7 Signs Identifying The True Church of God That Jesus Built

What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus what can make me whole again?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus and O, O, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow no other found I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus Come on.

That was good.

That was good.

Hey, I don't know if you know this.

We now have the best choir in Manhattan.

We got a choir, y'.

All, you know.

Let me tell you a story.

Do you guys remember Hurricane Sandy?

So during Hurricane Sandy, I came out here from Indiana, where I lived at the time, and I had a chainsaw in one hand and an acoustic guitar in the other.

And the Lord gave me this vision, and he said, just serve the people of New York City with your life.

And I don't know why my brain said, just bring a chainsaw and an acoustic guitar.

But.

But because of Hurricane Sandy, there was a lot of debris and all these limbs, and I said, you know what?

I wanna practically serve the people of New York.

And so if that means just clearing out the debris of the trees and things, or if it just means leading a worship set.

And so when I got here during Hurricane Sandy, you know what's funny is they had warming tents that were set up all over the city, and I had worked all day chopping down tree limbs and stuff, and.

And I went into the warming tent and I pulled out my acoustic guitar, and that was the first song I started to sing.

And hundreds of New Yorkers started singing it with me.

And then I started watching them weep.

And one guy came up to me and he said, since Hurricane Sandy hit, people have come from all over the world to help us, and they've been chopping down the tree limbs and they've been moving debris, but no one has helped our mind.

And when he said, no, I like that.

Wow.

We're one of those.

Wow.

Churches.

Don't they make fun of those churches, you know, online?

Like, wow, that's okay.

I like it.

But all jokes aside, it was like the guy literally said, everybody's here to help us physically, and things are gonna get better physically, but when are things gonna get better mentally?

And when I started to sing about the blood of Jesus, they started to feel freedom.

Then after that, now, this is funny, okay?

People heard that I was a musician and that, you know, I was kind of doing this band thing.

And so this woman said, hey, I organize concerts and events here in Manhattan, and I'm doing a Rosie o' DONNELL fundraiser, and Rosie o' DONNELL is putting this thing on.

This is like a True story.

And it will give you a slot to actually perform if you want to do this.

And so in my mind, I'm thinking, this is gonna be a Holy Ghost hijacking.

And I was like, I'm gonna show up, and I'm just gonna start doing a whole worship set.

And in my mind, I thought, this is gonna be like Johnny Cash, you know, Like, I was gonna get up there and do this, like, crazy gospel set.

And in my mind, they were gonna turn my microphone off, and they were gonna, like, force.

They were gonna kick me out of this big Rosie o' Donnell foundation fundraiser for Hurricane Sandy.

So I get up there and I start singing worship.

And it was so funny because everybody was drinking alcohol.

Everyone was kind of, you know, just doing their thing at this fundraiser.

And slowly the glasses started to stop.

Cause, you know, there's that noise when you're in a restaurant or a bar of the glasses and the chatter and the conversation, and it just stopped.

And then I started singing about the blood and the guy who was running sound in the back.

I watched him just start weeping.

And it was so crazy, because when my set was over, nobody stopped me.

I used to have a big, huge beard at the time.

I don't know if I should bring it back.

It was like this massive.

It was a total hipster.

No.

Okay.

Aaron says no.

And this.

And so I go to the back to the guy who was on sound, and I was like, hey, man, I saw you crying.

What was that about?

And this is what he told me, bro.

That song you were singing at the end about the blood of Jesus, it was so spiritual.

What was that like?

When did you record that?

Is that on Spotify?

For real?

And I thought he was joking.

I was like, oh, that's hilarious, man.

And he was like, what?

What's funny?

And he was like, that song, like, it was so he's like.

And he actually said, I listen to Modest Yahoo.

And, like, he's kind of spiritual, and he talks about God.

And I was like, this dude does not know the gospel.

So I was like, bro, I was singing about the blood of Jesus.

And I started telling the sound guy, jesus came to die on a cross for you for your sins.

Just basic.

And I said, he died.

But three days later, he rose from the dead, and hundreds of people saw him.

And for 40 days, he walked all over that region in front of the same people who killed him.

Like, how you like me now?

And then he ascended to heaven, and hundreds of people saw that.

And I was like, you can accept Jesus, right now, do you wanna be forgiven for your sins?

And this sound guy's like, yeah, let's do it.

And it was almost like I didn't expect him to say yes.

He was like, yeah, let's do it.

And I was like, oh, it's cool, bro.

Wait, wait, what?

Yes.

He was like, yeah.

I felt chills all over me while you were talking.

And I just led this sound guy to Christ right there at this Rosie o' DONNELL foundation fundraiser in Manhattan.

And so I started coming back to New York City because I was like, I wanna lead more people to Jesus.

That's literally the story of how I got here.

And so I wanted to start because there's something serendipitous about us being in Manhattan, because Manhattan is where it started for me.

And it's been a long journey to get to tonight, a very long journey, which we won't get into.

You just gotta keep coming back for the next 40 years for me to tell you the whole story.

Just one weekend at a time.

But if.

If you're coming out to try a new church, can I just, like, disarm you for a second?

