9-26-21 | Sunday Worship | 11AM

we everybody oh is oh oh we've come to glory oh is this is the day that the lord has made and we've come to rejoice and be glad in it i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth my soul shall make a voice in the lord the ambush shall hit thereof and be glad oh magnify the lord with me come on oh let's glorify his name we are intergenerational church so children help me glorify his name youth help me glorify his name college students help me glorify his name young adult help me glorify his name middleweight adults help me glorify his name senior saints help me clarify his name let's give god glory hallelujah [Music] we've come up with oh yeah come on [Music] [Music] oh [Music] hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah we've come to glorify that wonderful name that wonderful name hallelujah hallelujah [Music] and speaking of that name the bible says that when we call on the name of jesus according to his will god will answer our prayers in this prayer time my brothers and sisters and you will notice names being scrolled on the screen and i want you to pray in faith believing that god will answer your prayers because we serve a prayer hearing and a prayer answering god let us go to our god in prayer god we love you and we adore you how excellent is your name god you are a wonderful wondrous god an awesome god marvelous god god we just thank you for being god and god all by yourself you cannot be replaced you cannot be removed god we celebrate you because you sit high and look low you are still on the throne and god we just thank you we thank you that we get this chance an opportunity to glorify your name hallelujah god we we know exactly who you are how much you mean to us we thank you for not being haphazard you're not random but you are strategic and god we thank you for that we thank you for being a wise god god we love you because you first loved us and god i'm simply saying we know who you are because we know who you are we know what you are capable of doing god somebody right now need a healer and you're able to do that you're able to be just that somebody right now watching this service need to be delivered from something only you know god but we pray in faith in the name of jesus that you are a deliverer god somebody needs you to make a way for them god so right now in the name of jesus open the red sea in their life part the red sea in their life and make ways because we know you can god somebody right now they're going through something in their mind they they are being attacked by the enemy satanic psychology but god in the name of jesus we know that you are a mind regulator hey hey hey hallelujah so god in the name of jesus we know that you will be exactly what we need you to be god we pray in faith because we believe that somebody will be set free this morning oh yeah somebody would know exactly who you are and so god this is why we glorify your name not just in private but in public we glorify your name we honor you god we we exalt you god we hoist you god we lift you up your train still fills the temple and we believing in the name of jesus hey how god as we go forth in the service i pray my prayer is that you have your way that we forget about ourselves and concentrate on you so in the name of jesus right now get in the musicians oh lord feel them right now afresh that they may play and give you the glory not only the musicians but the the worship the worship team be with them right now anoint them right now in the name of jesus that they may sing praises to your name and somebody will want to know more about you god we thank you for a pastor who preached the word of god we know that he exegeted we know he studied give him power right now in the name of jesus that he may preach about you and god we pray that when we lift you we believe that you will draw all men all women all boys all girls unto you so we're going to lift you in the name of jesus and i pray this prayer in the name of jesus that name that still heals and delivers and has power i pray in the name of jesus amen [Music] oh is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] bye yes [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] uh [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] we serve a great god deserving great praise our scripture is coming today from psalm 131 the new international version renders the text this way my heart is not proud lord my eyes are not hiding i do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me but i have calmed and quieted myself i am like a weaned child with its mother like a weaned child i am content israel put your hope in the lord both now and forevermore this is the word of god [Music] how many of you know i don't care what you're going through the lord promised to never ever leave us alone he said i'll never leave i'll never forsake you shall be there even to the ends of the ages i've seen in trying to conquer my soul listen but i heard the voice of jesus he said earl beating me still alone this is his promise to you oh oh oh the world's fierce winds are blowing in temptation short and king i i have a peace and knowing that my savior stands in between he stands to shield me from danger when all my friends are gone i heard him when he said it he promised never to leave [Music] sometimes [Music] is [Music] it wokes me carry the cross so heavy to bear or go all around me duncan's he'll never leave [Music] somebody oh i'm gonna be okay because there's one more verse [Music] for me he opened that fountain the crimson's cleansing tight thank you jesus oh for me he's waiting in glory upon his heavenly throne oh he promised never to leave [Music] he didn't do all that for nothing never to leave [Music] hallelujah we take confidence in that that he will never leave us alone hallelujah and that's why we can praise him that's why we can give him glory hallelujah come on put those hands together let's magnify him hallelujah yes there's a blessing in your [Music] yes [Music] oh is no depression it cannot oh nobody no depression number one our children will come [Music] is i hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah this is the day that the lord has made we've come to rejoice and be glad in it we've come to celebrate the great god who is the one who created the blacksmith who fans the coast into the flames that creates the weapon we come to celebrate this one god who is the creator of all things and that's why we know that no weapon formed against you no weapon formed against me shall prosper because we celebrate the most high god we are wheeler wherever you're welcome to worship with us on this lord's day to give great praise to our great god who is worthy to be praised from the rising of the sun even until the going down of the very same this great god of ours is worthy to be praised we've come to worship to celebrate if it's your first time we want to know we want to celebrate with you and thank god for you but we've all come to celebrate this great god who gives us great confidence in the reality that no weapon formed against us shall prosper let's worship let's honor this great god of ours let's give him praise honorary adoration and glory [Music] oh oh another one oh [Music] i certainly hope you trust and believe the word of god today it is just as clear today as it always has been god says no weapon formed against me shall prosper and i'm so grateful that god has made that promise to all of his children who are in his protective care and to god be the glory on this sunday morning for the opportunity to celebrate this god who causes all things to work together for our good but no weapon formed against us shall prosper will you celebrate that god on this sunday this fourth sunday of the month of september to god be the glory we are making our way through to the conclusion of this month and we're so grateful that god has blessed us throughout these weeks of september to honor the lord as we have begun our church year we are excited about the great things that god is doing continually perpetually through the family known as wheeler avenue baptist church to god be the glory we have so many reasons to rejoice and we thank god for the opportunities that god continues to give to us to celebrate the great things that he continues to do in the life of our church