Valley Gospel
A Pentecostal church experience.
Valley Gospel
That's Revival
Discover the transformative power of a spiritual awakening as we explore the incredible journey of revival at Valley Gospel Church in Springdale, Pennsylvania. Promising to illuminate your understanding of faith, we reflect on how believers are becoming fervent prayer warriors, ready to face the challenges of the end times with unyielding strength. By drawing connections to Nehemiah 8 and the return from Babylonian exile, we celebrate a movement that extends beyond the church walls, inviting divine presence into everyday life.
Have you ever wondered what truly ignites a church community? We ponder the profound hunger for God's Word, contrasting the six-hour sermon of Ezra with today's often entertainment-driven services. Our conversation critiques the tendency of some preachers to avoid tough topics, much like the medical field's reliance on repeat customers, emphasizing the necessity of Scripture as the bedrock of genuine revival. We aim to inspire a shift towards spiritual substance, urging listeners to seek deeper truths rather than transient emotions.
Join us for a heartfelt exploration of biblical symbolism and spiritual priorities. Through the observance of Sukkot, we are reminded of life’s fleeting nature and the call to focus on eternal values. This journey underscores our status as pilgrims on earth, encouraging a commitment to building a strong spiritual foundation. With a joyful celebration through song and worship, we highlight themes of gratitude and dedication, inviting you to embrace a persistent journey toward divine fulfillment.
Thank you, Jesus. God will open. He'll open up the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing. My God will open. He'll open up the windows of heaven and He'll pour you out a blessing. My God will open. He'll open up the windows of heaven, He'll pour you out a blessing, and you will not have the room, not because of you, but because he's good, and you will not have the room to receive him.
Speaker 2:Hello Welcome to Valley Gospel Church. We are a non-denominational Pentecostal church located in Springdale, pennsylvania. Hello Welcome to Valley Gospel Church. We are a non-denominational Pentecostal church located in Springdale, pennsylvania. Our sole mission is to present the living truth of a risen Lord Jesus Christ to a remnant church and a lost world.
Speaker 3:Let's get into the service recorded live at Valley Gospel Church. So I'm really ready to preach this morning. Colette, it was so good to see you today. I have to say there was a little period of radio silence there where she didn't see a text that I sent her and I got a little nervous that something was up and she said, whoops, I didn't see it. But it's just so good to see. You came through everything well, hallelujah, and we praise God for that.
Speaker 3:You know it's been prophesied and spoken over the last several years concerning Valley Gospel Church that we as an assembly were and are on the precipice of a heaven-sent, old-fashioned Holy Ghost revival and that word has been sent from and delivered, emailed, texted from all over the country and actually a couple outside of the country, and I personally, for some time have been praying and preparing, should the Lord tarry and elect to move through us. But for much of that time I saw it obviously, obviously not correctly, but I saw it as people coming from neighboring communities, people coming from our community to see, to hear, to experience an incredible supernatural and sensational thing, to witness a move of God. You see, I had in my mind the unsaved, the unchurched, coming to Valley Gospel Church, maybe for the first time and experiencing an emotional experience. But more recently the Lord responded to my prayers and he corrected my thinking somewhat that the revival we sought, that I had been praying for, that many of you have been praying for, was in fact already in progress and, although still in its infancy, was moving forward at the appropriate speed. But this revival, although it would comprise signs, wonders, healings, miracles to confirm God's authorship on the revival, it would be more about preparing his people, More about end times, preparation for his remnant church, and we talked a little bit about this on Wednesday evening. Those who may have been lukewarm for their entire Christianity will suddenly and supernaturally catch on fire. Those that only prayed when something affected them or something hurt them now will become prayer warriors praying without ceasing.
Speaker 3:An ecclesia ecclesia is called out ones, the ecclesia prepared and equipped in righteousness to stand strong in the face of evil and not blink. Not blink Prepared call that for a time such as this, glory, a revival of the Lord's presence and the Holy Ghost control that starts in this building, yes, but isn't confined by this building, but on the job, at school, at home, in Sam's Club. Our walk with the Lord, our walk with the Lord gets so pleasing to Him, so pleasing to Him, that we're not pleading oh Lord, send the fire. The fire is already here. It's already kindled and ablaze, always kindled, always ablaze, always kindled, always ablaze. And one by one, individually and as a congregation, we've given over control to the Holy Spirit and we see him meeting needs. We sense him and we sense that anointing from him on us, and we've found favor in his sight. His glory is being revealed.