Because I'm going to preach this message and then we're just going to pray.

But I don't believe in manipulating people.

I don't believe in selling things to people.

As a matter of fact, if you can be convinced into it, you can be convinced out of it.

Like, that's.

It's just like that sound guy, it was like, this is just the truth of the gospel.

So the thing about V1 Church is we don't want you to join our church.

We want you to obey the Holy Spirit.

So if the Holy spirit says, hey, V1's a great church, but it's not your church, and go back to whatever church or go to another one, we're gonna bless you.

I think we even have cards with churches listed that we would encourage you to go check out that are friends of mine in the city and people we want you to meet.

But.

But.

And this is the story of a lot of V1 people.

If the Holy Spirit says, no, this is your church, and you're like, no, God.

They're kind of weird and like, I don't even know if I like them.

But I do like them.

But it triggers me that I like them because I don't like people.

And I laughed a couple times, even though I didn't wanna laugh, and then I cried a little bit.

So it's like a lot of people's stories was the Holy Spirit telling them that this is their church, and then them wrestling with it.

And then they surrendered.

And then, like three months later, they were dancing and they were like, I guess I'm one of them now.

So just because there's a lot of visitors, I just want to tell you, you can do whatever you want to do.

There's no pressure.

But the one thing I don't.

I cannot condone is you not obeying the Holy Spirit, whatever that means.

Okay, so my wife is not here, by the way, but she'll be back.

Julia's in Indiana.

She was at that campus, and they're having evening services there now as well.

So on behalf of my better half, just wanted to say hello.

So this is a very simple message, and I'm actually ripping the title from Charles Dickens, who wrote this classic novel entitled A Tale of Two Cities.

When I first came into Manhattan, I saw the skyline upside down.

In the spirit.

And when I saw it upside down, I said, lord, what are you showing me?

And the Lord says, it's a tale of two cities.

There's the Manhattan that they know, but then there's the one that is descending from heaven that I'm trying to bring into the earth.

It's a tale of two cities.

There's York, and then there was New York.

When they came here and settled it.

And I came here to announce there's new New York.

Come on.

Or for my Puerto Rican friends, Nueva Jorge.

Did I do it right?

No.

Okay, just keep coming back.

I'll try.

I'll try.

Tried.

I'm doing good for a gring.

There was York, then there was New York.

And then there's what I believe right now is the new New York.

The new New York.

And there's your life.

But then there's your new life.

Turn the page.

It's another chapter.

It's the same book.

You don't know the ending, but God knew the beginning from the end.

And he's working this all out in your favor and what they meant for your harm.

He's gonna turn it around for your good and.

Come on.

The first will be last.

The last will be first.

God just has a way of working it all out.

It's a tale of two cities.

And for Charles Dickens, it was London and Paris.

And it represented, like London and Paris, these two different cities.

But for us, it's the Manhattan that people think they're living in.

But then there's heaven invading Manhattan.

And there's another Manhattan.

There's another world.

You know what's funny?

Have you ever been in a worship bubble?

Let me talk about a worship bubble.

When you got your AirPods in and you got your songs playing, and you're walking down the street, and all of a sudden the Holy Spirit starts to awaken you, and all of a sudden you start singing that song.

And that's what I mean, a worship bubble.

Or you've been driving in the car and everybody's slamming on their brakes and cussing each other out, but you're like, oh, Lord, I love you, Jesus.

Thank you.

Tears are streaming down your eyes.

You're like, I shouldn't even drove.

I don't know.

I should have train.

Oh, Lord, I hope I make it.

Jesus.

Take the wheel.

You know what that is?

It's two worlds colliding and the greater force takes over.

And that's what we're talking about when heaven begins to invade the earth.

And so there are really just seven mandates for a church in New York City.

And this is really.

I feel kind of like a presidential address for me.

Thank you very much.

The third candidate.

Praise God.

It's official tonight, but I want to give you the seven mandates of a true church.

So whether you end up joining V1 Church or whether you go join another church, I believe that the body of Christ.

There's seven mandates for what a church is supposed to be.

Now, let me just start by saying this is not a perfect church because you're here.

I got my stuff together.

I'm almost there.

Ask my wife.

I'm almost there.

But church is never gonna be perfect because we're here on this side.

But I do believe that there's a prescription by God for what a healthy church should be.

But there's more than that.

There's a mandate.

And a mandate means that God is demanding this of us if we call ourselves true Christ followers.

And so can I just do this real quick?

Is that all right?

I know we got note takers up in here.

They got their phones out.

They're ready.

So mandate number one is the church should be an oasis in a weary land.

It should be an oasis.

It's like you climb up those stairs into this place, this, like, upper room, and it's this oasis where you come into this place and you're like, ah, it's.

And let me give you a verse.

Matthew, chapter 10, verse 42.

And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water, because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will certainly not lose his reward.

Certainly, he will not lose his reward.

I showed up to New York City, not to take from this city, but to give.

I showed up with a chainsaw and an acoustic guitar, and I was here to serve this city.

There's a lot of people that come to this city to use this city.

This is the city where people come to be in Broadway plays or they come to work in the financial district to advance their careers.

