1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,000 Amen, Amen. Look at your neighbor this 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:08,000 morning and smile, Smile till your teeth are dry. 3 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:14,840 Amen. Stand with me if you would 4 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,320 please for the reading of the word of the Lord this morning. 5 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,440 We greet you today in Jesus name in house. 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,840 And if you're joining us online today, thank you for joining us 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:29,880 in worship this morning. Always good to be in God's 8 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:36,320 house, Amen. It's a privilege, it's a 9 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,160 blessing. Look how many this morning 10 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:42,000 aren't able to be here today, Amen. 11 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,520 It is a blessing to be here and we are thankful for that today. 12 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,120 I greet you this morning in Jesus name. 13 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:57,760 My name is Jerry Mason, I am not Pastor McGee, so if you came 14 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:02,000 expecting him this morning, please accept my sincerest 15 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,120 apologies. Amen. 16 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:08,720 Some asked me before church started who was preaching 17 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,440 because that was an indicator as to whether or not they stay. 18 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:14,880 I said, well, you might as well just go on home. 19 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,200 God bless you for being here, Amen. 20 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:23,360 But, but here we are, Amen. Life calls, duty calls. 21 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:28,680 And in the the early hours of the morning today, I dug into my 22 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:33,600 filing cabinet and started asking, asking God to quickly 23 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:40,480 quicken my spirit to something that He would have us to dig 24 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,360 into this morning in the word of the Lord. 25 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:44,800 So while you're standing, let's go to the book of Psalms, 26 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,280 chapter 119. And we're turning our attention 27 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:53,840 to verse #83 I'm resurrecting a message from about 13 years ago. 28 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,520 I'm going to be honest with you. When, when I start pulling out 29 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,400 something that I have done before, I agonize over that. 30 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:06,760 Not that I think it's a bad thing to repeat. 31 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,199 I don't. They say repetition is the 32 00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:14,040 mother of all mastery. And I, I never think that we 33 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:16,400 hear something one time and we've got it mastered. 34 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:19,880 I think you could probably hear the same thing once a month and 35 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:21,640 get something new out of it every time. 36 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:25,560 That's just the beauty of God's word, but I still agonize over 37 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,040 it because I am the integrity of my heart is I don't want to just 38 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,120 take the easy way out and just blindly find something and just 39 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,840 say here it is. I find something till it 40 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:40,960 resonates with my spirit. And in through that process this 41 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:45,840 morning, which was more than a moment or two, but through that 42 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:48,600 process this morning, I feel like God gave me some direction 43 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,040 today. So let's see what the Lord will 44 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,920 do for us this morning. Psalms 119 and verse #83 Please 45 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:58,680 remember to pray for your Bishop and your pastor. 46 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:01,640 Separate reasons both need prayer. 47 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:04,240 Let's ask the Lord to continue to lift them up. 48 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:12,240 The Bible says for I am become like a bottle in the smoke, yet 49 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:18,280 do I not forget thy statutes. I want to read this in the 50 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,440 Living Bible translation this morning just for a moment. 51 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:27,040 It says I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke. 52 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:34,040 Watch these next 3 words. Exhausted with waiting. 53 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:38,560 We could stop right there and say Amen. 54 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,000 How many has ever been exhausted with waiting? 55 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:48,920 The the clock never ticks the way that we want it to, but the 56 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,880 writer says, but still, this is such a beautiful statement. 57 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:58,120 Today I cling to your laws and obey them. 58 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:03,400 What a beautiful word of God. Today let's pray God in your 59 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,360 precious name. Today we're asking you, Lord to 60 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,480 help us this morning. God plans change, but you're 61 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:12,480 still in control in God. We're asking you for your 62 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,080 blessings to flow here this morning. 63 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,360 Your grace, your mercy, your understanding for your anointing 64 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,079 today. Help me to preach and minister 65 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:20,800 this morning with wisdom and clarity. 66 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,400 Allow our minds to hear what the Spirit would say to the church. 67 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:29,240 Anoint our ears today in Jesus name and everybody shout Amen. 68 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:31,880 Lord bless you. You may be seated today. 69 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:33,960 That is a courtesy and not a command. 70 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,720 She had graduated from high school and moved away to begin 71 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:44,040 her college studies the following semester. 72 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,840 After a couple of months had passed, she decided to write 73 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:53,080 home to her mom and dad with an update of current events going 74 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:56,760 on in her life. She began her letter by noting 75 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:00,800 how ashamed she was because she had done something so terribly 76 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,840 wrong. She had completely disobeyed all 77 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:06,880 of the moral teachings and guidelines her parents had given 78 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:11,200 her throughout her life, and now began to unfold the details to 79 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,680 them in her letter. Several of her friends would 80 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:19,120 frequently rent bicycles on campus to ride around and have 81 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,160 it as a means of transportation for fellowship. 