Welcome to another Sermon Recap!

In the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring Jimmy Stewart, we witness the power of one individual’s existence. The main character, George Bailey, reaches a point where he contemplates suicide, feeling that his life has no purpose. However, an angel appears and shows George what life would be like if he had never been born. The consequences of his absence are: his brother’s life is lost, the town falls under the control of  a greedy individual, and his loved ones suffer horribly. This revelation teaches us a valuable lesson: each life has the potential to make a huge difference. This is the idea we will be exploring today!

Integrity and Character

Audie Murphy, an amazing man buried in Arlington Cemetery, serves as one example of integrity and character. He turned down cigarette commercials because he understood the influence he held over young people. His selflessness and sense of responsibility were evident in this decision. Murphy’s bravery and service in WWII earned him 3 Purple Hearts and showed how one person’s determination and sacrifice can make an incredible impact on the world.

The Power of Surrender

D.L. Moody, a renowned preacher, exemplified the potential of a person who fully surrenders to God. Despite lacking formal education and good speaking skills, Moody’s dedication to spreading the Gospel led him to shake two continents and win over a million souls. His life reminds us that it is not our qualifications or abilities that determine our impact, but rather our willingness to surrender to God and allow ourselves to be vessels for change.

One Vote

History is filled with examples of how one vote can alter the course of nations. From the execution of King Charles I to the choice of the English language in America and the election of governors, these instances show the significance of individual participation in shaping the world around us. Every vote carries weight and can determine the destiny of a nation!

Answering the Call

From the Bible, we come across people like Noah, Esther, and David, who embraced their roles and made a difference. Noah (Genesis 6:5-8) was faithful to build the Ark. This saved his family from the Flood. Esther (Esther 4:14,16) had courage to approach the king on behalf of her people. This saved the Jews from destruction. David (1 Samuel 17:45) fearlessly faced Goliath. This saved the children of Israel from the Philistines at this time. These people demonstrated the power of answering God’s call and fulfilling the purpose He had for their lives. Their examples encourage us to accept our own unique roles and not harden our hearts, for we too have the potential to change lives like these people did if we surrender to God.

As we reflect on the lessons shown to us by multiple examples, it becomes clear that every life has purpose and the ability to make a difference. Our actions, no matter how small, can create a ripple effect and touch the people around us. Let’s remember that integrity, surrender to God, and a willingness to answer His call are catalysts for change. Today, let’s be grateful for our role in God’s plan and strive to be one that makes a Godly, positive impact in the lives of others.

Remember, as D.L. Moody once said, “The world has yet to see what God can do when a man fully surrenders to Him.”

Pastor Anthony Wynn

After spending some years serving the Lord, there comes a moment when you might pause and ask, “Lord, what now?”

You’ve made significant changes in your life and you strive to live a sanctified life following your salvation. But how can you get closer to God? How can you reach the next level in your walk with Him? In this blog post, we will explore ways to deepen your relationship with God and embark on a path of growth. For most of this message we will use Psalms 42:1-5,7.

Knowing God Better

To draw closer to God, it is essential to get to know Him on a deeper level. He desires your love, friendship, and most importantly, your heart. While God is infinitely higher than us, He reveals His character, passions, and desires through His Word. Spend time studying on the Scriptures, for it is where God reveals Himself to you.

Growing in Love

As you develop a deeper knowledge of God, your love for Him will naturally deepen as well. Your desire to align with His will should outweigh your personal desires. Christianity is not solely about your pursuit of God, but rather about God’s relentless pursuit of you. He chased after you to the point of dying on the cross, desiring a relationship with you. Acknowledge His pursuit and respond by seeking Him wholeheartedly.

Seeking Holiness

Approach God with a genuine desire to be holy at any cost. Prioritize holiness over temporary happiness and ask Him to make you holy, regardless of your emotional state. A.W. Tozer said it like this: “Be assured that in the end, you will be as happy as you are holy and for the time being let your whole admission be to serve God, and be Christ-like.”

Quotes on Deepening You Walk with God

In your journey toward a deeper relationship with God, you might take some inspiration from the wisdom of others:

• D.L. Moody: “The world has yet to see what will happen when a man truly gets on fire for God.”
• Henry Ford: “Those that always walk with God reach their destination.”
• Leonard Ravenhill: “Smart men walk on the moon, and daring men walk on the ocean floor, but wise men walk with God.”
• Elisabeth Elliot: “If my life is broken when I give it to Jesus, it is because pieces will feed a multitude, while a loaf will only satisfy one little lad.”

Healing and Restoration in God’s Presence

Just as the wounded deer seeks water to clot its bleeding, we need to thirst for God with a desire that surpasses everything else. In His presence, wounds are healed, dreams are restored, and we find peace. Run to Him, not just for a casual drink of water but as a matter of life or death (Psalm 42:1).

Deep Calling Unto Deep

God noticed David’s hunger for Him and commended him for his devotion. In Psalm 42:7, “Deep calleth unto deep,” God acknowledges the depth of David’s desire for Him. As you read through David’s life in the Bible, you will find at least five aspects of David’s relationship with God:

• David made God feel needed.
• David captured God’s attention by giving Him his all.
• David worshiped God wholeheartedly.
• David fought with integrity even when no one was watching.
• David loved his enemies, displaying a heart aligned with God’s own.

Growing closer to God requires intentional effort and a hunger for His presence. Seek to know Him better through His Word, and grow in love and holiness. Let your pursuit of God be fueled by a genuine desire to be deeply rooted in your relationship with Him, and watch as in your Christian walk you take on more joy, peace, and fulfillment. Remember, as you deepen your roots in God, your life will bear fruit that helps not only yourself but also those around you.

