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Just remain seated, standing, please. This is Thanksgiving. Stay standing for a second. This is Thanksgiving weekend. And can we. Before we do anything else, can we give thanks to the Lord? When I think. Now, listen. When you get to the end of the year, you could be thinking of so many things that are missing, so many things. But can we stop for a second? When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that he's done for me, I want you to think about it now. I want you to stop and think of his love and of his grace and of his forgiveness and of his goodness and his patience. When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that he's done for me, my very soul cries out, hallelujah. So can we give him a standing ovation that Madison Square Garden has never heard? Let it ring. Come on. Fill the house with a shout. Let it ring. Let it ring. Come on. Think of the goodness of Jesus and his faithfulness and his patience. Oh, come on. You can do better than that. I was expecting an ovation. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Before you're seated, turn to two or three people and tell them, God has been so good to me. Say that to me. Two or three people tonight. You may be seated. Thank you. Thank you, choir. I want to speak today on the limitless power of the ordinary Christian. The limitless power of the ordinary Christian. Now we stand together. We pray together. Because we're on this Thanksgiving weekend. Because we're called to be grateful, but we're also called to glorify Him. We're called to grow. We're called to gain ground for the kingdom of God. Together we are thankful for his favor and his faithfulness. But we're called to testify of our faith with fire, with fervor. We're baptized in water. We're grateful for baptism and what it means in our lives. From death unto life. We are baptized with water, but we are also baptized to be witnesses. We sing, shout and praise his name, but we are called to stand in his power to proclaim his name. We're rejoicing in blessing on this Thanksgiving weekend. But we must be ready for battles. Now, I'm coming to you today with a very pastoral, very simple pastoral message on the limitless power of the ordinary Christian. In this last month of the year. This is a moment where so many people are looking over their lives. This is a moment where here at the church and you heard. Heard all the announcements. We're gonna have amazing Sundays after Sundays to invite people, to bring people. You will be. This is a moment to witness your faith. It's a moment for God to use you. And God loves end of the year times, wherever you are in the world, to create opportunities, to create the possibilities, create the opportunity for miraculous moments. To invite someone to church that has drifted away or someone who's never known the Lord. You will be going in your family. You'll see family members you love. You'll see other family members. You will be going to office parties. Say to the person next to you, you better behave yourself as a Christian. Say that, please. But miraculous moments need a messenger on a mission. The word Acts, chapter one says this. And being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for, for the promise of the Father, which he said, you have heard from me. For John truly baptized you with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, it is not for you to know times and season which the Father has put in his own authority. Verse 8. But you shall receive Dunamis. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. The Holy Spirit is with you. The Holy Spirit is in you. And the Holy Spirit comes upon you when the Holy Spirit is upon you. And you shall be my witnesses. Martyrs, the one one who stands. You'll be my witnesses. You'll be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, Samaria and the end of the earth. And I stand today. And we never take this for granted. When I just standing listening to Pastor Tim coming and mentioning all the countries watching. How many of you rejoice in this hour that we live in these last days? That's from this very pulpit. The commandment of the Lord is being fulfilled. The gospel of Jesus Christ is going to the utmost parts of the earth. Would you clap for everybody watching online? Hallelujah. But it is also to be fulfilled in every one of us as child of God, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth is our destiny that we must be renewed in by the Holy Spirit. So today I would like to look the limitless power of an ordinary Christian. I want to look at a very, at a simple Christian, very ordinary Christian by the name of Ananias in scripture. And he will discover and he will call us by his testimony to return to the limitless power of the ordinary Christian as we surrender, simply surrender and obey to the purposes of an extraordinary God. So we read together in Acts, chapter 9. And we begin to read in verse 10. Now, there was a certain disciple in Damascus named Ananias. And to him the Lord said in a vision, ananias. And he said, here am I, Lord. Say it out loud. Here, my Lord. So the Lord said to him, arise and go to the street called Straight and inquire the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentile kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way and entered the house. And laying his hands on him, he said, brother Saul, and the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from. From his eyes, something like scales. And he received his sight at once. And he arose and he was baptized. And when he had received food, he was strengthened. And Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he preached. He preached to Christ in the synagogue that he is the Son of God. Hallelujah. There was just a certain disciple Damascus named Ananias. Ananias is not a pastor. He has no title. He's not a pastor. He's not a teacher, a prophet, a doctor, an evangelist. He's not a worship leader. He's not on stage. He's not holding a mic. He doesn't have many followers on his YouTube channel. He's not an influencer on social media. He's not an elder. He's not a board member of TSC. Damascus. In fact, Acts 22 says a certain Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, having a good testimony with all who dwell in Damascus. Say to the person next to you is just a good Christian. Say that somebody ask you just a good Christian. But God will use him for the most impacting and influential conversion to Christianity and in