Concerning The Times

The Spirit-Filled Life and Authority in Jesus' Name

• Season 3 • Episode 11

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The Spirit-filled life is a term we often hear and read about, but what exactly does it mean? In this timely message, Pastor Ian Huxham provides a biblical overview of the Holy Spirit's role in our Christian life. He explains why being Spirit-filled, led, and empowered should be the norm, not the exception, in the daily lives of every follower of Jesus. 

This episode is from one of the messages at the 2025 Southwest Bible Week Conference in Bicton, UK. Pastor Ian Huxham is a dear friend of mine, and I trust that you will be as blessed and encouraged by his preaching as I am. Links to further teaching are available below in the show notes.

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Show Notes:

All other audio messages from 2025 Southwest Bible Week speakers.

Article by Pastor Ian Huxham: Authority in the Name of Jesus.

Link to Evangel Church, Sidmouth, UK, to listen to other sermons.

Interested in CMFI (Christian Ministerial Fellowship International)?  We are a like-minded group of ministers and non-ministers from around the world, united in fellowship, encouragement, and accountability, all in the name of Jesus.

Text us for prayer, comments, or ministry questions.

Connect with us at: concerningthetimes.com

SPEAKER_00:

Hello, friends. Welcome to Concern of the Times. It's Howard Green. And I got to tell you, I'm so glad to be with you today. I know it's been about a month since Since our last episode, I've been missing spending this time with you, getting back into the podcast. But here we go today. And I got to tell you, if you've tuned in this episode, you are in for a really good treat. Because today we've got a recorded message from a very dear friend of mine. His name is Pastor Ian Huksum. And he spoke a couple of weeks ago at the Southwest Bible Week in Victon, United Kingdom. It's a conference they do every year over there. I've attended it, and I've got to tell you, I was blessed by it. And today, as he preaches, he'll be preaching on the authority of Jesus' name and also the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. And I've got to tell you, I was very blessed by this particular message, as I trust you will be too. So without... Any delay, let's get started, and I'll see you on the other side. God bless you, and I hope you enjoy.

SPEAKER_01:

