Pastor Dudley Rutherford seeks to “lift up the name of Jesus across the country and the world through uncompromising biblical teaching.”
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| Dudley Rutherford - First Day of the Church (Part 1) | February 24, 2026
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- Male announcer: the following program was sponsored
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- By friends and partners of the lift up jesus ministry.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Announcer: from the beginning of creation to the fall of man,
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- Through it all the hope of a savior.
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- This fall, experience the bible like never before.
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- Join dudley rutherford on a journey of a lifetime.
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- If you've ever wanted to understand the bible
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- From beginning to end, this is your chance.
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- Don't just read the story, live it.
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- Coming up next on "lift up jesus,"
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- "a journey of a lifetime."
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- Pastor dudley rutherford: the man you murdered,
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- Nails through his hands and his feet,
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- Spear through his side, you threw him up on that cross,
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- That man that you crucified is no ordinary man.
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- That man is the lord of all lords, the king of all kings;
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- And he is the messiah, the christ.
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- [congregation applauding]
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- ♪♪♪
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- Kayla francis: it is so good to see you here with us today
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- For "lift up jesus."
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- My name is kayla francis.
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- You know, the bible tells us in hebrews 4, verse 12
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- That the word of god is alive and active.
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- That passage goes on to say that it judges the thoughts
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- And attitudes of the heart.
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- Friends, the lord knows our thoughts and attitudes;
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- The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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- Thankfully, he has given us his word as a powerful tool
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- That shapes our minds and hearts so that they're pleasing to him.
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- That's why here at "lift up jesus"
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- We make it a point to turn to scripture every week.
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- It has a supernatural ability to transform us
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- From the inside out,
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- And i just have a feeling that the lord wants you
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- To hear today's message for an important reason.
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- So grab your bible, you're gonna need it,
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- And something that'll take notes with.
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- Let's dive in.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Pastor dudley: last week there was a shift where we went
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- From the old testament.
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- It took us 10, 11 weeks to get through the old testament,
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- And last weekend there's like you've got--
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- The last of the old testament
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- You've got the major and minor prophets,
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- And then there was this 400 years of silence,
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- And then you got to the new testament.
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- And last weekend we looked at matthew, mark, luke, and john.
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- And you remember our story, that all of the old testaments they
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- Were--they all pointed that one day a messiah is gonna arrive.
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- "he's coming. he's coming.
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- He's coming. he's coming.
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- He's coming. he's coming."
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- The prophets said, "get ready.
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- Get ready. get ready.
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- Get ready. get ready."
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- And then you have the silence.
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- And then matthew, mark, and luke, and john record for us
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- That moment where the messiah arrives.
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- Amen?
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- So matthew write--he wrote matthew.
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- Mark wrote mark.
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- Luke wrote luke.
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- John wrote john.
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- All four men were eyewitnesses.
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- They walked with jesus, they talked with jesus,
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- They were with him.
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- And they record, led by the holy spirit of god,
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- The birth of jesus; going through his life story;
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- Ending with the death, burial, and resurrection.
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- And some people think after the resurrection
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- Jesus went straight into heaven.
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- That's not what happened.
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- Jesus came up out of that tomb, and then he was on earth
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- For 40--everybody say, "forty."
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- He was on earth for 40 days.
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- What was he doing during those 40 days?
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- He was walking around showing the nail-scarred palms,
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- His hands; proving that he did in fact conquer the grave.
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- Then at the end of the 40 days
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- We have what's called the ascension,
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- Where he went back into heaven.
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- And we know one day what?
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- He's gonna come back.
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- And who's he coming back for?
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- He's coming back for the church.
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- He's coming back for his bride.
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- He's coming back for you and me.
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- Amen?
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- Now, today we wanna look at the fifth book,
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- Which is the book of acts.
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- So i want you to take your bibles
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- And find the book of acts.
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- Acts is a history book of the 1st century church.
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- You're sitting in a church in 2025,
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- But what we're gonna look at is the first church
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- In the 1st century that's recorded
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- In the book of acts.
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- Starting with acts chapter 2 is where we'll start.
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- You see the little asterisk by luke's name.
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- Everybody see that asterisk?
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- Everybody say, "asterisk."
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- You see another one down there by acts?
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- Everybody see that?
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- That's because luke wrote both books.
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- Luke is a doctor.
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- Do we have any doctors in the house?
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- Raise your house--raise your hand if you're a physician
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- Of any kind, any kind, raise your hand.
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- We have a few? we have a few?
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- Any nurses? any nurses?