Speaker 3:That's revival. That's revival, chrissy. Let's go to work. Pray for Chrissy. I gave her a tough job this week. Amen, amen. That revival is in store for everyone here this morning. In the book of Nehemiah, the Lord shows us how to detect, how to know, how to discern that revival has come, amen. So if you'll turn with Chrissy, please, to Nehemiah 8. Nehemiah 8, verses 1 through 5. Whenever you get there, let Chrissy know and stand to your feet.
Speaker 4:And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate and they spoke unto the Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law to Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
Speaker 4:And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both of men and women and all who could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month, and he read therein, before the street that was before the water gate, from the morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand the ears of all the people were attentive under the book of the law and ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood which they had made for the purpose, and beside him stood matathia and shema and anna and your and uraja and hilkiah and Massiah, and on his right hand and on his left hand, petidiah and Mishael and Melchiah and Hashem, hezbediah, zechiah and Melsham. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Wow.
Speaker 3:Wow, good job, chrissy. In this revival book and that's what Nehemiah is called a revival book we see 42,360 Jews returning from Babylonian exile. The Bible is kind of kind and calls it exile. In fact it was bondage they were taken captive and a return to holiness, to faith and true worship. It's an accurate depiction of ancient Israel. But it's also a lesson for you and I, a lesson to the church to leave compromise behind, to leave dead churches, to leave leading double lives in a return to Zion. A return to Zion to a people, a church, a home, a pastor. That walk in truth and I'll use for a subject now. That's revival.
Speaker 3:Amen, let's pray, heavenly Father. Thank you, lord, thank you for your anointing on Chrissy, lord, that she was able to speak the words in your word, lord. I ask your anointing on what is presented today, both the reading of the scripture, lord, and the implementation of that Lord. I ask let your word be a lamp unto our feet, a light to our path. It is in the name of your precious, beloved august, all-powerful Son, we pray. Amen and amen. Please be seated.
Speaker 3:Let me begin this morning, if I could, with an honest statement, and it might sound like this, a little out of school, but it's heartfelt, my play in church days have long passed the stereotypical model and mold that I followed for a long time and is being followed by so many in church leadership as pastors and church leaders, where a church board dictates the leadership and the pastor is nothing more than a hireling who is beholden to the board for his salary, who is beholden to the board for his salary. Where a collection plate is passed down every row to kind of shame and coerce people into giving till. It hurts, and if that doesn't work, we'll put swipe cards in the vestibule, so we don't even have to face you. Where collars and robes and sweater vests have become a clergy's wardrobe. And look, maybe I haven't, I know I've said it in the past, but maybe I didn't the only reason I wear a jacket and tie. And I'm very clear in our first service, april 1st 2006, in Harmerville, I was dressed in my usual and comfortable flannel and in seeking the Lord for that very first message, and I was fearful and this was the first message I was to give in this new work and as I sought him concerning that message, he asked me a question and he asked it kindly who is it that you think you represent. And I answered him in a very religious fashion and I said it's you, lord, you are the king of glory. And he politely said it's you, lord, you are the king of glory. And he politely said then shouldn't you dress like that? And I said okay, and I took off my flannel and hadn't worn a suit since I last worked at Carnegie Mellon and told everybody I've got suits to clean. Hence, if you're wondering that's why the tie Look.