I know Pastor Peter, who spoke before, said he's not really one for conference themes, although I'm sure he must have understood by the Spirit that a lot of what he said leads and lends itself very nicely to the theme. But we were praying this morning in our devotions for a while for the persecuted church, and there are many CMFI members who are suffering persecution right now. I think there's something, in a sense, prophetic about the theme, because I honestly believe that should the Lord tarry, it's going to get harder for us to speak and teach in the name of Jesus. And so in a way, I believe that the Lord gave me this by way of a preparation. I'm not going to say training, not that I can train you, but hopefully that he can and will speak with us and just prepare us for things to come. And so I want to talk very much. The theme came or comes from Acts chapter 4. And I can see you reaching your Bibles. That's lovely. But, you know, I realize and I think I've put it in my notes that I wanted to go straight to Acts chapter 4 and the Lord had a lot to say to me so pray that I'll get to Acts chapter 4 in my teaching sessions because there's so much to come out of there but I think the Lord, whereas I was going to begin in Acts 4, if I get the opportunity I'm going to finish in Acts 4 and the Lord has just been giving me some other things to share with you. I just want to tell you a little bit about my personal testimony not in any great length because anyone who knows me knows that I'm a talker and I could keep you here all day. But I was saved in 1987 by the grace of God, very similar to pastor's confession. I wasn't in church. There was no one with me. No one led me to Christ. I was at home. I was off work. I was 24 years of age and I was off work on a sick day. And I don't even have to tell you the circumstances of how it came by it, but someone had given me a book and I came under conviction there and then in my sickbed. And I got up and I knelt by the side of the bed and I gave, happy day, gave my life to Jesus. And something incredible happened because I wasn't in a spiritual church. I was already going to church. I was already a youth leader. In fact, you know, we had, can you believe this? The youth church that I won't tell you which congregation it was with, but the youth church that I was pastoring grew so large that the minister there asked me to stop bringing unchurched kids into church. You're upsetting the people. You You know, I knew there was something wrong there and then. By the way, you know, it was very much a father and son business. They never spoke about the Holy Ghost in the church. But something happened, and I believe it must have been Pastor today or maybe Pastor John on the first evening. Just for anyone, the pastor was very gracious and said he didn't want to tread on anyone's denominational toes. But anyone who's not sure about the gifts of the Spirit or the baptism in the Holy Ghost, well, that's okay if you're not sure about it. But those of us who experienced it know it's real. Amen. You know, there's just nothing you can do. I can't, you know, I can't. I can give you scriptures, I can be an apologist, I can make a theological argument, I can argue with you or for or against, but I can tell you the greatest argument of all in my life is that I've experienced it personally. And on the day that I got born again, I also got baptized in the Holy Ghost. So radical was it that on my sick bed, I pulled back the curtains expecting to see, I didn't realize spiritual things, you see. The church that I was in wasn't spiritual at all. But I honestly felt like there was such a shift the heavenlies, but I didn't realize what it was. But I expected to open the windows and see, you know, planets and finger of God pointing down. It was amazing. The Holy Spirit came into my life, but he also baptized me. I received not only just the indwelling, but an anointing in the Holy Ghost. And I couldn't stop talking about the Lord. I know people, sorry, I will get to my notes, I promise you faithfully. And I know because having then done my theological training and and trained in one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the UK. They give you a paper to write when you start your theological course and so on. And it says, you know, the evidence of being baptized in the Holy Ghost, and they expect you to write, you know, is speaking in tongues. And that might be the evidence, but that's not the purpose. You know, we don't just get saved to speak in tongues. It might be the evidence, but that's not the reason, you know. So tarry ye a while in Jerusalem until you endued with power on high, and then you shall be my witnesses. The pastor reminded us first in Jerusalem, all of Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. You know, we have that power to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. Amen. And not for parlor tricks in church, not for the weird and the wacky, but for effective witness. And that's one of the reasons, one of the things I say when I read the Great Commission, our little church goes out every Tuesday morning, hands out Bible tracts and we sing and we speak to people on the streets of Sidmouth. And here's the thing, most believers today, irrespective of their donor, denomination would believe that the Great Commission is for today. Amen? That we should be preaching the gospel to every living creature. And when this gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world as a witness to the nations, then the end will come. So I don't meet any believers who don't believe that we shouldn't be about the Great Commission, but then if we're to be about the Great Commission, then we need the enabling and the empowering to fulfill it effectively. Amen? You can't have one without the other. If the Holy Ghost isn't for today, then we haven't got the strength and ability in and of ourselves to complete that commission. But if he wants us to complete that commission and pass us both eloquently about the parts of the world where the gospel hasn't reached, if we are to reach all the world as a witness to the nations, then we need the empowerment to do so. Amen? It's just, you know, you don't have to go to seminary or theology college or whatever to understand these things. If he gives you a job to do, he'll give you the tools to do it. Amen? Hallelujah. So let me go back to 1987 because when I first got born again and the church, I left the church I was in immediately. One of the reasons why being baptized in the Holy Spirit, I went and saw the minister there and I said that I know that I'm called to be a preacher of the gospel. And if a young man, we have, by the grace of God, a few young men in our fellowship now. If a young man came to me and said, I've been baptized in the Holy Spirit. I've got to tell everyone. I want to preach the word. I'll give up everything for Jesus. I'll go where he sends me. I'll do whatever he wants to do. I want to give my life to serving him. I would say, praise the Lord. Hallelujah. And my minister said, well, son, my job is to calm you down. He said, you're like a bottle of pop all shaken up. Immediately, I thought of like, you know, on a Grand Prix when you win the Grand Prix and he shakes it up and he sprays it over everyone. I'm thinking, if I'd have been that minister, I would have said, well, I went to my church to get something of what you've got. So I'm going to shake this up and spray it everywhere. And he said, well, you know, son, we've just got to put you in the background for a while, let you calm down and get over it. That's what they taught me in church. I left that day, hallelujah, and I went to find a Pentecostal church. I've got so many stories I could tell you about that. And when people say about, let's be honest, Post Toronto and other things that, you know, our organization didn't get into all of that, thank God. And we saw all kinds of strange things that we wouldn't go along with. And it's harmed and damaged the ministry of the Holy Spirit because the pendulum swung so far one way that, you know, to readjust it, people have swung it back so far the other that there's no balance, rhyme or reason in it all. And now we're left with a church that's trying to be effective in its own strength without the power of the Holy Ghost because they're afraid that because the ministry of the Holy Spirit has been called into question and disrepute. And so somehow, and I think that's part of what I've heard today and last evening, you know, and Pastor John always talks about word and spirit and right balance. Somehow we've got to, the church today has to redress that balance. I was speaking to my sister Nikki here Friday when they arrived, you know, we talk about the remnant church. I always think about a remnant, that word to me, what does it mean to me? When I first got married and we bought a house and we couldn't afford a wall-to-wall fitted carpet. You went down to the warehouse and you bought a remnant. Amen? And it was a lot cheaper than the big roll that was cut to measure. But the thing about a remnant was this. It was exactly