Upset the Church: The One Who Overcomes

Tim Rivers | July 31, 2022

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Tim Rivers: We're in the last sermon of this series Upset the Church. To be honest, you all are probably like, why is he wearing a suit today? Because it's turn up time. It's the last one so I'm going to turn up whether you do or not, but I'd like for you to turn up with me, anybody come in here ready to have church.

Before we get into it, there is something I have to mention. All the ladies in the house make some noise. [crowd cheers] You all can do better than that. All the ladies make some noise. [crowd cheers] You all know what's coming up. Women's conference. If you haven't signed up, you get to sign up before August the 26th. Make sure you register. It's going to be a phenomenal time. You're going to get a lot out of it. If you signed up to be a volunteer at the conference, make sure you come back here after this service, there's going to be a volunteer meeting that's happening. Make sure that you're here.

Is anybody ready to get in this Word? We're going to Revelation Chapter 3, the Book of Revelation 3:14. Today we're actually going to read the entire letter. The last few weeks, we've just read snippets, but today we're going to read the entire letter.

Revelation 3:14, here we go, "Unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the God's creation." I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot? Just pick something.

My wife and I sometimes will go out to eat or we plan to go out to eat. I'm like, "What would you to eat?" She's like, "What would you like to eat?" Now I would just pick something. She says, "No, you just pick something." I say, let's go to Saltgrass. She may say, "Well, I don't want to eat steak." "But I thought you wanted me to pick. So let's go eat sushi." Then we just end up having to pick somewhere. It's usually Chick-fil-A. Just pick a restaurant, just pick whether you're going to be cold or hot.

Because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Whew. A strong language you all. For you say I am rich, I have prospered and I need nothing. Not realizing that you are rich, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen and salve to you to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love I reprove and disciplined. Be zealous and repent.

Behold, whenever you see the word behold, it means pay attention. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone, somebody say anyone, all you all, everybody. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and eat with him, and he with me. Verse number 21, this is where we're going to park to the one who conquers. The word conquers can also mean overcomes.

To the one who overcomes, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne as I have conquered or overcome and sat down with my father on his throne. He who has an ear. Let him hear with the spirit, says to the churches, and somebody say, amen. For the next little while, I want to preach on this subject. The one who overcomes turn around, touch two, three people and ask them, are you an overcomer? If you're watching online, text somebody right now and ask them, are you an overcomer?

It's very important that you're sitting besides somebody that has an overcome her mindset. We're about to pray. If you're nervous about the person that you're around, take this opportunity, put your one finger up, go use the bathroom, get some water. When you come back in, make sure you sit by the right person, because this message is for overcomers.

All right, somebody let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your goodness and mercy. I thank you that you've drawn us into your presence. I thank you for the privilege of being able to preach your word for the last several weeks. Now as we bring this sermon series to a crescendo to an ending. I pray that once again, you would give us ears to hear a heart, to receive and a mind to understand what the spirit would say to us. Help the word to be buried deep into the good soul of our hearts. Help us to bear fruit of it. We thank you right now for what you're getting ready to do. In Jesus' name, everybody say, amen.

You all look good. It feels good. This is one of those dangerous type of situations where it's like, I feel like preaching and then you all look like you all are ready for preaching. We just going to go all in. Is that okay?

In the realm of theology, there is a discipline that concerns itself with the attributes of God and the attributes of God are the characteristics of God. We can understand God in part, but not fully because it's impossible for finite man to fully comprehend an infinite God, if an infinite God could be explained by finite man, he would cease to be infinite. Are you following me? It is important that we look at some of the characteristics of God that he's revealed so that we can understand some of his behavior. One of the characteristics of God or attributes of God is that he's sovereign, which means that he reigns over everything. No matter what it is, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, right? God reigns over everything.

Another attribute or characteristic of God is that he is righteous and God be righteous means that he defines what is right and therefore, what is wrong. If you want to be right with God, you're going to find out what he enjoys, what he likes. Another attribute of God is that he's just, and in God's justice or His justice. He has determined and decided to allow his creation to choose between options.