Speaker 3:If you're looking for a pastor that will climb in a worldly pit with you, a pastor that will share a beer with you or maybe a dirty story, or share a lustful look at women, a pastor that will share, on a Sunday morning, a message of compromise I know, I know how tough it is. I know how hard it is Maybe a pastor to make you feel good about your sinful struggle, or have a beer and wine night in the basement of the church to put some testosterone back in the church. If you want a pastor that either prays or doesn't pray and doesn't expect God to answer, you got the wrong guy. You have the wrong worship team. I'm expecting God to move. Our worship team expects God to move. All of you are expecting God to move. Look, you may not always like what I have to say. You may not like how I say it. I understand that you know someone left the church and they wrote me a letter and said you're not a pastor of love, you're not a loving pastor I guess is the way they put it, because I called out a sin that I honestly didn't even know they were involved in. I just spoke what God gave me. I am a loving pastor and because I love you, I'll tell you the truth. Hallelujah. It might sting, you may not like it, but, brothers and sisters, it's revival time. It's time for revival In our Nehemiah reading, this remnant of believers came out of exile.
Speaker 3:They came out of Babylonian exile. They were taken captivity because of disobedience to God, and Babylon took this Jewish remnant captive. These were the best, the brightest, the strongest, the smartest. They were the intellectuals. Wow, ring any bells. My, my. They were held captive because of disobedience to God. They ignored his covenant, they ignored his truth. But they're freed from Babylonian exile and come back to Israel with a brand new attitude. Sometimes it takes a little captivity, sometimes it takes a little bondage, sometimes it takes a little pain for us to come to our senses. They come back with a new attitude, a revival mentality. They roll up their sleeves and get to work in a true sense of unity to remove the rubbish, the pollution, the trash that had accumulated in Jerusalem, the city that David reigned in Kurt, the city that David reigned from, the city where the temple of God was and will be, the city where Jesus left from and the city to which he will return, jerusalem. That is exactly the work that God has called us to In our teaching, in our preaching, in whatever platform God has given us, in our podcast, our outreach, in our men's and women's study, to remove the spiritual rubbish, to remove the junk, the religious junk that is accumulated in people's hearts and minds, the junk of false doctrine or apostolic authority, or he gets us the clutter of religion, denominational walls, compromise of his word, not only in pulpits or seminaries, but in the pews as well. We're rolling up our sleeves to rebuild the crumbling wall of true Christianity, true Christianity ravaged by satanic power, that has been decimated by satanic power, especially in the last ten years or so. But are we ready for revival? Are we ready for revival? Are we ready for revival?
Speaker 3:Verse 5, and Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and when he opened it up, all the people stood up. Now that above all the people is in sense of height, not in sense of rank, and the people's cry was give us the word. Give us the word, give us the true word of God, give us the truth. Tell us what the Lord is saying. Ezra stood on a raised wooden platform, a pallet that the Bible tells us was built for just this occasion. I love the detail that the Bible gives that they built this pallet for this occasion.
Speaker 3:Ezra stands up and for six hours six hours he preached the Word of God. Six hours that might not go over too well for those of you who have lunch plans or are anticipating a Steelers-Ravens matchup. Six hours, wow, that's a long way to go. Not only was it Ezra. See, it wasn't about the preacher going to get up and fill you with what he had to say. It says the people stood for six hours hearing and learning what the Lord had to say.
Speaker 3:And the message, the message wasn't kind. It wasn't how you can get this and how to have your prayers answered, how to crash heaven how to do all that. They learned. The cause of their frustration, their difficulty in their lives, the day-to-day confusion, was a result of their own stubbornness and rebellion. We don't want to listen to that right. We don't wanna hear the greatest evidence of revival in a church it's not manifestations, it's not healing, it's not supernatural displays, it's not even high worship. Now, those are all evidences, don't misunderstand, but they're not the greatest. The greatest evidence is a hunger for God's Word. That's how you know revival's there. A hunger for God's Word. Give us the Word. Let's read more scripture, let's go deeper. Poor Donna, donna read over 150 verses Wednesday night. I thought I was going to wear her out. 150 verses just on a Wednesday night Bible study.
Speaker 3:Christians, you and I, on the edge of, on the edge of Christianity, and we've all been there at one time or another where, yeah, I kind of like this. Like Daniel said, you weren't in flame, but the pilot light was lit. So you started to look, you started to listen. And on the Christians on the edge, backslidden Christians, you can tell, because they're not too interested in the word, they like the music, they like the events, they like the social aspect of church or the programs, because the word convicts the word convicts. The word convicts Career preachers, salaried preachers and I'm not picking on preachers that are paid, but salaried preachers don't want to preach the word. Because the word shakes the church. The true word. It lowers attendance. The word denies compromise, so it reduces income. Amen.
