We Are The Hope Carriers
Bishop Henry Fernandez Preached on 6/28/2026
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47:45
Summary
Bishop Henry Fernandez challenges the church to stop being spectators and start being 'Hope Carriers' who influence a broken world through unity, personal transformation, and intentional acts of Christ-like love.
Key points
- •The world is not spinning out of control; rather, humanity has drifted away from God's principles through pride, greed, and spiritual deception.
- •Believers are divinely appointed 'Hope Carriers' and the 'light of the world,' meaning they must represent Christ's love through tangible actions rather than just words.
- •Evangelism is the responsibility of every believer, not just the pastor; statistics show 70-90% of people join a church because of a personal invitation from friends or family.
- •True revival is not just a series of emotional church services but is defined by personal transformation and a re-energized commitment to God's will.
- •Unity is the catalyst for growth; just as the four friends carried the paralyzed man to Jesus, the church must work together to support the broken and hurting.
Scripture
Hope
Community
Evangelism
Discipleship
Purpose
Life application
Identify one person in your sphere of influence-a neighbor, co-worker, or struggling family member-and perform a tangible act of 'hope' this week, such as paying for a meal or offering specific encouragement, to be the light in their darkness.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of your life have you allowed 'toxic' speech or negativity to replace your role as a carrier of hope?
- The speaker mentioned that 'every problem has an expiration date.' How does this perspective change the way you view your current trials?
- If you were to use your personal story (testimony) like the woman at the well, what is the most powerful thing God has done for you that others need to hear?
- Are you currently choosing 'Option 1' (staying stuck in trauma and excuses) or 'Option 2' (humbling yourself for transformation)? What is one step toward Option 2?
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Full transcript
0:00>> Father, we thank you for this moment.
0:01Thank you for this word. Thank you that
0:05you're teaching this church
0:08how to be the light,
0:11how to adopt kingdom culture
0:15so that we can influence the world to
0:19follow you. Be glorified in this moment
0:23now and we give you praise in Jesus
0:26name. And everybody shout amen. Come on,
0:29let's give God a praise while you take
0:31your seats.
0:33The Lord bless you.
0:38So, we've been on this journey of
0:43talking about unity and the importance
0:46of the church coming together, not just
0:49the faith center, but the body of Christ
0:53coming together to do the will of God,
0:58to influence the world of who he is.
1:03And I get it. Some of you have given up
1:07hope on this world becoming a better
1:11place. I get that.
1:15When you look at all of what's happening
1:17in our society, when you look at what's
1:19happening in America, when you look at
1:21what's happening in the world, it is so
1:23easy
1:25for all of us to feel hopeless,
1:30to feel it makes no sense praying. makes
1:34no sense believing that things can
1:36change.
1:38And so this morning,
1:41I want to challenge the church
1:44to adopt something that's important
1:46because we've got to give hope to the
1:51world.
1:53>> If they are hopeless and we are
1:55hopeless, then we are all hopeless.
1:58And we serve a God who has reassured us
2:01that we're on the right side, that we're
2:04his people. And the last time I read my
2:07Bible, it says, "No weapon formed
2:09against his people
2:11>> will prosper."
2:13>> So my topic today is we are the hope
2:17carriers.
2:19We are carriers of hope. And I get it.
2:23Some of us are a poor representation of
2:26the faith.
2:28>> We don't carry hope. We carry toxicity.
2:31We carry all kinds of works of darkness.
2:35But we are the hope carriers.
2:40Your job is to carry hope to your
2:42family.
2:43Your job is to carry hope in the
2:45marketplace, in the community. Your job
2:49is to give hope in the midst of this
2:52chaos. Recently,
2:55someone said to me, "Bishop, our world
2:58is spinning out of control and I don't
3:01think there is any hope for positive
3:05change." I immediately responded
3:09and I said, "The world is not spinning
3:11out of control.
3:13>> People are.
3:16>> There's a difference.
3:18The world is not spinning out of
3:21control.
3:22You see, the world is spinning. Do you
3:25not know why we're here? That the world
3:27is spinning. The sun doesn't move. The
3:29moon doesn't move. The earth is spinning
3:34though we can't feel it.
3:37But even with the rotation of the world,
3:40it's not spinning out of control. It
3:43can't. God is in control. Amen.
3:47>> Far too many people have become
3:49convinced that something is wrong. Watch
3:52this with the world that God has
3:55created.
3:57We think be be careful of your
4:00statements.
4:01>> Be careful. Well, this world is bad.
4:05This country is bad. This America is
4:08evil. It's the people
4:13>> in America. Who is evil? evil people in
4:17the Caribbean, they're this, they're
4:18that. You know what? They say all kinds
4:20of stuff. Jamaica,
4:22lots of gun fire.
