like a
42:42heavy blanket its grit is always in your
42:45face its Horizons are always
42:50unstable you've ever been in the desert
42:52you know that Horizon just they call it
42:54a a mirage it looks like water but it's
42:56not it's just heat making the Horizon
43:00look unstable
43:02well that's where the Lord said build
43:05him a
43:07highway make a highway in the desert
43:12because he said there's coming a day
43:16every Valley shall be exalted Every
43:18Mountain and Hill shall be made low the
43:21Crooked shall be made straight the rough
43:25places plain the glory of the Lord shall
43:29be revealed and All Flesh sh shall see
43:32it together for the mouth of the Lord
43:35has spoken that hasn't happened yet it
43:39hasn't happened where the whole earth
43:41saw him make The Valleys exalted and the
43:45mountains brought low it's coming it's
43:48coming very soon and how are we going to
43:51enter into that coming well if Mark
43:55decides that we got to start with action
43:59then I look at the time that he entered
44:01jerus Al M before his Cal before his
44:04Calvary moment they call it the
44:06triumphant entry but it was the way to
44:08die really it was for him this was not
44:10the true glory of the Lord this was the
44:14glory of the Cross this was the glory of
44:17calary but that's not the glory we're
44:20talking about in this
44:21Bible no the glory in this Bible is what
44:25is Yet to Come and they were going down
44:29into that City and Jesus got on the back
44:31of a little
44:32cult that's not
44:35glorious but it was a symbol of when he
44:38comes back the second time he will not
44:41be riding on a Colt the Bible said he's
44:45going to be riding on a
44:47stallion he's going to be riding on a
44:50Great White
44:52Horse he will not be carrying a cross
44:54when he comes back he'll have a vesture
44:57that is already dipped in blood but
45:00across his test it'll be written king of
45:05kings and Lord of
45:10lords on that day there will no longer
45:14be desert land to work in and so he was
45:19coming down and the people were
45:21worshiping
45:22him and the
45:25religious
45:27expositors of Torah were watching as it
45:31came down and the people who were not
45:35the great readers of Torah they were not
45:37the people who had access to the scroll
45:40at the synagogue these were just the
45:42common folk when Jesus started coming
45:45down that Hill they took off their
45:48garments and they laid him down on his
45:51feet so that he could ride on the back
45:55of their garments and then they ran and
45:57cut off palm branches and they began to
46:01w wave them and they begin to shout and
46:04dance and sing hosana hosana
46:09hosana blessed is he who comes in the
46:12name of the
46:13Lord and these expositors who knew verse
46:16to verse ex Jesus who could analyze the
46:21scripture of Torah stood up and they
46:24said this response is over the
46:27top the opinion of the folks in town
46:30that have a a a small bit of Education
46:33they will not like this these people are
46:36taking this event too seriously they
46:40need to analyze him as he comes into the
46:42City and assess the responses this that
46:46they're giving is an unnecessary
46:49expression no need to put your garment
46:51down for donkeys to walk on it and why
46:54all the waving of palm frons don't you
46:57know those were living branches and now
47:00you've killed them and so why would you
47:02take those branches off of a living tree
47:06you are not friendly to Nature it's
47:10unneeded it's
47:12overblown it's really a touch of
47:15melodrama and uh these people obviously
47:18have decided to abandon proportion for
47:20the moment he's just riding down a hill
47:23uh then uh if they would just offer
47:26gentle
47:27gestures it would be more appropriate
47:30maybe just a golf clap maybe just a
47:34Bravo a sweet little but this
47:39exasperating
47:41expression it's kind of too much people
47:45with any Common Sense are not going to
47:48take kindly to this spectacle they'll
47:50roll their eyes and dismiss themselves
47:54muttering something under the breath
47:56it's not the best look for religious
47:59folk Jesus they thought would help them
48:04in their assessment and so they decided
48:07since we don't have power over the
