Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Good Good morning, brothers and sisters. I hope that you are well. It is a great third day together. I hope that you all have had a wonderful time. We've had a great time hosting you. I know there are still a lot of folks outside that are getting snacks and drinks or eating whatever they brought for breakfast. And so, we're going to give them just a second to make their way in. I know you guys know where bathrooms are. I know you know where the snacks and stuff are. We want to thank you for being here with us. And that probably seems like an odd thing, but like as the host church, you are a blessing. Your smiling faces, your feedback, um your willingness to to tell us that you have a need or that you're looking for something, those things allow us to be the people God's created us to be. And so we are so thankful to you guys for being here and allowing us to host for the third year. And we look forward to having you with us again next year. Don't forget June 3rd through the 5th next year right here at Clear Branch, we'll be together again. Uh a couple of other things as we near the end of our time together, I would ask that if you have any trash in this room that you not leave it in this room. I know that seems like a logical thing to request, but but we have a service that happens tomorrow morning at 9:30 and it would make it a whole lot easier on our team if you would take your garbage to a garbage can. If you are unable to do that you're welcome. Somebody asked me what I was going to do this morning and it was a toss up between soft shoe and more comedy. So this is what you get. Uh don't make me dance, please. We do have a lot that's going to go on this morning. We have the opportunity again to hear from from Luther. We'll have the opportunity um to to do some worship, to hear a sermon from Bishop Moore. It's going to be a great great time together. But as we as we move towards that, I just pray God's peace and blessing upon you. And again, I thank you for all that you've done and the part that you've played here. Let's get to Oh, yes, ma'am. When the Bishop raises her hand, you say yes, ma'am. >> I asked Alan for permission to do this. This is a point of very personal privilege. Today is my husband's birthday. And I'm wondering if you'd be willing to wish Steve a happy birthday. And um so it means you would have to stand up and maybe move a little closer together, just kind of get close together. And here's Oh, we're going to Oh, well, y'all do have "Happy Birthday"? Okay, even better. But, here's the catch. When it's "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Happy Birthday, dear" and instead of Steve, can you say Boo Daddy? Because that's what our youngest our grandson calls him, Boo Daddy. And that would just make me so happy. So, "Happy Birthday, dear Boo Daddy." Let's just say that together. "Happy Birthday, dear All right, y'all are the best. Say it loud and proud cuz uh it'll it'll All right, you ready? >> Well, good morning everyone. Uh I just want to give you an update. Uh we have established areas and I'll share that with you later on. Uh we're just we're that gets us maybe a third of the way through the meeting. It's taking us this long. And so, I'm going to go back. I just wanted to share with you that we have our areas for the next 6 years established and um then we'll we're going to talk about uh we're I'm going back and we're going to talk about how we're going to function after that. So, I I to say good morning. Thank you for coming. Today we have part of the meeting done. I'll still be in the meeting for a while. Uh Bishop, if God is good, I'll be out here at 10:30. If I'm not here at 10:30, then I'm not singing the goodness of God anymore. So, >> Before we go into worship, I'd like to say God's good regardless of what time Allen gets back out here. But, uh y'all stand. Let's lift our voices together. All right, come on. Put your hands together. Here we go. 1 2 3 4 Yeah. Oh, this is the day you made. So, I'll rejoice and be glad. Rejoice and be glad in it. That's right. Oh, this is where I believe that you are more than enough. More than enough for me. He's faithful. Yes, you are faithful to your promise. You are strong when I am weak. When I'm standing in your presence, I have everything I need. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. We'll sing oh my soul, bless his name. All that is within me say sing. The joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord is my strength. King Jesus, come what may. You are worthy of all. Worthy of all my praise. You are faithful to your promise. You are strong and I am weak. When I'm standing in your presence, I have everything I need. The joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh, it's more than a feeling. The joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord is my strength. We sing, "Oh, my soul. Oh, my soul. Bless his name. All that is within me sing. The joy of the Lord The joy of the Lord is my strength." All right, come on. Let's breathe this together. >> Let it rise up like a river overflowing Holy Spirit. Let it pour out with no limit overflowing Holy Spirit. Let it rise. Let it rise up like river overflowing. Come on. Holy Spirit flooding with no limit. Overflowing. Holy Spirit. Come on. Yes. I got the joy. I got the joy. Come on. Here we go. Come on. Sing it. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Sing oh my soul. Oh bless his name. All that is within me sing. Oh my soul bless his name. All that is oh my soul. Oh my soul bless his name. All that is within me sing. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Yeah. Come on. Let's give him praise. Come I've been singing this together. >> I sing I stand amazed. And I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. And wondered how he could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean. I'm singing how marvelous, how wonderful is my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my savior's love for me. He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. So, we're singing how marvelous, how wonderful is my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my savior's love for me. >> The ransoming glory, His face I at last shall see. Twill be my joy through the ages to sing of His love for me. >> Come on, sing this with me. >> Singing how marvelous, how wonderful is my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. Let's sing it again. Oh, how marvelous, oh, how wonderful is my song shall ever be. Oh, how marvelous, oh, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. >> All right, let's sing this chorus one more time. Singing how marvelous. >> Singing how marvelous, how wonderful is my song shall ever >> How marvelous, how wonderful is my savior's me. >> Let's give him praise. Let's come on. Oh. >> Good morning. >> How about the remnant few that are here today? Right? Um we've made it to day three. Um and so will you bow with me as we head into today and we'll go into prayer. God, you are marvelous. You are wonderful. To send your son to die on a cross so that the veil may be torn so we could enter into your presence. That we get to pray, a gift, Lord, that it's not just words that are spoken out into a room, Lord. But yet you lean over and you listen to your children praying. And so God, I ask this morning as we head into the last day of annual conference for the North Alabama conference 2026, Lord. That you would give us a double portion of your spirit this day. That you would open our ears to hear you. You would open the eyes of our hearts wide. Lord, to see you. That you would speak to us, Lord. And then as we leave this place today, that you seal up, you cover the seeds that have been planted by all of our speakers. And then as we leave this place that we, Lord, produce a hundredfold growth. Use us, Lord, to further your kingdom in our communities, in our towns, across this conference in North Alabama and across this world. So, Lord, we say speak this morning, for your servants are listening. God, I pray a special anointing over Dr. O'Connor as he comes and speaks to us, Lord. That his words be your words. That those words be dipped in the blood of our savior, Jesus Christ, Lord. And carried about this room through the power of the Holy Spirit to penetrate the very marrow of our soul. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your presence in this place today. We ask all this in the mighty, in the matchless, in the majestic name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And all God's people said, amen. >> Well, good morning, folks. >> Good morning. >> Are you okay? >> Yes. >> Yes. You guys have been very awesome. Uh I I've had a really wonderful experience uh uh being here at your annual conference. And today would be I will be traveling back to to Orlando later in the day. And so, I just want to thank everybody for your hospitality and and expressions of love that you have extended to me while while I was here. Uh anyway, this is my first time. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Uh this is my first time to be in uh Sweet Home Alabama. And so, uh uh it's been awesome. It's been great. And I just want to give you a quick praise report. Uh supposedly, I was supposed to be uh at uh in Memphis, Tennessee for uh the annual conference of the Mississippi West Tennessee because they are our mission uh partners with the Mega Manila Annual Conference. Uh by the way, I'm the conference superintendent of the Mega Manila Annual Conference. And I was supposed to be there to sign uh our uh MOU and also uh to um to witness uh the unveiling of a fundraiser that was being done for one of our churches. And this church is in Qatar. We have a GMC church in Qatar, in Doha, Qatar. And and we've been given an opportunity uh to own property there. This is an a Muslim country. Uh the the the government of Qatar gave land for this association of evangelicals in Doha. And uh it's about 139 churches. And about probably about 79 churches were able to make reservation for that for that building project. It's a three-story building that could accommodate 6,000 people. And and it's the the construction has started and the GMC was able to make a reservation that for a for a spot that could accommodate 200 people. And and we're trying to raise