82 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,040 She longed to do the same, but didn't have the $10 that was 83 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:31,440 required to pay the rental fee. So mom and dad, she wrote, I 84 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:35,040 stole $10 to rent a bicycle so I could hang out with some of my 85 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,200 friends. While riding the bicycle, I had 86 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:41,000 an accident and flipped over the handlebars and landed on the 87 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,600 sidewalk in front of me. At that time, a young man who 88 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,640 was a medical student recognized the seriousness of my fall and 89 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:51,520 helped me. He took me to the hospital and 90 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:55,680 helped me nurse my injuries and also made sure that I was OK. 91 00:05:55,680 --> 00:06:00,000 As a result, we began dating and things got serious quickly. 92 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,520 And mom and dad, I'm pregnant. And that's not all. 93 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,560 Because of all of our time spent together, his grades in medical 94 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,640 school, medical school dropped and he lost his scholarship. 95 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,320 So I'm writing to tell you that we're on our way home to live 96 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,920 with you until the baby is born. And hopefully at that time we 97 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:20,600 can both find jobs good enough to get out on our own. 98 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:23,640 But right now we just don't have any money. 99 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:29,200 And by the way, I'm actually just writing to tell you I got 100 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,680 AD in geometry and AC in English, but I wanted to keep it 101 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:41,040 all in perspective. David is writing in the Word of 102 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:47,240 God and he's painting for our perspective because we have to 103 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:52,160 realize today that perspective is a powerful thing concerning 104 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:57,120 our Scripture text. This morning when I am become 105 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:01,280 like a bottle in the smoke. There's no other verse in 106 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:07,440 scripture that paints such vivid imagery in such outstanding 107 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:11,400 fashion. But how can I become a like a 108 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:13,640 bottle in the smoke? A bottle in the smoke. 109 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,640 What in the world is David saying when he says this? 110 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:21,840 The imagery of this scene is not one that a person would 111 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:26,000 necessarily desire. It doesn't have the qualities of 112 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,520 of what you long for, what you chase after. 113 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:32,560 But it is, however, the mental image of a glass Coke bottle 114 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:38,200 covered with soot and smoke lying in the the ashes of the 115 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:42,280 burning trash heap. And David, the man after God's 116 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:47,080 own heart, is speaking personally to us, noting himself 117 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:51,440 as becoming like a bottle in the smoke. 118 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:56,000 This brings me to ask 2 questions today, which I hope to 119 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,320 answer for you before we're finished here this morning. 120 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:04,160 That is #1 what happens to a man or a woman to cause them to feel 121 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:08,200 like a bottle in the smoke? And #2 simply how can this be 122 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,800 overcome? So let's start with question 123 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,440 number one. What happens to a person, a man 124 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:18,840 or a woman to cause them to feel like a bottle in the smoke? 125 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:23,760 The Word of God makes a clear point in Psalms 3419 that many 126 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:27,160 are the afflictions of the righteous. 127 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:34,039 But the Bible says but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. 128 00:08:34,039 --> 00:08:38,799 In other words, though the number of my problems, both 129 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:43,120 though the number of my trials and my valley experiences and 130 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,840 the tribulations and afflictions that I go through in this life, 131 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:49,800 though they'd be great and sometimes they may seem 132 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,920 insurmountable. The Bible says that the Lord, he 133 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:59,080 has promised us that He will deliver us out of every one of 134 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:03,760 our afflictions. With this in mind, we can know 135 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:07,280 that our afflictions, though they be many, thank God, they're 136 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:12,240 temporary. Therefore, afflictions may rise 137 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:17,400 in many forms. They may be sickness or disease. 138 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:19,400 Many are going through that right now. 139 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,840 Pain and suffering, a physical or mental disability, a 140 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:28,240 spiritual battle, a prayer that has not been answered yet, a sin 141 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,920 that has not been overcome, a problem within your family, a 142 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:36,320 problem with your job, a problem in your marriage, Our enemy, 143 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:40,840 period. Those that we love the most, we 144 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:43,680 can often have afflictions or problems with. 145 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:48,200 But David also said, And we read in Psalms 139, beginning at 146 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:53,320 verse #1 a very popular verse passage of Scripture today that 147 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,200 says, O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. 148 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,720 Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising. 