4:29Duck watch.
4:32[laughter]
4:37I didn't expect to say that. I'm sorry.
4:41Jamaicans, please forgive me. [laughter]
4:47BUT THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH JAMAICA.
4:50IT'S ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND in
4:54the entire world.
4:58It is just a few people who love their
5:03guns,
5:07their weed, their ganja,
5:12>> you know.
5:13There's nothing wrong with the world,
5:15the world that God has created. Yet,
5:17when we look around us, watch this. I'm
5:22going to prove to you. When we look
5:23around us, we see undeniable evidence
5:27that God's creation is still
5:31magnificent.
5:33>> Some of you, the reason why you think
5:35the world is bad, you ain't never left
5:38Fort Lauderdale.
5:41You just stuck
5:44in Fort Lauderdale.
5:47>> You don't travel. You don't go
5:49experience other culture. That's why
5:51you're so narrowminded.
5:55>> But the world that God has created, we
5:57see beautiful countries,
6:01breathtaking
6:03mountains.
6:05Have you traveled lately
6:07to see the beautiful creation of God?
6:11The crystal clearar oceans,
6:15the stunning beaches.
6:18Oh, there's nothing wrong with the
6:20world. It's beautiful.
6:23Have you visited the shorelines
6:26of North Carolina? Whether it's the
6:29Bahamas, Jamaica, Turks and Caos Island,
6:33Barbados, and what about the skies
6:37painted with colors no artist can
6:41duplicate?
6:42Oh, there's nothing wrong with the
6:44world, my friends. Come on, somebody
6:47ought to give God praise for his
6:48creation.
6:51There's nothing wrong with the world.
6:56And so the problem is that humanity has
7:00drifted away from the principles of the
7:04creator.
7:06You see, the issue is that people often
7:08reject God's design.
7:12What is spinning out of control are
7:15hearts, watch this, disconnected from
7:19God, minds influenced by pride,
7:23selfishness greed arrogance and
7:28spiritual deception.
7:31>> That's the problem.
7:33Well, according to Isaiah
7:355 20, there's a warning given to us. Woe
7:39unto them that call evil good and good
7:44evil.
7:46>> It's the hearts of men.
7:48>> And we see that every day in our society
7:50today.
7:52People are calling evil good.
7:56Can I just be honest to you? I thought
7:59this country had made tremendous
8:01progress over the years. And all of a
8:04sudden,
8:05all of a sudden, we have gotten to a
8:09place now where we are blatantly
8:13practicing evil
8:15>> and even painting it with Christianity.
8:24>> I mean, think about it. People who call
8:27themselves Christians are using
8:29profanity and dogging out other people.
8:35>> We have lost the passion of care and
8:39sympathy.
8:41We've lost it as a people.
8:44>> We don't care anymore. We're selfish.
8:46We're self-centered
8:48because we are witnessing a generation
8:50where many have abandoned God's truth
8:53and embraced their own opinions.
8:55Yet, despite all of this, there's still
8:59hope.
9:01>> Yes, sir.
9:01>> In spite of all what we're seeing.
9:05>> If I have to be honest with you, and
9:07those of you who are born in this
9:09country, you may not like me now. I am
9:11disappointed with America.
9:16>> The way we're handling ourselves,
9:19>> disappointed
9:21with how we're treating people,
9:24>> DISAPPOINTED HOW WE'RE PRESENTING
9:26OURSELVES AS IF WE are the only set of
9:30people God loves.
9:38But there's hope. I was telling someone
9:41the other day, uh, in fact, it was my
9:43son. Sorry, it was my son in the car we
9:45were driving and you know, he was
9:47talking about, you know, with all of
9:49what's going on in our world, it's
9:51crazy.
9:53And I let him finish and I said to him,
9:55"Son,
9:57I've lived long enough.
10:00I've lived many years to know that every
10:04problem has an expiration date.
10:11This too shall pass.
10:14God is in control. And I don't know
10:17about you. I know some of you are
10:19prophesying that things are going to get
10:21worse. And yes, it will. But in the end,
10:24it's the word of God that's going to
10:27prevail.
10:31And this is where the church comes to
10:33play. The church is God's answer to the
10:37hurting world. And as followers of Jesus
10:41Christ, we cannot sit back and watch
10:44society unravel while we do nothing
10:48about it.
10:52>> This is why as a church, we got to get
10:54beyond just having church.
10:57>> We got to be the salt and the light.
11:00based on the scripture we read before.
11:02We're the salt and the light and we're
11:04the light of the world. WE CANNOT HIDE
11:06OUR LIGHT.