money for that through the Mississippi West Tennessee and yesterday it was announced that they were able to raise almost $200,000. In addition to the already $100,000 that have been raised for it. We're just living in such amazing times, friends. And never in my dreams would I you know, would I see this happen that we're going to have a church, we're going to have a building there. A place of worship in a Muslim country. Right now there's restrictions towards evangelization of the locals there. But you know what? God is bringing the nations to Qatar. Over 130 nations are there. Majority of the people there are are expats, expatriates. And God has brought the the nations there so that we can reach out to them. But not only that, we believe that the Qatar government will eventually open. Probably not in this generation, maybe in the next generation or two. And we are well positioned to reach Qatar with the gospel of Christ. Amen. Let's give the Lord a big clap of praise. Hallelujah. So friends, for this Bible study, I want to I want to talk more about the eschatological. Can we say eschatology? Implications of our team arise. Okay, when we say eschatology, what do we we mean by that? Especially the late persons here. What is that? Eschatology is the doctrine of the last things or the last days. What's going to happen in the afterlife? Okay? And I think our team arise has an implication regarding that. And so, the best starting point for us is to understand that when we're talking about the kingdom of God, we know that it is now. Can we say the kingdom of God is now? Okay? The kingdom of God is now. It is now. You know, we we see this in many places in scripture. Like for example, in Mark chapter 1 verse 15, wherein Jesus says, "The time has come." He said, "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news." See, the time has come. It is now. And we see several references in scripture that captures that understanding. But nonetheless, even though we say that the kingdom of God is now or already, it is also what? It is also not yet. Okay? So, it this is an interesting dynamic of the kingdom of God being now, already, and not yet. And we find this, for example, this this not yet understanding in in Luke chapter 8 verse 11. Can we all read this together? 1 2 3. That many will come from the east and the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. See, this is you see the there's will, okay? It's a future event. This is this heavenly banquet that's going to happen when Christ returns. Got it? So, there's this future element of the kingdom of God. And and this both not now and not yet dynamic of the kingdom of God is captured in the Lord's Prayer. We pray What's that prayer? Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We there's a future element with but there's also this expectation that it can happen now. Amen? That earth that what happens to heaven happens on earth. But but there's still a separation between earth and heaven. Got it? But there's that expectation that they will become one eventually through the new creation. And so, with that in mind, let me show you some examples of what we find particularly in reference to what we've learned last Thursday. Is that Thursday? Yeah, when I did my lecture last Thursday regarding Wesleyan soteriology or understanding of salvation. So, so when we're talking about the now, let's let's say for example, the born again life. John 3:3 No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again. Okay? Well, that's a mirror of what's going to happen later. God is going to renew all things. You see that? The new creation in Revelation 21 verse 5. God is renewing all creation. He's renewing the cosmos. Amen? And and and in Revelation 21 it talks about a new heaven and new earth. Can we say new heaven? And new earth. So, there's going to be a marriage between the two. You know, earth will be changed, heaven will be changed. See that? And And that's the new creation. Uh that's why in 2 Corinthians 5:17, anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. Actually, in other translations, it says anyone who is in Christ, there is a new the new creation. See that? So, it connects to that new creation vision that happens later. What about justification? What is justification? We are declared what? Not guilty. We are declared what? Righteous. Isn't it? Uh to those uh Yeah, for example, the just shall live by faith. Romans 1:17. Romans 5:1, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God. Well, what's the mirror of that in the not yet? Well, the final judgment, where we will have what? Final vindication. Amen. Cuz there's still a separation between the between the sheep and the goat. And that separation itself is our final vindication. Amen? That's the not yet. Uh what about entire sanctification? May the God of peace sanctify you partially. Is that right? 