149 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,360 Thou understandest my thought afar off. 150 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:08,080 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and are acquainted 151 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:12,040 with all my ways. For there is not a word in my 152 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:13,960 tongue but that you don't know it. 153 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:19,520 Thou hast be set me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon 154 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:22,360 me. Such knowledge is too wonderful 155 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:24,960 for me. It is high, I cannot attain unto 156 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,760 it. Watch this next verse. 157 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:32,040 David asked the question, Whither shall I go from thy 158 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:37,440 spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 159 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,880 Or if I just put it in our modern day language today, is it 160 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:47,800 possible for me to escape you? If I ascend up into heaven, 161 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:52,720 you're there. If I make my bed in hell, you're 162 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:55,160 there. If I take the wings of the 163 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,840 morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even 164 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,920 there shall thine hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold 165 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:04,080 me. If I say, surely darkness shall 166 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,720 cover me. Even the night shall be light 167 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,640 about me. Yeah, the darkness hideth not 168 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,000 from thee, but the night shineth as the day. 169 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:17,320 The darkness and the light are both alike to thee, for thou has 170 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:19,320 possessed my reigns. Watch this. 171 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,280 Thou has covered me in my mother's womb. 172 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:29,360 I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 173 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,880 Marvelous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right. 174 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:39,840 Well, if God will deliver me from every affliction, if He 175 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,640 will deliver me from every distress, pain, or cause of 176 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:48,360 illness or disease, then how is it that I am subject like David 177 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,640 was to feeling like a bottle in the smoke? 178 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:56,920 What is there to be negative about if God has it all in His 179 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,560 power, in His control? Why should I hang my head low 180 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:05,160 today if God is going to deliver me out of them all? 181 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,760 When you consider our human nature, there must be a reason. 182 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:15,360 The bottles which David was referring were commonly made in 183 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:19,760 the eastern parts of the world from skins and they would hang 184 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:24,360 these bottles or skins in the tents where smoke had little 185 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:27,720 opportunity to escape. Then they would become as a 186 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:32,000 result of the smoke, they would become dark and dingy, and they 187 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:36,960 would have a kind of a grey dark soot appearance to them, where 188 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,960 the smoke build up would would be on the skin. 189 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:46,040 And these bottles became emblems of distress, discomfort and 190 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:49,360 sorrow. The intended meaning here is 191 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:52,960 that by affliction and sorrow the psalmist David had been 192 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:57,120 reduced to a state that would be well represented by such a 193 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,760 bottle. Because his affliction was 194 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:03,200 great, therefore he was an object of God's pity. 195 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:07,320 Lord, make haste to help me, for I have become like a bottle in 196 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:09,440 the smoke. A leather bottle which hung 197 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:13,400 while in the smoke was not only black and with soot, but dried 198 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:17,640 and parched and shriveled up. David was wasted by age, 199 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:22,720 sickness, and sorrow, and we see how affliction will mortify the 200 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,720 strongest and stoutest of men. David had been of of a Rudy 201 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:30,680 countenance in his younger years, fresh as a rose, but now 202 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:32,440 he withered and his color is gone. 203 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:34,560 His chinks, his beaks are wrinkled. 204 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,960 The bottle, when it is wrinkled with smoke, is thrown, thrown 205 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:41,560 by, and there is no more use of it. 206 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:44,800 Who would put wine in such a bottle? 207 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:47,640 Thus David was in his lowest state. 208 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:51,800 He was looked upon and despised like a broken vessel, a vessel 209 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:55,800 in which there was no pleasure. In other words, it was all David 210 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,640 to do to reach up in order to touch bottom. 211 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,400 And that is the state of life that sometimes we find ourself 212 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:05,800 in. We find ourselves going through 213 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:10,440 afflictions and de stresses and valley experiences that we have 214 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,400 to walk through that we don't understand while we're walking 215 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,680 through them. We don't understand why has this 216 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:19,640 befallen me? Why have I had to go through 217 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:22,720 this problem and this problem and this problem? 218 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,320 It seems like life just won't let up. 219 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:30,520 I am done with it. Some of us would say we have 220 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,640 declared in our life I'm over it, right? 221 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:36,720 I'm done with it. I don't like the state of 222 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:38,880 living. I don't like feeling this way. 223 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:41,080 I don't like going through these afflictions. 224 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:43,640 I don't like going through these circumstances. 225 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,600 I'd like to have just a little bit of happiness back. 226 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:52,080 I'm shriveled up like a wineskin in my spirit and I am simply 227 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:56,800 these 3 words once again. I am exhausted with waiting. 