Church of the Word Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Four men from the Ten Men Project and Gene English shared of their recent mission trips. God wants to reveal Himself to His people. He wants us to know He loves us. God sees us as precious as Jesus. God is good (Psalm 145:9; 25:8; 119:68; 34:8; 86:5, 15; 100:5; Ex. 34:6; Nahum 1:7; Jeremiah 29:11; Lam. 3:25; Ps. 31:19; Acts 10:38; Romans 5:8; Acts 2). There was ministry in the Holy Spirit.

To expect is to believe with faith. When God gives you a Rhema word, you can expect it to be fulfilled. Mark 10:27 refers to things being impossible for someone trusting in wealth, but with God all things are possible. It is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was looking intently at His disciples, because He was giving them something deep. You can limit God by not remembering His power (Psalm 78). Psalm 105:1-2 says that we are to proclaim His deeds among the people, and tell of His wondrous works.

[Individuals shared their testimonies.] In Mark 2:1-12 Jesus saw their faith. Your faith can make a difference for someone else. He forgave the paralytic's sin before He healed him. Sin can short-circuit healing. Condemnation can get in between. Conviction pulls you to the Lord, but condemnation separates you from Him. What was the result of Jesus' and the disciples' miracles? They led people to glorify God or led them to salvation. Examples of this are: John 2:1-11; John 2:23; John 3:1-2; John 4:46-54; John 5:36-37; John 10:24-38; John 11:4-45; Acts 5:12-16; Acts 9:32-35, 36-43; Acts 13:1-12; Acts 28:1-10; John 14:1-14; and Matthew 5:14-16. Miracles are so people can see His good works and glorify God and be led to salvation.

John 17:1-5 is Jesus' prayer to His Father. In 17:3 He prayed that we may know the Father and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life. Eternal life Scriptures: John 3:16; 3:36; 5:24; 6:47; 10:27-29; 11:25-26. His followers were willing to give their lives. Base your faith on the Word of God, not on experiences. Jesus' second prayer was that we may be one as He and the Father are one (John 17:11). We were crucified with Christ. John 16:7, 13-15; Romans 8:11; Galatians 5:16; Philippians 3:10-14; Titus 2:11-15; 3:3-7. Jesus is praying that you be in the world, but not of it. The third prayer is in John 17:13- that we may have Jesus' joy. Nehemiah 8:10; Hebrews 12:1-3; Psalm 16:11; John 14:23; John 15:11-12; Philippians 2:1-2, 16-17. His fourth prayer, in John 17:13 was that God should keep us from the evil one. John 10:10; Matthew 6:13; Luke 10:19-20; Jude 16-21. His fifth prayer was that God would sanctify us by His truth (John 17:17). 2 Timothy 3:16; Revelation 19:13; John 14:6; John 4:23-24. Are you willing to give your life for the truth? What are the signs of the end of the age? Take heed not to be deceived. Stay in the truth of the Word, and be accountable to each other. The sixth prayer is oneness in John 17:21-23. The seventh prayer is that we would be with Him, and that we might behold Jesus' glory. Jesus wants to share His glory. Romans 5:1-2, 8:16-24; Philippians 3:20-21; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:16; 5:17. Look to Jesus, and you will become like Him, glory to glory. The final prayer is that the love with which God loved Jesus may be in us, and Jesus in us. Love casts out all fear. Give others the Word of God. They need the fruit of the Spirit. Love is the doctrinal knowledge of truth. Jesus never compromised truth for love. Agree with Jesus' prayers in John 17, and you can have them, 100% guaranteed.

In Judges 6, the Midianites had cleaned out the land of the Israelites yearly. Gideon was hiding while threshing when an Angel of the Lord declared him to be a mighty warrior, the Lord is with you, and to go in the strength you have. Faith without works is dead. God will be with you. Jesus is the revealed will of God on the earth. The Holy Spirit is not enough for a miracle. You must be a believer, and you need the power of God. God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power. Jesus never took credit for His miracles; God was with Him. God is with us always. The power followed the telling of the Good News. Be bold. Let God show that He is with you to proclaim and to liberate. The miracles testify. Are you giving the Lord opportunities for miracles? The one who believes in Jesus will do greater works than He did. Jesus said that what was impossible with man was possible with God (Mark 10:27). God does not change (Malachi 3:6). What limits God? They provoked God, tempting Him (Psalm 78). They limited God. They did not remember the mighty deeds the Lord did for them. They had unbelief (Mark 6). The cure for unbelief is prayer and fasting and drawing near to the Father. Hebrews 11:6. Treat your relationship with the Lord as valuable. Remain in Him. Delight in Him (Psalm 37:4). Seek the Lord (Psalm 34:10). Other Scriptures: Psalm 22; 111:1-2; 109:30; 105; 145. Time was given for individuals to share their testimonies, followed by a time of ministry.