50%? No. Entirely. Okay? And it can happen here. And then he said, "May he keep your soul body blameless until the coming of the Lord." In other words, it's still it's going to happen here, entire sanctification, but yet there's still this this what? When Christ returns, you know, you put all together the entirely sanctified people of God and they become the spotless bride of Christ. And the church. Amen. So, that's what happens. And then another example, physical healings. Yesterday we saw some healings. Who Who got healed yesterday here? Yes. Yes, praise God. Let's give the Lord a big clap of praise to those who testified healings yesterday. And I believe the Lord's continuing to to heal some of those who were praying for healing yesterday. So, let's continue to expect that healing during this conference. And so, uh you find that in James chapter 5. If Is anyone of you sick? Call the elders of the church to anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord. Got it? But then that's just a mirror of what? Of what's going to happen in Revelation 21 when there's no more no more sickness, no more pain. Amen. Okay? It's just a mirror, you know? Even though sometimes we're expecting healing here, but we all do know that we're going to die eventually. Spoilers, by the way. What? Okay. Eventually our our our bodily our our body will give, you know, will give in. Okay? It will expire eventually, no matter how many healings you get. Okay? It's still going to expire. But the good news is the ultimate plan there will be no more sickness and pain when Christ returns, Revelation 21. Amen. See that? Now, finally, another example is awakening. Can we say awakening? Isaiah 60:1, what is that? Arise, shine, for your light has come. So, then for the glory of the Lord rises upon you. That is a call for awakening to the people of Israel. Okay? They were what? They were under exile. Got it? It's a call for repentance. Uh we find a similar text in Ephesians 5:14. Wherein Paul says, "Awake, sleeper. Awake thou that sleepest." Remember that? And rise from the dead. And Christ glory will shine on you. Amen? I said so that's a call for awakening in the present. And yet there's also This also mirrors the not yet. Because what's happened? What's going to happen? The resurrection. Or the general resurrection that's going to happen when Christ returns. And that is found, for example, in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 42 to 44. And that is the focal point of our Bible study this morning. And so So what is what is this text? Okay? Let's Let's read together this text. 1 Corinthians 15. 1 2 3. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable. It is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body there is also a spiritual body. You know, you If going to read the whole text, it talks about, you know, you know, the general resurrection wherein there's going to be a trumpet sound. I don't know if that if that, you know, that pales in comparison with the reality, I think. Uh but, you know, it's like in Old Testament times when when the people of God, you know, the Israelites assembled, you know, the tribes, there's the trumpet sound, isn't it? You know, for there's a sense of order in the wilderness among the tribes of Israel. The same thing is going to happen in the not yet. There's going to be this trumpet sound, and what's going to happen? Christ is going to come. And what's going to happen to those who have died and those who are still alive? What's going to happen? They're the dead, they're going to what? They're going to resurrect. Okay? The dead, they're going to resurrect. And this is what's going to happen to them. Let's let's summarize what what's going to happen to them. The dead, you know, uh the it's a body that is sown perishable in verse 42. What's going to happen? It's going to become imperishable. Got it? And then this body that is sown in dishonor will be raised in glory. I want to say I want to hear you say glory. There you go. It will be raised in glory, okay? It's glory. Uh this body that is sown in weakness will be raised in There's no power in what in your voice. Can you say power? There you go. Resurrection power. And then it says here in verse 44, it is sown a natural body, it will be raised a spiritual body. See that? I I want you to So, basically, what what we're finding here mirrors 2 Corinthians chapter 5:1-14. Uh wherein Paul says, can we read together? 1 2 3. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile, we groan longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling. Because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling. So that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. See that? See See, Paul's talking about this earthly tent, because he knows what tents are about, isn't it? Why? Because he was a tent maker. He knew that he's building tents, but he knew that those tents will not last. He knew that those tents are just temporary dwelling places. Uh and so, he understood that, you know, we have just like our bodies, they're only temporary. Okay? They're only temporary. They will be destroyed eventually. Uh but in yet, he said, we have a building from God. What is that? A heavenly dwelling, not built by human hands. So, basically, he's talking about the resurrection body, the same resurrection body referred to in 1 Corinthians 15. Get it? And now, let's let's focus on that last part of verse chapter 15, that is verse 44. It where in Paul talks about the natural body and the spiritual body. So, what is that natural body? Well, in the original Greek that natural body, the translation is soma psychikon. Can we say that? Soma psychikon. Wow, you you sound sophisticated. Soma psychikon, okay? Uh physical natural body. This is the body dominated by the human soul or psyche or soul. See that? Uh it is under the condition of sin because it's under the it's dominated by the human soul. Therefore, it's under the condition of sin and dominion of death. It is subject to death. And yet, Paul also talks about the spiritual body. What is that spiritual body? That is soma pneumatikon. Let's say that together. 