1 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:10,600 Well, let's give the Lord a good hand clap of praise and 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:15,560 Thanksgiving tonight. He alone is worthy. 3 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,080 Amen. If you have your Bibles, turn 4 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:34,360 with me to the book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, verse #32. 5 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,320 While you are turning there, give honor to our Bishop this 6 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,400 evening, Amen. Did he preach a word of the Lord 7 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,560 this morning? Amen. 8 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:54,480 Thank you Bishop. As we were reminiscing over 9 00:00:54,480 --> 00:01:01,600 generations, I couldn't help but appreciate how many of those he 10 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:09,680 was in lead of and involved in preaching to us and keeping us 11 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,080 on the straight and narrow. I know that's a little harder 12 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,880 for some of us than others. Appreciate his faithfulness and 13 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,880 consistency. Amen. 14 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:21,720 Our pastor. I know he's not here, but I want 15 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,520 to give him honor tonight. Appreciate him. 16 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,280 He is a preacher's preacher. Amen. 17 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:32,840 And man, I just love and appreciate him and Sister McGee 18 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:36,240 and their family. To our youth pastor, Brother 19 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,000 Alex, Sister Grace, love them and appreciate what they are 20 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:46,280 doing. Pastoring of any capacity, 21 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:52,200 whether you are the lead pastor or whatever, there's many 22 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,400 different facets that that ministry can branch off into. 23 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:00,440 And any, any facet of that has its own set of challenges. 24 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,480 You know, sometimes in a carnal perspective, we can look at that 25 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,000 and say, oh, what's the, what's the big deal? 26 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:10,840 That's the problem is we often have a carnal perspective for a 27 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:16,280 spiritual issue. The weight is spiritual. 28 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,760 The weight, the weight isn't, yeah, people can be difficult, 29 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:21,800 but the weight in and of itself isn't carnal. 30 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,480 The weight is spiritual because we fight spiritual battles. 31 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:28,240 Amen. And I'd love and appreciate him 32 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,600 for for who he is. My wife, I give her honor 33 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,040 tonight. She puts up with me when I'm at 34 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,960 my worst, which sometimes seems like that's more than whenever 35 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,160 I'm at my best. And I appreciate and love her 36 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,240 for that. Not just for that, but I do love 37 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:48,160 her for that, Amen. The book of Hebrews, Chapter 11. 38 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,200 Thank you for being in the House of the Lord tonight. 39 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,400 And if you're joining us online this evening, thank you for 40 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:55,360 being with us and being part of our worship. 41 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:58,280 And we ask you to join into the word of the Lord tonight. 42 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:02,960 Hebrews 11 and 32 says, and what shall I more say, for the time 43 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,400 would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barack and of Samson, of 44 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:10,800 Jephthahi. I had to look that guy up. 45 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,000 It just didn't ring any bells for me. 46 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:17,040 So I'll just share it with you since I had to look it up as 47 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:18,960 well. But we often refer to it in the 48 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,920 English as Jephta in the Old Testament. 49 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:25,320 He's the son of Gilead, who was empowered by the Spirit of God 50 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,200 to lead Israel out of the hand of the Ammonites. 51 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,400 So he's an important dude. Just his name just doesn't 52 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,240 settle well. God bless him. 53 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:42,240 Of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets who through 54 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:47,000 faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained 55 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:52,240 promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of 56 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,640 fire, escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness, were made 57 00:03:55,640 --> 00:04:01,320 strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of 58 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:06,000 the aliens for a few moments. Tonight, with the help of the 59 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:07,800 Lord, I want to minister this subject. 60 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:17,320 That's only part of the story. That is only part of the story. 61 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:18,959 God bless you. You may be seated. 62 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:27,960 Hebrews Chapter 11. It's full of people who did 63 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:33,240 mighty works for God. These people had great faith, so 64 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,960 much so that when we refer to this chapter in God's Word, we 65 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,960 often call it the Hall of Faith, the Hall of Faith chapter. 66 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:47,320 These are people who the Bible tells us, subdued kingdoms. 67 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:53,320 They wrought righteousness. They obtained promises, they 68 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,920 stopped the mouths of lions. That's that's a fun one right 69 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,000 there. Quenched the violence of fire, 70 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,880 escaped the edge of the sword. Their weaknesses were made 71 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:09,800 strong and they waxed valiant in their fight. 