Now there are times when God imposes his will on his creation. For the most part, when we read through Scripture, we find out that God actually allows for his creation to choose. Now we know this to be true because when we look at the story of an angel by the name of Lucifer, which means bearer of light, he was an angel in heaven. He decided to rebel against God.

Now, when we hear that, it messes with our mind because we automatically assume that angels are created and forced to worship God. Even angels have a decision to make whether or not they serve God or rebel against Him. Lucifer decided to rebel against God and he was kicked out of heaven. He took with him a third of the angels. A third of the angels decided to rebel against God and were thrown out of heaven. Even angels have the option to choose.

Then we see this again with Adam and Eve, they're created, they're placed in the garden and God gives them a vegan buffet. He's like, "Out of every tree in the garden, you can eat of every herb, anything that grows, it's yours for your sustenance, but I'm also going to place a tree in the middle of the garden and I'm commanding you not to eat of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now God could have, because he's God, imposed his will on them and said, "I'm placing the tree in the middle of the garden, but I'm going to force you not to eat of it." He could have put electric fence around it. He could have put fire rings around it. He could have put angels around it, but He allowed for his creation to choose. That reality is true for us. We have options. We get to choose. We get to decide between things.

Now, if you're young, a child, you don't get very many options. I don't know how you all run house. When you're two years old, you don't get to pick where we go eat. You don't get to pick what house we live in. You don't get to pick what car we drive. You don't get to pick your parents and you show enough. Ain't going to be able to pick your siblings. I love my siblings. In fact, my brother's here.

As you mature, as you get older, you get to make more decisions for yourself. You get to decide what car you drive. You get to decide what house to live in. You get to decide what type of person you want to date. You get to decide your friends group. You get to decide who to marry. At least at the time when you married them. If you're married, don't amen me. Well, he was totally different when I married him but we get to make some decisions.

Now in our world today, we're in a day with so many decisions that research hasn't been done and it's been found out that we, average adult, makes about 35,000 decisions a day. We have so many options, so many opportunities to make decisions.

In fact, we have too many. Anybody have Netflix, and Hulu, and Disney+, and a TV subscription that has a billion channels? I don't know about you, but there are times when Jennice and I, we got the kids down, we got the popcorn, the chips, the sodas, and we're ready to watch a movie. I'm like, "What do you want to watch? She's like, "Oh no, let's just check it out." I'm like, "Okay, cool. Let's do it." Then we'll sit there and we'll go through trailer, after trailer, after trailer, after trailer, after trailer, after trailer.

Two hours have gone by and all we've done is looked at trailers and we're so tired. We're like, "We're going to bed." When was the last time you been to the cereal aisle? Lord have mercy, you want to have conflict. Go to the cereal aisle. I'll go to target and be like, "I want to get my banana nut crunch." I know it's weird, but that's my favorite cereal. I'm going to go get banana nut crunch but when I get to the cereal aisle, guess what? There's cinnamon toast crunch and there's fruity pebbles and there's cocoa pebbles and there's Cheerios and there's cornflakes. I'm like, "I get so overwhelmed that I actually leave without cereal."

This is actually a real problem. Psychologists are calling it decision fatigue. Decision fatigue is what happens when you're inundated with so many options and you've made so many decisions that you are worn out. Decision fatigue happens when you're in between two decisions and you get so stressed out and you get so anxious that you end up in depression and you end up being paralyzed, and you can't make a decision between two things.

Now, this is exactly what Laodicea was dealing with because when Jesus wrote to the church at Laodicea, he says, "Church, you are neither hot or cold. You can't decide between right and wrong, left and right, up and down, liberal or conservative, you are literally caught in the middle."

The Scripture says James said it this way, a double-minded man is unstable in what? All of his ways. Have you ever met somebody that just cannot decide between anything? Let me tell you something. If you dating a dude for 17 years and he still hadn't popped a question? My man is unstable in all of his ways, find you somebody else. God is looking. Jesus, he's right into the church. He says, "Listen, y'all are unstable."

