Apostolic Lighthouse
Open My Understanding - Pastor Michael Luna
I want to definitely do my best to minister to you the Word of the Lord. First of all, I give honor to God, who is my Lord and Savior, and without Jesus Christ, I would be lost, I'd be in prison, or I'd be dead. But the Lord Jesus Christ saved my life, amen, and I'm forever grateful to Him, He's my everything. Give honor to your pastor, with the Savior of Samson, and his wife, appreciate them so very much. They appreciate their friendship, and just receiving me in my family means a lot to me. The lifestyle that I come from, when people wanting to be my friend, really means a lot to me. I don't take that lightly. I didn't grow up in church, but I had the privilege of winning my parents to the Lord. I baptized them in Jesus' name, and to God be the glory, I give honor to Caleb Samson, and I appreciate your friendship, my brother, and thank you for allowing me to come here. I'm here on a mission, amen, and I endeavor to do my best so I will need your patience and your help, if that will be all right, amen. So I feel something today that I want to do my best to encourage you with the Word of the Lord. I want to share something first, and yesterday I received a call, and I knew something was going to take place. It always happens when I preached somewhere new. I received a call that my older son was being airlifted to, hospital. He was in a motorcycle accident, and so he was unconscious. And so, when we got the news, I just began to pray, and I said, "Lord, I trust you. I trust you, and I'm not going nowhere. I'm going to stay here and I'm going to accomplish this mission that you set me to do." That's just what I kept praying over and over again, "Lord, I trust you, Lord, I trust you." "I'm not going to fear, I'm going to put my trust in you, Lord." And we waited, and we waited, and still didn't get no word, no anything. And finally, my sister called me, and she said that I haven't heard any details. She goes, "But I know that he's okay." So I said, "Thank you, Jesus, thank you, Jesus." And I just kept saying, "Lord, thank you, I trust you, no matter what, I trust you." And so, I didn't know that I had an accident, and I didn't know that I was in the hospital, and I just didn't know that I was in the hospital, I didn't know that I was in the hospital, I didn't know that I was in the hospital, I didn't know that I was in the hospital, I didn't know that I was in the hospital, I didn't know that I was in the hospital, I didn't know that I was in the hospital, I didn't know that I was in the hospital, I didn't know that I was in the hospital, and I didn't know that I was in the hospital, I didn't know that I was in the hospital, I didn't know that I was in the hospital, so I'm very thankful, very thankful that he's okay, he's got some broken ribs, but nevertheless, he's all right, all right, man. And so, you know, I'm not one to panic, because I've had to learn, and I'm still learning to put my trust in God, and so with that, that's kind of what I want to talk to you about today, so if you have your Bible, see, "Tenerce Subibili" as well, I'll add, and then, "Proverbios capito l'otres," if you're welcome inside of our sequel, "Ossinco," I'm going to be reading in Proverbs chapter 3, and I'll begin at verse number 5, very familiar portion of Scripture, and so as I go back and forth, just please bear with me, and sometimes I get tongue-tied, because, you know, when you're bilingual, you're just, you know, I think in English, and sometimes it just don't come out, it comes out in Spanglish, my wife's first language is Spanish, and her second language is English, so she thinks in Spanish, "Well, I don't do that." Spanish is my second language, so I think in English, right, so when I start, you know, and preaching's a whole 'nother ballgame, so, you know, so now I'm preaching two messages today, "Hey, man, are you ready?" "Stas lísto, vamos la ella," "Hey, man, I'ma read it in Spanish first," "Hey, man, la víliadíse en versiculos inco comfiano señor de tocora son, y no estribes en tu en tendimiento," "versiculos es recono sello en todos tu caminos, y el endere asarato veradas," "Hey, man, trust in the Lord with some of your heart, with all dying heart, and lean not unto thy," somebody say, "My understanding, algandy se me entendimiento." "Ah, man, ah, man, if you don't know Spanish, I'm gonna help you out a little bit, you gotta try." "Yeah." "I'll try." "Hey, man, and if you don't know English, you know, and thinnest, englest, and it's que tratar." "Ah, man, hey, man, we're gonna do this together today, praise God, because when we do it together then we can help those that don't understand, help those that don't, that need the Holy Ghost." You understand what I'm saying? "Hey, man, so we're gonna do this together." "Hey, man, I want to preach to you for a little while about open my understanding. Open my understanding. I want to talk to you about that for a minute. Can we pray together? ¡Vamos horar huntos en manos la vantos un vos, let's lift our voices like apostolics today. God, we love you today. Jesus, we thank you, O God, for we know that you are a God of truth. We know that you are able to do exceeding abundantly above all in which we could ask or think according to the power that we're getting us, "O señor