Carriers of Glory
Bro. Michael Cena Preached on 9/16/2026
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Summary
Bro. Michael Cena explores the concept of being 'Carriers of Glory,' emphasizing that God's most significant work often happens beneath the surface of our lives during seasons of waiting and hiddenness. He challenges the church to trust God's process over their own desire for visibility, reminding believers that God delays in order to perform greater miracles.
Key points
- •True spiritual greatness is often hidden or developed beneath the surface before it is ever visible to others.
- •We must trust God not only for His promises but also for the often difficult and delayed process required to reach them.
- •Impatience can lead us to 'force' results with our own hands (like Ishmael) rather than waiting for what God wants to give (like Isaac).
- •God may delay a 'healing' because He is preparing a 'resurrection' - something far greater that brings Him more glory.
- •Visibility is not the evidence of value; faithfulness in the hidden seasons is what prepares us to be carriers of God's glory.
Scripture
Purpose
Perseverance
Character
Spiritual Growth
Faith
Life application
This week, when you feel overlooked or frustrated by a delay, intentionally pray 'not my will, but Yours.' Choose to serve faithfully in your current 'hidden' position rather than promoting yourself.
Reflection questions
- Are you currently focusing more on the 'summit' of your goals than the character God is building in the process?
- In what areas of your life are you tempted to take matters into your own hands rather than waiting on God's timing?
- How does the reality that God is more interested in 'in you' than 'through you' change your perspective on your current season?
- Can you think of a time when a delay in your life actually led to a 'greater' outcome than you originally requested?
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Full transcript
0:00everything Jesus says to be a
0:02sanctuary Jesus Lord, I love you, God. I want your
0:08will, God. I want your way. I want your plans, God. Come on,
0:14if we meet, could we tell him, God, do what you will, God.
0:19Here I am, God. Lord, I'm not just a vessel, Lord. I'm your
0:25vessel, God. Come on. We're more because he's more. Because he's called us.
0:31I'm glad he's got a plan when I don't. I'm glad he's the
0:37answer when I have no answer. Amen. When I'm in
0:43the darkness, I'm glad he's the light. He's everything that I need. And if you
0:48need something, you're going to find it in this room here today because the spirit
0:54of God is in this place. Amen. Would you clap your hands unto the Lord
1:00right now? Would you shout unto God with a voice of triumph? Hallelujah. We praise
1:05your name. We exalt you, God. We magnify you, Jesus. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah,
1:11hallelujah. Amen. If you're glad to be in the house of the Lord, shout
1:17amen. Amen. I know we can be tired here today, but I truly believe
1:23we come here with expectant worship. That when I worship, his glory is going
1:29to fall down. And he's going to fill this place. And not only is
1:34he going to fill this place, he's going to fill this vessel. Have you
1:40come ready to be received? and receive something from god tonight amen amen
1:46amen what a wonderful wonderful week it's been so far and there's those of
1:52you in this place are saying speak for yourself amen but you're in the
1:58house of the lord on a wednesday night so whatever this week has brought
2:04you this is the day to turn it around amen Amen. Turn to two
2:09to three people around you. Tell them how great they look today, even if they're
2:14in their uniform from work. If not, tell them how great their outfit looks, their
2:19hair looks, their eyeballs look. You want to just greet them in the Holy Ghost.
2:23If you're online today, we welcome you. So glad that you're here with us. We
2:28pray that God blesses you where you're at. Please join us. this Sunday as we
2:33look forward to what God is going to do at New Life St. Louis. If
2:39you love your church, shout yes. Amen, amen. I'm glad to be a part of
2:45this beautiful, wonderful church. And I find it's a high honor to speak to and
2:51minister to my church family. Is that okay? We, me and my family
2:57have called this church home for the last two years and we are so grateful
3:02the Lord has brought us to new life. My life is made up of great
3:07men and women of God but God has sent me pastors who've formed me and
3:12shaped me and spoken to my life and when we knew we were looking for
3:18a church we needed not only a great church but great leadership and a great
3:23pastor and growing up Pastor Batchelor preached a lot of my youth camps growing up
3:29and a lot of my youth conventions. And to not only have that as the
3:34history, but to know him as a pastor and as a leader at this level
3:39has been amazing to see. So I thank Pastor for the opportunity to speak to
3:44us here today. And I do know I have a word, amen, for this church
3:49here today. Amen, amen. 1st Peter 5 and 6 says this, "Humble yourselves therefore
3:55under the mighty hand of God." How many of you say, "Don't ask God
4:01to teach you to be patient." Right? "Don't ask God to teach you to
4:06be more humble because He's gonna do it." When people dismiss that, I tell
4:12them, "No, it's coming. If you ask for it, He's gonna teach you patience.
4:18He's gonna teach you how to be truly humble." I need that. So I
4:24encourage people, "Yeah." It's not going to be a fun ride, but you're
4:29going to be better for it. Amen. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand
4:35of God that he may exalt you. Somebody say there's a plan. In due
4:41time, he shall exalt you in due time. Lord, we love you.