Thank you so much for reading. I go into more detail about how some aspects of our spiritual walk can be represented by the different parts of a tree (fruit, leaves, branches, trunk, and roots). I would love it if you could check out the sermon below. As you listen, I pray this message encourages you to strengthen your walk with God and grow in wisdom and truth as you seek Him wholeheartedly!

Pastor Anthony Wynn

If you know you have received the Holy Ghost, take a moment and praise the Lord for this wonderful gift!

John 7:37-39 – “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”

Ephesians 5:18. Acts 2:16-18. Imagine people so full of the Spirit of God that the sick recovered when those people laid hands on them. Imagine people so full of God’s Spirit that they prophesied of things to come and edified the body of Christ. There’s always a need for more people like that! But to be more like this, our flesh my decrease that the Lord can increase.

It isn’t always the devil we fight against.

A lot of the battles we face stem from our flesh at war with the spirit. The spirit may want to seek and pray to God, but the flesh often wants to do its own thing that has nothing to do with God. But the more we get in the altar and seek God, denying our flesh, the more God can increase in our lives.

The Holy Ghost is more than speaking in tongues.

There is no way we can understand and know all there is to know about this limitless God in the few years we live on this Earth. God has so much in store for us! How amazing would it be for us to get so close to Him that we started walking like Him and loving like Him! Imagine if could get so close to God that He could send us to help heal the broken and trust us to share His Word with a soul needing to hear from Him!

Not only does the Holy Ghost give you the ability to be a greater light in someone’s life, but it also helps you! When you face mountains too high or loads too heavy, the Holy Ghost gives you strength to be able to deal with things in life that are difficult. Not only that, the real Holy Ghost will save you and teach you how to walk and talk. We can only receive this if we are willing to spend time with God and seek Him. Because the more we seek Him, the more we find Him.

The Holy Ghost will renew you.

A car can’t run on one tank of gas forever. Eventually, that gas runs out and the car needs to be taken back to the gas station to be refilled. When we witness to the lost and reach out to the broken, we are pouring out of ourselves to help those in need. We are giving of ourselves. When we do things for God, it will cost us something, but it will drive back the darkness! Just like the car, eventually we will start to run low and feel empty. Run to God, my friend! Because just like taking that car to the gas station, we can be renewed in strength to keep going when we go to God and allow Him to fill us with His Spirit!

The Holy Ghost will lead you and fight for you. It will teach you and warn you to things going on around you and your loved ones. The devil is working all around and we need the Holy Ghost to make it through this day and age.

The devil will try to torment your mind.

When we work for God and things don’t turn out the way we think they should, the devil with throw things our way to discourage us and beat us down. Sometimes we may begin to wonder why we are in such a mess if God really loves us. My friend, do not let those thoughts fester! Shut them down and do not let the devil torment your mind and get you angry at God. The Holy Ghost can help you to learn to be content when He moves and when He doesn’t. We can learn to be content by making ourselves decrease so that the Lord can increase!

God is calling YOU.

If the devil can take a life over and destroy other lives, you better believe God is greater and we can be so full of Him that we can cast out devils! If you’ve never known anyone that full of God, why not let it be you? Acts 5:15. Peter, the same disciple that denied Jesus, ended up getting so full of God that his shadow was bigger than disease.

Come as you are to God, His love will save you! But if we are going to cast out devils and heal diseases, then we will have to decrease so that God can increase in our lives.

So, I ask, how much of Jesus do you want? It will cost you some to get to the level God is taking you. You are going to have to fight some demons, powers, and principalities. God is calling you. These things that are consuming you, they have to loose you and let you go. The Master has need of you!

If you find that you’re not so hungry for the Lord or you don’t find yourself seeking Him like you used to, let me tell you, if He touched you once, He can touch you again. God is limitless and has so much in store for us! Don’t lose your hunger for God, dear friend! The Holy Ghost doesn’t stop with speaking in tongues. There’s more where that came from! He will be strength to you and comfort you. He will lead you and reveal mysteries to you. Together, let us seek God and stir our hunger back for Him!

Ephesians 3:19 – “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

Pastor Anthony Wynn

Before we get into today’s message, please read Ezekiel 3:15-19.

This message is being spoken to every born-again child of God. During this life, God will bring some people to us and He will require us to witness to them somehow. But to be able to witness to these people, there is something very important we must do. Unless we sit where others sit, such as in this passage of Ezekiel, then we cannot fully understand or know that person’s situation and pain.

We have a generation wanting to build a ministry.

But this generation wants power without pain, testimonies without tests, victories without battles. They want to see healings, but don’t want to experience sickness. They want to have peace without pressure. This generation of ministries wants to win the lost, but they don’t want to love them or touch their hearts.

However, to reach this generation, we need more than a suit, a tie, and a microphone.

To touch this generation, we have to do as Ezekiel did and sit where they sit and experience their pain. We have to feel their hurts and understand each other’s storms and victories. We cannot be untouchable and be effective in ministry, change lives, and see broken hearts mend. If we are interested in doing anything for God, we have to be able to be touched and moved by situations.

So, here’s a question I’m sure we all have at some point in our Christian walk: “Why me?”

Why are we hurting so badly? Why is our family suffering? Why is our load so heavy, and why are we crying all the time? Let me answer these questions for you. You are going though these things because you are touchable. God is not going to allow things to break you, but He will make it possible for life to touch you.

