Keion Henderson - Birth Control (Lighthouse Revival)

Today, I want to talk about birth control. Touch three people on your way to your seat and say, «Birth control.» Skipping back into the beginning of the church, we cannot take credit for what has taken place in this room, for every Reformation stands on the shoulders of that which precedes it. We come to church primarily on Sundays as a way of appreciation to Jesus because history teaches us that somewhere on the weekend-believed to be Sunday-Jesus got out of the grave, which is what we call the Resurrection. Since He got out of the grave on Sunday, we come and worship on Sunday. However, to believe that the lighthouse or any church that you know of is the beginning of that move of God would be naïve at best, for the Jews started a litany of feasts that preceded the worship experience we have come to enjoy. In fact, history teaches us that the Jews had seven feasts because, if the Jews would do anything, they would find a reason to come together and give God praise. You see, we come on Sunday and we come on Tuesday or Wednesday, whatever day your Bible study is, and for some of us New Testament Christians, we believe that we have done God a service by showing up to one of the services on Sunday and one of the services during the middle of the week. But oh, how far behind we are! What we are doing here today, the church has been doing for millennia: introducing the power of God and refusing to leave until they get a blessing. In fact, one of my favorite portions of Scripture is when our friend Jacob gets ahold of God and begins to wrestle with Him. The Bible says that he gets the opportunity to wrestle with God so much that his hip comes out of socket, and he says some of the best words I’ve ever heard anyone say in the Bible: " God, I won’t let you go until you bless me.» We have come this far by faith, and the truth is some of you are in here today, and the devil has told you that you don’t have anything to worship about. In fact, over the first few weeks of this year, you’ve been doing more worrying than you’ve been doing worship. The Holy Spirit arrested my attention and told the church it’s time for revival. It is time for old things to pass away, and it is also time, simultaneously, for all things to become new. Somebody say, «Seven!» Seven feasts that the Jews would have because they would not pass up any opportunity to come together and give God praise. Their first feast was the Feast of Sabbath. The Feast of Sabbath was their most perpetual feast; it was the opportunity to come weekly and just thank God for who He is. The Sabbath would take place on Saturday; it would occur because they did not have a Resurrection to reference. So they would come together on the Sabbath day, and the thing about the Sabbath day was so ritualistic that a man couldn’t do anything but worship. The Bible says, «Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.» A man could not even have relations with his wife on the Sabbath. There were certain foods you could not eat on the Sabbath; the only thing you could do on the Sabbath is worship. And worship-that’s what Paul meant when he said, «Rejoice in the Lord; again I say rejoice.» The reason why Sunday doesn’t work and is not enough for most of us is that we share our Sunday with so many other things. We give God about 60 to 90 minutes; we give brunch about three hours, and we’re more full in the flesh than we are in the spirit. That 's why the old church used to fast on Sunday. You had to make sure that there was nothing in between you and the Holy Ghost. I want to implore you today that, come hell or high water, everything that happens on Sunday ought to come after giving God the praise. I wish the church would move to the place where we are not looking at the clock, wondering when service is going to be over, but looking at the clock and saying, «Thank God that He gave me one more chance.» Do I have anybody in the church that knows that old song that said, «All night and all day, the angels were watching over me?» The Feast of Sabbath: setting aside a time to worship God and not allowing anybody or anything to separate you from the worship of God. After Sabbath, they would have the Feast of Passover. The Feast of Passover was another feast; they said, «Well, God, we might as well come together and worship You again.» Because we remember in Exodus chapter 12, when the Bible recollects the fact that the death angel had come to everybody’s house, I recommend that you recognize that the death angel did not come to get the Israelites; it came to get the Egyptians. But God said, «I’m going to wipe every house out, save the ones that have the blood on the doorpost.» The reason why He had the blood on the doorpost is because it was a shadow pointing to the substance, signifying the fact that He is the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world and that His blood would be the propitiation for our sin. And by His stripes-come here, Isaiah-we are healed, signifying that those of us who are alive in Christ’s death may be coming up against us, but the reason why it can’t kill us is that the blood has us covered. Did somebody shout, «I know it!»