please know that tomorrow as is our custom we will close out our month month of mondays with the mental health moment a mental health moment brought to us by our christian counseling ministry the reverend dr barbara williams who's back in the back clapping as i make this announcement and we're excited about her ministry about those whom she serves those who've been blessed by the service that she renders and certainly if you've been watching any of the mental health moments throughout this past year you have been immensely blessed by those who have shared with us as as as participants and those who have helped us to know how we might keep ourselves together when the world all around us is falling apart and i'm so grateful that god has sustained us through this season through this time through this very challenging experience that we have faced and we are grateful that the mental health moments continue to help us do that tomorrow at noon tomorrow at noon won't you share with dr barbara williams in the virtual space it will certainly bless your life please know my brothers and sisters that on wednesday we will be back together at 6 00 a.m 12 p.m 6 p.m and 7 p.m for prayer and bible study 6 a.m and 6 p.m for prayer 12 p.m and 7 p.m for bible study and i certainly hope that you will share with us as we continue to talk to the lord in those two experiences and then hear from the lord in the other two as well we were delighted this week that 2165 folk called in for prayer we thank god that you're keeping us above 2021 and so for the 2165 of you who took the time to call in god bless you praise god for you some of you may have had some difficulties but you kept pressing and i know some friends have had other friends to conference them in when they were having challenges getting onto the line thank you for taking prayer seriously we appreciate and applaud that and we look forward to you being with us in prayer this coming wednesday and in bible study as we continue our study in psalm 132 we're excited that revival is coming this will be our last wednesday in bible study but next month every wednesday we will hear from the preachers of god who come to share with us they will be here in this sanctuary preaching to us even as that we share in the virtual space and we're so excited that dr otis moss iii dr gina stewart dr maurice watson and dr lance watson will be our preachers for those four wednesdays in the month of october it's going to be a grand time of revival getting us ready for what is to come and what is to come is going to be phenomenal we are making our way back to the lord's church back to our campus and we're excited about that yes lord yes lord so the month of october is going to ready us to come back to church listen to this on the first sunday of november the first sunday of november we're all going to gather together in the cathedral and we're excited about that the first sunday of november in the cathedral to god be the glory it's been a long time coming but we're excited that a change is coming and we praise god for that every one of us who wants to be in worship i will be available to will be will be um have the opportunity to be in worship as we register you'll find out more information on our website there are only certain many so many individuals that we can take at one time on the campus of wheeler avenue baptist church in the cathedral because we want to maintain safety and we want to make sure that everyone remains as healthy as we can help them to remain and so on that first sunday of november uh over these next several weeks and i'll tell you when the registration begins it has not yet begun but when the registration begins i'll let you know and we'll make sure that those of you who want to come for those two services on sunday we'll have two services on sunday the first of which will begin at 8 00 a.m the second of which will begin at 11 30 a.m but we're not going to wait until the first sunday of november to change our worship times here's the final worship time change that we know of thus far the final worship time change beginning on the first sunday of october that's next sunday beginning on next sunday our worship times will be 8 o'clock a.m and 11 30 a.m eight o'clock a.m at 1 30 a.m that's going to get us in the practice of knowing what times our services are so by the time we get together in november you will already know uh what those service times are now i'm asking for all of our worldwide members all those who are members of other congregations will you please allow the membership of wheeler avenue baptist church to be the only registrants for november we need to get together we haven't been together as family and i know others of you have other church families i'm going to ask that just the membership of wheeler avenue baptist church will gather together that will make sure that we can maximize the number of sisters and brothers from wheeler avenue who are able to be a part of that november experience now the book of ezra the book of ezra chapter 2 the last couple of verses of ezra say that before all of the family got back the lord led the leaders to be back the lord led the leaders to be back in the tabernacle in the city of of jerusalem and that's what we're going to do on the third fourth and fifth sundays our leaders are going to gather together all of our vaccinated leaders fully vaccinated leaders will gather together and we're going to begin the practice of worship in the cathedral on those sundays and then all of us together will gather as the people of god i'm so excited about what god is about to do as we get back together to celebrate god for all that he has done for us over this year and a half to god be the glory of course we're going to be wearing our masks in all of our worship services we'll be wearing our masks and i hope that you will prepare yourselves that means that some of us are going to learn how to get about the bed all over again on sunday morning we're going to learn how to put on our church clothes all over again on sunday morning gonna have to learn how to make our way through the streets of the greater houston area and get to the campus of wheeler on time no early so you can park where you need to park and make your way all the way to the cathedral as we worship the lord together and we give god praise for bringing us to this point in our journey to god be the glory hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah well it's offering time in the lord's church in the lord's house and in your house it's time for us to give unto god and as we give this day we recognize that this giving is an act of worship unto the lord and so we ask that you will help us to honor the lord and help us to give back to god a portion of what god has given to us our god has been faithful to us and we are grateful for the faithfulness of god and as we honor the lord we want to be faithful to him in what we do in terms of bringing the tithe and the offering unto the lord in terms of ensuring that the house of god is continually made into the place where the lord is takes up residence and we can feel the lord's presence every time we come in and out of that place and so as we continue to give throughout this month and throughout the next several months we give first of all our times our offerings and then our gifts to the building effort and our gifts to missions and mercy we're so concerned about the many atrocities that are happening especially on the border as haitian immigrants are doing their best haitian migrants are doing their best to find a better life many of them have been sent back to that place that does not afford them a qualitative lifestyle so we need to help brothers and sisters who are in haiti we sent gifts to haiti in the month of august i believe it was to ensure that they could be helped uh after that earthquake came through but now our sisters and brothers are dealing with something even more devastating than an earthquake and that's a low level of quality of life and i ask that you will help us as you give missions and mercy offerings to ensure that we can assist our sisters and brothers who are there we're continuing to be careful to be uh watchful and mindful of those who are in the louisiana area who are trying to recover from hurricane ida and even those in the northeast who are doing the