228 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,280 I'm tired of waiting for a mountain experience. 229 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,560 I'm tired of living in the valley. 230 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:06,280 I'm tired of being where I am at. 231 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,160 I just don't like the experience. 232 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:17,160 David said in Psalm 2215 that my strength is dried up like a pot 233 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:20,200 sirt, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws. 234 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:25,320 And thou hast brought me into the dust of death. 235 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:30,760 There is many things that happen in our life that cause us to 236 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,440 feel dry, that cause us to feel a bit like this. 237 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:40,360 This, this bottle, this old wine skin, this old leather bag full 238 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:44,400 of, of old wine that did just, it just shrivels up and it's, 239 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,320 it's, it's ugly and it doesn't look good and it's not 240 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:49,200 attractive. And you really wouldn't want to 241 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,800 use it because of the imagery that it has before you. 242 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:55,760 There are many things that happened in our life that cause 243 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:58,480 us to feel this way. Maybe you're not going through a 244 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,160 valley experience today. Maybe some of you are. 245 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:04,880 But I can declare one thing to you with confidence today that 246 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,880 if you're standing on the mountain today, stand there with 247 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,760 grace because there is a valley experience coming. 248 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,520 And we all have to learn how to walk through our valley, walk 249 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:18,080 through our afflictions, and still continue to praise God. 250 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:22,720 Because even in my valley, He's still just as great a God as He 251 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:24,760 is when I'm standing on the mountain top. 252 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:26,880 Can somebody shout out Hallelujah? 253 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,040 It reminds me today when I think about the withered imagery of 254 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,920 the wineskin in the bottle. I am also thinking about Luke 255 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,800 chapter 6 and verse 10 where looking around about them all he 256 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,760 said unto the man, stretch forth thine hand. 257 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,160 It was a hand that was withered. It was a hand that was 258 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:48,000 misshapen. It was a hand that could not be 259 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,600 used because of the the state that it was in. 260 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,640 But Jesus looked at him and said, I want you to stretch 261 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,440 forth your hand. I believe God would speak to us 262 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:03,920 today that despite your valley experience and despite your your 263 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,839 circumstances and your afflictions, God still wants you 264 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:10,960 to stretch your hand forward for his work. 265 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:14,800 God still wants you to declare your voice to him and worship. 266 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:18,400 God still wants you to walk by faith, not by sight. 267 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:22,680 God still wants you to declare victory in the face of a dead 268 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,280 promise. God still wants you to stretch 269 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,480 your hand forward. It may feel like you can't do 270 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:33,080 anything right, but when God declares that He will heal, he 271 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:35,720 will heal. When God declares that he will 272 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,560 save, he will save. When God declares that he's got 273 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:44,360 everything under control, God's got everything under control. 274 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:48,080 When God says I'll deliver you out of every one of your 275 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:53,240 afflictions, then rest assured today in the Holy Ghost that He 276 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:58,160 is going to deliver you out of every single one of your 277 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:02,080 afflictions today. Oh, could you lift your hands 278 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:03,760 and praise the Lord this morning? 279 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:10,920 Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus. 280 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:19,680 Luke 610 When he told him to stretch forth his hand, the 281 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:27,720 Bible says he did so and his hand was restored whole as the 282 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:33,640 other. So there's a lesson here that 283 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:38,360 despite our affliction and despite our valley experience, 284 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:46,640 when God speaks a word to you, if you will obey the word of God 285 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:51,360 and if you will listen to the instructions that God gives you, 286 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:56,360 there's healing on the way, there's restoration on the way. 287 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,680 He's going to make things as whole. 288 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:02,800 I just don't see it. That's OK. 289 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,640 I just don't feel it. That's OK. 290 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:08,800 I just can't imagine it. That's OK. 291 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,840 The man with the withered hand likely could not imagine that 292 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:17,760 that hand could ever become as good as the hand he used all day 293 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:20,760 long. But somehow when Jesus said, 294 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:25,240 stretch your hand forth without debate, without argument, 295 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:30,240 without, without rationalizing what he knew in man's wisdom, 296 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:34,560 the man simply reached for I feel the Holy Ghost right now. 297 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:39,440 The man reached forth his hand and that which was withered 298 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:43,840 became whole. That which was afflicted was no 299 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:48,160 longer afflicted. That which was unlovable was now 300 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,240 lovable. That which didn't know what to 301 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,400 do. Now I have some direction that 302 00:19:54,400 --> 00:20:00,120 would that which was unclean was now clean. 