Anything Above See Level ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

[Music] but you stand on your feet and just bless the Lord in this place do you know that the Lamb of God is worthy flame from the foundation of the world come on I know as Wednesday night and we've worked all day we drove and we press that way but can we just take a moment it just bless the Lord give that grace for this Ministry of music for the Lord is great and greatly to be praised diesel one day in my son come on clap your hands and give God glory in this plane hallelujah worthy is the lamb hallelujah there's nobody like you hallelujah you're in a class all by yourself and we give you the glory hallelujah thank you Jesus thank you Jesus come on reach out and touch somebody's hand and God we magnify your name tonight for there's nobody like you we searched all over couldn't find nobody nobody greater than you we acknowledge your presence we declare your worthiness we command our soul to bless you our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak so we command our soul to bless you tonight because you've been a faithful God you've been a good God you've been an awesome Wonder in our lives in fact even as we squeeze the hand of our neighbor we say thank you for the proof that you still work miracles thank you that you don't let us just see miracles but every now and then you let us touch one some thanking you for the hand that I hold thank you that they don't look like what they've been through and thank you for stopping the enemy in its tracks on our behalf thank you for this preaching moment for every person who's gathered in this place I pray now that you take a call from the altar annoying my lips of clay send your anointing that not only makes preaching easy but makes this word relevant eternally significant comfort the disturbed disturb the comfortable give me clarity conviction and even courage to proclaim the mystery of this gospel thank you now for what you're about to do and we declare this place to be free for your ministry release that hand now we give you praise in Jesus name somebody thank the Lord amen amen would you help me thank God for your pastor the Reverend dr. Corey Jones we thank God for his vision for his ministry for his leadership for his preaching gift for his pastoral ability for the person that he is I say so often some people are good preachers but they're not good persons a man but he's a good person so come on and thank God did you had a good preacher pastor and a good person and this will fit and I'm pleased to call him I think I call him nephew I think he's a nephew amen we're just grateful for the relationship that we share we're thankful for the support of this church with lot Kerry he is certainly one of our high capacity leaders and lot Kerry and we're just grateful for all that God is doing not only through him but with him and for your support of the lot Kerry the work of like Kerry we give thanks to God for you and for his partner in marriage and ministry amen mrs. Debra Jones I met her tonight she's beautiful on the inside and out come on clap your hand things have changed since I was here wrote the Lord do it hey man over there blushing but it's a blessing the Bible said that he that finds a wife finds a good thing and I've changed favor from the Lord so come on thank God for his good thing so all of the clergy brothers and sisters who are here members of this church and I also saw two of my friends the Reverend Jamie Edie Edie Edie Wright and the Reverend dr. Leslie Callahan they live in Philadelphia I see she's standing back there in the back and they snuck in tonight so we thank God for them on tonight and for all these preachers and officers and this amazing choir that has blessed us on tonight come on and give God praise for this music ministry and these gifted musicians there is a word from the Lord in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16 through 18 second Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16 through 18 and when you find that which stand with me for the reading in the hearing of the word of God 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16 through 18 actually it would be a good idea to read the entire chapter but for the sake of time I want to focus on verses 16 through 18 when you find it's a man if you're still looking say hold up all right 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16 through 18 thank you sound technician can you give me just a little bit more in this monitor here Amen thank you 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16 through 18 if you there say man I'm reading from the New International Version of Scripture and you'll find words recorded like these therefore we do not lose heart though outwardly we are wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all so we fix our eyes somebody said we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen eternal this is the word of the Lord the grass withers the flower fades but the word of our God shall stand forever as you take your seat shout my title to your neighbor I want to preach tonight about living above sea level se II living above sea level several years ago our church was the host church for a lecture series sponsored by Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis the guest lecturer for that night was former MSNBC host professor and political commentator dr. melissa harris-perry and in her opening