9:30AM Sunday

good morning and welcome to rock springs church i'm amy varner the communications director here at rock springs church and i'm here this morning with miss kathy how are you doing today good morning wonderful how are you doing i'm doing great i've woken up a little bit more since last service i was yeah i was struggling mornings are hard sometimes without coffee so this is tessa's mom for those of you that don't know tess is not here today so we're going to try to do our best absolutely try to live up to the standard here tess if you're watching hey we love you we miss you for everyone else we would love for you to go ahead and click share if you haven't already done that we've we've had people watching from all over the united states already this morning asked people in the chat um at the eight o'clock service to go ahead and comment where are you watching from so we had people from texas we had people from massachusetts we have people from all over so we love to hear where you're watching from so go ahead if you're watching us online go ahead and comment where you're watching from we would love to know and speaking of people from all over the world so last sunday we had 29 people who prayed that prayer just in our online campus so your share is making a difference it's making heaven bigger by caring better which is our vision statement here at rock springs church if you're in one of our physical locations today stop by the bookstore because we have three new vision shirts yes very excited about this so you can grab those they're all ten dollars a piece or you can grab some other items of merch as well we have some here we've got bumper stickers we've got these kind of stickers we've got some keychains okay so be sure to stop by the store before you leave today and click share if you haven't already because that's making heaven bigger by caring better we're excited about church today and all that's coming up absolutely we have so many great things coming up this fall it's wonderful hey ladies one of the ways that you can share is by grabbing a friend coming friday night to the ladies glow fitness party we promise we won't make you sweat but you might glow we'll give them a glow stick too so anyway lots of fun no child care provided but we we're going to have prizes we're going to have raffles we're going to have food fellowship lots of fun so grab a friend come be with us friday night seven o'clock at the rec center i'm really excited about this we've been talking about this for weeks and so it's actually finally here i can't believe it's already october too i know and this event is free by the way but do come prepared if you're able to make a donation we're going to take a donation for childhood cancer patients so keep that in mind awesome that's awesome it's a great thing so yeah this friday ladies be there ladies fitness glow party that's a mouthful um okay also next sunday not this sunday but next sunday is a big day here at rock springs church for sure one of the reasons why it's a big day is we're having our choir concert at the cross yes that night at 6 00 p.m this is very exciting we've never done this before the weather is great it's perfect time for us to be outside worship together this is for the whole family we're gonna have lawn activities at 4 30 so for the first 200 there's going to be free food but pack a picnic pack a blanket pack some chairs bring the favorite get there early right at 4 30 that's when all the activities start so we would love for you and your family to come and be a part of it that's right here at our original campus in milner up at the cross this is going to be a really really beautiful night so we would love for you to be a part of it and then at the very end of that we're going to be baptizing so it's going to be a really sweet time it is a beautiful experience to be baptized at the cross it is and so i encourage everybody to sign up for that if you're going to follow the lord and believers baptism but also we will be having baptism here in the sanctuary as well and i think at all the other campuses that day as well so sign up at rocksprings.info or here in the lobby if you're here on the campus also we're having baby dedications next week and we love you we love your babies and we love seeing them being dedicated to the lord and have parents dedicating themselves to the lord and to bringing their children up in god's love and in his plan for their life so really sign up for that we look forward to having you there yep so next sunday is a big week because we have a lot a lot of fun things going on um you've heard us talk about this and we are so excited pastor benny's book defy the odds is releasing soon okay november 7th we're getting we're getting down to the countdown for this and we are so excited the rock springs family is going to have early access to it and special pricing so you guys are going to have access to it november 7th when it releases you can pre-order it now at dtobook.com we've already sold almost 300 copies of them that's great so listen we want you to pre-order your copy you can either have it shipped to you or you can come that day on november 7th you can pick yours up every sunday following that you can just make your order through dtobook.com pick yours up here in the lobby you just skip the line you get on in a different area and you just tell them your name and you can pick up your order it's so so easy and we're very excited about this because this is pastor benny's first published book it's the untold stories of how god has just moved and worked in his life and i'm just so excited about it so join us november 7th we're going to be launching his book we're going to be celebrating his birthday it's going to be a great day and then tomorrow night at new heights baptist church in noonan at 6 30 pastor bit he's going to be speaking there as well we'd love for you to be a part of that too i know those folks are really excited and defying the odds is something that i am so excited