303 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:04,280 You say the preacher. I don't. 304 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:06,240 I just don't think God can clean me. 305 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:16,680 God can clean you. All he requires from us is that 306 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:22,560 when he says stretch forth your hand, that we stretch forth our 307 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,440 hand. I don't know what stretching 308 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,480 forth your hand looks like for you today. 309 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:32,200 It may not be the literal hand, but that might be in symbolism. 310 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:33,920 It might speak to your experience. 311 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:35,560 It might speak to your affliction. 312 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,800 I don't know what it is that God is speaking to you, but I do 313 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,960 know this. While I don't have to understand 314 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:45,400 where you're at, I don't have to understand what it feels like, 315 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,280 and I can empathize. I may not have ever walked in 316 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:52,480 your shoes, but what I do know is that He's able. 317 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:59,840 What I do know is when he speaks a word, that's the word somebody 318 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:00,320 say. Amen. 319 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:14,800 So what happens to a man or a woman to cause them to feel like 320 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:23,800 this bottle in the smoke? It's the weight I'm pausing 321 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,240 there for effect, but also so I can catch my breath just a 322 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:33,480 little bit. It's the weight I don't believe 323 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:40,800 I, I think I, I, I study people a lot and, and if I, if I've got 324 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:46,560 anything right, there's one thing I think I understand that 325 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,480 is common about every single one of us. 326 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:54,560 Doesn't matter your background, doesn't matter what your zip 327 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:57,200 code is, doesn't matter how much money is in your wallet. 328 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,920 It's common to every one of us. We are all on common ground. 329 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:11,920 One thing we don't like to wait. You, you, you watch people. 330 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,120 You watch people. You go to a place that has an 331 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:22,560 elevator and you stand back. You stand back about, I don't 332 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,680 know, 5 feet. You know, there's a common 333 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,200 courtesy in America, at least. There are some countries that 334 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:33,680 this is very, very different, but in America is a common 335 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:35,480 courtesy. You stand back far enough to let 336 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,840 somebody else that's on get off before you get on. 337 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:43,480 Kind of makes sense. But you watch people. 338 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:45,600 If you get a group of people around you, you watch them. 339 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,280 If you're standing back just enough to give way, you watch 340 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:51,360 what happens. You don't move quick enough. 341 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:55,720 What happens? They're on the elevator before 342 00:22:55,720 --> 00:23:00,480 you had a chance to wiggle a toe because they're not waiting. 343 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:04,440 We live in a society that doesn't like to wait. 344 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:10,200 Why do we have I got, I got our family last night. 345 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:12,600 We, we had, we had dinner together yesterday afternoon, 346 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:15,320 put up the tree and all that good festive family stuff, which 347 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:16,960 was great and I loved every minute of it. 348 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,880 But later in the evening, we started getting hungry and took 349 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:23,320 us 45 minutes to debate on whether or not we were going to 350 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:24,880 get something or where we were going to get it. 351 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,040 Then we decided we was going to go multiple places. 352 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:33,520 Hallelujah. So what we do half of that time 353 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:39,800 got out our phone, plugged in a mobile order so all you have to 354 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:40,960 do is drive through and pick it up. 355 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:48,200 Why didn't want to wait? Now, it was Mount Carmel 356 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:52,560 McDonald's, so we still had to wait, but we tried. 357 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:55,280 But why does mobile ordering exist? 358 00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:00,760 People don't like to wait. Why can you make a a Starbucks 359 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,080 mobile order and walk in and pick it up and leave? 360 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:05,840 Because you don't want to spend the 30 minutes it takes to stand 361 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:09,280 in the line or the 40 minutes it takes to go through the drive 362 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,640 through. Sometimes you order it, you're 363 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:14,240 on your way, you're 10 minutes out. 364 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:18,560 Place the order, Bing drive in, find a parking spot. 365 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,960 All you have to do is inconvenience yourself enough to 366 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,960 get out of the car. Go in, pick it up. 367 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,120 I'm drinking it before I get back to the car, Brother Pat 368 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:32,880 because I don't want to wait. People don't like to wait. 369 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:39,600 What makes me feel afflicted? It's part what happens to me, 370 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,960 and it's part the amount of time I have to spend waiting on my 371 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:48,240 deliverance. It's the weight. 372 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:54,400 What do we do about the weight? How can we overcome this? 373 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:59,640 The Bible tells us in the book of Isaiah 61 and three that to a 374 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:04,360 point unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for 375 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:10,320 ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise 376 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:15,320 for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees 377 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:19,280 of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be 378 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:23,320 glorified. How can this happen? 