In this sermon, Bill Johnson exhorts us to return to our first love, teaching from Revelation 2 on the church of Ephesus who operated in great spiritual authority, but lost their passion. God is reducing us to the simplicity of devotion to Christ, because that’s where our strength is. Bill leads into an encounter with Jesus by encouraging us to return to our first love.
oh thank you
thank you thank you
yeah yeah they work so hard for us
all the time
there we go
oops
how many of you have been
how many of you
would say the lord has been speaking to
you
in recent days recent weeks
about
first love
making sure that
that you have returned to your first
love that’s been a theme if you raise
your handstand
those who are watching
by bethel tv just join with us in this
one
i feel like the lord is
is going to take us back to some of our
beginnings
and
in some ways
our
teaching
realm has gone has grown bigger than our
heart realm
and the lord wants to
to keep us current and fresh
you can’t discover your significance
until you’ve discovered your
insignificance
nobody came to jesus because they were
powerful
they all came to jesus empty
and it’s it’s vital to maintain that and
the crazy part of this life with christ
is that we give him everything
and then he returns it to us many times
over
that’s not where it’s supposed to stop
we give everything again
and then he returns and we give
everything again it’s a cycle
of of life that we live as believers
we choose where to level off when we
become
consumers only
and not givers does that make sense
chief makes perfect sense to me i’m
saying amen to myself amen
here’s what i want to do i want those of
you that are sitting i want you to lay
hands on these that are standing
i just want you to lay hands on them
and there’s a good chance those of you
that are sitting
need this prayer too so while you’re
praying for them pray for yourself as
well
those of you that are standing together
some of you are standing there’s there’s
many people
that stood that are side by side back to
back just lay hands on each other here’s
what i want you to do i want you to pray
that a spirit of breakthrough would come
upon us as a people
where we would be restored to childhood
we would be restored to the simplicity
of devotion to christ and i’m going to
ask you to lift your voices i’m going to
ask no passive prayers right now those
of you that are standing i usually have
you remain quiet why people pray for you
this time i want you to pray as well
lift up your voices as well
returning to first love
returning to first love
pray those specific words
reignite in us god first love
jesus instructions
were to return to the deeds we did it
first lord i pray for a refreshing of
the heart and mind
to the simple deeds of devotion to
christ
every person to be touched by this truth
by this reality
don’t stop praying
this is not a two-minute prayer
those of you that just received prayer i
want you to lay hands on the people that
prayed for you
i want you to pray the same thing for
them
just pray god ignite in them
first love first love
thank you lord
thank you lord
okay go ahead and sit down
we’re going to pray again in just a
moment so don’t get too cozy
we need to go after this a little bit
more
and uh i’m just going to kind of try to
feel my way through on this one
um i it’s just uh being really provoked
and stirred up in me
if you could picture you know what a
grain of wheat is like
you have the stem and the wheat grows
and around each
grain of wheat is chaff
all
success
has chaff
which basically means every bit of
progress we make
has something to be discarded
not knowing that
has us actually embrace things
that the lord is wanting to free us from
they’re not evil things they’re just
unnecessary things
and i can i can just
feel it i i wish i had better language
but it won’t leave me alone so i’m not
gonna
i’m gonna keep talking until i say
something that’s what larry randolph
used to tell him
i’m gonna take keep talking until i say
something
i believe that the lord would bring us
into a place of personal intimacy and
personal breakthrough tonight not
someday but actually right now tonight
in in a in a way that’s fresh for us
every one of us there’s a door to
freshness
it doesn’t mean it doesn’t mean where i
was was wrong it just means there’s more
and i have to leave something behind to
get there
see you can only live where you’ve died
and so when he invites us to come
deeper
there’s actually that abandonment that
we come with we come with that
abandonment that surrender
it it doesn’t mean
even necessarily that anything is wrong
it just means that sometimes
we hold to things that are simply
unnecessary in the purpose in the plan
of god in our life
in revelation
chapter 2 is the
passage about first love
and the lord speaks to the church in
ephesus
and he compliments them first for what
they’ve done right
they were a church that understood
spiritual authority
unusually so
they were able to spot false apostles
they were able to
bring adjustment to order and structure
they did it well
but in the structuring of things they
lost the passion
they had good order
they had a good understanding of
government
but there’s this strange thing about
government in the bible
government’s not bad government is is
absolutely righteous and ordained of god
but the the one of the unusual
pictures of government in the bible
is when the book of revelation has
this unusual strange picture
of the bride
coming down out of heaven
four square fifteen hundred by fifteen
hundred by fifteen it’s just the most
unusual picture
and it gets kind of confusing until you
realize that all structure
is supposed to come out of romance
it’s keeping things tender
it’s keeping things
simple