72 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:16,720 We esteem them as spiritual heroes, icons of faith, 73 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:22,120 champions of righteousness who we stand in all of, and we put 74 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:26,240 upon a pedestal of greatness as men and women of God. 75 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,760 And while this is right and it's in order and it's it's all right 76 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,080 to do that, we must also remember that these very same 77 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:40,120 people were also human. They were imperfectly flawed and 78 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:45,360 there were times they, like us, missed God's purpose and God's 79 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:50,280 design for their situation. Yes, they made it into the hall 80 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:54,240 of faith, but their defects and their mistakes were well 81 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,040 documented. It can be difficult to 82 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:01,200 understand the list of who's who that made it into Hebrews 83 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:05,200 Chapter 11. This list is of the upper 84 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:10,880 echelon of greatness, yet it also had a dark side or a side 85 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:15,600 that was so bad that you and I would never consider that if we 86 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,560 had done those very same things that we would make it on to this 87 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,480 list. Noah is on this list. 88 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:27,400 Noah talked to God, He listened to God. 89 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,760 He received the dimensions for building the ark from God. 90 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:35,960 He preached and built an ark at the same time for a span of 120 91 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,760 years. Yet by our modern standards, 92 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,160 most people would say that he was a better builder than he was 93 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:48,040 a preacher because in 120 years of preaching, his ministry only 94 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:53,280 saved 7 souls. Come on Noah, surely you can do 95 00:06:53,280 --> 00:06:57,120 better than that. You can read about Noah. 96 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,760 He did all these great things. He obeyed God by completing the 97 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,440 ark. He obeyed God by taking care of 98 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,880 the animals on the ark. He had faith in God's promise to 99 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:09,200 never destroy the earth by water again. 100 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:17,480 Yet he also got so drunk that the writers of scripture thought 101 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:19,480 it should be mentioned and written about. 102 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:27,880 Sarah is in the hall of faith. She was a faithful wife to 103 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:29,920 Abraham. She was the mother of a great 104 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,080 nation. She was used of God. 105 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,040 She played a pivotal role in preserving the well-being of her 106 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,600 family. Her family was richer when they 107 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,160 came out of Egypt than they were when they went in. 108 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:47,080 She was faithful, yet she mocked the promises of God. 109 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:52,400 She laughed in God's face. She did not believe that God 110 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:53,920 could do what He said He could do. 111 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,960 And then when God finally did it, she heartlessly and 112 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:02,520 callously sent Hagar and Ishmael into the desert to die. 113 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:10,600 This was a woman of God. Jacob is mentioned in Hebrews 114 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,160 11. A man whose very name means 115 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,360 deceiver. A con man. 116 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,600 A man who would throw his own flesh and blood under the bus 117 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,520 just to get ahead. He would feed his fleshly 118 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:24,720 desires. He would lie, he would cheat, 119 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:31,240 and he would swindle. Yeah, he also happens to be in 120 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:35,080 the trilogy when we describe God and say that he is the God of 121 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:41,240 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He went on to have his name 122 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,200 changed to Israel and his descendants were to become God's 123 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:50,160 promised nation. The liar, That's who I'm talking 124 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,360 about. The liar, the deceiver, the 125 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:59,960 stealer of birthrights, went on to become the chief of the 126 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:04,160 descendants of the nation of God's promised people. 127 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,000 Moses is listed there in Hebrews 11. 128 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,960 His life was spared as a baby because of his mother's faith. 129 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,280 He was raised to be a great leader under Pharaoh who would 130 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:21,120 eventually lead God's people out of over 430 years of Egyptian 131 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,440 bondage. Moses would speak to God out of 132 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,720 a burning Bush. God spoke to Moses face to face. 133 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:32,720 Moses would stand in awe as God stood over his shoulder and 134 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:36,400 wrote the 10 commandments in stone and gave him the plans for 135 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,320 the Tabernacle. Moses would lift his rod to 136 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:41,480 heaven and the Red Sea would split in half. 137 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:49,560 And Moses had a temper. Moses could lose at zero to 60 138 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:54,320 in the batting of an eye. So much so that one afternoon he 139 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,040 got so mad he killed an Egyptian, buried the body and 140 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:13,160 ran like a fugitive. Moses Pastor Pastor Moses Rahab 141 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:22,720 was a prostitute. I'm pausing for dramatic effect 142 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,360 right there. I want that to sink in. 143 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,160 Color the picture. However you want to make sure 144 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:35,640 you just grab it correctly. She was a prostitute, yet she is 145 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:40,480 in Hebrews Chapter 11. She was the owner operator of a 146 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:51,600 House of ill repute. She was the lady, ladies, that 147 00:10:51,600 --> 00:11:01,440 if you saw your husband talking to her even in daylight, I would 148 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:03,320 not want to be at your dinner table that day. 149 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:09,800 Words might be exchanged, questions could be asked. 150 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:15,640 Yet she helped God's people escape Jericho. 151 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:23,680 This resulted in Rahab ending up in the lineage of Jesus Christ, 152 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,440 David. We can't talk about this without 153 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,520 talking about David. He took food to the battlefield 154 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,880 for his brothers. He endured false accusations for 155 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:39,080 his motives. He slayed Goliath, he slew a 156 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,840 lion and a bear. He was promoted from the sheep 157 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,080 fields to the King's palace to play the heart. 