There's a lot of Christians, there's a lot of church planters that came here to use this city for some semblance of significance, like, maybe if I can make it in New York.

If they say, if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.

There's not a lot of people that come to serve this city, but there are a lot of people who come to be served by this city.

And without even realizing it, I was just.

I came from the Shire, just, you know, in northwest Indiana, you know, and I left the Shire with a chainsaw and an acoustic guitar just to serve this city.

But I didn't realize that very few people come to serve this city.

And so the question is, are we obeying the mandate to be an oasis in a weary land?

Will we give a cup of water to those who call this city home?

We will be the church that says, for those who are worn out, for those who are weary, for those who've been battered by religion, for those who are under the voice of condemnation, here's a cool drink of water.

I mean, isn't that what it feels like to be in a worship experience where you're like, man, I'm so refreshed by seeing so many people, young and old, serving the Father?

Like, didn't some of you rethink your own Christian atheism when you looked at this room and thought, like, wow, this resurrected Jesus was so real to all these people.

Maybe he is who I think he is.

It's like a cold drink of water.

Okay, the second mandate is we have to be a source of truth in the midst of mass deception.

We have to be a source of truth in the midst of mass deception.

In Proverbs, chapter 23, verse 23, this is what it says, buy truth and do not sell it.

Get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.

It says, get wisdom.

Get discipline and get understanding.

Buy the truth and don't sell the truth.

I think there's something about that, like, the truth is valuable, you know, when you have something of value, get wisdom.

You know, this world has a lot of knowledge, but not a lot of wisdom.

I mean, I remember, I'm like, pre YouTube era.

I'm like team Encarta.

Y' all don't know about that.

Yeah, see?

You don't even know.

Wow, that's crazy.

Somebody knows.

Okay, I'm team Encyclopedia Britannica.

Okay, okay, okay, okay.

Welcome back.

Welcome back.

And y' all know you didn't read it.

Y' all know you didn't read it.

Y' all acted excited.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Encyclopedia Britannica.

Yes, yes.

But here's the thing.

We're all binge watching YouTube videos, trying to advance our life, and we are one of the most knowledgeable generations in human history, but we have the least wisdom that's observable.

I mean, we don't know how to be in healthy relationships.

Oh, come on.

Come on.

We're swiping, swiping, swiping, swiping, swiping, swiping.

I mean, how many first date get ready videos can you make?

I mean, it's almost like you need your relationship to not work so you can keep the algorithm pumping your content.

I know I'm coming for you.

You're like, how does this old man know about this?

But we don't have wisdom.

We don't have.

We have preferences, but we don't.

Oh, come on.

We got lists.

If you got a list for V1 as large as your list for a mate, you probably won't be happy here.

Just like you're not happy in a relationship.

Oh, I like the night service.

I'm feisty at night.

I got energy now.

But, you know, it's like, get wisdom, get discipline, and get understanding.

But we should be a source of truth in mass deception.

Like, when you see Matt and Juliana's marriage, there's something about where you're like, you know, I want to righteously fulfill the covenant of marriage in my life.

When I see the way they love each other, I want that, like, you know what I'm saying?

There's something about truth, and people will come here seeking for the truth.

I gotta pick up the pace.

Some of you are actually doing the math on how long it's gonna take me to do seven points.

And I rebuke you right now.

You need to chill.

You need to chill.

Relax.

How do you know I can't do the last three real fast?

How do you know?

Mandate number three is we have to be a source of courage in the midst of fear and terror.

While Tim Keller was still alive, I had the opportunity to work with him and his team in a program that they put together for New York City church planters.

And I Think every Christian should listen to the sermon that Tim Keller preached this Sunday after 9 11.

Because that sermon, I mean, before that sermon, he was just a faithful Presbyterian pastor here in New York City, here in Manhattan.

But when all terror was unleashed on this island, he knew what God's heart was concerning the matter.

And what happened was thousands of people flooded Tim Keller's church because in the midst of tragedy, they were like, we need answers.

We need the truth.

We what does God have to say about this situation?

And I hope that this message right now is not prophetic.

And I hope that there's not another instance here in New York City that will cause people to awaken to the reality of God.

But I do know whether it happens abroad or it happens locally, there are things that actually rock us off of the foundation of our mediocre, mediocre existence.

And we begin to say, God, could you be real?

Could there be something to this?

And what happens is people, they turn on YouTube.

I mean, think about the pandemic.

It was like, I never wanted to be a cringy Christian influencer holding my phone, walking through the streets of New York City.

But guess what?

In the midst of panic and fear and terror, people were desperately seeking the truth.

And people didn't listen to me because I was eloquent.

People listened to me because I had the truth.

And Jesus is the truth.

He is the life.

Come on.

And so we have to be a source of courage in the midst of fear.

Okay, mandate number four is we have to be a reconciling and unifying force.

We have to be a reconciling and unifying force.

In Colossians, chapter 1, verse 20, it says, and through him to reconcile to himself all things.

Somebody say all things.

Whether things on earth or things in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

So we have to be this reconciling force.

I mean, look at the audience.

This is racial reconciliation.