Now I want you to realize something in the seven letters that we've been going through over the last five weeks, there's a pattern. Every letter has this pattern. It opens up with a description of Christ then it goes to a commendation. This is something that Jesus is complimenting the church about, something good that they're doing. Then it goes to rebuke. This is what you're not doing right. You've left your first love or you are counterfeit or you're sleepy. There's only two churches in the seven letters that didn't receive a rebuke, Smyrna and Philadelphia. They were just doing good.

Then after that, he says, "These are the consequences if you don't repent." Then he says, "This is the solution to get you back on track." Then it ends with, "To the one who overcomes," because God's plan for you is never to leave you where you're at, but it's always for you to be an overcomer.

Out out of the seven letters, Laodicea was the only church that didn't get a commendation. They didn't get a compliment. In other words, Jesus is so bothered by and gets so nauseous by a church that can't decide between following Him and following the world that God says, "It literally makes me so sick to my stomach, I can't even think of anything good you're doing."

Literally, God says, "I want to vomit. My stomach's upset. I need medication because of your lukewarmness, because you can't decide. That word limping between or indecision, the word picture there is that you are literally on a balance beam on one foot, between going forward and backwards. You are paralyzed in between, now you're shaky and you can't decide. Jesus said, "I ain't having none of it."

Now, here's the thing. It's not the first time this has happened because I want to take you to 1st Kings Chapter 18. This is a story about Elijah. Elijah's been gone, the children of Israel are in the land and there's a famine in the land. It hasn't rained for quite some time. There's a drought there, the children of Israel have been calling out for God to send the rain, but there's no rain coming.

Elijah has been MIA. He's been missing in action. They've been asking and wondering, "Where in the world is Elijah because he's the miracle worker. We need the pastor to come back. We need him to pray over our situation," but he's nowhere to be seen. Then after several years, God calls to Elijah and says, "Elijah, I need you to go back because I'm going to do a miracle." Elijah comes and when he comes, he finds that the church or Israel is caught in between worshiping God and worshiping Baal, committing to God, but also committing to pagan worship.

When Elijah steps on the scene, he goes, "You know what? God wants to do something phenomenal, but before He does, He needs to find out where are you in your faith. Where are you in your decision-making?" He gathers up all the children of Israel to a place called Mount Carmel. He says, "I need you also to grab the 450 prophets of Baal at this Mount and we're going to have a test."

He gathers all of the people together but before he begins, he addresses the children of Israel in verse number 21 of 1st Kings, Chapter 18. This is what he says. Elijah challenged the people, "How long are you going to sit on the fence?" Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. If God be the real God, follow Him. If it's Baal, follow him, make up your minds. In other words, Elijah said, "Listen, fam I'm at the point where I'm like, I'm not even trying to convince you to choose. I just need you to choose so I can tell who's real and who's fake. Who's counterfeit or who's authentic? Just get off the fence." This is what happened. Nobody said a word. Nobody made a move. It was absolutely quiet in that moment.

Elijah says, "All right, we're about to put it to the test." He says, "We're going to build an altar. The prophets of Baal are going to build one and they're going to call out to their God and then I'm going to build one. I'll call out to our God and the God who answers by fire. He is the true God."

Now what you have to understand about Baal is Baal was the God, apparently who controlled the rain, wind, and fire. Elijah's like, "Guess what? I'm going to give you a one-up. I'll let you call out to the god that's supposed to be controlling all this stuff."

The Scripture says that the 450 prophets of Baal, they build an altar and they placed a sacrifice on top, and then they start to do their thing. Their incantations, their prayers, they're screaming and the Scripture says they cut themselves with knives until the blood was gushing out of them as was the custom, this was a gruesome, cruel type of worship, but they were singing and they were praising and they were asking Baal to answer and nothing happened.