to get a copy of pastor benny has done a great job along with um his co-writer that's right we've just really excited about that one thing i'd like to invite you to is if you're a volunteer please plan to rsvp and join us on friday night october the 8th we couldn't do it without you and we want to love on you and tell you how much we appreciate that so come let us do that for you and be a part of that also 11 o'clock sunday school started so if you're not plugged in 11 o'clock sunday school is available again if you haven't already clicked share do that now download the church app let's go ahead and get started well good morning welcome to rock springs church we invite you to stand across the house today we welcome our online family as well thank you so much for choosing to worship with us and that's why we're here folks to lift our voices in our hearts and worship to him come on let's welcome him here we're searching for we want you and nothing more let your glory fill this place we're alive in your presence it's your heart we're searching for cause we want you [Music] we're alive in your presence [Music] do what you want what do you want [Music] to do [Music] [Music] [Music] in our hearts in our lives [Music] oh oh [Music] see [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] jesus christ is the reason that we sing today [Music] and there's a reason i can see there's a reason for this life inside me one name above all days [Music] there's a reason for this home and there's a reason for this peace inside me a one worthy of all praise jesus yes [Music] i will raise my voice you're the reason i am [Music] for the goodness of your grace [Music] i will raise my voice you're the reason i lived [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] but when my time on earth is through [Music] when my final breath has left these lungs i'll forever be with you where the song goes on [Music] i today [Music] you're the reason i see [Music] there's nothing worth more that could ever come close nothing can compare you're [Music] i've tasted and [Music] where my heart becomes free and my shape is [Music] with your worship [Music] your glory god is [Music] there's nothing worth i could ever come [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] your presence [Music] [Music] let us experience the glory of your goodness let us [Music] let us [Music] let us [Music] [Applause] [Applause] this holy spirit [Music] too praise the lord you may be seated and certainly that's what we want more than anything else is the presence of god thank you so much for being in our worship service today if you're worshiping with us online thank you for being faithful to share i know it's redundant and things get redundant i always say be faithful to share but like last week 29 people online prayed to receive christ his personal savior so you never can tell your your sharing may be what made the difference in somebody's eternal destination so thank you for being faithful to do that at this time during the service we place an emphasis on giving because giving is a part of worship just as we preach and just as we we sing and just as we pray giving is a part of worship and so we worship the lord with our giving the bible says when those wise men came to jesus whether there was three or three hundred i don't know but it says they presented him gifts and worshipped him so it's just not a a lapse in the service it is worship when we give to the lord you can text to give download the church app to give mail your gift in always stress folks i'm always preaching somewhere tomorrow night i'm in noonan georgia at church and we have people that watch us from all over and i always say if you go somewhere else to church give to your church ask you not to give to us but be sure and give to your church if you're in one of our campuses as you leave there'll be ushers at the door and you can worship the lord with giving let's stand to her feet let's stand what up hey listen what a good looking group of people what a good we had an ugly group here last week but what a good looking group of people i am so thrilled that you're here today and we're having a great service and folks today is going to be a great day today's going to be a great day i say i'll say i say today it's going to be a great day you say pastor benny how do you know that you're going to have a great day today because i made up my mind many years ago that i was going to have a great day today i made up my mind many years ago that i was going to have a great day today and you can too amen did you know the bible says this if you said pastor benny i'd like for god to be close to me you'd like for god to be close to you how many would like that how many would like that hey sure sure sure sure well listen the bible says in psalms 22 and 3 he inhabits the praises of his people so if we'll get our mind off what we're going to do after service if we'll get our mind off what sally's wearing if we'll get our mind off this and that and we'll get our mind upon him and we'll worship him he'll inhabit our praises because he said he would he said he wants to meet with us do you realize this folks the bible says that even when you pray listen to this he inclines his ear unto you when you pray he inclines his ear unto you what does that mean that means he leans in he leans in when you pray he leans in tell me god doesn't want to have a relationship with you god wants to be near and dear in your life and that's why when we praise him his presence comes so let's just get our mind up on him amen let's just get let's get our mind up on him uh yesterday listen somebody said there was a lot going on yeah there was a lot going on they had a football games and people going wild which is fine and they had political rallies people going wild that's okay folks i don't want to get more excited about any of that stuff than i get about jesus than i get about jesus say man that i get about jesus and what he's done in my life all right let's pray jesus bless the