the same material as the stuff on the big roll. It was made on the same day. It was made from the same stuff. It was the same color, the same pattern, the same texture. Everything about it was exactly the same. And if we are to be the remnant church, everything about us needs to be the same as the book of Acts church. Not the thing church has become in between but if we're a remnant we have to be part of that original role as it were and then and so we want to see that balance redressed now where was I with this oh yeah I was 1987 I've just it's only 1987 buckle up about half an hour a year it should take us a while so I found my way oh that's what I was saying so all the things and you know as a Pentecostal and I would describe myself as a conservative Pentecostal I'm going to stop doing that because you know I don't want to put God in a boxing If he wants to move, I'm going to let him move. Hallelujah. But here's the thing. I still get estranged. You wonder why. But before I finish, he gets invitations to speak elsewhere. I get an invitation to go and speak places. And in some places, they'll say you're a Pentecostal. They'll say, well, whatever you do, could you please don't prophesy or speak in tongues, will you? It frightens people. It puts people off. I've been born again a little more than a day or two when I went looking for a church that operated in the power of the Holy Ghost. Amen? I went to find the things of the Spirit. No one had to say, you won't like it here. I was drawn to it because of the Spirit. Amen? Now, there was a lovely man in Exeter, and I know one or two of you are, but that's where I'm from. I minister in Sidmouth. I'm from Exeter. But in 87, I began attending a Spirit-filled fellowship in Exeter. One of the first sermons I heard, what I called an old-fashioned Pentecostal. Dear old servant of God, there are gentlemen by the name of Pastor Fred Sumner. And it was on the subject of the believer's authority in Christ. See, they used to teach these things. I loved it. When I was born again, I lapped this sort of stuff up. It wasn't the kind of stuff that's all feely, touchy, and jump up and down to a rock and roll band in church and go home. It was things like the believer's authority in church. You left church feeling changed. You'd learned something. So the believer's authority in church. He gave the most simple example. He said this. He said, brother, you can leave this building right now and stand in the main road. And as a juggernaut is coming towards you at 30 miles an hour, put up your hand and tell it to stop and it will run over you. He said, but put on a policeman's uniform, hold up your warrant card and say, stop in the name of the law. And that juggernaut's obliged to stop. He said, that's the authority that you have in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus. We have that authority. Simple example. During the course of my teaching sessions, I've got that extra one as I explained that I want us to focus somewhat on the believer's authority in Christ I wanted as I said at the beginning to go straight to Acts 4 but the Lord wanted me to share some things with you before and I believe he wanted me to share with you about the believer's authority in Christ and that's something I trust by the grace of God we'll be able to do and then get back to Acts 4 before I finish so to begin our journey let's not start in Acts 4 at all let's start in I hope I've got the right reference in Mark Mark 4. In Mark chapter 4, open your Bibles, if you will, please. Tell me if I've got the wrong Scripture reference. I think it's Mark 4, and I'm going to read from 35 to 41. A good passage of Scripture, Mark 4, verses 35 to 41. On the same day, when evening had come, he, being Jesus, said to them, let us cross over to the other side. Now when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was, and over the And the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. But he was in the stern asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Then he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But he said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you are so fearful? And they feared exceedingly and said to one another, Who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him? Who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him? Many scholars, I'm not one, I'm not particularly scholarly. It was interesting to hear Pastor Peter talk about his good education. I went to a comprehensive school and didn't get a particularly good education. So I'm not scholarly at all. But I've heard our chairman, who's a lovely teacher, Pastor John, teach on this before. And many scholars, including our own Pastor John, who you listened to last night, believe that this was not a natural storm. This was not a natural storm, but a supernatural storm. Can I use the word conjured up as if it were by the enemy? And it was conjured up to disrupt the effective ministry of Jesus, ultimately if possible, to destroy him and his disciples. The enemy knew who he was, even if his followers in the boat at that point were still not fully convinced. How could it be that they haven't followed him? They have to ask the question, who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him? The devil knew who he was, and the devil was trying to take him out. The least the enemy wanted to do was disrupt his ministry. If he could have killed Jesus and his disciples, I'm sure he would have liked to have done that also. And although we know what our Lord was doing when that storm hit, he was in the stern asleep on a pillow. We knew what the Lord was doing. We don't exactly know. It doesn't specify exactly what the disciples were doing at that very moment that the storm hit. But what we do know, according to verse 40, is that they reacted in total fear. They reacted in total fear. That's what it says. And they were fearful. They reacted in total fear. So in this, the enemy had a degree of success. The disciples' attention was drawn away from their commission. They'd been given an assignment. Let us go over. Let us cross over to the other side. They had an assignment straight from Jesus. And in this regard, at least, the enemy had had some success because their mind was no longer on the word of Jesus. Their mind was no longer on their assignment. Their eyes were filled firmly on all that was going on around them in the storm. And they were gripped with fear. And that fear kept their mind off of the assignment that they had been given by the Lord himself. They were captured by the enemy's tactics. So in that fearful moment, they'd lost sight of the Lord's word to go over to the other side. They became focused on demonic activity taking place all around them. And by the way, it's worth pointing out again, and I'm sure you've heard many preachers, pastors, teachers, say this, but I'll point it out again. The enemy has no new tactics. He has no new tricks. That's why all the things that he does is always a counterfeit. He doesn't have any original thought of his own. It isn't a fair fight, by the way. We worship the living God, the self-existent God who always was, who was, is, and is to come. Satan, the enemy, was created. And so God is so much greater and so much higher. But what we have to understand is that because of this, the enemy doesn't have a He has no new tricks. If you can understand some of these things, if you can look at how other people have been ensnared, pastors, preachers in their ministry and caused to fall from a place of grace. If you can see how others have been ensnared and taken the bait of Satan, you can begin to understand how he will come against you or how he will work against you. And one of the ways is by fear. is by fear. That's why the Lord said, but we do not have a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind. Amen. But if he can give you a spirit of fear, if he can keep your mind from the assignment, if he can stop you fulfilling your God-given call by bringing fear on you. And after all, that's what most of us, whatever, I don't mean that petrified fear. I mean, just fear of telling your friends, fear of telling your neighbors, fear of what you look like, you know, as you give your witness or whatever it may be. If he can just with some kind of fear and keep you from your assignment. He wins. There's no new tactics. He'll always try and get us by fear. It's no different when Jesus gives us an assignment. So in those times, brethren, have you ever noticed when you truly believe that you've heard from God and you know what it is he's called you to do, now you feel excited, now you feel up for it, now you feel up for the challenge, and then the more determined you are that you're going to see your assignment through, then all of a sudden it feels as if all hell has been let loose against you and the enemy comes to try and sway you, to distract you, and to grip you with fear, to stop you. The more your mind is on fulfilling your assignment the more you'll have the enemy's attention. He doesn't care if you're not bothered with your assignment, if you're just