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- Good, good, good, good, good.
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- The real heroes.
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- So luke wrote the third book in the new testament,
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- And he wrote the fifth book.
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- It's really one story, two halves.
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- First book, story of jesus, his birth,
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- Going through his life story,
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- Death, burial, and resurrection, and the ascension.
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- That's book number one.
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- Then luke writes a second book, what happens
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- After the resurrection, okay?
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- In the book of acts, you see two things.
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- You see the first day of the church,
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- Which is what we're gonna look at today;
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- And then next week if you come back, lord willing,
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- We're gonna look at the skyrocketing growth
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- Of the church in the 1st century.
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- Are you with me?
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- Today, we're gonna look at the birth of the church.
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- Next week, we're gonna see the growth of the church.
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- And all god's people said, "amen."
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- So we're gonna break this up into four windows.
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- It's four windows.
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- Window number one, write this down, the spirit of god falls,
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- The spirit of god falls.
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- How many of you know that nothing is gonna happen good
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- In the church until god shows up?
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- There is no such thing as a legit church that does not have
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- The spirit of the living god.
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- God waited for a specific day, at a per--specific time,
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- And in a specific manner to send his holy spirit into this earth
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- To birth the 1st century church.
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- It happens in acts chapter 2, verse 1.
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- Look at these words.
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- It says that when, which is a timing thing--
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- When the day of-- what's the word?
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- Everybody say, "pentecost."
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- When the day of pentecost came, the disciples
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- Were all together in one place.
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- And as you continue to read the next 10, 11, 12 verses
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- You will see a supernatural phenomenon
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- Of the holy spirit falling from heaven
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- And coming into the earth.
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- Now, what i wanna tell you or teach you
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- For just a moment is about this day.
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- Why is it that god waited until the day of pentecost?
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- What is pentecost?
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- Number one, you can write this down.
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- Just write this down, the number 50.
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- Everybody say, "fifty."
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- Pentecost is a word--a greek word that means 50, okay?
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- So you--instead of saying 50 cents, you could say,
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- "i got pentecost cents."
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- It means you got 50 cents.
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- That's what the word means, okay?
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- And so that's the day.
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- Now, there were three festivals or three feasts
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- That every jewish person in the world had to go to jerusalem
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- Three times a year to celebrate.
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- The first is what we call the feast of passover.
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- What is passover?
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- Write this down.
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- Passover was that event where they met to celebrate
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- When they were delivered.
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- We've already talked about this story earlier in this series
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- Where god raised up a man named moses to free israel from egypt,
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- Where they had been enslaved for 450 years
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- And now they're finally free.
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- No wonder the jewish people even still today
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- Celebrate the passover.
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- Why?
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- 'cause it's that moment in time where they were finally
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- Set free.
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- So that makes sense, doesn't it?
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- That all of us who were jews would go to jerusalem
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- On that day, the day of passover,
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- To celebrate that they're now free.
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- Okay, the second feast, the tabernacle.
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- What is that?
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- That's the feast where they met to celebrate
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- Where they finally got out of the wilderness.
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- You remember when they got out of egypt they had to go
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- Into the wilderness?
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- And they were in the wilderness for how long?
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- How long?
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- Forty years.
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- Why?
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- Because they sinned already.
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- As soon as they get out, they sin.
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- So god said, "okay, you guys never learn.
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- And so you're--" they're gonna be in the wilderness
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- For 40 years.
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- But they had this feast that was one of the three that they had
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- To go to jerusalem, and they celebrated the fact
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- That god saw them through the wilderness.
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- But what is this third feast, the day of pentecost?
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- Why is that so special?
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- Well, i want you to write this down.
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- The day of pentecost is the time where they met to celebrate
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- The fact that they--that moses had given them the law of god.
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- Remember moses coming down off the mountain
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- Carrying the tablets?
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- And that has been the law that has led the nation of israel.
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- And it's not just ten commandments,
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- There's 613 commandments.
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- And it was also they met on the day of pentecost
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- To celebrate the harvest that god had provided for them.
- 00:11:20.566 --> 00:11:26.472
- So that's why they had these three feasts, okay?
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- I want you to think about this just for a second.
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- That's kinda why we're here today,
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- For those same three reasons.
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- Why are you in church today?
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- "well, number one, the fact that god delivered me."
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- From what?
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- "from sin, from death."
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- And so every one of us here today, one of the reasons why
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- We're in church is 'cause god set us free from our past.
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- And so we're here today to celebrate
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- That we're no longer slaves to sin.