4:48God, we are thankful that we feel your presence in this room, that you have
4:52a plan to fill empty vessels today, to speak to those who are ready to
4:56hear. God, I pray that you'd move in this room in a mighty way. Speak
5:01further than the words that I speak. What anoint every heart, every mind in this
5:05room and those online that you would minister to us through your word and through
5:09your spirit. In Jesus' name and the church say amen. Amen. Amen. We have a
5:15treasure. You can be seated. We have a treasure in earthen vessels, but yet our
5:20hearts are deceitful. Who can know it? In sin we were born, but I'm thankful
5:26that it's not because of our worthiness, because if we can go all the way
5:31down to it many times in our lives, we know we're not worthy of his
5:37glory. We're not worthy to mention his name. We're not worthy to be in his
5:42presence. We're not even worthy sometimes to live. But what we truly do know, it's
5:46not about our worthiness. It's because of God's. That if it was up to me,
5:51I would have given up a long time ago. If it was up to me,
5:55I would have just stayed home. But God is drawing hearts. God is drawing his
6:00people to strengthen the body, to reach others. What I do understand, though, is... We
6:05tend to focus on different things in life and we try to attain
6:11wealth, we try to attain status, we try to attain some acknowledgement and
6:16that's the flesh inside of us. Whether we like it or not, there's
6:22pride in all of us and we have to put God's spirit Over
6:28it. We've got to plead the blood of Jesus over our minds so that our
6:32minds don't deceive us into thinking that we're hot stuff because we're not. There are
6:37times you look in the mirror like, man, I look good today. There's a guy
6:42at work today says he got his dress, he got his outfit together and turns
6:46to his wife and says, you know, tries to get how many you ask your
6:51wife. Do I look good? Does this match? I do it all the time. and
6:56she turns to his wife says do i look all right she looks good so
7:01you know what he goes you know what do i look rich he was looking
7:06good he felt good but really though jacket was from goodwill polo shirt was from
7:12ebay pants were from ebay shoes were he don't remember but the fit together looked
7:17great though it didn't cost him much what i begin to understand is sometimes whether
7:22we realize or not there's always a little bit of that that tries to get
7:27in the way of what god is trying to form in us amen it's easy
7:32to notice the person that's on the platform it's easy to know the person that's
7:36on the camera it's easy to know the person that's being mentioned and called out
7:41and called upon and those that are photographed all these different things and to point
7:45those things out because they're out in the front and sometimes deep down we want
7:49to be that person times we want to be the one that's noticed we want
7:54to be the one that's acknowledged Right. But one thing I do understand is sometimes
8:00we think that we can do more on our own without God. I think we
8:05can be more. I know people who walked away from the truth thinking that they
8:11could gain wealth in the music industry if they just compromised here, if they just
8:16went and did that. If I just moved to Nashville, nothing on Nashville. If I
8:22just moved, I don't have any friends I've known, moved to Nashville so that they
8:27can pursue their music career, knowing what incredible dynamic worship leader they are. People who
8:32would forsake those things in pursuit of things of this world. We are all guilty
8:37of those things at some point in our lives. I know at one point I
8:43was very humbled in my life when a bunch of us guys decided, we're just
8:47in collars, like, you know, hey, let's go, go hiking today. If you know me,
8:51that never comes out of my mouth. I know many of you don't know who
8:55I am, but as you can tell, I am not the hiking physique build to
8:59say, you know, let's go hiking. So obviously that wasn't me. And so I was
9:03like, you know, yeah, let's go do it. So let's go hike. What would you
9:07do before you have a big day of just a bunch of fun stuff, hiking?
9:12We all met at IHOP that morning at 8 o'clock, and I smashed a plate
9:17full of a Colorado almond. If you know what that is, you know it's hefty.
9:22And a stack of pancakes that I didn't finish, but I ate most of it.
9:27And then we decided to hike to Pinnacle Mountain. If you got that photo, throw
9:31that up there. Pinnacle Mountain, beautiful place in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was going to
9:35college there. And we decided to hike Pinnacle Mountain. I don't know how tall it
9:39was. I didn't look it up. I didn't ask Chatz. You can look it up.
9:43It's not that tall, but it's tough when you've got an omelet and pancakes sitting
9:47on you and three bottles of Gatorade and you have yet to go two flights
9:51of stairs to the mountain. And so what I realized that day and what you
9:57assume is that we didn't make it to the top that day. But the second
10:01time we were ready. We got our protein bars. I didn't had like a honey
10:06bun. Maybe we had our Gatorades. We had our waters and we made our way.