remarks she mentioned that when people or whenever people read her bio and see that she studied theology at Union Theological Seminary they automatically assume that she is a preacher she said I didn't go to seminary because I'm a preacher she said I studied theology at Union Theological Seminary because I am an empiricist and empiricists like evidence she said I didn't go to seminary because I am a preacher I went to seminary because I wanted to know why my grandmother believed that Jesus loved her when they evidence said otherwise she said I wanted to know what kind of God could command the kind of loyalty then not only my grandmother but slaves who despite the reality of oppression and enslavement could still believe that God loved them when they ever danced said otherwise if there's anything that I've learned from walking with the Lord it is that believing is complicated without epistemological certainty in other words it's a lot more difficult to believe when I don't have the experience or the evidence or the proof to validate my belief we probably all heard the saying seeing is believing and there are many people who live by this philosophy and all of them are not unbelievers there are many people who believe that in order to fully accept something as true they have to see it with their own eyes and I'll be the first to admit that believing is a whole lot easier when you have the proof it is it when you have the evidence it's easy when you have the experience to substantiate or validate your belief believing is easy when things are going the way we want them to go when life is not complicated when there are no hardships there are no complications there are no delays and times of waiting it's easy when our lives to believe when our lives are free from drama and trauma I know I'm in the right church because I'm sure there is few folk in here who have already said if I could just have one week a drama-free week a trauma free week it's a lot easier to believe when there is no drama or trauma when our health is good we're not weighed down by stress and the cares of life when our relationships are functioning as we think they should it's not difficult to believe when we can see the test for many of us comes when the demand for evidence is high and we can't see in its time or evidence of what we're believing God for we're working hard trying to save the marital relationship but it seems to be getting worse instead of better we're doing everything we can to find a job sending out resumes following up on contacts we've taken a couple of classes with the hopes that it will increase our chances of landing employment but the problem is that either Ain't Nothing shaking or we're overqualified we're trying to stand firm on the promises of God but the doors just don't seem to be opening we're praying but our health or the health of a loved one is not improving we've been faithful over a few things but God still has yet to make us ruler over many the results don't match our efforts and it can be very discouraging to continuously put in time over the long haul and never see any results from your efforts in the words of Peter we talk all night and we ain't caught nothing and you have the nerve to tell us to launch out into the deep and let down our nets for drought it's not like we don't know the promises of God in fact we've been standing on the promises of God we've been waiting on god we've been confessing and professing the promises of God in fact it's the promises of God that birthed the dreams and the desires that are in our heart the fact that we even looking for anything come on it's because we grabbed a hold to a promise but the problem is is that what we are professing and confessing is not matching up with our existential reality the problem is that we have no visible sign that anything is happening and we can just see a little improvement if God would just send us a fax or a smoke signal if if he would just send us a word of encouragement some level of assurance that what we're believing God for is gonna come to pass but many times before promise come to pass we have to live through seasons of silence and suspense somebody say silence and suspense silence is always disconcerting silence those times when as the psalmist declared oh god I cry by day but you do not answer and by night but I find no rest we've all been in that place anybody that's walked with God for an extended period of time has been in a place where you find that God ain't always that loquacious I know we know people who act like they wake up and God is talking to him and they got God on speed dial come on here and God is always sending them effects but some of us who've been doing this thing for awhile need to tell the truth that God ain't always that loquacious God is not always talking in spite of the fact then we are seeking and listening we're listening we're seeking but in return all we get is silence and the silence is one of my mentors used to say of God can sometimes be louder than God's voice we wonder if God is listening or if God heard us or if God cares and we showed enough wonder is God gonna ever deliver because we don't see any evidence or anything changing we have silence but not only is there silence we live with suspense we don't know the end from the beginning we don't know how this cliffhanger in her lives is going to end sometimes living a life of faith is like watching a nighttime drama and being