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- Isn't that why some of you are here today,
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- The fact that god saved you so we're here to worship him?
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- The second thing that i see here,
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- We know that all of us go through tough times.
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- Some of you are going through a tough time right now.
- 00:12:07.346 --> 00:12:09.648
- Part of the reason why we're in church
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- Is because we're thankful that no matter
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- What we're going through that god never leaves us.
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- He never forsakes us, that god is the one who sees us
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- Through the storm.
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- So we're kinda here for that reason.
- 00:12:19.525 --> 00:12:22.228
- But we're also here today to do what?
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- To study god's word and to thank him for his provision.
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- So even though the jews were meeting three times a year
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- In jerusalem, this was thousands of years ago,
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- It's kinda why we're still meeting here today.
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- Can someone say amen?
- 00:12:37.476 --> 00:12:39.812
- Now, in christian history, in the history of christianity,
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- It was on that day, the day of pentecost,
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- That god decides to start his church.
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- This is exactly 50 days on a timeline
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- After the resurrection;
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- And 10 days after the ascension is the day of pentecost,
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- And that's the day god chose to start his church.
- 00:13:09.308 --> 00:13:13.212
- Now, i want you to know we're gonna talk more
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- About the holy spirit.
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- I've got a whole series i wanna do next year.
- 00:13:18.551 --> 00:13:20.452
- I wanna do an 8-week series next year just on the holy spirit.
- 00:13:20.452 --> 00:13:25.691
- But i want you to know when this phenomenon took place,
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- The holy spirit fell, it did not catch these people by surprise.
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- Do you know why?
- 00:13:31.831 --> 00:13:33.499
- Because if you go one chapter earlier,
- 00:13:33.499 --> 00:13:35.201
- Acts chapter 1, verse 4,
- 00:13:35.201 --> 00:13:38.337
- This was right before the ascension on the timeline.
- 00:13:38.337 --> 00:13:42.575
- "on one occasion, while he was e--" jesus was eating with them.
- 00:13:42.575 --> 00:13:45.511
- He gave this command: "do not leave jerusalem."
- 00:13:45.511 --> 00:13:49.815
- 'cause he's getting ready to go back into heaven,
- 00:13:49.815 --> 00:13:51.650
- And he says, "hey, guys, i don't want you
- 00:13:51.650 --> 00:13:53.586
- To go back to fishing right now.
- 00:13:53.586 --> 00:13:55.487
- In fact, don't even leave jerusalem, but you wait here
- 00:13:55.487 --> 00:13:58.257
- Because i'm going to give you a gift that my father promised,
- 00:13:58.257 --> 00:14:02.261
- Which you've heard me speak about."
- 00:14:02.261 --> 00:14:04.096
- Verse 5, "for john the baptist, he baptized you with water."
- 00:14:04.096 --> 00:14:08.300
- Now, here's jesus's words right before he goes back into heaven.
- 00:14:08.300 --> 00:14:11.604
- "you guys stay in jerusalem because in just a few days
- 00:14:11.604 --> 00:14:19.111
- You are going to be baptized."
- 00:14:19.111 --> 00:14:23.215
- Not with water, but with what?
- 00:14:23.215 --> 00:14:26.552
- With the holy spirit.
- 00:14:26.552 --> 00:14:29.388
- And that's exactly what took place.
- 00:14:29.388 --> 00:14:32.591
- Jesus went into heaven.
- 00:14:32.591 --> 00:14:34.159
- Those disciples stayed there in jerusalem.
- 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:36.362
- They're all together in one place, acts chapter 2, verse 1,
- 00:14:36.362 --> 00:14:39.832
- And all of a sudden the holy spirit of god falls.
- 00:14:39.832 --> 00:14:42.401
- That's window number one.
- 00:14:42.401 --> 00:14:44.303
- Window number two, write this down,
- 00:14:44.303 --> 00:14:45.905
- A sermon is preached.
- 00:14:45.905 --> 00:14:49.241
- Right after the holy spirit falls,
- 00:14:49.241 --> 00:14:51.543
- A sermon is preached.
- 00:14:51.543 --> 00:14:54.446
- A guy named peter.
- 00:14:54.446 --> 00:14:55.781
- Everybody say, "peter."
- 00:14:55.781 --> 00:14:57.850
- Go to acts chapter 2, verse 14.
- 00:14:57.850 --> 00:15:00.920
- Peter.
- 00:15:00.920 --> 00:15:03.956
- This is the first sermon on this side of the cross.
- 00:15:03.956 --> 00:15:12.464
- How many of you tracking with me?