11:08Now is not the time for us to retreat
11:10and say, "Well, you know, we're not
11:12going to handle." No, we have to shine
11:14our light. We have to show positivity to
11:17this negative world that we live in.
11:20Cuz we are God's representatives here on
11:23the earth. We're not called merely to
11:26attend church. We are called to be the
11:29church.
11:30>> That's what we're called to be. Jesus
11:33did not say, watch this, you might might
11:37be the light.
11:39>> He didn't say that. He declared, you are
11:43the light of the world.
11:46>> Are you understand what I'm saying?
11:48>> You are the light of the world. There
11:50ought to be something different about
11:53you.
11:54>> Be different. Of course, you know,
11:57societyy's not going to like you based
11:59on what you believe in. And you ought to
12:01be careful that the the God that you're
12:03projecting to society is truly the God
12:07that that we read about in the Bible.
12:09Because sometimes as a church, uh we do
12:11a very horrible um you know, example of
12:15showing who Jesus is.
12:17>> Amen.
12:18>> Right? because we talk about Jesus and
12:20and so forth, but we don't show the love
12:23of Jesus,
12:25>> right? You know, uh it's not new, so
12:27don't don't don't get, you know, carried
12:29away with it. This has been around even
12:32in Jesus's day. You've got people in the
12:35church full of hypocrisy. People in the
12:36church full of all kinds of things.
12:39There are people in the church who's
12:40been used by Satan.
12:44Literally remember earlier when I was
12:46receiving the offering, Satan, Satan is
12:48a problem. He goes around and he's
12:50looking for anybody who he can find to
12:53disrupt the work of God.
12:55>> That's right.
12:56>> He gets into your head first.
12:58>> Well, he tried it in the garden with
13:00Eve.
13:01>> He waited till the woman was by herself.
13:04The power of unity. I believe things
13:07would have worked out different if if
13:09Eve was with Adam.
13:12Cuz
13:14two is better than one.
13:16>> When you're by yourself and the devil
13:18start putting thoughts in your head, you
13:21have nobody to bring balance to your
13:24thoughts.
13:26>> That is why young people, I'M TELLING
13:27YOU, THAT'S why you need people outside
13:31of your peers. Don't just hang around
13:33your group and take EVERYTHING THEY TELL
13:35YOU BECAUSE THERE'S NO REASONABLE
13:38thought in that company.
13:40>> Right. Amen.
13:43So Satan says, "Okay, I'm going to wait
13:45till Eve is by herself and then I'm
13:49going to have a conversation with her."
13:52>> So I'm going to go and speak to our our
13:54mind. And he did that. And you see, when
13:58one mind is infected,
14:01then you go and talk to the next person
14:03and then you infect them with that
14:05negativity. And then it just just
14:08continues like that. That's what
14:10happened.
14:11The woman
14:13got deceived
14:15and then when she met up with her
14:17husband,
14:18she convinced him. That's the power of a
14:21woman.
14:27>> She'll make a man do just about
14:36>> you know I'm telling the truth. Don't
14:38don't don't don't act brothers like I'm
14:40not telling the truth.
14:42>> That's the power of a woman.
14:45>> She convince a man so much that she can
14:48get him to do just about anything. And
14:51sin came in. And so as a church, we have
14:55to understand, notice that Jesus did not
14:58say the government is the light.
15:03So don't be shocked when you see
15:05government acting the way they are.
15:09>> Government from the scripture was never
15:12the light.
15:15>> Isaiah prophesied the government will be
15:17upon his shoulder.
15:19>> The government will always always fight
15:23against what is right cuz in most cases,
15:26and I'll say it, they are corrupt.
15:31I know you ain't going to say amen, but
15:32it's the truth.
15:36>> That's it. So, he never said that the
15:40government must be the light. He never
15:42said that celebrities must be the light.
15:45He never says culture must be the light.
15:47He said that his people, you and I,
15:51>> we must be the light.
15:54We must carry the light of Christ so
15:57that others can see the good works in us
16:00and glorify God. So this means that
16:03whatever darkness exists or wherever
16:06darkness exists,
16:08God's people are expected to bring the
16:10light.
16:11>> So at your workplace, you're expected to
16:14bring the light.
16:16>> Among your peers, your friends,
16:19among the unchurched, you're expected to
16:22be the light. It doesn't say you're
16:24perfect.
16:25>> Because this light that we're bringing
16:27to the world is not our light.
16:29>> Amen.
16:30>> Yes, sir.
16:31>> Come on now. It's the light of Jesus
16:33that's shining through us. And where
16:35there is confusion, watch this, church,
16:37please listen to this. Where there is
16:39confusion in the world, we bring truth.
16:42Watch this. We don't make the confusion
16:45worse.