158 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:47,520 He was a musician, singer-songwriter and worship 159 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,680 team of one. He's the only person noted in 160 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:53,680 God's Holy Writ as being a man after God's own heart. 161 00:11:54,840 --> 00:12:00,560 But he decided not to go to battle one day where he should 162 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:03,720 have been. This put him in the wrong place 163 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:07,240 at the wrong time. He saw the beautiful Bathsheba 164 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:09,680 bathing. He lusted after her. 165 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:12,640 He abused his leadership authority as king and sent for 166 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:14,520 her. He had an affair with her. 167 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:18,760 He got her pregnant. Then as if that wasn't enough, 168 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,320 he then had her husband brought home to be with his with his 169 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:26,240 wife so the pregnancy could be declared his and all would be 170 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:31,000 covered up. But Uriah would not go into his 171 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,640 wife or he knew his place was on the battlefield. 172 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,520 As a final effort to cover up his sins. 173 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:41,800 David then David the the shepherd, David the giant 174 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:47,920 Slayer, David the songwriter and worshipper then decides to send 175 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,680 Uriah back out to battle and give strict instructions to 176 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:55,000 military leaders. Put him on the front line, tell 177 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:59,960 everybody else to back up. Make him the bullseye. 178 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,240 I want him dead, was the message. 179 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:08,160 And lo and behold, Uriah is killed on the battlefield at the 180 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,920 hands of the instructions of David. 181 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:20,400 The man after God's own heart was also an adulterer and 182 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,880 murderer. You can read on in Hebrews 183 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,960 Chapter 11. It tells us about people who 184 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,840 were overthrow kingdoms, rule with justice, shut the mouths of 185 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,640 lions, quench the flames of fire. 186 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,600 Yet it admits in God's Word that they all had weaknesses and they 187 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:43,760 all had flaws, and despite those imperfections and despite those 188 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:49,360 flaws, and in the face of their humanity, Hebrews 11/16 189 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:54,800 emphatically states wherefore God is not ashamed to be called 190 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:59,720 their God. They were great people, they 191 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:05,480 were messed up, they did wrong, they sinned, and by our 192 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:08,200 judgmental standards, they send big. 193 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:12,040 But regardless of their failures and despite all of their 194 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:18,600 shortcomings, God was not ashamed to be called their God. 195 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:21,720 Ladies and gentlemen, that ought to give you hope today. 196 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:25,960 God knows you're not perfect. God knows you don't always get 197 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,400 it right. God knows when you mess up and 198 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:34,160 you try again and again, you might mess up every day, but 199 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,680 just keep on trying. By faith, my weakness can be 200 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:41,440 turned to strength. My humanity might make me weak, 201 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:45,040 but by faith His Spirit makes me strong. 202 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:50,680 My imperfections may cause me to fail, but His righteousness 203 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:57,200 makes me an overcomer. For the Bible declares it's not 204 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,840 by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. 205 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:11,080 Somebody shout Hallelujah. When we read the 11th chapter of 206 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:19,960 Hebrews, we see the writer using the term by faith, Noah by 207 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:27,520 faith, Sarah by faith, Jacob by faith, by faith, by faith. 208 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,720 We see this about 19 times in this chapter alone. 209 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:35,800 And when you see that, it is important for us to understand 210 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:39,400 that the Scripture is emphasizing information about a 211 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:43,040 people who had come to terms with their human limitations. 212 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:47,840 Their human frailty was very present with them, and they had 213 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:53,000 to learn to have faith in and trust in and dependence on 214 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,320 Almighty God. Because at the end of the day, 215 00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:02,480 we are an imperfect people depending on a perfect God, much 216 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:06,200 like the people that I am talking about in God's Word. 217 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,680 There is little difference that separates us from them. 218 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,600 If we are honest with one another tonight, and if you will 219 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,600 be honest with yourself, we're just a little messed up. 220 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:20,600 We've got our own set of problems. 221 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,320 We have our own set of frailties. 222 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,080 We have our own set of insecurities. 223 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:30,880 We have our own sets of issues that cause some of us might have 224 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,680 problems in our mind, some of us might have temper issues, some 225 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,520 of us might go zero to 60 in the blink of an eye. 226 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,280 We've all got our set of issues. But there's one thing about the 227 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:46,160 sheer fact that God is not looking for my perfection. 228 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:48,800 God is looking for your availability. 