living in lukewarm street. He doesn't have to bother with you. But as soon as you get fired up and motivated, as soon as somebody said, as we heard last night, you need to know what your purpose is, that you might be a vessel that he can use you. And I can tell you, as soon as you understand what your purpose is, and as soon as you become or yield yourself to be that vessel that he calls you to be, now suddenly you've got the And if he can stop you, he will. If he will stop you, he will. It's in those times that it feels and seems as if all hell is stirred up against us in opposition. The enemy's hope is in that moment that we'll become fearful and lose sight of our assignment. Our eyes will be on the storm instead of on the task in front of us. I explained in the conference introduction on the opening night throughout my teaching. I've mentioned it again today. I want to be focusing really on Acts 4 from whence comes this title, this theme, in the name of Jesus, which you'll see when in my next session, well, I think it might even be my last session, we're going to go through the events of Acts chapter 4. And I think in order to understand Acts chapter 4, and Pastor John touched upon it last evening, we're going to have to put it in context and understand Acts chapter 3 also because I honestly believe, I hope and I pray that the Lord will speak to you through those scriptures because I keep talking about in Acts chapter 4, they're brought before the council of the high priest, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin to answer for their crimes. What was their crime? You have to understand what their crime was. Nothing more than healing a lame man, lame from the womb for 40 years. That's what they did as they passed that beggar at the gate, beautiful, you know, and he looked up and asked for money, for arms, silver and gold If that's a crime, lock me up. Hallelujah. Because I long to see that happen. I long to see that. We heard on the opening night that they laid hands on the sick and they got worse. No, they were healed. Amen. Where is the power and the authority in our a church, hallelujah, I long to see those things. If it's a crime to heal someone in the power of the name of Jesus, lock me up right now, because I'm longing to see it. And not just like the anointed man who comes by with a healing ministry, but on church on a Sunday morning when someone comes, well, to begin with, someone comes and says, you know, I've lost the vision in my eye, you know, in the name of Jesus, and And do you know what happens next week? I bet you it brings his neighbor. It brings his neighbor with the little withered arm, you know, because he had polio. He's of that generation. And he comes and gets healed. I bet you before long there'll be no seats left in your church. Not that we seek after signs and wonders. Not that that's the thing that was pointed out today. But we love to see Jesus move in suffering power and heal people. And those things will be given as an evidence, if you like, as a witness to the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ Amen. Am I in the right church this morning? Amen. That's what I long to see. Hallelujah. Well, we'll get to Acts 4 and 3 perhaps a little bit later. They were in front of the Sanhedrin for a crime of healing a man. A crime of healing a man. And then you read on, they were severely threatened. I went through the scriptures. I had a look. I think I can find at least three places. I'm spoiling the end session, aren't I? We'll go through it. But at least three places where they were threatened and it says severely threatened. Those threats are very real. It doesn't say how they were threatened, but they were very real. It isn't a huge amount of time or number of pages until we get to the first martyr of the church, until we get to Stephen. We love Stephen, don't we? And we get to Stephen, the stone to death. Now, that's how real those threats were. So they're sent away under pains of death. They've been threatened by death. And I know we're going to consider these things more closely in my next session finale, My point is this. Those threats, those threats that they were suffering didn't come from the Sanhedrin. They came from the pit of hell. They came from the devil himself. They did. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of wickedness, the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. That's who our fight is with. And then that's who we wrestle with. Who is trying to stop the growth of the church? Who was trying to put an end to the miracles that those disciples, that Peter and John were doing? Who was trying to stop them in their assignment, the assignment of the church, even before it really got going? Who was trying? It wasn't the Sanhedrin, it was the enemy. No new tricks at all. And how is he going to stop them? With fear, with threats. The only reason I say this, brethren, is because it's the same for us. It's the same for us now, as I say, if you understand your assignment, you're guaranteed opposition. And here's the thing, in the days to come, should the Lord tarry, it will only intensify. It will only intensify. That's why I've invited those gaps in our program this year. I've invited Christian Concern to come and speak because there are things happening now. I don't know where you live, whether street pastors are getting arrested or whatever it may be, but but things are happening and stirring. And I don't think it would be too long. I don't think it would be too long. See, the ones they'll leave alone will be the ones that have no power. They can carry on doing whatever they like. You can carry on having church. You can carry on. But if you're not having any effect, if you're not touching our towns, if you're not touching our nation, if you're not changing things, you know what? The devil's going to leave you alone. You're no problem to him. The minute we get what we're seeking for and things begin to happen, there will be opposition Those words, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, they're written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, written down by the same man who held the coats of those who stoned Stephen. Now back to my point, the reason why I refer to this right now, even though it's going to be my subject of whatever sessions it turns out to be, is because the enemy will always try to come against you with fear and prevent you from fulfilling your God-given assignment just as he did with Peter and John. Their response, now I really am in danger of going too far, but their response, of which we'll speak and look much closer at later in this conference, is something I want to draw your attention. So in a slight detour, encroaching some what on my next session let's actually go to Acts 4 and I just want to see you to see the response I don't know why the Lord won't just let me go straight there and do it that's what I wanted to do but I think he's probably probably I mentioned I was sensitive it's just sort of building up so I don't know what he's going to do but I think he doesn't want us to go to straight to the end I think he wants to build up to something and finish this conference with some power but just let me jump ahead Acts chapter 4 I want you to see their response and pick it up in verse 15 shall we remember that we'll look more about what happened in Acts 3 and 4 before these events but now it says but when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council they the council that is conferred among themselves listen to what they say saying what shall we do to these men I don't know what your translation says but what shall we do to these men they were going to do something to them for indeed that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem and we cannot deny it they couldn't deny it. You can't deny the power of God. Amen? You cannot deny the power of God. Everyone had seen it. Amen? And like I say, what was their crime? Healing a man. That's all they did. Well, all they did. It was a great thing they did, but you know what I mean. It was a good thing they did, not a bad thing. 