After all, how can we help anyone if we’ve never cried or been broken before? How can we help someone if our lives have never been tested? To be an effective vessel in these end times, we have to be touched by pain, hate, the voice of God and the silence of God. We will have to be touched by reality.

I’ve been in many situations that allowed me to have sat where other people sit now. I know what it’s like to cry over loved ones bound by addiction. I know what it feels like to wake up and hear the voice of God telling me which way to go, but I also know what it’s like to wake up with a burden so heavy that I just wanted to stay in bed and cover my head up. I know the pain of losing someone I love to cancer. I know the fears and pressures of doctor’s reports. I know what it’s like to pray and get answers, and I also know what it’s like to pray and hear nothing. I know what it’s like to feel forgotten, used, and thrown away.  I have sat where others sit.

But I am still here.

Yes, I cried and felt fear and worry. But I got my fight back. I started fasting and praying. I made it through and still loved the Lord. Bitterness and hatred didn’t take over my life. God moved for me. And the very same God that moved in my times of trial will move for you in your situations!

God has trusted you to sit where others sit.

You have experienced healing because you have experienced sickness. You’ve known peace and pain, deliverance and discouragement, victory and disappointment, blessings and burdens, strength and stress, happiness and hate. God will not waste any of it. Because you have sat where others sit, and because you are still here, how much more of a witness can you be to those who think they won’t make it through their trials? God has chosen you for such a time as this!

I want to leave you with this poem I found.

I was hungry
And you formed a humanity club to discuss my hunger.
Thank you.
I was in prison
And you crept off quietly to your chapel to pray for my release.
Thank you.
I was naked
And in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.
I was sick
And you knelt and you thanked God for your own health.
I was homeless
And you preached to me of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.
I was lonely
And you left me alone to pray for me.
You seem so holy
So close to God.
But I’m still hungry
And lonely
And cold.
So where have the prayers gone?
What have they done?
What does it profit a man to page through his book of prayers
When the rest of the world
Is crying for his help?

How can we help others if we do not become a vessel for the Lord to work through us? How can we help them if we do not sit where they sit and understand their pain and pressure? When we go through trials and remain faithful to the Lord, we become a witness of God’s love, compassion, and His faithfulness to us. Other people can know and understand that He who kept us through trials can and will keep them through their situations as well.

Thank you for reading, and God bless you, Dear Friend!

Pastor Anthony Wynn

What is going on?

When we got saved, why didn’t the Lord just take us home? What is our reason for still being here? If we’re in the will of God, why are our hearts so heavy? If God cares about us, why are we dealing with this pain, hurt, and pressure? These questions can give place to the devil to war against our minds if we let them.

If you would like your season to change, then keep reading because I have a good word for you today!

We have to realize how big God is.

You are no accident. You didn’t begin when your momma birthed you. Before your mom and dad even knew each other, you existed in the heart of God. God did not make a mistake by making you who you are. Jeremiah 1:5. You’re not a disappointment or a failure. Romans 8:29-31. Romans 11:2. Romans 3:23. I want you to understand that God has a plan for you! You are needed in these troubled times.

So, if God is in control, has a good plan for you, loves you, how do you get out of this cold season you may be in?

If you are going to get out of this season, you are going to have to find your next appointment. I believe for the average person, God has many appointments. I believe that every time you fulfill an appointment, God blesses you at another level. Not only that, but God will bless other people just because you are around them. Paul was on a ship with over 200 men and they got into a bad storm. But none of those men were going to die in the shipwreck because there was a man of God on board that had an appointment. Acts 27:24-25.

So what am I saying? Find your next appointment!

You won’t find your next appointment by keeping your mind busy with work or social media. You won’t find your next appointment by asking someone other than God what that appointment is. Once you seek Him, it may take a while, but He will begin to speak inside of your heart and tell you what you need to do.

Take Joseph for an example from the Bible.

God let Joseph sit in a prison for years so he could help save his brothers. Genesis 39:20-22. The Lord is with you, dear friend! Don’t lay down in this prison. Become the master of it, the keeper of it. Don’t come out of this thing beaten and broken. You can come out of this thing shouting and praising! You can come out laying hands on the sick and them recovering. You can come out winning souls! Anybody can come out of the storm and become a master, but Joseph became a master in the storm. He conquered his storm before he came out.

Why was Joseph in this storm? Why did his family betray him? Why was he cast in prison?

It’s all because Joseph had an appointment with the chief butler and the chief baker. Sometimes we are wanting our first appointment to be with Pharaoh. Everybody want to help Pharaoh, but what about that man on death row that’s lost hope. Sometimes we want our appointment to be with someone who has it all together, but God is planning on sending us to someone who’s given up and falling apart. Until you fulfill that appointment, you won’t get to your next one.

Instead of asking all these questions, wondering if we are going to make it. We need to be taking a step back and checking to see who the Lord is leading into our lives for this season. Joseph may have cried out to God asking when He would release him from prison, but God told Joseph that he was going to have to find his next appointment first.

We want our appointments to come when we are in church and anointed. But a lot of the times our appointments come when we are in the dungeon and we have to help someone else in the dungeon. If you are anointed of God, your gift will work when you are in the prison. When you are sick, you can lay hands on the sick and they will be healed. When you are anointed of God, you can lay hands on those suffering from depression when the devil is trying to break you with sorrows. Your gift is not in your emotions or your feelings, your gift stems from your relationship with God.

The Butler and the Baker were placed in Joseph’s storm. Sometimes we can get caught up in our own storm and forget that there are other people bound in the same kind of storm. If God brings someone into our lives who is about to leave this world, can He trust us to serve them when we are hurting?