human history. Saul of Tarsus, of course, will become Paul the Apostle who changed the world and the lives and eternal destinies of millions for 2000 years. He wrote two thirds of the New Testament. And he was inspired by the Holy spirit to write 13 epistles that have transformed the lives of millions still transforming the lives of people around the world, and will do so until Jesus comes. And all that by the simple obedience of a disciple, a very ordinary Christian. So I want you to be very official about it. Lean on the person on the other side, extend your hand, please, do it online as well, and say to someone, let me introduce myself. Very ordinary Christian, stand up, somebody next to you. Very ordinary Christian with a very extraordinary God. Hallelujah. After Jesus, Paul is the most important person in Christian history. He's the absolute picture of the miraculous and total transformation that is made possible in Christ. From a murderous persecutor to the most powerful and patient proclaimer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From hatred and violence to the apostle of love. He had lived with the obsession to obliterate Christianity, to obliterate the Christian faith and the Gospel, to destroy it. But then he met Christ and dedicated the rest of his life to proclaim and spread the wonderful news of salvation in Christ to the whole world. All because God used, all because of the limitless power of the ordinary Christian in the hands of, of an extraordinary God. And it's very important for us to understand the reality and the context of our power. It's a reality in a context of persecution. This passage, this miracle that takes place is in a context of persecution to eradicate the Christian church from the earth. Saul of Tarsus appears in Scripture for the first time in Acts 7 at the arrest and execution by stoning of Stephen. Stephen is a simple disciple. He's serving a table at the Jerusalem Food bank that was founded by the Christians serving thousands. And as he's serving the poor, he prays for people. And the Scripture says he's a man filled with grace and love and peace, filled with the Holy Spirit. And he prays with people that are healed miraculously. He's just a man doing good, a pure, a good man. And he's arrested for his faith. And he gives, and you can read it in Acts 7, he gives the most amazing testimony, extraordinary testimony and message describing all of God's redemptive plan through the centuries, coming to culmination to incarnation, to perfect fulfillment in Jesus. He gives this amazing message. And in Acts 7 we see their reaction in verse 54, Acts 7, 54. And when they heard these things, they were cut to their heart and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, look, I see the heaven open, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. So they cried out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears and ran at him in one accord. And they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down the clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul, Saul of Tharsis. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Now Saul was consenting, had agreed, was consenting. He had approved his death. And at the time, a great persecution arose against the church, which was at Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria, except the apostle. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial. This is the. The backdrop of men weeping over the assassination of this good man and made great lamentations over him. And as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching, preaching the word of God. There's a few things in that passage that strikes my heart. As the stones are getting ready to kill him, Stephen said, I see the Son of man. I see the Son of God. So, Son of man standing at the right hand of God. Now, we know in scriptures in the New Testament, Jesus is always described as sitting, as sitting at the right hand of God. It speaks of his authority. It speaks of the accomplished work. Everything is under his feet. Ephesians says, he is sitting in full authority and everything under his feet because the work is complete. Can you shout yes to the complete work of Christ? He. He's always seated. But when Stephen is about, looks into the heaven, gazing into the heaven, he sees Jesus standing. I believe that Jesus stood up to welcome one of his servants. I'm here to say to someone, you're standing for God. You think no one knows you. You think no one sees you. God sees your heart. God sees your life. And there's a day where he stands to say, come. Come into my presence. Come into my glory. Say yes, please. They stoned him. One time when I was in Africa, I'm not going to mention the country. I was in a market, and I actually saw my own eyes. A stoning. I was on a bit of a higher position. And at the market that we were told afterward, it was so crowded and there was A man who stole. And somewhere while we're grabbing him to cut his hand with a machete. But then the crowd just gathered and began stoning him. And I never forgot it. It is the most violent thing I. I had ever seen. The sound of the stones, it's like bullets just cutting. And he. Do we really fully grasp Acts 1:8 when he says, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be witnesses. And the word and we think witnesses is I gave a tract at Starbucks to someone and that's one way to witness. But the word means. The word witness is Martis standing by the power of God in, in the face, even meaning martyrdom. Now please hear this. Saul of Tarsus had approved. He had given the authority. He had mandated, consented to the murder of Stephen. It was a time of great persecution. And you would think that this insane murder, when they took his clothes and brought them at the feet of Saul, that this would make him come to his senses, the murder of this senseless murder of this man. But the scripture says no. It almost seemed as if. As if it galvanized him. And it continues in Acts 9. Saul was breathing threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord. And he went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogue of Damascus so that he would find any who found he would be the people of the way, whether men or women. He would bring them bound to Jerusalem. Please understand that this type of, of persecution to eradicate the Christian church is still very real in 2025. We don't feel it. Many of us go about our lives not even thinking about this. But all over the world and in this