10:10I mean, this was in the dead summer. So, you know, it's hot. In Arkansas,
10:15it's hot here. So we make our way up that mountain and we get to
10:20the top and what an amazing view it is. If you've got any more pictures,
10:25it's pretty from the outside, but it's also pretty from up top. You see all
10:30the rivers, you do see some power lines, you kind of overlook all those things,
10:35but you see a bunch of other beautiful landscape of North Little Rock area. And
10:40it's a beautiful accomplishment. You take photos. Tell me you don't hike up a mountain,
10:45don't take a photo on top of that mountain, right? And so we got up
10:50there and it's a great accomplishment. We went up the hard side when you pull
10:55that next picture up. When you say hard side, it's hard. That's me right there
11:00on my Samsung Blackjack 2, 2.3 megapixel camera. If you can't tell, that's me hanging
11:05off of a rock, but really though, that's me doing this and saying, take the
11:10picture. Just don't take anything below my waist. It's going to look like I'm hanging.
11:16That's exactly. Go to the next picture. Man, I posted that on Facebook when Facebook
11:21wasn't really Facebook yet. And I looked like I was doing something, but that was
11:25just me doing this. One foot in the ground. Next picture. But it was
11:31the hard side because it was hard. You had to scale it. You had to
11:36get through all the big rocks, small rocks, twist your ankle left and right just
11:42to get to the top. So getting to the top was a big feat and
11:47a great accomplishment. One thing's for sure, name me a tall mountain that comes to
11:52a popular mountain. Anybody? Everest. Easy, right? Who's gonna say Mount
11:58Kilimanjaro? No one. You're gonna say Mount Everest. Oh, you said in the
12:03back. I'm so sorry. No, I'm not sorry. Great. Good for you. Mount
12:09Everest is the tallest mountain, as they say. It's tall. It's high. It's
12:15said to be the highest above sea level. It borders Nepal and China,
12:21holds the official record for the highest altitude. Who wants to hike
12:27Mount Everest after pancakes and a Colorado omelet? You're not doing that. There's no
12:33way. But really though, the tallest mountain from the base to the peak is
12:39called Mauna Kea in Hawaii. It measures over 10,000 meters, but
12:44In reality, its formation as the tallest mountain in
12:50the world, it reaches 37,480 feet from the ocean
12:55floor to the summit, being the tallest mountain on
13:01planet Earth. Most of its greatness is hidden. As
13:07difficult as it is to get to the bottom,
13:12we know how hard it is to get to
13:18the top. no one is planning to say hey let's let's go
13:24prepare ourselves and get to the bottom of mount acaea no everybody wants to
13:29get to the top of mount everest why because everyone can see you take
13:35a photo it's great everyone knows at the mountaintop we will seek those mountaintop
13:40experience but forsake what it took to get there we forget One thing
13:46for sure is I wasn't born in the church. My family was born and raised
13:52devout Catholic. And after moving from Los Angeles, California to Hot Springs, Arkansas, as my
13:58accent began to change, at 13 years old, my mom and I found ourselves at
14:03an apostolic church. And on August 26, 2001, God filled my mom and I with
14:09a baptism of the Holy Ghost and were baptized in Jesus' name that Sunday night
14:15service. That following summer was my first year of church camp, getting introduced
14:20to apostolic church camp. And one of the day sessions was split. And so
14:26I just followed all my buddies because I didn't know nothing. I was there
14:32just, hey look, softball, snow cones, cafeteria pizza. That sounds good to me. Church
14:37every day? You're crazy. And so we do the split session. I follow my buddies
14:43and they say, look, if you have one family member in your house, we would
14:47like for you to go to the foyer as we have a special split session
14:51for you to be in. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to be
14:55away from everybody else. But all my buddies, I say they're buddies. They didn't feel
14:59like buddies that day. They're pushing me out. No, Mike, you need to go over
15:03there. Go over there. And they started, you know. pushing me out and I said
15:08all right fine I'll go so I went to the back and it was in
15:11that moment I didn't realize God would forever speak a very simple word into my
15:14life that I would live my life by along with every other word that I
15:18hear from every man and woman of God as this woman began to speak I
15:21don't remember her name I don't remember the whole message but I remember how she
15:25wrapped up that message as I was a very critical point in my life as
15:28a 13 year old newly born again apostolic and she spoke these words and we
15:33sang the song if you can use anything lord you can use me those words
15:38didn't mean much then but over the years as god began to work in me
15:43those words became more real and became more prayerful every time i hear it now
15:48every day every time i hear it i'm like boohooing and crying I could be
15:53anywhere. Hear it on the song, hear it on YouTube, or hear it on altar
15:57call after I've done praying. I'll pray, I'll cry again, get the Holy Ghost again.