gift and the giver and we pray this in christ's name amen he invites you to continue to worship with us this morning [Music] i remember who i was i was [Music] the breach was far too wide [Music] the great divide left behind heaven's throne to build it here inside and there have them crossed you pay the debt i own broke my chest you freed my soul for the first time thank you jesus [Music] it has washed me wild thank you jesus you have saved my life you brought me from the darkness into glorious [Music] [Music] laid inside my too much [Music] thank you [Music] thank [Music] you you jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] love [Music] uh [Music] huh [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] hello [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] i know [Music] [Applause] amen thank you [Applause] [Music] [Music] thank you so very much we're delighted that you're worshiping with us today next sunday is going to be a tremendous day at rock springs church in every service will be dedicating children and every service will be baptizing so get your children signed up we'll be baptizing and then uh in the afternoon we're going to have a big service at the cross and we'll have music and games and fun the choir sing and we'll baptize i have been uh preaching for almost 40 years almost 40 years one of the most moving things i've ever experienced is to bring somebody up out of the baptismal pool and when i come up with them the first thing we see is the cross the first thing we see it's it's a wonderful experience today is what a special day what a special day today dr tommy barnett is with us dr tommy barnett good listen i was just reading about him he's the chancellor of a university literally the the founder of the dream centers and there's 260 of those i think across the nation now pastors church of attendance of 30 000 people he's up he travels the world the the the largest church in the world is paul youngy chol in seoul korea they recently contacted and asked would brother tommy come and preach the funeral he's joyce meyer's pastor folks here's what's amazing i'm thinking about i've been doing it all these years he has been preaching almost 70 years hey come on he's been preaching almost 70 years he's an author i could talk 15 more minutes but folks greatness a legend is among us would you make welcome one of america and the world's greatest tommy barnett [Applause] a good clap often you can do better come on amen now before you seated turn to the one beside you and say you look like you've lost more weight come on tell them that right now and they will feel a lot better you may be seated now don't you feel better now amen what a joy it is to be at this great church with you great people i literally am speechless when i see what the lord has done here seven years ago i was here and i was blown away but since i was here seven years good night i mean praise the lord you folks have god has used you and this great pastor to do something great for the kingdom of god i am so proud of you i i am so there is no place like this in all of the world and if you get used to it god will give it to somebody else so don't ever get used to what the lord is doing here and by the way it it just it's just a thrill to be here and i just want to thank every one of you for your kindness just real quickly before you leave i've got a book that just came out it is the my biography of my life i've had a lot of books but no book has come close to blessing people like this one this is our life story and i think it's going to bless you i'll tell you the other day i got a call from john maxwell about nine o'clock one night getting ready to go to bed and he said pastor i don't read books i read about the first chapter and that's about it but he said i started reading your book i never laid it down i read it to the very end and he would not get off the phone talking now i won't tell you one thing that's pretty good endorsement from john maxwell he sold more books than anybody except joyce meyer amen i'm her best she's got everybody beat i somebody said how's it to be joyce meyer pastor i have the hardest time keeping that woman in line i want you to know that but it is so great to be here but i want you to forgive me if i'm just a little sentimental this morning i recently turned i will turn next week 84 years of age i've been preaching the gospel now for 69 years that's i figured out over 30 000 messages i preached in my lifetime i've been married to the same old gal for 58 years i'd i'd rather fight than switch amen i've had the privilege of traveling the world i've got about six million miles right now just on american airlines so there's a lot of miles on the guy that's speaking to you today have you ever heard somebody say well i'm a self-made man well when you look at tommy barnett you're not looking at a self-made man when you look at this preacher you're looking at somebody that has been influenced by many different men you're looking at a little bit of dr oil roberts you know he used to come every year to visit me in in phoenix during the daytime he came for a week during the daytime we did something very spiritual we played golf at night time we would get into the word when you look at tommy barnett you see a little bit of dr oil roberts because he taught me such principles as seed phase soul and receive when you see tommy barnett you see a little bit of dr cho who had his funeral last week and i couldn't be there so i made a video to send dr taught me the power of building a great church like this that church would influence the neighborhood and the city the bigger and the more powerful that it got you see when you see tommy barnett you see a little bit of dr cho when you see tommy barnett you see a little bit of herself barnett he was my father he taught me things that nobody else could teach and so this morning i am not going to preach you a sermon i have learned when you get my age that would be better people prefer an impartation i'm going