- 00:15:12.464 --> 00:15:14.934
- The bible says that peter stands up with the 11
- 00:15:14.934 --> 00:15:17.436
- And he raises his voice.
- 00:15:17.436 --> 00:15:19.371
- That does not mean on a pitch, like, he talked.
- 00:15:19.371 --> 00:15:22.574
- He's got a real low voice, and it says
- 00:15:22.574 --> 00:15:24.510
- That he raised his voice.
- 00:15:24.510 --> 00:15:25.945
- So it doesn't mean, "okay, i'm gonna start talking like this."
- 00:15:25.945 --> 00:15:28.247
- That's not what it means.
- 00:15:28.247 --> 00:15:30.616
- When it says he raised his voice, it means that he rai--
- 00:15:30.616 --> 00:15:34.119
- He started talking louder.
- 00:15:34.119 --> 00:15:35.654
- Why did he start talking louder?
- 00:15:35.654 --> 00:15:37.289
- 'cause they didn't have microphones and speakers.
- 00:15:37.289 --> 00:15:41.760
- Do you know this room right here is so designed technology-wise
- 00:15:41.760 --> 00:15:45.764
- That the people sitting on the front row you hear the same
- 00:15:45.764 --> 00:15:49.401
- Sound level of decibels and the--what it sounds like
- 00:15:49.401 --> 00:15:53.305
- As the people on the very top row up there?
- 00:15:53.305 --> 00:15:58.877
- Did you all know that?
- 00:15:58.877 --> 00:16:01.580
- I wish sometime you people on the top row would come down here
- 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:04.216
- So you could find this out.
- 00:16:04.216 --> 00:16:10.456
- I saw some of you at the dodger game you were trying to sit down
- 00:16:10.456 --> 00:16:12.858
- Front, then you come to church and you wanna sit
- 00:16:12.858 --> 00:16:16.562
- At the very top.
- 00:16:16.562 --> 00:16:18.330
- I don't understand that.
- 00:16:18.330 --> 00:16:20.833
- Forgive me. forgive me.
- 00:16:20.833 --> 00:16:22.167
- Forgive me.
- 00:16:22.167 --> 00:16:23.669
- So look again at acts chapter 2, verse 14.
- 00:16:23.669 --> 00:16:26.205
- Peter stands up with the 11.
- 00:16:26.205 --> 00:16:27.840
- He raises his voice.
- 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:29.375
- He addresses the crowd.
- 00:16:29.375 --> 00:16:30.943
- He says, "fellow jews and all of you who live here in jerusalem,
- 00:16:30.943 --> 00:16:34.313
- Let me explain to you what is happening."
- 00:16:34.313 --> 00:16:37.049
- And then he says, "listen carefully
- 00:16:37.049 --> 00:16:39.284
- To what i have to say."
- 00:16:39.284 --> 00:16:42.054
- And then he preaches.
- 00:16:42.054 --> 00:16:44.623
- This is dudley's sermon.
- 00:16:44.623 --> 00:16:48.494
- This is peter's sermon.
- 00:16:48.494 --> 00:16:52.865
- Which would you rather hear today?
- 00:16:52.865 --> 00:17:01.006
- Both is not the right answer.
- 00:17:01.006 --> 00:17:05.744
- This is--listen, you need to thank god that the holy spirit
- 00:17:05.744 --> 00:17:09.782
- Led the dr. luke to write down the very first sermon
- 00:17:09.782 --> 00:17:13.385
- That was ever preached on the face of this earth
- 00:17:13.385 --> 00:17:16.822
- After the resurrection,
- 00:17:16.822 --> 00:17:20.292
- And there's four things about this sermon.
- 00:17:20.292 --> 00:17:22.061
- Number one--i want you to get these four things down.
- 00:17:22.061 --> 00:17:24.163
- Number one, it was scriptural.
- 00:17:24.163 --> 00:17:28.634
- And we don't have time to read through it,
- 00:17:28.634 --> 00:17:30.035
- But he goes back to the prophet joel.
- 00:17:30.035 --> 00:17:32.071
- Everybody say, "joel."
- 00:17:32.071 --> 00:17:34.173
- Joel was one of those prophets.
- 00:17:34.173 --> 00:17:35.741
- Remember everybody saying, "oh, he's coming.
- 00:17:35.741 --> 00:17:37.076
- He's coming. he's coming.
- 00:17:37.076 --> 00:17:38.410
- He's coming."
- 00:17:38.410 --> 00:17:39.745
- Then you have these prophets in the old testament say,
- 00:17:39.745 --> 00:17:41.113
- "get ready. get ready.