In fact, it got so awkward and so weird that Elijah sitting there in the corner and he's watching this happen from the morning until afternoon, and Elijah's like, "Yo fam, maybe you need to yell a little louder because it's possible that you're god can't hear." He's over there laughing. He says, "Hey, maybe you need to scream a little louder because it's possible that your God has gone on vacation." This is really in the Bible, 1st Kings 18.

He says, "Hey, you know what? My bad, maybe your God went to the bathroom and is taking a dump." Y'all think I'm playing. No, it's really in the Bible. He says, "Maybe you got to just yell out a little louder." They are yelling out and they're screaming and they're expecting Baal to answer, but nothing happens.

Finally, Elijah says, "Enough of that, is my turn, it's God's turn." He rolls up on him and he says, "Give me 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel." He builds an altar and then he takes wood and he puts the wood on top. Then he gets a bull and he cuts it up and he puts it on top as a sacrifice. Then he goes, "You know what, you could confuse fire right now happening because we're in a drought and a famine," like what we're dealing with in Texas right now. People's yards just turn up and smoke, why? Because it's so, so hot outside.

Elijah's just like, "Hey, I don't want you to think that this is an accident. I need a couple of y'all to go get me four buckets of water." Now anybody have an extra friend, that friend that does too much? Elijah was that guy. Elijah's like, "Go down the hill," remember they're on the top, they got to go run down the hill, get four buckets of water, run all the way up and it's awkward for everybody because the prophets of Baal most likely are putting salve on their wounds. They're like, "Man, can you hurry this up so we can get to the hospital? Why you taking your time right now?" They come up with four buckets of water and they pour water over the sacrifice and Elijah's like cool but let's do it again.

They got to sit there awkwardly again as they run down, get four more buckets of water, run back up, pour it over the sacrifice. Now he's like, "Not a fam." Let me build a trench around it. Go get some more water. So they run down the third time. They got 12 bucks of water that are now on the sacrifice until the Scripture says that the sacrifice, the altar, the wood is drenched with water and there's water in the trench around the altar.

Then Elijah, he looks up at heaven and he says, "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who's done it before the God who made a way where there seems to be no way, the God who made straight the crooked path, the God who has already done more than enough, today I need you to show out. God, I'm asking you in this moment to open up the windows of heaven and show your people that you truly are God." The Scripture says immediately, it wasn't even a second, after that prayer, that the windows of heaven opened up of fire came out of heaven and it took up the sacrifice but not just the sacrifice. God took the wood, the stones, all the water until nothing was left.

Let me tell you, when God begins to move in your life, he'll do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we are able to ask all things. So God shows up, right? He shows up. The Scripture says, let me read this to you, "When the children of Israel saw what God had done," verse number 39, "and all the people saw it happen." In other words, I didn't hear it from Billy, I was there. I didn't see it on Instagram, yo fam, I was there. I saw it happen.

News is spreading. When they saw it happen and fell on their faces in odd worship explaining God is the true God, there's no denying it now. God is the true God. Elijah told them, "Grab the Baal prophets. Don't let one of them get away."

Let me tell you something. When you decide to get off the fence and go all in with Jesus, you got to cut ties with the thing that's been keeping you on the fence in the first place. It's not enough to say, "Hey, look, God delivered me out of the neighborhood." Stop driving around it. When you get saved and you get all in with Jesus, you got to unfollow some people. You got to stop liking their stuff. You got to stop creeping on them. You got to cut away the thing that's been pulling you back.

Elijah says to him, "Hey, I need you to grab the 400 prophets of Baal and we going to put an end to our past," and so he grabs them. He takes them down to the brook of Kishon, and guess what he does, he slaughters and massacres them.

Here's the phenomenal part and I want to read this to you. Because after this happens the Scripture says in verse number 41, that Elijah said to Ahab, "Up on your feet, eat and drink." In other words, get your security board, get your wine ready, slay the fat and calf. Get your roast, get your steak, your mashed potatoes, your corn. I'm hungry. That's why I'm preaching about this. But get ready to party and celebrate. I want you to turn up. I want you to throw back and have a party. I want you to celebrate."