Pastor Syd tells how the filling of the Holy Spirit is manifested. There is a need to release and yield to the Holy Spirit for the person to pray in tongues. He shared how and when to share a word or tongue in the church service. Jesus' disciples could not cast out the demon in the boy with seizures (Mark 9:14-26, Luke 9:1-2, 37-42, 10:17, and Matthew 17:19-21). Addressing why the disciples' ministering did not work, Jesus said that it was because of their unbelief or little faith. Faith is measurable. There is no, weak, shipwrecked, little, great, sincere, growing, increasing, strong, Spirit of faith, full of faith, perfect, mature, and overcoming faith. Pastor Syd shared of his experience of shipwrecked faith. Faith is spiritual and of the heart and gives life (John 6:63). Unbelief comes out by the Word of God, prayer, and fasting (Matthew 17:21). It is your exercising authority and power. Do all have faith? No (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2). Examine yourself. All have been given faith, but not all walk in faith. You cannot pray and fast a demon out, but you can get rid of unbelief that way. Praying and fasting do not give you authority and power. Jesus was tempted, but He overcame because He had a strong intimate relationship with the Father (Luke 4). We need that kind of relationship with God in order to be led by His Spirit. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit and power while doing what the LORD had told Him to do. Why could the disciples not cast out the demon? It was because of their unbelief, their being full of themselves, and their having fear. Spending time with God and moving in love drive out condemnation and fear. Draw near to Him.

Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the Counselor and Comforter, God's Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Adoption, and the Spirit of Faith. What is His role in the believer's life? He is the Advocate and Counselor to help you forever. He is our Companion. He guides us into all truth, tells us of things yet to come, and reminds us of things God has said. He glorifies Jesus. (John 14:16, 26; John 16:13-14) The Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers of sin and sanctifies Gentiles. What does the Holy Spirit do on you (being baptized in the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit)? He empowers you to minister to others. (John 20:1-11; Luke 24:36-49) The disciples were born again in John 20:22. They got the Holy Spirit on them in Acts 1:4-8. Over and over the Bible records that the Holy Spirit came on the disciples and believers (Acts 2:14-21, 28; Acts 4:29-30; Acts 6:8; Acts 8:4-13-16; Acts 9:17; Acts 10:34-44; Acts 19:1-60). Signs that follow the Holy Spirit's coming on a person are that they prophesy, and they speak in tongues. There are two kinds of tongues: 1) tongues unto the Lord that is a prayer language between man and God, and 2) tongues which are messages to man, which need interpretation. The prayer language edifies the person (Jude 20) and bypasses the devil and ourselves. Praying in tongues can be followed by praying in English as He reveals mysteries and truth. (1 Corinthians 2:1-14; 14:1-14) You need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, being filled often. [A word in tongues and interpretation was given, encouraging the congregation to pray in the Spirit, especially in these last days.]

[Apostle Dale Armstrong shared about the Ukraine and the importance of our prayers for the people.]

Listen to this miracle-packed sermon on "Expect Miracles".  A young lady testified of the change in her life as a result of Pastor Syd's and Paul Burkholder's victorious ministry to her boss who had a 2% chance of living because of cancer. We are seated in the heavens with authority (Ephesians 1:20-2:7). Jesus said for His disciples to believe in His works because they were of His Father and that we would do greater works than He did (John 14:8-14). The many good works that Jesus did were the miracles (John 10:31-38). He said that signs, miracles, would accompany those who believe: casting out demons, speaking in new tongues, not being harmed by snakes (demons) or drink, and laying hands on the sick and their recovery Mark 16:15-20). Elijah proclaimed that there would be no rain for years at his command. He had to obey and be at a certain place in order for God to miraculously feed and water him (1 Kings 17:1-18:41). He was miraculously taken care of by ravens while staying beside a brook and then by a widow and her son. He performed a miracle of raising her son from the dead. He performed another huge miracle of bringing down fire on a water drenched altar, and the subsequent downpour of rain. James 5:13-18 tells the individual to pray and call for the elders to pray and anoint with oil. In Acts 4:23, after Peter and John were threatened, they prayed for boldness to go to the nations. We are told to do miraculous works that affect individuals, groups, and nations (Psalm 2:1-12). Take a hold of nation-changing prayer. Pray for Ukraine and Russia and the nations. There must be a move, an awakening, of God. Pray for our nation.