229 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,760 And when we bring our imperfections, perfections to 230 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:55,640 him and say God, do with this what you will do. 231 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,840 God will take your imperfections and he will make your 232 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:07,520 availability his will. Because at the end of the day, 233 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,000 we are not perfect. We never will be. 234 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:17,440 We will be striving till the day that He comes, striving to make 235 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:21,280 it, striving to be better, striving to make today better 236 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:23,640 than yesterday. Well, Brother Mason, you don't 237 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,040 know what I did yesterday. I know I don't and I don't want 238 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:27,640 to know. And, and perhaps in the Spirit 239 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:30,120 of God and with all the love and kindness that's in me, I don't 240 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:32,520 need to know. But what I do know is this. 241 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:35,360 I may have messed up yesterday, you may have messed up 242 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:37,520 yesterday. But when we get in the House of 243 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:41,400 God and we get in the presence of an Almighty God, He is well 244 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,520 able to forgive. He is well able to draw us 245 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,480 closer to Him. He is able to make those 246 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:51,880 imperfect things the opportunities of a lifetime so 247 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:55,480 that we can have a representation of Hebrews 11 in 248 00:17:55,480 --> 00:18:04,520 our life, that by faith, God, by faith God is able. 249 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,920 We know by the Word of God that salvation comes through grace, 250 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,960 but it comes through grace by faith. 251 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:18,160 The nation of Israel, the place where God established himself 252 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:22,320 for His people throughout the Word of God, teetered constantly 253 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:25,320 between godliness and godlessness. 254 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:32,960 They would be serving God one minute, and a chapter or two 255 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:35,400 later we find them totally abandoning Him. 256 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:41,480 They would be upholding His laws and His statues today and then 257 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:46,160 doing what's right in their own eyes tomorrow, worshipping and 258 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:50,080 sacrificing to Jehovah in one moment and then dancing naked 259 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:52,480 around idols and Pagan gods the next. 260 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,960 They would be celebrating their history in one season and then 261 00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:59,360 forgetting about their history in the next season. 262 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,760 They fight and win great battles with the Spirit of the Lord 263 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,680 going before them in the morning, and then by nightfall 264 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:10,640 they for abandoned God, the very God who helped them with the 265 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,720 victory against their enemy To begin with. 266 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,040 Solomon, another flawed man, wrote in Proverbs 3. 267 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:21,720 Five trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto 268 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:25,760 thine own understanding. It is important today, ladies 269 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:29,160 and gentlemen, that we remember in the presence of God that our 270 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:33,400 trust must be placed in him, our hope must be placed in Him. 271 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,320 I get myself in trouble every time. 272 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:41,040 I lean on my own logic, when I lean on my own understanding, 273 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:46,440 when I rationalize my situation on my own, and I don't allow God 274 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:51,240 to steer my steps and I don't allow God to order my future, I 275 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:53,680 get myself in trouble every time. 276 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:58,920 But if I can somehow submit to God and declare by faith, by 277 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:04,640 faith, by faith, God is well able to deliver and help me 278 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:09,520 through my struggle, Somebody shout Hallelujah. 279 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,800 David, the flawed man after God's own heart, wrote Psalms 56 280 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:20,960 and three. What time I am afraid I will 281 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:30,120 trust in thee. There's no one else to go to. 282 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:36,440 There is no one else to lean on. We are. 283 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:39,640 This isn't in my notes. Just bear with me here for a 284 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:45,480 moment, but we are in error if we come to the House of God and 285 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,760 the only decor declaration from our heart we can muster is 286 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:51,720 simple gratitude for how good we are. 287 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,320 I, I, I, I didn't come to make any enemies tonight and I didn't 288 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:01,480 come to make anybody mad. But you're not that good. 289 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:08,040 I'll I'll be the first to tell you, brother Fred, I'm not that 290 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:16,040 good. We are not so good that we are 291 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:23,240 better than the only man from cover to cover of God's living 292 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:29,120 word that was ever written to be declared a man after God's 293 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:32,760 heart. There's only one man that ever 294 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,160 received that moniker and that's David. 295 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:41,280 And yeah, I love David. I love him a lot. 296 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,320 I can relate to him in certain ways, especially on the music 297 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,520 and the the worship side. And his heart for worship, his 298 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,440 heart for devotion to God. I love all that there is about 299 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:53,360 David, his upbringing and his stories. 