- 00:17:41.113 --> 00:17:42.448
- Get ready. get ready."
- 00:17:42.448 --> 00:17:43.782
- Joel was one of those prophets.
- 00:17:43.782 --> 00:17:45.751
- There's a little bit of pause,
- 00:17:45.751 --> 00:17:48.520
- But you come to the new testament
- 00:17:48.520 --> 00:17:49.922
- And luke writes the coming of jesus christ.
- 00:17:49.922 --> 00:17:53.692
- And then after jesus ascends and the holy spirit falls,
- 00:17:53.692 --> 00:17:57.796
- He records, peter, this sermon; and this sermon goes back
- 00:17:57.796 --> 00:18:01.667
- And talks about what joel had to say,
- 00:18:01.667 --> 00:18:05.370
- That one day the messiah is going to come.
- 00:18:05.370 --> 00:18:08.974
- Second thing about this sermon, it was--it had a little bit
- 00:18:08.974 --> 00:18:12.945
- Of salvation in it.
- 00:18:12.945 --> 00:18:15.514
- If you go to church and the preacher's not preaching
- 00:18:15.514 --> 00:18:17.950
- From the bible, you probably should go find another church.
- 00:18:17.950 --> 00:18:21.787
- If it's not scriptural, go find ano--go find a church
- 00:18:21.787 --> 00:18:24.389
- That is teaching god's word.
- 00:18:24.389 --> 00:18:26.558
- And i think every sermon ought to have something in there
- 00:18:26.558 --> 00:18:29.061
- To do with salvation.
- 00:18:29.061 --> 00:18:31.230
- Peter in the very first sermon said these words:
- 00:18:31.230 --> 00:18:33.565
- "everyone who call--"
- 00:18:33.565 --> 00:18:34.967
- He--now remember, he's yelling.
- 00:18:34.967 --> 00:18:36.568
- They didn't have a pa system.
- 00:18:36.568 --> 00:18:38.003
- "everyone who calls upon the name of the lord will be saved."
- 00:18:38.003 --> 00:18:43.108
- That's the biggest issue we have,
- 00:18:43.108 --> 00:18:44.843
- Trying to get lost people saved.
- 00:18:44.843 --> 00:18:47.412
- The third thing that happens in this sermon, write this down,
- 00:18:47.412 --> 00:18:49.948
- It is about the savior.
- 00:18:49.948 --> 00:18:51.783
- He specifically talks about jesus.
- 00:18:51.783 --> 00:18:57.156
- He actually talks about the resurrection of jesus.
- 00:18:57.156 --> 00:19:01.293
- Now, remember this is on the day of pentecost,
- 00:19:01.293 --> 00:19:03.562
- So this is 50 days after the resurrection.
- 00:19:03.562 --> 00:19:08.133
- And so it's scriptural, it's salvation-oriented,
- 00:19:08.133 --> 00:19:12.638
- It's about jesus.
- 00:19:12.638 --> 00:19:14.439
- And number four, he gets straight to the point.
- 00:19:14.439 --> 00:19:17.209
- Everybody say, "straight to the point."
- 00:19:17.209 --> 00:19:19.912
- I want you to go over to the end of his sermon.
- 00:19:19.912 --> 00:19:21.914
- It goes from chapter--from verse 14 to verse 36,
- 00:19:21.914 --> 00:19:25.551
- And the very first word of verse 36 is he says therefore.
- 00:19:25.551 --> 00:19:31.924
- How many of you like it when the pastor says, "as we close?"
- 00:19:31.924 --> 00:19:38.230
- What happens in your mind when you hear the words as we close?
- 00:19:38.230 --> 00:19:41.900
- What do you know?
- 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:44.469
- That we're getting close to the end, right?
- 00:19:44.469 --> 00:19:48.607
- Well, when he says therefore--he's done the
- 00:19:48.607 --> 00:19:52.244
- Scripture, he's talked about salvation,
- 00:19:52.244 --> 00:19:54.980
- He's talked about jesus, and then he says therefore,
- 00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:57.649
- You know he's about to wrap this sermon up.
- 00:19:57.649 --> 00:20:03.121
- And he gets straight to the point.
- 00:20:03.121 --> 00:20:06.258
- And what does he say?
- 00:20:06.258 --> 00:20:08.393
- "therefore let all of israel know,
- 00:20:08.393 --> 00:20:15.834
- Be assured of this,
- 00:20:15.834 --> 00:20:20.072
- That god in heaven made this jesus,"
- 00:20:20.072 --> 00:20:23.108
- And then he says, "whom you crucified.