When Joseph interpreted the dreams for the Butler and the Baker, he had met his appointment. But even after he had met that appointment, he had to wait two more years before the next one.

So let me ask you, what is your appointment in this season?

2 Kings 5:2. Why did God allow this particular girl to be in this particular place she didn’t want to be?

The devil will ask you, “If you are in the will of God, then why are you not happy?” But take into consideration, Jesus before He died on the cross. He was praying, “If it be thy will, let this cup pass from me.” You don’t have to love the season you are in, you just have to keep loving God. Psalms 34:19. There’s no doubt in my mind this little maid asked God why she was going through this. God looked at other maids and servants and found He couldn’t trust them, but He could trust this little maid. So, He gave her this appointment. 2 Kings 5:3. Now, this little maid has fulfilled her appointment.

I believe after Naaman got his miracle, he was thinking of setting that little maid free and rewarding her greatly.

If we will be faithful to God, we won’t crawl out of our situations, but we will walk out blessed! Find your appointment and God will deliver you! Search for your next appointment and when you fulfill it, you will conquer your storm, your season will change.

I would encourage you today, if you find yourself in a hard season. Get in your prayer closet, find yourself an altar and pray to the Lord, asking Him what your next appointment is. God bless you, Dear Friend!

Pastor Anthony Wynn

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men,
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Think of what would happen if Humpty Dumpty knew our King. There have been thousands of kings down through history, King Saul, King David, the king’s that reign now. But there has never been, nor will there ever be a king like our King. In fact, He is King of Kings. 1 Timothy 6:15. He has unlimited power.

Think of what would have happened if Humpty Dumpty knew our King’s men. Our King’s men are restorers. I’m sure Noah could have put Humpty back together again. He built the Ark which was 440ft. long, 72ft. wide, and 43ft. tall without all the fancy tools and stores we have today.

If Humpty Dumpty could have only met Moses, he would have found someone who could have put him back together. Moses led millions out of Egypt from a wicked Pharaoh. He would go pray and manna would fall from Heaven.

If Humpty Dumpty could have only met Elijah, he would have found another one that could have put him back together. He helped to multiply a widow’s food so she and her son could be sustained through a famine. He built an altar and prayed and fire came down from Heaven to consume the sacrifice.

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If He did miracles like this back then, then He will do them today! He still saves, heals, and delivers.

In our lives, sometimes we may feel like Humpty Dumpty, low and broken with no way to be fixed and no way to get back to where we once were. There are others in our lives, children, parents, loved ones, that might feel like that. But guess what!

We know the King of Kings!

It doesn’t matter what other people say. It doesn’t matter what the doctor’s report is. We are in the hands of the Almighty King and we are not going anywhere until He says so. The Lord will strengthen you and encourage you. It’s not over for you, He can fix you!

So many times we limit our God when we think that He will not move for us. Losing our trust and confidence in God will cause Him to be limited in our lives. But, Dear Friend, He still works miracles! He’s bigger than any problem we will ever face!

Not only can God use other people to helps us, but we can be used of God to help other people. Elisha was so full of God that when they threw a man down on his bones, the man was brought back to life. If someone can get so full of the devil that they can go out and take lives of innocent people, then why can’t we get so full of the Lord that healing and love flows out of us.

Let me talk about the King of kings for a moment.

God wanted a son and He created Adam. He wanted someone to walk with and found Enoch. He needed a builder and saw Noah. When He needed a friend, He found Abraham. He needed a worshiper and he found David. He needed a poet and used Solomon. He needed a strong man and used Samson. But when His people needed a savior, he found no one worthy, so what did He do? He became our Savior.

Let me tell you something, dear friend.

You are not too broken for my King. Matthew 11:28-29. Sometimes we are so broken that if our family knew how bad it was then they would be very worried about us. But God is calling us to take His yoke, to join Him. If we do that, He will carry the weight of our burden. If we walk with Him, stop when He stops, turn when He turns, we won’t feel all this pain and pressure we are under right now. We shouldn’t be so stubborn and hard-headed, because that just makes things harder on us. Doing things ourselves will break us. We need the Lord to heal us and put us back together again!

My King?

My King was born of a virgin. My King’s first miracle was turning water into wine. My King restored a broken woman about to be stoned. My King restored a broken preacher named Thomas who would only believe in the Resurrection if he put his hands in Jesus’ scars. My King healed a woman with an issue of blood for 12 years after she had went to every doctor she could. None of them could help her, but my King did! My King restored Peter when he denied Him and wept bitterly thinking Jesus would give up on him. But no! My King restores the broken and puts them back together again!

If my King can do all this, then surely He can take care of us! He can put food on our tables and a roof over our heads. He can stand up for us and make a way for us when there looks like there is no way. Don’t give up. He cares about you and will move for you! He cares for you so much that he died for you! Romans 5:8. Isaiah 53:5.

You may be broken more than people know. You may feel more pain than you have ever felt before. Dear Friend, Jesus can put you back together again. Jesus can heal you. He can and He WILL! Pray and ask Him to heal you! I am praying for you. God bless you!

Pastor Anthony Wynn

God will mend a broken heart, if you give Him all the pieces.

Broken means for something to be separated into parts or fragments.

In the old days, things were repaired. Repair shops were everywhere. But we live in a generation now, that if something breaks, we just throw it away and get a new one. Our dumpsites are full of repairable things that people have given up on. It’s the mindset of today: it’s easier to replace than to repair.

You are fixable.