to give you one of the simplest little message you ever heard in your life first time i preached it was for jensen franklin at his conference and he begged me to preach it again a few years later he said the people need to hear it and then i was invited to speak later at t.d jack's church and t.d jake said i tried to preach this message but you have to be older to preach it amen so he felt like he had failed in that effort who imagined him failing but today i have something that i believe that god wants you to hear and i don't think pastor that i've ever been to a church at the end of the service that i had more people say pastor this is for me thank me and by the way if you come by the and get the book i'd love to sign it for you and i'd love to give you a hug now if you're not a hugger buy the book and run cause i'm gonna tackle you right out there and hug you and galatians chapter 6 and verse 9. hey how many of you women would like to someday take the dishes from the cabinet and just start throwing them against the wall i mean grab the drapes and yank them down pour sand down the sink drown the husband in the bathtub take that old remote control that he watches football all day and throw that thing out the window and never make a bed as long as you live and all the ladies said men while driving to work how many have ever said i think i'll just keep on driving and on the way i think i'll stop by the office and just poke the dog the boss in the nose send a note to your wife and say get you another one trade your wife for a good old bird dog and just hunt and fish and play golf the rest of your life never may work again never shave and all the men said see they're afraid ladies to say it they're not as brave as you we got pastors here pastors have you ever wanted to shoot the sound man that's a word right there amen have you ever wanted it i want look here see what i mean amen have you ever wanted to trip the music director as he walks across the platform turn up the air conditioning as high as you can and just let the little grandmas complain just get up and say you can have this whole mess get yourself a bird dog and just hunt and fish and have a good time never work again never shave the scripture refers to this in galatians chapter 6 and verse 9 let us not go weary in well-doing for in due season you shall reap if you faint not you see if you've ever wanted to quit you're in good company the list of those who wanted to quit reads like the history of the hall of heroes jeremiah wanted to quit matter of fact he didn't quit for a while got himself a little cabin by the side of a river but he made a mistake he began to read the word of god and the bible said that a fire began to burn within his soul abraham who was called the friend of god depression came recession came and he wanted to quit peter the man who walked on water peter when jesus was being crucified took out the sword to defend him that saint peter denied the faith the night the lord denied the church even cursed god in wanted to quit martin luther the great preacher of the reformation crawling up saint peter's cathedral quoting the just shall live by faith and they said we shall kill you if you continue to preach that way and he said i shall not recount and yet he confessed he had bouts of depression that made him want to quit john the baptist who the bible said only jesus was greater than john the baptist but john the baptist in prison ready to be headed sent a runner at a moment of discouragement to be sure that jesus was the son of god and then there's the great charles spurgeon the prince of great preachers at the age of 18 bill the greatest church in all of england without a high school education had great bouts of depression and died a depressed man at the age of 54. winston churchill who missed the battle while germany was bombing england the man who said never turn back never turn back and yet in his biography he wrote he had many hours in his life of deep dark depression in fact all of the great men and women that i have ever known at one time have confessed to me that they considered quitting needless to say i am not a great man but i too have had moments that i've wanted to quit and so have you and so is anybody that's done anything great for god they've had that moment in their life and so today i want to make four statements about quitting that could change your life are you ready statement number one wanting to quit is a sign of success because successful people are the only one that can quit because they got something to quit isn't that brilliant amen i went into a place to speak one day here as they drove me to the venue that i would be speaking we came across a great place you could tell that a developer had started a bill a great community of houses and there were foundations all over the place but perhaps he had run out of money for some reason he never finished but if you looked in one corner a house had been built and burnt to the ground and i decided i'd rather be the house that was built and burned than the house that was never built in the first place you see one had served its purpose for a while at least the other had never served the purpose for which it was to be built and by the way i have more respect for a person who fails but tries than a person who never tried in the first place so number one wanting to quit is a sign of success number two the more you have to quit the more you want to quit the higher that you go the more frightening it becomes and the more that you want to quit the higher you go the lonelier it becomes the more dangerous and the colder that it becomes the more riskier becomes the greater this church comes the lonelier the pastor of this church will become that's just the way it works i want you for a minute just to have a little sympathy for me how many are trying to sympathize you do not look very sympathetic i'll tell you right now but i preach someplace every single almost week and this week i'll preach in a different city every day i leave