- 00:20:23.108 --> 00:20:28.113
- The man you nailed to that cross is no ordinary man.
- 00:20:28.113 --> 00:20:32.451
- He wasn't a thief like those other two thieves."
- 00:20:32.451 --> 00:20:35.320
- ♪♪♪
- 00:20:35.387 --> 00:20:39.625
- Kayla: wow, what a timely message
- 00:20:39.625 --> 00:20:41.460
- Straight from the word of god.
- 00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:43.495
- How were you impacted by today's message?
- 00:20:43.495 --> 00:20:45.864
- We'd love to hear how the lord spoke directly to you
- 00:20:45.864 --> 00:20:49.167
- Through "lift up jesus."
- 00:20:49.167 --> 00:20:50.936
- Take a moment to dial the number on the screen
- 00:20:50.936 --> 00:20:53.171
- Or to visit www.liftupjesus.com
- 00:20:53.171 --> 00:20:57.142
- And let us know how you were impacted today.
- 00:20:57.142 --> 00:20:59.978
- And if you feel led to support the production
- 00:20:59.978 --> 00:21:02.414
- Of more powerful messages just like this one,
- 00:21:02.414 --> 00:21:05.584
- Would you consider partnering with us?
- 00:21:05.584 --> 00:21:07.886
- Your one-time gift or a monthly partnership enables us
- 00:21:07.886 --> 00:21:11.023
- To continue to hold up the word of life;
- 00:21:11.023 --> 00:21:14.593
- Encouraging a global audience of listeners across internet,
- 00:21:14.593 --> 00:21:18.196
- Radio, and television platforms.
- 00:21:18.196 --> 00:21:20.832
- Just log on to our website and click "partner with us."
- 00:21:20.832 --> 00:21:24.336
- Thank you for joining today.
- 00:21:24.336 --> 00:21:25.804
- It was truly an honor to have you here.
- 00:21:25.804 --> 00:21:28.073
- We'll see you again this time next week,
- 00:21:28.073 --> 00:21:30.475
- And until then don't forget to always lift up jesus.
- 00:21:30.475 --> 00:21:34.880
- Derieck lopez: my name is derieck lopez,
- 00:21:36.481 --> 00:21:38.083
- And i had always known about god,
- 00:21:38.083 --> 00:21:40.719
- But growing up, jesus was more like santa claus
- 00:21:40.719 --> 00:21:43.155
- Than a savior to me.
- 00:21:43.155 --> 00:21:44.756
- See, before i knew jesus,
- 00:21:44.756 --> 00:21:47.225
- My life and my family was a mess.
- 00:21:47.225 --> 00:21:49.861
- And because of that, i was depressed,
- 00:21:49.861 --> 00:21:52.364
- I was lost, i was alone, and i was filled with anger.
- 00:21:52.364 --> 00:21:56.401
- And i wanted a different life, but i didn't know how.
- 00:21:56.401 --> 00:21:59.504
- But all that changed when i actually started looking
- 00:21:59.504 --> 00:22:02.074
- At jesus as a savior.
- 00:22:02.074 --> 00:22:04.643
- My family and i found shepherd in 2014.
- 00:22:04.643 --> 00:22:07.846
- And actually, it wasn't on purpose.
- 00:22:07.846 --> 00:22:09.915
- We were raised catholic and had been going
- 00:22:09.915 --> 00:22:11.983
- To a catholic church in studio city,
- 00:22:11.983 --> 00:22:13.752
- But when we moved,
- 00:22:13.752 --> 00:22:15.120
- That drive to the church meant waking up a whole lot earlier.
- 00:22:15.120 --> 00:22:18.924
- And i'll never forget one sunday morning,
- 00:22:18.924 --> 00:22:20.892
- Sitting on the couch, ready to go to church,
- 00:22:20.892 --> 00:22:23.495
- And my family was taking forever,
- 00:22:23.495 --> 00:22:25.831
- And it got to the point where we were now
- 00:22:25.831 --> 00:22:27.766
- 30 minutes late for mass,
- 00:22:27.766 --> 00:22:29.935
- And then my mom looked at us and said,
- 00:22:29.935 --> 00:22:31.470
- "we're not gonna make it,
- 00:22:31.470 --> 00:22:33.405
- But there's this church down the street
- 00:22:33.405 --> 00:22:35.974
- That our friends go to,
- 00:22:35.974 --> 00:22:37.609
- The only thing is that it's christian."