We are all a little broken in certain areas in our lives. I want to encourage you today and tell you that you are worth investing in. God saw our brokenness and the worst things about us, and still believed we were worth dying for! He thought we were worth saving, dear friend! He took one look at all our mess and said, “I can fix them.” Your life is repairable!

Psalms 31:12, 38:8. satan rolled dice and went before the throne of God like he did with Job and said, “I can make this person quit, if you will let me shake their world.” God grinned and said, “Okay, I know their integrity, their character, and their love for me better than you do. I’ll let you shake their world under one condition: they won’t come out the same as they were before. They will have double for their trouble.” The devil is trying to use our pain to drive us from God, but we need to allow it to drive us to God.

Psalms 51:17. If you live for God long enough, you won’t see blue skies every day. The enemy will come in like a flood and it will storm sometimes. But keep walking! Psalms 34:19, 34:18, 147:3. The very next verse says that God has names for all the stars. We can’t even count all the stars! And get this, the very same, powerful God that has named the countless stars, wants to heal your broken heart!

Sometimes, life breaks a person.

Troubles, sickness, death, perhaps it was all just too much. Proverbs 15:13. God is a gentleman and he will knock on your heart’s door to comfort you. If you don’t open that door, then you limit the Holy One. When Joseph was sold and his brothers told his father that he was dead, Joseph’s father refused to be comforted. He was determined to go to his grave grieving. If you allow yourself to sorrow long enough, it will break your spirit.

2 Samuel 4:4. Mephibosheth was broken by the ministry, by the church.

He was broken by someone that should have taken care of him and fed him. Sometimes, people leave church because of brokenness and pain from those who should have taken care of them. Let me tell you, before you were even born, God set up a mending for you. Look to God! He will mend you and help you! If we’ve ever needed Him, we need Him now. Just because we have God, that doesn’t mean we won’t face bears and lions, but it does mean that we can overcome them!

God uses broken things.

It takes broken soil to produce a crop. Broken clouds give rain. Grains of wheat have to be broken to make flour for bread. Bread has to be broken to feed the hungry. Psalms 69:20, 51:8-13.

Sometimes, you are broken so that you might feed the hungry. 1 Corinthians 11:24. The Bible is full of accounts of broken people who God alone mended and healed.

God is the ultimate repairman.

Jeremiah 20:9. The beginning of this verse starts out with a broken Jeremiah, but by the end of that same verse God is working in Jeremiah to mend his brokenness. Jeremiah had so much of God’s Word in his heart that it wouldn’t allow him to slow down and forebear from preaching that Word. He got his fight back; God healed him! God will do the same for you!

Jeremiah 18:3-4. A child of God my have blemishes and marks, but they are in good hands, the Creator’s hands!

1 Samuel 30:3-6. Friend, it may look like you’ve lost everything and everyone’s against you, but encourage yourself in the Lord! He will fight your battles. He will mend your heart and strengthen you. Pray, seek the Lord, allow Him to help you. He will restore you! 1 Samuel 30:18-19.

Reach for the Lord, Friend! He is ready and willing to mend your broken heart. He who started a good work in you will complete that work. He is not finished with you yet!

Pastor Anthony Wynn

I want to talk to you about 3 realities of faith.

1: Sometimes, your faith in God will deliver you from something.

2: Sometimes, your faith will deliver you in the middle of the trial.

3: Sometimes, your faith will bring you through the trial.

Hebrews 11:1-3,6. Faith will deliver you from the storm, in the storm, or keep you through the storm.

Matthew 6:13. Sometimes, He will deliver you from it. 2 Chronicles 20:22. All the people did was praise. God said, “You don’t have to fight today, I’ll deliver you from the enemy.”

Gideon is another example of people being delivered from their enemy. Judges 7:22.

Sometimes, a person is delivered within the storm.

The doctor might give them a report of the problem still being there, but a month later it’s gone. The storm started and God could have stopped it, but when the enemy comes in like a flood God raises up a standard. Daniel 3:23-25. Whether God delivers you from the storm or in the storm, either way victory is yours!

So, let me ask you this: because the three Hebrew boys were delivered within the furnace instead of from it, does that mean they had less faith?

No. God has appointed some things that a person will have to face. That person just has to hold their head up and keep living for God. Don’t let anyone condemn you because you are facing something. Sometimes you are in a fiery furnace and still in the perfect will of God. Mark 4:37-39.

The main thing I want to talk about is when your faith delivers you through something.

I looked up the word “through” in Hebrew. It means: across, over, passing through. If God is letting you go through something, it means there’s somewhere He’s wanting to take you. 2 Corinthians 5:7. Jeremiah 2:6.

Before those three Hebrew boys, we didn’t have any testimonies of anyone making it through a fiery furnace, but now we do. If you don’t know anyone else going through what you are going through, just wait! There will be a testimony that God brought you through it! That’s why you can’t quit right now; the church needs your testimony. Don’t give up in the middle of pressure, I promise you, there is an end to this thing.

Hebrews 11:11,33-34.

Don’t be upset or discouraged if you don’t get delivered from, or in the middle of your storm. Don’t be upset if you have to go through something. Understand that what you are going through, others might have died in that very thing. What you are going through may have broken other people’s minds, homes, and families. Exodus 15:4-5. But you are going through it! Hebrews 11:29. How can you go down when you are holding onto Jesus?

Elijah said there would be no rain for three years, and then there came a famine.