Speaker 3:The word breaks confinement and bondages. But and I don't want to pick on the medical field but the medical field doesn't want you well, because then you're no longer a customer. They need you sick, so you keep using their services. Church is no different. They want you broken and in bondage. Because you keep coming back. Hallelujah, you keep giving. Think, maybe if I give a little more money, if I actually get my ties up to where the Bible says and do a little better, maybe I'll get what I need. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. That's the word. The word sets the captives free.
Speaker 3:I heard a preacher at one of these so-called revivals in the last couple of years make a statement and he told his congregation that we're all hooping and hollering and the dry ice was flowing and he said leave your Bibles at home. Told the congregation this, I heard this personally Leave your Bibles at home. They won't need them here, because this is about fresh revelation, this is about new wine, and his words were we need an outpouring for the present, not an outpouring for the past. Let me be clear there is no. There can be no revival without the word of God, cannot be when the Holy Ghost is free to work in an assembly, the core, the center, the heartbeat, the engine that drives the work is the word of God. The people want the word, in fact, the people in the revival, the people demand the word. Don't mess around, don't tell me stories. We need the word. Bring us the word.
Speaker 3:I remember a Wednesday night in Harmerville. Power was out, no lights no, it was summer so you could see with the window light, but there were no mics, no organ, no guitars, couldn't even play a CD and I thought about canceling. And the power went out right before we were to start and I thought about canceling the service and I don't remember who. But someone stood up and went no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Cancel here. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 3:By the way, we're on our 32nd episode, they call them. We're approaching a full year. We're in 13 countries and I think, at last count, 21 states that have listened to the podcast, hundreds of downloads, but with the exception of the attacks that I expected, from unbelievers primarily, and those steeped in a denomination that want to call me out and fight me, but with the exception of those enemies of the cross, the response is wow, wow, we don't get this word in our church. We don't get this, thank you. Thank you for preaching the word, pastor. Please don't stop, please don't stop. We're starving for the word. Keep it coming, keep it coming, keep it coming. Stop. We're starving for the Word. Keep it coming, keep it coming. Look where God is moving. There are Bibles everywhere, right? I don't care whether it's a physical or electronic, doesn't matter.
Speaker 3:Those of you who were saved in the 70s or even 80s, do you remember when you'd go to lunch after service and you walked into whether it was Eaton Park or King's, and you went into lunch, everybody, everybody, had their Bible under their arms, taking it into the restaurant? Right. They didn't leave it outside because they were going deeper. They were going to go further. Amongst their breakfast smile, they were going to go a little bit deeper, a little bit stronger, and you could hear pages turn, amidst silverware and China clattering Hear, people praying my mom, where have we gone? An excitement about the preaching. What did your pastor say? What did your pastor say? A true reverence for his word. And the Bible is not only honored, it's cherished. Yeah, I'll share it with you.
Speaker 3:I read an account recently about a pastor who was imprisoned. It was in a North Korean concentration camp and he was imprisoned as an enemy of the state or whatever charge they brought him out Actually, there were three of them, but this is only one person's account and he was there for over two years and he was struggling. They confiscated his Bible on the first day and he was losing faith. No fellowship, no word. And he prayed, but it seemed that God wasn't listening. And he prayed, but it seemed that God wasn't listening and he was silent and his daily prayer was Lord, please, please, send some encouragement, some glimpse of hope, some glimmer.
Speaker 3:And his job, as he was assigned by the whatever the commandant of that camp. His job was to clean the latrines of the officers that he would literally go in and shovel the latrines out every day. And in that work he noticed something as he bucketed out the waste and it was a few pages from his Bible. Now I won't go into how it got there, but obviously it was getting put in the officer's latrine and he carefully cleaned them and was in the process of reconfiguring them pages trying to get back to a Bible. But it had started with a book of Psalms and he was reading over and over the 30th Psalm that said weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. And on May 10th 2018, in the early morning hours, there's the names of the three Kim Dong-chul, huck Song and Tony Kim, three pastors who were freed by President Trump. Back in I know it didn't get much coverage, but they were brought home to Andrews Air Force Base and greeted personally by the president at 3 am, and Mr Kim expressed to the president that it was the shreds of the Bible that he had retrieved from under the latrine that was meant for evil and probably to humiliate turned to good and it kept them alive.