- 00:22:37.609 --> 00:22:41.012
- I gave my life to the lord when i was 17 years old,
- 00:22:41.012 --> 00:22:44.282
- And i remember on sundays, i'd sit at the edge of my seat
- 00:22:44.282 --> 00:22:47.419
- Clinging to the words of pastor dudley,
- 00:22:47.419 --> 00:22:49.821
- Because i wanted to know about this god
- 00:22:49.821 --> 00:22:51.523
- Who saved me from the life that i hated.
- 00:22:51.523 --> 00:22:54.993
- And as my love for jesus grew, so did my courage to share that
- 00:22:54.993 --> 00:22:58.630
- With what he's done and what he's done for me.
- 00:22:58.630 --> 00:23:02.167
- And i always had people telling me,
- 00:23:02.167 --> 00:23:04.002
- "derieck, you'd make a great pastor one day."
- 00:23:04.002 --> 00:23:06.571
- And deep down, i wanted to do that,
- 00:23:06.571 --> 00:23:08.540
- I wanted to tell people about jesus,
- 00:23:08.540 --> 00:23:10.575
- I wanted to be a pastor, but i didn't believe them,
- 00:23:10.575 --> 00:23:14.679
- Because i didn't believe god could use someone like me.
- 00:23:14.679 --> 00:23:18.917
- I'd tell myself, you're not good enough to be a pastor.
- 00:23:18.917 --> 00:23:22.721
- You're afraid of public speaking.
- 00:23:22.721 --> 00:23:24.890
- You don't know anything about the bible.
- 00:23:24.890 --> 00:23:26.425
- People will never take you seriously.
- 00:23:26.425 --> 00:23:28.160
- You're going to lead people the wrong way.
- 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:30.328
- You're not worthy.
- 00:23:30.328 --> 00:23:33.865
- And i believed those things,
- 00:23:33.865 --> 00:23:35.667
- And i believed those lies for a long time,
- 00:23:35.667 --> 00:23:38.336
- Until i talked about it with my mom.
- 00:23:38.336 --> 00:23:40.672
- And i told her the reason why i couldn't,
- 00:23:40.672 --> 00:23:42.941
- All the reasons why i'd fail, all the reasons why i'm scared,
- 00:23:42.941 --> 00:23:45.911
- And then she told me, "well, then, son, do it scared,"
- 00:23:45.911 --> 00:23:50.916
- And those three words gave me the courage
- 00:23:50.916 --> 00:23:53.785
- To ask god to show me the way.
- 00:23:53.785 --> 00:23:56.087
- And for months i prayed and i asked god,
- 00:23:56.087 --> 00:23:57.956
- "lord, give me signs and use my life for whatever you want."
- 00:23:57.956 --> 00:24:03.528
- And then came revival of 2017 at shepherd,
- 00:24:03.528 --> 00:24:07.265
- And on the list was
- 00:24:07.265 --> 00:24:08.967
- One of my favorite preachers in the world.
- 00:24:08.967 --> 00:24:11.503
- And that night before, i had asked god one more time,
- 00:24:11.503 --> 00:24:14.973
- "lord, show me a sign, and use my life for whatever you want."
- 00:24:14.973 --> 00:24:20.278
- And this preacher had preached an amazing sermon
- 00:24:20.278 --> 00:24:22.981
- And many that night chose to give their life to the lord,
- 00:24:22.981 --> 00:24:26.852
- And then pastor dudley walked out and said,
- 00:24:26.852 --> 00:24:29.020
- "if any of you need prayer or need someone to talk to,
- 00:24:29.020 --> 00:24:32.524
- Come to the altar right now."
- 00:24:32.524 --> 00:24:35.160
- And instantly, my heart started beating so fast,
- 00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:37.462
- But i thought to myself, derieck,
- 00:24:37.462 --> 00:24:40.131
- You're always praying for signs and now you have one,
- 00:24:40.131 --> 00:24:44.202
- Do it scared.
- 00:24:44.202 --> 00:24:47.005
- And i got up and i saw a room full of people needing prayer,
- 00:24:47.005 --> 00:24:51.543
- And then pastor victor walked up to me and said,
- 00:24:51.543 --> 00:24:54.045
- "hey, you look like you could use someone to talk to,
- 00:24:54.045 --> 00:24:58.583
- How can i help?"
- 00:24:58.583 --> 00:25:00.385
- And i looked him in the eyes and i said,
- 00:25:00.385 --> 00:25:02.187
- "i want to be a pastor and i don't know how,
- 00:25:02.187 --> 00:25:06.558
- But can you show me?"