I'll never forget, in the early days of V1 Church, I had this guy named Jonathan.

So here's how I met Jonathan.

My family, we weren't able to move into our apartment in Queens, and we had to stay in a hotel.

And the Lord gave me this prophetic word for the guy that was working at the hotel, and he disappeared before I could give it to him.

So I wrote it down and I went to another employee and I said, hey, you know the dude that looks like, da, da, da, da, give him this word.

And so all of a sudden I put my number on there and I said, if this word is true.

Call me.

All of a sudden, later that day, I get a call and he's crying, bro, who are you?

Are you psychic?

I'm like, nah, it's a different spirit.

Ain't no spirit, but the Holy Spirit.

Come, come, come.

And so I began to build a relationship with him and he joined our church.

And it was this incredible story.

He gave his life to Christ.

He ended up joining our children's ministry and he would serve and help kids.

And one day he was like, pastor Mike, I have a really urgent thing we need to talk about.

And we were on the Long island campus and he was in my office and I thought it was gonna be something in his personal life or whatever.

And he was like, hey, Pastor Mike, I say this in love, but this church is racist.

And I was like, excuse me, Jonathan.

And so what he said, and I said, but I don't understand.

Like, when I look at our church and Long island is not known for diverse churches, and when I look, I see diverse.

He's like, no, no, no.

Seeing it doesn't make it real.

Because what you don't know is people are only greeting people of the same race.

People are only exchanging numbers of the same race.

Like, what you see in the audience is diverse, but what you experience is racism.

And I was like, jonathan, I repent to you.

What do you want to do to fix this?

Like, how do we deal with this?

And we put together this radical plan and we got the whole church together.

I'm not even saying this is the right way to do it, but this is what we did.

So before you go crazy trying to blog about this moment, just chill.

But what this is Jonathan's idea.

This was some other people's idea.

We're gonna write out situations that New Yorkers encounter on a daily basis and we're gonna put all these situations on paper and put em in a bucket and we're gonna make everybody in the church pull out a piece of paper with the situation on the bucket and then read it out loud and say, how does this make you feel?

And we did that.

And people just started bawling their eyes out.

And then the church started unifying.

And so like, just understand that that story was almost eight years ago now.

So when you.

What you see in this room is an inheritance from that moment because we chose that we're not just gonna like make the diversity quota and put the picture up, but it was gonna be real in the seats, not just on the pictures.

And like, you're an inheritor of that moment of hard conversations.

So my challenge to you, if this church is your church or if you go to another church, and this is the mandate for churches in New York City, is I dare you to go talk to the person who looks the least like you.

When Jesus told the story of the Samaritan, who was a hated people group by the Jewish people at that time, he made the Samaritan the hero of the.

Isn't it just like Jesus to take the person you think is a villain and make him a hero?

So I challenge you.

I challenge you to have the eyes of Samuel that see what nobody else sees.

Can we make a commitment on the first night together to be that kind of church where somebody's like, you know, can I just.

Can I be, like, really transparent right now?

Can I go there?

So you guys know Prophet Randall, Pastor Randall?

I'm gonna have him tell this story, but I just want to drill down on this.

He told this story at our Indiana location about how a renowned prophet gave him a word that he was gonna meet a white man, and this white man was gonna teach him everything he knows and take him farther in life than he'd ever been taken.

And by the way, he wasn't talking about Jesus because Jesus wasn't white.

You know that picture that your grandma had hanging up?

His name's Kevin.

You know, Jesus didn't.

I've been to Israel.

There's nobody with blue eyes up in here.

That was Kevin.

That wasn't Jesus.

But.

But he said that, Randall, you're going to meet this white man.

This white man is gonna teach you everything he knows.

He's gonna love you with his heart.

He's gonna take you where you've never been, blah, blah, blah.

So when he came to V1 church for the first time as a visitor, he looked at me and he said, that's the white guy.

That's him.

And he told his wife, Mary.

Mary, that's the white guy.

And Mary's like, what are you talking about?

True story.

All these years later, he's a campus pastor.

He's amazing.

New Jersey.

Da, da, da, da.

But here's what's funny.

He told that story at our Indiana campus, and I had a whole bunch of people coming up to me saying, you're my white pastor.

And I said, are we gonna get in trouble talking like this?

And I kid you not.

But you know what?

First they started saying it as a joke, and then in Indiana, some of them started crying.

And I held him in my arms, and I was like, this is the weirdest ministry moment that I've ever had, but the Lord is in it.

And so, like, listen, none of us could choose what we were born as, but we get to choose how we die.

And I want to die.

Totally surrendered to the reconciler as somebody who had a ministry of reconciliation flowing through me, and this church is gonna demand that from us.

So I hovered on that point.

I felt like it was important.

Are we gonna do this thing together or what?

Okay, so that leads me to the fifth mandate.

True empowerment.

True empowerment.

True empowerment.

My life verse is Acts 1:8.

After the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power to be my witnesses.

Okay, let me just say this.

How vulnerable can I get right now?

Cause in order to do my job preaching this message, I feel like I gotta say some things that are like the elephant in the room.

And Pastor Mary, who's Pastor Randall's wife, she says, I want you to write a book called Elephant Riders.