Pastor Syd relates the miracles of his climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, and his cousin's miraculous overcoming COVID and a ruptured disc on the trip.

1 Peter 1:13-23; 2 Peter 1:2-14; Colossians 2:6-7 Walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith. God is looking for growth. He sets members in the body (1 Corinthians 12:18). Psalm 92:12-15. We are God's currency in His kingdom. Glory in that He knows and understands you (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Know who God is. His motive is love, and He is a giver. Who is God to me? Fight to know the Savior. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Put on the new man (Ephesians 4:20-25). There is a difference between faith and presumption. Put faith in the living Word. Faith produces joy. Joy is not based on circumstances. The Bible characters overcame by faith (Hebrews 11). Abraham was not weak in faith. Giving glory to God strengthens us in faith. Thank Him and give Him glory. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Offer the sacrifice of praise to God (Hebrews 13:12-13). Act on the Word! Blessed is the man who endures temptation (James 1:12). God does not tempt. Man is drawn away by his own desires. When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin brings forth death. Do not be deceived. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father through obedience. Karen Burrows gave an example of how we are tempted by the enemy in the flesh. Submitting to God increases you and gives you freedom. We build on the foundation of Jesus with gold, silver, and gems. The fire will test each one's work. Examine yourself. God wants you to operate in His Spirit. (1 Timothy 6:12; Ephesians 6:10; 2 Timothy 1:7; Philippians 3:7-14) Ephesians 2:7 in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 1:13-23; 2 Peter 1:2-14; Colossians 2:6-7 Walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith. God is looking for growth. He sets members in the body (1 Corinthians 12:18). Psalm 92:12-15. We are God's currency in His kingdom. Glory in that He knows and understands you (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Know who God is. His motive is love, and He is a giver. Who is God to me? Fight to know the Savior. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Put on the new man (Ephesians 4:20-25). There is a difference between faith and presumption. Put faith in the living Word. Faith produces joy. Joy is not based on circumstances. The Bible characters overcame by faith (Hebrews 11). Abraham was not weak in faith. Giving glory to God strengthens us in faith. Thank Him and give Him glory. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Offer the sacrifice of praise to God (Hebrews 13:12-13). Act on the Word! Blessed is the man who endures temptation (James 1:12). God does not tempt. Man is drawn away by his own desires. When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin brings forth death. Do not be deceived. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father through obedience. Karen Burrows gave an example of how we are tempted by the enemy in the flesh. Submitting to God increases you and gives you freedom. We build on the foundation of Jesus with gold, silver, and gems. The fire will test each one's work. Examine yourself. God wants you to operate in His Spirit. (1 Timothy 6:12; Ephesians 6:10; 2 Timothy 1:7; Philippians 3:7-14) Ephesians 2:7 in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

1 John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. We are not to be troubled, because we are part of an unshakable kingdom.  We were born to take faith and shake the world. Our faith overcomes the world. We are not to be conformed to this world or its way of thinking, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds by the Word (Romans 12:2).  We are to think the way God thinks. A tribe of long-living people believes that the older you get, the better you get. God is taking us to a higher place, if we can reset our default setting to a transformed mind. Declare: My faith is in the Word. God will provide all my needs.

Deuteronomy 8:18 tells us that it is He who give us the power to get wealth. Mark 6:35-44 tells about Jesus feeding the five thousand. He wants to involve all His disciples in His miracles. Mark 6:45-52 says that His disciples did not understand about the loaves, because their hearts were hardened. They forgot they had faith and authority in the storm. God wants us to participate in miracles and the supernatural. He has also given us the keys to the kingdom that He expects us to use: binding and loosing on earth and heaven. He created man to have dominion over the whole earth and every living thing. The new man named Jesus, has the name above every other name. He has given us all authority over every work of the enemy. He made us to rule and reign. [He gave an altar call for those who feel like they are dragging their feet to do what God has told them to do; to those who feel like something is holding them back; and to those who want more, but they do not know how to get there.]