379 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:29,040 I'll tell you how it happens. It happens when you sing. 380 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,680 It happens when you rejoice. You know how. 381 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,080 Let me tell you a very powerful worship experience for you. 382 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,800 If you've never experienced it, sing and rejoice for victory 383 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:48,120 that you haven't yet received. I challenge you today. 384 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:52,920 Don't wait till God answers your prayer to thank Him for it. 385 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,840 If you've got an unanswered prayer, if, if you're, if you're 386 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,200 waiting on God to help you and to deliver you out of a certain 387 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:06,040 situation, while you're in that situation, while you're in your 388 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:09,080 valley, while you're experiencing your affliction, 389 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:15,240 start thanking him now. Start rejoicing for what life is 390 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:21,600 going to be like later. Now that demonstrates faith. 391 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:27,160 It demonstrates A belief that God is able and willing to 392 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,920 deliver you. This is very powerful today. 393 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:35,040 How can this be that powerful? The book of Second Chronicles 394 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:39,240 chapter 20 we find the story of Jehoshaphat in the victory that 395 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:42,720 was wrought by singing. The Bible tells us that 396 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,920 Jehoshaphat inquired of the Lord when he was surrounded by the 397 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:51,320 enemy, and God told the king that the battle was not his, but 398 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,480 the battle was God's. Jehoshaphat then appointed 399 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,600 singers to go out in front of the army. 400 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:05,240 Now Can you imagine today if our military put a group of singers 401 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:13,560 1st and then behind them was the military You always. 402 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:16,640 Now, I'm, I'm not a military expert, but there's one thing 403 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:20,120 that I, I, I, I've either read or heard through life is what 404 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:24,600 what they do is, is they're putting some of their best on 405 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:28,000 the front. The expert marksmen are on the 406 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,880 front that they, they've got to get their skilled people there. 407 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:37,920 And in this situation, they put singers in front of the army 408 00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:39,920 army. And when the inhabitants of 409 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:45,480 Judah and Jerusalem began to sing and to praise God, the Lord 410 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:49,560 set ambushments against the enemy, and the enemy armies 411 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:56,000 destroyed each other. Then Jehoshaphat steps in and 412 00:27:56,000 --> 00:28:02,640 gathers all the spoils, and it simply reveals the power of our 413 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,320 worship. I know I talked about worship 414 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:07,440 last week. I'll talk about it again today, 415 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:10,080 and I might talk about it every time I'm up just because it's 416 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:12,560 that important. But here's the thing we have to 417 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:14,680 understand. Whenever we talk about worship 418 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:17,800 and praise and we talk about you lifting up your voice and we 419 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:22,160 talk about you singing your song and and giving God praise, your 420 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:28,400 praise doesn't look like mine and it shouldn't. 421 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,720 You need to find your praise that's unique between you and 422 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:37,480 God. I might praise him at a volume 423 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:41,280 12. Sister McGee might praise him at 424 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:46,000 a volume 18. Maybe, I don't know, I'm just 425 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:50,120 spitballing. You might praise him at a Volume 426 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:55,560 4. Who cares? 427 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:02,560 Because he'll hear the whisper if he can hear the death and the 428 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:06,000 mute, that's right. He'll hear the wisp, he'll hear 429 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,880 the heart, right? If that's what you've got and 430 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:15,320 that's that's the best you can get out, come on, then give God 431 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:20,160 your best because it's that important. 432 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:26,160 Yes, we have to reach a point in our walk in this life, in our 433 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:29,680 walk with God, where that it doesn't matter what the person 434 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:34,000 next to us thinks. It doesn't matter what the 435 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,160 person across the aisle from us thinks, because here's the 436 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:39,320 beauty of worship. If we had all do it, none of us 437 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,520 would be worried about the what the other person's watching 438 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:47,160 David said in Psalm 32 and seven. 439 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,760 Thou art my hiding place. Thou shalt preserve me from 440 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:54,200 trouble. Thou shalt compass me about with 441 00:29:54,200 --> 00:30:06,600 songs of deliverance, singing, worshipping. 442 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:11,640 Words are interchangeable there. But it will defeat your 443 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:16,120 spiritual enemy while making a way of escape for you. 444 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:24,280 We should never allow our life to be silent. 445 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:39,400 When our life is silent, when we are not giving God glory and 446 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:43,520 praise, when our life becomes silent, our enemies starts 447 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:53,200 getting loud. You have a song to sing that I 448 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:59,840 Can't Sing, but we each have a song of deliverance. 449 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:04,000 Ephesians 519 says speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns, 450 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaking to yourself. I'm not going to survey this 451 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,240 morning how many people in this audience talk to yourself today, 452 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:13,280 but I'm guessing it's a few of you. 453 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:18,400 I'm I'm guessing it's a couple of you at least I. 454 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,160 But I'll tell you, I talk to myself sometimes. 