Why, nothing's happened. I know nothing has happened but I want you to praise as if it happened because what you don't know is while you are praising, I hear the sound of an abundance of rain on the way. It's amazing, see, I felt like preaching today. It's amazing to me that when the church got off the fence and when all in with God then God opened up the windows of heaven and he started answering the prayers that they've been praying, he started working in ways that they've been believing for, when you get off the fence and go all in with Jesus to the one who overcomes, God will make a way where there seems to be no way.

He'll turn your night in today. He'll light up your darkened path. He'll make straight the crooked path. When you go all in with God, God will go all in with you. See I've been holding off on you all because when we've been reading these letters to the seven churches, we've been reading about some of the problems that are there.

We've been talking about how God makes a way for those that are caught in certain situations whether you are moving away from your first love, whether you're dealing with counterfeit, whether you're sleepy and tired. What I haven't been sharing with you is that every single letter that is written to the seven churches has this phrase in it to the one who overcomes, because what Jesus is trying to tell us in this series, this is the crescendo. This is the finale. This is the finalization.

This is the very essence of this entire series. Is that no matter what you go through, no matter what you're facing, no matter what has you on the beam of life trying to balance between do I go all in or do I step back? What God wants you to know is that you are more than an overcomer. It doesn't matter what people say. It doesn't matter what they think. God is looking for somebody to step all the way in to the promises that He has for your life. To the one who overcomes.

I want to read you real quick what Jesus said in Revelations 2 and 3 about the one who overcomes. He said the one who overcomes, they will eat from the tree of life. They will not be hurt by the second death. They will be given the white stone. They will reign with Christ on his throne. They will be given the morning star. They will be clothed in bright garments. They will have their name in the book of life. They will be made pillars in God's temple. They will participate in the new Jerusalem. They will have God's name written on them.

Can I preach and tell you church that when you decide to be an overcome, God will shut the mouth of lions? He'll tear down the walls of Jericho. He'll make a way where there seems to be no way. What God is looking for is a church Embassy City and those who watch online to go all in with Jesus.

I may just be preaching to myself. I going to have to bookmark my own message and go watch it. I'm preaching and telling somebody you may be on the fence but God is calling you out right now. Here's the thing, some of you have been praying prayers and asking God to come through but you've been on the fence. You're like, "Man, God, I need you to move," and God's like, "No, I need you to move."

You're like, "God, I need you to make a way." God's like, "No, I need you to get out of the way." Some of us are like, "God, why haven't you answered?" God's like, "You've been on the fence. That's why I need you to take a step of faith and go ahead and walk towards me. When you do, things will happen in your life that you didn't even dream could happen." God will give you that job you've been praying for. God will give you that business idea that you've been believing for God will give you that promotion. You've been working so hard for God will let you graduate. God will put an open door in front of you that you never thought was possible.

To the one who overcomes. Worship team if you would come. The question today is how do I overcome? Because there's a lot of things that keep us on the fence. It can be hurt from the past. It can be trauma. It can be a number of situations. Sometimes it's comfort because we know when we go on with Jesus, it requires some sacrifice. Some of us ain't ready to let go of that relationship. Some of us ain't ready to let go of that thing that's tied us down.

We stay on the fence, but God says I want you all the way in because the indecisiveness is making me nauseous. I need you just to decide to get hot with Jesus. Pastor Tim says this all the time, honest, open, and transparent, forget all the stuff that's kept you behind. I need you to move into the thing that I have for you. I want to tell you this one story and then we're going to do something a little different today.

We've already talked about this before but the children of Israel have been delivered out of Egypt and they are on their way to the Promised Land. All the while they are happy and excited because they're finally about to enter into the thing that God has for them. They get to the edge of the Promised Land and they're like, "Hey, let's send in some spies to see what they see."