Elijah was not delivered from the famine, but God kept him through it. God hid the prophet in a cave and let some ravens bring him food for a while, but God didn’t want Elijah to come out bragging on the ravens, so he brought Elijah to a little widow woman. This little lady who didn’t think she had anything was going to be used by God to sustain the prophet for a while.

Sometimes, we don’t know how to take a blessing from someone else. But get this, if Elijah hadn’t let that woman help him, she wouldn’t have been helped. He held her destiny by allowing her gift to come into his life.

The ravens sustained Elijah with food for a while next to a brook, but soon that brook dried up. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem like things could get worse, but then the brook starts drying up. Whatever that brook is in your life, God doesn’t want you to depend on it more than you depend on Him. Nothing will bring you through this trial but God and He wants you to realize that.

That little widow woman thought it was all over for her, but she ended up helping Elijah. Don’t tell yourself that you can’t help people when you are going through something. When you are sick you can lay hands on others. When you are broken, you can pray for people. It’s not your power that helps them, it’s the anointing of an almighty God flowing through you. That anointing is in your relationship with God.

Someone could have your answer and they have been commanded by God to change your life, but they are in a mess. When they help you, however, their miracle will come.

What I’m trying to say here is that sometimes the devil likes to try and condemn a person when they are going through something while someone else was delivered from it. The person starts wondering if their faith is less than the faith of others.

Get up. Go forward. Worship and be happy again. Don’t let the devil make you think that you don’t have as much faith as someone else just because you are having to go through something. God has somewhere He wants to take you. Don’t give up on God. Psalms 66:12. Exodus 14:14-15.

Keep walking with the Lord, my friend. He will surely bring you through your storms! Isaiah 41:10.

— Pastor Anthony Wynn

God’s love is known as “agape” love.

“Agape” love is the highest form of love. It’s selfless, steadfast, unchanging, and unconditional. Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. Romans 5:8.

Everything God does for us, even if we don’t understand what He’s doing, He’s doing it out of love. So, let me ask you, what does love look like? How would you describe love?

It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to run to the poor and needy. It has the eyes to see misery and wants to make a difference. It has the ears to hear the sorrow of man and longs to reach into the world to help. This is what love looks like.

In the New Testament, love is more of a verb than it is a noun. It has more to do with acting than with feeling. There’s a quote from someone that says, “You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.”

1 Corinthians 16:14. 1 Corinthians 13:3-8.

Love should never flow up.

It should flow down. A one year convert in the church should never love more than a 30 year veteran for the Lord. A child is not supposed to love the parent more than the parent loves the child.

When God created Adam, He breathed the breath of life into him. Adam was His son and different from the rest of creation. satan came and knew he couldn’t destroy God so he went after what God loved. God hates sin. satan might have had the thought, “If I can put what God hates inside of what God loves, I’ll have God in a conflict with Himself. Because if what God hates (sin) is inside of what God loves (Adam) then to destroy what God hates, He will have to destroy what He loves. If He saves what he loves, He will have to save what He hates.”

The Judge of creation said Adam needed to die the day Adam disobeyed and ate of the forbidden tree. But maybe on the way to that courtroom, He passed by some lambs and God used them as a sign for another sacrifice that would happen a few thousand years down the road. The Father stood up as the Judge sat down and love began to flow. God took that sheep skin and used it to cover Adam, letting the blood of the sheep be shed rather than Adam’s blood.

1John 4:8. Psalms 86:5,15. Ephesians 2:4. Love is at it’s greatest when it’s given to the one who deserves it least. You will never love anyone more than when you love someone who doesn’t deserve it. Don’t let your troubles and your hurts stop up the flow of love from your life. Don’t ever let love stop flowing from you!

David and Absalom

Absalom tried to take his father’s kingdom. He tried to have his father killed. He chased his father away, embarrassed him, and tried every way he could to destroy his father. Everything was against David. When his men started talking about killing Absalom, all of a sudden David could hear Absalom saying, “Dad” for the first time when he was a baby. He remembered Absalom as a little boy saying, “I want to be just like you one day, Daddy.”

At that moment, David didn’t care about running from his kingdom in the middle of the night in his bed clothes and barefooted. He wasn’t thinking about losing his throne, but he was thinking of Absalom, his son. Love began to flow. 2 Samuel 18:5.

The Prodigal Son

This young man was going to get his inheritance around age 30 or when his father died, according to Jewish law. For a son to be in his mid-twenties, step up to his father and say, “I want my inheritance now,” he was telling him he respected his father no longer and his father was as dead to him. He was telling his father that he would rather have things than have his father. The son went to a far country because he never wanted to see his father again. How much lower can a parent be treated?

So, the son went out and wasted his substance on riotous living. While he was out there, I don’t think his mother took his clothes out of the closet. I don’t think she took his favorite dessert off the menu. The son’s parents both believed that one day their boy was coming home. Years go by and his father’s outside working, always looking way down the road to see if he can see his son.

One day the father sees someone who walked like only his son walked. The Adam part in this father was saying, “There’s that sorry boy that tore your heart out.” But this father quenched every voice coming to his mind. Love began to flow and he ran to his son.

Does your love flow?

As a sinner, you came to the altar broken, hurting, hopeless. In a moment of time, this invisible God’s love began to flow into you and change your life. What happened to that love?

This love didn’t change Judas.

But it changed 11 other disciples and millions since Jesus walked the Earth. Some people may lock up their love because someone they tried to reach became their “Judas.” These people trust no one now.

Martin Luther King Jr. — “The saddest thing about betrayal, is it never comes from your enemy, it comes from friends.”