here i'll go home and then i'll go to l.a and speak at the beverly hilton hotel for a fundraiser for the dream center i'll catch the plane the next day fly to vegas and drive two hours to colorado city where we've taken over the old place where jeff was jeff anyway he was a pornographer of colorado city that is now imprisoned for life for trafficking young girls and by the way one of the girls escaped there he had 85 wives some of them are you listening we're 12 and 13 years of age he was a trafficker well this girl escaped went to phoenix heard about the dream center came and got saved and when they took all of his ownings and they divided it among his 85 wives they gave her his compound with 85 rooms in it and we took it and we now have 85 human trafficking girls at that place it's come on give the lord a good clap offering we took away from the devil and made it for good oh and by the way the dream center now is the largest place for rescuing human trafficking girls in america and will soon be the largest in the world we have over 250 beds for girls that are coming out of human trafficking and we're building more come on give the lord a good time thank god but i have to raise money for all of this literally my friends my life is strictly preaching and whatever comes in it takes a million dollars a month just to run the one dream center in l.a then i'm over many ministries come to southeastern university the chancellor and i'm always representing him i could go on and on and on and on the point i'm trying to make is that it becomes more riskier and the more you have the more you want to quit number three you can and this is my favorite one it's so good i shouldn't give it to you i should just keep it for myself i think i will keep it for myself today how many like to hear it okay you can enjoy the luxury of wanting to quit if you know you're not going to quit well pastor barnett how in the world do you know if you're not going to quit because i never quit i have in my billfold here an american express card i've had it since 1962. yeah i may be one of the longest holder of the american express card and you have to pay a bill every month therefore i have good credit i can borrow money because i've paid my bills so consequently if i have never quit and i know what my record is therefore it doesn't bother me if i know i'm not going to quit so i can say to myself i'd like to quit without worrying because i know i'm not going to quit in that good amen so you can have the luxury of wanting to quit if you know deep in your heart you're not going to quit because you're not a quitter now i wanted to quit i wanted to quit the first church i pastored in davenport iowa i had 76 of the meanest christians you've ever seen in that church just to get enough inspiration to preach i would have to quote that scripture be not dismayed by their faces when i was 60 years of age i ran from phoenix to l.a 436 miles lost all my toe nails my feet swelled up to be twelves and a half i developed phlebitis in my legs i'd wake up at six o'clock in the morning and to go out and run by the way i averaged a marathon a day for 19 days think of that and i would wake up and i you'll say pastor what kept you going i know what kept you going pastor it was your love for all those little children in l.a now can i be honest with you at six o'clock in the morning when that alarm came out and every bone in my body was aching i didn't care if every kid in l.a went to the booger man i did not care amen what kept you going it was not the burden the burden will come and go but what kept me going was the call of god and that will be there when the burden has long gone past every feel i quitting every monday morning after preaching three times on a sunday morning i wake up and say i think i'm going to resign but just before i quit i'm gonna have a cup of coffee sometime i have to have two cups of coffee thank god coffee has kept me in the ministry amen until the anointing kicks in we've got coffee and by the way i need one between services amen pastor have you ever felt like quitting your wife no no i feel like killing her but never quitting her i'm a killer not a quitter that's what i am but i have cut the word quit literally out of my dictionary literally if you get any of my dictionaries it is cut out so here's the question pastor how do you keep from quitting let me give you four things real quick first of all you've got to burn the bridges behind you if you get saved you got to get rid of that old life get rid of that old habit burn the britches behind you number two how do you keep from quitting don't tell anybody that you want to quit when you want to quit because they might take you up on it or you'll say pastor if if they know how burdened i am they'll rally around me oh no even rats desert a sinking ship you can tell them after the fact that you wanted to quit but don't tell them you want to quit when you want to quit number three don't expose yourself to what you don't want to be because you will be in a the next 10 years one of three things you'll be the product of who you hang out with be careful or number two the places you travel or number three the books you read that's why you need to be in the word of god every single day and number four you gotta lock yourself in so you will not quit a few years ago my wife and i went to l.a we have a little place over there and because i'm at the dream center all the time and so we went to l.a and i picked up the paper and read that the sons basketball team were playing the lakers now if you don't know who the sons basketball team are they're god's team sons sons of god amen and if you don't know who the lakers are they are the team from down under and i'm not talking about australia either i said to my wife we're going to go to the basketball game tonight oh no she said we're going shopping no i said honey we're going to the basketball game tonight she said no we're we're going shopping so being the man that i am i put my foot down i said tonight