16:01That song ministers to me. That's my life song. I'm grateful for those moments. And
16:06that day changed my mind because I realized I'm different from everybody else. I rode
16:10the bus to church. I had to wait. I was first picked up, last dropped
16:15off. I'd fall asleep in the bus and drool all over the seat. As I
16:19was going to church and I drew all over the pew at church because I
16:23wasn't used to these long church services. And God was working in me. Even in
16:28those years that I didn't realize it. God had plans for me. And I'm grateful
16:33for the opportunities that God has fostered unto me. I could brag, not on myself,
16:37I could brag of all the things the Lord has worked in my life. And
16:42one thing I will brag upon is my beautiful family that God has blessed me
16:46with, my beautiful wife and my son. I am so grateful that God has a
16:50plan when I don't. I'm glad he has a way when I'm not even thinking
16:53about a way. But that I realize this one thing is that as we were
16:58going through all these things as a young married couple, we were opportunity to serve
17:03in many different capacities and different things. I remember one particular church camp as we're
17:07coming off the platform, a young man came up to me and said, hey, Brother
17:12Michael, what do I got to do to sing up there with you? And I
17:18already knew, I've heard it. It's been preached to me by my youth pastor. It's
17:23been spoken into my spirit. It's been a part of who I am. Serve faithfully
17:28locally. Don't seek this. Don't seek pulpit. Don't seek platform. Don't seek stature. Serve faithfully
17:33where you're at. And even at that point, God didn't really give me my life
17:39scripture. That in due time, if you'll humble yourself, he will exalt you. But it's
17:43in that moment, I begin to preach as a young man. I don't know what
17:47made up of his life, but I do know that it's easy to have the
17:51wrong motive first and God shift it, right? And it's in that moment where God
17:55shifts it. You've got to shift your mindset. Okay, I will serve where I am.
17:59I will thrive where I'm planted, even if I don't go anywhere else but here.
18:03This is my ministry. This is where I'm called to be. Not everything God raises
18:09has to break the surface of the ocean for it to be seen.
18:15Just because Mount Achaia is only 10,000 feet above the sea level, it's
18:20actually 33,000 feet tall. visibility is not our evidence of value and
18:26I learned that a very young age because for many years I I lessened myself
18:32rather than bringing myself up bigger than what I was every time I came to
18:37the altar every time I heard a word I thought of myself way less and
18:42undeserving of what was being preached unto me but we have value because of God's
18:47calling on our lives if God is doing something behind the scenes If he's doing
18:53something beneath the surface, Scripture reminds us that there's a rising when he begins to
18:59work something powerful in his people. Why? Because God wants the glory. And God wants
19:04the glory through us. I don't care how long it takes for God to work
19:10on me behind the scenes. As long as he's getting glory in the process, that's
19:16all I care about. Can I preach to somebody here today? Sometimes we feel because
19:22we're not being noticed, we're being punished. Maybe you're not being seen
19:27because maybe God is positioning you to be who you're going to be. And who
19:33you're going to be is who you're becoming to be. Exposure is not always elevation.
19:39You don't have to be promoted to be valued in the kingdom of God. You
19:45just have to trust God and say, God, I will do it your way in
19:50your time. I don't know about you, but we often try to force our way.
19:57Some of you have a word from God and I've gotten a word from God
20:02and I try to put my hands on the will to make it happen in
20:07my way and my time. But can you hear somebody who's done that too many
20:11times and learned that we can't do it our way? His way is above our
20:16ways. His mind is not our mind. What he sees is not what we see.
20:21But if we'll trust in him... He knows exactly when and how to
20:26raise you. But let Him work under you. Let Him work beneath the surface.
20:32Some of the greatest formations in my life has been behind closed doors. In
20:38the most trying times in my identity issues in college, I found myself in
20:44my apartment praying unto God and finally having a breaking moment with just me
20:50and Him. Hidden prayers, hidden sacrifices, hidden obedience, hidden faithfulness,
20:56hidden years where nobody even knows your name. We want the
21:01summit because we take pictures at the mountaintops. God is more
21:07interested in building you than just getting you to the top.
21:12He's more interested in what He can do through you. Amen.
21:18But He wants to know what He can do in you
21:23first. Maybe we don't need God to expose more of
21:29us. Because if we know from Scripture, less of me, Lord. If
21:35we truly mean that, then we can grasp that every time pride
21:41tries to rise up. Less of me, more of you. Because God
21:46is still building what we can't see. We have to trust in
21:52Him. Amen. I'm grateful we just had a credible Friends Day. And
21:58I thought about this many times. I know of many people who've been healed of
22:04cancer, healed of diseases, healed of sicknesses. God has delivered and healed and touched and
22:08mended broken hearts and broken families. I've seen God do it. But it was amazing
22:13to see many people who I've seen at this church day in and day out
22:17and to know their testimony that I didn't know. As they walk up to this
22:22pulpit, they begin to write their testimony. How beautiful was that? Begin to declare what
22:26God has done for them because he can do it for you. your testimony is
22:32going to impact somebody else who does not have a testimony yet but what i
22:37began to realize is before they came to that pulpit and started testifying of what
22:42god did we celebrated with what god had done but what we did not celebrate
22:48and did not celebrate is that we didn't celebrate the first night they said no
22:53to that bottle of alcohol we did not celebrate with them whenever they flushed those
22:58drugs down the toilet for the third and final time We weren't there
23:04to celebrate with them when they first had their full day of no pain,
23:10of no headaches, of no sickness. The first month that they made it a
23:15whole month without touching drugs or alcohol. The first day they realized, man, that
23:21bitterness, that sick feeling was gone and God delivered them from a hardened heart.
