Be Strong and Courageous!

you are the holy one hallelujah if you are the holy we would bless you with everyone you hallelujah the holy one you are the holy one you're the one you're the only one and we're singing [Music] you're the one you're the only one you're the one you're the only one you're the one you're the only one amen all of you who can stand would you please stand at this time [Music] all of you who can stand would you please stand at this time and please repeat after me this is the day that the lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it say it again one more time this is the day that the lord has made i will rejoice and be glad in it you may be seated god bless each and every one of you for coming out and worshiping with us on this lord's day we want to thank all of you for coming out and being with us we praise god we give god the glory those of you who do not necessarily share in our religious conviction just want you to know that you are not a guest in our presence this day we do all trust and pray that something might be said here that will motivate you to ask the question what must i do in order to be saved thank all of you for coming out those of you who are viewing us by way of youtube and by way of live stream we'd like to welcome you as well we had a little computer glitch and that goes to show you what happens when you lean on those computers god forbid if something was to happen to lax the whole system will be shut down so welcome all of you to our worship service we're going to ask all of you at this time to bow your heads as we give god praise father god in heaven the creator of heaven and earth the power of our lord and savior jesus christ we bow down before you at this time thank you heavenly father for blessing us with your son jesus and thank you heavenly father for blessing us to see a new day we pray father at this time that you will forgive us of our sins forgive us of our transgressions and help us the lord to strive to be obedient to serve you in spirit and in truth we do thank you heavenly father for your word it is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pathway and we pray father that you will help us to be doers of your word and not hear us only thank you father for the holy spirit thank you father for blessing us to be able to assemble in this building this day we pray father for those who do not necessarily share in our religious conviction we pray father that they will hear something that will help them to understand your word and that they will ask the question what must i do in order to be saved bless our man servant who will come before us this morning to break unto us the bread of life we pray father that you will crown his mind with wisdom knowledge and understanding pertaining to your word and we pray father that he will speak those words with boldness utterance and understanding and help us the lord to receive your word father god in heaven we pray this prayer in the name of your son jesus christ that you will have mercy upon us and bless us heavenly father as we continue to strive to do your will it is in the strong and powerful name of jesus christ who died for us all and all the people said amen amen as we begin our devotional i'd like to first of all welcome you into the house of the lord aren't you happy to be at the house of the lord this morning he woke us up this morning and we're able to get up and handle our own business without the help of anyone else isn't that amazing amen send the light [Music] there's a call come ringing for the restless is [Music] we from amen well good morning church family should we together be standing for our responsive reading and our invocation prayer our reading this morning will come from the 40th division of psalm verses 4 through 6. please repeat after me and remain standing blessed is the man who makes the trust his lord [Applause] and does not respect the crowd nor searches turn aside to lies many oh my god or your wonderful works which you have done and your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to you in order if i would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbered [Applause] sacrifice an offering you did not desire my ears you have opened burn offering and sin offering [Applause] you did not require see we together to pray great god of heaven we're thankful at this moment for being present cognitively physically emotionally and spiritually but thankful father for the revelation of who you are through your word and through the holy spirit and even as we experience with our eyes and ears your creation we cannot help but say thank you for being our god we're grateful for the opportunity to read and to recite your word to stand in your presence and to lift up our voices toward heaven and let you know that your word is important to us help us father to understand what it is we're reading to know that you're a sovereign god and your desire is not for external religion but for internal relationships so it is we do not bring the sacrifices that are found in the old testament yet we come with a contrite and broken spirit because we know that's what you require and even now as you look down upon us you're not concerned about us externally but more so about what you see on the inside and that is our hearts and our spirits and even now father we're standing not out of obligation but out of love out of respect and reverence for who you are and for what you do so this morning we celebrate life we celebrate eternal life we come to this service with an anticipation and expectancy expectancy that you're going to meet us where we are father fill us with your spirit help us to sense your presence and to know that you're with us so that our worship can be free free from the barriers of this world free from the bonds of sin free from the shackles of intellectual slavery free us from ourselves so that we can give you the praise you deserve we ask now as we go through the furtherance of this worship service that your spirit will connect with our spirit that we understand that we are experiencing a unique spiritual moment in where wherein we engage in this great spiritual discipline we call worship we ask it father in jesus name amen amen when we all get to heaven [Music] sing the wondrous love of jesus sing his mercy and his race in the please while we is when we when see jesus amen and when we get there we'll be in the home of the subway man let's fall apart oh [Applause] jesus [Applause] beautiful [Music] is [Music] free from okay [Applause] christos is scripture [Music] [Music] good morning our scripture waiting for this morning to be taken from joshua the first chapter verses one through nine [Music] after which i asked you please stand as we go to our father in prayer joshua chapter one verses one through nine i'm reading from the new king james version and it reads after the death of moses the servant of the lord it came to pass that the lord spoke to joshua the son of none moses assistant saying moses my servant is dead now therefore arise but over this jordan you and all this people to the land which i am giving to them the children of israel every place that the soul your foot will tread upon i have given you as i said to moses from the wilderness in this lebanon as far as the great river the river euphrates all the land of the hittites into the great sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life as i was with moses so i will be with you i will not leave you nor forsake you be strong and of good courage for this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which i swore which i swore to their fathers to give them only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which moses my servant commanded you excuse me do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may prosper wherever you go this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success have i not commanded you be strong and of good courage do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the lord your god is with you wherever you go this concludes our reading for this morning would you please stand for prayer [Music] we give thanks this morning the heavenly father we're thankful that you're our god that you sustain us that you take care of us that you provide for us each and every day you see the things that we don't see father you protect us a long way each and every day and it's only because of you that we stand here this morning you've got us through this past week father prevented us from the harm and danger that's around us dear lord protected us and for that we eternally say thank you dear lord we're thankful father for strength for health for food thankful father for shelter we're thankful father that each and every day that you're our god we realize that this past week five that we experienced an earthquake and it shook us up and it just brought us back to remembrance to lord that you're in control of all things we're thankful father that there weren't injuries we're thankful that there wasn't much damage and we just asked their lord that we can always be prepared that we have a relationship with you and that we're prepared for anything that comes our way finally we're asking this morning that you'll open up our hearts and minds this morning to the word that's going to be spoken for hearts that are hard father we ask that you'll soften them for minds that are closed father we ask that you open them father we're praying that as your man servant brings your message this morning uh we know that it's not going to return to you void dear lord we'll accomplish the results that you wanted to have and we're praying that our hearts are pricked this morning that we'll make changes in our lives we know we have a lot to do we know there's much to be done in our own lives and around this neighborhood father in our communities help