Because she said, pastor Mike, you have a way of just getting up on the elephant and riding it around the room and be like, is this what we're not supposed to talk about?

So she wants me to write a leadership book called Elephant Riders.

But let's talk about true empowerment.

There's a lot of churches that the only way that you can come into a position is if you're friends with the pastor.

Oh, there's that.

Wow.

There's a. I'm just saying there's a lot of churches that the only way is favoritism.

The only way.

Or if you're genetically blood related, that's called nepotism.

And you're like, oh, I get.

Oh.

So you're saying the worship leader is the wife, and then the associate pastor is the uncle, and then the kids ministers this.

And it's like, no, no.

Like, for us, spirit is thicker than blood.

And so, like, true empowerment from the local church is not because we're blood related, but because we're related in the spirit.

And we've identified the gifts in your life, and we're bringing you through a process and a journey of faithfulness to elevate you up into the authority that God has for you.

And so a church has a mandate for true empowerment.

And by the way, you are not destined to be a bench warmer.

You're here to be equipped and released.

We are not gonna be defined by our seating capacity.

This church will be defined by our sending capacity.

I'm not here to seat you.

I'm here to send you.

I don't have an ego.

I hope you preach better than me.

I hope you prophesy better.

There is no lid on you in this house because I expect you to do greater works.

I've been to some churches where nobody is allowed to preach better than the pastor.

I hope you preach better than me.

I'm a sign and a witness to what God could do with a surrendered life.

That's all I am.

It's do as I do.

I get up here all sweaty and nervous, so you get all up here sweaty and nervous.

I do it when I'm tired.

So you.

It's the point of a leader, is to go first.

But a lot of churches, the leader is the first and the last, and they die with the baton in their hand.

I'm here to pass this thing to you.

I'm here to hand now, not before your time.

Come on, Nadab.

Wave at everybody.

Nadab in the back now.

Nadab and I have eaten a lot of food around the US Together.

And he came out to San Francisco to do a speaking event with me.

And he came as my security.

And it was funny because he came to me before the service, like, 15 minutes before the service, and he was like, hey, just give me the plan for the service.

Who's gonna speak to open it and then minister, and then what do we do from there?

And I was like, oh, this guy that's gonna open this thing up?

This guy is anointed.

This guy is powerful.

And I'm like, his name's Nadab.

And he was like.

And he was like, are you serious?

I'm like, nadab, you're a son of the house.

I want you to go out there with the anointing that flows.

And I want you to do what God's called you to do.

And you're here in San Francisco, and the devil thinks he's winning, but let's run the score up on him tonight.

And I'll tell you, that was one of my favorite moments of my life.

He got up there, and the first 30 seconds, he was nervous, and then all of a sudden, this roar came out of his belly.

And he started.

His voice changed, and he started to speak, and the anointing dropped.

When he got off the stage, I said, what is that?

He was like, I don't know.

But see, what happens is you have to be in a church that puts a demand on you, because what happens is, if you stay in that seed too long, you'll get lethargic, and then you'll get more preferential, and then you'll start to become critical.

And your destiny as a believer is not to be a critic.

You know what I'm saying?

And so it'll keep you healthy.

And so it's a church that empowers.

Mandate number six is delivering hope in a world of false promises.

Oh, come on.

We have to deliver hope in a world of false promises.

Romans chapter 15, verse 13 says, May the God of hope.

When you think about it, it's like in mythology, the God of thunder, the God of this, the God of that.

One of the ways that Romans explains God is may the God of hope, like he is the God, God of hope, fill you with all joy.

Somebody say, all joy.

There's that word again.

It says, with all joy and peace.

Somebody say, and peace.

As you trust in him, so there's like a mechanism.

He is the God of all hope.

And if you put your trust in him, joy and peace accompany that hope.

So what does Manhattan not have?

Joy, peace and hope.

And so as you put your trust in God, you become a recipient of peace and joy and hope.

And then people are gonna naturally start asking you, why are you always smiling?

Why does it seem like there's something different about you?

Well, listen, I go through things just like you, but I serve the God of hope, and he fills me with all joy and peace.

As a matter of fact, another name for him is the Prince of Peace.

And it's the peace that surpasses all understanding.

I just know that somehow this thing is gonna work out.

I just know somehow another domino is gonna drop and this thing is gonna click into his divine will.

I know that if he healed me, then he's gonna heal me again.

I know if he gave me a prophetic dream before that guided me, I'll dream again.

I know if he sent somebody to give me a word, then he'll send somebody to give a word now.

I just know.

I trust you, God.

I don't trust me, but I trust you.

I decrease so that you can increase in me.

I get out of the way so that you can have your way right here on the job in the bathroom stall.

I'm surrendered to you, God.

I'm getting out of the way.

I trust you, Lord.

This is the sacred way of a true believer.

And this is what happens when we do that.

We start delivering hope in a world of false promises.

Okay, I was just in Grand Rapids doing a book signing, and I told people, don't come for a book signing because celebrities sign books, and I'm not a celebrity.

I said, I want a prayer line in that bookstore.