we're going to the basketball game she said no tonight we are going shopping we went abraham lincoln said that he wanted to paint his house brown and his wife wanted to paint it green so they compromised and they painted it yes you men know about that don't you we went shopping why i told her my mind is made up but she told me her heart was fixed and by the way my heart is fixed i'm not going to quit i'm not going to turn back i might feel like it but like david he said my heart is fixed and so is mine every week we have a staff meeting we have something for them to sign and fill out how many calls they made how people they won the christ what new project on and on but at the very bottom of it it reads this way it reads great men and women are just ordinary men and women who would not quit i close with an illustration on my 30th anniversary at our church they wanted to do something very very special and they heard me say one time that well someday i'd like to take that concord jet all the way to england so they presented me and my wife a ticket on the concord jet all the way to england got there in about two and a half hours kind of bothered me because it was a one-way ticket you know i didn't know if they was trying to tell me something but so we had a wonderful trip and coming back they want to do something special for us at la so they picked us up in this limousine this big black long living scene and they i said where are we going they said don't ask any questions we got on the helicopter and it started out across the tropos of l.a and soon out in the blue pacific and soon he flew over catalina island landed there was another little zimbabwean you took us around for a lunch and then back on the plane but when we hit the coast this time in the beach it banked and went up to santa monica banked again and flew over beverly hills the lady flying the helicopter said if you look down there there's liberace's compound wow there's quite a place we flew a little further and she said steven spielberg this is his the great movie maker his we feel a little further and so that's the playboy mansion of course i closed my eyes like this and then they banked and hovered right in front of the hollywood sign after just a little while it banks again and flew between all the big buildings down in l.a and london because we're downtown on the queen of angels hospital which is now the dream center quickly they put us in that black black limousine whiskey's home told us they'd pick us up that night at 6 30. at 6 30 we went to the dream center for the service but when we arrived they parked two blocks away and i said why why don't you let us out and they said the crowd is so big that we have to park here i found out the real reason when i turned the corner because for two blocks there was a red carpet and on each side was lined with people from the dream center the first group are those big men that came out of prison i mean their arm is as big as my thighs and i visit them every week i'd go by and see them and i'd hit them on the arm if they head back i i said dude don't touch the anointed amen thank god tears are streaming down their cheeks pastor we love you thank you pastor they were jumping up down cheering it sounded like it was a football game as a massive crowd was behind this group we walked a little further and there were the women that we found in the streets many of them prostitutes that we picked up in the middle of the night because every friday night we go out armed only with roses and we find these little girls that are broken they're tired they're wore out they've been sold by traffickers and we'd pick them up and take them to the dreams there they show up most the time with no teeth either knocked out by wicked men our drugs have eaten away their teeth but we love them and we give them pearly white teeth and those same women who would not look up at you now there's a gleam and a smile up on their face saved by the power of god there's those women weeping crying pastor we love you we love you and i look at my wife and she's weeping too as we walk through i go a little further and there's the kids the kids that they kind of blow up a school you know they either going to be sent to the reform school or they give them a choice you can go to the dream center and when they come in they're very hostile they're very mean but we just love them they find jesus christ and now they're lined up there we love you preacher we love you we walk into the dream center you have to know the dreams that was built by the famous amy mcpherson years ago it has two balconies in it magnificent structure seats thousands of people and that's where we have church that's our building as i walked in that building it has two balconies and they're both full thousands of people just screaming top of the voice we love you we love you we love you cheering we got signs thank you preacher we love you keep going so forth and so on and i looked over at my wife mascara was pouring down her face she looked like the grapes of wrath i mean it was pitiful and as i looked at her and looked at this crowd my mind went back to palo alto as a young preacher my uncle had been killed in a train crash and they asked me to come for three months and help the church out my aunt was trying to just hold on to it to keep it going i was preaching one night when the most beautiful girl i'd ever seen in my life popped in the back door later found out she was a swedish ran for miss universe and she came that day boy did i preach hard that night amen i preached to one woman that night and when i gave the altar call here she came down the aisle and i feel led to pray with her amen yes sir amen you say but was it the flesh or the spirit maybe a little both i don't know amen i stayed for three months and [Music] i knew she was the one at the end of three months i said honey forget she was going to fly for scandinavian airlines and stewardess and i said forget scandinavian and come fly with me amen so i was evangelist it