stuck with a cliffhanger when you got away the whole season come on here to find out what charity is gonna do on Greenleaf sometimes life is like a cliffhanger a nighttime drama where we have to wait the entire season y'all talk to find out what's going to happen or how God is going to operate somebody shouts silence and suspense our prayers seem to go unanswered and the time spent in life's waiting room drains and dissipates in a residue of hope that we have left notice I say residue with a little bit of hope we got left is often drained by the silence and suspense we've heard and believed that all things work together for the good of them that love God and for those that are called according to his purpose that that can be difficult to remember when you're going through a trial just learn your name and set trials and make you have a memory lapse trials will make you forget everything God promise trials will make you forget the promises of God trials will make you forget every scripture that you even knew trials will steal your praise and steal your confidence I wish I had a few people who can tell the truth that trials will cause you to have a memory lapse of everything that God has ever seen it is during these times that we experience what I call a crisis of belief a crisis of belief would be a time when your beliefs no longer makes sense of current evidence a crisis of belief occurs when the beliefs that are foundational to our lives are being challenged of crisis of belief can affect our behavior patterns our thought process our relationships our life philosophy even affect our faith when what we believe affects our performance it affects our performance at work our attitudes about money how we navigate the world how we conduct our relationships because belief covers every experience and determines how we react in certain situations what I believe has a lot to do with what how I bathe it's quite possible that you're here tonight in revival and you love God you serve God but because of a lack of evidence you can be wondering about God's ability to still perform just nuts somebody say I'm not a heretic just nuts somebody say I love God I'm I'm filled with the power of God I have the Holy Ghost I've been saved all my life but there are times when I wonder about God's ability to perform there are times when I wonder if God's my of my concern or my belief of my philosophy that pivots around God's concern and care for my life it's misguided we're not gonna say it out loud because we don't want people to think we're not saved we're not gonna say it out loud come on talk to me because we don't want people to think we've back slid but can we tell the truth tonight and revival and admit that sometimes you can go for so long without evidence that you get to the verge of concluding that the answers to your prayers the healings that you were waiting on the divine assistance that you were expecting the things that you pray for are no longer available and when life becomes difficult and there is a derailment of hopes and dreams the Bible says Hope deferred makes the heart sick it can lead to a crisis of belief we begin to wonder if the promises of God are really true and if we don't wonder if they are true we wonder are they true for me will they come to pass in my life or even my lifetime am I wasting my time just trying to help you tonight I'm just trying to help somebody who've been saying this to yourself I'm saying it out loud am I wasting my time in the words of the psalmist is there really any benefit to living right and having faith in God because when I look around in the words of the psalmist surely God is good to Israel even to those that are other contract high but as for me my foot had almost ship I was almost about to go over the edge cuz I looked at the prosperity of the wicked some of us have wondered in the words of the psalmist is there really any benefit to living right and having faith in God somebody shout crisis of beliefs is when we come to a place where we've heard what God promised but life is so hard you wonder if they're true if that description fits you I need to tell you that you're not alone there are people in the faith and people in life who have had a crisis of beliefs Moses had a crisis of belief Moses stepped out in obedience to God to carry out God's will of delivering the Israelites but the results were not what he expected the Hebrew foremen were already criticizing and complaining about Moses and Moses thought that he would deliver the people immediately but things didn't turn out the way he expected even though God had told him that he would harden Pharaoh's heart Moses and his discouragement excuse me went to God and poured out his heart in Exodus chapter 5 verse 23 he said Lord why have you brought trouble upon these people is this why you sent me because ever since I've spoken to Pharaoh in your name he has done nothing but brought trouble upon us and furthermore you have not done what you say you have not rescued your people at all Zechariah had a crisis of belief he and his wife Elizabeth had prayed for decades that God would give them a child but despite their prayers they had nothing to show for it even though they had served the Lord for a long time and when God finally broke the silence and crashed it on their life and sent the angel to tell Zechariah that his prayers had been answered and that he would have a son Zachariah no longer believed that it was