23:27We see the testimony of what God done, but there is a testimony of
23:32what God was doing. We can celebrate the mountaintops, but God
23:38wants us to celebrate in that process. Because even in that process, there's miracles.
23:44Even in that process, there's a breakthrough. Even in that process, God is working
23:50something powerful. And I'm thankful. And I'm grateful. But we know that there is
23:56a way that we must go. And His way is higher. We've got to
24:02learn to celebrate the inches before we celebrate the mile. We want to
24:08get to the finish line, but God is having us to learn how to traverse
24:13that trail to get to the end. Because if not, we're going to be in
24:19danger of rushing God's time, rushing God's process. How do we know that? Genesis 16.
24:24And Sarai said unto Abraham, Behold, now the Lord has restrained me from bearing, I
24:29pray thee. Go unto my maid, it may be that I may obtain children by
24:35her. How easy it is for us to
24:41put our hands on God's will, God's plan, and try to do
24:46it our way. They had a supernatural moment where God spoke promise
24:52over this family. But yet even sometimes the waiting and impatience can
24:58get to us. And not only, not do they forget or do
25:03they forsake God's promise. They believe in God's promise.
25:09But they began to lose trust in the process. They trusted God for the
25:15promise, but they didn't trust Him for the process. Which means one thing, they
25:21didn't trust God. We can believe and know, but we must trust and have
25:27faith. Sometimes, and we can think about this today, and I thought about this
25:32over the last several days. We produce things with our hands that were supposed
25:38to be received by His. They're supposed to be done by
25:44God's will, God's hand, God's plan. And if we're not careful
25:50doing things our way, we get our results. We can have
25:56our Mount Everest, but we won't have our Mount Achaia. We
26:02can have what seems like a great feat, or yet we
26:07can have something else that's even greater. Mary and Martha sent
26:13word to Jesus because Lazarus was sick. We know the story.
26:19They loved Jesus, and Jesus loved them. They understood. It went
26:25out. of what Jesus was doing. Healing the sick. Doing incredible miracles
26:31across the land. But they needed something urgent from the Lord. They
26:36needed a miracle. John 11:6 says this, "When he had heard, therefore,
26:42that he was sick," Lazarus, "he abode two days." I don't know
26:47about you, but I remember one moment in time we had a
26:53crazy issue in my mother-in-law's house. And my brother-in-law and I, we
26:59lived about two minutes from there. And as soon as we got word that
27:04there was an issue happening at their house, me and him didn't know what we
27:09didn't have much, much, but pajamas on, jumped in the truck and ran over there
27:14in just a couple minutes to check and see, make sure everything was okay. We
27:19will make sure if there's trouble, we're running there. How many of you would like
27:23to call 911 and say, hey, I'm having a really hard time, a bad feeling
27:28in my leg, but yet... They said, we'll be with you in 24 to 48
27:33hours. That don't work. We'll try to do things another way. We'll try to make
27:38our way to the ER our own way. But in this situation, he said, I'm
27:43going to stay two days where I am and then I'll come. The difference here
27:48is that the people wanted a healing, but God was wanting to do something else.
27:52They wanted God to move right there, right now, right then, in that moment, in
27:57the moment of distress, in their own time. But God says, I'm going to stay.
28:03you don't understand i'm going to stay because i'm doing something i'm do he
28:09may be dying but i'm working something i'm working a miracle you want a
28:15healing i'm about to give a resurrection you want god to move right now
28:20but god said i have something much greater for you if you would just
28:26trust me greater these god wants to do greater but we'll settle for average
28:32if it's our way i want greater if you want great would you lift
28:38your hands across this room god i don't want to settle for my way i
28:43don't want to settle for my selfishness i don't want to i don't want to
28:48settle god for doing things by my own hands god i want your hands on
28:53top of my hands god i want your mind in my mind god add to
28:59my myself patience and peace lord i want your greater if you want that shout
29:04amen I'm almost done. The people wanted a healing but
29:10Jesus was preparing a resurrection. John 11:25 says, "I am the resurrection and
29:15the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall
29:21he live." They knew him to be a healer but he was trying
29:27to show them, "I'm also a Resurrector. I'm gonna show you what I'm
29:33about to do on a cross. about to show you what i'm going to
29:39do in that tomb in three days trust in me i'm not just a healer
29:45i can do more i can do greater if you'll just wait and trust and
29:51believe in me god says you'll see more than the healing you'll see a resurrection
29:56how many you want greater here today what if the delay is not because god
30:02is doing less but because god is about to relieve more in you He's
30:08about to reveal what he's been working all this time. If you're waiting right now
30:13and you're waiting at the edge of your seat, I'm telling you, wait a little
30:19longer. Trust in God. In due time, he shall exalt you. How do I know?