17. But so that it spreads no further among the people. That's how I know it's from the pit of hell. When people are going to be healed and delivered and set free as the old ransom healed, restored, forgiven. When that's going to happen the devil's good and that's how I know this is the enemy it says but so that that spreads no further among the people well anyone in their right mind would say we've got a very aged population in Sidmouth you know lots of them are on walkers or in wheelchairs so it doesn't spread any further so that we can just keep our people in wheelchairs and begging at the gate beautiful and whatever let's stop this right now you wouldn't be anyone in their right mind would be saying come on God get a move in power bring revival in this town but do something wonderful in this place. Heal people. Save people. Bring them into your kingdom, Lord. But no, no, no, no, no. So that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them that from now on they speak to no man in this, no man, that they speak to no man in this name. Not even amongst themselves. No man. Not even amongst themselves. One Christian concerned, come on, I don't know what they told you. I went to a Christian Institute meeting a little while ago. They said some of the things that we pray in church could land us in prison. You'd think in your own church with just Christian brethren, you can pray as you feel led by the spirit. And I said, oh no, it's someone hears you. If you have a recording, someone hears you praying, praying for somebody who's involved in something that they're free under civil law to do or their lifestyle or whatever it may be. If they hear you praying against that in your church, there's a law coming that's going to put you in jail. So you can speak to no man, not even in church, in his name. So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered. I love their answer. Whether it's right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. Here it comes. For we cannot but speak the things that we've seen and heard. That was me the day I got baptized in the Holy Ghost. You can tell me it's not real. You can tell me why in your cessationist church you don't think the gifts are for the day, that there isn't a baptism in the Holy Ghost, I'll tell you, I cannot but help speak of the things that I've seen. I've experienced it, amen? And I won't go back now. I can't go on without him and I won't go back. So I'm going on with him whatever you say, hallelujah. Hallelujah. For we cannot but speak the things we've seen and heard. Now listen, so when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them because of the people since they all glorified God for what had been done when it happens it will bring glory to God shall I tell you what the scribes and the Pharisees there will still be a church that will be persecuting the church for doing these things for the man was over 40 years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed isn't that tremendous severely threatened they replied whether it's right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God you judge it's up to you you do to me what you like you do to me what you like you decide God can decide You can decide, but I can't help it. I'm going to talk about Jesus. I'm going to talk about Jesus everywhere I go. He saved me. Amen. He took me out of the miry clay. He rescued me from the course of destruction I was on. He came and made his home in me. He gave me his Holy Ghost. He anointed me with power. He called me to follow him. Why would I be here arranging this conference and stood here if it wasn't the fact that I wanted to serve and please the Lord Jesus Christ? I can't help it. What did Jeremiah say? It's like a fire locked up in my bones. I've got to talk about the Bible, about the Scriptures, about Jesus. Throw me in jail, if you will. I can't stop. I can't help it. it if it's what you do what seems right to you and to the local council and the local authority and policeman plod you do what seems right to you but I can't help it you can throw me in the cells but guess what we'll be praising at midnight hallelujah then they returned as we heard last night to their company to their companions they prayed this is what I want you to see as well it'll come up again but I'm sure the more we repeat it the more power the the Lord will will give this word I want you to see the nature of their prayer I think I would have prayed like this. I think most of us would have prayed something like this. Let me tell you how I would have probably prayed for us. Oh Lord, hedge us in with a hedge of protection. Hedge us in with your protection. Keep these threats far from us, Lord. Confuse the plans of the enemies against us. Wash us in the blood of the Lamb. Save us from the threats of the enemy. In Jesus' name, amen. Sounds like a good prayer, doesn't it? Sounds like the kind of prayer I might make on a Sunday morning. Oh Lord, hedge us in with protection. wash us in the blood, keep the baddies out. That wasn't what they prayed at all. Look at verses 29 and 30. See how they actually prayed. Now, Lord, look on their threats and grant your servants that with their boldness they may speak your word by stretching out your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. They didn't pray for protection, not for a bar of it, not for a Not for a tiny bit. They never once prayed for protection. They prayed for boldness to preach more. Hallelujah. They prayed for boldness. We do not have a spirit of fear, but a pattern of love and a sound mind. They didn't pray for protection from the threats. I think there's an understanding with these men, with these disciples, the threats were inevitable. I think they'd gone past and keep the threats from us. I think they thought that there was this inevitability. If we keep preaching the gospel, we can't help but talk. Listen, all I said was this, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, be healed and rise up. That's all I said to him, governor, and the man got up. I mean, I can't help it. Everywhere I go, I'm going to be seeing people not very well in the name of Jesus. And they'll get better. I can't help it. I mean, can you imagine that if every time you prayed like that with great faith and the Holy Ghost anointing and the gift for faith, for healings and miracles, if every time you went and prayed for that, Pastor John wouldn't be sat there with that thing on his neck and suffering following his operation and thinking, well, by the end of the conference, John, we'll be throwing that away perhaps I don't know wouldn't that be wonderful well then you see if we're not then all that does is that leaves me with this feeling like why not why can't we get back to that place as a church someone said that I think Pastor Peter this morning we got to get back to that place all they did was pray in the name of Jesus there was an understanding that whenever they did this the power and authority in that name was so great things were going to happen they knew there was an inevitability that they were going to be threatened. So they didn't say stop the threats because the only way to stop the threats would have been stop flowing in the Holy Ghost. And they didn't want that. So they didn't stop the threats. They said, instead, give us more boldness. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I love that. I only saw that the other day in Joshua. You all know it, of course. We used to sing it when in 1987, did I tell you I first got saved in 1987? And they used to sing that song, be bold, be strong for the Lord your God is, I am not afraid. No, no, no. We used to sing all of that hallelujah I only saw that that's not a request that's not a suggestion that's not something to make you feel better that's a command from God now then you be bold be strong tell them the Lord your God is with you hallelujah we are to be bold and strong then of course we heard and this morning from pastor so eloquently love his teaching when they had prayed the place where they were assembled together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness. And then the people say, yeah, but we, you know, some people say, well, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one-time event when you get born again, the indwelling day. No, I think there's a, I think personally, I don't want to tread on your toes. I think personally that there is a second blessing, the anointing of the Holy Ghost. And then people say, well, we've got the Holy Ghost. Why do we need more of them? Did they? Yes, they did. This wasn't the day of Pentecost. They'd already received the Pentecost, the Pentecost, the Holy Ghost. and will receive the Holy Ghost. And now here they pray and they all get filled again. Hallelujah. Pastor John reminds me of this all the time. D.L. Moody is always saying, you know, Ephesians 5.18, but be ye filled with the Holy Ghost. It's written in the past perfect continuous tense. It means be ye filled, continue being filled with the Holy Spirit. And everywhere D.L. Moody went, he said, be filled with the Holy Ghost. And someone stopped him and said, Mr. Moody, why is it that we have to be filled with the Holy Ghost so much? He said, because we leak. We leak. We all need to be filled. You see, and I think, forgive me for moving away from my notes. I make notes not because I haven't got enough to say, but because I've got too much to say. It keeps me to them. But here's the thing, you know, when I think my cup, it overfloweth. When we're talking about the Holy Spirit, out of your heart, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water. If we're going to be filled with the Holy Ghost, it isn't just to hear, it's to overflow. Amen? To overflow. And I tell you, I'm not meeting too many believers these days who are overflowing in the Holy Ghost. We need to be filled. My cup it overfloweth. My cup it overfloweth. We're not talking about just being topped up to the top. We're talking about being filled to overflowing. That out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water. Hallelujah. So much. It's