This is literally how I put out the word.

And I said, if you're sick, come and we're gonna pray for you.

We already got testimonies.

One woman came with breast cancer, and I had dawn, this dear woman from our other location.

I said, dawn, you lay your hand on her and we're gonna pray for her.

She went back to the doctor that week.

It's been less than a week since this moment happened.

And they said that the tumors are benign and not cancerous and changed the diagnosis.

This is not hope like the world has hope.

This is the God of all hope.

He said it.

I believe it.

That settles it.

Either he's a healer or not a healer.

I believe he's a healer.

God can heal breast cancer in a book signing line.

So this is.

That's.

That's just my newest story.

And some of you who are visiting, if you don't got any news stories, you need to get around a new circle because.

Wow, wow, wow.

If you don't have new stories, you need new circles.

You know why?

Because the people who are around you are not people of faith.

Because people of faith will spur you on to greater faith.

When you're around somebody with faith, you'll start having a faith competition.

When you're around a gossiper, you'll have a gossip competition.

Who has a better story.

Wow.

Think about it.

When you're around a gossiper, you will become a gossiper.

And then the competition will be, who has a better story.

When you're around people of faith, you will be spurred onto greater faith.

And then you'll also be asking, who has a better story.

But it's a story about what Jesus can do, not what somebody else did.

We got some righteous gossip up in here.

Okay, we're at number seven.

It happened.

Despite your adhd.

It happened.

But let me just tell you, tonight I believe was a special night.

It was a special night because these mandates are not what we learned.

It's who we are.

These mandates are what we do.

Yeah.

Come on, let's get the band for a moment right now.

And, man, I like this whole, like, thing and this thing and this thing in the back and this thing, you know, not coming back next week because it was crowded this week is the worst excuse to not come back.

Okay, let me put it like this.

New Yorkers, if you ever.

If the subway door opens to that train and nobody's in it, do you walk in?

Come on.

The New Yorkers know now.

Don't tell the non New Yorkers.

Why.

Let them find out, let them find out.

You know what I'm saying?

But when that door opens and no one's in there, we don't go in there.

But when you go to a restaurant and that restaurant is packed out, and here in New York City, where it's one of the hardest cities to have a restaurant, what is that?

The evidence of what they're serving is good.

Listen, you know what I love about New Yorkers?

They're very hard to fake out.

A New Yorker will tell you, oh, they ain't real.

Nuh, no, no, honey, honey, they ain't real.

They'll walk out of a church and they'll be like, no, no, no, no.

They were fronting.

Am I right?

Now the only reason that a dude from Indiana got this far in New York is because I don't have a plan B. I don't have a plan B.

And you can feel the aroma off of someone's life who doesn't have a plan B. I just got back from Puerto Rico.

I was with Bethel Worship.

I was with Upper Room Worship.

And I was meeting these young people who've been traveling the world just worshiping, and I could smell the aroma of surrenderedness off their life.

They didn't have a plan B.

And so I guess the question that I'm asking you in closing, and this is the final, the final mandate, it would be to open heaven over the gates of hell.

As a church, we have an obligation to open heaven over the gates of hell.

The only way that we can do that is we have to lay aside all of our agendas and we just have to live surrendered.

And you know what?

The thing about New Yorkers is that they're real.

But the other thing about New Yorkers is that they can be frenetic and they're planners and schemers.

New Yorkers have a plan for the plan for the plan for the plan for a plan.

If this, this and this, this here, this over there, and if this don't work and you have to because there's no parking, you, you, you, you never know what's going to happen.

There could be three hours of traffic or three minutes.

Am I right?

And so what happens is out here you have to have 15 plans so that one of them work.

But if you act like a New Yorker in the kingdom, if you act like a New Yorker in the kingdom, you won't inherit the fullness of freedom.

And you needed somebody from Indiana to show you how to slow down.

That's why I had to leave the Shire.

Slow down.

Come On Dave Reed, you obeyed the Lord to come out here tonight.

And you're from Indiana.

Dave and I are friends for probably over 15 years now, and his wife Holly, who's with him, and.

But there's something about.

In Indiana, there's never traffic.

We're just cruising, and the roads don't have any stoplights.

And you just drive.

It triggers me every time I go back because I'm like, when are we gonna stop?

Never.

Keep driving.

Just keep driving.

You know what?

In Indiana, we drive for fun.

We call it cruising, and we put music on John Denver.

But here's what I want to say, because we're going to come to a close with this.

Worship requires slowing down.

Like, I know how long things are, but I think in a world that's always like, slamming the gears and shifting the gears and forcing, you know, I think the counterbalance is waiting.

They that wait upon the Lord, he shall renew their strength.

They will mount up with wings as eagles.

They will run and not grow.

See, running eventually happens, but running is the consequence of waiting.

See, like, first you wait, then you run.

And so church is when we come together and say, how long's worship gonna be?

As long as it takes for us to wa.

As long as it takes for us to slow down.

As long as it takes for us to just turn off the devices and put them aside and acknowledge the king of glory.

And then when that happens, it was just like when Hurricane Sandy had happened.

And then I showed up with the guitar and I started to sing about the blood.