pulpit is speaking to the whole world. There's an organization called Open Doors. Here's some recent statistics on the persecution of Christian worldwide as reported by the evangelical organization Open doors. More than 380 million Christians around the world face high or higher level of persecution and discrimination because of their faith. Their numbers show the global scale. About one in seven Christians in the world live in a country with a high level of persecution. Over the last decade, more than 100,000 Christians have lost their lives because of their faith in Christ. And these figures do not say everything. Behind them are thousands of other victims of violence, kidnapping, rape, discrimination, forced poverty, surveillance, other rejection simply because they bear the name of Christ. Very recently, Nigeria, Boko Haram is waging a genuine war of extermination against Christians. In recent weeks alone, Boko Haram Islamists have killed over 700 Christians. In 16 years, they have burned down more than 19,000 churches under the indifferent gaze of the international public and of most of the North American church. Oftentimes so self centered, so self absorbed, immersed and drowning in eschatological debates, social, political, and losing sight of our very mission. Now, Jesus said there will be levels of persecutions, that this is happening all over the world. But Also in Matthew 5, 11, 12, Jesus says, in the last of the last days, he warns us of these different levels of persecution, that in the very last of the last days they will revile you, they will persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely for my sake, simply because we bear his name. Now, in this context, in this context, in this reality, in a context of our power, of our power to stand for God, it is easy if we stay on a human level, fill our minds and hearts on the human level, to feel intimidated, to feel even in this nation, that forces are trying to silence us, are trying to cancel, are trying to make disappear the Christian church. But I'm here to say that our context, yes, is a context, the reality and the context of persecution, but it is also our reality and our context in which ordinary Christians are standing today is a context where Jesus is still revealing himself supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit. On the road to Damascus, say yes, please. So please look at what is happening verse. This is the context. But this is also the context in verse three, this man breathing murder. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus. And suddenly say out loud, suddenly. Suddenly a light shone from him, from heaven. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? Then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. And so he, trembling and astonished, said, lord, what do you want me to do? And the Lord said to him, arise and go into a city, and you will be told what you must do. And the man who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no one. And Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. And he was there three days and not eating or drinking. And now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him the Lord said in a vision, ananias. And he said, here I am, Lord. Jesus is still moving suddenly upon the hearts of men Jesus is still moving suddenly Jesus is moving throughout centuries but we are in the last days, in a season of suddenly, of God accelerating the action of his Holy Spirit, of manifesting. And people are coming to Christ with visions and Jesus appearing to them and grasping their hearts. And I'm here to say Jesus is still moving suddenly to call the name of men and women who have been kicking against the gods, kicking against the pricks. Now, this is an expression you might not understand well, but a goad Greek, kentron was a pointed stick used by farmers to prod oxen and make them move forward. To kick against the brick means to strike out with defeat and resistance. So to kick against the bricks evokes a stubborn animal that injures himself by kicking against the very tool meant to guide him. Don't look around, but answer this. How many of you know someone like that? Don't look around, just look here. Jesus is essentially saying, you're fighting against me. You think you're fighting against me, but you are the one who is suffering. You resist my direction and your resistance is hurting you. And I have a word for someone. As I was preparing and praying, someone here, but also someone online. You have been resisting the call of God. You've been resisting the voice of God, the pricking of your spirit, God coming and knocking at the door of your heart in the name of Jesus, as you are doing, as you are resisting and hardening, it is only causing you hurt and it's causing people you love hurt. I call you in Jesus name, stop resisting and surrender to his love and to his calling. And would you clap for someone who needs to do it? And the second word is this. I have a word for you who are praying. You're standing and you're praying, and maybe you are for many years. You are praying for someone who is just resisting and kicking against the pricks. I am here to tell you you don't see anything, you don't know anything, but God is moving on the road to Damascus in their hearts. Two years ago I went to Pastor Tim and I have been there many times together. But I went to Colorado Spring to speak at a World Challenge conference and went preaching three, four times. And I was traveling back to speak many services at our church in Montreal. And as I traveled back, it was going to Colorado Springs airport and then a short flight, 40 minute, 30 minute flight to Denver and then Denver to Montreal and everything was tight. My flight was tight and I had so many services. I had a conference, actually my own church when I was coming back. So I get to the airport in Colorado Springs and they Said, well, your flight is delayed. Flight is delayed. And I said, I'm going to miss my connection. I'm going to miss my flight. And finally they call my name. I go up and they said, sir, your flight is canceled. You. Well, I'm going to miss my connection. No, no, no, we have a taxi for you. So a car is going to drive me two and a half hours to that 30 minute flight. And I wish I could tell you that I was filled with grace and, and patient, like Pastor Tim would have been, but I was just like, oh, man, can you believe it? Two and a half hours in a taxi. So I get in the taxi and I didn't do anything extravagant, but it