same and i mentioned to you at the first of this month that all of our missions and mercy gifts will go toward their assistance and their recovery so let's continue to give to give our tithes our offerings our gifts to the building effort and our gifts to missions and mercy so we might be a blessing even as we have been blessed may i pray for you and your finances as we honor the lord with our offerings great god we give you thanks for your goodness and your grace toward us we thank you for the opportunity to worship you through the presentation of these times and offerings we're grateful that you have been so good to us that you've been faithful to us morning by morning do mercy as we see great is your faithfulness lord unto me lord unto all of us who put our trust in you and so as we now return to you what you first gave to us we pray that you will breathe on these gifts that you will multiply them that you will expand them for the building of the kingdom of god through wheeler avenue baptist church i pray as always that no one will go lacking as a consequence of what they give but as you return to your sons and daughters as you see fit we will always have the testimony that we can't beat god giving no matter how we try here's our celebration once again thank you for victory in our finances even as we wait on it even as we enjoy it we thank you that you will cause men and women to give back into our lap so that we will have it given back to us good measure pressed down shaken together and running over and we thank you for it in jesus name let the church say amen let's give unto our god this sunday as the worship ministry leads us in music [Music] i will sing [Music] your praise [Music] for you have done such a momentous thing [Music] for someone [Music] so wretched [Music] yet my soul you have redeemed [Music] no one else could do it no one would care [Music] but yet you thought my soul god you thought my soul was worth it so you gave [Music] [Music] i set free oh [Music] [Applause] my accomplishments thank you about god [Music] lord you also see my finnish [Music] already worked [Music] be [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] and you renew my mind [Music] is [Music] uh for me my [Music] for everything he's done for you somebody hold on a praise this morning come on telling god i never would have made it without you god i never would have made it without you thank you for holding on to me thank you for keeping me foreign oh [Applause] i oh you fly [Music] [Music] he keeps on doing great and marvelous things and to that great and marvelous god be all the glory on this fourth sunday of the month of september thank you music ministry thank you preachers of god thank you for all who are helping us to worship the lord on this fourth sunday we give god praise for each one of you there's a word from the lord today and i hope you have your bibles ready or apps are ready to look again at the psalm that the reverend piles has read for us it is a very brief psalm of three verses and i want to read it from the new international version of god's holy word psalm 131 psalm 131 reading from the new international version hear the word of the lord my heart is not proud lord my eyes are not haughty i do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me but i have calmed and quieted myself i am like a weaned child with its mother like a winged child i am content israel put your hope in the lord both now and forevermore amen praise the name of the lord praise the name of the lord you may be seated in this house and in your house if you stood for the reading of god's word israel wheeler avenue put your hope in the lord both now and forever more well the time this hour's a share together on this sunday i want to talk from the subject it is well with my soul it is well with my soul can i be transparent on this fourth sunday morning i recognize that that request can put the preacher in a strange predicament for the preacher can't always be transparent about where the preacher is on any given subject or at any given time sometimes that transparency is held against the preacher and people can't move past it but i want to be transparent at the very beginning of this message today and go ahead and tell you that the decision to return to in-person worship has been the most challenging decision of my entire pastoral ministry no other decision in all of my pastoral life has been as challenging as the one as to when we should return to the lord's house i've wrestled with it gone back and forth with dates and with the divine had conversation with leaders and with loved ones i've i've had to deal with this every single day for the past several weeks months even past year of our lives and it's been the most difficult decision to make at any point in this pastoral journey and i've had to depend on god in ways that i may not have ever thought about i remember very vividly dr lakisha barnett when i preached a message right here in this pulpit and said to the congregation that your faith needs a fight that has no frame of reference i said your faith needs a fight that has no frame of reference and for the past several months the lord has made me live up to the words i've tried to preach and he has been put before me of faith that had a fight that had no frame of reference nobody has done this before all of us have been placed in this predicament at the same time together there are no pastors who live through the spanish flu of 1918 whom i can consult as to how you deal with a pandemic there are no church people i can go to from 1918 who can tell me how to make the way back to the lord's church once you've been away for so long there's no frame of reference nobody i can call every pastor was dealing with the same thing every congregation was dealing with how to be safe and how to be healthy in the midst of this season i've had to deal with a fight of faith that had no frame of reference i've never wanted to be a televangelist but for the last several months i've had to be a televangelist to so many people around the world helping them to hold on to faith when i'm fighting with my own and so today so today i come transparently telling you that every now and then god will place you in a predicament well you have to hold on to god even when you don't feel like holding on any longer you have to hold on to god even when you feel your grip is waning you've got to hold on to god and trust that god still knows what is best for his children well child of god i return our attention to these songs of ascents because it seems to me that in psalm 131 we are introduced to a psalmist who understands that there are certain situations and circumstances from which you've got to recover that will teach you some things to ensure that you really trust god the way you say you do there comes some season some moments in time where all of us have to face the reality that life can push you into a corner and make you pray your way out make you faith your way out make you believe your way out make you trust your way out the actual context of the text is not given to us but it is clear by the words that are given in these three short verses that this psalm of trust has come at the expense of some tumult some circumstance that was beyond the psalmist's control when the psalmist writes verses one two and 3 it has not come from a place of pleasure it has come from a place of predicament i dare say pain when the psalm is right psalm 1 31 verses 1 2 and 3 it does not come to us from a place of an ivory tower no it comes from a place in a deep dark dank dismal valley where the psalmist has to be rescued even reassured that even if i walk through the valley of the shadow of death thou art with me o child of god there are those of us listening to my voice on this sunday who can testify there have been some seasons where i did not quite understand why i had to go through what i was going through why the pressure was on me why the weight was on my shoulders but today i need you to understand that god knows how to pull you through bring you through push you through pride you through until you get to the other side of it and you like the psalmist can trust the lord so much that your final refrain will be it is well with my soul i don't know if you've ever had to come through the fire and through the flood if you've