300 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:56,640 And we get the, the privilege of seeing the end of the story and 301 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,840 not having to live it with him. We're kind of walking along 302 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,240 beside it already knowing how the story ends. 303 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,800 So that kind of helps when you can read the last page a bit. 304 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:07,240 It keeps your attention in the book. 305 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:11,240 And we're, it's a page Turner. David, David's growing, David's 306 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,160 a shepherd. He's the, he's the ignored son 307 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:16,560 that that no one wants to pay any attention to. 308 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:19,160 He's the, he's the boy that can't even shave yet. 309 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:21,920 And yet he's standing there, he's delivering food to his 310 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:23,440 brothers. And, and they're, they're, 311 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,240 they're mocking him and they're questioning his motives for 312 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:29,200 coming to the battlefield, all because they were a bunch of 313 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:31,760 chickens that were standing on the battlefield because King 314 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,880 Saul told them they had to, but they was too scared to do 315 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:40,800 anything about Goliath. David, the same boy that that 316 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:46,400 slew a giant as a teenager. David, the same boy that as a 317 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:51,200 teenager was anointed to be the second king of Israel, but 318 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,840 wouldn't see that anointing come to fruition until he was 30 319 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:57,280 years old. Let me tell somebody something 320 00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,800 tonight. When God promises you something, 321 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,600 you hang on. When God promises you something, 322 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:06,800 you hang on to the promise of God. 323 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,120 You hang on to the prophecy of God. 324 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:14,960 You hang on to the work. When God speaks a word into your 325 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:19,160 life by the words of his page or by the words of a man with a 326 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,000 crooked finger and a microphone, you better make some. 327 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:24,920 You better give some attention to that, and you better 328 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,480 understand that God promised it. God's going to render it to 329 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,000 pass. It may not come as quick as you 330 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:35,080 want it to, but God's going to deliver it to you. 331 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,480 But I'm afraid what happens is we get tired of waiting on God. 332 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,040 So we start rationalizing with our own mind. 333 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,000 We start making our own decisions. 334 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,600 I don't know who I'm talking to tonight. 335 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:50,960 This is not in my notes. But hear the word of the Lord 336 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:53,480 tonight. We start rationalizing on our 337 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:57,080 own what we're going to do and what's important for our life. 338 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,600 And we ignore the prophetic word of God that He has spoken. 339 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,160 And then we start finding ourselves walking away from God. 340 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,920 We're not as close to Him as we used to. 341 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,440 We're not as in step with Him as we used to be. 342 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,440 We're not listening to Him. Somebody hear me tonight. 343 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:15,680 We're not listening to him the way we used to listen. 344 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:20,400 But let me tell you today that what you are in right now is 345 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,920 only part of the story. God can deliver you and God can 346 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:31,720 still make it come to pass. You know, Mojo satala, biendo lo 347 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,280 mojo sataya. I feel my help coming now. 348 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,880 I am standing before you today, a flawed man. 349 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,840 It seems that every time I get it right, I mess it up again. 350 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:58,200 Now, lest you set there and think, oh what did he do? 351 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:02,080 Know that I am speaking on your behalf as well. 352 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:07,880 We are flawed humanity worshipping before a perfect 353 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,480 God. We are in the presence of a king 354 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:13,600 that we do not deserve to be in his presence. 355 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,680 We are here by grace and we sustain by mercy. 356 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:23,640 For the Apostle Paul himself reads writes in Romans 721. 357 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:27,480 I find in a law that when I would do good, evil is present 358 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,320 with me. It seems like Brother Mason, 359 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,280 every time I try, I mess up. That's all right. 360 00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:34,480 Keep trying. Because what your enemy wants to 361 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,520 do is he wants to wear you out on your failure, He wants to 362 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,920 wear you down on your mistakes, and he wants to beat you up 363 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:44,240 every time you trip and fall. And if he can wear you out on 364 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,680 your failure, he will pull you into not caring anymore. 365 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,880 But listen to me tonight. My failure is only part of the 366 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,400 story. My delay is only part of the 367 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:55,960 story. My struggle is only part of the 368 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,280 story. My setbacks are only part of the 369 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,800 story. My God has the rest of the 370 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:14,480 story. God, Jesus Christ himself, the 371 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:19,480 author and the finisher of our faith, the author. 372 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,680 We'll make sure you grab this, I said. 373 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:31,360 He's the author. What's What's what's that? 374 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:32,520 What's that? What's that mean? 375 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:34,680 The author's the one that writes the story. 376 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:40,200 The author's the one that when he's got the pen in his hand, 377 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:44,200 he's the one that is leading the page, the words on the page. 378 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:46,880 He's guiding the direction of the narrative. 379 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:53,520 He is the one that predicts where the protagonist is going 380 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,240 to end up. Because every story has a 381 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,760 protagonist and an antagonist. Or most stories do. 382 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:03,640 At least good stories do. The antagonist, or the enemy of 383 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:07,560 our soul wants to make us think that he has control over our 384 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:10,320 life. The enemy of your soul wants to 385 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:12,840 make you think that he is helping you determine your 386 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:15,960 defeat. But he is not the author of my 387 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,240 story. He is a simple character. 