us to be ambassadors for you father to spread your word to share with those who are hurting to give to those who are in need father help us to see what jesus sees on a daily basis help our hearts to be pricked father by the things that are going on around us help us to have those tender hearts father that we can reach out and assist those who are hurting and those who are in need we're praying this morning father for those who believed we know that we have those around us who've lost loved ones recently and even in the past father and we just ask that you'll comfort the hearts that are hurting right now we know that the pain doesn't go away easily and it doesn't go away quickly father but we're having trust in you that you'll guide us and that you'll keep us throughout all these situations we're praying for this congregation dear lord we're praying for the leadership that you give them wisdom give them understanding help them to be strong to be courageous father to carry out your word to carry out your will and all things we're asking father that you'll bless this nation we're praying for the leadership of this nation father we know that no matter what party is in the office father we know that they need to seek you in all things and we're praying for our president we're praying for the congress praying for our courts father that they'll do that that they'll make decisions according to your will father that they'll do what's best for the people that they're serving and that they'll have compassion on the people we know that satan's busy trying to distract us trying to influence minds father trying to bring philosophies and things into this world that are contrary to your will and we're just praying father that our minds will be focusing on you that we don't allow him to take control of our minds to use us as instruments of evil father and that we'll be doing things that are according to your will things that will bring glory to you and honor to you father please forgive us for we struggle each day forgive us for the things we do against you forgive us for the things we've done against others when we're not patient father help us to be patient where we're angry father help us to be become a father where we're cruel help us to have good hearts help us to love those who are hurting around us help us love those who are difficult to love father because we may be difficult to love as well father we know that we do things that are contrary to you we do things to upset people we say things that are wrong and violently we don't have the right attitude forgive us forgive us that we do these things and help us each day that we serve you better father we're just praying right now for the message now will be spoken father we're just praying for your man servant brother hawkins bless him dear lord we're thankful for him we're thankful for uh the work he puts in for the study for the caring concern he has for this flock we just ask that you'll bless him bless his wife bless his family father watch over them protect them and give them whatever they stand in need of protect his mind from the evil one father we know that he's busy trying to discourage him but we pray that you'll build him up in a mighty way that he continues to do your work guide us now and keep us heavenly father we ask you all these things to name your son jesus we pray amen amen [Music] as i look forward [Music] is is [Music] [Music] we oh with jesus let's talk about the matchup oh [Applause] me let's talk about a matchup is oh let the church say amen come on now let the church say amen again mansion robe and crown amen somebody i said amen somebody we are warning and waiting and looking for a mansion a rule and a crime is that right but right now we've got about his cross and god can help us while here to bear that cross it's good to be in the house of the lord on this grand sunday good to see all of you who are here with us and those who are watching live stream we appreciate your weekly participation and involvement in our worship services we pray that when you tune in that you are informed that you are inspired and of course enlightened to know more about this great god of ours amen isn't god good y'all all y'all all right that earthquake bother you that bad amen that's just one among many in my area the ground shake every day some some of those earthquakes are notable and then others are not noticed but you know the ones that uh wait here can we sing another song i sense a little love with the with the family of god all right i'm gonna i wish be glad we take those masks off because i can see what's going on behind their mask the mask remembers everything understand god is a good god ducking and saying and y'all gonna help us say we're gonna have to worship this way is that all right can we worship can we worship with a little enthusiasm hold on is is get on your knees is is good guy and that's why i praise his name we sing one more time all right praise the lord and listen now don't you forget god is showing up a good god when you wake up in the morning you thank him for being a good god say amen if you have your bibles let's go to joshua chapter one i want to thank my son in the faith for the reading of the scripture as well as that heartfelt prayer appreciate that and thank god for uh bishop for openness up this morning and for those who have participated thus far in our worship service and for you lifting up your voices and giving god praise we've got to give god praise even in the midst of our pain i said we got to give god praise even in the midst of our pain don't let your pain spoil your praise don't let the pandemic spoil your pain don't let politics spoil your praise and don't let people show enough don't let people spoil your praise amen amen praise the lord i was giving you some of you some time to find joshua it is in the whole testament verses one through nine it's been it's been 30 days now you know i like to give historical context i can't help myself i just believe that an adequate understanding of the word of god cannot be taken out of context because when you take the word out of its original context then you're gonna put it in your context and you were not bad and that's why that's why biblical history is so important that's why reading and understanding and imploring what i believe is a good method of study and that's the inductive method and that is observation interpretation and of course application in observation we ask what does the text say not what you think it says but what does it say that's why we read from the word of god and we try not to read into the word of god and whenever you read into the word of god it ceases to be god's word it's not your word secondly interpretation is that's what does it mean what does it mean not for my neighbor not for the folk in my house but what does it mean to vincent what is god saying to me and then finally how will i apply it what good is coming to the word of god and reading and praising god and not having our spirits open to receive with meekness his word are y'all with me so it's been 30 days 30 days since the burial of moses joshua now the son of nun protege and successor to moses has been anointed by moses in deuteronomy 34 9 and now called to lead the hebrews into the land of promise joshua chapter 1 and verse 2. the 34th chapter really the 33rd and the 34th chapters of the book of deuteronomy literally will give you insight into the end time life of moses and you will read as well his obituary now god has called has called joshua and he's called him to what i have termed a daunting task to say the least but not insurmountable with divine assistance there appears to be no verbal response by joshua either way i've read through this text on a number of occasions and i'm waiting for joshua to say something i'm waiting for him to respond like his like his like his leader responded when jehovah called him up in exodus chapter 5 with a burning bush and laid out his person his power in his plan you remember moses's response can't speak well and lord send somebody else i was hoping that maybe joshua would have a rebuttal but it dawned on me he may still be mourning you know even after the days of mourning doesn't mean that the morning stops that the pain goes away especially while you're sitting there and there's a over a million folk waiting to see what you're gonna do can you imagine the pressure and the anxiety in my low sanctified mind i've concluded maybe that's why joshua hadn't said a thing too much to bear too much to see too much to feel too much to do can you imagine depression on joshua yet it appears from the reading of our text that there may have been some hesitation some reluctance evened out even though it's not stated i'm inclined to believe that on a human level there's a challenge here what amazes me that you're dealing now with a military general who's not new to fighting battles you would think he would be ready but the battle he's getting ready to lead and the battle he's getting ready to deal with is very different from rallying troops and going out there and taking that hill now he's got to hang out for the rest of his days with over a million and a half people do y'all know anything about the israelites they complained while they were in egypt they complained when god sent moses to deliver them out of egypt they were planning when they left egypt they were complaining when they crossed the red sea got on the other side of the red sea and did not miss a step in complaining can anybody identify with the israelites oh no not not here i don't mean here i would never accuse you of being like the israelites but i know him because i am one never satisfied self-centered narcissistic after all god does for us we find a reason to complain and or blame but the text doesn't say any of that in my little old creative mind i'm