just. Body language must not have been great. I'm just coming, boom, boom. And I asked the driver how long? He says, well, two and a half hours, but you know, traffic. I'm like, oh, yeah, great. And I said, my flight is at what time? He goes, ooh. So I'm just in my own head. And the first question he asked me, he says, and what do you do for a living? He's looking in his rearview mirror and I said, oh, I'm a pastor. He said, what? You know, I think my behavior was not reflecting. He said, you're a pastor here in Colorado? No, no. I said, I'm a pastor in Montreal. I said, what? And I noticed his accent. So I said, are you Haitian? Are you from Haiti? He said, yes. I said, hey, we're committed to Haiti. Haiti's like my second home country. I've been to Haiti 30 times. We love Haiti. He goes, what? Haiti? What? You know, Haiti, you know. And he's looking over, kept looking at me with his big eyes in the rearview mirror. And I felt like saying, look, look ahead. Look at. Look where you're driving. And I said, yeah, we've been involved. So what are you doing? Haiti. We do this, this. And I'm starting to name. I said, we have many pastors we know. And I name a pastor in Haiti. He goes, what? Big eyes again. And he's driving. He says, I know, I know that pastor. Then he silenced. He goes, my dad, My dad's a pastor. My dad was a pastor. And that man you just named came to our house when we were young. I said, oh, well, that's amazing. That's great. I said, and how are you doing? Oh, I've been away. I've been away from church. And he's telling me his life and just driving and telling me I went through a divorce and this and my Dad's church. My dad gave his whole life to that church. And then people attacked him. And it was a church split. And my dad was so hurt. And when I saw that, I said, forget it for that. Forget the church, forget the Christians. I said, well, how are you doing today? My life is. And, you know, it takes me a while, but I said, listen, sir, I said, I've never had to take in the taxi to Denver. I'm in this taxi for you. I'm sent of God. And I got bold in the back seat. I said, I'm sent. I was, Ananias, I'm sent of God for you. God put me in that taxi. And then his eyes were really big. He says, man, I can't believe you said that. Said, why? He says, my mom said to me this week, I was having breakfast with her. My mom said, you listen, I've been praying for you for so long. I'm going to next level. I'm asking God to send angels in your taxi. You're gonna get. Yes, angels do come from Montreal. Angels do come from Montreal. So when we got to the rest of the time, I'm preaching, I'm going. The Book of Acts, the prodigal son, the parables, we're going through it. He can't go anywhere. So when we got to the airport, I said, park by the curb. I said, I can't leave this taxi. Turn around, give me your hands. And we prayed and gave his life back to the Lord. Wrote me the next month. I'm here to say. I'm here to say, don't quit. God is pricking the heart of someone. I want you to clap in advance for people you're praying for and God is doing something in their lives. You're not seeing the limitless power of the ordinary Christian, the reality and context of our power. But then there's a response and a conflict. There's an inner conflict in our response. Jesus still calls ordinary Christians to be used of him in extraordinary ways, supernatural ways, to bring strangers, even enemies of God. From who are you, Lord? This is what happened to Saul. From that state in life when you don't know him. Who are you, Lord? And he wants to bring them to Lord, what do you want me to do? From despising Christ to disciples of Christ, from mockers to messengers, from hateful opposition to humble obedience. Jesus said to him, go into the city and you will be told what you must do. Please understand how essential Ananias was to the fulfilling of God's plan of salvation for Saul of Tarsus to become Paul the Apostle. God still wants to use ordinary disciple. Ananias is not famous, but he's faithful and he makes himself available to God's purposes. Do you see that? God calls his name Ananias and he calls Saul. Saul. He gives Saul a vision, but he gives Ananias a vision. He's called to him. God still wants for the Sauls of this world the noun, the name Saul means asked of God, claimed for God, requested of God. You can imagine a mother or father when he was a child. Said, lord, I'm requesting, I'm calling your name upon him. And Ananias name means the grace of God. His name means God is gracious. There was a certain disciple in. And I want you in Damascus. And his name was. And I want you to apply this to you today, wherever you are in the world. But right here there was a certain disciple in New York City, 51st and Broadway. And his name was. And her name was. Was. Say your name out loud, please. And God said, God says, I still want. I still call your name. He never stops calling our name to be used of him. But it is when we say, here I am, Lord, that his miraculous plan and purposes are ignited by the Holy Spirit. When you say, here I am again. Here I am again. Here I am again, Ananias. But there's a. I would say this way. This is a kingdom principle. The road to Damascus needs, needs the response of a disciple. There's something amazing that happens on the road to Damascus, but it needed the response of a disciple to be used of God. The road to Damascus needs the response of a disciple. And Ananias answered. And he said, here I am, Lord. But what God asked him provoked in him a response, an inner conflict, a deep conflict in his soul. You look at verse 11 again. So the Lord said, arise, Go to the street called straight and inquire the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he's praying. And in a vision he is seeing a man named Ananias coming out and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight. But Ananias answered, lord, I've heard from many about this man, how much harm he's done to your saints. He has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. We understand we can identify with his inner turmoil. We can identify with his initial response and deep to deep conflict of his soul. We understand Ananias response and reaction. We identify with his conflict because we have the same where God calls us to whatever God calls us to his purposes. There's this battle inside. There's this list of opposition, of reactions that we have in our soul when God calls us to give or to serve or to pray or to intercede or to sacrifice, to get