455 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,280 I got to have a conference call with some people and get some 456 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:27,400 advice and that's usually me, me and the other me. 457 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,160 Or I'll get to doing something and I'm just kind of chatting 458 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,240 myself through it and talking out loud while I'm doing well, 459 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:38,520 I'm doing do this and this and that and I turn around. 460 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:41,920 There's nobody there but me. They say the people that talk to 461 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:45,040 themselves are got some good brain power. 462 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:47,640 I don't know if that's true or not, but I accept it. 463 00:31:51,920 --> 00:32:00,880 But the Bible tells us in Psalms 519 talk to yourself if you ever 464 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:02,480 have anybody, why do you talk to yourself so much? 465 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:07,720 Because the Bible says so. 519 Do we have that, brother Zach 466 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:14,120 Ephesians? 519 speaking to yourselves. 467 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:17,480 Everybody shout self, I'm talking to you. 468 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:19,840 I'm talking to you. All right, some of you didn't 469 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:20,960 say it. God bless you too. 470 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:26,240 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. 471 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:31,880 We'll say it again because I want to make sure it sinks in 472 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:35,360 real good and well. Speaking to yourselves in psalms 473 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:39,640 and hymns and spiritual song. Have you ever went about your 474 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:43,000 day and you've just got a song on your heart? 475 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,240 Hopefully it's the right song, but you got a song on your 476 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:50,640 heart. There are days that there's a 477 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:55,760 worship song I wake up with that just carries me all day long. 478 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:04,120 Speaking to yourselves, Psalms and hymns, spirituals, go around 479 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,600 humming it. Whatever you have to do, Singing 480 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:18,560 and making melody in your heart to the Lord, you can have 481 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:25,240 victory. It's time to see. 482 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,080 I'm not talking about up here with a microphone or 483 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,360 embarrassing anybody or putting you front of stage in the 484 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:34,800 lights. I'm not talking about it. 485 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,520 I'm talking about you and your relationship with God and your 486 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:42,000 worship opportunity with God. When everybody else is leading 487 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,600 and singing, that's a wonderful opportunity. 488 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:47,880 No one else can hear you. You can make a beautiful, joyful 489 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:52,600 noise to God in your worship at whatever volume level you choose 490 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:56,040 to let out. Just get your lips moving, get 491 00:33:56,040 --> 00:34:01,240 oxygen passing past them, and allow yourself to speak Psalms 492 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:05,520 and hymns and spiritual psalk. Make some melody in your heart 493 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:07,560 to the Lord. Hands lifted. 494 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,120 God, I'm in affliction today. I don't know what to do, but I'm 495 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,320 going to sing. I don't know what to do, but I'm 496 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:15,360 going to worship. I'm, I don't know what to do, 497 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:20,239 but I know there's deliverance and there's power in my song and 498 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:24,199 in my worship to you somebody say Amen. 499 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,480 So I'm talking today about a song of deliverance. 500 00:34:30,679 --> 00:34:35,840 That's what we need. We need a song of deliverance 501 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:40,800 today because I can sing in the waiting. 502 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,120 Circling back to just a few moments ago when I told you our 503 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:52,280 problem is the waiting. What do I do when I'm waiting? 504 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:59,720 My wife's grandmother love some of her her isms. 505 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:03,120 We often quote many of the things that she used to say, but 506 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:05,600 one of those things was that Idle Hands is the devil's 507 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:11,240 workshop. I know worldly people that'll 508 00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:16,040 quote that. She didn't author it, but she 509 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:21,840 made us family think she did. But I know worldly people that 510 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:24,960 will say, well, the idle hands is place where the devil works. 511 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:27,720 So that's kind of a common thing. 512 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:30,240 People kind of understand it, but we often forget it. 513 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,840 God, God's desire for you isn't idleness. 514 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,680 So when we're waiting, when we're waiting on deliverance, 515 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:40,760 when we're waiting on healing, when we're waiting on our 516 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:43,000 situations to change, what do I do? 517 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:51,960 Don't stay idle. Some of the best people to help 518 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:55,320 other people through their situation are people that have 519 00:35:55,320 --> 00:36:00,840 similar situations and you'd hear you're not hear something 520 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:02,680 great. You don't have to be through 521 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:05,440 your situation entirely to help somebody else. 522 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:09,720 But if you can speak a Word of Faith, if you can say, you know 523 00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:10,760 what? I've been going through the 524 00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:13,160 exact same thing for six months, but God's good. 525 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,560 I've been going through that for six years, but God's good. 526 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:20,760 I've been going through that for 20 years, but God's still great. 