1 2 3. See that? Pneumatikon. It is the body led or animated by the Holy Spirit. Amen. This is the body that will be raised up. It will be animated by the Holy Spirit. Pneumatikon is from the word pneuma or spirit. This is a Holy Spirited Body. Can we say that? Holy Spirited Body. How do we know that it's going to be animated by the Holy Spirit? Well, this is the same thing that happened to Christ. Who? He was raised by the Holy Spirit. He was animated by the Holy Spirit according to scripture. Amen. So, the same way the same thing happens to us. But, what's interesting here is both conditions are what? They're both somas. There's a soma before them. They're both what? Bodies. In other words, okay, of course, obviously the physical body is a body. And the the soma pneumatikon, the holy spirited body, or the spiritual body is also a body. It is So, therefore, the meaning of this is that when the resurrection happens, you know, we're not going to be like ghosts, It's not going to be like that. Okay? We're going to have an embodied resurrection. The flesh is going to resurrect. Amen. That's what's going to happen. So, this it's like akin to it's quite akin or similar uh to the resurrection of Jesus. Remember? It's consistent with that. What happened after the resurrection? Shortly after the resurrection, Jesus showed up uh to his disciples. You know, look at that. He walks through the wall. Okay, he showed up. And yet he was also physically showed the the marks. You know, then the marks of uh that he sustained uh from the uh the crucifixion. And then another instance is in Luke 24. He showed up and what? He was hungry. He was hungry, and they fed him what? Fish. Of course, they were fishermen, so they fed him fish. And he ate it in front of them. So, basically, Jesus' resurrection is an embodied resurrection, but a different kind of embodied resurrection. Get it? It is much different, and yet, the same way when we resurrect our resurrection is it's going to be like that. Are you familiar with Are you familiar with uh the the Shroud of Turin? Have you heard about that? This piece of cloth This is it is considered as a as a holy relic in the Catholic Church. It's kept by the Vatican. Um and there's a lot of debate around its origin. There's a debate There's a argument that it's it's a 13th century or 14th century forgery or mid or Middle Age century forgery. Uh because they they ran a test one a few years ago they ran a test in one of the fabric and they found out that particularly carbon dating that goes back to the 13th century or 14th century. Okay? Uh Um and so they think oh it's just a forgery. But again, the mystery is in that cloth you find an imprint of Jesus of a not of a person who was crucified consistent to someone who was crucified. There's the marks of the nails on the wrists. Uh you know, the the wound on the side, the marks on the head with the crown of thorns. This person was subject to a lot of abuse. Okay? Uh Um and and so the question is how was that imprint created on that cloth? Okay? It's it's definitely not pigment or paint. Uh you know, it's something else. And so later on in in recent years there was another test that was done on this cloth. It was found out that the the of the cloth that was subject to carbon dating is a part of the cloth that was repaired in the 13th century. Uh and but the other parts they they point to an earlier date. And then what in in a most recent study, I think this was a year ago or 2 years ago, it it turned out to be they did a a pollen test and they found out that there's pollen in that cloth that can be only found in Israel. 1st century Israel. You know, I don't know what to say, but you know, I think that the evidence is compelling. And and again, going back to that imprint there, uh this was subject to some kind of radioactive test by a NASA engineer or, you know, nuclear scientists and and they found out that it will take a a an enormous amount of energy to create those imprint in that cloth. It is not something that can be created through paint or or or whatever or whatever uh normal means. So, there's a enormous amount of energy. And so, the theory is if this is indeed the uh the burial cloth of Christ, when he resurrected, there was just so much resurrection power there that he left a selfie in that cloth. This is the first time someone took a selfie. It was Jesus. Amen. THERE'S SO MUCH ENERGY. You know, that is resurrection power. You know, that's what's going to happen when we too will will resurrect. Amen. When Christ returns, that's what's going to happen. That is a holy spirited body. And again, it is still a body. It is still a body. Why? Why body? Why there's Why there needs to be a body when we're talking about the Holy Spirit? Well, it's quite obvious, you know, because it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19, let's read together. 