just going to keep flowing and flowing and flowing. And everywhere you go. I can't help it. I can't help it. I can't help but talk about these things. That's what we have to be like. Hallelujah. I see you brother I see your sister. I know your problems. I know your need to know what they are in the name of Jesus. I can't help you, silver and gold. I can't pay your bills. I can't pay your debts. I can't, but such as I have in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. And things happen. I want to be in that church. I want to be in that church. Once again, as with the storm, the enemy is attempting to manipulate the followers of Jesus Christ by fear, attempting to cause them to take their eyes off of their assignment. Remember, I said the enemy has no new tricks. So this is my understanding, the very reason I believe why the Lord gave me this particular theme for Bible Week, because What can we expect as the church in the last days? Well, if you just sit down and behave yourself and do nothing for Jesus, you'll be fine in this life, in this life. But if we're going to do what we're called to do, hallelujah, If we're to continue faithfully with our God-given assignment, we can expect opposition. I think that we can expect to be threatened, intimidated by the enemy, seek to render us helpless through fear. Many of our CMFI members, for those of you here for the first time, most of our speakers belong to the same, my ordaining body. I left that Pentecostal church some years ago, Elim, and was blessed to find some brothers who are standing for truth, Christian Ministerial Fellowship International. And we have more international members than we do in the UK. Okay, and many of them are in places right now. Have a word with Pastor Charles in Lucknow in India. They're closing his churches. They're burning them down. They're beating his pastors and they're throwing them in jail. Today, as we speak, he comes on a Zoom meeting with us. And bless him, he's a man of God. It's not that he's in hiding, but they just have to be so careful. You know, his pastors are being locked up in prison. We've been blessed. The Nigerians have really picked up the ball of CMFI and run with it. We have this, I don't know whether you call them a chapter or whatever they are, but in northern Nigeria, you know, people are being burnt in churches, locked in their churches and burnt by Islamist extremists. I always think, don't read Fox's Book of Martyrs. I mean, it upset you but how did they go how did they go to the Coliseum singing and and My grace is sufficient, hallelujah. You know, when our time comes, the only way that we'll be able to stand is in the power of the Holy Ghost. More of that when I get to this thing, because Jesus tells us, and I'll show you later in the week, what Jesus says, because there's a place in scripture, I'll take you to, but I don't think it will be today. There's a place in scripture that says, when you are hauled before the council and they beat you in the synagogues, not if, not if you, it says when you, or I might as well tell, what he said he said but when that happens don't premeditate what you'll say don't practice don't think about what you say in that day in that day I'll give you the words to speak and it won't be you who's talking it will be the Holy Spirit hallelujah that's where we have to be we remember our brethren in prayer the primary objective of CMFI is the preaching of the gospel but we also want to be wise and effectual in preparing this so-called remnant in this nation for what may lay ahead in the years to come should the Lord tarry. And whether you're involved with CMFI or not, we should all know who it is that we follow. Amen. I just think of it. I'm going to be forever. Lord, forgive me. I was preaching a sermon. My sheep hear my voice. I lead them out and they follow me. Because we're all worried and concerned. In the last days, there'll be false prophets and false teachers. What if I get deceived? But he says this, they hear my voice and they follow me. A stranger they will not follow. You know, we need to spend lots of time with Jesus. We need to just be attuned to his voice. We need to know who it is we follow. Cristiano Ronaldo, the footballer, has got more than 1 billion, billion followers across his social media platforms. Can he give people eternal life? Can he save them from their sins? Can he deliver them from 1 billion followers? We're all going to have to decide who it is that we follow. Hallelujah. We'll follow him to the end. But if we are going to follow him to the end and we need the enablement and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to do so. Peter and John had learned a lesson in the boat on the day of that storm. There they gained this great realization of who it was that they had in the boat with them. Jesus spoke and said, peace be still and the wind ceased and there was a great calm and he said to them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? They feared exceedingly and said to one another, who can this be that even the wind and the sea, even the wind and the sea obey it? When the storm hit, the Bible tells us in Verse 38, that Jesus himself was in the stern asleep on a pillow. He was having a greater success at sleeping on a boat in a stormy sea than I did in a student's bed last night. But Jesus was able to rest in the storm because he trusted the words spoken by the Father. The Lord was always fully obedient to the Father's will and from the time of his baptism was led by the Spirit. Therefore, when he told his disciples that they were to cross over to the other side, and when he did so, no doubt it must have been in obedience to the Father's instructions that he should do so God had told him that they were going to the other side and Jesus had full confidence that that which was declared from heaven would come to pass therefore as he slept on the pillow he rested in the word rather than reacting to the world to the enemy let me make this clear in the realm on which the mind of Christ was set there was no storm quite literally he was demonstrating that which Paul wrote later wrote in Colossians 3 to set your mind on the things of Not on the things that are on earth. Moreover, Christ knew the authority. Listen carefully now, because we're going to get there by degrees. I'm a line upon line upon line, precept upon precept, but listen, we're getting there. Christ knew the authority that he had in the storm, amen? Christ knew. When he spoke to the storm and said, peace be still, he took authority over the situation. Little wonder that the wind and the sea obeyed him. He's the creator of all things. And then he made them. Little wonder about John 1, 3 tells us all things that were made and came into existence, came into existence through him. Without him, not even one thing was made, came into being. No wonder the waves and the sea and the wind obeyed him. All nature obeys him. All nature obeys him. Why? Because he created it. He's the creator of all things. So the passage we began by reading in Mark 10 highlights the divine power. That's the point of that. It's not a story. It happened as a true account. I have to check myself when people say that's the point of the Bible story. It's not a Bible story. It's a true account. But that's the point of that account being in the canon of Scripture. It demonstrates, it highlights the divine power of Jesus Christ that he has over nature as he commands the winds and the waves to be still. And it's an inescapable fact that his command over the storm must be greater than that of the enemy. Someone say amen. God didn't the scholars are right remember I said scholars believe that it might have been from the pit of hell it was a supernatural storm well if the devil could conjure up the storm who has the greater power because the devil conjured it up but the Lord with just a few words peace be still done it's just clear who has the greater authority over these things the wind and the waves and say we can't do that I'm afraid someone else sent us to destroy your boat They knew who had the authority. Peace, be still, done, sorted. The enemy may have sent it to distract Jesus and his disciples from their assignment. The enemy may have been able to whip up a fearsome storm and send it against them. The enemy may have been able to strike fear into the hearts of those men, several of whom, by the way, were fishermen. They were used to being out there on the water, no strangers to being on the sea. But three words from Jesus, peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. I just need to pause for one second. for just a moment. Speak to someone who might be going through some things right now. Don't be afraid. Jesus is in the boat with you. Jesus is in the boat with you. Sometimes we feel as if we've caught the attention of the enemy, that the devil is on our case. But if you belong to Jesus, if you're truly born again, the enemy has no authority in your life. Jesus has all authority. He has all authority. My emphasis, but my little fellowship pick me up every time I read the word all. Jesus doesn't have some authority. He doesn't have temporary authority. He doesn't have occasional authority. He doesn't have much authority. He doesn't have little authority. My Jesus has all authority. That means all. That means all. That means that there's nothing left out. He has all the authority. It all belongs to Jesus. Hallelujah. He has all authority. Jesus has all authority. If you're going through some things, Jesus in the boat with you. All authority, he said, in heaven and in earth. Let's just consider another quick example. I'll be quicker with this one. Mark 5. Is that where we've just been? Was I in 4 before? Oh, we're in Mark 5 now. It gets exciting. Now we're going to meet a demoniac living among the tombs. You heard that account? You're familiar with that? See, these are things that we all know about, amen? These are things, just to repeat myself, back in 1987, this was like the staple diet to learn these things. So here we are now. I'm going to read from verse 1 to 13, so quite a portion of Scripture. Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gardarenas, and when he had come out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit who had his dwelling among the tombs and no one could bind him not even with chains because he often been bound with shackles and chains and the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces neither could anyone neither could anyone tame him and always night and day he was in the mountains and in the tombs crying out and cutting himself with stones and when he saw Jesus from afar he ran and worshipped him and he cried out with a loud voice And he answered saying, Amen. What an incredible occurrence. You see, even the demons recognize the authority of Jesus Christ. Amen? Can I have an amen? I'm getting lots of encouragement from the front row, but I need some more. Even the demons, you just need to let this sink in. Even the demons recognize the authority of Jesus Christ. James 2.19, you believe that there is one God, you do well. Even the demons believe and tremble. The demons believe and tremble. When Jesus met with the demoniac amongst the tombs, they begged him that they would not be sent out of the country. They even had to ask Jesus for permission to enter the herd of swine. Did you see that? They even had to ask his permission. Even the demons believe in tremble. Even the demons are subject to Jesus. That's incredible. What's more incredible, I told you I was building up Of course, they're subject to Jesus. Of course, all of nature is subject to Jesus. He created all things. Of course, he has all authority. Jesus has all authority in heaven and in earth. What's even more incredible is that he's given us the authority in the name of Jesus. They're not just subject to Jesus, they're subject to his name. Last quick example. You remember when Jesus sent out the 70? Do you remember when Jesus sent out the 70? He gave them an assignment. As you go, you know, preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead. Let's go to Luke 10. Luke 10. I'm nearly done. Praise the Lord. Luke 10, verses 4 to 12 carry neither money bag knapsack nor sandals and greet no one along the road or whatever house you enter first say peace to this house and if a son of peace is there your peace will rest on it if not it will return to you and remain in the same house eating and drinking such things as they give for the laborer is worthy of his wages do not go from house to house whatever city you enter and they receive you eat such things as are set before you and heal the sick there and heal Listen, and heal the sick there. This is their assignment. He's giving them an assignment. And heal the sick there and say to them, the kingdom of God has come near you. But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say the very dust of your city, which clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you. But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for this city. So they have an assignment, amen? This is Jesus sending out the 70s, giving them assignment. Now don't close your Bibles. You have to run your finger down to verse 17 because we all know what happens. Later they return full of joy. Let's look at verse 17. Then the 70 returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. Even the demons are subject to us in your name. Now, of course, because we believe the Word of God and the context of the Word of God and we understand the message, I just need to point out that, of course, Jesus says, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. But nevertheless, the point is made by them that even the demons are subject to disciples of Jesus Christ in the authority of his name. Amen. Even the demons. even the demons, that Christ has all authority under heaven and earth. It's all been given to him. It all belongs to him. And guess what? He's given it to you and me in the name of... Now, how would they know? How would the disciples know? Will the 70 know? Unless they had encountered demons on it. You can't come back and say, Lord, even the demons were subject to us in your name. How would they know unless they had encountered demons? So they'd encountered demons during their assignment. And how would they know that those demons were subject to the name of Jesus unless they invoked the name of Jesus? But when they did, even the demons were subject to them. And my time is fast reaching its conclusion for this first session. The passage we read in Mark 10 highlights the divine power Jesus has over nature as he commands the wind and waves to be still. Moreover, his command over the storm is greater than that of the enemy. But it's not just nature and the natural realm that he has authority over. All authority, all authority of both heaven and earth has been given to him. If his command over the storm is greater than that of the enemy that sent it His command over the demons is greater also. Amen? And his authority he gives to his church. I want to make this really clear. This is the summation now for this first session because I keep saying I get to Acts 4, but before I can get there, I've got to tell you about the confession on which the church of Jesus Christ is built. So I'm going to talk to you next time about when Jesus was there ministering in Caesarea Philippi and he says to them, who do men say I am? Some say that I am the Son of Man, some say Elijah, some John the Baptist, some Jeremiah, some another prophet. But he loses interest quickly and then he drills right down with his followers and says, but who do you say I am? You can guess who puts himself forward. It's Simon Peter who says, well, I say you're the Christ, the son of the living God. I'll talk to you more about this next time. I'm just trying this like in one of those series where he says, next time with Pastor Huxham. Do you know what? That's a divine revelation. When Peter says, I say you're the Christ, the son of the living God. He says, you have said well, Simon Bar-Jonah, flesh and blood has not shown you this, but my father is in heaven above. He got the revelation from heaven. And so I'm sorry if there's only money from the Roman church here. Peter is not the rock on which the church is built. It's the rock solid confession that he made. I say that you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Now Jesus says, now there's a confession I can build a church on. There is a confession I can build a church on. I say that you're Christ. You're the Christ, the son of the living God. You've said, well, Simon Bar-Jonah, flesh and blood hasn't shown you this, but my father in heaven above. And on this rock, I will build my church. What did he say next? Pardon? The gates of Hades will not prevail against it. The gates of Hades will not prevail against the church. Well, then we could go further. And he says, I will give you the keys of the kingdom. They always represent authority, you see. You're going to have to bear some of this again next time I speak. But go into a prison, any prison chaplains, I won't say anyone been in prison. If you've been in prison, you were a chaplain. Of course you were. That's why you were in prison. It's the guy with the keys on his belt that has the authority. And Jesus said, I open, but no man can shut. I shut, no man can open. It's the man with the key who has the authority as to whether he opens the door to the kingdom or shuts the door to the kingdom. So he says now after they've confessed that he's the Christ, the son of the living God, and he says, well, you've got that from divine revelation and that's a confession on which I can build my church. And on the strength of that confession, I can tell you I'll build my church And it's such a good confession that the gates of Hades will never prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom. What he's actually saying is I will give you kingdom authority. I will give you kingdom authority. Now let's not abuse this in the way we're saying about binding and loosing. What he's saying is through the preaching, the effective witness and preaching of the gospel, you can decide who you open the kingdom