16:47>> How many of you Christians, please raise
16:49your hand? You're proud to be a born
16:51again Christian. Watch this now. Okay,
16:53put your hands down.
16:55I hope you're not going around poisoning
16:59environments with untruth.
17:05>> I hope you're not putting in your family
17:08toxicity.
17:10>> I hope you're not the ring leader that's
17:12tearing up your home.
17:15I hope you're not the person on the job
17:18that everybody said is destroying and
17:21confusing the workplace.
17:25>> I hope in the the community that you
17:28live in, the apartment building that you
17:30live in, I hope when PEOPLE SEE YOU
17:32DRESSED UP ON SUNDAY LEAVING THE CHURCH,
17:36the negative thought they have about you
17:39is actually true.
17:42Jesus.
17:44>> Cuz if that's the case, you're not being
17:46the light.
17:47>> Where there's confusion in our world,
17:49you must bring truth. Where there is
17:52hopelessness, you bring hope.
17:55>> Amen.
17:56>> So when when you see hopelessness,
17:58[snorts]
17:59what are you doing? Are you bringing
18:01hope? Are you telling somebody, "Hey,
18:02you going to get through that. God's
18:04able. God's, you know, hey, we're here
18:06to help you." You know, you see simple
18:09things you want to. Somebody may say, "I
18:11want to be the light." I'm not telling
18:13you to go and get a dress or a suit and
18:16put all these light bulbs around it.
18:18Walk around and say, "Well, here here it
18:20is. I'm the light."
18:24>> He's saying it's your actions.
18:28>> Be the light.
18:30>> Be the light. You know, for example, you
18:33know that there's that young girl on
18:36your block.
18:37>> Come on now.
18:37>> You see her with the stroller every day
18:41struggling with her two children
18:45and the Holy Spirit's been telling you,
18:46"Be the light.
18:48>> Why don't you pay for her groceries one
18:50weekend?" Amen.
18:55>> Man, you should see the look on some of
18:57y'all faces like, "I ain't paying for
18:59nobody groceries cuz I need somebody to
19:02pay for mine."
19:06Those are simple things.
19:09>> You see an elderly person walking, I
19:12know you're busy. Why don't you just
19:13stop
19:15assist them cuz you going to get old one
19:18day.
19:21Think about that. Just be the light at
19:25the workplace. That supervisor, you know
19:28that supervisor is an agent of Satan.
19:36You know it.
19:38So rather than fasting and praying and
19:40getting with the other co-workers that
19:42God gives her seven days to die
19:47cuz you know they're Christians praying
19:49some really bad prayers.
19:52>> God kill them.
19:55Don't do that. Be the light. Watch this.
19:59I know some of you not going to like
20:00this now. Just be the light. Why don't
20:03you just go to that job and get all the
20:06employees together and say, "Look, her
20:09birthday's coming up." See, I see I got
20:12somebody like, "I ain't going to do
20:13that."
20:15>> And say, "Let's bless her."
20:18>> And you put in that card.
20:20>> We're praying for you.
20:33Here's a another tough one.
20:36>> You loan somebody some money
20:40>> and they haven't paid you in two years.
20:44>> And it's causing tension. But the Holy
20:47Spirit says you're never going to get
20:49that back.
20:51>> Watch this now.
20:53>> Let it go.
20:56[applause]
20:57>> Free yourself.
21:00and write them a letter and said, "You
21:03don't have to pay me back."
21:07>> I feel it down there. Somebody said,
21:09"The devil is a lie." That ain't never
21:10going to happen. That ain't Somebody
21:13over here. I don't know who it was.
21:16[laughter]
21:18See, our job is to bring healing. Where
21:22there's brokenness,
21:25>> where there's division,
21:27>> bring unity.
21:30What division have you created recently
21:34that God is not pleased with? Because
21:36that's not being the light. So, let me
21:38end it with this. There are a few points
21:40I want to bring to you. Number one,
21:42point number one, hope spreads when
21:45God's people work together.
21:49>> You want to change Broward County?
21:53It starts with us.
21:55>> Amen.
21:56It starts with us.
21:59One of the greatest examples of unity in
22:02scripture is found in in Mark uh uh
22:05chapter 2. Two men or four men, sorry,
22:09carried their paralyzed friend to Jesus.
22:14They heard that Jesus was in town. They
22:17came brought this guy to Jesus and all
22:19of a sudden they realized too many
22:22people
22:24>> surrounded Jesus. So they couldn't get
22:26to Jesus. So what? See, four friends.
22:31>> You want to know the kind of friends you
22:33need?
22:35>> Is the kind of friends who won't stop at
22:38the first obstacle you're faced.