1 2 3. are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. Amen. The Holy Spirit needs a body. Can you say to the person beside you, "Holy Spirit needs your body."? Amen. Because the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And so, that's why we go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 5. This is the one that I showed you last Thursday. Can we read together? Okay, remember we read 1 to 4, isn't it? You know, the earthly tent and the heavenly dwelling. Now, here's the conclusion in number 5. Let's read together. 1 2 3. For this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. See that? In other words, he's talking about the resurrection body. He's talking about the holy-spirited body that's going to happen in the future. But yet, he's also saying that in the present, God has given us Holy Spirit as a deposit. You see that? Deposit Again, when I I told you this last time, when do we use the word deposit? Bank. If you deposit something, you can withdraw something out later. Or another way, if you rent something like a home, you know, the landlord's going to ask for a deposit. Some people say, "Oh, it's for incidentals." No. I think it's more about a it's more about guarantee. Amen? It demonstrates for the landlord that you are capable of paying. In the same way, in the now, God gives us Holy Spirit as a deposit, as a guarantee for us, guaranteeing us that in the future, in the rapture, we will take on Holy-Spirited bodies. Amen? That is what's going to happen. It is a promise. So, that's why we need Holy Spirit in the present. That's why the implication, let's go back verse here. Let's go back here. See? So, the implication is what? The Spirit-filled life. Can we say the Spirit-filled life? Ephesians 5:18. Isn't it? What what did Paul say in in Ephesians 5:18? Do Let's read together. 1 2 3. But instead, be filled with the Spirit. Amen? It is a command by Paul. It is It is mandatory. Can you say to the person beside you, "Mandatory"? That you be filled with the Spirit. Do not be drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery. What's debauchery? Partying. And all of the all of the immoral stuff, okay? But instead, be filled with the Spirit. And mind you, this this statement here is not a one-time thing. The The actual translation in Greek is much more progressive. It's It's more of a progressive in feeling. It's a It's like be continually filled with the spirit. In other words, live by the spirit live by the spirit as a lifestyle. Amen? So, that's why that's the implication of this for us. So, that's why in Romans 8:13, Paul says, "1 2 3." that the misdeeds of the body you will live. See that? It This is a call for the spirit-filled life. If you read Romans 8, Paul talks talks about life in the spirit. That's a spirit-filled life. It's one of my favorite verse uh chapters in in Romans. Romans chapter 8. It's a spirit-filled life. Uh And so, you live If you live according to the flesh, you will die. But, if by the spirit, you will live. See that? It's a call for the spirit-filled life. And that's why Wesley captured this in his explanation about sanctification. Okay? In his sermon, The Scripture Way of Salvation. Can we read that together? 1 2 3. Being born again, the gradual work of sanctification takes place. We are are enabled by the spirit to mortify the deeds of the body of our evil nature. And as we are more and more dead to sin, we are more and more alive to God. Amen? See that? See the implication of uh of resurrection there? The more we are filled with the spirit, the more we are resurrected. The more we are alive and alive to God. Amen. So, that's what happens. And so, that's why this terminates to what? To entire sanctification in this life, okay? Uh that's why this is the prayer of Paul for the Christians at Thessalonica. Can we read that together? 1 2 3. May the God of peace himself sanctify you and And may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. See that See See the optimism there? You know, it's a prayer for by Paul that this is something that can happen in this life. And then if once it happens in this life, and then may the Lord maintain that until he comes. Amen. That's what's going to happen here. And this same optimism, for example, is captured uh in in one uh what I call a uh uh what I call a marker that is found at Asbury Theological at Asbury or Wilmore, Kentucky, at Asbury University. Are you familiar with the Asbury Outpouring? Have you heard about that? Well, this happened It happened at the Hughes Auditorium. Okay, this is where it happened. Uh Hughes Memorial Auditorium. This It's named after the founder of Asbury University, John Wesley Hughes. And on the on the left side of this building, you'll find a marker that captures the primary beliefs of Methodism. Look, can you read together? 