possible essentially he said to the angel it's too late for a miracle beings are tough when you begin to believe it's too late for a miracle things are tough when you believe to think that this is not the opportunity of the statute of limitation for a miracle has passed but can I pause right here and say that the statute of limitations for miracles never passes when God is in the equation I'm gonna give you about 30 seconds they give God some because somebody is waiting on a miracle and you need to be encouraged to know that it does not matter how long it takes whenever God shows up god help me God is always on time John the Baptist the cousin and forerunner of Jesus experienced a crisis of leave John gave His life to preparing the way of Jesus preaching the gospel of repentance standing up to righteousness but his commitment to righteousness led him in an interesting place I mean you know that your commitment to righteousness can land you in some interesting places and it will land you in some places that you don't expect I was real eternal just talk about this impeachment hearing and how these folks that are telling the truth y'all won't talk landing in some interesting places the people that are committed to righteousness are being treated like criminals and the people that are the real criminals are being treated like they're Saints standing up for righteousness will land you in some interesting places John the Baptist commitment to righteousness landed him in jail when he rebuked King Herod for divorcing his wife and unlawfully taking the wife of his brother at the Gospel of Luke and Matthew both tell us that with the news of Jesus going throughout the countryside spread throughout Judea and John's disciples told them told him about all the great things that Jesus was doing Jonathan said wear it back to Acts Jesus are you the one looking here or shall we look for another I've been preaching the gospel I've been preparing the way I've been telling people to repent because the kingdom is at hand and you are him healing everybody else you are here turning picnics into banquets for everybody else you are here giving sight to the blind and stopping funeral procession are you the one or shall we look for another somebody shout crisis of belief Moses Zechariah John the Baptist and others demonstrate that even for the believer it's possible to get to a place where you almost stop believing that something is possible when you no longer believe in the possibility of a miracle and even where you're tempted to give up on believing that God cares for you I know you this is kind of tight but we are just going and on this tonight but there are some times and we can still go through the motion we can come and sing the songs and lift up holy hands but when we look in our lives our lives don't match what we've been believing God for and some of you who have been here tonight have come for a revival know it's possible to get to that place where you're tempted to stop believing you've been waiting so long you've been sick so long you've been hurt so many times that you don't believe that love is possible you've been broke so long you no longer believe that financial freedom is possible you've been disappointed so many times you've lost your sense of expectation some of us are one crisis not away from bankruptcy but from atheism and if not atheism probably agnosticism one of the fastest growing populations today is the nuns the nun affiliated some of us are on the verge that's why you ought to stop and give God some praise that you rest your way to worship tonight if that was all from the Lord somebody shot one crisis and I'm so glad that the Apostle Paul offers us a word of encouragement in the text tonight he says therefore we do not lose heart not somebody said don't lose heart he says though outwardly we are wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day for our eye and momentary affliction achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all so we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen but what is seen is temporary somebody else's shout right there but what is not seen is eternal touch somebody tell them whatever you do don't lose heart and don't stop believing whatever you do don't give up on God no matter how hard it gets no matter how difficult it becomes Paul says therefore we do not lose though people are talking about us and we're being mistreated and people challenge our credentials we do not lose heart nerd somebody said whatever you do don't lose heart and don't stop believing you see Paul had every reason to stop believing he and the Apostles of the early church found themselves up against many challenges they questions his credentials they wondered if he was really an apostle they were often persecuted they suffered and they endured many things as they traveled from city to city for the sake of the gospel in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 verse 23 through 29 Paul offers us a litany of challenges that he had to face while doing the work of the Lord check out what he says he says I work harder than most been in prison more frequently been flogged more severely been exposed to death again and again five times I received from the Jews for the last years - one three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned three times I was shipwrecked I spent a night and a day in the open sea I've been constantly on the move I've been in danger