dios, ay yud anos en esta momento señor, para recivizo palabra señor, per que no somos nada sinti señor, pero con tego señor, jó se que tu puedes en mandar supo de esta lugar, tu puedes mandar supresencia señor, y habran nuestos cora señor, habran mimente señor, para reciviz su fuego, para recivizo puedes, para recivizen yor su alma, para recivizo puedes en yor, la to receive your peace, to receive your love, God, we need your help today. We can't do it without you, God. We put our trust in you, we put our trust in you, with all of my heart, with all of my soul, with all of my being, with everything that's within me, God, I want to trust you, I want to put my everything in you, Jesus, yes, everyone say in Jesus' name, amen, you may be seated, thank you, Jesus, can I take my coat off of that, be all right, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen. The definition of trust here in the Scripture says in assured reliance and the character in the ability, amen of something or someone, amen, it is strength, truth of someone or something which one is confidence is placed in, amen, dependence upon something that is trust, praise God, and I believe God's people got to have trust in him and his character in his ability and in his power that God is able to do all things, praise the Lord, amen, you got to believe it with all your heart today, not just some of your heart and understand some of us are tired and early in the morning, amen, but when it comes to trusting in God, I don't know any other way than to put all my heart into it, amen, and put my everything into it, amen, because trusting him, amen, it is just not when things are good, amen, it's also when things are bad, it is when things are falling apart, it is when I don't feel good, when it don't match everything that I wanted to, and when it goes against everything that I prayed for, and when situations are falling apart, when you got family members in the hospital, you got to trust him, and then when there's no money in the bank account, you got to trust him, and then when you lose your job, and the jobs not able to provide, you got to trust him, and then when people come against you and they persecute you, you've got to trust him. [Singing in Spanish] Wow, praise God, when you trust him, there are not be worry, when you trust him, there are not be fear, when you trust him, you are not panic, you ought to be full of fear, free of doubt, and worry, and anxiety that will try to grip your heart at the moment that you're tested of whether or not you're going to trust him. Circumstances don't get me down, praise the name of G when you really trust him, I pray without doubting, there's no stress, I'm worry free, praise the Lord. [Singing in Spanish], I'm then why, because I put my trust in him, praise the name of the Lord with all of my heart, with all of my mind, with all of my soul, I don't know how else to do it, praise the name of Jesus, but many times there's something that seems to get in the way of me trusting God, it gets in the way, it gets in the way of me trusting God, it gets in front of me, I algomutros verces que está en friende de mí y esta cosa, con esta cosa y uno puedo puedo puedo lo mí confía en sainel, y esta cosa se llama mí en tíndimiento. The thing that gets in front of me, that hinders me from believing God and trusting God, let me tell you what it is, it's got a name, it's called your understanding. I want to trust him, but my understanding gets in the way, I want to be worry-free, but my understanding gets in the way, amen, I want to pray without doubt, but my understanding gets in the way, que está y uno puedo de mí en tíndimiento, dísta cosa es diferente. Oh my Lord Jesus, why is that, let me tell you why, I'm going to give you the definition for understanding, the definition for understanding is the power to comprehend. It's the power to make things comprehensible and put it into action. It is the power to receive messages and apply it into our life. I'm amazed that Webster's dictionary would call your understanding a power. I'm amazed and surprised that it would call your understanding and my understanding a power, a definition, de en tíndimiento, el dísta scenario, dísta que en tíndimiento sumpo deir, para es diferente cosas en mi avilidar, la poder, el poder, para reciví comprention, mi prudencia, amir, el mano stoy sopre nendo que el dísta scenario, dísta que me en tíndimiento, que tú en tíndimiento sumpo deir, salas que es sumpo deir de este mundo. You want to know what, that's a power that's of this world, amen, and when God filled you and I with the Holy Ghost, he didn't give you a power that's of this world. He gave you and I a power that's from heaven, a power that's from above, a power that's a power that exceeds all knowledge, a power that's not logical, it's a power that's of, oh my God, it's a power that you can't understand at times, it's a power we can't explain sometimes, the Bible says, and you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, amen, and this power, amen, is what God wants you and I to lean upon, this power God wants you and I to put our trust in, not the power that's of this earth, not the power that's of this flesh, not the power that's of this world, not the power that we're used to, it's a power that's from on high, a power from Jesus Christ. Praise the name of Jesus. Growing up, I was taught some particulars, I was taught some things from mom and dad, and I had to learn that many times mom and dad wasn't always right, let me go there for a minute. I had to learn that my grandparents weren't always right, amen, they did their best that they could do to raise us with what they knew, amen, and they tried to instill in us good things and many of those things, I still hold dearly, but some of those things were not right, and so when it came to God, the things that they tried their best to tell me and teach me wasn't right. These things that I learned growing up is what became my way, it became my personality, it became my character, it became my understanding, are you with me, amen. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) My personality forgot how to say it. Shoot it out. That's so, tell ya, I get tongue tied. (speaking in foreign language) Amen. That became my way, that became my personality. When I come to church, I come with my way. I come with my understanding. I come with my personality. I come, amen, with all these things that it is a mental grasp, but it is my logic, it becomes my way. And many times if the service doesn't go the way I think it should, I respond accordingly. If the song just ain't right, I respond accordingly. Amen, we think we gotta dance to fast songs and stop for slow songs. Can I tell you in the Holy Ghost, it ain't quite like that. Because when your understanding is open, you'll see someone dance in a slow song, amen, and cry during a fast song. Things begin to change a little bit when the spirit begins to take control. (speaking in foreign language) And me, something is changing in me. Something is ministering, something is moving. He's beginning to go against logic. You see, when your understanding is opened, amen, things start forming differently. Things don't go according to my plan. Amen, it's not according to my way anymore. Amen, God starts moving me out of the way. Amen, I've learned, amen, that when I'm out of the way, God can move, that when I get me out of the way, God can have his way. Amen, we pray it all the time. Lord, not my will, but I will be done. (speaking in foreign language) Amen, get me out of the way so we can have a move of God. Get my logic out of the way so we can have a move of God. But not God, I don't need a song when my understanding is open. I don't need a song, I don't need a piano, I don't need a drum beat. Oh my God, just give me somebody. That knows how to pray. (speaking in foreign language) And that's the new God. When my understanding is open, miracles can happen. When my understanding is open, disease has to flee. When my understanding is open, now God can move in a special way. (audience cheering) But I gotta move my power out of the way. I gotta get my power out of the way. And the Bible says I cannot lean upon my power. Amen, and many times we're asking questions and we're praying unto God. God, I just wanna understand. (audience chattering) I wonder how many today have questions and things going on and you've been praying. God, can I just understand? I don't understand why. And you wanna know why. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) And God is saying the whole time. I didn't ask you if you needed an understanding. I didn't tell you or promise you that I would fulfill your understanding. (audience chattering) The commandment says to trust. There's a difference from trusting and understanding. And God wants his people more than anything to trust in him with, with what? God wants you to trust in him with what? With all of your heart and lean not to their own understanding. (audience cheering) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (audience cheering) (speaking in foreign language) Lift your hands for a moment. Come on, grab somebody beside you and tell them I trust him. Come on, do you trust him? (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) Oh, and the name of Jesus. God help me, help me to trust you. Help me to trust you. Help me to not question you, but help me to trust you. And the name of Jesus. (audience cheering) Thank you, Jesus. You may be seated for a moment. The Bible says in Isaiah 55, I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. Let the wicked forsake his way. And the unrighteous man, his thoughts. And let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts. And neither are your ways, my ways. Say it to the Lord. For us, the heavens are higher than the earth. So are my ways higher than your ways. And my thoughts are higher than your thoughts. Praise the name of Jesus. That's why I gotta let go of my way. Amen, because God has a better way. Amen, and his way is higher than my way. Amen, his thoughts are better than my thoughts. Amen, but the first thing I gotta do is I gotta get my understanding out of the way. Praise the name of Jesus. I gotta get the logic out of the way. I gotta get my thoughts out of the way. I gotta get my feelings out of the way. Because faith is not an emotion. Faith is not a feeling. And then we walk by faith and not by sight. Praise the name of Jesus. Don't you understand God has called you to be spiritual people. That you should have eyes to see and ears to hear. Amen, and it's hard to feel the things that be of God. He doesn't want you to be a