trying to get a handle on joshua the person in the absence of moses yet we do learn that joshua is needing divine assurance and motivation somebody says how do you know that the text doesn't say listen anytime you have to tell a military general no less than four times that he is to be strong and courageous something's going on something is definitely going on why would you have to tell a to be strong and courageous because this battle is unlike any other battle you will ever fight and that is leading the israelites leading god's people no less than four times i counted in this first chapter that god uses these words and it's interesting god is talking to joshua and there appears to be no dialogue back be strong and of good courage that's verse 6. you might want to underline these be strong and very courageous that's verse 7 and then be strong and of good courage once again as verse 8 and then finally at the end of the chapter he says now be strong and of good courage there is something there because joshua needs to be encouraged you ever need to be encouraged i do only a few of you so the rest of you you guys really could leave because you guys got it all together if you don't need encouragement you don't need to hear from god you can figure it out but see there in life's a problem i just believe because we have ruled god out and we've been doing it ourselves that we have nothing to bring to god when it's time to hear god maybe joshua has learned so much about this god to know that it's best to be quiet than to be talking while he's talking say amen when you can our text reveals very critical point in israel's history it's been dubbed by some the changing of the god deuteronomy 34 once again divides the obituary of israel's greatest leader moses whose name means to draw an out of and we know that he came to fruition because of god's providence and was drawn out of the night river raged in pharaoh's house for 40 years expelled to the wilderness for 40 more years and at 80 god calls him and he will spend the next 40 years leading the israelites a total of 120 years he dies the bible says he was neither blind or short-sighted an audience and they are empty of energy but god took him and he was laid to rest by the lord all of israel mourned for 30 days at the death of their prophet and with the death of moses no doubt no doubt despair discouragement and uncertainty for over 80 years he had been israel's focal point moses that is and go to man the one god spoke with personally face to face and there has been stated there has been no other who has received that level of relationship with god moses was special to god he was so special that god brought him on home but in the absence of one leader god will often raise up another leader be it as it may human beings don't care too much about leaders they complained about moses they could complain about joshua they gonna complain about you and i know they complain about me and that's why you're leading listen and every man that has a family you are a leader i want to put this down emphatically you're not a follower you're a leader but you don't need god you follow god and so as you lead your family you are lit by god and that's why you need to be encouraged [Music] greatest challenge a man will face in terms of his leadership was would be his own ability to lead his own family jesus once said a man's greatest foe of their own household personalities trying to to bring personalities to bad to work with different developmental stages emotionally psychologically physically and spiritually and also manage will yourself you need help and encouragement not from men but from god i don't know about you some of the best self-help information on the planet is found in this book called the bible so jehovah speaks to his servant joshua validating the reality that moses is dead we've been exploring this text in sunday morning bible classes we talk about managing grief well that's not my focal point right now it's obvious that even joshua himself was wounded by the loss of moses and so god comes to him and he speaks to his servant and he tells him about his future role and somehow another the reality that he will bring it to fruition notice verse 2 of our text now therefore arise get up go over this jordan you and all this people into the land i am giving to them to the people of israel for today's morning no word from joshua evidently he's sitting because god has to tell him to arise get up and as he lays out his plan as is the case with god after he calls a man he reveals his person then he reveals his plan then he gives the man power to accomplish his task i thought about this passage in relationship to where we are as a church where we are in the context of this pandemic and wherever you are in life trust me you will need some encouragement and how apropos is this story as we find ourselves again in uncharted and unprecedented times and challenges that may be for us but i think the there have been previous generations who have also experienced such uncharted waters and unprecedented times and yet they made it through yet these words from the lord are as real and surreal for us today as they were for joshua be strong look at your neighbor say be strong little boy said be cruel no be strong and courageous be strong and courageous i'm taking you through a little through a little exercise do you know simply saying it means absolutely absolutely nothing if you don't believe it you can tell you cannot tell a man be strong he doesn't know the stories of the source of his strength to be courageous if he's insecure about his own person that's why leaders are called and not caught they're called by god empowered by god these two hebrew verbs strong followed by two imposing and dynamic manifestations speak to a number of things but let's deal with these two words the hebrew word here strong is verb and it literally means to fasten upon to seize to fortify many definitions are applied to this word but what i have come to understand from this text that has nothing necessarily to do with your inability to make yourself strong that the strength comes from a stronger source and that strength is god's and if we are going to move forward in whatever aspect of your life wherever you may be whatever you're going through you're going to need divine strength because this place down here will zap all little energy you can't drink enough coffee you can't open up enough monster drakes al they ain't enough gold in red let alone red bull to get you through all of this bull say hey man somebody just passing through there trying to keep you awake and get your attention is it hot in here y'all need some air all right somebody cut down brother we meet here every large that still still gets warm we need a little air to cut the hell two verbs the second word is the word courage and it means to be alert physically and mentally steadfastly minded and established and it is interesting that these two imposing and dynamic words speak to at least three things i hope this helps you number one mental resolve look at your neighbor says mental resolve number two emotional stability and then number three spiritual stamina you and i cannot be strong and courageous physically without having the rest of us ministered to and notice every time god gets ready to deal with the man he doesn't get the strength up front what he gets is information same and what follows information number two is instruction and after you get the right information and given the right instruction then god inspires you sometimes that inspiration is his power manifested in your giftedness in other words god doesn't give you anything you don't have when moses went up to the mountain you went up there with a staff no more no less because that was his instrument for hurting sheep and on the way down god doesn't take a stab he empowers the man with the staff to accomplish his purposes what's your point god will give us what we need to accomplish his objective understand this now this is not about you and me it's about god god is simply using a man to accomplish his purpose the question is what is he using you for but listen to him in there as we move forward in the midst of a pandemic there's work to be done and it's time to stop wrangling about who needs to do what if you don't know my name you're not going to be strong not courageous because it takes courage it takes strength mental resolves emotional stability and spiritual standing to get god's work done say amen when you can if god had to rely on us he wouldn't get anything done because why we too busy doing our own thing say hey man too busy to teach come on too busy some of us believe that some tasks are beneath us there is no task that was beneath my lord it takes strength and courage to walk in humility to wash feet say amen this ain't got nothing to do with you this is about god and these words are not applicable for you on your job this is not about how to get more money i don't hang out there say man my business is spiritual but i know i know i know this text has been speaking to me even more so because i keep asking myself how do i be strong when i'm weak then it done don't me god isn't telling vincent we need you to be physically fit because who really is ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10 paul says be strong in the lord and in the power of his might and that can only be understood when you begin to embrace who god is and internalize that and who you can be if you are stronger out there than you're on here you're working for the wrong key i said if you have more energy out there than you do and here you're working for the wrong king and you will you will receive your appropriate payment when the day comes what do you mean be be strong and courageous if you understand the two words they have nothing to do with working out in goals