from rivers in danger from bandits in danger from my own countrymen in danger from Gentiles in danger in the city in danger in the country in danger in the street in danger from false brothers I have labored I have toiled and I've often gone without sleep I've known hunger and I have staff thirst and have gone without food I've been clothed cold and I've been neck and I still got a deal with Negroes with these churches Paul said I've been through a whole bunch of stuff I've been through hell and high water he was in prison he was flogged he was beaten he was exposed to death he was shipwrecked he was beaten with rods and exposed to all kinds of danger and tribulation and then in today's text tonight sticks he goes on to tell us that they all flicked it on every side but they're not crushed they're persecuted perplexed but not driven to despair persecuted but not forsaken cast but not destroy it the word afflicted or pres means to be in a crowded condition perplex means to be full of difficulty and struck down meaning to be thrown in every direction in other words they had every reason to walk off the job they had every reason to turn in their resignation they had every reason to throw in the towel and give up and stop believing but there was something different about the way they responded to their unpredictable circumstances there was something different about the way that Paul responded to the hardships of ministry and the difficulty of seeing what he didn't need to see I want to suggest Nepal developed the ability to live above sea level somebody shout sea level I'm not talking about SCA I'm talking is he in spite of what Paul went through despite what he saw the poor results despite what seemed like failure Paul and the Apostles said we do not lose heart they never stopped believing in the goodness the faithfulness or trustworthiness of God can you tell somebody whatever you do don't stop believing don't stop believing in the goodness of God don't stop believing in the trustworthiness of God he may not come when you want him but one preacher said you gonna moon him whenever he comes because he's always on time don't stop believing in the trustworthiness of God cause God ain't like folk God is not like the government God is not like the Senate God ain't like Mitch McConnell God is not like the government Paul was able to keep believing in spite of what he experienced in other words he was undaunted by what he saw and what he could not see and I just stopped by tonight to preach to somebody and tell you that the victory is not based on what you see cuz sometimes would we see will drive us to drink sometimes what we see will make you want to fire blunt sometimes what we see will make us want to go back to the crack house I can't get no folks in here to tell the truth what we see will drive us to hopelessness and despair but I'm so glad that we cannot afford to base our decisions our choices the movements of our life the settings the circumstances and the condition just on what can be seen with your natural life I say God's on my sight I say God and I can see every day I thank God that I can see these purple pills and this maple pulpit I thank God that I can look out and see pink and red and black and pretty dresses I thank God for my eyes to see sensory perception but that is not the only thing that there is there is our God who works behind the scenes there is a God who works in secret and just because we don't see anything happening doesn't mean that God ain't working look at somebody I cannot shut now do I have to wait you see I know we are card-carrying members of the incident generation we want what we want and we want it right now we won't television that shows on demand when we called you we want you to answer right away when we text you we want instant response we pay extra for Amazon Prime because we don't want to wait on our products and if we're streaming we want it to play without buffering we've been trained and socialized to expect immediate results but the problem is that the God we serve doesn't always work like that God doesn't always work according to our timetable God doesn't always do overnight shipping God does not care sometimes that it absolutely positively has to be there overnight God works according to God's timetable and the wonderful reality is that while God is working God is usually doing a whole lot of stuff that looks like God ain't doing nothing when Joseph was sitting in prison it appeared that God wasn't working he probably felt abandoned and discarded he probably felt useless but while God was working behind the scenes Joseph was in prison God was preparing Joseph's brother for reconciliation he was preparing Pharaoh to give Joseph a good government job and he was preparing the nation of India to depend on Joseph as a wise steward of food but if Joseph had only relied on what he could see he would have stopped believing when David was a fugitive on the run from Saul it appeared that God wasn't working and that even though David had been anointed to King he had been placed in the pasture it seemed like what he was waiting on would never materialize it probably felt like his best years were going to waste but thanks be to God those of us that read the book know how the story in that David didn't spend every of all of his days in the pasture he was eventually anointed and elevated to the palace I just stopped by to tell somebody tonight that just because