30:24Because I know. God's worked in me. God has worked in my life and ministered
30:29to me. And said, if you will just humble yourself under my mighty hand.
30:35You understand that not only did they see God do something greater, but
30:41God revealed Himself more in that miracle. He says, "More than am I
30:47just a man of flesh and bone, more than am I a healer,
30:52but I am the resurrection." In your waiting, in your preparation, what God
30:58is doing behind the scenes, God is also trying to show you more
31:04of Himself in a season where you feel like nothing's happening.
31:10We are carriers of the glory of God. Whether anybody sees it, I
31:16want him to see it. Whether nobody else acknowledges it, whether it ever
31:22hits social media, whether it hits everybody else's feed, as long as God
31:28is getting the glory, can we have that attitude and see what God
31:33can do with that kind of understanding? God, if it's your will and
31:39nobody sees it, that's fine. If it's your plan, as great as
31:45it is, and nobody acknowledges how great it is, but it's great in your eyes,
31:51and I'm obedient to it, and you do it, I don't care if anybody sees
31:57it. I want it. John 11, verse 4 says this, This sickness is not unto
32:02death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified
32:08thereby. God wants the glory. God
32:14wants the glory. Can I encourage somebody today? As much as you want to rush
32:19it, God wants you to be patient. God wants you to pray one more time.
32:25God wants you to fast one more time. God wants you to seek his face
32:30one more time. God wants you to get in his word one more time so
32:36that you can have and produce the patience you need to get to the point
32:41to where God is ready to bring you up. Let's all stand across this place.
32:47Humble yourselves as hard as it is. Our command from God
32:53is not for everybody to notice me. You know what I do see
32:58a lot of times is if God won't notice, if people won't notice
33:04my greatness, maybe they'll notice my weakness. And so all we do is
33:09just bear all of our weakness for everyone to notice how weak we
33:15are. We flip that around. Greater is he that is in you. There's
33:21a level of understanding where you are confident in Christ Jesus. And you
33:26know how strong you are and how valid you are in the kingdom of God
33:31that to be noticed, it's not all about how weak you are. It's about how
33:37submitted you are, how obedient you are. And the flip side of that, it's not
33:42about how great you are either. Are you following along? I know it sounds confusing,
33:47but God was working in this in my life many seasons and more recently in
33:52my life. And I want to encourage somebody today, if we'll just but trust His
33:58way. His hand. He'll work miracles. He'll work a plan
34:03greater than what we could ever ask or could ever think.
34:09Don't settle for an Ishmael when God promised you an Isaac.
34:15Amen? Don't just settle for a hilltop when God's calling you
34:21for a mountaintop experience. I believe God wants the best, but
34:27in His way. What God produces through us is not merely
34:33for us. It's for others. But above everything else,
34:38church, it's for God. Amen. It's all for Him.
34:44Not to us, but to your name be the
34:50glory. Somebody shout His name. When nobody sees the
34:56progress, let God finish your story. When somebody else's
35:01testimony makes you wonder, "When is my time?" Have
35:07patience. Trust in God. Let God write the story.
35:13If He's the author and the finisher, Let him
35:19pen every day when you feel weak. When you feel impatient, let him take the
35:24pen again from your hand and let him begin to write that day, that week,
35:30that month. Because in due time, church, amen, in due time, I don't want to
35:36look back over my life and say, you know what, I did that. I don't
35:42want to see a great moment, a great achievement and say, I made that happen.
35:47Oh, man. I want to look back and say, God did that. There's no
35:53way I would be here. There's no way I would have done that.
35:59There's no way God would have made that happen if it wasn't for
36:04God. Because I want Him to get the glory. I don't want my
36:10hands on things that are holy and sacred that must be led and
36:16guide. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. I
36:21want Him to lead me. I want to encourage somebody today. Some of
36:27you You don't need this altar because you stopped believing. You
36:33believe. But I believe this altar is a moment for you to say, God,
36:39I'm going to trust your process. I'm going to trust your time. I want
36:44it to happen this week, but it might not be this week. Trust in.
36:50We're not forcing ourselves up to the mountaintop. Thy word is a lamp unto
36:56my feet and a light unto my path. If I'm walking, I know where
37:02I'm going. If I'm walking after the word, I know where he's leading me.
37:08He's leading me by the still waters. He's doing exactly what He
37:14promised He said He would do in His word. Does anybody in
37:20this room need to recommit that to the Lord? Whether you've lived
37:26for God five years, five days, or fifty. Whatever you do, work
37:31at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not
37:37for human masters. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
37:44Lord take my hands, Lord take my feet, touch my mind Lord, speak
37:50through me. Another song says holiness, righteousness is what you want from me.
37:55Take my mind, take my heart, take my will, take it all. Let
38:01it be conformed to your, let it be transformed God. I don't know
38:07what you need tonight but I know everyone needs this altar today. Not
38:13by ambition God, I don't need to be recognized by man, I want to
38:19be recognized by you. I'm a child of God. I'm an ambassador for Christ Lord,
38:25here I am. If nobody else notices, God I want you to notice me. I
38:30don't want to come to that day and say I never knew you. I want
38:36to know that I walked along the path you've designed for me God. I may
38:41have not been perfect but I want to be as faithful as I could God.