Twelve spies go in, they come back. They got evidence, grapes to take two men to carry, and all of them are like, "Fam, yo, it's exactly as they described. Houses we didn't build. Vineyards we didn't plant. Wells we didn't dig. Surely the land flows with milk and honey." It don't matter if you lactose intolerant, milk and honey sounds good. It's exactly as they described. It's phenomenal. All of them are like, "Y'all, we need to go get it," but then 10 of the 12 are like this, "Yes, but here's the thing, there are giants in the land. The promises of God are crowded. They're surrounded by enemies, the Amalekites. They're in the hills. They're in the valleys. They're by the water. They're everywhere. I don't know if we're able to go."

Instantly, when the children of Israel heard the positive and negative, "Okay, I was all in, but now I'm not sure, because do I really want to go into the Promised Land and face these giants? Maybe I want to go back and get these whips laid on my back because at least I have garlic and onions. I liked the comfort. I know there's a sacrifice, but I liked the comfort in what I had. Because the future seems somewhat bleak, but also promising, but I'm not sure."

The Scripture says that they begin to murmur and complain amongst each other. It got loud, and then all you could hear was, "I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure." The Scripture says that there were two wild, crazy fanatic, young men that didn't know any better. They didn't have enough opportunity to have a negative mindset. They stand up amongst the spies and they're like this, "Yo, fam, everything that they said is for real. There are giants in the land. Yes, we did feel like grasshoppers, but we are well able to possess it."

One translation says, "We are well able to overcome it." What is the it? It don't matter, but whatever it is, God has given us enough power to overcome it. I can't help but wonder if this crazy dude, Caleb, started thinking back of all the stories that his great grandfather told him and his grandmother told him about all the times that they were in slavery, and they got their backs beat, and they had to serve a godless nation.

At some point, Caleb said, "You know what, God had enough, and if He made a way back then, I believe He'll do it again. We didn't know how we were going to get out of Egypt in the first place, but God made a way where there seems to be no way. When we got to the Red Sea, and we didn't think we were going to cross, God parted the Red Sea, and He destroyed our enemies. If God did it before, He will surely do it again."

Right now, I'm asking you. You may be on the crest of a promise. Are you on the fence? Are you lukewarm? Are you trying to figure out, "Should I go forward or go back?" I'm here to preach and tell you, go forward. Go straight. Go into the promise. I know it may look like you don't know how it's going to work out, but I'm telling you that God has it all worked out for you. You know why? Because we overcome by what? The blood of the lamb. Jesus already paid for it all. The word of our testimony, you know what a testimony is? A testimony is when you think back and look back at your life and realize that God has always made a way.

When I was sick in the hospital, and the doctor said I wouldn't make it, God healed my body. When my marriage was falling apart, and I was going to counseling, and I didn't think it was going to work out, God put my marriage back together. When my kids were acting crazy, and I thought they were going to be locked up, God made a way. When folks said I was coming from the wrong side of the tracks, and I would never graduate, God made a way. Is there anybody that's got a testimony that God makes a way?

I need about 10 people to stand up on your feet and say, "God made a way for me." When I didn't know where to turn, I turned to Jesus. To the one who overcomes. Stand on your feet all across His house. You're like, "Why are you yelling?" Because I know what it's like as a pastor to look out and see people caught in the in-between. I'm like, "If you knew what God has for you, you would jump off that fence." Die trying to get where God wants you to be. To the one who overcomes.

I love the King James Version because it says, "To the one who overcometh." I don't know if some of you are old-school KJV folks out there. -Eth means it's a continuation. I don't just overcome once. I keep overcoming. To wrap it up, but I could go another 30 minutes on that. Every time I come to another place, every time I come to another block, pardon me. Excuse me. I know you like God work in your life, but man, this one seems impossible.

Pardon me. Excuse me. To the one that overcometh, you got to keep overcoming. This is what He said, "To the one that overcometh, it's because I overcame." Past tense. Whatever it is in your life that's got you on the fence, God already overcame. If it's a broken marriage, it's already overcome. If it's funny money, God's already overcome it. If it's friendship, God's already overcome it. Whatever it is in your life that's got you in the in-between, God's already taking care of it. This, we're going to do different today. It's a call-out for those who are ready to be overcomers.