22:43>> Four friends said, "Okay, we can't get
22:46you in the room where Jesus is. We going
22:49to figure it out. We going to figure a
22:52way to get you healed. We going to
22:56figure We not going home. We not taking
22:58you back home paralyzed. That's the kind
23:01OF FRIENDS YOU WANT. AND THAT'S THE KIND
23:03OF FRIENDS GOD WANTS TO DEVELOP IN ALL
23:06OF US.
23:08>> And the Bible said they went on the
23:09rooftop
23:11>> and they cut out a hole in the roof
23:16>> and it was See, listen. When your faith
23:19is strong
23:20>> and you've got the tenacity that you're
23:22not going to give up. How about the hole
23:25where they cut the roof all off and cut
23:29it out. Where they dropped the man, they
23:32dropped him right in front of Jesus.
23:39And in the end, Jesus seeing their face,
23:43he saw their face
23:46was marveled.
23:49>> He was amazed.
23:51He saw the faith not just of the man who
23:53was paralyzed, but of the four friends.
23:57>> You and I can change the world when we
24:00partner together. Can you imagine if
24:02this entire church will become like
24:05these four friends? We're not going to
24:07allow anybody to be in depression.
24:11>> We're not going to allow anybody to lose
24:13their faith.
24:15>> Because make no mistake about it, I can
24:17almost guarantee you there's somebody
24:19sitting in your row right now. They
24:22dressed well,
24:24they look well, but they're broken
24:27inside.
24:31>> You have no idea what they're going
24:32through. Yes.
24:34>> Some of us know how to just smile
24:38>> the hurt away.
24:40>> Some of us, listen to me, there's a man
24:43in this room. There's a woman in this
24:45room. You're a husband. You're a father.
24:48You're a wife. You You're taking care of
24:50grandmother. You're taking care of
24:52children.
24:54And you know what it is to lead while
24:58you're bleeding.
25:01>> Amen. [applause]
25:03Come on now.
25:05And it's going to take
25:08the community, the church.
25:12Sometimes you pass someone. Good
25:14morning. How are you? I'm praying for
25:16you.
25:18Hey, good morning. Is everything okay
25:21with you? No, it's not. What's going on?
25:25Cuz you never know the story that they
25:27tell you. It could be a story that
25:29you've been through.
25:30>> That's right. That's right. And you can
25:32encourage them and say, "Hey, I've been
25:33through that. You don't need to give up.
25:36There's hope. There's hope for you.
25:39Look, just because you failed one time
25:42doesn't mean you ought not to try again.
25:44Keep trying. As long as you have breath,
25:47keep trying. Keep going at it. God will
25:50make a way and so forth." Number two,
25:52let's go quickly here. Number two,
25:56um, number point number two, let me get
25:59to it quickly. The early church changed
26:02society through unity. Acts two gives us
26:05the blueprint of a healthy church. The
26:08believers prayed together. Watch this.
26:10They prayed together. They worshiped
26:12together, served together, shared
26:14together. And because they were united,
26:16the Bible says, look at Acts 2:47. And
26:20the Lord added to their fellowship daily
26:23those who were being saved. Notice that
26:27growth was added to the church when
26:29unity was evident.
26:32>> Amen.
26:34>> People are not going to come to your
26:36church just because the preacher
26:38preaches good.
26:42>> They they can see that on social media.
26:45>> True. A lot of us think, okay, people
26:48and and unfortunately, I got to be
26:50honest with you, a lot of us preachers
26:53make ourselves spiritual celebrities.
26:58>> So, we conduct ourselves for you to like
27:03us. So, we perform for you.
27:07>> So, when you COME INTO THE HOUSE of God,
27:10it's not about God. It's really about
27:12us.
27:14You want to see how we dress, our style,
27:18everything is centered around us
27:22>> when that's not God's will for the
27:24church.
27:26>> They grew. The Bible says they grew
27:30because of their unity. The early church
27:32did not have social media. They did not
27:35have television. They did not have
27:37radio. They did NOT HAVE INTERNET. YET,
27:40THEY GREW. AMEN.
27:43>> PEOPLE WERE ADDED TO THE CHURCH. WHY?
27:46BECAUSE IT WASN'T about the apostles. It
27:49was about the unity of the church.
27:52>> Yes, sir.
27:53>> We coming together and taking ownership
27:56of reaching the lost.
27:59Reaching the lost. So, let me go to
28:02point number three.
28:05Every believer has a role to play.
28:09Every believer has a role to play.
28:14Say it with me.
28:15>> Every believer has a role to play.
28:18>> Come on, say it again.
28:21>> Many believe evangelism is only for the
28:25pastor.
28:27Only for the pastor. Like I just told
28:30you, some of us, we think it's it's the
28:33pastor because the pastor is everything.