388 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:24,840 Follow me now. The devil is not the author of 389 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,720 your story. The devil doesn't have a pen to 390 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:31,800 write with. He doesn't have a pen to write 391 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:34,000 with. He doesn't have a page to write 392 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,120 on. He doesn't even have a desk to 393 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:38,720 sit at. He don't even have a home of his 394 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:40,960 own. He was kicked out of glory 395 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:43,240 because he coveted the throne of God. 396 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:47,800 I'm telling somebody tonight that the devil is not the author 397 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,840 of your story. He's a simplified character in a 398 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:55,200 story that Almighty God has control of. 399 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:02,600 My life's not going right. That's all right. 400 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:05,360 Talk to the author. I've made a mistake. 401 00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:07,760 Talk to the author. I keep messing up. 402 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,800 Talk to the author. I've got sickness in my body. 403 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:16,720 Talk to the author. I don't have strength to run. 404 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:19,600 Let him walk and talk to the author. 405 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:26,040 Because I find a law that when I would do good, evil is present 406 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:28,520 with me. But every day I step, that evil 407 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,880 is next to me. I've got Jesus inside of me, and 408 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:35,960 the greater is he that is in me than He that is in the world. 409 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:52,440 Sit down, you're wearing me out. Acts 17 and 27 says that they 410 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:59,000 should seek the Lord if haply they might feel after Him. 411 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:03,280 I imagine this scripture and worship. 412 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:06,440 I know there's other scriptures that tell us to lift our hands, 413 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:09,720 but I also envision for myself just feeling after Him. 414 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,040 Can can I? Can I find him? 415 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:19,880 Can I reach to where I can feel Him, find him, though he be not 416 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:27,200 far from every one of us, for in him we live and move and have 417 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:34,040 our be. Let me tell you tonight, this is 418 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,240 not a deep revelation and it's not anything you haven't heard 419 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,040 before. So let me remind you that the 420 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:46,600 very reason why David was so great despite his sin, the very 421 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:52,400 reason David was so great despite his sin, was that he 422 00:29:52,400 --> 00:30:03,790 never stopped worshipping. That's good preaching, brother. 423 00:30:06,150 --> 00:30:08,350 You want to know the importance and value of worship. 424 00:30:08,350 --> 00:30:10,310 I know we talk about it. I know we say it. 425 00:30:10,310 --> 00:30:12,630 I know we teach it. I know we preach it and I don't 426 00:30:12,630 --> 00:30:18,190 think we can preach it or teach it enough Worship. 427 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:23,600 We're saved. Acts 238 the basis of our 428 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:25,280 salvation by the Holy Word of God. 429 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:27,920 We repent, we're baptized in Jesus name for the remission of 430 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:29,840 the sins. Receive the baptism of the Holy 431 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:32,080 Ghost. Evidence speaking in other 432 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:36,200 tongues as the Spirit of God give the utterance that does not 433 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:47,480 punch your ticket for heaven. If you stop your walk with God 434 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:51,160 after that experience, you have stopped short of God's victory 435 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,520 and God's will and purpose for your life. 436 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:58,600 Your tickets not punched yet when the train leaves the 437 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:00,240 station. If you're not worshipping, 438 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:14,570 you're not on the train. The reason God continued to 439 00:31:14,570 --> 00:31:21,370 bless David despite his failures was because David never forgot 440 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:31,560 that God was worth God was worth everything he could give him. 441 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:42,120 The reason why some of us stop in our failure is because while 442 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:44,600 we're failing, we forget to worship. 443 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,160 When you mess up, let let me let me just be real with you 444 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,240 tonight. You're going to mess up. 445 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,520 I'm I'm sorry to clip the angels wings of some of you because 446 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:01,640 please forgive me, but you're going to mess up. 447 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:06,240 You're not that good. And when I say you, I'm saying 448 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:07,680 me. So we're in this together. 449 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:11,680 We're not that good. No angels wings here just yet, 450 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:13,920 other than the angelic host that's here with us. 451 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:18,760 But the we've got a serious problem in our walk with God 452 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:27,920 when we fail and then we get up and we refuse to repent and we 453 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:32,600 refuse to worship. Well, I never said no. 454 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:35,360 There's a difference between your words and your actions. 455 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:39,400 You don't have to tell God no. Sit there with your arms 456 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:40,920 crossed. You're telling him no. 457 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:49,920 The reason why I feel like David succeeded, Bishop, the reason 458 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:54,640 why I have succeeded in my walk with God despite my stupidity, 459 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:03,560 is because of getting in the House of God worship. 460 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:08,520 Not because of your failure, not a show of your failure, but 461 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:13,160 despite your failure. Oh well, I want to be real and I 462 00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:15,240 don't want to be a show. And I don't think I'm worthy. 463 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,120 Let me tell you something, it doesn't matter how perfect you 464 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:22,920 are, you will never, never, never, never be worthy enough. 