Speaker 3:How sad it is today that preaching is endured, that it's tolerated. Maybe 20 minutes, a mere afterthought to the activities, the music, the lighting, the events. Can't wait for it to be over. The sweetest words we ever hear are and in closing, and the real truth is, I understand, I do. You see, when it's not the word, when we're talking about luncheons and food and dating and weight loss, it doesn't inspire, it doesn't convict, it doesn't move anyone. I can't help it. My mind's going back to my early church experience in the probably in the 80s, 90s, and how we had, in our little Pentecostal church devolved into storytelling and the only truly spiritual activity in our church was the music and the supposed message that went on and on and on about hedges and sandwiches. And it puts me in mind of a story of a little country church with a sermon like that that droned on and on.
Speaker 3:The assistant pastor got up and left, came back a half hour later. Pastor was just closing the message. Pastor asked his assistant where did you go? He said I went to get a haircut. He said what? What do you mean you went to? Why didn't you go before church and get a haircut? He said I didn't need one.
Speaker 3:Then the cry that goes up at revival is. We want it all. Give us the good, give us the bad, give us the rebuke, the promise, the correction, beginning and end, the whole counsel of God. Amen, verse six. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered amen and amen and lifted up their hands and bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. The first reaction to the word was joy and excitement, shouting amen, hallelujah, brother, preach it, you bring it. It brought the people to their knees, brought the people to their faces. God's law revealed their sin and the word was showing them how to fix it. My true repentance followed when a Holy Ghost revival comes.
Speaker 3:Christians don't look at each other. We don't look at one another for faults and criticizing, or oh, they're into that, or they do that, or they did that. Well, do you know their past? No, no, no, no. Faces to the ground, seeking God, the Holy Ghost, because his word has smitten our hearts. I don't care what you've done, what you did, what you're doing, hallelujah, you're my brother, you're my sister. Our only measure is to his standard, not any other, only to his standard.
Speaker 3:We're not methodists or pentecostal or assembly of god. We're children of the most high, where the blood bought the church, the redeemed verse 10. Then he said unto them go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet and send. Said unto them go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet and send portions. Unto them, for whom nothing is prepared for. This day is holy unto our Lord. Neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites steeled all the people, saying hold your peace, for the day is holy, neither be ye grieved. When a love for God is restored, when our commitment to the Lord is restored, repentance comes. We, as a congregation and individually, move away from sin, move away from what the Word is telling us's not right for a child of God. We turn our backs and the result is celebration and joy when we turn our backs on sin.
Speaker 3:When Moses came down from the mountain, the people were singing and dancing right, you all remember that. But Moses knew it was fake, he knew it was a forgery, he knew it wasn't right, it was idolatrous, it was lustful, it was rebellious. They weren't seeking the Lord, they sought their own religious gratification, something to make them feel good. So what's in it for us? When the shout is fake, the dance is choreographed, the song is rehearsed, but at the wall, at this wall in Nehemiah, it was all because of what God was doing, it was all because of the Lord in their hearts. At the wall, at the wall Boy, that would have been a good title. At the wall, verse 12.
Speaker 3:And all the people went their way to eat and to drink and to send portions, and they made great mirth because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. Hallelujah, they got it. They got it and they obeyed. They got it, they obeyed, they took it to heart. All right, let's get to the message 13. Right, let's get to the message 13.
Speaker 3:And on the second day were gathered together chiefs of the fathers of all the people and the priests and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. And they found written in the which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying Go forth unto the mount and fetch olive branches and pine branches and myrtle branches and palm branches and branches of thick trees to make booths, as it is written, and all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths and sat under the booths. Since the days of Joshua and the son of Joshua, the son of Nun. Unto the day had not the children of Israel done so, and there was a very great gladness. All right, the word was restored, repentance was complete, obedience was genuine, the joy of the Lord was their strength.