48:09ignorant folk then we'll go to their
48:12teacher and he is a smart guy so Jesus
48:17would you please help us out we've
48:20assessed that these people are acting
48:25unnecessarily they're beginning to lift
48:27their hands they're beginning to wave
48:30them there's no real profit
48:33logically of a waving arm there's no
48:36reason to hold out your Hallelujah just
48:40say it and be done with it why go
48:44Hallelujah no no that's that's not
48:47needed just say hallelujah just get it
48:50over with why do you need to include the
48:54extra
48:56oh that says nothing it's helped no one
49:00what is that all about why the high
49:03fives why they're running around waving
49:06things you're disturbing the atmosphere
49:09yes you
49:12are it's
49:14absurd and so Jesus would you please
49:18tell them that all of this is not part
49:23of assessing
49:27scripture Jesus said
49:31if these
49:33people don't do
49:37[Music]
49:39it you're not going to have any help
49:41from me in making church into an
49:44entertainment
49:46venue you're not going to have any help
49:48from me making people feel comfortable
49:50that they've given an hour and 10
49:52minutes of
49:54observance in a
49:55sanctuary no I want worshippers
50:04worshippers
50:06worshippers and so you got to Define
50:09what worship looks
50:11like hell says worship looks like
50:26this it's not biblical
50:29worship it's not even human
50:33worship I mean even you
50:36guys even you guys I'm trying to think
50:40of a
50:41superstar used to be LeBron but not
50:46anymore I mean if Taylor
50:53Swift boy I would love to baptize
50:59her if Taylor Swift walked in this
51:03building even you guys would have to
51:12say not
51:17me our music director has
51:21spoken I guarantee you Taylor Swift
51:24could write some of the best worship
51:26songs the world has ever known she was
51:30created to Worship the
51:33Lord that's why she was
51:36created I'm telling you I want this
51:40church as we go forth into 25 I want you
51:42to assess we're about to just have some
51:44sitting around and praising and of
51:46course I want to open the front for you
51:47to come and gather around if you want to
51:49but I just want to have some
51:51atmosphere of you
51:54worshiping the
51:56Lord for a little while because ad
52:00adoration
52:01is not
52:02removing your
52:05praise they say oh come let us adore him
52:09what does that look
52:10like is ooring just staring
52:13at my little granddaughter loves playing
52:16hi go seek she's got this amazing hide
52:19and go seek story going on right now and
52:22they they F Waters up in Denver and so
52:25she was playing with the fly swatter
52:27this past week and uh she thinks if that
52:31fce water is in her face she could you
52:33couldn't see her so she just sat in that
52:37corner and my wife videoed me trying to
52:39find winter I mean Vienna and she just
52:43sat down there just as
52:45still not moving a
52:47muscle behind this little old fly water
52:50about this big
52:56just when I adore her I don't stare at
52:59her and look at her and think oh isn't
53:02that cute no I adore her by
53:07saying I can't find
53:11V and I always like to look right next
53:15to them you know literally she was
53:17behind a chair and there was the bottom
53:18of a chair so I went up and I said is
53:21she under the bottom of the
53:26chair no
53:36adoring is not
53:40passive it's
53:43active so I'm
53:45finished Mark starts with action when
53:49the Lord comes we're going to end in
53:53action let's adore him a little while if
53:55you would like to stand you can if you
53:57would like to come and stand around this
53:59altar you can I just want some action I
54:03want some action in this place I want
54:05some action I want you to
54:07sway I want you to wave your hands I
54:11want you to just show a
54:15responsiveness not
54:17passive but an action of pursuing Lord I
54:23see myself talking in tongues I've never
54:25talked in tongues before but I know he
54:28said it's for me so I can imagine in
54:31myself speaking a language nobody taught
54:34me I can see it in my mind's eye I've
54:38never seen that image placed before me
54:41but now I'm being
54:44reimaged Into His Image which is
54:48determined by the Lord oh
54:54[Music]