Some people think about their “Judas” (someone they tried to reach but that someone abandoned the faith) and worry about where they could have gone wrong. They wonder what more they could have done and where they failed in their teaching and example.

With Judas’ eyes, he saw the clearest evidence. With his ears, he heard the finest teaching. With his feet he followed the greatest example. Yet, this man betrayed Jesus.

Judas teaches us that even the best examples, the most compelling evidence, the finest teachings, and the ultimate environment for incubating faith can not, by itself, change a human heart. This human heart has to be willing to change.

Don’t condemn yourself over your “Judas.” Don’t give up on prayer. Go to the Lord and say, “I did my best, Lord. Now, it’s your turn to deal with them.” What this person does is not your choice, it’s theirs. Don’t beat yourself up when you can be worshipping and growing closer to God. You weren’t Jesus when you were born and you won’t be Jesus when you die, but Jesus knows how to fix things so take your burdens to Him.

Someone is lost out there and God is looking for an intercessor for them. The devil is trying to get us mad at them so love won’t flow. When love flows and we pray for others, it will hold back judgment! Jesus lives in you and His love lives in you! Let the love of God run out of you!

Love is a healer. It will raise up a standard. Love will stop a battle. It will break pressure. Love will mend broken hearts.

Let love flow! Let your love touch hearts and change lives!

— Pastor Anthony Wynn

I heard this once, “Good leaders are never born. Good servants are born and they make great leaders.”

Acts 20:24-38.

We are examples for others to watch and learn from. The Bible has rules, yes, but it’s so much more than that. The Bible is a book full of examples. We don’t just see Joseph put on a throne after his dreams, but we see his journey. We see how he was betrayed, how he was imprisoned, and how he was cast down. We see his example of trusting in the Lord through all of that.

We don’t see David being anointed king and then immediately see him on the throne the next day. We see his example of how he walked on when Saul was trying to kill him, how he walked on when he was hurting and broken.

1 Corinthians 11:1. 2 Thessalonians 3:9. If people follow you, are you living a life that will lead them to Jesus? Are you doing your best to follow Christ? John 13:15.

To raise up good leaders:

These four steps have been taught in the secular world, but I am going to give you Biblical examples of these steps.

#1: Live what you are trying to teach them in front of them.
Again John 13:15. 1 Peter 2:21. If you are going to reach anyone, you have to live as an example of Christ in front of them. Preach this example in front of them. Love in front of them. It’s not right to preach about being kind and generous then go out and be mean and hateful to people. If we want this generation to follow us to Calvary and to Heaven, then we have to walk this Christian walk in front of them.

#2: Allow them to be a part of what you are doing.
Titus 2:7. It is the will of God for you to minister to everyone He brings into your life. But evetime you pour into someone, it will cost you something. When the woman with the issue of blood was healed, Jesus stopped and said that virtue went out of Him. When you help someone, you pour a part of yourself into them. Are you pouring out and emptying yourself for others? 1 Timothy 4:12. For those being called to be leaders, even the young, invite them to walk hand-in-hand to minister to others with you.

#3: Step back and give them opportunities to lead. 1 Peter 5:3-4.

#4: Hand off the leadership, knowing the seed you planted and watered with tears will reach into the next generation.

An example from the Bible of a leader who raised up more leaders would be Moses. He lived what he taught in front of Joshua. Exodus 33:11. Joshua was so enthralled with the teaching and the ministry of Moses that he wanted to stay in the Tabernacle. Through the ministry of Moses, Joshua was able to find God and he didn’t want to leave. Can you and I walk this Christian walk in such a way that when people get around us they want what we have? We can inspire others to desire their own personal encounter with God!

Moses then did ministry beside Joshua. Exodus 17:9. Numbers 27:18.

Moses watched Joshua. Deuteronomy 31:23.

Then later, Joshua leads the people as Moses steps back and hands the leadership over to him. Let’s ask ourselves if what we have planted will have a harvest in the next generation. Moses died and then God spoke to Joshua in Joshua 1:5-6.

Jesus did this as well. He preached in front of His disciples, He preached with them, He sent them out, and then He went away. He gave the tasks to His disciples to spread the Gospel, to make more disciples, and keep passing the leadership on.

It should be a Christian’s dream to teach someone to walk with Jesus. When you breathe your last breath, will someone be able to say, “Because of that dear soul, I fell in love with Jesus?”

Every soul counts. Every life matters. We need to minister to others. But know that you’re not the only one God has called to witness to people. It’s not all on your shoulders only.

The enemy will torture you with those you can’t reach. Mark 6:11. You were not Jesus when you were born, and you will not be Jesus when you die. You are just someone full of His power and His presence. You are not the Savior, you’re the person who delivers the Good News. Do all you can, do your best, and leave the rest of it in God’s hands. Don’t let the enemy beat you up.

Let me give you one more example of leadership from the Bible.

1 Timothy 1:2. Paul preached in front of Timothy. Then he worked in ministry with Timothy. Philemon 1:1. He taught Timothy and guided him. 1 Timothy 6:20.

If a person is going to be a leader, they can’t spend all their time arguing with carnal people. If a person is going to be a leader, they can’t let the haters and the name callers change who the leader knows he is. If a person is going to be a leader, they can’t let the fussers and the cursers pull them down. A good leader has to know when to walk away, not hate, not reject, and not be mean, but walk away and not let what the haters say affect them.

There will be some people who never remember anything good about you, but do not let them label you. You know who you are in the Lord. Don’t lay your ministry down because someone doesn’t like you. You are ordained and chosen by God. You are the apple of His eye. The hand of the Lord is on your life and if He be for you then who can be against you? Know who you are! You are a child of God! Don’t let your battles name you!