jim but it has everything doing working out in god's some of us think bringing in god's gym is boring it's nothing boring and dry about my god now i don't know i want to believe that we're talking about same god but sometimes i wonder what did you get up for what what taps into your psychic in your your physical ability what gets you going is it external stimuli or is it the power of the word of god and the holy spirit help me somebody i'm talking about crisis church a dynamic church a living organism that's not said of foodlessness and weakness and ignorance but by knowledge understanding and wisdom god can get stuff done and let me drive this he doesn't need vincent you don't need help and vincent we need god when you acknowledge that you can't do it that you need help in god get your undivided attention you cannot work with the arabs who believe in their own self-sufficiency you cannot work with weakness feeble fake brothers with no faith god these men who believe he needs me listen to me these men who are willing to stand up like oh say me oh i said and in isaiah chapter 6 and say hear my lord [Applause] send me not him not her not them beneath why because i'm ready and then there ain't enough what about young samuel when he was told by eli go lay down lay down i'm not calling you and he came to the realization in the first time that god was calling him and even even eli had enough sense to tell tell the young boy when he calls you again this is what you say speak lord speak lord [Music] you can't get listen you can't get strength and courage by listening to a sermon i'm simply giving you information is what you do with the information some of us have more energy and more courage for external things than we do for god say amen somebody somebody says we in the pandemic yeah i know and sometimes you need to you need to preach to people where they are independent because after a while some of us gonna let the pandemic us say man you do everything else online you shop online they have already predicted that there will be billions made for online shoppers any online shoppers in there don't be scared myself online amen but they're online don't own me say amen and some of us fail to understand that god gives us creativity to take whatever resources we have and sit down and come up with a plan to fulfill his objective is not mine but it's going to take number one mental resolve your resolve is simply the confident state of the mind are you listening a decisive direction this is vincent's definition you come up with your own but make sure it makes sense i hope this makes sense mental resolve is the confident state of the mind in decisive direction and it comes to fruition out of your walk with god because when you walk with him and talk with him he addresses who you are and then he empowers you to get what he wants done done without excuses moses tried to get out of going i understand that i've been trying to get out a whole lot of stuff but god listen once god sets it in motion he'll listen to your excuses but you taking that staff and you're going down the hill and you're going to knock on pharaoh's door the same thing he went up there with god to take that stick throw it on the ground and watch me put it on the ground you this is in your model i can't make this up that staff that was used to hurt sheep and water off the wolf turned into a snake and like anybody where any sense moses ran that's why i know he must have had some brother and it ran from the snake and then god says it my tail even god got sent you don't grab a snake by his head and you have to you have to trust god you got to trust him enough to grab whatever your snake is by the tail that thing changed back to aurora god not only presents this person and his playing he demonstrates his power now there is an expectation but watch this what does this have to do with mental resolve you don't know what god can do what if you have a concept of the power of his word what if you've never experienced god's power in your life how can you have mental resolve joshua's journey joshua's journey prepare him for this moment i know it did because 24 chapters later you find him in joshua chapter 21 verse 15 said to those same grumbling mumbling israelites if choosing if serving the lord your god seems evil unto you then choose you this day who you going to serve not like joshua he delineates the laws who you gonna serve the god of your fathers in whom they serve on the other side of the flood the god of the amorites and whose land you dwell then joshua in his decisive direction declared but after me ask for me you can't talk about your house until you talk about me the house is not going to follow you that's the problem even today in the church not only in the community we love to talk about what's going on well we got some weed veteran in the community of god who have not taken their calling and their responsibility serious enough to follow them you want to find out and i love john maxwell he's one of the dominant leadership gurus he says you can tell if you're a leader not just look behind you say amen look behind you ain't nobody there that's empirical evidence that you're not a leader you're talking leadership and as a matter of fact leaders they don't drive deceive me say amen do she follow because they recognize the heart of god in that man or in that woman mental resolve is when you and i decide we're going to turn it along that's for me in my house we will serve the lord and if that's not enough in john chapter 6 and verse 68 not only do i see it in joshua i see it in peter and i want you to understand how these people got that they didn't get there overnight peter struggled with the incarnation of jesus he struggled with the reality that he all of them did but somewhere along the journey they've been hanging out in god's gym and then on one occasion in john chapter 6 jesus says some difficult stuff to the boys except you read my flesh and drink my blood they have no life in you many looked at themselves the bible says that many turn and then walked away but peter stayed there with the 12. and he said notice in verse number 16 lord to whom shall we go because jesus said when they turned away he looked at his wife boys and he asked them and this is the rendition and the original take do you also want to go he didn't say don't leave me stick around it's going to get better not do you want to go and peter bless his heart i like it because we're just pragmatic we'll say what we what's right there sometimes we don't think it through anybody like that we're more reactive than we are responsible peter said we'll ask who shall we go if we leave you well notice what mental resolve says we have come this is in your bible to believe and know that you are the christ the son of the living god interpretation we ain't going nowhere we didn't get here last night but we believe we believe and we know and it's interesting how in our process of conversion we want everybody to believe but i'm wondering do we believe that he is the christ the son of the living god and do we believe it enough to make a sacrifice talk all that talk around that communion baby we are memorializing his death his barrel is a direction we talk about what he did have you really thought about what he did and why he didn't if that don't move you beyond cracker and juice and you're stuck on cracking juice some of us believe that the power is in the crack opening it's not in the power power in the pocket in the juice that's why the bible says if a man discerns this he's got a dessert deserves what to crack no not the body of christ and the humiliation and the suffering now body makes sense the juice is significant and then it's played out get this now it's played out in ministry it's not played out here it's played out are you listening to me i'm talking about no result that's why his teachings are so important those passages that we use for the communion they're about jesus they're not about the emblems they're just cracking jew but they mean nothing if your mind is not made up about jesus because after the cracking juice comes across across the suffering cross of submission cross of sacrifice so you don't want to talk about that cross of suffering and then across the surface all of that to get to heaven see we want to get to heaven but we don't want to go through the fires we want to glory but not to worry this making any sense mental resolve it's the confident state of the mind decisive direction are you for sure that jesus is your lord one more example and then 1.2 second timothy chapter one one of my favorite passages i love it so much that i quit quoting it because i hadn't studied it you know how some passages have a spiritual ring and you just like quoting them but you never stop to ask why the author said them and for what purpose and how do they speak to you paul in dealing with his young son timothy tells him in the first letter about his life's trajectory the wrong turns in life and about what god has done for him and he builds upon it in the second epistle but in second timothy chapter 1 and verse 12 he said i know not that i he said i don't feel i don't think i know what do you know paul and whom i have believed sounds like peter sounds like joshua mental resolve i know in whom i believed and i am persuaded he's able i said he's able to keep that which i have committed unto him against that day i know i got a question for you do you know if you know it you're short and if you don't know it's going to show another show say amen somebody this is pandemic listen i'm helping the church through a pair i'm pandemically preaching that sometimes the best messages come in the midst of a crisis god has to keep us in this crisis because evidently we ain't getting the message all right and so paul lets us know that there is something to this business of