was very hard because in those days women couldn't look nice they couldn't wear makeup and here i'd go into a church and we'd get in a fight over that because i it's not that i thought it was the right thing but i you know you have to fit in where you go and it was so rough that we decided to be better if i go with my dad and pastor with him for two years he had one of the great churches in our denomination and we did one morning i had to work three jobs because they didn't pay me very much so in the morning i trimmed trees in the afternoon i worked at a oil store and at night i do the ministry so i got up early one morning when i went to the door there she was with her suitcase suitcase in hand [Music] i don't know what to do i said what you doing she said i'm leaving i'm not a good wife i love you so much but i'm not a good pastor's wife i love god i love you i want to make it so bad but i'm a hindrance i'm a millstone around no you're not but with tears streaming her and her cheeks and mine i drove her to the airport put her on the plane off she went to san francisco with some relatives i thought my life was over the dream was gone when that night i was preparing for bed when the phone rang and it was mario saying i made a bad mistake can i come home i met her at the airport and we went to the parking lot before i started we joined hands together and prayed this prayer oh god we're going to make this thing work for better for worse for richer for poor we will not quit god and i looked over at her and i looked at the crowd and suddenly she came walking towards me and she put her arms around me and whispered in my ear in her swedish accent told me i'm so glad that we didn't quit you see if we had quit there would have been no matthew there would have been no luke there wouldn't have been a christie there wouldn't have been a dream center with this 260 ministries there wouldn't have been the great church that god's using in phoenix and you'll say pastor i'm so glad you didn't quit then don't don't you quit don't you quit on that husband don't you quit on that wife don't you quit on those children don't you quit on your church [Music] but most of all don't you quit on your god because he never quit on you god bless you give the lord a good clap off him right now thank you so much [Applause] folks let's stand turfy look here just for a moment every head's bowed pastor just to be transparent the message today was for me the message was for me pastor hold your hand up real high hands all over hands all over hands all over [Music] i want every person to look at me [Music] i want to tell you something that may cause you to think less of me [Music] but all honesty has always been a something that means a lot to me i have been slow in my life that i couldn't pray for myself i've been that low and i would say to barbara barbara pray for me [Music] that she would pray for me [Music] sometimes in life you'll have more confidence in somebody else's prayers than you will in yours today if the message was for you just when we start singing come and stand and then if you see somebody come and stand that you love what you ought to do say i'm going to go be with them i'm going to go pray with them so we're going to start singing by the way the holy spirit's directing everything i'm doing right now i know he's directing this but you said pastor this message god sent this man from phoenix arizona this was for me i believe that as soon as we start singing don't hesitate immediately immediately immediately start coming and stand sing thank you so much for joining us online at rock springs church today you are important we see you and we're so grateful to have you with us this morning now as pastor benny just encouraged us to respond i want to reiterate that and i want to encourage you to respond maybe today you heard pastor tommy barnett's message and you've been discouraged but today you've been encouraged not to quit i would i would just say to you let us know we want to pray for you we want to know how we can help you you can comment below and just let us know hey i'm not going to quit i'm not going to quit or let us know if you've got a prayer request you can do that wherever you're watching from if you're watching from our website we encourage you to go to rocksprings.info and respond there but however you respond we just want you to know that we've got chat hosts standing by we've got people standing by ready to converse via email with you whatever works for you we just want you to let us know how we can help you and how we can pray for you and i want to encourage you today too whatever you're doing however god's using you do not quit do not quit on your family do not quit as pastor barnett said on your god because god has a big plan for you let me pray for you and then i'll let you go heavenly father god we love you we thank you for today lord i thank you for every person who's watching online with us this morning god i believe that you had them watched for a specific purpose and because you had a specific message for them in their life lord i pray that you would bless them and help them lord if they've been considering quitting help them not to quit encourage them this morning give them a renewed strength the renewed hope because of your power today lord i pray that you'll bless every family that's represented uh watching with us today that you would just be with them and help them as they move forward and i pray this in jesus name amen again i hope you leave encouraged today if there's anything we can do for you we want to be there for you and we want to help you we hope you have a wonderful day be sure to connect with us at rocksprings.info or on social media and again be sure to share this you never know who it might help we hope you have a wonderful day

Channel: Rock Springs Church

Views: 618

Rating: 5 out of 5

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Id: FKfaJOC21vs

Length: 75min 43sec (4543 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021