ever had to come through sickness and struggle but today somebody listening to me can testify on the other side of the struggle on the other side of the sickness you can rejoice that it is still well with your soul the context is not given to us but we have some clues into what's going on we have some clues into the reality that this psalmist is no novice that this psalmist is not new to the faith this psalmist has been dealing with faith fights for a while this psalmist has been through the ups and the downs the twists and the turns of life and hear me child of god all of us have to go through that at some point it does not matter your pedigree or your pedagogy all of us have to go through that at some point it does not matter your family structure or it nor does it matter your social standing all of us have to go through these faith fights in life and i still stand on the reality that our faith needs a fight that has no frame of reference but can i tell you on this sunday as i make my way through this big old fight of faith that i've had to endure it is well with my soul i i'm still trusting and believing in god i still honor the lord because i believe that god is in complete control and he knows how to take care of the concerns of his children oh yes we had everything planned out to come back next sunday on the first sunday of october and god said not so i thought everything was in order i had the whole order of worship planned y'all it was looking good we were gonna have a grand celebration and god said not so can you trust god enough to have your own plan set and ready and then hear god say not so not yet and still believe that it's all right can you get to the point in your life where after you've laid out all the plans that you wanted to ensure you could endure experience and then god says no i know the plans i have for you and those plans may not be your plans but their plans to prosper you not to harm you to give you hope and the future and you've got to come to the other side of that it may not be why you're going through it but you got to come to the other side of it and be able to throw up both your hands and say it is well with my soul it is well with my soul let's look into these little three verses because it seems to me that this psalmist teaches us some things in this psalm that just might help us come to the conclusion that it is well with our souls will you watch with the text unfold when it speaks to us first of all of what i call purposeful humility purposeful humility let the church say humility i know it's sometimes difficult for us to say because sometimes god has to teach us humility but humility is a necessary quality in the saints life humility must be a part of our character traits as a matter of fact if we don't humble ourselves the bible says that god knows how to humble those who are proud god knows how to bring down those who are proud he knows how to debase those who keep raising themselves up acting as if they are god and the psalmist says i don't need that lesson because i understand this myself read the words of god he says my heart is not proud lord my eyes are not haughty i do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me i love the way he testifies he says god you don't have to humble me because i understand i understand what humility ought be like he says i have done my heart is not proud lord my eyes are not hearty i mention to you that we don't know the context of this text but it is according to the superscription a psalm of david so we may not know the clear context but we are accurate on his attribution in that david the king of israel is credited to have written this psalm we don't know when have no date on it preachers we don't know out of what context he came we don't know if it was a battle or if it was some season where he was sitting on the throne we don't know all we know is the superscription says david wrote this and as a consequence he's testifying that he is not haughty now those who know anything about the the career of david you know david according to some impious individuals might be subject to being pompous and arrogant if if dave is not careful when you read his resume he might be duped into believing that he's so good at what he does that he ought always pat himself on the back and tell himself and anybody else listening how wonderful he is do you remember david he's the one who reigned who led who moved from shepherd boy to the king of israel he's the one who was the sweet psalmist for saul but god moved him to be the king for the sovereign one over all of israel this is a beautiful picture of the elevation of god how god knows how to elevate his people to the places he wants them to be but it is likewise a good picture of understanding that despite one's elevation one never got to that space and place by him or herself and when we understand that when we understand what god has done it helps us to have a greater appreciation for god and to humble ourselves before god under yourself under the mighty hand of god that he may exalt you in due time it helps us to understand child of god that you and i do not have to ensure that people always know our names we don't always have to walk around wearing our titles on our shoulders no the bible says that god will bring us before great people if we know how to keep ourselves humble before him and somebody knows that god will open doors for you and make ways for you and provide for you and show out in your life if you maintain a posture of humility in his presence all come in now because this is difficult for upwardly mobile individuals who are always trying to make sure you know what school i went to what job i have what my family is and where i've come from you need to be sure that in our process of upward mobility and always ascribing for higher rank and higher title that we never forget the one who still sits on the throne as king of kings and lord of lords is there anybody who'll help me today and begin to testify my heart is not haunting my eyes i'm not a huffy hearty i want to make sure i maintain the proper position before my god yeah they're on their way they're ascending mount zion soaps and as they're going this psalmist says i got to make sure that i don't ever maintain a hearty position before the lord my heart is not proud my eyes are not haunted scholars suggest that this is a picture both of the internal and the external posture of king david internally my heart is not proud externally my eyes what i gaze upon is not haughty i'm not always trying to get everything i see i'm trying to live a life that is pleasing unto the lord so i want my heart to be right and i want everything that i aspire to as i look out to be right in god's sight all these are not the word of a novice believer these are the words of somebody who's been through some stuff a time or two or twelve and you can testify that you don't want to have to deal with god disciplining you to always get the lesson you go through discipline one or two times you want to be able to testify i got it god i got it i got it now you got to see this this is a brother who has risen in a po in popularity and authority this is the brother who understands what it means when he tells somebody to jump everybody says how high yes this is a brother who understands what it means to have popularity and authority don't you hear those women singing saul has killed his thousands but david has killed his tens of thousands this is a brother who goes through life knowing that he's already killed a lion he's already killed a bear he's already killed a giant this is a brother who has taken down nations defeated his enemies he's had to deal with those who were his own friends who turned against him and he had to deal with his own internal sinfulness but god brought him through all of that and then said he's a man after my own heart how can you have all of that going for you and still be able to say my heart is not proud lord my eyes are not haughty and all of us have to learn this purpose for humility yeah there's purpose to this we got to know that we cannot do this he says i do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me you got to understand that picture of the hebraic phrase it literally he break languages literally suggesting i'm not trying to get in your business god no you missed it i