mental resolve the question before you is are you mentally connected to god are you just taking a space part number two not only should you be mentally resolved number two you gotta be emotionally stable it took me a while to get here [Music] i kept trying to figure out what does it mean to be strong and courageous well you know you gotta have your mind right but then there's another part of you that's this is crazy i'm just me i'm talking that's just as crazy as your mind and that's your emotions and do you not know your emotions are connected to your mind oh nothing happens by accident unless there's something seriously wrong with the wiring system in us and in me we can look at that particle board and said his wiring system's twisted well i am here whenever you decide you're going up on your dad and say give me my stuff your wires across thank god for grace he can rewire help with somebody he green wire your sister some of you need that you need to be wiry because you got your wires crossed see man you can take this i bring my own name i can come when i want your body is a cross say amen i can do church all my time your wires i get what i want to get can't no man you're watching up your wires across your eyes about as messed up as sister jobs was while she had everything it was nice is hucking dory but then god and his permission will allow satan to attack their world and sister job's conclusion whether god ain't with us no so she comes to her husband now who's now in agony he's in pain he's got sores from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet inflicted by demonic powers he's sitting there and he's your only one helping somebody to god it may be on a thread but he ain't letting him go his wife comes she's had enough miss everybody wants to be mr joe but most of us are miss joe if you just come clean why don't you curse him and that's in your bible that's what she said to her husband but i know she's wounded she's hurt so give her a break your stuff is gonna hurt too and you're gonna need a break you're gonna need grace but job said something to her i have not forgotten he says now you're talking foolish we were doing something i could have done all the other stuff you were saying to me but now you can foster life you talk about cursed god you talk like a foolish woman but it didn't stop there say have we not received good from joseph why not evil naked i came from my mother's womb naked i shall return the lord yahweh girls and yahweh takes away but blessed be the name of the lord god almighty that's mental resolve in the midst of misery a champion a man who will stay with god in the midst of whatever comes his way but then secondly there is this thing called emotional stability where consistent steadiness of your thoughts and feelings are god sent it first now we live in a real world all of us are pulled by the world i would be remiss in my responsibility to tell you the same issues you have i have i'm just sick of them not your issues i'm sick of my own sickness i'm sick of my own foolishness because when you can back away and look at what you're doing you will either conclude it is for god or it's a gay god there's no other there's no other in between you're on god's side of saving side i don't care who baptized you i don't care where your baptismal certificate i don't care who signed it what really matters is your name written in blood in the lamb's book of life that's what matters but too often we relegate our movement in religion to the externals we never move to where he is and that's why there is what i call this emotional instability and ambivalence even in the body of christ when it comes time to serve god we got to check in moses didn't check in he's important say amen joe didn't check in with miss jones joshua didn't get in with this these men never went and asked their wives what you think abraham in the book of jesus was out handling the field as was his occupation god called him told him to leave her ran and had no nothing not come down no evidence he went and checked with sarah to see what she thought and what she felt what's the point when god's man is in touch with god that woman is in touch with that man do you want to say that again so you don't have to she shouldn't have to wait on you you should be leading and leading i'm not talking about authority i'm talking about leading with compassion and love and understanding hey you got to meet we know where they are they're not you but you don't know that so you become overbearing authoritarian y'all gonna do like i said you can hit the dough you'll tell these women that today they'll take you and they go and leave no point intended but i'm just trying to watch you something because some of us still are stuck and you haven't been enlightened at least not our god if you come in out of joe's bar and grill and get into god's gym you can learn something women long to follow men who follow god help me somebody they're not against submission they're not against listening but i wouldn't i was the one i rebelled against some of us too because we have no manifestation of who god is and that's why we are emotional emotional listen listen in an emotional unstable world and listen that i'm going to quit in a minute but we've taught our children the same day amen people ask me where our kids they got kids what are you asking me about your kids i know what mine is i'll check in on them not only do i call and check on how the baby's doing ain't hot things on the job hides your faith holding up hell you getting to the house of god say amen that's my responsibility to leave here that's my responsibility and the expectations that's just a reality people now know i know you run your house differently that's cool i got it but whatever you are producing if you're not careful gonna wind up and be a problem for you and let me drop this and i don't mean no harm you are not going to be ill responsible for the false doctrine we teach our children that god doesn't matter that he's not a priority that we can we can do what we want to do can't nobody down at that church who told you that foolishness you're listening to don't answer i know who's been telling you that and it's not god and you wonder why you're emotionally unstable no one james would say a double-minded man he's unstable in all his ways god called you to serve you got to go see if you can just listen to that yeah when god calls you you ain't if you got to go checking with somebody then you already know you don't need to be serving see i don't mean no harm here but when you are emotionally unstable you're all over the place i've been there done that i know what it's like to be a vividly in and out uncertain listen families need some solid foundation to build on they need to know that our house ain't perfect but we got a mom and a daddy to love lord and when you come inside your mind and don't ask where we going you have to ask me after five seconds i have not done my job we headed to the house of the lord and the whole house is on see amen i know i'm talking old school preaching here i know y'all got to sit down and count to 10 and ask your kids how you feeling what do you think about wearing a mask okay and they want a cookie they need a snack and worship oh that's delicious and it's your fault not yours but it's your fault amen for not making god a priority it's not showing reverence and respect that's why we're in the mess we in the home and in god's house uncertainty feeble-minded inability to stand i'd rather stand with god and father to stand even god walked out there on the water and brought peter home say amen emotional stability two quick scriptures gosh it's three and verse two and you guys study these passages set your mind set your mind i can't set your mind you gotta decide i'm hanging with god set your mind one version says set your affections interesting because you can't ex you can't separate the emotional from the psychological because so you all saw your thoughts is that right and notice notice set your affections on what no i didn't say that on things of your heart that's not what the bible teaches and if you love watch this now if you are a friend of god's enemy you are an enemy with god let me drop that again this is james whoever is a friend of this world is that enmity with god that's in your bible and so you gotta make your mind up you're gonna get with them and you're gonna get with this you can get with this you can give it that i'm gonna get this been there i've done that with that i'ma hang out with god good better and indifferent i'll hang with god because god can help me with my emotional instability am i am i just preaching to myself let me give you a few more examples job 13 15 back to job you know after all job went through and he got some stuff straight with his wife about this god of mine he said joe 13 verse 15 though enslavement yet will i trust him even if it kills me if he lets me die in my misery [Applause] i'm yet to trust him i'm talking about i'm talking about emotional stability mental is oh flip over to chapter 14 and verse 14 he raises the question if a man dies and never evidently job might have been contemplating that [Music] he may have you don't make these statements if you're alive we've had time to work with that there's some things you don't tell yourself if you're alive you don't tell yourself life ain't worth living if you're alive you don't tell yourself that i'm i can't wait to get out of here i'm sick of this place and if you're alive i'm not talking about living large but living in the lord you thought i was talking about living lords i'm talking about living in the law because he gives us life but notice notice he says he asks questions if a man dies shall he live again and then he responds all the days of my hard service have holy spirit i'm gonna wait till my chains come look at your