Speaker 3:But something was missing the booths. The booths what are you talking about, pastor? You're crazy. The booths. There can be no lasting revival, there can be no fullness of God until we erect a booth Saying we got to go out and build a hut. Not what I'm saying. This is the last day's message for a last day's church. The last day's message for a last day's church. That's what this is. Hear what the Lord is saying. And if you're thinking I've lost it, just stay tuned for a little bit and maybe you ask where did this booth thing come from? Just so you know, we won't take time to look it up. It's Leviticus 23.
Speaker 3:The booths were made of branches, baubows, sticks, palm branches, like a lean-to or an A-frame, all right, and it was eight by eight. It's called in Hebrew, it's called a sukkah. A sukkah, it's a stick house and the children of Israel were to move their families into this stick house for seven days in October. And of the 613 commands to the Jews by Hashem, it's considered one of the most important to go out and build these booths. So in Nehemiah's time. So in Nehemiah's time they resurrected this command and the people built stick houses. They built these little stick tents and they moved their families into this hut for seven days. It was a holy and consecrated time, but it wasn't a sad time. It wasn't a place where they would go in and hide their faces and pray. It was a time of joy and mirth and a time that was filled with blessing. So what does that have to do with us? There's Sukkah Glad. You asked Seven days in that booth and I used to experience this every year when I worked at CMU that the Jewish students would build sukkahs on campus and it was considered my phone would ring off the hook if someone dare blew something and against it from a mower.
Speaker 3:Oh, it was a holy place. Don't dare break a stick or a. Seven days in the booth alludes speaks to the brevity of life, as in our three score and ten, our 70 years. The booth is to remind us how brief this life is, how fragile, how temporary, because at the end of seven days and, incidentally, at the end of the seven days nobody cared about the booths anymore and we had to clean them up. But at the end of seven days, the branches would get brown, the sticks would break, it begins to fall and fade, just like as we grow older.
Speaker 3:God wanted their hearts set on eternity. Set on eternity In a city not made with hands. We're only camping here. We have to take that to heart. I don't care what you're doing, we're only camping here. Our home is in heaven. You ever been camping, not glamping? You ever been camping, huh, in a tent, cooking on a fire, cold nights, hot days, bugs, so happy to get home to a shower and a cold drink of water in a warm or a cool house. Home at last. Home at last. Everything that you and I, everything we've accomplished, everything that we have nice house, garden, yard, vehicle, bank account, and we rejoice in those things. God has been good. Nice house, garden, yard, vehicle, bank account, and we rejoice in those things. God has been good, god has been good, but this isn't home. This isn't home.
Speaker 3:King David was rich, he had everything, everything a person could want. And he said I'm a stranger in this land, I'm a sojourner, I'm a foreigner, as my fathers were before me. Paul said the same thing. He was a pilgrim and an alien in this earth and he couldn't wait until he went home. Still, why the booth? Why the booth? Why is that an important aspect?
Speaker 3:God knows our leaning, all of us. He knows our leaning is to material things, to possession and how things take priority. We miss church before we miss work. We miss church before we miss work. Got to make a living not realizing it's not our effort, it's not our talent, because it all belongs to him. It all belongs to him. We talked about this the other morning. It's all his anyway. Did you do the paychecks? Ted asked it doesn't matter, it's all God's anyway. Did you do the paychecks? Ted asked it's no matter, it's all God's anyway. I know it. I know it will come. It all belongs to him. The king, the crown. That's how a kingdom works. You understand, that's how a kingdom works. It all belongs to the crown. We're merely students of that property that he's entrusted.
Speaker 3:At Pentecost, it was said, we are of one heart, the church. We are of one heart, of one mind. No one said of what the other owned or possessed wasn't mentioned, because they had all things in common. That's what was said at Pentecost. A life of separation and repentance is key to revival, and revival brings restoration and a growing separation, and that's if you're looking for those words in closing, looking for those words in closing A growing separation where you and I become more alien here, where we become more of a stranger, more of a pilgrim, that these things of life that we've placed so much value on for so long aren't quite as important as they used to be, and we move closer to the image of our beloved Longing for her true home, sight set on things above, on a higher calling, higher than bank accounts or earthly issues. When we truly develop that mindset now, that's revival. That's revival, and I will close right there, thank you. Thank you for listening.