you can't see God working doesn't mean God it's working God doesn't always show us what God is up to God does much of God's work in secret perhaps that's why I say I said his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts you see the truth of the matter is you can't see God lining up people on your behalf you can't see God arrange and brakes on your behalf you can't see God dispatching angels to war on your behalf you can't see God putting the healing and the promotion and the vindication on your schedule the only thing you can see is that nothing is happening I'm doing the best I can and I'm in a season of silence and suspense but I stopped by to tell somebody that's why you got to learn how to live above sea level because sometimes all you have is the word that God has given us and everything now is in his word has to be enough you see Paul had the word that God had given him and sometimes the word has to be enough how many know that the word still works his it says by His stripes I'm healed his Word says but my God shall supply all of your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus His Word says that let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we don't think his Word says there is no temptation that takes us but such as is common to human beings but God is faithful he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can stand but will with the temptation make a way for your escape so that you can stand under the pressure I wonder do I have a few folk who are willing to take God at His Word tonight in spite of what you see in spite of what you've been going through you can declare that I don't care if nobody else believes I still believe God I still believe God is able to do what he said he'll do I still believe God is a mountain mover when mountains are stab me in my face I still believe God is a healer when the doctor says I'm sick I still believe God is away maker when they leave me of my job I wish I had a few people in here tonight that could give God some praise for living above sea level David said I would have fainted except I believe that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living for our light and momentary affliction is working for us a far exceeding weight of glory for the things that are seen are temporary can you just preach to somebody and tell them I know it looks rough but it's temporary I know it's disparaging but it's temporary I know it's hard but it's temporary here's somebody I'm learning live above sea level I can't see it but I believe it I ain't got the proof but I believe I've been waiting a long time but I believe it I get tired but I believe it I get weary sometime but I believe it five fully persuaded that what God has promised he is able to perform the Lord has promised good to me and I'm standing on the promises of Christ my Savior I mean you know that when you least expect it God would bust a move I wish I had some witnesses that know he'll bust a move he'll flip the script he'll change some things he'll break through the silence and the suspense because God has a way I'm showing up without an announcement I wish I had some folks that can testify that God showed up without an announcement just when you needed him most he didn't wait for an approval he just has a way of showing up I wish I had some company that can testify they God flip the script that God just showed up when you least expect it look at some house that was sick and he flipped the script when I was in trouble he flipped the script when I was about to give up he flipped the script when I was about to throw in the pop he flipped the script do I have any witnesses who can testify that God is faithful that God still keeps his word and I'm fully persuaded that what God has spoken God is still able to perform can you grab that hand and reach to your neighbor and tell'em neighbor I know you're tired kind of neighbors I know you're frustrated tell neighbors I know you about to throw in the time I've decided live above sea level because the things that are seen are temporary but the things that are unseen eternal do I have anybody here that can give God some praise that God is working behind the scenes come on and preach to somebody and tell them God is working oh you know bad you ought to give God a praise will the expectation that he may not come when you want it but he's always been may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning do I have anybody in here that can give God some praise for somebody working on your behalf but what God is doing behind the scenes for how God is still in the miracle-working business you want to clap your hands and give God glory you want to clap your hands and tell God thank you you want to clap your hands and bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me but not quite you want to tell God thank you that's your press your way to worship you want to tell God thank you better hope still is real saved by hope you want to tell God thank you that it's not over Oh glory possibility that God is able help us April you gotta shake that hand that God is able I'm so glad that God is able exceeding and above everything [Music] come on give him glory come on clap your hands come on tell em thank you hallelujah the Lord my soul I neither cometh unto God must believe that he is God he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek clap your hands and give God you know bless race ya [Music] [Music] but the