neighbor says i'm gonna wait not to make it to my change cup some of you are waiting on the check say amen and you haven't changed and you're gonna do the same thing with that that you've been doing with it but it's not until you change what has to change my mind and my emotions i'm getting ready to lecture but i gotta make this point here spiritual spiritual instability is an enemy of spiritual stamina which is my third point when a change takes place watch this now point one and point two they connect now that i got literal laws and i have emotional stability because i've made up my mind i'm gonna hang out with god then watch this now spiritual stamina give me what i need to get through and so whether it's this pandemic or the next pandemic or the next is gonna be some next do whatever comes my way i'm gonna stay with my god and i'm gonna have my emotions checked by the holy spirit and i'm gonna rely on spiritual stamina because i'm not strong enough physically to hold up under a tornado or earthquake arrived amen anarchy on the capitol but i gotta who can sustain me spiritually so whether i live or die it's irrelevant why god's not me and so i walk in that and no more and no less spiritual enough get this as we close is the presence of the spirit of god sustaining you are y'all listening best diet on the planet can't sustain you we like walking around time and i'm a vegan you know what you gotta tell everybody just be one i don't hear you walking out talking but i'm a christian why maybe you're not one but we love external stuff why we prefer the praise of man then we do the applause of heaven but we like see our egos we are fragile and we got big egos most of us including myself primarily not y'all are narcissistic don't even know it why everything you do is about you when god says something well let me let me let me watch this let me check let me see god is speaking and you're talking about who me said you already missed the point if you go back to this text you never hear joshua say anything to god he's listening and he understands that moses knew this god matter of fact i just believe joshua might remember the last group of people that rebelled against moses name was mariam and aaron you remember that marian got cursed with leprosy for running up against god's meaning and aaron he was fortunate he just got rebuked and it was moses who had to plead mary's case but she would have died with leprosy isn't that amazing god loved moses enough to meet with him face to face maybe joshua learned along the line is not a good idea to run upon god john chapter 14 and verse 16 jesus said i would ask the father and he will give you another helper you can't get help without jesus and i ask my father to send another help the word another there literally means one of the same kind like me and that's why he gave us the holy spirit and then he tells us in verse 17 even the spirit of truth that spirit is what's sustaining me listen to me [Music] i don't have enough to do what i need to do outside of my garden you gotta understand that that's why i do what i do i can't do what he called me to do by myself i can't even do it with you and vice versa because sometimes i don't know what you're gonna do you may show up or you may not yeah because now if you're like me we have pockets full of excuses we gotta screw for everything except for our own agenda and so i need to speak to god get this now to work with my weaknesses doubt insecurity frustration you don't have none of these disappointment anger frustration no no no no no i need the holy spirit and what he does he puts me in a place and listen now sometimes it's peculiar place a challenging place because when god starts working on you he can't work on you in your comfort zone because you're comfortable you're not going to get up out of your comfort zone to respond to the spirit so when he does in this permissive will and this is what it did for job he allowed satan to mess up with his external world so he can check his voice heart to see whether or not he really with me and you know the dialogue between jehovah and the satan god though satan told jehovah's skins what's your skin game what will imagine for his own life you got a hand you run him drop that hedge and let me hear him i'll make him curse you to your face wasn't that job's miss joe's wife recommendation the bible says all that job went through he did not sin against god done by spiritual stamina and that was god supporting him zechariah chapter 4 and verse 6 isaiah 40 and verse 30 time to go there but isaiah tells us especially zechariah 4 and verse 6 not by might not by might nor by power not by might not by intellect not by power not by strength of arm but by my spirit says the lord of hosts in other words zechariah is resting on god's spirit to give him what he needs when he needs it isaiah 40 uh and verse 30 but those who wait upon the lord share with their strength and they will mourn up like wings of eagles and they'll run and not be weary they'll walk and say not i get tired but i'm empowered by the third person of the god here say hey man if i can get up to go set up charlotte i can get up to go preach ups help somebody we get up for everything we want to do but when it comes to kingdom business this grown folk preaching here this ain't everybody and if you guys can't handle it you may leave i'm already i'm by myself i got the father son of the holy ghost we walking in this and we're not scared and we don't need fickle fearless fellas we need a faith to trust god and i step in and say i've got this and even if they're saying we'll be right there and listen to each other well i'll quit because this ain't popping to preach first corinthians 15 and verse 15 i got to close with this and then we got extended invitation because there's somebody that need to be encouraged they need they need mental resolve they need if you will emotional stability and they show enough needs spirit stamina i leave you with these words from first corinthians 15 58 therefore my beloved brother be steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the lord in this message look at your labor that your labor so the lord is not in vain stay steady my brother stay steady if you're here this morning you're listening we all are going through but god can give you the strength and the courage get this now to be faithful to him and to be able to deal with whatever comes your way get this without losing your faith and becoming faithless you're this morning and you're needing christ in your life you got a decision to make i can't make it when you choose to come to christ come for right reason come because you believe that excuse me that he is the christ the son of the living god that his life was given that you might have life come believing that your salvation won't cost you nothing but it cost everything he gave up heaven to come down here somebody sacrificed and you can't you can't stay away from your job to come to the house of god why don't you leave god alone and go with stay in the house now give me your mind it's ambivalent but when god calls you and you decide you're going to follow him you can get baptized 100 times but if you don't believe if you're not mentally resolved then i need him more than he needs me then salvation is not for you sometimes we sell the people a false bill of goods to make us feel good well i offered the invitation invitation is deeper than that jesus told those disciples in luke 9 23 if any man will come after me let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me daily yeah it's a lifestyle it's going to interrupt a lot of your stuff and some of the stuff needs to be interrupted maybe that's why god still held us have us where we are in this pandemic still trying to get in and get into our hearts so that we could become faithful more faithful than we have been if you're here this morning maybe you need prayer maybe i've spoken to some hearts out there that are open do what i do when that word of god starts above me god i'm sorry i repent i don't report i repent i'm sorry for not keeping you the priority in my life and in my family and in my ministry y'all ain't listening to me sorry selling you out for a fist full of dust when you laid your blood and didn't have the gas if you'd wrap my lips around welter's great jews that's a crack if you're here and you need to respond come right let's go together stand and sing will you come [Music] [Music] like [Music] [Music] oh to [Music] thee me is [Music] we're thankful once again this morning for another wonderful message for brother hawkins be strong and courageous and we all need to be strong and courageous in the times that we're going through right now as a result of the message we have several that have responded online and we have some that are given responses so far within the audience [Music] [Music] i'm going to read the responses i have so far and then we'll go to the audience and check if there are any responses or any prayer requests here um the first one i have is from tawanda thomas she's asking for general prayer for all our problems uh stating that she sinned and repented i'm asking for healing uh for friends be special prayer and thankful for her blessings she says she would like to carry out the work jesus um keep the work that jesus need and for me to be the person he needs me to be and so we'll be praying for you towanda um we also have um submission from kristen and johnny castillo it says thank you for all your prayers from my godfather but he lost his battle with cancer yesterday morning please keep our family and your prayers during this time amen we have one from andrea major he says i am repenting of not having a godly attitude when hearing not good news please pray that even when things are not always right that i maintain a godly attitude i'm trying amen we have from online