involved, to do our part, to open our mouth, to witness to someone, to put in someone that God puts in our path, to take our place in his divine purposes. Lord, I've never done this before, Lord. This scares me, Lord. What am I going to look like, Lord? What is the response going to be? Lord, I don't have time, Lord. I used to serve before, but I don't have time now, Lord. I'm hurting myself. I came to Jesus to be healed and I still have so many issues. How many of you know God uses broken people? God uses imperfect people. We just. We are the vessel holding to perfect. We are earthen vessels only, Lord, take him. Take her. They're more spiritual than I am, Lord. I came to Jesus to receive, to be blessed, to be healed. Lord. I don't have time, Lord. I'm too busy. Lord. I serve many years. Let someone else do it, Lord. Maybe later on in life. Lord. They have power, Lord. They're electing officials that are against us, Lord. They're passing laws, Lord. They're trying to make us disappear. They have power to bind people that bear your name. And God says, I have the power to free men and women. No weapon formed against you will prosper. And the word of God is not bound. Would you say yes, please? There's this response and conflict in his soul we find in Ananias and his inner conflict and in trying to answer God's call, important spiritual principles, kingdom dynamics that are essential and irreplaceable. We need them today. They need to be in our soul today for us. Today we're still called to live, serve and be witnesses of our faith by the limitless power of the ordinary Christian with an extraordinary God. Here's principle number one. God moves and prepares miraculous works in so many different ways and timings that we don't see and we don't understand. Ananias did not know what had happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. He had no idea how God had been preparing. You have no idea of the people around you and of the people that are passing by you in your life, close or far, that have been prepared by God and waiting for you. We walk by faith and not by sight. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. It's the evidence of things not seen. You don't Know who and all that God is preparing, what he wants to accomplish, who he wants you to reach, who he wants to reach through you. God saved you and equipped you and molded you and fashioned you and had you go through every experience of your life. Even the brokenness in your life has been redeemed, is redeemed by God to make you, to prepare you, to touc people that only you can touch, that only you can touch. That the kingdom of God will be in moments. That here's principle number two. That the greatest miracles of God will take place in the simplest obedience. I was preaching here on a Tuesday night some years ago. Pastor Carter was here. I preached a Sunday and Tuesday, and I preached that night on standing between the living and the dead. Aaron with a flame from God's altar, standing between the living and the dead. And the plague. And the plague was pushed back. The plague was stopped. And I preached that. And then Pastor Carter said that, took me out to supper on a nice Little restaurant on 8th Avenue. And we're sitting there in a small restaurant, 10 tables, and we're talking. And behind me are four guys, and they're speaking loud and they're cursing and they're vulgar. Guys from Canada. I was ashamed. Guys from Canada, and they must have been from Montreal. So they what happens in New York stays in New York, blah, blah, blah, blah. Strip joints. And they're just being so vulgar. So again, not very pastoral. I just kept turning around and giving them the look, but it wasn't doing anything. They're just being louder and louder. And after a while, I'm talking to Pastor Carter, and I could tell that, you know when you're talking to someone and he's not listening, he's looking over your shoulder. So I'm talking to him, and then I see him. He gets up, doesn't say anything. He said, excuse me a second. He goes. And just as he walks, he goes. And he says, between the living and the dead. I'm like, what? What? I preached it. He's living it. He goes to their table. He goes. Pastor Carter goes to their table. Hello, gentlemen. I'm from Canada, too. And they're just stunned. They're cursing and, well, what do you want? And. And I'm just praying for the return of Christ. I'm just sitting there. Jesus, these guys are. And he's being so kind. He's full of joy and all that. And even the owner of the restaurant came, and he's backing up. Pastor Carter puts his arm around his shoulder. He is goodman. Listen to him. This is good, man. And he goes, what do you want? Blah, blah. So Carter said, okay, well, gentlemen, thank you for listening to me. I'm pastor, Times Square Church, right here. Anytime. We're not here for church, blah, blah, blah. Let me pray for you. So I said, yes, pray. So he's just very quiet, very, very calmly begins to pray. I look around the restaurant. People are bowing their heads. In the restaurant, there's two guys that takes their hats off. They're like you prays for them, and lord, reveal your heart. And you send me to them in Jesus name. You know their lives, you know everything you've been through. They come here, you think they know why, but they came here to meet you in Jesus name, Amen. So the guys, one guy said, man, you just ruined our nights. But the other guy said, can I talk to you? I'm just sitting there. Pastor Carter sat on the side for maybe 20, 30 minutes, and the man just opens his heart. Just tell Fox all about his life. And Pastor Carter prayed and led him to the Lord right there. I'm here to tell. Oh, would you. Would you give God praise? Would you give God praise? This is the principle. Too many Christians have stopped and are satisfied that they have found the answer to the question, who are you, Lord? They know God. They know his word, his salvation, his forgiveness, his promise, his presence. But they never sincerely prayed or they stopped praying daily. Lord, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to do? We can never truly sincerely pray Thy kingdom come until we pray my kingdom go. Say to the person next to you, get off the throne, he's the king. He's the king. He reigns. No pressure, no power, no persecution will ever stop. Will ever, will ever stop. The kingdom of God. And Jesus said, I will build my church. No weapon formed against you shall prosper as long as simple disciples respond, here I am, Lord. One Christian, one act