All of a sudden, hundreds of New Yorkers were arrested by the presence of God because it was like heaven started opening in Manhattan.

And I'll never forget that feeling.

It was one of the most sovereign moments of my life.

It was.

And now I've come to understand that this church has a mandate to open heavens over the gates of hell.

That's why we're going to Chicago for the Breakers Conference one month from now.

Because Chicago needs an open heaven over the gates of hell.

Like, can't you see a pattern?

So here's what I want to do.

Matthew, chapter 16, verse 18 says, and I'll.

And I tell you, Peter, on this rock, isn't it crazy that Manhattan is literally rock?

And what facilitated these buildings was this was the soil was hard soil.

And so we are here on rock.

And it says, upon this rock, I will build my church.

Not Mike Signorelli's church.

This has never been my church.

It's never been any pastor's church.

We're just A steward of what's been handed down from literally Peter here now into this place.

It's his church.

He said, I'll build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And so when we come together every Sunday, what we're saying is, God, remind us that this is your church, we are your bride, and not even the gates of hell will prevail.

So would you stand to your feet with me?

There's too many people to do an altar call.

There's too many people to flood the front.

So I have to believe that a moment can happen right now in your seat.

So let me go back to the beginning, when I was driving from northwest Indiana to Manhattan for the very first time.

The Lord says, mike, will you serve these people with your life?

And even though I had that chainsaw and even though I had that acoustic guitar, I knew that it wasn't a mission trip.

I knew that this would be the final destination for me and my family.

And I had to make a decision that I would give him my yes completely.

And it was just one yes.

And it felt so small and so insignificant.

It just.

In a city of millions, God, who am I that you would be mindful of me?

A church that started with 18 people.

I thought I saw Anthony somewhere.

There he is, one of the Original members of V1 Church, who's here right now still fruit that remains.

Did you ever think this would happen?

But why do I say that is.

I had no idea how to do this, but I gave my yes completely without any reservations.

And then when I met other New Yorkers, they actually were inspired by the yes.

And you gave your yes.

And you were in the New Age, and you were in all kinds of occult practices, and you were dabbling.

And there's so many in this city that are trapped and enslaved to that.

But you just said, you know what?

I'm giving my yes to Jesus.

No reservations.

And there's so many stories here where each person just said, I'll give my yes.

I'll give my yes.

I'll give my yes.

And so what we're gonna do on the count of three is if you will give your yes completely, and I want you to think about this.

Cause it's the yes to these seven mandates.

It's a yes to be these things, to do these things, because they're clearly outlined in scripture.

And I believe that if we'll join together in this yes, then there's gonna be a day.

Just stay with me where we.

I know this is crazy.

On opening night to talk like this.

But there will be a day where we actually say, hey, guys, do you remember that first night in Manhattan where we all gave our yes, look what the Lord did with that yes.

Like, I know it's crazy to say it on the first night, but I believe that if we'll get a tipping point, if we'll just get a critical mass of enough people that will say yes.

Because, you know, the prophet Elijah, Elisha rebuked a guy because he had said, strike the ground with an arrow, and he only struck the ground three times.

And Elisha, the prophet, showed up, and he said, if you would have struck the ground more times, you would have been given a total victory.

But because you only struck it three times, you're gonna get a partial victory.

I'm not showing up tonight just for a grand opening.

I'm here to strike the ground every single time until there is a total and complete victory.

And the one attribute I have is patience, because patience is a fruit of the spirit.

The Bible says, resist the devil and he will flee from you.

And I'm digging my heels in, and I'm gonna keep striking the ground every Sunday to say, devil, Only one of us is leaving, and it's not gonna be me.

It's gonna be you.

Somebody shout, strike the ground.

Come on, say it again.

Strike.

Even a dull axe can cut a tree down if you keep swinging on the same spot.

And I'll tell you, I'm probably a dull axe.

I know I'm not the best, but I'm diligent, and even a dull ax on the same spot will bring a tree down.

I'm going to keep showing up every Sunday until the fullness of what God is destined comes to pass.

So when I say on the count of three, lift your hands if you want to give a total yes.

1, 2, 3.

This is a yes to Jesus.

This is not a yes to a church.

This is a yes to become the church.

This is a yes.

Some of you have never given a yes to this level.

We're gonna pray here in a moment, but this is when you stop swiping.

This is when you commit.

V1 is the commitment stage of aviation.

It's the decision speed of no turning back.

If you want to know what V1 church means, V1 is when the airplane takes up off the ground.

V1 is the decision speed.

When you say, I've fully committed to this and this plane is going to fly.

And so I believe right now it's time to go v1.

If you want to pray this with me?

Romans, chapter 10, verse 9 says, Confess with your mouth.

Believe in your heart that he is the Savior and you will be saved.

And I want this to come from your belly.

I want you to say this in the midst of your own struggles, in the midst of your own pain.

I want you to just lift up an unapologetic prayer before the Lord.

For some of you, this is.

Is the first time you prayed it.

And for some of you, this is going to be the 50th time you prayed it.

But I want us to seal it in our hearts.

I want us to say, God, whatever this means, I want to be discipled.