If you're in this place and you feel like, "Man, I feel like I've been on the fence. I feel like I really want to go in with God, but man, I am scared." It's okay to say that. "Yo, I have a fear right now about what the future holds." I'm telling you, trust God's word and trust that what He has for you is good. If you're in this place, and you're ready to take that step, to be an overcomer, I want you to step out from where you're at and come make your way to the front.

Altar team, come on up, to receive. Altar team, come on up. If you're in this place, I want you to come up. You may have to move some people out of the way. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Pardon me. He's preaching to me." This ain't for everybody, but it's for somebody. Come up, come up, come up, come up, come up, come up, come up, come up.

If you're in this place, and your marriage is on the balance beam, grab your spouse by the hand and come on up. If you're here, and you've been praying about a job opportunity, and it doesn't seem like God has opened up the windows of heaven yet, come on up. You come right here. This open space is for somebody to come. I'm calling everybody. I'm going to give you a little more time, a little more opportunity to come on up, squeeze up here in front, because this is going to be a moment where heaven comes to earth, and God's about to answer some prayers.

If you've been praying for healing, I want you to come up. If you've been praying for a breakthrough, come on up. Come on. You all squeeze all the way here to the middle. Squeeze in. If you're watching online, right where you're at, right where you're at, stand up, put your hands up, because I'm going to pray for you, and then I believe a breakthrough in victory is going to come. We're going to go to the time of worship because worship declares the goodness of God. If you're here in this moment, don't you let this moment pass you by.

You got to squeeze by some people. "Pardon me. Excuse me. I need to overcome this." Roll up. If you're in this place right now, you're in the front, I want you just to raise both hands as a sign of receiving, like a funnel receiving. Just raise those hands right now. Father, we come to you right now in this moment, whatever the situation, whatever the issue. It may be comfort. It may be a trial. It may be sickness. It may be a marriage. Whatever it is, right now, we come before you in your presence, and we're asking you right now to help us overcome the situation.

Right now, God, as we release every burden, every chain, every wall, everything that's holding us back from your presence, as we release it, right now, we're asking you that you would open up the windows of heaven, that you will pour out your spirit, that you will let great things happen. We're believing for miracles, signs, and wonders to take place right now. Dear, Jesus, we're believing for healing right now. Whether it be emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, whatever it is, God, I pray that there would be healing that takes place right now, God.

I thank you, God, that in this moment, God, you're showing up in a spectacular way. I believe that there are going to be testimonies that come out of this moment. Right now, God, we put an altar. We build an altar, and we say thank you, Jesus, for the breakthrough. Thank you, Jesus, for your goodness. Thank you, Jesus, for what you're doing in our lives right now. If you believe it, shout Amen.

I want to share one more thing with you because I've been praying for you as a church. I shared this with the earlier service, and I feel like the Lord really spoke to me about this church about Embassy City. I want to share something that I believe applies to you as individuals but to you as a church, I want to speak prophetically and say the Embassy City that God has a door opened for you that normal man shall shut.

That He has made you well able to possess the land on which you are, God has prepared before you an open door. There are dreams that are about to be fulfilled, there are prayers that God is about to answer. There are miracle signs and wonders that will take place opportunities that you've been believing God for are about to present themselves. The latter shall be greater than the former and the future doesn't even compare to your past. What you are about to experience is about to shock you.

One more time, all across this building and lift your hands, let me pray for you, dear Jesus, I thank you for this church. I thank you for the leadership of this church. I thank you, God, for every single individual that calls Embassy City home, or that has visited or watches online, I pray that there would be supernatural breakthrough a release of faith, God, in each individual.

I pray that even this week, before this day is over that there would be testimonies of things that God is doing that are supernatural to the one who overcomes, there are going to be many blessings. Right now, God, we declare that we are more than over-comers and we step into the promises that you have for our life. Now we give your name, all the praise, all the glory, all the honor, all the adoration because you are worthy of it. We thank you in advance for what you're getting ready to do. If you believe it, shout Amen.