of obedience, one prayer, one sacrifice, one service. One witness at a time. The kingdom of God. Here's a principle. Our power and impact as people on the earth will always be accomplished in the full fulfilling of what I would call individual and personal poemas. Let me explain. In Ephesians, chapter 2:10, we have this verse. For we are his workmanship. We are his workmanship. And the word workmanship is the word poema. We draw the word poem from it. We are God's poem created in Christ Jesus for good works. God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. God has prepared works, service, miracles impact witness in every season of your life and the Word poema. When you look into history, it's so interesting. Historical and cultural commentaries speak of this custom of a father, of a Jewish father who will, at the moment of his child's dedication, would speak up at poema. A father's. A father's will, a father's desires for his child. He would do it at the bar mitzvah when the boy is age 13, or the bat mitzvah with the girl is 12. And the word bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah, son and daughter of the commandments, as you enter into God's command. This is my poem. They would do it at different moments of their lives. You've seen this in scripture, where even at the end of his life, a patriarch would gather his family around and he would speak words over them. I'm here to say to you today, God has poemas he has works prepared for each and every one of us in every season. There's never a season where God is not willing and wanting for his love to through you be used to reach and to touch the soul. Say yes, please. The reality in context of our power response in conflict. And I close with this, the revelation and conviction of our power. Verse 15 to 17. For the Lord said to him, go. He's a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, and I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way and entered into the house. And laying his hands on him, he said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road to as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. There's. I want to close. There's revelation and conviction to the power of the limitless power of the ordinary Christian. The revelation and conviction that no matter what my past responses have been to him calling me, to him wanting to use me, I could always surrender to him today. At first. At first Ananias said, no, Lord, I've heard. I've heard. But now he's saying, here I am. The Lord said to him, arise. And now he's saying, here I am. And he some of the most powerful words in this text. And Ananias went and entered. You can come out also and enter in again. You can come out of a season where your heart was dry and where your vision was clogged. And when you're not being used of God anymore, not answering his call and his voice, you could come out. I call in Jesus, name this day as a day when I'm coming out of that place of unbelief, in that place of dryness, of soul. And I'm coming out of past disappointments and unbelief and cynicism. I'm coming out and I'm entering in again what God has prepared for me in this season in Jesus name the revelation and conviction that the greatest kingdom impact depends on the simplest decisions of obedience. This man is a vessel chosen. Yes, Saul becoming the apostle Paul was chosen to be a vessel that would speak to kings and write 2/3 of New Testament and 13 epistles. But please understand that Ananias was just as sent, just as chosen, just as essential to the fulfillment of God's purposes. And Ananias, when Ananias said to Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you, sent me. Apostolos is the word for apostle. An apostle is someone who sent. And you need to understand that wherever you stand, in God's economy, in your church, even I'm speaking to volunteers. You're an usher, you're serving children, you're serving in the nursery, you are giving, you are praying, you're interceding, you're part of a home group, you are sharing your faith, you are sacrificing, you are standing, you are witnessing to your friends. You are being sent and you are part of the apostolic mission. We are sent together in Jesus name to revelation and conviction. This is so important that this supernatural kingdom does not exempt us from going through seasons when we suffer. And even that our seasons of suffering can prepare us to be used of God and even more powerfully. I will show him right from the get go in the prophetic word over Saul of Tarsus. I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. This is a prayer. This is a vow. This is a commitment. This is an altar that I've had and every man and woman of God has had to build over the 46 years. Every year, many times a year, over the 46 years that I've walked with the Lord at 41 years of full time ministry and this year again through different situations, I've had to kneel down and say, lord, I will not allow this season of suffering to stop me from serving you. I will not allow it. I'm speaking to someone. I will not allow this season of desert, this season of betrayal, this season of hurt, this season of mistakes, of offenses or woundedness or delay and such delay in some things that I've stood for. I will not allow the season of suffering to stop me from serving you. And this is one of the things that most moved me and inspired me in the kingdom of God as a pastor. I'm pastoring the same church for 32 years. How the kingdom of God advances and is built by vessels that have been broken and continue to serve because they know, they believe deeply that the brokenness precedes and prepares the blessing. The kingdom of God advances with people that have been broken. Rick Warren said that. Pastor Rick Warren said that's the first question he asked anyone who is interviewing to be on his staff, on the pastoral staff of his church. He says the first question he asked not about their degree and qualifications. He asked, did you suffer? Have you been through suffering and pain in your life? If not, please, you can't work here. That's the first qualification. Because if we allow God to do his deeper work in us through the seasons of our suffering, I will show him the many things he must suffer. That through the seasons of desert and pain and suffering. If you allow the deeper work of God, we are vessels. He through the suffering, he empties us to fill us. He empties us to fill us. He empties us of arrogance and pride and self reliance and my timetable and my