So, back to Paul and Timothy: 2 Timothy 4:1-2. 2 Timothy 3:10.

Check this out, a leader fails if he only raises up leaders as good as himself. For a leader to succeed, the leaders they have raised up must reach further and do more.

We’ve seen here Paul doing work in front of Timothy, doing work with Timothy, His guidance for Timothy to continue the work, and then Paul had one more letter to write to Timothy. 2 Timothy 4:5-8. Paul handed the leadership over, knowing that the Gospel was in good hands.

I want to encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to let you be a better leader in the midst of those He’s placed you around. Do you want your life to make a difference? Do you want to be the reason someone falls in love with Jesus? Tell God and ask Him for strength and guidance in this life as a leader so that you can minister to others!

— Pastor Anthony Wynn

Luke 11:1 – “And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

It’s an honor to have the opportunity to speak to you and the people at MDT Church. It’s an honor to speak to other preachers and singers. It’s an honor to sing, to worship and praise. But what an honor it is to be able to talk and listen to God!

Don’t ever allow your prayer life to be hindered by the fear of not saying the right words or not speaking in beautiful sentences to the Lord. He’s not concerned about that. You don’t have to know Greek or Hebrew or any fancy religious sayings, you can pray in “hillbilly.” God just wants you.

The prayer following Luke 11:1 is a recipe of how to pray.

Luke 11:2. “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name…”

We shouldn’t always start our prayers off with our needs. “God, my light bill is due. God, my stomach hurts.” We are approaching the King of all kings. We shouldn’t just burst in His presence asking for a blessing. Instead, we should come with a praise on our lips, telling Him that He’s holy and righteous. This first step in praying is praise to the Almighty! It’s an honor to have an opportunity to speak with God.

Luke 11:2. “…Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”

Pray about things, but seek for God’s Kingdom first. God’s will, God’s Kingdom is first and everything else comes second. Make it known that you don’t want to pray anything that’s out of God’s will. Let God know that you don’t want anything that will take your time from Him and turn your heart away from Him. Ask Him for His will to be accomplished in your life.

Luke 11:3. “Give us day by day our daily bread.”

When the children of Israel were in the wilderness. I pondered why God didn’t give them enough Manna to last a whole month. I think I’ve found the answer. He wanted them to spend more time with Him. He wanted them to draw nigh to Him everyday.

Luke 11:4. “And forgive us our sins: for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

If someone has a past with drugs, then they should pray that nothing and no one would get around them and tempt them to turn back to drugs. If a person was a fighter, they need to pray to not get around people that will stir up their anger.

Matthew 6:13. “…For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

Then Jesus goes into a parable of someone coming to a friend at midnight and asking for loaves of bread. That friend tells them to leave him alone.

Luke 11:8. “I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.”

God’s silence doesn’t mean “no.”

Can you think of anything you’ve been praying about where God has been silent when you speak of it to Him? If you’ve been seeking Him for a long time, His silence might not mean “no.”

Waiting on God will reveal our true motives. Waiting has a way of bringing the best or the worst out of people. Waiting on God will transform our character. It has a way of rubbing off the rough edges in our life. Waiting builds intimacy and dependence on God. One of the reasons we get to read about great people in the Bible is because they knew their success hinged on their dependence upon God.

God is just as interested in the journey as He is the destiny.

Psalms 27:14. Exodus 24:18. Millions of people are standing at the foot of the mountain, wanting an answer right then. Exodus 32:1. They got tired of waiting and became willing to worship a strange god.

But God’s silence doesn’t mean “no.”

I made some brownies for me and My Shelia a few days ago. She was so excited for those brownies that she came to me every few minutes when they were getting close to done and asked, “Are they ready yet?” I would say, “Not yet.”

I was not saying “no.” I was telling her she had to wait. When we ask God for something and He’s silent, sometimes, He’s saying “wait.” There are certain things you need to go pray about again. God didn’t say “no” to them. If you quit praying, you’ll never get the answer.

We don’t have to pray fancy words. God will come to us if we just long for Him and seek Him. If we pray, He will listen and Heaven will stand in attention! Lamentations 3:5.

When you are waiting for something, you continually go back to where it’s going to come from. When we are waiting and wanting something from God, then we spend time with Him in prayer. Maybe He makes us wait longer, because He wants to spend more time with us! Why not pray for just a desire to be around the Lord? Why not pray to just want the Lord? We should enjoy being around the Lord!

What is the Lord to you? Is he a scary Judge that demands attention and calls out your verdict? Or have you known Him as the everlasting Father? God shouldn’t be some judge that we dread and are afraid of. Wherever you are in your relationship with God, ask Him for a new level. Let Him know you want Him to be your friend and you want to be His friend. Let Him know you want to know Him as your Shepherd.

If we can know God in different areas, such as Savior, Friend, and Shepherd, it can change our prayer life! God wants a relationship with you. He loves you and wants to be close to you.

Keep on praying! Whatever it is that God is saying “wait” on, just keep going back to Him. His silence doesn’t mean “no,” He might just want to spend a little more time with you! He may be telling you to wait so no one else can take the credit for His work.

You can find time after time in the Bible where God promised someone something and they had to wait. Abraham. Joseph. But God’s silence in those times, didn’t mean “no.”

Friend, He’s waiting on you right now to come to Him and spend some time with Him. Why not worship Him a bit and tell Him you love Him? Why not come to Him again with your need? He’s listening.

Pastor Anthony Wynn