Speaker 4:Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. We pray it was an encouragement and a blessing to you. You can contact us at Valley Gospel Church, 1069 Butler Logan Road, Springdale, Pennsylvania, 15144. We invite you to listen to this week's worship service that follows and tune in for next week's podcast.
Speaker 1:Yes, lord, hallelujah Jesus, we thank you for your presence here this morning. You are worthy of all praise.
Speaker 5:I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart. I will enter his courts with praise. I will say this is the day that the Lord has made, and I will rejoice, for he has made me glad. Come on then. He has made me glad, he has made me glad and I will rejoice for he has made me glad. He has made me glad, he has made me glad. He has made me glad and I will rejoice, for he has made me glad. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, to sing praises unto thy name oh let's sing it again.
Speaker 5:It is a good thing to give thanks unto the lord. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the lord, to sing praises, hallelujah. I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart. I will enter his courts with praise. I will say this is the day that the Lord has made, and I will rejoice for he has made me glad, he has made me glad, he has made me glad and I will rejoice for he has made me glad. He has made me glad, he has made me glad, he has made me glad and I will rejoice for he has made me glad.
Speaker 1:Everybody love Jesus. Clap your hands. Everybody love Jesus, clap your hands. Everybody love Jesus, clap your hands. Everybody love Jesus, clap your hands. Everybody love Jesus clap your hands.
Speaker 5:It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, thing to get thanks unto the Lord, to sing praises unto thy name, o Most High.
Speaker 1:Yes, lord, well, I'm working on a building it's true foundation and I'm holding up the blood stain. I'm begging for my Lord. Well, I never get tired, tired, tired Working on a building. Well, I'm going up to heaven, oh Lord, to get my reward. Well, I'm working on a building, it's a true foundation, and I'm holding up the bloodstain Bending for my Lord. Well, I'll never get tired. I'll never get tired Working on a building. I'm going up to heaven, oh Lord, to get my reward. Well, I'm working on a building and it's a true foundation. I'm holding up the bloodstain Bending for my Lord. Will I never get tired? I'm holding up the bloodstain Bearing all my love. Will I ever get tired, tired, tired, working on a building? I'm going up to heaven, oh Lord. You're getting my reward.
Speaker 1:Yes, lord, everybody love Jesus, clap your hands. Everybody love Jesus, clap your hands. Everybody love Jesus, clap your hands. Everybody love Jesus, clap your hands. Everybody love Jesus, clap your hands. Yes, lord, well, I'm working on a building, it's true foundation. I'm holding up the bloodstain, a banner for my love. Well, I never get tired. I never get tired Working on a building. I'm going up to heaven, oh Lord, you get my reward.
Speaker 1:Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. We came to praise your name this morning. Jesus, hallelujah to the Lamb. Glory to you, jesus. Let the earth be silent, all the wind cease to blow. Every created being must fold his wings. There's a new song being sung, with a brand new melody, with a blood-bought the church, the redeemed. And we are in that army of the Lord. We've been washed in his blood and we are going forward. There is nothing that can stop it. This mighty moving force, we'll push out a price, a two-edged sword. Every stronghold that binds you has to get beneath your feet. Every prisoner held captive be set free. Our deliverance has come through the power of the Son, with the blood bought.
Speaker 5:The church is now redeemed.
Speaker 1:Yes, lord, we know that's the truth. Jesus, let the earth be silent, All the winds cease to blow. Every created being Must follow his wings. There's a new song being sung, with a brand new melody, with a blood-bought.
Speaker 1:The church of the earth and we are in the army of the Lord. We've been washed in His blood and we are going forth. There is nothing that can stop this mighty moving force. With a shout of praise, a two-edged sword Every stronghold behind you has to get beneath your feet. Every prisoner held captive must be free. Thank you.