things that are not seen are eternal put your hands together and give God your best [Music] look at somebody say you ain't by yourself come on tell somebody you read by yourself come on grab somebody tell them you lay by yourself tell them this shout it's not for what I think I'm gonna do but this shout is for what God is doing behind my safe this shelter is what God is working on this shelter is from my future this shelter is about expectation this shelter is about Madison with my determination to trust God where I can't trace him come on and give Him glory [Music] look at somebody some living above sea level just about I'm living [Music] above sea level can I tell you the real truth and I'm going to my seat I think I can remember very clearly when I experienced a crisis of belief we had had a revival at our church and the preacher had preached a strong word dr. Callahan about faith he challenged us encouraged us called us up to the altar to believe God for our future and one of my deacons ran up to me after it was over and he was just jumping he's a real energetic deacon he was jumping up and down he said everything you prayed for everything you asked God for God's gonna do it all those dreams that you've had God's gonna do it and it was at that moment that I realized I had to pretend like I still believed it I'm a preacher been preaching the gospel almost thirty years been pastoring 25 but at that moment I've seen so much disappointment y'all didn't come to have church today my heart had been broken so many times I've been down so much had high expectations only to have my expectations shattered that I had to pretend like I believed but the testimony is that I was almost over the edge but not great can you shake somebody's hand and tell them almost but not great come on stand out over the building as we worship God almost if you're in that if you're in that number come on meet me up here this altar if you're in that number that was almost and not quite I come tonight to tell you ain't by yourself I come tonight to tell you that you're not the only one that is going through a crisis I believe I come to tell you ain't crazy you're not a heretic you have not lost your salvation you're dealing with the reality of dealing with a God who does not always show his complete hand you're dealing with learning how to trust God in the dark anybody that's ever been in the dark no it's hard to see in the dark come on you ain't got to be embarrassed come on meet me up here if you've ever been in that situation of a home most but not quite if you've ever been in that situation you might be in that situation right now that you're dealing with some things and you were just about to throw in the towel you begin to wonder why is everybody else getting their prayers answered and mine don't seem to be answered why does it seem like I'm talking to God and God ain't talking back but what's going on why does it look like in spite of my faithfulness none of the things that I've been believing God for have come to pass I beg you to lift your hands in the sanctuary I tell you to lift your hands right now and look at your neighbor said but you're not by yourself come on look at your name and said but you're not alone I'm I need you to look around this altern see that you're not the only one who has ever felt like what you saw was not matching up with what you believe but the good news is is that what you see is temporary look at something say you don't know in the shell come on just grab some bat tell me what you see it's temporary but what's going on behind the scenes is eternal the God that we serve I wish somebody could just worship Him for me just when you least expect it just when you have almost gone over the airs just when you're just about to give up I was talking to one of my little cousins I'm sorry to tell this second stir but it came to my man my cousin called me the other week mine one of my little cousins had lost his job and he had to take a job that was you know beneath what he's accustomed to making it he was frustrated not only because of income that he was making but also because couldn't get off on Sundays he had relocated here to Memphis and he joined church the first weekend that he came the next weekend he got a job for Evan Leslie and they put him like they do most Christians the folk they want to go to church they put you on the sunday schedule and then the folk that won't even go to church they give them Sundays off I can't figure out that craziness I got work schedules on my friend list every Wednesday my church prays about work schedules we fans every Wednesday and work schedules are on my prayer list his mother called me dr. Jones and she said I need you to talk to him I need you to talk to her she said he's about to melt down she said he's having a meltdown she said he's about to go over the edge he was crying on the phone and I began 30 five years old he say I'm just tired I'm just I'm just I've been waiting and it looks like nothing is working out for me it looks like nothing that I'm asking God to do I'm praying and ain't nothing happening I want to be off on Sunday so I can go to church I'm not happy with the job but if I could just have Sundays off lift your hands lift your hands he says I could just have Sundays off he said oh it feels so much better if I could if I could just get my work schedule in sync and I took some time and I began to talk to him just kind of tried to talk