28:36And I'm telling you today, you cannot
28:39use the pastor alone
28:42to evangelize. That's not biblical.
28:46Every believer has the responsibility,
28:49every believer to share their faith. The
28:52Bible says, "Some plants, some water,
28:55but God will give the increase."
28:57Remember the woman at the well? I opened
28:58up the series, I believe, with her.
29:01She only had one encounter with Jesus.
29:04Yet immediately she ran. She ran back to
29:07her city and told everyone.
29:11She met a man who told her everything
29:16about herself.
29:18>> She used her own personal testimony to
29:21share in the community. According to
29:23John 4 uh 39, many Samaritans, here
29:27comes another group of people,
29:29Samaritans from the village believed in
29:32Jesus because the woman had said he told
29:36me everything I ever did.
29:43She She said, "This man read me."
29:48Think about that. She didn't have to go
29:50to the palm reader. Come on now. Come
29:53on.
29:53>> Come on now.
29:55>> BECAUSE IF OUR JOB IS TO SHARE, LISTEN,
29:58the God that I serve when I met him,
30:00man, he helped me to identify myself to
30:04become the best version OF MYSELF. SO
30:08MANY PEOPLE IN YOUR FAMILY, in at your
30:11workplace, and sadly even in the church
30:15are going to these spiritual palm
30:18readers.
30:21to find out about their future.
30:24>> Find out who's messing with them, who
30:26plan against them, and what their future
30:28hold. Are you out of your mind? This
30:30woman said, "Come see a man. [laughter]
30:33Come see Jesus."
30:36He knows the beginning from the end.
30:41And so, she did not have a theological
30:46training. She did not go to seminary to
30:49get a degree.
30:50She simply shared her story. So never
30:53underestimate
30:54the power of your story. I want to show
30:57you something here. A a a statistic that
31:00I came across that really blew my mind
31:03cuz most of you think most of you think
31:06cuz I thought so a few years ago. You
31:09know, you think you can use all these
31:12modern technologies, social media, and
31:14we encourage you to do it. Everybody's
31:15on social media. Use your social media
31:18platforms to to share your faith, right?
31:21Be very If you're a Christian, make sure
31:23listen to me carefully. If you're a
31:25person of faith, do not use your social
31:28media page to destroy people,
31:32>> to gossip,
31:34>> to get involved with all of these
31:36mudslinging conversation. You don't need
31:39to. I'm And sometimes I'm just taken
31:41back. Why do people go on social media
31:43and talk their business?
31:46that's your platform. Do whatever you
31:48want. But it's just crazy to me, you
31:51know, but as a believer, don't do that.
31:53But so many people think it's social
31:55media that's going to grow your your
31:56church and bring people to Christ. But I
31:59came across this and this is what it
32:01shows. It shows the typical sources of
32:05firsttime visitors to a church and faith
32:07center. Let this open your eye.
32:10It says people invited by family and
32:14friends, co-workers and neighbors and
32:16church members. Most people who come to
32:19church are invited by family members,
32:23friends co-workers neighbors church
32:26members. 70 to 90%.
32:35That lets me know it is the human
32:38contact
32:41>> because it says here online search.
32:44PEOPLE GO ONLINE. ONLY FIVE TO 15%
32:48of people go online looking for a
32:50church. And then it gets worse. Street
32:52signs, driveby visibility and location.
32:58for years when we bought this building.
33:00For years, we never had a church sign
33:01out there because we didn't get uh we
33:03couldn't get the city to approve a sign
33:06both Knobill and Commercial Boulevard
33:08for us. So, for I'm talking about a good
33:1110 plus years, we had no church sign.
33:14And if you're familiar with this
33:15community for a long time, if you
33:17remember, there one time you couldn't
33:19even see the building from off the
33:20street because of the tall pine trees.
33:24And people didn't yet people came. How
33:27many watched the movie if you build it
33:29they will come?
33:30>> Yes sir.
33:31>> And you know in the midst of a corn
33:33field they build an arena where people
33:35can listen it says here only 5 to 15%
33:40street sign 3 to 10% watch this
33:43advertisement mail mailers radio and
33:46other marketing only 1 to 5%.
33:50Here's my point. If we
33:54people
33:56would go out and first let what you're
34:00saying match your conduct.
34:04If we just go
34:06>> and share our faith and invite people to
34:10come worship with you, they'll come
34:14because they're coming because 70 to 90%
34:19of people invite people to the church.
34:24Number four, and I close with that.
34:27Number four, revival begins with
34:31personal transformation.
34:33>> This is important to me. If I was to ask
34:36you the question, what's the meaning of
34:38revival?
34:40What would you say? So many people, cuz
34:43I grew up kind of in a Pentecostal
34:45movement, holiness church, and so forth.