38:47Come on these altars are open. maybe your prayer tonight say god work
38:53on me privately there are tears are going to stream down my face that nobody's
38:59going to see there are prayers i'm going to pray that nobody's going to hear
39:05but god if you just work in me a treasure that you place inside this
39:11earthen vessel god whether nobody hears me or sees me god i'm gonna obey come
39:17on church i'm gonna trust in your way Come on. You're
39:23enough because God's enough. Come on. In
39:28this room. Oh, right now, God. Oh,
39:34how loving she is. My Jesus. Oh,
39:39that's it. Lift your voice. Come on.
39:45Come on. Speak those things. in
39:50the name of Jesus come on God
39:56whatever you have to remove God remove
40:02it right now Jesus God purge my
40:07mind purge my heart Lord whatever you
40:13want God whatever you need Jesus I
40:19need you, Lord. I need you, Lord. You can use anything. Oh,
40:25come on. Would you open up your heart tonight? Say, Lord. You
40:31can use anything, Lord. Not my will, but your will, Jesus. Take
40:37my hands, Lord. Take my hands. Right now. Right now. Right now.
40:42Touch my heart, Lord. Speak to me. You can use anything. Oh,
40:48come on. Lift your voice across this place right now. God, we're
40:54making an altar. Oh, I need you. Oh,
41:00work in me a testimony. You deserve the
41:06glory. You deserve the honor. Oh, I need
41:11you. I need you. I need you. Oh,
41:17would you reach open to somebody next to
41:23you, Jesus? Would you reach open to somebody
41:29right now? Would you encourage them
41:34in the Lord right now? Though
41:39weeping may endure for the night,
41:45joy comes in the morning. Lean
41:50on the Lord. He shall renew.
41:55He shall renew you, church. Oh,
42:01I love you, Jesus. You can
42:06use anything, Lord. You can use
42:11anything. Take my hands, Lord. Take
42:17my feet. Touch my heart, Lord.
42:22Speak to me.
42:26You can
42:31use anything,
42:36use anything,
42:40use anything.
42:45Take my
42:50hands Lord
42:54touch my
42:59heart Lord
43:04speak to
43:08me. You
43:13can use
43:18anything use
43:22anything use
43:27anything. Take
43:32my hands,
43:36Lord touch
43:41my heart,
43:46Lord speak
43:50to me.
43:55You can
44:00use anything,
44:04you can
44:09use anything,
44:14take my
44:18hands touch
44:23my heart,
44:28Lord speak
44:32to me.
44:39Amen,
44:44amen,
44:48amen,
44:53amen.
44:58Thank
45:02God.
45:07I'm
45:12thankful
45:17I
45:21serve
45:26a
45:31God
45:35who's
45:40patient,
45:45who
45:50has
45:54long-suffering.
45:59He
46:04knows.
46:10Even in our stubbornness, even in our own, we get in our
46:16own way. Thank you God for the grace and the mercy. That
46:21space of grace despite mistakes. We serve a God who is a
46:27God of the second chance and the third chance. Amen. That's the
46:33only reason why we're alive and breathing today and not dead in
46:39our sins. It's because we serve a God whose blood is enough.
46:45His sacrifice was enough. Everything he did on Calvary still power flows
46:51today. Everything that he did 2000 years ago is alive and well. We
46:57don't serve a dead God. We don't serve a God of yesterday. But
47:02he is today and tomorrow. He is everlasting. He never fails. And I
47:08know that he never quits. He is ever chasing after us. None would
47:14perish but all. We had a lot of people here at Friends Day.
47:21We had several people get baptized over the last several days. But he
47:27said, "Oh, that's just not even a scratch of the surface of St.
47:33Louis." We have a baptism today, praise God. But that blood flowed for
47:39all. Amen. Until St. Louis knows his name as it is in heaven.
47:45You can whisper everything. We want God to bring him. Amen. We're going
47:51to bid them to come. And they're going to come to this place.
47:57We're going to see them in that water. and we're
48:03gonna see God restore more because God said
48:09that not all would perish but all would
48:15have ever lasting life. Amen. God is one
48:21more door knocking away from you staying consistent,
48:26believing and trusting one more day, one more
48:32prayer, one more time, one more try. Couple
48:38all of that with faith Couple all of that
48:44with the promise that He promised. We're going to see impossible things. We saw a
48:50number of people get the Holy Ghost. We saw a number of people walk through
48:55this pulpit and declare what God did. Let's declare what God is going to do
49:01right now all across this place. God... Greater things God are gonna happen greater
49:07things are gonna flow out of this church as you flow into this church God
49:12There's gonna be greater things greater healings greater miracles greater testimonies God you're gonna do
49:18great things in this place because it is your will that all have everlasting life
49:24God Lord today we declare we believe for what you've done we know what you're
49:29doing God and And we're going to trust you in the doing. But
49:35Lord, we're going to believe and trust in you and what you're going to
49:41do. Somebody shout in Jesus' name. Come on, as we prepare for this baptism
49:47and celebrate with another person written in the Lamb's book of life, could we
49:53lift our hands one more time all across this place? God, we love you,
49:59Jesus. Take my will, Lord, to yours. To yours. To yours.