the apostle paul talked about the
simplicity of devotion to christ it’s
one of my most favorite phrases that he
uses the simplicity of devotion
the problem with maturity
is you can become
impressed by your own growth
it’s still all by grace
on my best day it’s only by grace
it’s all by grace
and there’s something about remaining
childlike
i’ve been talking i i have a message for
tonight but i may just scrap it
well we’ll see i don’t know no promises
yet
but i’ve been talking a lot
in recent days about longevity
it’s really been on my heart
i’ve been noticing these people in
scripture
that some did well some didn’t
and some of you perhaps were here when i
talked about hezekiah i’ve done it quite
a few times in recent months
and he he did so good he was my favorite
reformer
one perhaps my two most favorite
reformers in all of history
and yet he ended so poorly
and something happened
where he lost the tenderness
he lost the fire
he still maintained the routine
he still i’m sure gave the sacrifices to
the lord
they still had the songs they still had
the worship because he restored davidic
worship
but something happened here
when
he has a history
of when there’s a crisis to cry out to
god
they’re surrounded by enemy nations
absolutely about to be destroyed they
cry out to god god gives them prophetic
direction they take it god delivers them
isaiah told him
you have a disease from which you’re
going to die
he cries out to god
god brings a word to him i’m going to
add 15 years to your life
but when he becomes complacent
he received
he misbehaved
and the lord brought a word
that there was going to be great
difficulty for his own descendants
specifically his own sons
would be carried off to babylon and made
eunuchs
he has a history with god
he cries out to god god meets him and
there’s deliverance he cries out to god
god meets him there’s deliverance
he received the worst possible news in
his life
but it came at a time when he was
complacent
and he failed to respond
with childlike faith to get a
breakthrough
sometimes we
we grow past our passion
sometimes we grow past
that fire
in us
and i’m
saying
most all of this
as a personal
confession of determination
to make sure that i keep
things simple here
we didn’t get to this place we are
because we were intelligent
i believe in intelligence sanctified
intelligence is glorious i i have
friends that i’m so
i admire them so much the brilliance
that god’s given them i look at some of
the teaching gifts that we have in this
house i’m i’m stunned by the brilliance
that comes out of their lips week after
week after week i’m thankful for insight
i’m thankful for intelligence i’m
thankful for revelation knowledge of the
word
but what i can’t afford to do
is to let this
get bigger than this
and i can feel it
i can feel it i can feel it’s like it’s
at hand
it’s at hand for me
it’s at hand for me i can feel it i can
feel
that my heart right now needs to expand
at a faster rate
he’s wanting to give me more insight i
know he is i know he is
i know that his heart
is to satisfy the quest that we have
to perceive his ways
to perceive his
his um
his his his purpose and plan
for why he has brought us together from
the four corners there
there’s many places around the world in
which god is moving and this happens to
be one and i’m so thankful
but none of it
is because
of any of our significance
i remind you the lord spoke to israel
and he said i chose you because you were
the least
run that over in your head a few times
the moment you start becoming impressed
with your success
remember all success has chaff
it has good
but it also has something worth
a burning message huh
but i i i’ll do it again later when i
get my act together but right now
i’m just bumbling through this
i i believe
that tonight we’re to have an altar call
in which all of us come
and to make it work i may just bring the
altar to you
i i do believe i believe we’re supposed
to pray
into
this next
i want to say season
but for me it’s this next moment
i’m not thinking about my potential i’m
not thinking about my goals my vision
i we’re supposed to carry those and
that’s that’s the bulk of what we
emphasize here
we talk mostly about our identity and
where we’re headed the assignment god’s
given us we’re here to shape the course
of world history i believe all that but
in this moment
all i am
is a son
that needs a dad
a father
a wonderful father
and i was thinking earlier today about
this
this
statement jesus made in matthew 6 33 he
said
seek
first
the kingdom of god
and his righteousness
and all these things will be added to
you say that with me
seek first the kingdom of god
and his righteousness
and all these things will be added unto
you say it again
seek first
the kingdom of god
and his righteousness
and all these things shall be added to
you
let me tell you what that means to me
it means that
every action
every thought
every ambition
every possession
everything about my life
i am to seek first
the absolute dominion
of a perfect loving father
until his own nature
flows in and through me
seeking first his righteousness his very
person his very being his very nature is
evident and seen in and through me
it’s not that we’re to decrease or
disappear
but his significance
is really
the only place
i have found significance
and so
i want us to just pray into some
adjustments i’m not sure how to do it we
may pray five minutes
and
do something else
and then again this may be it
so i want you to stand again
i realize this might be awkward for
those who are watching
on bethel tv but if there’s a group of
you together
i would encourage you to pray into this
i
i just have this sense i believe the
lord will give us better language
in the weeks and months to come
but i’ve got this sense that jesus is