do not concern myself with great things we're all or things too wonderful for me whenever that word wonderful all too wonderful and wonderfully always talk about the things of god it is the mindset of god the mentality of god and he's saying god i may have some popularity and authority but i'm not gonna mess with your divinity hallelujah he says i'm gonna let you be god because you're real good at doing what you do i'm gonna let you run this because you know how to do it better than i do i'm gonna let you have full sway in this situation cause nobody can handle my circumstances like you did i mentioned to you we had everything charted out we had everything lined out and god said no it ain't time for all that scrap that you're not gonna even use it in november but i'm gonna step walk you step by step back to my house so that when you get there you'll enter my gates with thanksgiving and my courts with praise you'll be thankful unto me and you'll bless my name said i'm gonna walk you back step by step that's what that sense means what doesn't it it means that we're taking the steps back to the house of the lord and when we come back we can't walk around saying look what we did no no when we come back oh child of god i've been blessed by all of you wonderful people who have said that the saints shall the cathedral of the lord look so beautiful praise god for that but may i please go to the songs of ascents and tell you if it had not been the lord who was on our side we wouldn't have what we have or be who we are somebody ought to thank god that every now and then you got a reminder to be humble in the presence of the lord don't get in god's business god's got this he says you need to understand and maintain a purposeful humility i'm talking to that person who's doing so well on your job i thank god for you but remember it was god that gave you the mind to do the work that you do he's the god who gives you the energy to do the work that you do he's the god who puts you in connection with the right people at the right time to be in the right places to do the things that you do i need somebody to look up toward heaven and tell the lord thank you that every good and perfect gift has come from above from the father of lights in whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning can somebody help me thank god that he still raises up the downtrodden he still lifts up those in from obscurity and takes them to popularity but don't you ever get the big head and think it was just you it was nobody but the divine the wonderful the triune god of glory [Music] so he says stay humble stay stay i'm gonna be up be on but don't don't be proud don't be harshy so says verse one you ought to exercise purposeful humility but may i can push this argument just a bit farther when i get to verse two to talk a little bit about personal responsibility not just purposeful humility but i need to say a word about personal responsibility look at what the psalmist says look what david says he says but i have calmed and quieted myself i am like a weaned child with its mother like a winged child i am content let me give it to you again i have calmed and quieted myself i am like a weaned child with its mother like a weaned child i am content david davis says i got some responsibility in this and i've got to calm myself down even when i'm going through the anxious stressful moments of my life that i can't let the anxiety get get more credit than the almighty come on come on stay with me please stay with me please and so i've got to make sure that despite whatever stress or strain or struggle i go through no matter the tumult or the trouble or the terror that i endure i've got to make sure that i don't flip out because i know who's in control what he says i have combed and quieted myself he says i i i have gotten to the point now after some seasons it didn't happen when i was a novice believer after some seasons i've gotten to the point where i have gone through enough to know that god's gonna pull me through okay okay i've gone through enough i've been through too much not to worship him i've gone through too much to to flip out on god just because i don't like this scene in my life did i mention that the contact's not clear but it is clear that he's on the other side of some peril some stress some some predicament and he says in the midst of it or going through it on the other side of it i've calmed myself down it really suggests for maj that he has been through something like this before really suggests that this ain't the first time he's had to deal with rough and rugged terrain this is not the first time where he had to meander through the maze of murky nests not being able to see clearly the path he was to tread and all of us all of us come here all of us who live the life of faith will have to grope in some darknesses wondering whether or not we're really going to make it to the other side and when we do after you deal with a season of sunshine come here you're going to break through some more darknesses some more seasons where you can't see your way clearly and when you get on the other side of it come here come here you have to grow through some more darknesses and some seasons that you can't really see your way clearly and you're gonna get on the other side of it you'll be on the mountain you'll be smiling brightly but you got to descend that mountain at some point and grope through some more darkness and it just makes sense to learn something through those experiences are you listening to me i said it makes sense if you got to go through it to learn something in the process of moving through it he is learning here that in the midst of it if if god brought me through that and then god brought me through that and then god brought me through that what makes me think that god ain't gonna bring me through this he's the same yesterday today and forever and my responsibility is not to be so stressed out and flip out so much and be so crazy and carrying on so badly that i can't calm myself quiet myself that you can't get a good night's sleep every night you need to calm yourself down there's some seasons you got to talk yourself off the ledge you got to tell yourself self get yourself together self stop acting like you don't know who god is self stop acting like god hasn't brought you through some things already i've calmed and quieted myself i brought myself down i brought myself down now you gotta hear it gotta hear it because he's gone through a whole lot of seasons of struggle and strain and he understands he doesn't deserve it he's already said i gotta humble myself because i don't deserve this if were with us in bible study last wednesday you heard me talk from uh look from second samuel chapter six at verse 21 when david brought the ark of the covenant back to the holy city of god and mccall despised him in our heart here's what david said he says it was the lord who looked over everybody else in the family and picked me how dare i not praise him the way he deserves to be praised and if that wasn't good enough turn over to chapter 7 at verse 18 and you'll find out that david asked the question when talking to god who am i that you would choose me that you would pick my family and bring us this far you got to hear that we don't even deserve it and if i know that you brought me to mountaintops why do i ever have the notion that you're not gonna take me through valleys did you hear what i just said i said if you know that god has given you these many mountains on which you can lift your hands and glorify him how dare you not believe he's going to take you through every valley for every valley you brought me over for every mountain you brought me over every valley you've seen me through for every blessing the song shell says hallelujah for this i give you praise david says i've calmed myself i've quieted myself i'm keeping myself together sometimes you have to participate hear me in your own deliverance uh bishop vasta mckenzie said that in this pulpit many years ago and i've been holding on to it ever since she said it she says wheeler avenue sometimes you've got to participate in your own deliverance you can't expect god to quiet you all the time you think of god's goodness and quiet yourself you can't expect god to level you out that's what that word in hebrew means to level you