- 00:25:06.558 --> 00:25:07.959
- I wasn't a pastor after that night,
- 00:25:07.959 --> 00:25:10.328
- But i was brave enough to answer his call,
- 00:25:10.328 --> 00:25:12.731
- And i was brave enough to walk
- 00:25:12.731 --> 00:25:14.366
- In the direction that god had for me.
- 00:25:14.366 --> 00:25:17.802
- Trusting jesus has never let me down,
- 00:25:17.802 --> 00:25:20.539
- But has given me the life i've always wanted.
- 00:25:20.539 --> 00:25:23.975
- And the greatest blessings i have in life
- 00:25:23.975 --> 00:25:26.211
- Have been because of shepherd church.
- 00:25:26.211 --> 00:25:29.047
- This church showed me jesus, and jesus saved me.
- 00:25:29.047 --> 00:25:33.184
- This church gave me opportunities to serve.
- 00:25:33.184 --> 00:25:35.987
- This church gave me amazing mentors.
- 00:25:35.987 --> 00:25:38.490
- This church gave me godly friends.
- 00:25:38.490 --> 00:25:41.560
- This church helped pay for me to go to bible college.
- 00:25:41.560 --> 00:25:45.096
- This church introduced me to my wife.
- 00:25:45.096 --> 00:25:48.500
- This church married my wife and i.
- 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:51.703
- This church gave me an internship.
- 00:25:51.703 --> 00:25:53.838
- This church gave me a job.
- 00:25:53.838 --> 00:25:55.674
- This church made me a pastor, and this church
- 00:25:55.674 --> 00:25:58.109
- Has allowed me to live out my dream.
- 00:25:58.109 --> 00:26:01.947
- Jesus saved me, but i am not the man i am today
- 00:26:01.947 --> 00:26:05.850
- Without my church.
- 00:26:05.850 --> 00:26:08.420
- Every day, i am doing my best to follow jesus
- 00:26:08.420 --> 00:26:11.590
- And the life he has for me.
- 00:26:11.590 --> 00:26:13.792
- I have the honor of getting to help people
- 00:26:13.792 --> 00:26:15.794
- Become fully alive in god's kingdom
- 00:26:15.794 --> 00:26:18.263
- And to show them that jesus is worth trusting.
- 00:26:18.263 --> 00:26:21.600
- Michael north: research proves that it's the regular hearing
- 00:26:25.837 --> 00:26:28.206
- And teaching of the word of god that takes our christian life
- 00:26:28.206 --> 00:26:31.276
- To a new level.
- 00:26:31.276 --> 00:26:32.944
- That's why we invite you to meet dudley rutherford every week
- 00:26:32.944 --> 00:26:35.680
- On this station for another powerful message
- 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:38.516
- Straight from the bible.
- 00:26:38.516 --> 00:26:40.118
- You can also visit liftupjesus.com to sign up for
- 00:26:40.118 --> 00:26:43.221
- Our monthly email devotional, discover pastor dudley's books
- 00:26:43.221 --> 00:26:47.192
- And other resources, and see our national tv and radio schedule.
- 00:26:47.192 --> 00:26:51.930
- And don't hesitate to reach out on the phone or online.
- 00:26:51.930 --> 00:26:55.567
- Pastor dudley has a passion and vision to reach more people
- 00:26:55.567 --> 00:26:59.037
- With a message of hope.
- 00:26:59.037 --> 00:27:01.072
- And if you'd like to partner with us to touch the world,
- 00:27:01.072 --> 00:27:03.742
- We'd love to hear from you.
- 00:27:03.742 --> 00:27:05.343
- Your financial gift will do so much to help us
- 00:27:05.343 --> 00:27:07.879
- Impact the nations for christ.
- 00:27:07.879 --> 00:27:10.649
- And if you're ever in the southern california area,
- 00:27:10.649 --> 00:27:13.051
- We invite you to visit us at shepherd church
- 00:27:13.051 --> 00:27:15.186
- Here in los angeles.
- 00:27:15.186 --> 00:27:16.755
- It's an amazing experience you'll never forget.
- 00:27:16.755 --> 00:27:19.524
- Until next time, remember to always lift up jesus.
- 00:27:19.524 --> 00:27:23.395
- ♪♪♪
- 00:27:23.461 --> 00:27:26.498
- Announcer: the preceding program was sponsored
- 00:27:26.498 --> 00:27:27.932
- By friends and partners of the lift up jesus ministry.
- 00:27:27.932 --> 00:27:30.000