awakening something in this let me tell
you
let me tell you
let me tell you something else
[Applause]
as long as i’ve got you standing
i have said i
rarely
in the 40-some years of ministry
when i’m going through something i do
personally when i’m having a challenge
or uh um
a trial or an opportunity or whatever it
might be
i i avoid like the plague
assuming that what i’m facing everyone
else is facing
because sometimes the lord just deals
personally i’ve heard people prophesy
stuff and i could tell man they’re in
pain
they’re in pain and they think all of us
are in pain too you know it’s like
they’re trying to share their misery and
uh
and and sometimes we just do that but
i’ve i’ve avoided that like to play
because i i learned early in life that
god deals with this uniquely and
differently but i’ve been talking i’ve
been talking to many friends
and
i’ve come to a conclusion
that at least for me and those i’ve
talked to
the strongest
battle
over thoughts
and over the mind
has been fought
in the last 12 months that i would say
probably any 10-year period of my life
and the answer isn’t greater
intelligence
the answer the answer
is return to first love keep it simple
let the father protect
the others thing to do
what to think about what to dwell on
what to pray for i get all that
but it starts with
just returning to simple devotion to
christ
and not add him
to our agenda
but once again lay all agendas down
and watch what he adds life to
so
grab a hand
yes we are feely touchy people
some of you aren’t and it’s your cross
to remain here with us
i want you to pray
i want you to pray for yourself
out loud
no wimpy prayers
i want you to pray for the ones on your
right and left
i want you to pray god help us
help us
help us return to simplicity of devotion
help us in every single way
to return to first love
we’re going to do this for a couple
minutes
return to first love in every possible
way
thank you lord god
thank you lord
just keep praying
but get into groups of two three four
people and pray for each other
keep praying but just get into small
groups and pray for each other
just keep praying but just lay hands on
one another pray
pray
two three four people keep it small
but just pray
lay hands on each other
pray god awaken us
awaken us
awaken us to first love first love
simplicity of devotion to christ
terrific
so
uh
hmm
um
thank
thank you lord
thank you thank you lord
some of you actually feel the need to
come to the front and just pray and i’m
going to invite you just to come to the
front and pray
you just you felt it earlier when i
mentioned altar call just follow that
not everyone needs to but if it’s in
your heart just come
just come to the front and pray feel
like we’re just supposed to we’re
supposed to go after this tonight more
than anything else
oh
come
let us
adore
him
oh come
let us
adore
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in christ
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oh
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let
us
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for you alone are worthy
for
you
[Music]
we give you all the glory
we
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we
give you
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he
cries
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oh
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here
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i will give
you all my worship
i’ll give
you all my praise
you know
i want
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i will give
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you are
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oh
i want to ask some of the staff that
might be able to just start laying hands
on
people just pray if you’re having that
moment with the lord you go ahead and
just do that but if you’re
otherwise you’re able to just join us
some of our third year some of our
ministry team if you’re able to join us
just just start praying for people
we just want to pray you know what let’s
do this let’s just pray for a fresh
baptism of the holy spirit a fresh
baptism a fresh
outpouring of the spirit of god
upon people every person
every person in the rose those who have
come up front
every single person
that jesus would give a fresh touch
a fresh touch the lord is giving us
access to a whole new season a whole new
season a whole new season
a whole new period of time
i want to go in like a child i don’t
want to go in like an expert i want to
go in like a child
thank you lord god
thank you thank you lord god
yeah those of you that are able to just
help us and pray
help us and pray for people
we pray for this lord we pray for a
mighty
mighty outpouring
mighty outpouring to begin even here
right now
with us in this moment
bring about the increase for your glory
god
bring about the increase for your glory
show us your ways teach us how you move
teach us how you move lord
especially those who have come to the
front to pray i want to encourage you
lift your voice
lift your voice and ask very
specifically of the lord what you’ve
come forward for
many of you have been touched by the
lord just a prompting to cry out for him
lift your voice up lift your voice up
bold prayers bring bold answers
thank you lord god
wonderful jesus wonderful wonderful god
thank you thank you thank you lord
some of our ministry team can even help
us too
if you’d like to just start laying hands
on
people around you we
i want us just to be immersed in this
time of prayer before we do anything
else
immersed in this time of prayer
before we do anything else
god help us to be fresh
help us to be current
not just living off of yesterday’s
breakthrough
not just living off of yesterday’s