527 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:23,360 I still worship. I still lift my, my, my 528 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:26,480 Thanksgiving up to him. We're in a Thanksgiving season 529 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:30,000 right now and there is no greater opportunity to express 530 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:33,880 Thanksgiving to God then through a melody in our heart, then 531 00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:39,440 through a song in our lips, a a an expression of thanks because 532 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:41,800 thanks, thanks in the Word of God. 533 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:44,800 When you break it down word by word, thanks is so much more 534 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:47,800 than just gratitude. Thanks is actually fully 535 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:54,520 integrated with worship, fully integrated with worship. 536 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:59,040 I can sing in the waiting. I have a song of deliverance in 537 00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:01,520 my life through the Word, through the power of His spirit, 538 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:03,120 through the power of the name of Jesus. 539 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:06,040 I can sing when I'm waiting because He never changes. 540 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:10,840 He never stops. He never gives up on me. 541 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:13,520 He never, he never sleeps, he never slumbers. 542 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:16,680 He never closes his eyes. He doesn't, he doesn't stop. 543 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:27,680 He doesn't give up. Hebrews 13/8 I'm I'm closing. 544 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:29,000 Would you stand with me this morning? 545 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:38,600 Hebrews 13 and eight says Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today 546 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:42,960 and forever. I'm not going to go through 547 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:47,840 every bit of this this morning, but the lesson here in this very 548 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:56,320 short, very powerful verse today is he's in your yesterday, He's 549 00:37:56,320 --> 00:38:00,400 in your today, and he will be in your tomorrow. 550 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:07,720 But we have a choice in allowing Him to be an active participant 551 00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:14,560 in each of those paradigms. He was in my yesterday, and I 552 00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:17,800 may not have recognized it fully, but He was there. 553 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:21,760 But I have a choice today. And in my today, I have a choice 554 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:25,120 in how I allow him to be in my life, and I've got a choice in 555 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:27,680 my tomorrow. We each have a choice. 556 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:31,320 And my prayer today, by the Word of God, is that each of us will 557 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:34,240 make a conscious choice that if you're walking through your 558 00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:37,360 affliction today, that while you're walking you won't just 559 00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:39,160 stop and wait, you'll keep walking. 560 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:41,600 And while you're walking, you'll begin to praise him. 561 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:45,760 Because there's a song of deliverance that you have that 562 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:48,760 only you can sing. Angels Can't Sing it for you. 563 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:51,800 Your mom and dad, your neighbor, your cousin, your best friend 564 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:54,520 Can't Sing it for you. There is a song of deliverance, 565 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:57,840 a melody of the heart that only you can sing for yourself today. 566 00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:00,480 Would you lift your hands and begin to call on the name of the 567 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:03,080 Lord together right now? Come on, could you lift? 568 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:05,560 Could you open your mouth and just begin to call on Him 569 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,760 audibly and verbally? Could you begin to lift up His 570 00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:10,480 name today? If you don't know what to say, 571 00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:13,280 just begin to tell Him how much you appreciate Him and how much 572 00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:15,600 you love Him today. If you don't know what else to 573 00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:17,920 say today, just begin to say thank you Jesus. 574 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:20,240 Thank you Jesus for the breath of life. 575 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:23,240 Thank you Jesus, for the opportunity to be in your house. 576 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:25,920 If you don't know what else to say, just begin to say, God, I'm 577 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:28,560 going through an affliction today, but I'm not just going to 578 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:32,080 sit idly by and just wait. I'm going to continue to open my 579 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:35,320 mouth and I'm going to give you praise and Thanksgiving. 580 00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:39,000 I'm thanking you, God, for my affliction simply because you 581 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:42,360 said in everything, give thanks. But God, I'm not thanking you 582 00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:45,440 because I want to stay here. I'm thanking you because I know 583 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:48,640 you've got a better tomorrow. I'm thanking you God, because I 584 00:39:48,640 --> 00:39:50,600 know you've got something on the horizon. 585 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:52,760 You've got healing, you've got deliverance. 586 00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:56,400 You have authority over every situation in my life. 587 00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:59,480 Begin to tell him today. This altar is open this morning 588 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:02,520 as we prepare a song. If you would come today, just 589 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:05,040 feel this altar this morning with a season of worship. 590 00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:07,560 If you need to pray, you can come pray today. 591 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:12,360 God is able to deliver you. His word says that He will 592 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:14,680 deliver you out of all your afflictions. 593 00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:17,600 Today. Let's let Jesus be a delivering 594 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,800 God in our life. Today would you come today as we 595 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:22,480 sing? Would you come today and just 596 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:24,800 lift your hands? If you're not coming, lift your 597 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:28,080 hands at your Pew this morning and just continue to call on the 598 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:31,080 name of the Lord together. I love you, Jesus. 599 00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:34,080 I thank you, Lord. I thank you, Lord. 600 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:36,480 You've got a song of deliverance for me. 601 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:40,840 I'm not by myself. I'm not by myself.