out give you balance and equilibrium sometimes you got to remember that some stuff is in your own control oh oh oh so you're asking how do i do that how does david do that i must suggest to you that david does it and we can do it through what he calls what i call consistent prayer oh it sounds so simple doesn't it consistent prayer but you must hear me when i tell you that every time david got ready to deal with one of those enemies every time david got ready to deal with those nations every time he got ready to go up and fight some battle he asked god shall i pursue them the bible says david inquired of the lord you want to know how you can maintain a peace and a calm and a tranquility in this life you keep on talking to your god and your god knows how to help you make it through with peace like a river flowing in your soul can i find somebody who still believes in the power of prayer and you believe that prayer still gives you a peace that ah the bible says i will keep him in perfect peace if he keeps his mind stayed on me i'll keep her in perfect peace if she keeps her mind i'll keep them in perfect peace if they keep their minds stayed on me thank you great god you can do this through consistent prayer but may i likewise push it i gotta tell you about king david he not only did it through consistent prayer he did it through persistent praise oh yeah he did it through persistent praise there was never a time that you didn't find david praising the lord if even if he was struggling if he was frustrated he made this determination i will bless the lord at all times help me briefly and his praise shall continually be in my mouth i need 10 or 12 people here in the sanctuary another 2000 around the world somewhere to help me praise god right where you are because you recognize that no matter what the scene of your life may be your god is still worthy of persistent praise persist you gotta persist persevere push through keep on pressing i know it hurts right now but keep on pressing i know it doesn't feel good right now but keep on persevering be persistent in your praise my soul shall make her boast in the lord the humble shall hear thereof and be glad now guys i guess i got some friends around here who will magnify the lord with me and let us exalt god's name together can i find 12 people in the sanctuary who'll help me magnify the lord glory glory glory glory glory glory glory glory glory yeah my friend you got to praise god when you don't feel like it ain't nobody in the scriptures ever told you praise god only when you feel like it sometimes you got to praise god and your heart is hurting sometimes you got to praise god and you're all by yourself sometimes you gotta praise god when everybody looks at you wondering how are you praising through what you're going through you've got to persist in praise and be consistent in prayer and be insistent despite the pressure come on come on cause david had to deal with some insistent insistent pressure the pressure was real the pressure wouldn't go away half the time but he had to keep on pressing and calming himself down despite the pressure oh child of god i cannot promise you a pressure free life if i did that i would be considered a false prophet and i refuse to be called a false prophet i'm going to stand here and tell you many are the afflictions of the righteous but i refuse to stop right there because the next part of the verse says but the lord delivers him out of them all i need 10 or 12 people who've had to deal with some anxiety some pressure some frustration some affliction to help me celebrate the fact that god is still god despite it all and i'm still gonna be calm i'm still gonna be cool i refuse to look like all the hell i'm going through i'm going through it holding my hands up testifying that god is still in complete control the bible says i've calmed myself i've quieted myself and i've learned how to be content there it is it's right there the bible says i'm like a winged child with his mother like a weaned child i am content somebody holler content i mean at your house holler content i like this because paul has already told us listen i had a thorn in my flesh it was the messenger of satan to buffet me and i prayed i was consistent in prayer three times i prayed take it away from me lord said my grace is sufficient for you my strength is made perfect in your weakness read second second corinthians chapter 12 until the next line says then i'm going glory in my inflictions i'm going to praise god despite my pain i'm going to celebrate god despite my suffering because when i'm weak then i am strong persistent praise but in another passage i believe it's in philippians he says listen here i've learned that in whatever state i'm in they're with me to be content i need 10 or 12 people who can help me praise god to know that everything you're going through is not just for you to be frustrated and agitated is for god to make you learn how to be content in his presence even when things around you are not going the way you planned i need somebody to help me celebrate that despite the pressure god is still powerful over every situation in my life and now i gotta close i now i'm like a winged child oh this is not like the infant who is screaming and hollering every time he or she gets hungry this is not like the infant who throws a temper tantrum when the towel doesn't get its way this bible says it's like a winged child a child who has grown up a little bit and has found comfort and security with her mother i'm a winged child with a mother it literally says that mama has already shown herself to always take care of me when i need her to take care of me so don't make no sense for me to flip out now when i get to this stage of my life ain't no need to act like a baby when i've grown up a little bit i said you don't need to keep acting like a baby when you claiming you've grown up in god i'm like a winged child i don't have to look to mama and grab on mama every time i need something because i know that mama knows what i need and mama's going to provide it because i've been watching mama it is in antiquity that we learned that a winged child is at least three years of age so by the time the child is three years of age the child has learned something about the parent that makes the child so comfortable and so secure and so at ease and so leveled that the child is calm and quieted and content child of god i hope that's you today i hope you've grown up in god so much that no matter how much pressure you have to endure you can testify now i am content with the creator who keeps on doing great things imma close a little message we've almost been in church longer than we should have but may i give you one last thing and i'll close my message is there anybody in here who can help me celebrate the fact that in the midst of purposeful humility and personal responsibility comes what i call perennial intentionality okay big old five dollar word at the end of the message perennial intentionality it's in verse three and i hope you still have your bible app open because it says israel put your hope in the lord both now and forevermore what that's all that's all yep that's it israel put your hope in the lord both now and forevermore no let me try it again uh israel people of god chosen ones of god those on your way to the house of god put your hope in god both now and forevermore i know you've been through some ugly scenes i know circumstances weren't the way you wanted them to be but i want you to intentionally put your hope in god not just today not just until we get to november but forevermore every single day of your life i want you to trust in god so much that nobody can shake you from this intentional confidence that you have in your creator i want you to trust god so much that even if nobody else applauds you or approves of you you still say for god i live and for god i die i wonder if there's anybody listening to me anywhere around this world who can help me close this message and say i intentionally choose to trust in god i intentionally choose to believe that god's word is true i intentionally choose to believe that every day i wake up brand new mercies i'm going to see which are going to lead me to brand new praise of the god who keeps on providing and somebody on this sunday ought to help me close this message and