1 2 3. Free salvation for all men and full salvation from all sin. See that? What is free salvation for all men? That's uh or for all people. What is that? That is free grace. Can we say free grace? That grace is available to all. That Christ died for all. Not just for the elect. But then here's the So that's a primary Methodist doctrine, okay, or belief. But here's the second part, full salvation from all sin. What is that? That is entire sanctification. Amen? And we base from 1 John 1:7. Let's read together 1 John 1:7. I I have here the the King James version to be consistent with the marker. 1 2 3. As he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. Amen? It doesn't say some sins. It says all. Can we say all? And and two verses after that, I think we know this verse, 1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Amen? Isn't that amazing? Let's give the Lord a big clap offering. Okay. So this is this is what happens in the in in the now, but we know it's going to terminate eventually in the not yet through the resurrection of the bodies. And and because of that, what's going to happen is for us in the present, if we know what's going to happen in the future, then we need to we need to allow ask God to enable our lives to reflect his eventual plan for us in the not yet. Amen. And the implication again is what? The spirit filled life. Can we all stand up right now? Let's just stand up and I would just want to say a prayer before we end this. And maybe I can can I ask Micah or the team if they can Friends, do you do you want to be Do you want North Alabama Conference of the GMC a new to become a new expression of manifestation of Methodism in this region? Then we need to recover our Holy Spirit or spirit-filled DNA. We need to be a church of Pentecost. We need to be a church of Pentecost first. I I remember back at the General Conference and and Alan referred to this yes I did it last Thursday. Uh you know at the at the convening General Conference in Costa Rica, there's this sense that we are becoming a global church. You know because we know that Christ died for all. We want to be reflective of that. You know and and so we see our our church operating on that understanding. We want to be a church for all that includes all. We want to be a church that that empowers all. And how is this going to reflect in our polity in the way we do church? But you know what? The Lord also reminds us that for that to happen By the way, what we want to fulfill a vision that is found in Revelation chapter 7 verse 9. Where it when you see the the the uh in- the indwelling of all people from every tribe and every crown and every um every tribe and every tongue. Remember that, Revelation 7, verse 9. Gathering around the lamb the lamb worshipping him, salvation belongs to our God. That's the vision there of the GMC. That we become a global church. That we reflect that. That we become truly a global church. Uh not just in uh in membership, but also uh we become united in in what we believe. Okay? Not regionalized. But then, how do we get there? Well, before we get there, before we become a church of revelation, we need to be a church of Pentecost first. Amen? Because that's what happened on the day of Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit showed up, what happened? The disciples spoke in tongues. Languages that they did not learn, but but captured the language of people from every tribe and every tongue in that known in that region of the world. It's a demonstration. It's a foretelling of what's going to happen in the future. So, friends, if we think we're going to get by as GMC and you know, uh and and and and and and our formula is just don't be like the other denomination, it's not going to work. It's not going to work. Just don't be this former denomination 2.0. No, that's not going to work. That's not a plan for growth. That's not a plan for building up the kingdom of God. The best starting point is this. And I think uh Bishop uh Callen was also spoke about this. He he spoke about uh migration and movement. For us to be a movement, the best starting point is to be a church of Pentecost. A church that is composed of people that is spirit-filled. Amen. So, can we all just rise up right now, and can we all just raise our hands before the Lord? Lord, we just thank you for your Holy Spirit in this place. We thank you for what you are doing and what you have done already to all the different parts of this annual conference. And Lord, today I pray that once again you fill us anew with your Holy Spirit. Fill us anew. Flow in this place. Fill us anew. And Lord, if there's anything in our hearts that prevents us from from living the the spirit-filled life, if there's still the if there's still manifestations of the flesh that keeps your spirit from fully manifesting in our lives, Lord, we ask for your forgiveness, and we ask that you empower us. Give us the gift of your grace so that we can have the courage even now to surrender these things to you. Can we all just surrender those things? Can we all surrender those manifestations of the flesh that we still find manifesting in our lives even in this