465 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:26,760 So just check that buck box off your list and stop worrying 466 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:29,880 about earning worth and stop worrying about getting to a 467 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,040 place that you are worth worshipping. 468 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,360 God wants worship from the sincere heart. 469 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:39,840 You don't have to be worth it. He does. 470 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:51,720 He's the one who's worth it. I don't have to be worth 471 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:56,320 anything, Somebody said. Well, that's a good thing, 472 00:33:56,320 --> 00:34:01,840 because you're not. You're probably right, but he 473 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:06,720 is. And when I fail, that's only 474 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:12,159 part of my story. And if I fail and I set up a 475 00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:18,120 post box office, post office box number downtown Central failure. 476 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:21,080 And I decide that I'm just going to stay there and wallow in it 477 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:25,000 because woe is me, I messed up and I made a mistake. 478 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:28,719 And I let my arrogance and ego get the best of me and I refuse 479 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:32,679 to get into a worship atmosphere with God, then I am going to 480 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:36,400 mess up my life. I am going to walk the wrong 481 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:39,000 path. I'm going to go the wrong Rd. 482 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:42,679 But ladies and gentlemen, if after your failure you can put 483 00:34:42,679 --> 00:34:46,440 an E thought on spiritually and get into the presence of God, 484 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:50,719 and every pay stop and worship and every pay stop and worship, 485 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:55,880 God is going to bless you because that's only part of the 486 00:34:55,880 --> 00:35:01,920 story. Somebody shout Hallelujah. 487 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:05,720 Seek the Lord if haply you might find Him. 488 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:11,960 I have preached and I have talked about avoiding the 489 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:16,560 comparison trap. It is true we need to avoid it. 490 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,400 Some of you need to stop comparing yourself to Bishop. 491 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:27,680 I'm sorry that's not in my notes. 492 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:29,640 I got tons of things tonight's not in my in my notes. 493 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:30,920 I'm just trying to feel after the Lord. 494 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:33,320 You need to stop comparing yourself to Pastor. 495 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:40,880 You need to stop comparing yourself to the people that you 496 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:42,760 have believed. Don't make mistakes. 497 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:53,000 That's a mistake. I got to get down here for this. 498 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,360 Next thing I'm going to say I can't be behind that sacred desk 499 00:35:56,120 --> 00:36:01,120 lightning a strike. I don't want to cause anybody 500 00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:03,840 here or online. God bless you. 501 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:08,680 I don't cause anybody to lose faith in Bishop or pastor. 502 00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:17,600 I'm going to tell you something. They're human and as far as I 503 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:20,880 know I'm son-in-law. I've been in the family for 504 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:30,000 almost 40 years. Thank you Jesus, you might as 505 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:35,680 well embrace it because it don't get any better and as far as I 506 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:43,720 know Bishop when he gets dressed he don't stand his pants up and 507 00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:50,480 run and Superman hop in them. It's one legged time like all 508 00:36:50,480 --> 00:37:02,160 the rest of us guys. He's human and as, as a minister 509 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:05,440 in this assembly, I will tell you pay the highest honor that 510 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:09,320 you can pay as son-in-law. I'm going to tell you he's a 511 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:13,280 flawed man. Now don't get cold on me just 512 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:16,280 because I said that. I'm just trying to illustrate a 513 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:21,960 point to you that he's human. Pastor's human. 514 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:36,080 I love you Pastor human. Stop comparing yourself to 515 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:40,240 people that you have put on a pedestal and you have convinced 516 00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:43,760 yourself that I if I don't achieve this, then why should I 517 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:48,120 even try? If my life can't follow this 518 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,520 pattern and if I can't read 5 chapters a day, why should I 519 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:54,560 even try? If I can't pray, I'm talking to 520 00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:57,640 somebody tonight. If I can't pray an hour, why 521 00:37:57,640 --> 00:38:01,240 should I even try? Let me tell you why you should 522 00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:03,400 try. Because you, not them. 523 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:06,960 You've got a story between you and the author. 524 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:13,160 Your story's unique. Let God bless your story. 525 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:17,400 Let God bless your life. Let God anoint your steps. 526 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:26,520 God bless your people with holy confidence. 527 00:38:27,720 --> 00:38:31,520 We need to rebuke the spirit of intimidation that says I don't 528 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:37,760 measure up, so why should I try? You might be intimidated today, 529 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:39,280 but that's only part of your story. 530 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:44,080 There's a tomorrow coming and I pray God baptizes this 531 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:46,960 congregation with the holy confidence. 532 00:38:48,720 --> 00:38:54,240 Walk in the Spirit of God, but walk in the Spirit of God the 533 00:38:54,240 --> 00:39:02,120 way God anointed you to do it. Not the way Bishop does, not the 534 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:04,760 way Pastor does. God forbid, not the way I do. 535 00:39:11,630 --> 00:39:19,550 We look in the Word of God. We find some people to be too 536 00:39:19,550 --> 00:39:23,350 good for us to relate to. That's why I went through this 537 00:39:23,350 --> 00:39:27,990 exhaustive list tonight in my opening, because everybody on 538 00:39:27,990 --> 00:39:32,440 that list, maybe with exception to Rahab, that was kind of 539 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:35,800 obvious. But everybody else on that list, 540 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:39,760 if I just talk to you about how good they are, we'd a man run 541 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:41,320 and shout and say, yeah, that's right. 542 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:44,640 They were. They were great, Father Abraham, 543 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:50,960 Sarah, great, great, wonderful. And we could gloss over and 544 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:54,280 forget about the fact and just how simply human and evil they 545 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:54,920 could be. That's right. 