34:48And when we talk about revival,
34:51you know what revival to us? Revival is
34:53having a series of church services,
34:56having a guest speaker to come and we
34:59shout all night and we clap and we dance
35:02and we sing and people speak in tongues
35:05and we say 50 people got filled with the
35:07Holy Ghost and how they got filled is a
35:10church mother in one ear, another church
35:12mother in there. Say it. Say it louder.
35:17You got to say
35:19some of you have no clue what that is.
35:21Trust me, we grew up in some craziness
35:25[laughter]
35:26and that's how you got filled with the
35:28Holy Spirit and so forth. But revival to
35:31the word of God is a transformed
35:35group of people.
35:37People who are re-energized,
35:41motivated
35:43to walk in the perfect will of God.
35:47There are only two things we can do with
35:50everything that God has taught us this
35:52month in this series. Option number one,
35:55it's up to you now.
35:57You can reject
36:00God's invitation to grow.
36:04You grow your faith walk.
36:07You can reject it. You can continue
36:10making excuses. You can continue to
36:12blame other people. You can resist
36:15correction.
36:18You can continue. Watch this. Live
36:20beneath your potential.
36:25And and and I have to stop here for a
36:27moment. I just felt really led to do
36:29this.
36:31And I want you to believe Henry
36:33Fernandez when I tell you this.
36:36You know what bothers me about some of
36:38you? Please listen to me. And I mean
36:41this from my heart.
36:43What really bothers me
36:47is when I look at you
36:49and I know you can do better.
36:54I know it.
36:56I know you should be much further in
36:59life,
37:01but you still procrastinate.
37:04You still just accept average.
37:08It bothers me to know you have an
37:10opportunity, an incredible opportunity
37:13to be the best version of yourself.
37:15Don't tell me about your issues. Don't
37:18tell me about your brokenness. I'm not
37:20trying to be insensitive here. Don't
37:22tell me about your traumas.
37:25EVERYBODY
37:27HAS GOT TRAUMA. AMEN.
37:30>> What I want to know
37:34is will you seize this moment
37:40to make something good out of your life?
37:44Will you seize this moment as A YOUNG
37:46PERSON, REGARDLESS OF HOW YOUR FAMILY IS
37:50in in a dysfunctional uh condition, will
37:53you seize this moment and you BE THE ONE
37:56TO BREAK THAT GENERATIONAL CURSE? What I
38:01want to know,
38:03Satan has hit you several times with
38:08some really hard blows.
38:11Are you going to sit there and accept it
38:15and die
38:17like that?
38:19Or are you going to pick your life up
38:23with your brokenness?
38:26>> Yes, you got divorced.
38:28Yes, they took everything from you.
38:31>> Yes, YOU LOST YOUR HOUSE. You lost your
38:33car. YOU LOST YOUR JOB. THE QUESTION IS
38:37NOT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU. WHAT ARE YOU
38:41GOING TO DO
38:43that life hit you the wrong way?
38:47What are you going to do? Are you going
38:49to come to church every week, go through
38:51the the motion
38:54and not change who you are?
38:57Are you going to grow from 20 to 30 and
39:01have no experience in the 10 years that
39:05you live your life?
39:07still complaining, still holding people
39:09accountable for what you're supposed to
39:12do. Those are the things that bothers
39:13me.
39:15You know why? Cuz I know for myself,
39:20you cannot keep a good man or a good
39:23woman down when God is backing them.
39:27You can't. You have it within you to
39:31fight and survive.
39:34You have it within you.
39:37Or you can take option two.
39:41You can humble yourself.
39:45You can search your heart.
39:48And you can repent where necessary
39:53and allow God
39:55to transform you.
39:58Listen,
40:00you can
40:02repent,
40:04humble yourself,
40:08because
40:10I don't want, please hear me.
40:14I don't want to see
40:18June 2827
40:23find you at the same place.
40:28You're better than that.
40:31You are better than that.
40:36You got a whole year to improve.
40:41AND NOBODY'S RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING that
40:44improvement but you.
40:47>> Because I'm telling you, when God is on
40:51your side,
40:56When you say, "God, I want you
41:00to give me hope.
41:03>> Hope to believe in me."
41:06He'll prepare you so you become, watch
41:09this, and I'm closing. You know,
41:10preachers get three closes. Uh uh.
41:15When you are hopeful,
41:17you then carry hope.
41:19>> That's right.
41:22You carry hope.
41:24>> So, somebody's sitting and feeling
41:27hopeless. Come on. Come on.
41:32You can make it. And because I empower
41:35her, she grabs somebody else. Cuz you're
41:38the carrier of hope. Grab somebody else.