plan and my pride and my positioning and my. I want to speak to someone who has tons of hurt in your past and you think it's disqualifying you. I'm here to tell you that the broken vessels got put together with the gold of his spirit for even higher value and testimony. I was reading on the ancient art of Japanese pottery and there's a century old Kintsuki pottery is a Japanese art that consists of repairing broken ceramic objects with lacquer mixed with gold. The goal is not to hide the cracks nor but to highlight them. What was broken then becomes even more precious and more beautiful than before. Our wounds and our fractures are therefore not a shame, but a part of our story. The mending can become a source of strength, of beauty, of transformation and even greater value. They would actually take a pot that has not been broken, they would smash it on the rock and as they pieced it back together with gold, it was of higher value. I'm speaking to someone. You've been through suffering. It is not disquala this quality. You. You surrender it all to God day by day. And he. It is gold. It is the purifying of your gold for higher, higher service, impact and glory to God. Would you please give him praise for who he is and what He Does Hallelujah. I'm asking the musicians to come, please. The revelation and conviction that he, that we who have receive his infinite mercy and amazing grace must also be renewed supernaturally to release it, to release grace and forgiveness in a deeper and deeper measure far beyond our human capacity and understanding. When Ananias comes into the house, the Bible says he looks at the man who's blind and he lays his hands on him. And he doesn't say, saul, you murderer. Saul, you killer of Christians. Only by the Holy Spirit. Saul, my brother. Brother Saul. Having received. And I'm speaking to you, our brother said something. He announced me. He says, invite even your enemies. This is a. This is a day and age where people that were haters of the gospel and enemies of the gospel will come to the gospel. They will come to Christ. And they will need. They will need to find in the house of God will be the only place on earth where they will be received with the grace of God, with the worst of the worst. Is my brother, is my sister. By the grace of Jesus. It's amazing. He says that your eyes would be open, the scales would fall off and you would be filled with the Holy Spirit. Oh. Ananias believed. Ananias believed that the one who had been breathing murder and violence against he was breathing murder and threats against the church will now be breathing the pneuma of the Spirit of God, of God's healing and God's love and God's restoration. No matter what has been been broken in your past to restoration. I want to close, and I have to admit to you that I wrestle a little bit with this because this is so down to earth. But I just felt to share with you how God wants to use ordinary. Ordinary Christian you and me, by its limitless power, how God does miracles through people that just serve in capacities that even themselves would think is just. Just. I'm just helping. I'm just serving. I want to share with you just a couple of testimonies of miracles. I could call them ushers. Miracles. There's a young man in our church who was witnessing to a lady in his building. You just saw her. She lived on the same floor as he did. And she was in a wheelchair and stayed inside all the time. And he befriended her and he was doing things for her and. And shoveling the snow and different things. And finally she was very scared, but finally talking with him and she said to him that she was suffering from agoraphobia and she was afraid of going out, afraid of crowd, and she was in a Wheelchair. And he started walking with her and doing things. And then she said, where do you go every Sunday? Sunday mornings I see you, you dress up and you go somewhere. He said, well, I go to church. She says, church. A good looking guy like church, Young, she's Quebec. French. She's like, quebec, Quebec people don't go to church. Young people don't go to church. Old people like me maybe, but young like you don't go to church. Oh yeah, I go to church Monday church is Nouvelleville. I'd love to invite you. Oh no, no, no, I don't go out. I can't go out. But over the months, one time she surprised him and he was praying for her and she said, she said, yeah, I'll go to your church next Sunday. Yes, great. So they arranged the transportation. It was winter, heavy snowstorm. So when the transportation comes, she's all afraid. She gets on the transportation, they take her, they come to the church front of the church. We have special parking for them. And when she comes in, as she's getting ready to with her wheelchair, it's a big thing to get out from the vehicle. The thing gets stuck and there's ice and it's just a mess and she's terrified. But we have ushers and we have parking attendants that understand that we're all serving God. We're all called to a purpose. We all can be vessels and instruments in his hands. Say to somebody next to you, you too. So the guys come around her and they, they trying to fix the thing, they can't do it. And one of the guys, and I love this man, he's six, four, he's a big dude. And he says, ladies, he says, I know this is unusual. He's a good looking strapping guy. And he says, she's like 80, 80 years old. He says, lady, I know this is strange, but if you want, I'll carry you in. She said, okay. She liked this. So I mean, this is not a service we offer every Sunday in church. But this is, this is just not, this is not an usher, this is not a parking attendant, this is a servant of God that it can be used for God's purposes. So he sits her down at the back of the church and give him the night place. Thank you, thank you. And it's only when she started coming again, when she came out, they told me, after I cried, they told me after that when she came out, the guys, they had shoveled a whole path for her all the way to her van. And they were like an honor the men standing on one side and they're pushing. And she felt like a queen. She's coming back into her. And then she started coming back. And then she accepted the Lord. And then she asked to be baptized at 83. And on the night. On the night of her baptism, this is where we got the whole picture because we have testimonies. And on the night of her baptism, she said, I want to tell you how I came to know Jesus. This is so wonderful. I'm not afraid to go out anymore. And I know that I'm going