people that have eyes but can't see. And ears that can't hear. And I'm not in the heart that can't feel. We are to know when the spirit is moving. And we are to know how to respond. Amen, I don't wanna be like them. They can't see the things that God wants me to see. Or hear what the spirit is saying to the church. Oh, no, no, no. God, give me your eyes to see. Give me ears to hear. (audience cheering) All right, here we go. Round two, praise the name of Jesus. (speaking in foreign language) (audience cheering) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) I come to church with my understanding. I lift my hands with my understanding. I sing songs with my understanding. Hello. I dance with my understanding. Oh my God. But the things that happen when I begin to let this go, praise the name of Jesus. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (audience applauding) All right, listen to the scripture, but the hour coming and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in what? - Spirit. - Worship the Father in what? It didn't say your understanding. It didn't say in your logic. It didn't say in your way. You gotta worship him in the spirit and the truth. (audience cheering) Hey, they're phenomenal Christians. They worship God every Sunday like you and I. And when there are people in false religion, they worship the Father just like you and I, but there's something different about the apostolic church that when we worship and we get in the spirit, something begins to take place, something begins to move, things begin to change, miracles become possible. Amen, you see the difference and the transition when someone's worshiping with understanding and it becomes spirit. (audience cheering) God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (audience cheering) Woo, Paul said, if I prayed an unknown tongue, he said, my spirit prayed, but my understanding is unfruitful. He said, what is it then? First Corinthians 14 and 15. He said, I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, let me back up. Sing, once the last time some of you sang in tongues. (audience chattering) He said, I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the understanding also. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) He said, he said, (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) Paul was explaining the importance of praying in both. (audience chattering) It's gotta start somewhere. It's gotta start with you believing. It's gotta start with your logic. Amen, but then again, at the same time, you've got to learn to leave your logic behind. Amen, and pray in the spirit. And he began to say, it's so important that I also even sing in the spirit. Amen, why? Because he's trying to also express that if you can get your understanding out of the way, it's so much easier to trust God. Amen, when all of that is that coming against me. (speaking in foreign language) There's a distinct difference of praying with my understanding and praying in the spirit. You're not always gonna figure it out. You're not always gonna understand everything. And I know sometimes people will come in here and say, you know, I don't understand your praise. I don't understand your worship. I don't understand your tears. I don't understand your shout. (speaking in foreign language) They say they'll come in here and they'll say, that's crazy. Why are you doing that? I'll tell you why. 'Cause they're looking upon it all with their own understanding. I did it too. I did it too. I came into a church just like this and I began to look around and I said, no, no, no, no. These people are crazy. I ain't crazy. And next thing you know, the preacher began to preach about my life. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) And so he began to preach and he began to preach about my whole life. And I began to say with him myself, I said, somebody told him something. (audience laughing) (audience cheering) I already know who it was. I know that they told him, they told Brother Caleb, they told him. (audience laughing) And I was determined. I said, I'll give him five more minutes and I'm getting up and I'm gonna get out of here. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) I got up to leave and I fell in the middle row. It's the power of God hit me. (audience laughing) Something had took place. Something removed, my logic, my anger, my understanding began to be removed and something came over me and I fell to my knees and I began to weep uncontrollably. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) Do a miracle in me, I don't know what you're doing. I don't understand, I've never felt this. (speaking in foreign language) I never felt like this, but something was being removed. Something was being, something was shifting. Something was changing. I didn't have it, all my worries on my mind. I didn't have my family on my mind. All I can focus on was what I was feeling at that moment. Amen, and it was God. He was opening my understanding. (audience clapping) And that's the same day I was baptized in Jesus' name and filled with the Holy Ghost. (audience clapping) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) I was baptized in Jesus' name and I came out of the water speaking in other tongues as God gave me that fire, as God gave me. Amen, that power, amen, and I've never been the same ever since, praise the name of Jesus. And now, when I come into the house of God, I understand those tears, I understand that worship, I understand when they cry, I understand when they shout. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) I don't even know where I'm at in this. I wanna read the scripture. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) Amen. (speaking in foreign language) I got one name and my name is Michael Luna, I'm a father, I'm a son, I'm a pastor, I'm a brother, I'm all these things, these are my titles, amen, but I got one name. Amen, if you're gonna be baptized correctly, it's not in the name of the Father's Son and the Holy Ghost, you gotta let go of your understanding. It needs to be done in one name, the name of the Father is Jesus, the name of the Father is Jesus, the name of the Father's Son, the name of the Father's Son, the name of the Father's Son, the name of the Father's Son, the name of the Holy Ghost, you gotta let go of your understanding. It needs to be done in one name, the name of the Father is Jesus, the name of the Son is Jesus, the name of the Holy Ghost is Jesus. And number the Father is Jesus, and number the Eo is Jesus, and number the Spirit of Santa, S has to Christ, oh, L.S. Luna, no express, no suntres, L.S. Luna, it's a number of SSs. He's not three, he is one, and his name is Jesus Christ. (audience cheering) Luke 24, 45, and it says, "Then opened he, their understanding." Listen, listen, that they might understand the scriptures. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) The only way people, see, there's a lot of people that wanna understand the scriptures, but they wanna understand it by their own logic and their own understanding. God has to open your understanding that you might understand the scriptures, because when your understanding is opened, my God, nothing is impossible to them that believe. (speaking in foreign language) Oh, yes. And I feel that today, the problem is, once again, Brother Caleb, is that we let our understanding get in the way, and we want answers to the questions of life and situations that are going on. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) We're saying, God, we want an answer. I want an answer, Lord, why? Why? I didn't come to tell you the answer to your situations. The Lord sent me here today to get you to go back to trust, go back to trust, because trust goes against your feelings, trust goes against your circumstances, trust goes against what logic is to tell you. You can't listen to the pain, you've got to listen to the word of God. (speaking in foreign language) (speaking in foreign language) If you don't have the Holy Ghost today, God wants to fill you with the Holy Ghost, and you will speak with other tongues, that is the evidence. And if you've never spoken other tongues today, you have to let go of your understanding first. It's not a language that you'll understand. It's not a language that you're familiar with. (speaking in foreign language) It's not English, it's not Spanish, it's a language from heaven that God will fill you with. Praise the name of Jesus. And today God wants to fill somebody with the Holy Ghost. God wants to put trust back into your spirit. God wants to help somebody that's struggling to trust him. Amen, you're overwhelmed with circumstances and situations. Go ahead and come to the music. (speaking in foreign language) Let's stand, come on, let's stand. All over this house right now, if there's somebody today that you're struggling and trusting God. Amen, and there's something, there's pain in front of you, there's situations in front of you. You want answers, you've been praying God, why? Amen, and there's messages for you today. If you don't have the Holy Ghost and this message is here for you today, amen, 'cause God wants to fill you with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. (speaking in foreign language) Amen, (speaking in foreign language) Come to the front, amen, come to the front. I'm trying to create an invitation for people. Amen, so that they can receive something from God. Amen, we need your help today. (speaking in foreign language) Come brothers, come sisters. Amen, you're struggling in your trust factor. Amen, have you been trying to understand it all? Have you been trying to figure it out? Why has this sickness come upon me? Some of you got sickness that has come upon you and you wanna know why. I've been doing everything right. I've been paying my ties. I've been faithful to the house of God. Why is this happening to me? Why is this going on? Hey man, you gotta trust God. You gotta put your trust in him. Amen, don't focus on the pain. Don't focus on what's going on. Don't focus on the sickness, but put your focus on God. Looking up to Jesus, the altar and finisher of our faith. (speaking in foreign language) Come on sisters, come on pray. Come on, somebody you need to let go. (singing in foreign language) Some of you been waiting on God. You've been waiting on God for a particular answer. When is it gonna happen, God? When is it gonna happen? You need to trust in him. He knows what he's doing. Amen, don't get weary and trusting in him. (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, Come on, I trust you, I trust you, I trust you, I trust you, come on, come on.