begin to testify i'm so glad that i'm a part of the chosen people of god because the chosen people of god can trust god even when we can't trace god now charles spurgeon says this is one of the shortest psalms in the psalter it's one of the shortest psalms to read but it's one of the longest psalms to learn it doesn't you don't catch this overnight you don't just run up on this thing but after some seasons of toil and turmoil after some seasons of stress and strain and once you've seen what god is able to do and seen how god is able to provide you don't doubt him any longer you trust him with everything that is within you you sang it last sunday at the top of the message and i wonder if you still got the same song on your heart i will trust in the lord until i die is there anybody who still believes he's a trustworthy god that word says hope it literally means to expectantly wait on god y'all call in the hebrew it is it means that you sit there not twiddling your thumbs not scratching your head but looking for the opportunity that god is going to show up and prove himself faithful oh child of god since march of 2020 we've been sitting around wondering when god was going to do what we needed god to do in march and april and may we had no idea it was going to go this long in in in june and july and august and september we had to fix ourselves that we were in a new abnormal and we had to steady ourselves in the midst of the unbalance of our times but i'm so grateful that as we move through october and november december we started believing that no matter how bad it got god was helping us to reimagine our future that we were going to come back greater and everything was going to be all right when we got to january and february march april and may we started feeling something we started believing that things were getting better and we were on our way back to church we had some setbacks we had to stumble even had to crawl a little ways but aren't you glad on this sunday that god has still been good to us and in the midst of august and september october november and even into now we have the opportunity to celebrate that if it had not been for the lord who was on our side we wouldn't be where we are right now so all through 2020 the lord kept us all through 2021 up until the fourth sunday of september god has kept us so what makes you think that even if we have some stumblings even if you have some setbacks he's not going to keep you in days to come somebody ought to help me celebrate the god who is still trustworthy who is still dependable who is still faithful to a thousand generations i don't know why he does it the way he does it but i'm so glad he proves himself to be god all by himself and somebody ought to thank god that your god is still making ways that your god is still opening doors that god is still providing that's why i named this sermon the way i did because if you know the history of the hymn you know the hymn writer had to deal with devastation he had to deal with death of loved ones he had to deal with being shipwrecked but in the midst of all of his frustration he wrote these words when peace like a river attended my way when sorrows like see pillows roll listen whatever my lot thou has taught me to say it is well it is well with my soul can i find somebody who'll throw up both your hands and say it is well with my soul i didn't like the whole thing i wasn't pleased with every part of the story but on this sunday i've got to testify [Music] somebody ought to give god praise because you trust him vote now and forevermore we'll have a new thing we gotta trust him both now and forevermore worldwide following fans family all around the world we've got to trust him both now and forevermore if you call yourself a believer you've got to trust him voting now and forevermore i hear you saying now unto him who is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before his presence with exceeding great joy to the only wise god our savior be glory majesty dominion and power for now and forevermore and if you love him like i love him will you help me praise him for now and forevermore if he blessed you like he's blessed me will you help me praise him for now and forevermore if he's open doors for you like he's opening doors for me will you help me glorify him both now and forevermore if he'd walk with you through some dangerous situations i need you to praise him for now [Music] and forevermore so somebody knows he worthy both now and forevermore ain't he worthy i said ain't he worthy i said he's worthy both now and forever amen amen amen [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] though satan should buff it though trials should come let this blessed assurance control is the second verse that christ has regarded my helpless estate and has shed his own blood for my soul oh hear me today child of god you want to live to get to the point where you can say it is well [Music] with my soul [Music] it is well it is well with my soul [Music] hmm [Music] play it again lee play it again play it again let the sanctuary choice it is well [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] now i'm all right now [Music] sing it all around the world take it wherever you are is will you clap your hands and celebrate the god who makes it well hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah [Music] come on the praise goes right there [Music] come on come on [Music] yes lord yes know i'm all right now [Music] and all of the people said hallelujah all of the people said amen amen amen amen praise the name of the lord our god what a blessing what a blessing i thank god for the word of god it calms me down run on reverend run on you can run around the church it's all right it calms me down it quiets my spirit it gives me content a content that nobody else can give me and i celebrate with you now listen whenever anybody gets happy in church we're supposed to magnify the lord with that person we got somebody running around the church now she's celebrating god we just ought to praise god with her we just can't let this be the conclusion of the praise service come on let everything that have breath praise the lord come on just for a little while we got a little time we got one or two minutes come on praise the lord he's worthy he's worthy celebrate the lord sir celebrate the lord celebrate the lord [Music] celebrate him on the instruments celebrate him on the instrument celebrate the lord with everything within you yes yes you don't know the story of these saints then through some dark valleys [Music] then do some visual circumstances but the lord brought him through [Music] it is well [Music] yes lord yes lord hallelujah hallelujah as we as we come to the conclusion of worship today i thank god that god keeps revealing himself to us and revealing his will revealing his way we don't always understand it i'll admit it i don't always understand it but i keep on hearing the words of god saying my ways are not your ways my thoughts are not your thoughts my ways and thoughts are higher than your thoughts as high as the heaven is above the earth so my ways and thoughts above yours says the lord i trust that i put my hope in him both now and forevermore i expectantly wait for him expectantly trust in him expected that word is expected you hear that with expectation i expectantly believe that god is up to something in our lives and while we're trying to figure it out god has already worked it out we're not smart enough we're not wise enough we're not experienced enough to think we can out guard god we just let god be god and we trust him in every season of our lives listen if you want to be a part of the family of faith that exists worldwide i want you to email us at new members ministry wheelerbc.org and let us commit you connect you to the family of faith that is worldwide that means you're saved by the blood of the lord jesus christ you have a relationship with him that cannot be taken away if you need that relationship i invite you to email us at that address that you see on the screen just now if you want to be a part of the family of wheeler avenue baptist church we will wherever we'd love to claim you as a part of our family of faith and fellowship we'd love to have you as our sister our brother in the lord's church that is named wheeler avenue baptist i'd love