to and who it's closed to. And we've already said before, if we're going to preach the gospel faithfully, effectively, we're going to need to be enabled and empowered by the Holy Ghost. Amen? And when we've got that, we've got the authority. So when he said, And on this rock, I will build my church. He isn't talking about the church as we know it. He's not, I'm sorry, I don't want to be offensive because we love everyone. If we can love the sinner, we can love the nominal believer. But he's not talking about the nominal believer who says he's a Christian. He's not saying about the pew fellow who goes on a Sunday because he's doing his duty. He's talking about people who have had the divine revelation, the people who know who Christ is, the people who have confessed him as Lord. And no one can say that Jesus Christ is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. He's talking about born again believers. And if there's anyone here like me before I got born again, I can thank you, Lord. I can tie it up as I began. Before 1987, I said I was in the church. I used to deliver the envelopes around the housing estate and pick them up for whatever charity it was. I can remember the end of my road and knocked the door and I said, I dropped an envelope off here last week. And the man came at me, don't do this. But he said, are you born again? From that day on, I thought born again, you crazy Born again. And now I am one. Crazy and born again. Hallelujah. But if anyone says, well, you know, Pastor, we go to a church and we don't believe in other. Jesus. So a sister said to me that not everybody here, I don't know whether she's right or not, how she knows, but not everyone here has given their life or heart to Jesus and born again. I have to tell you this. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John chapter three and verse three, assuredly, I say unto you, you must be born again. We're Bible believing. Amen. So you may think born agains are crazy. I did. But I believe the words of Jesus. You must be born again. It's impossible for a man to even see the kingdom of heaven unless he's born again. And unless you're born of water and the Spirit, it's impossible to enter. You must be born again. When he's talking about the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church, he is talking about the Spirit-filled church. Amen? He's not talking about the nominal believers. He's not talking about the people who go to do their penance, to go to do their just to fill the pews, just to go once on Sunday. People who say, I've heard of this guy, Jesus, Josephus wrote about him. I think he was a good man or talked of things or was a prophet or was a rabbi. It's not enough to say those things. You have to have a divine revelation. I say that you are the Christ, the son of the living God, and God has to show you that. And when you confess him with law, Romans 10, 9, if you confess the law of Jesus Christ, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. For with the heart you believe unto righteousness, with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. You have to give your heart and life to Jesus and get born again and filled with the Holy Ghost. That's the church that the gates of Hades will not prevail against. More of that next time. Jesus has all authority. And the point I'm trying to finish with is this. He's given us. He went to be with the Lord, amen? He rose from the dead. He ascended onto heaven. He sits at the right hand of the Father. But he said, I tell you, it would be better for you that I go away. If I go away, I'll send you another helper. Not the helper, another helper. The paraclete, the Holy Spirit, the comforter, the spirit of truth that will guide you in all truth. Now, what are we going to do now that he's given us the Holy Spirit? Hallelujah. Now that we're the spirit-filled church of Jesus Christ, we're meant to be the ones that the gates of Hades will not prevail against and we look at our nation and we wonder what on earth is going on time for the spirit-filled church to rise up and I think it was pastor it might have been pastor or pastor or could have been pastor but one of them spoke and one of them prayed and they said if nothing else what we want most of all from this week together is a fresh touch and anointing of the blessed power of the Holy Ghost because that's the only way you and I could be the true church of Jesus Christ I'll leave it there I don't know if George has got a song we can sing but we'll sing I know we might even be early for lunch praise the Lord that's a first for me I'm going to pick this up I'm just going to go with that authority thing next time because we need to know we've been given the keys amen we need to know that we have the believers authority in Christ and then we'll get back to seeing how it was that those early disciples were able to move in that authority before we leave here believing that we can and have that same touch from the Holy Ghost be filled. I'm praying like in Acts 4 before we leave. I prayed this morning in devotions. One of my prayers, I don't mean to start off again, but one of my prayers was this. Someone mentioned it last night and anyone in my fellowships here will understand I've been banging on this about its rages. We've been reading Psalm 133. We love it. How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It's like the oil on Mount Hermon. On the head of Aaron it flows down his beard to the out. There the Lord commanded the blessing we want that unity there's only you see ecumenicism isn't unity biblical unity is the unity of the spirit the unity it's not man-made it's the unity of the spirit and and one of the sorry i think the lord would have me share this so that we understand this but one of the difficulties not problems one of the challenges of the church today is that as so many denominations collapse into apostasy that that believers are escaping toes are set away you know, you think about what a dreadful thing it would be. Tozer said 50 years ago, what a wonderful thing that would be. I hope that I should see when enlightened men and women filled with the Spirit of God leave the ship as it sinks into the brackish and establish true, Spirit-filled churches of their own. Hallelujah. And we're seeing that come to pass before our eyes. And people are coming out. Now suddenly, you have a Pentecostal like me, you have a Baptist minister like him, you have a Methodist minister like him, whoever it may be, and now suddenly People aren't coming to your church because they're Pentecostals. They're not coming to your church because they're Methodists. They're not coming to your church because they're Baptists. They come in because the truth is resonating with them and they want to find somewhere that preaches the truth. And so lots of people are coming into church and thinking, I've never heard of this stuff before. I haven't heard of this stuff before. But we have to get back to it. We have to get to the place. We have to understand in all humility, if it means I don't get to call myself a Pentecostal or a Methodist or a Baptist or whatever. It doesn't matter at all. I just want to be a blood-bought, spirit-filled, born-again follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, moving in the power of God, believing all the promises that in Christ Jesus are yes and an amen, believing that when we lay hands on the sick, they'll be healed, believing that we can cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, believing that we can be the church that Jesus called us to be because we need to stand up and push back against the gates of Hades in our nation. And if the church won't do it, well then we're sunk and we're finished. And I know that because the man of lawlessness, that's another teaching altogether, the man of lawlessness is already loose and things are going from bad to worse. But the restrainer has to be taken out before the Antichrist can come. And the restrainer is this, the Holy Ghost in the earth through his spirit-filled church. That's you and me. And until he takes us out, there is an assignment to complete. And if there's an assignment Amen. Thank you. Hallelujah. I'll tell you, friends,

SPEAKER_00:

I thank the Lord for that timely message from Pastor Ian Huxham. And what a reminder it was to be full of the Holy Spirit, to be full of the Holy Spirit, to always be in the word, always be prayed up and to walk in the authority that's given to us all for the glory of Jesus. You know, we're living in dark times and this was a timely reminder by Ian how believers should conduct themselves in a fallen world and in the church and among other believers. And I pray and I hope that you will be as blessed and as encouraged by his message as I was. And I gotta tell you, in the upcoming episode, we're gonna do the next one, continue with the theme of the Holy Spirit, The next episode will actually be about the unpardonable sin and the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. So look forward to that. We'll see you in a couple of weeks. Have a great day. God bless you. Take care. Bye-bye.