I want to be a disciple that makes disciples.

I want multiplication to flow from my life.

I want to save the lost.

I want to bring them to the cross.

I want to do whatever you want me to do, God, I'm tired of my own way.

I'm going to.

I feel like there's somebody in this room.

You have selfish ambition.

And the whole time the Lord has been convicting you of selfish ambition.

And the Lord says, if you will be willing to just give up that selfish ambition, then I will raise you up and I will righteously fulfill that desire.

There's somebody else in this room.

Can I just Minister prophetically for 30 seconds?

There's somebody else in this room that you keep going from success to fail, success to fail.

And you feel like you've been on this crazy roller coaster.

And I feel like it's feast or famine, feast or famine.

It's win, lose, win, lose, up down, up, down.

And I feel like you, your heart's been crying out, God, when is it gonna stabilize?

I don't know if I can do this anymore.

And I just heard the Lord say, if you will commit completely because you have things in reservation, if you will confess them, if you'll come out of hiding, then I will begin to bring a consistency to your life supernaturally.

And I feel like it's even in the area of finances.

But the Lord says, if you will give me a 100%, yes.

I'm going to bring everything into alignment.

Doesn't mean it's going to be perfect.

Wow.

Come on.

Are you ready?

Come on.

I feel the presence of God right now.

You've been longing for this moment.

Come on.

This is that cool drink of water for your soul.

You've been feeling like God, I can't do this anymore.

Some of you feel trapped between two identities.

The Christian identity that you project, but the other identity and the Lord Says, drop it all and just come follow me now.

Therefore, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

And condemnation is getting ready to be broken off of your life right now.

Come on.

Take a few seconds and let the Holy Spirit speak to you before we pray it.

Just slow down, Sam.

Come on.

He hears those silent tears.

He hears those silent tears.

Feel like somebody's getting free from performance.

Free from performance.

Always having to perform.

Always having to perform, always having to be on.

I feel like I don't know who this is for, but I keep seeing the word masking.

You're always masking, masking behaviors, masking.

And it's exhausting.

And you've said, like, I want to be a part.

I want to be a part of a church community.

But I feel so exhausted masking.

And I feel like the Lord's just telling you, you can take the mask off.

Be yourself.

Be who you are.

I feel like some of you have never.

Some of you in this room have never felt truly accepted for who you really are.

You've always had to feel like you're fronting, you're performing, even serving other people, doing for other people.

I feel like the Lord right now is bringing you into adoption out of that orphan tendency to perform.

And he's just telling you, I love you.

I love you just as you are, not as you ought to be, because you'll never truly be as you ought to be, but just as you are.

Some of you have what I call moving target syndrome, where the target is always moving so you can never hit it, and you're paralyzed by this feeling of never truly being successful.

And I feel like the Lord is just speaking into that wound right now.

Success is not defined by achievement.

It's actually defined by surrender.

The only form of success in scripture is when people said, I surrender.

It's literally when you give up fighting.

Then the Lord says, now you've succeeded.

And if you're like, I don't understand, it's because some of you are coming to a moment right now that your mother never came to.

Some of you are doing something in this space that your father never did.

It's not that they didn't achieve.

It's that they didn't surrender.

So, Father, just release your freedom right now.

Even before we pray.

Just release your freedom right now.

Wow.

How could he give you more until he heals you so that you can keep it?

I don't know who that's for.

How can he give you more until he heals you so that you can Keep it.

How can he give you more until he heals you so that you can actually keep it?

He's brought you here to heal you now.

I waited the whole sermon to say what I'm about to say right now.

With these seven mandates, you cannot give what you've never received.

So I had to take you to this moment where you drink the cool water.

Had to bring you to this moment where you're reconciled, where you feel the unity.

I got chills all over my body right now.

I have not felt the presence of God with this weightiness in a long time.

I feel the weight of his glory on this moment.

Come on.

Some Sundays we'll go a little bit quicker.

But today's about waiting.

Just give him 15 more seconds.

I want to respond to somebody's heart.

The Lord says, yes, this time is different.

Literally, the Lord just wanted to respond, yes, this time is different.

Somebody else is also questioning, like, am I really going to be consistent this time?

Am I really going to be faithful at this time?

I heard the Lord say, yes, this time is different.

This time is different.

Come on.

Where's faith at?

Come on.

I just want you to lead us in a song as we get ready to pray.

Just a quick.

Like.

Just a quick chorus.

Cause God's gonna finish what he started tonight.

Let's lift our hands one more time.

If you would be so bold and if you would give me the privilege.

Would you just say these words with me right now?

Heavenly Father, I give you my yes, completely without reservation.

I push aside every agenda, all selfish ambitions.

For your will and for your way.

I choose to walk this walk.

Each step a step of surrenderness, a step of obedience.

I will walk by faith.

I will walk by faith.

This time by faith, not by fear, not by intellectual.

But I will walk by faith.

Father, I take your hand.

Lead me and I will follow.

I thank you for your blood that washes me, that cleanses me.

Renew my mind.

And I say yes.

Come on, let's just sing.

I say, yes, Father, we thank you.

Holy, holy.