to be your pastor these men and women around here would love to serve as your family and faith and fellowship these children that are part of our church would love to be a part of your family of faith as well and i invite you to be a part of us as you're led by the holy spirit of god and email us at new members ministry at wheelerbc.org and we'll engraft you into the family of wheeler avenue baptist church we're excited about what's about to take place in the life of our church something we've never seen before but every now and then your faith needs a fight that has no frame of reference and i'm so glad that the lord knows how to provide just what we need so we can trust him hope in him both now and forevermore we're leaving from this sacred space now this virtual space has given to us the opportunity to honor the lord and i'm going to ask that as you move throughout this next week that you'll be consistent in prayer that you'll be persistent in praise and that you'll in spite of the insistent pressure you have put your hope in god both now and forever and all of god's people said amen come on let's praise god from whom all blessings flow [Music] praise him all creatures here below praise and praises raise them above the heavenly hosts praise father son and holy ghost and now may the lord our god bless you and keep you may the lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you may the lord live to the light of his countenance upon you and give you his peace and you're going out and you're coming in in your labor and in your leisure in your joy as well as your sorrow in your loved one likewise in your tears until that day when we meet the lord face to face and cry holy holy holy to the lord of hosts until that day my brothers my sisters go in peace go in love go enjoy and may the very god of peace love and joy go with you now and forevermore in jesus name as we all sing together with uplifted voices oh man come on everybody all around the world sing with us amen let the church sing amen ah [Music] amen god bless you go in peace and have a great week church family i'm andre khan jr and it's time for your avenue news it's time for bible study that's right grab your bible and catch us on the website facebook youtube or our app this wednesday at 12 noon and at 7 p.m as we're led in a powerful time of study with pastor cosby in his series entitled songs of ascents in romans 8 37 paul reminds believers that in all things we are more than conquerors through christ jesus who loves us so why is it sometimes we feel completely overwhelmed and defeated we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the dark powers of this world and spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms we already have the victory through christ and must learn how to use the weapons to demonstrate that the battle has already been won in this class more than conquerors through christ strategies for victorious spiritual warfare you could learn how to live victorious amid all kinds of spiritual battles satan's lies will be exposed to empower you to stand with all confidence as an overcomer you will walk away more prepared to engage in victorious spiritual warfare because you are more than a conqueror registration is required so don't wait from 6 30 until 7 45 pm nightly look for the registration link on our website or email reverend dr lakisha barnett minister of young adults and prayer at l barnett wheelerbc.org because of the demand we are offering a second untangling relationships group there are already people waiting for the second group to start will you join them do you constantly find yourself in relationships where you feel you must rescue and control others do these relationships cause intense hurt anger guilt or loneliness if so you may be codependent the wheeler avenue recovery ministry presents untangling relationships a 12-week support group that has a christian perspective on escaping codependency learn what causes a person to become codependent why codependency creates tangled relationships and learn new ways to help and understand people who live and work with unhealthy attachments learn biblical guidance that shows codependence how they with god's help can break free of destructive patterns join us tuesday october 5th at 6 30 pm on zoom for the first week of support group register now on the church website or for more information email the ministry at recovery wheelerbc.org [Music] parents do you have a child away at college we value our college students as a part of our church family and we want to stay in touch with them we want to be abreast of their advancement as we keep them aware of what's going on here at wabc register to be a part of our college connection program students will receive communications and care packages that we hope will encourage them while they are away and let them know that their wabc family is praying for their spiritual growth as well as their educational success our next care package will ship in october we need your student's name phone number college or university name and their college mailing address please email that information to deakin mamie white at my wabc gmail.com you can also contact reverend richard boone the minister to youth and college students at rboom wheelerbc.org for more information on how your college student can stay connected if they are attending college in the houston area the children's ministry is looking for more volunteers to join our virtual team there are opportunities to share god's word with our children in awana bible study as well as our children's sunday school classes if you're gifted in working with children and would like to share those gifts with the children of wheeler avenue please contact sister kim washington at kwashington wheelerbc.org [Music] welcome to the brand new media site for wheeler avenue baptist church where you will be able to access all of our weekly live streams along with years worth of worship experiences and other programs to access the site go to www.wheelerbc.media once you're on the homepage you can create a free account by clicking subscribe now you may also download the mobile apps for iphone and android by clicking on their respective icons at the bottom of the screen or by searching wabc media in the app store once you've created your free account click join and all of our online content will be made available to you after you've logged in you will see everything from worship services to black history month programs and more all of our content is separated into categories and can be seen by scrolling up and down the page once you arrive to the category of your choice you are able to scroll and swipe left or right to view the available content in that section if you are looking for a specific moment from a worship service all you have to do is click on the video and you will be able to choose between individual songs from the service sermon only hard of hearing which includes sign language interpretation throughout the duration of the service and as always the full services are available as well when searching for a particular video users can click the search button at the top of the page and type the name of a person song sermon or date [Music] if you are logged in you are able to enjoy additional features such as continue watching this allows viewers to pick up where they left off without having to start over each time there's an interruption you can also add content to your list by hovering over the video and clicking add to my list doing this will put all of the videos that the user wishes to view in one spot so that they can go back and watch at a later time [Music] make sure you participate in this exciting new way to stay connected and experience jesus christ from anywhere in the world once again download our app wabc media visit our website create an account and worship with us as we continue to be wheeler [Music] wherever there's so much taking place and we hope that you stay connected for more information join us on flocknow facebook instagram or twitter i'm andre khan jr and this has been your avenue news and remember we are wheeler wherever

Channel: Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church

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Length: 114min 29sec (6869 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021