moment that is that is competing with the Holy Spirit's plan for your life. Can you surrender that right now? Lord, I surrender this. I surrender this to you. You know what, friends? Surrender is the requirement or should should should I say the prerequisite for an infilling of the Holy Spirit. Remember yesterday I said wind is created when there is low pressure. Remember when when uh newscasters, those uh those who report the weather, you know, when they report about a coming storm, they said, "Oh, there's a low pressure area here." Why? Because it means when there's a low pressure area, there's a possibility for storm. The same way, if there's a low pressure area, there's a shifting of the air molecules to the low pressure area, and that shifting is the wind. That's how wind is created. So, right now, be a low pressure person. In other words, Lord, I quit doing things on my own, through my own ability, and I surrender everything to you. That you quit self-medicating, quit trying to solve things your own way, and you just give it all to him. And that's when you become a low pressure person. And the Holy Spirit's going to fill you up. So, right now, as our hands are raised, Lord, right now, I just declare that you fill us anew with your Holy Spirit. And I'm going to count from 1 to 3. I believe you're going to feel a a fresh wind that's going to flow through your body, or maybe some kind of heat or electricity. Well, you just welcome that. Or maybe you don't feel anything, but just receive it by faith. So, Lord Jesus, would you send Holy Spirit in this place? And may he blow again once again upon each and every one of us. Friends, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Be filled. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord God. And right now, whatever weight you're carrying upon your shoulder, Paul also said in 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Now you are being set free. Free. Free indeed. Thank you, Lord God. Enable us to be a spirit-filled annual conference where we be that will manifest the Church of Pentecost in everything that we do. Not only in the affairs of this annual annual conference as a whole, but also in our individual churches, in our individual ministries. May we all live the spirit-filled life. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord God. Thank you, Lord God. We can Perhaps we can just linger a little bit and let's allow the worship team to lead us further into God's presence. >> Sing this with us. >> You want to come? Let's come. Let's sing that again. >> Lord, we welcome your presence. We welcome your presence. Your presence. Let us become more aware of your presence. Let us experience the glory of your goodness. Let us become more aware of your presence. Let us experience the glory of your goodness. Let us become more aware of your presence. Let us experience the glory of your goodness. Lord, Holy Spirit, you are welcome here. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your goodness, God, is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by your presence. Lord, >> Holy Spirit, you are welcome. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by your presence, Lord. Praise the Father. Praise the Son. Praise the Spirit, three in one. God of glory, majesty. Praise forever to the King of kings. >> Let's give him praise. Come on. Come on. Give him our thanks and praise. Come on. Wow, what an amazing morning we have already. Thank you, God. >> Honor for that wonderful reminder of the presence and work of God within us now and yet the promise of even more to come. You know, that's a beautiful promise that we have in the midst of this place. If you were here the first year we were together, we thought, "Man, it can't get any better than this." And every time it continues to be better. And there is a sweetness of the spirit in this place and there's a sweetness of the spirit upon you. I said earlier we were blessed by having you. I mean it and it is the spirit that we are blessed by. So, a couple of things to get you thinking about as we're heading into our break. We've got about 20 minutes that we can have for a break. That means some of you guys are going to have to move a little faster than you have previously, okay? But there are a few things that you you probably want to know. Um we have some uh bags and some uh some booklets and uh some notebooks and some things like that that are on the tables that are here for for you to take back with you. You know, we've got them, but we want you to take them cuz we don't want to keep them. We also have our international mission partners outside from Eurasia and also Nigeria and they have information for you, pamphlets and things like that to take back to your churches to use as a resource for your people. Please take those with you as well. Use them as a mechanism for carrying the story of what God's doing not only here but around the world through the work and the presence of his Holy Spirit in the midst of Global Methodist Churches. God is so so good. And I'm so thankful for this sweet time together. You got 20 minutes and we'll see you back for our closing. Thank you so much, guys.