41:40Oh, we we're carrying this whole thing.
41:44She's full of hope. She's carrying
41:45somebody else. Come on. You're carrying
41:47somebody else. And you see, we're
41:50carriers of hope. No matter where we go,
41:53some if if I could start the ministry of
41:58carrying a hope and it becomes
42:00contagious, then somebody else is going
42:03to get it. And before you know it,
42:05everybody in your community, everybody
42:07in your neighborhood, everybody on your
42:10job will now see that hope is alive.
42:14That God's not dead. Come on now. God's
42:17not dead. The same God who did it for
42:20Henry, grab a hold of somebody. The same
42:22God WHO DID IT FOR HENRY, grab a hold of
42:24somebody. Give somebody hope. Anybody?
42:26Come on. As I listen, I want you to
42:29Everybody, we got to demonstrate this.
42:30Right. Come on now. RIGHT. SO, WE'RE
42:33WALKING AROUND AND ALL OF US NOW all of
42:35a sudden we're carry CARRY SOMEBODY.
42:38CARRY find somebody. Help me out with my
42:41sermon here. Find somebody else. Come
42:43on. Somebody else. Carrie of hope. Come
42:46on. Help me here, please. Jesus, help
42:48me. Help me here. So, the the point I am
42:53making, we're all carriers of hope.
42:57So, as we go around this world, I hope
42:59they're finding somebody. Okay, this is
43:02not this is not just to look good here.
43:05All right. We're all carriers of hope.
43:08SO, ONE, IF ONE PERSON MAKES THE
43:10decision
43:12that we're going to change the world,
43:14we're going to give people hope. All of
43:16a sudden,
43:18[applause]
43:18what started out small
43:22end up being I I love it. I love it.
43:25They're all carrying everybody. Your
43:27whole family. Your whole family. Your
43:30whole family.
43:31>> Even the haters in your life. Give them
43:35hope. Give them hope. And before you
43:38know it, we now have a community of
43:43people who are given hope. Somebody
43:45ought to give God praise.
43:49>> We're all carriers
43:51of hope.
43:53>> Hallelujah.
43:54>> COME ON, SOMEBODY SHOUT IT OUT. We're
43:56carriers of hope.
44:00>> Stand on your feet, everybody. Stand on
44:02your feet.
44:04>> Don't you ever lose hope.
44:07Stay right there. Everybody stay right
44:09there. Don't you ever lose hope.
44:13All of us in this room, all of you who
44:15are online, if you love God,
44:20you are a carrier of hope.
44:24>> Don't keep it to yourself.
44:27The world
44:29The world is not spinning out of
44:32control.
44:34I love Fort Lauderdale.
44:37I love Fort Lauderdale.
44:40This week I'm jumping on a plane to go
44:42to Jamaica. I love Jamaica.
44:50There are just some bad people around.
44:55But here's the good thing.
44:58Do you not know there are more good
45:00people
45:02>> than bad people?
45:04The problem is we talk so much and
45:08promote so much the bad people
45:12>> that we drowned
45:14>> the good people out. I was talking to a
45:16minister yesterday officiating a wedding
45:19and we're talking about the same
45:21conversation and I told her I'm going to
45:23preach this today at my church and I
45:25said you know the mistake we preachers
45:28make.
45:29I said when we are given the opportunity
45:32to stand here to preach hope to people
45:35we tailor our sermons
45:38to talk to the people we're annoyed at.
45:43So, we preach to the people who we think
45:46are bad in the church
45:48because a lot of preachers, their
45:50sermons are not from God.
45:52>> They're just venting.
45:58>> So, they're willing to take up a whole
46:01sermon
46:02just to get back at a few people in the
46:05audience. Watch this. While most of the
46:08people in the audience
46:11just look looking for hope,
46:16>> choose what you will say out of your
46:18mouth from this day forward.
46:21>> Lift your hands. Father,
46:24all of these people who stand before us
46:26today that
46:29join the chain of
46:33people who are carrying hope.
46:37I believe that you've selected them this
46:39morning.
46:41I believe that before they were formed
46:44in their mother's womb, you knew on June
46:4828th [music]
46:492026,
46:51they were going to stand before the
46:53church on the whole world on social
46:55media.
46:57You handpicked them
47:01because they serve a purpose in this
47:03season. Amen.
47:06>> With everything that's happening in the
47:08world, you are looking for men and women
47:13who will be carriers of hope.
47:17And so as they've joined me and we made
47:20a circle around section 400 of this
47:23auditorium,
47:25may the entire congregation, whether
47:28they're here or streaming, may they
47:30embrace this idea
47:33that we can bring hope to the people of
47:37the world who are lost,
47:41confused,
47:43and at times