to heaven. And she shared her faith. It was so beautiful. But she said, you know, when I came here and she explained this, she says, and then this big man took me and he brought me in. And, you know, and then she. She said, these people treated me kinder than my own family. And then it wasn't great for me. But she said they sat me down and then the music started. And it's not really my kind of music. And I'd never seen anything like that. And then she said, the pastor, pastor, he went up. She said, that poor man, he was so sweating so much. And she said, he was speaking so fast, I could hardly understand anything he said. But she said, after a while, I just seemed to get used to it. Then one day I understood. And she gave her life to the Lord. And it has gone on in the following year to go on to be with her Savior. And Jesus stood up to bring her in. Let me close, close with this. This is just an usher story. There was a certain man, just a certain certain disciple, and he was at our church on a Sunday morning. And there was a teenager from our church who'd been witnessing to her friend. But her friend has been open about having suicidal thoughts, obsessions, because she'd been abused sexually and beaten and broken. She was obsessed. And her friend would say, come to our church. Come. She never came. And she lived, like, half a block from the church. And one Saturday night, she took a ton of pills and she laid down to die. And the doctor said she took more than enough to die. And the way she tells it, in the early hours of the morning, she was feeling herself just slip into unconsciousness. She saw the face of her. Was it a dream or. She saw the face of her friend from our church, this young teenager who said, come to Nouvelle Bee. Come to the church. Come to our church. And she got up and put some sweatpants on, and she walked like a zombie to the church and sat in the back, and there was an usher there, and we do. Pastor Tim has spoken about this, and I don't know which one of us started this, but we also pray. I pray over every chair every week. There's 100 chair the first Sunday. Now there's 2,000 chairs, three services per Sunday. But I and the ushers go around and they believe that each person is so precious and each person is so important. And when she came in and she sat there, he saw her and he noticed her and he saw that she began foaming at the mouth. So he grabbed her, called the ambulance, the ambulance came, saved her life, and when she came out, she began coming to church, accepted the Lord, gave her life to Christ. She's married with kids in our church for years now. Hallelujah. Can we stand and give God glory? Can you stand with me and give give God praise? Would you stand and give God an ovation because he uses a certain disciple? He uses a certain disciple. He uses a certain disciple. So this is why this is unusual. There's many altar calls we can do. Please don't slip out. And on the other side of the screen, this message is for you too. Would you bow your heads with me? And can we surrender to the purposes of God together? Can we come to and just for a moment just before the last weeks of the year, we could be filled with what has gone wrong and what was missing and what has hurt us and what has wounded us. We could also say, oh God, I'm broken in pieces, but God, I'm surrendering. Here I am. I'm surrendering to your purposes in Jesus name, oh God, I need to be filled with your spirit again. I'm just a disciple, but I need to be filled. Would you lift your hands and can I hear the sound of prayer in the house of God? Can we begin to surrender and say, oh God, here I am, Lord God, there's people around me that with my human eyes I don't see anything. I don't see and I have to confess, I have to admit that my heart of intercession had gone dry. But today I lift my hands to you, O God, and begin to call out the name, Call out the name of a person. Light of the world. Light of the world. Coming, oh God, I'm believing that you will reach on the road to Damascus. Oh God, there's someone in my life that needs a Damascus road encounter. Move upon his heart. Move upon her heart In Jesus name. Lord, I had drifted away from just saying here I am. But today I surrender to you and I feel to say this. Would you Lift your voice. Maybe this is for you. Online balcony in the annex, all over the world, here in the sanctuary, Lord, the enemy had pushed the enemy. The voice of the enemy had been bombarding me that my past was such that I can never come out from under it. But you are saying to me today that through that, through the suffering I will put you back together. And the gold of my love and of my presence and of my healing and of my restoration would be your story will be your testimony. I will use you. I will use you. I will heal you and I will use you. The one that has begun a good work, he will perform it. The abuse won't define you. The brokenness won't define you. The divorce won't define you. The brokenness of heart, the despair will not define you. The depression will not define define you. The one that is in you is greater and God is putting you back together. And gold, the gold of his love, the gold of his mercy, the gold, the gold of his presence and of his healing, redeeming power will heal and restore you. In Jesus name would you lift your hands all over the place and begin to call out the name of God, Begin to call the name of someone. Lord, I believe I am your poema. I am your poem, oh God, you have works prepared for me. I am entering. Use me, oh God. Lord, I will not allow my pain, my suffering, my struggles, my disappointment to stop me from serving you. I'm surrendering to your purposes today. Lord, renew me in your grace and in your love. And let your love be poured out in me and in my heart by the Holy Spirit so I can say Saul my brother, so I can can go and reach out in the name of Jesus. Can we be a people of intercession, lift our hands to God and let me hear the voice of the people of God reaching out to heaven, light of this world, here I am to serve you. Here I am, here I bow before you, oh God, surrendering to your purposes in Jesus name light of this world. Hallelujah. Thanks so much for listening. We hope you've enjoyed this message and be sure to subscribe so you can receive new messages each week. Visit TSC NYC for all the latest info on how you can stay connected. Also, don't forget that you can follow us on social media on all major platformsquarechurch. Thanks for tuning in today. Have a great week.