546 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:58,680 A man. That's true. 547 00:39:58,720 --> 00:40:00,120 True. They were just as human and just 548 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:08,240 as flawed and just as misguided as us, and perhaps to some 549 00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:18,940 degree by man's judgement, more so because as I scanned the 550 00:40:18,940 --> 00:40:23,420 congregation tonight, at least those of you that are in house, 551 00:40:24,380 --> 00:40:27,820 I don't see anybody that has murdered anyone. 552 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:34,640 And I know there's storied pasts in this congregation, and to be 553 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:36,120 honest with you, I thank God for that. 554 00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:41,680 There should be storied past in an Apostolic Church because 555 00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:47,800 that's how good God's grace is. But I'm not looking at a 556 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:58,200 congregation tonight that yet that I see a murderer yet. 557 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:02,360 If I were to poll you tonight, we could do it anonymously. 558 00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:07,440 But if we were to take a poll tonight, I'm fairly certain, 559 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:11,680 Bishop, that if we were to poll this congregation about 560 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:16,920 comparing yourself to King David, he would be here and we 561 00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:25,320 would be here. Because all the enemy wants you 562 00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:27,440 to focus on on them is their good. 563 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:30,320 And all he wants you to focus on on you is your bad. 564 00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:33,200 So there will always be a divide. 565 00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:37,920 And I've come to tell somebody tonight that that's only part of 566 00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:42,560 the story. David made his mistakes. 567 00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:47,400 Jacob made his mistakes. I'm not suggesting we glorify 568 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:48,720 their mistakes. No, no, no. 569 00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:52,560 But what we need to stop doing is glorifying them, period. 570 00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:57,200 Appreciate them, respect them, Revere them for how God used 571 00:41:57,200 --> 00:41:59,160 them, but understand they're not God. 572 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:08,600 And if God could use them in the measures of how He used them did 573 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:11,040 not declare a question to you tonight, ladies and gentlemen. 574 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:18,400 How and why should God not use you if you're no different? 575 00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:22,160 And if, by some measure of man's judgement, you're not even as 576 00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:28,520 bad, how and why can God not use you? 577 00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:32,480 Because where you're at today is only part of the story. 578 00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:38,280 In all of their mistakes, the mistake was only part of the 579 00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:39,800 story. We see both sides. 580 00:42:40,560 --> 00:42:42,640 We have the pleasure of reading both sides. 581 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:45,760 You may not have the pleasure of reading your outcome today 582 00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:50,720 because the author is still writing it with you, but we have 583 00:42:50,720 --> 00:42:55,960 a say so in where he takes it because this pastor often says 584 00:42:55,960 --> 00:42:58,840 God is a gentleman. He's not going to force himself 585 00:42:58,840 --> 00:43:01,520 on you. We are the only measure of God's 586 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:05,120 creation that he gave a conscious choice and ability to 587 00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:12,680 be able to decide for ourselves. I'm coming to a close if the 588 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:19,520 musicians will come. Musicians, singers, whoever. 589 00:43:23,240 --> 00:43:33,640 In Manhattan's Diamond District, jeweler stores are positioned 590 00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:39,480 side by side. In Memphis, car dealerships line 591 00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:47,320 Covington Pike and restaurants are put in clusters in every 592 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:51,200 major city. Why? 593 00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:56,560 Studies have shown that when similar or complementary 594 00:43:56,560 --> 00:44:03,080 business groups together, each one can see a 10 to 25% greater 595 00:44:03,080 --> 00:44:05,560 success than if they were isolated. 596 00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:10,560 Now, there's an economic reason for that that I won't get into, 597 00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:13,960 but my point tonight is one of the biggest mistakes you can 598 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:18,440 ever try ever make is trying to succeed in isolation. 599 00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:23,880 You were not meant to be isolated in your walk with God. 600 00:44:25,200 --> 00:44:28,160 Isolation will cause you to believe only half of the story. 601 00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:32,240 Isolation will shield you from knowing the truth. 602 00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:36,960 Isolation will allow you to always believe you are better 603 00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:41,560 than you really are because you'll judge yourself against 604 00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:45,280 yourself. Isolation will allow you to 605 00:44:45,280 --> 00:44:47,040 believe you don't need anyone else. 606 00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:51,240 Come to remind someone tonight, don't fall for just half of the 607 00:44:51,240 --> 00:44:53,960 story. Did you mess up? 608 00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:57,000 Did you make a mistake? Did you do what you valued? 609 00:44:57,000 --> 00:45:02,280 Never do again? If so, you're in good company. 610 00:45:04,440 --> 00:45:07,480 And the moral of my message tonight is not go sin. 611 00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:12,480 It's not. It's OK to make a mistake. 612 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:21,880 It's God's word is full of people just like you. 613 00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:25,400 You're in company that God likes to keep. 614 00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:30,240 Would you stand with me tonight? You're in company that God likes 615 00:45:30,240 --> 00:45:34,080 to keep. And he's not ashamed to be their 616 00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:36,840 God. I'm glad tonight that he's not 617 00:45:36,840 --> 00:45:41,480 ashamed to be my God. We are made in the image of a 618 00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:45,040 perfect God, fearfully and wonderfully made. 619 00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:49,520 He's never given up on you. He will never give up on you, 620 00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:52,120 and only He knows the whole story. 621 00:45:52,120 --> 00:45:55,720 This altar is open tonight. Would you just lift your hands 622 00:45:55,720 --> 00:45:58,160 and begin to call on the name of the Lord together right now? 623 00:45:58,880 --> 00:46:01,640 There's only part of the story that your enemy knows. 624 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:06,360 Don't let him convince you to write it differently. 625 00:46:07,160 --> 00:46:09,440 Stay in step with your author tonight. 626 00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:13,720 Stay in tune with your author tonight, because only he knows 627 00:46:14,040 --> 00:46:15,440 where the story can go.