sister renee robinson i'm asking for prayers for strength and encouragement i need prayers also for my children lord please keep guiding me thank you in advance we also have several requests from online again for prayers for uh anthony robinson for the work that he's doing uh with our brothers and sisters in nigeria and for the encouragement he's giving them and as they're watching us online as well and so they asked for prayers for anthony for his mom as well and many of the individuals are asking for prayers for themselves um young richie alawsen says that i also pray that those that have lost loved ones that god will console them in their families this and many more i ask in jesus name um from malaya kin sola kinsola um says i'm asking for prayers over my life and god favor mercy over my family and we have cozy darlington igbo she says i'm asking for prayers for myself and also on behalf of anthony robinson for the work being done in nigeria at this time so these are the prayer requests i have from online if you haven't in the audience you can please stand where you are and just let us know what the request is and let us know your name to the right side anyone in the middle section you ever prepare me for sorry y'all [Music] [Music] for myself um [Music] was warned for the office warren [Music] ah sister earls [Music] oh [Music] anyone to the left for the prayer request jerome [Music] [Music] amen any other requests [Music] let's go to our father in prayer gracious father in heaven we thank you once again for using your man servant in a mighty way this morning father to preach your word and to just speak the things that you would have him too father we're desirous father to be strong enough good courage and we know father that as the word is preached we pray that we don't let it fall on deaf ears father that we abide in our lives and we live it out each and every day we on behalf of the many requests have been made father uh for tawanna thomas father she's asking for forgiveness for her sins she says she's repentant father and we ask that you watch over her and give her what she stands in need of uh she's praying father that um that you will use her and make her the person that you desire her to be and so we ask on her behalf father that you grant her that request uh we asked on behalf of jerome thompson for uh sister freeman eva freeman and brother james freeman we know that they're going through quite a bit right now father and we just asked to give her strength in her time of need and she's taking care of brother human and all the things that are involved with that please bless his family father and keep them in your care we pray uh we have sister earls who's asking prayers on behalf of the henry family father for the loss of their loved ones mchenry and uh others dear lord we're just having to give them strength and comfort in their time of need and build them up into my way give them father the comfort that they need from those that are around them at this time to encourage and support them we're also lifting up um brother hawkins right now father for his brother warren hawkins he's not doing well fathers in the hospital and we're just praying that you'll watch after him and his family father uh we're praying for vincent that she'll keep him encouraged her lord and that he can be an assistance and a blessing in any way that he can uh to warren and all his family members father we know that he has a lot on his mind right now and we just ask that you give him uh peace of mind uh through the trials and through the times that he's going through and help him to trust and lean on you we lift up al garrett right now father he's asking prayers for himself that he can have a better frame of mind that you'll bless him dear lord with the right attitude and the right mindset he needs continue to be with his sister rose and father give her health give her strength as she's going through some difficulty right now as well we lift up kristen and johnny castillo father for the loss of their loved one we know this is a difficult time when we love one's father especially when it's been a long illness and we just ask that you'll bless this family watch over protect them father give them comfort give them strength to endure through the trials that they're going through uh we probably have of andrea right now father she's confessing that she hasn't had a godly attitude many times when she's hearing bad news and we just pray that you give her what the attitude that she needs father that godly attitude help her to focus in on you father and to know who you are and that she could have that life that you desire her to bless her father we know that she's trying and we ask that you allow the holy spirit to guide her with all her conversations father and the things that she's dealt with that she can still maintain that christ-like attitude we looked up renee robinson right now father's asking for strength for encouragement and uh just also her uh children as well father uh please continue to bless the roslin family uh keep them in your care grant them uh health grant them strength uh for the things that they're going through right now we're praying for our um request been made on behalf of anthony robinson father and his mother sister robinson you know we're thankful for uh anthony's work with the brothers and sisters of nigeria please continue to bless him watch over him father bless mr robinson dear lord give her strength and health and just guide her once again and once again they may be able to come back and join us in fellowship uh in person uh very soon we lift up um young alawus father he's praying for those who've lost loved ones he would like you to console their fans father and we just ask that as well that you'll comfort all those who are bereaved now that you'll give them hope in their time of need for king emmanuel father he's asking for prayers that you'll bless him and that you'll protect his family grant him that favor father just give him the protection he needs for whatever he's going through in his daily life and that he can always keep you first and everything that he does and for for maleo ken solala we're praying father that you'll watch over her life for their life father and that should bring the mercy and grace uh for her and the family as well father just continue to guide us all we ask that you'll give us strength in our time of need we ask that you'll help us to be comforting to those who are hurting we ask father that we can be a blessing wherever we go uh we just continue uh this prayer father and we ask it all to ma'am your son jesus we pray amen [Music] so [Music] [Music] stand before you to encourage you in your giving and i'd like to share a story with you from 2nd samuel chapter 24. uh in verse 18 uh king david is instructed by gad the seer to build an altar on the threshing floor of a roon of the w site and so david goes to aruna to request uh the thresh floor and this is his response this is aruna's response in verse 22. now aruna said to david let the lord my king take and offer up whatever seems good to him look he are oxen for burnt sacrifice and threshing implements and the yolk of the oxen for wood these o king aru has given to the king and aruna said to the king may the lord your god accept you and i love david's response in verse 24 then the king said to aruna no but i will surely buy it from you for a price nor will i offer burnt offerings to the lord my god which costs me nothing so david bought a threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver and david there built an altar to the lord and offered birth offerings and peace offerings so that lord heeded the prayers for the land and the pig was withdrawn from israel and i have no doubt that one of the reasons that god stayed the plague on israel was because the heart that david demonstrated by refusing to accept the offering but he said i will pay for it he says i will not render unto the lord my god that which cost me nothing question what is your religion costing you brother hawkins challenges us with the three three the vts and you know what they are your time your talent and your treasure and i think that's a fair barometer a gauge from which to determine how uh we are relating to god how is our faith doing uh romans 12 does tell us that our bodies are a living sacrifice so naturally we ought to be willing to give freely to the lord because he certainly has given to us let us use the wonderful example that uh david has given us and if i'm harsh excuse me but if your lip your religion isn't costing you anything it probably isn't worth very much help me lord let us pray father god in heaven we're so thankful for the riveting sermon that brother hawkins has given us that he has challenged us father we might look more deeply father into the reality that is before us father that we might be willing to sacrifice uh in this kingdom father that we might uh look at what is happening that we might uh be uh be more christ-like father in our attitude as we respond to you that the challenges of life father you're a god of the pandemic you're the you're the god of the of the mountaintop you're the god of the valley father whatever befalls us father we know father that you're in the midst of it father so help us to demonstrate faith in the tragedies of life and not use them to disobedient and not step out on faith father so just help us as we uh lift this offering father that the members will be open and willing to avail themselves to all of the means that we have made to make it possible for them to contribute not just their uh but their uh their their funds but also their talent father and their time uh that we might be uh living epistles read by man we thank you and we love you in jesus name amen [Music] as the ushers are assisting you with your giving we'd like to sing a song of