obedience
but to be current and fresh
in our ongoing surrender to you for the
glory of the name jesus
the glory of the name jesus
thank you lord
so
thank you lord
wonderful lord jesus
wonderful lord jesus
um
now i want to ask you to do something
that’s somewhat awkward to do but we’re
going to try it anyway
i haven’t asked this in a lot of years
i i want i want everyone
to leave your seat
and to try to come towards the front
we can’t all fit i get it
but i want us to try
and i’ll tell you why in a moment you
can get up on the stairs but not the
stage if you want to move up on those
stairs that’s fine
but i just feel like we’re supposed to
get in close
stand together
just squeeze in close if you’re able to
stand yourself
if you can’t that’s all right stay where
you are
some of you that were in the back rows
can move up into the second third fourth
row we just want to get in close here
there’s no rhyme or reason to it except
sometimes you need to move to have
something happen
it’s the truth
why do you think jesus
told the blind man to go and wash in a
pool
there was no magic in the water
he just needed to leave where he was
and sometimes
i’ve watched for years
sometimes just getting people from where
they’re seated to the aisle is where
their healing is
it’s very simple
but sometimes movement is necessary
you know if you want to crowd around up
here that’s fine
just i don’t i don’t want to get away of
tv and instruments but just moving close
the first time i did this here
was 22 years ago
and a few months
the church was tired
they had been without a pastor for eight
months
penny and i and the kids just showed up
we could tell they were retired i asked
everyone to come to the front like this
they crowded around the front
and i invited the holy spirit to come
and he came in power
upon one person
[Laughter]
right here
what he did
one person
and benny and i looked at each other
and we said we’ve got it
it is now unstoppable
it is now unstoppable
refuse to be impressed
or discouraged by size or amounts
feed from what he’s doing
now
i’ve got you right where i want you
[Laughter]
best best altar call i’ve had all day
never mind i made you come to the front
that’s all right
now listen to this
if you endure chastening
god deals with you as sons
for what son is there whom a father does
not chasten
if you are without chastening
of which all have become partakers
then you are illegitimate and not sons
all
growth
is rewarded with pruning
that’s the chaff
all success
has something that needs to burn
his discipline isn’t punishment
it’s preparation for even greater
breakthrough
now
here’s what i wanted you to hear
jesus said i’m the true vine my father’s
divine dresser
every branch in me that does not bear
fruit he takes away
every branch that bears fruit he prunes
guess what that is
discipline
pruning
smile at me
he prunes it that it may bear more fruit
now if you catch
this next verse and what it means
it can change the rest of your life
jesus then turns to the 12 and he says
you are clean already
the word clean there is the word prune
he says you are clean already
because of the word i’ve spoken to you
pruning does not have to be hard
circumstances
if you’re listening to god
pruning
is listening
pruning is listening
you came forward tonight because you’re
listening
i mean honestly
we’ve been sensing this stirring
first love
making sure that we’re current fresh in
our simple devotion to christ what is
that listening what is he doing he’s
pruning he’s trimming back the parts in
our thinking our values our ambitions
our plans that are just not necessary
he’s reducing us to the simplicity of
devotion to christ because that’s where
our strength is that’s where our
strength is
oh come let us
adore
him
oh come
on
[Music]
oh
[Music]
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oh
[Music]
us
[Music]
we give you all the glory
[Music]
[Music]
we
give you
[Music]
thank you lord
thank you lord
thank you lord
thank you lord
thank you lord
thank you
thank you
thank you
if you can see that the lord is touching
someone close to you just put your hand
on them bless them
i can just see the spirit of god
touching so many
this right here
just touch her yeah
yeah just
just just
just pray
just pray one for another yeah right
just touch it right here
yeah
bless the lord jesus
talk to the lord jesus
yep
yeah
thank you thank you
[Music]
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oh
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no
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foreign
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day
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more
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
it
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[Applause]
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[Applause]
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[Applause]
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oh
[Music]
just lift up a spiritual song to the
lord just lift up a spiritual song
lift up a spiritual song
[Music]
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foreign
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[Music]
[Applause]
beautiful
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
oh
[Applause]
[Music]
of us
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
oh
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know
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
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[Applause]
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in
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and i’m
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you know