him off the edge nudge your neighbor say I'm up here to help talk you off the edge just keep your hands up but just nurture myself up here to help you help Tokyo you need somebody to talk to you off the ledge I don't hear nobody saying nothing I talked to him and talked to him and finally we had a were depressed you don't know what God's gonna do you you don't know how God is gonna work this out I said your darkest hour is just before a day I said just wouldn't you think it looks like God is not gonna come through if you're just trusting one more time look at your neighbors - just trust him one more time just give God one more chance and can I tell you that that Sunday I looked up and he walked in church I don't hit nobody saying nothing I said that Sunday I wish I had some real believers somebody said that Sunday he walked in church and I took my glasses on because I thought I was seeing an apparition and when I got through with service I said what you doing here he said they changed my work schedule I wish I had somebody could just praise them can you shut up with my cousin's victory just look at some I said they changed his work schedule and if God could work out of the work schedule what would he do with your situation I wish I have sabbatical just worship him down here this altar I wish I had somebody could just lift your hands now you get this all I wish I had somebody that could just bless God now here this altar and so God we say thank you tonight we say thank you that your ways are not our ways and your thoughts are not our salt for as high as the heavens are above the earth so your ways are not our ways we want to say thank you because you own our row tonight we want to say thank you that we almost went over the edge we almost gave up we almost threw in the towel but thank you for the tears that are flowing right now thank you for the hope that is being restored thank you that somebody's going home tonight and they're gonna sleep the whole night thank you that somebody's leaving on leaving away here from with cry from crisis moving away from crisis to confidence thank you if somebody's being fully persuaded that what you spoke you're able to perform it so we say thank you tonight for every person at this altar we say thank you for every delayed dreaming we say thank you for every deferred promise we say thank you for everything that we've been waiting on you for we determined to run on and see what the end is gonna be god we celebrate you tonight we rejoice off of my cousin testimony we rejoice because it's a reminder that you're concerned about even the small details of our lives and we open our mouth and we worship here we open our mouth and we give your glory we open our mouth and we give your brain we open our mouth with expectation we open our mouth and we lift our hands come on this revival come on take a minute of just relationship come on take a minute and lift your hands in here come on take a minute you know shut up ahead come on lift those hands come on lift those hands God we thank you tonight that it's not over until you say it's over thinking that you're working on some things while we're here at this altar thank you that you're turning some things around and I behalf and we give you the glory and we give you the honor and we give you the praise thank you that you're sinners here tonight thank you that the intimate didn't have the victory thank you we bless your fire neighbor we thank you for what you're doing not just in our own life but what you're doing in our neighbors life we thank you that the things that are seen are temporary that the things that are unseen are eternal and so god we stand on tiptoe because we know it does not yet appear what we shall be but when you get through with us we're gonna come forth like pure gold and so we're not going to wait until the battle is over then we're gonna go ahead and bless you now we're gonna go ahead and give you glory Hey look give us rubbish ah-ha come on lift those hands come on and lift those head hallelujah thank you Jesus thank you thank you for hearing our prayer thank you for planning your your us thank you that it's not over to your sales ever we give you the glory and we give you the praise and we count everything is joy in Christ Jesus and we declare and decree that it is so your word says let every man be aligned let God be true and so we believe the report of the Lord and we put our hands together and we give you praise hallelujah thank you Jesus hallelujah now hug somebody tell them I'm living above sea level come on hug somebody tell them I'm living I'm living above sea come on tell some little sheep yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah come on its revival come on its revival come on its revival promote its revival hallelujah I got a feeling that everything is gonna be alright hallelujah something about the Popoff headed here come on in and glory hallelujah thank you Jesus come on come on come on I need some people to come and pray for their sister come on gather around this system come on lay your hands over hallelujah somebody gather around this sister come on thank you Jesus come on thank you lord [Music] thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you

Channel: TBC-NJ SightandSound

Views: 2,586

Rating: 5 out of 5

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Id: 1hXw6wJThzw

Length: 57min 57sec (3477 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 20 2019