encouragement when the savior calls i will answer when he calls for me i will listening i'll be somewhere listening i'll be somewhere listening for my name oh i'll be somewhere listening i'll be somewhere listening i'll be somewhere listening for my name amen we'll come to another part of our service and that is where we recognize the great sacrifice for our lord and savior and prepare to prepare to take communion we ask you to sing this song with us oh what one dress love i see for really short [Music] he suffered matchless as we commune uh with lord consider acts 20 and seven where the bible reads and upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread paul pitched unto them ready to depart on the morrow and continue the speech until midnight the lord jesus instituted the lord's supper and we have an example in matthew 26 26 which reads and as they were eating jesus took bread and blessed it and break it and gave to the disciples and said take eat this is my body and he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink ye all of it for this is my love of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins but i say unto you i shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the mind until that day when i drink it new with you in my father's kingdom let us pray for the bread and the cup of this time unto your attorney for eternal god we come with our hearts full of gratitude and thanksgiving as we contemplate father the the pain and the agony father that you suffered on calvary's cross for our sins and so father we are humbled and we pray father that we might use this time to look in with father father that we might live lives that are in recognition father for what jesus did and how father that as we partake of this cup and this bread that we might examine ourselves and just be more thoughtful uh in our walk before you and just continue to uh demonstrate our lives that you have your hand on us and that we do trust you and that we know that faith is the victory and this is our prayer for both the bread and the cup in jesus name amen [Music] [Music] [Music] matchless is this [Music] [Music] here's a ministry we all can participate in if god touch our heart each member is asked to please donate one white pal for the baptism committee program we are trying to collect 100 towels so a towel of the appropriate size for drying would be useful i have a thank you card from sister claudia smith and i'll read it each day of life is a gift from god and so are the effectual fervent prayers from my dear church family thank you for the cards and calls during the passing of barbara quinn sister of late elder larry smith and family and they thank you uh this is from sister bonnie delicia and devin smith [Music] have another thank you card which i'll read [Music] a simple act of thoughtfulness can brighten many way days that's why the kindness you have shown deserves a word of praise so here's a very special thanks to warmly let you know your thoughtfulness means so much more than only words could show the family is the most precious gift that one one has when when you lose a loved one i hope i'm reading this correctly thank you thank you church family for your many acts of kindness during the loss of minister clois cecil the calls cards flowers gifts and prayers were greatly appreciated in christian love the roy shepherd and cloy's cecil families so remember remember these that uh submit cards you can still lift them up in your weekly prayer time those are the announcements that i have i also want to call it attention to an announcement that's in the bulletin it's on uh your september health tip i just want to call your attention to it and take a look at it when you have a chance if you have very good health tips and in the times like these your health should be of the most paramount interest brother hawkins thank you dick and mary appreciate that church how we doing all right all right got a couple of announcements i do want to uh inform you that uh our young people a couple of our young people believe in this week for uh the state youth conference i'd like for you to come and make a very brief uh statement about that we'd like to know who's going and how you're going we already know but i think the church would benefit they might put some change in your pocket are you taking sister gobble with you all right go ahead we um we'll be taking uh three youtube from the figaro church of christ daniel williams and marquis milner will be leaving on thursday at 4 00 a.m in the morning to participate in the 59th and 69th annual national youth conference in camp copas which is in denton texas it is abbreviated to three days due to the challenges that have been presented by covert 19 there won't be a pageant but it will be a full schedule for the three days of some community outreach plenty of preaching and plenty of our bible classes and so we think it's important to continue to support the conference particularly during this difficult time as it was canceled last year and so we're trying to get back on our footing and so we appreciate so much the support of the congregation and just continue to lift us up in prayer uh brother greg garrett the uh one of the elders at the compton avenue uh church of christ will be uh accompanying us to assist uh with the driving yes we will be doing an ozil road trip and so uh we're looking forward to um to having a good time and using that time actually in the car to encourage our young men and build them up uh in the uh theme for this year which is theme taken from psalm 139 verses 17 and 18. so if you get a chance read that it's uh it's a very inspiring passage and again uh thank you for your prayers and support uh in advance all right thank you for sharing that with us and we'll definitely be praying for you now you're headed back to the great state of texas also i want to give you some information that was given to me by david craven himself you know david was very close to bruce he informed me this morning that the funeral is going to be at harrison and ross on october the 1st uh at 10 a.m viewing will take place uh on september the 30th from 4 to 6 p.m this information will be forwarded to the church office if you have additional questions regarding this information i'll see what the bishop has for us but this is what was given to me this morning that harrison and ross on october the 1st at 10 a.m is that the correct information brother bishop okay all right and so check with david david has been talking with the family viewing again september 30th from 4 to 6 p.m also uh along with uh uh brother uh uh deacon abode and bishop thompson over here we have this procession each each large day at 4 30 p.m and today brother mason from oklahoma is going to be the speaker i encourage all of you to participate in that as well and then i want to in mind our sisters our sisters have a bible class every sunday at 2 p.m online and so we need you to get involved in our prayer class and that might be something a little early for some uh that is at 8am on sunday mornings we're there and we've been there faithfully pre-pandemic and doing the pandemic class in here at 9 00 a.m uh we're going to encourage all of our elders and deacons come to bible class this is the only one we got here at this facility you need to be present and then on wednesday night uh those of you you've had a year to be able to figure out how to get online you need to be in bible class i'll say amen by myself i know this is not popular but it's my responsibility to encourage us and then to remind us and every now and then we need to be rebuked about being negative negligent in spiritual matters especially and so get in the bible class get informed learn about your god develop some inspiration and some enthusiasm for the work of god can we do that all right i i i've done the best i know bishop can we all say amen i want to thank brother hawkins for that powerful sermon that he delivered unto us this morning may god continue to bless him and his heart and his lovely wife kathleen we want to applaud all of you for fellowshipping with us today uh thanks cease of all the work that he do at this congregation with these young people i want to ask the question is there a ashley sanchez in the audience if ashley sanchez is sitting in the artist would you please make your way to the podium she those of you who know ashley sanchez she was baptized we do have her baptismal certificate and please get in touch with her and tell her listen we have a special gift for you at the church building but in order for you to get that gift you gotta be here to get that gift so those of you who know ashley sanchez please let her know that thank you for your presence thank you for your patience have we had a blessed day fellowshipping can we all just say amen amen again i mean at this time we're going to ask you to stand and we're going to ask our own brother reuben blackened as he make his way to the podium that he will give us our benediction prayer you can stand all of us stand at this time [Music] [Music] let us pray at this time heavenly father we are very grateful that you allowed us to be here to hear the message from your messenger we pray for all those who have participated and we very thank you for your kindness your love and your care be with us until we meet again at the next appointed time in jesus name we pray man

Channel: Figueroa Church of Christ

Views: 298

Rating: 4.5999999 out of 5

Keywords: figueroa church of christ, church of christ, gospel preaching, gospel, preaching, faith, works, satan, god, jesus, lord, word, word of god, message, answer, heaven, hell, help, assistance, calvin bowers, minister, ministry, david holmes, vincent hawkins, david g holmes, vincent e hawkins

Id: amxK7ZC50vs

Length: 125min 39sec (7539 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 19 2021