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oh
[Music]
so
[Music]
sing that song with me turn your eyes
upon jesus
it’s an old old hymn
turn
your eyes
upon jesus
look for
in his wonder
full faith
and the
things of
earth
will grow strains
[Music]
[Music]
sing it again
turn
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his wonder
face
and the things
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we’re going to sing that song again i
don’t think it’s possible
for anyone to write a song like that
except out of an encounter
i don’t think you can have an idea and
sit down and write a song like that
this is written by somebody who saw him
and nothing else mattered
it’s hard to explain but nothing else
matters
and that’s why
we’re here tonight
is so that nothing else matters
that’s what seek first the kingdom is
all the other stuff he deals with
because it no longer matters
turn
your
eyes
upon jesus
[Music]
look holy
in his
wonderful face
and the things
of
earth
[Music]
one last time
turn
your
eyes upon jesus
look for
in his
wonderful face
and the things
on earth
[Music]
and the things
[Music]
is
and
grace
and the
things
of
earth
will grow strength
[Music]
his glory
one of the most favorite quotes
i heard in this past year
was if you want to know how popular
church is
look at the attendance sunday morning
if you want to know how popular the
pastor is
look at the attendance sunday night
if you want to know how popular god is
look at the attendance in a prayer
meeting
it’s for that reason
all that is in my heart for tonight is
just
simplify
everything
and all the
anxious stuff set aside
because of the one thing
so lift your voices again
just began to pray
god
[Music]
painful
um
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
um
um
[Music]
um
um
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Applause]
uh
[Music]
uh
[Applause]
uh
[Applause]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
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so
so
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uh
[Music]
okay
we have
fires
burning
in that
direction turn and face in that
direction
and ask god in his mercy
to stop the fires
to protect the firemen
protect the property
i want you to ask the lord in his mercy
to do what is naturally impossible
in the same way that jesus spoke peace
to a storm
i want you to peace speak peace
to this firestorm
that is
decimating
this part of the country
jesus spoke peace to a storm
speak peace to this storm
speak peace to this storm
we speak peace to you in jesus name
peace to you in jesus name
peace to you in jesus name
thank you lord
peace to you in jesus name
take just a moment longer i feel like
we’re supposed to
kind of wrap things up with this i want
you to pray
concerning this firestorm
just peace
just peace peace
pray in the spirit if you can
just peace
peace
thank you lord
all right you did good go ahead and turn
around face me we’ll wrap this up in
just a moment
um it’d be appropriate for me to find
out if there’s anyone here
that would just say uh bill i need to
get right with god
um
you either have never
committed your life to christ before
or you’ve been doing your own thing for
so long you know that you just need to
renew
your confession of faith to christ
if that’s anyone here
put a hand up
because we’re just going to make an
agreement right here
just right over here another one right
there
those of you that are around them
i want you to pray very specifically
those of you that are around these
i want you to pray very specifically
lead them into a prayer of repentance i
want us to glass
to gloss over this
was there anyone else there’s three here
that i could see
if i miss somebody then you that are
around them it’s your job
pray them through right now
thank you now the rest of you
i want you to put a hand on somebody’s
shoulder
and i want you to pray
that in their heart of hearts
listen carefully because you’re going to
pray a scary prayer
in their heart of hearts
god would become popular
by their hunger for prayer meetings
i’m very serious
listen to me carefully sometimes it’s
our own vision that makes us restless
when it’s time to pray
sometimes it’s our own ambition
that makes us restless when it’s time
for corporate prayer
dial it down return to the ambition of
the lord return to the heart of the lord
i want you to pray that for one another
take a couple minutes for this then
we’ll wrap it
the ambition of god
to be our ambition
the rest of god to be our rest
wonderful wonderful jesus
wonderful wonderful jesus
wonderful jesus
now just ask the lord to double the
anointing on their lives
double portion time for double portion
time for double push
go for it
double double double
thank you lord
all right
that’s the best message i never preached
that’s right
sometimes it’s just time to pray
i really i am thankful that that you’re
willing just to to move with the lord in
that because sometimes it’s just time to
pray
sometimes all i want to do is lay on the
floor and just cry
you know sometimes
yeah
enough said
and uh so we’re we’re gonna do a fire
tunnel tonight and that’ll be very
powerful because it is so thick up here
right now
uh i can hardly wait to do this
so here’s what i’m going to do
somebody’s in charge from this point on
and i’m going to have them come up here
let me ask you to do this if you need to
go obviously you’ve been free to go all
night
but if you can
return to your seats
and gabe is going to come up here and
give instructions
ministry team come to the front and
we’re going to start setting it up for
we want to lay hands on people i i
really feel there’s a breakthrough
anointing here i i would just dismiss
you except
it’s tangible it’s tangible right here
so
let’s go for it all right
[Music]
you