50:05Take my heart. Take my heart.
50:11Yes, Jesus. Yes, He transformed. Take
50:16my will, God. Take my heart,
50:22Jesus. And make it yours. You're
50:28yours. Take my heart. Yes, God.
50:34Take my heart. Come on, church.
50:40God's preparing a miracle. Come on,
50:46God's doing something great. God.
50:51God do it his
50:56way. Oh, we want
51:01to see you, Lord.
51:06We want to see
51:11you, Jesus. Take my
51:16wind to yours, to
51:21yours. Not my flow.
51:25Take my wind to
51:30yours. Take all we
51:35need to yours. Come
51:40on. Let's go. To yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to
51:46yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours,
51:48to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to
51:50yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours,
51:52to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to
51:55yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours,
51:57to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to
51:59yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours,
52:01to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to
52:03yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours,
52:05to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to
52:07yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours,
52:09to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to
52:12yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours,
52:14to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to
52:16yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours,
52:18to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to
52:20yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours,
52:22to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to
52:24yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours, to yours,
52:29Take my will, Lord,
52:34yes to you. I
52:38worship you, Jesus. Hallelujah.
52:43We praise you, Lord.
52:48We praise you, God.
52:53Glory to your name,
52:58Jesus. Not to us,
53:03Jesus, but to the
53:08name above all names.
53:13The name of Jesus
53:19be all the glory
53:24and all the honor.
53:29One more time, could
53:34you lift your voices
53:40and sing? Take my
53:45body, take my will,
53:50Lord. Take my will,
53:55Lord. To yours, to
54:01yours. Take my body,
54:06take my will, Lord.
54:11Take my body, take
54:16my will, Lord. After
54:22that awesome message that we just
54:27heard, this is our precious brother
54:32Anton. He was invited to New
54:37Life a little while ago and
54:43he's been coming faithfully. Amen. Hallelujah.
54:48And he said today is his
54:53day for him to give his
54:58life to the Lord. And we're about to take him down
55:04in Jesus name. Stretch your hand forth if you would and help me pray over
55:08him. Heavenly Father in your mighty name Jesus Lord we thank you for this precious
55:11soul, our dear brother today. We thank you for giving him a mind Lord, to
55:15give his life to you Lord. Thank you for every word that you have spoken
55:19into his life. Lord continue to keep him in all of your ways. Let him
55:22walk with you in the newness of life after he goes down in your name.
55:26The highest name under heaven. in the mighty name of
55:32Jesus hallelujah Lord we thank you
55:37today and we praise you in
55:42Jesus name brother Anton upon your
55:47confession of faith concerning our Lord
55:52Jesus Christ and the confession of
55:57all of your sins I do
56:03indeed baptize you in the name
56:08of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
56:13of your sins in Jesus name
56:28Oh, come on, church. Let's rejoice
56:33in the Lord. Hallelujah. Thank you,
56:39Jesus. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen. We
56:45say. Not much more. Yes, Jesus.
56:51To yours. To yours. To yours.
56:57To yours. Yes, God. To yours.
57:02Conformed. transform my mind transform us Lord
57:08today to yours Lord's on this day to yours
57:14to yours to yours to yours amen oh would
57:20that be your prayer as we go home as
57:26we go about this week Lord it may not
57:32go the way I want it but God I
57:38want your way conform it all to your way that you may
57:44get all the glory all the honor all of the praise every day somebody say
57:50amen amen amen i believe every day god is trying to find an opportunity to
57:55get the glory in what you do what you do at walmart god wants to
58:01get the glory amen what you do in that car and that car cuts you
58:06off god wants to get the glory I'm not going to allow my flesh
58:12to get in the way of what is due unto God. And He's due
58:18all and so much more. If you believe that, would you clap your hands
58:24unto the Lord? Amen. Amen. I'm looking forward. Who's looking forward to Sunday? Amen.
58:30Amen. There's a song or a band called Everyday Sunday. Can you imagine? That
58:36sounds like heaven. We want to encourage you to be here. Invite somebody.
58:42Be on the lookout for somebody to invite to church. Maybe you've already invited them.
58:47You need to invite them again. Bring them to church on Sunday. We look forward
58:52to having a wonderful, powerful, dynamic service. If you believe that, shout amen. Amen. Find
58:57two or three people, hug their neck. Tell them how good it is to see
59:02them. Encourage them. If you feel you got a word from the Lord, God bless
59:07you. You're dismissed.