Bellfort CoC

[Music] don't you want to don't get left behind cause today you've got time to get it knows [Music] [Music] just [Music] everybody [Music] [Music] everybody [Music] is [Music] cause he may come tonight so you better get ready [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] tell us [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] faith is the [Music] for jesus [Music] people all over the world [Music] you better get ready [Music] [Music] [Music] are you ready of your life are you ready are you ready are you ready for the time of your life are you ready [Music] come on put those hands together let's praise him today [Music] together [Music] happy deep inside [Music] [Music] sunday morning [Music] praising the lord [Music] cause i know the lord has already [Music] [Music] they don't know [Music] [Music] one day [Music] [Music] something [Music] makes me feel so good [Music] [Music] [Applause] oh sunday morning sunday morning [Music] [Music] me [Music] the closer i can [Music] the closer i the more a friend we have in jesus [Music] [Music] to carry everything to god in the lord is my shepherd i lack nothing he makes me lie down in green pastures he leads me beside quiet waters he refreshes my soul he guides me along the right paths for his namesake even though i walk through the darkest valley i will fear no evil for you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you anoint my head with oil my cup overflows surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life [Music] and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever oh [Music] well good morning good morning good morning church and welcome to our live stream broadcast of the worship service here at the belford church of christ we want to welcome all of our friends and guests who are joining us here live and also all of you that are joining us virtually from in and around the country we want to thank you all for giving this opportunity to provide a portion of god's word to you whether you are joining us for the first time or whether you are a returning viewer we just thank you for continuously giving us this opportunity just to share a portion of god's word i want to invite all of you to join us by downloading the latest version of our app on this particular app you will find all of the links to our online bible classes our ministry virtual classes our wednesday night in the word bible study i will push prayer line and lastly you will find links to our worship service which all of you know can be seen live now on our own ruku channel or either on facebook or youtube we want you to know that we are continuing continually continuing to meet the challenges that this pandemic has brought on us and we will do our very best to do whatever we can to continue to provide you all with a quality worship service because we are committed to upgrading all of our platforms to make your viewership a lot more enjoyable and speaking of the pandemic we want you to be mindful that this pandemic is still affecting all of the lies and communities from all around the country so we want you to continue to be cautious in all of your actions and while we can no longer mandate the wearing a mask on the outside we do ask that when you come into our worship services we do ask that you continue to wear your mask for the protection of yourself as well as others and also especially our children who has not had the opportunity yet to take this uh vaccine we also want you to be mindful of all of our members who have lost loved ones as a direct result of this pandemic or because of some other type of debilitating illness or sickness and this week our prayers are extended to brother charles jackson and his family we utilized brother jackson's brother michael here at the bell on yesterday so we want to encourage all of you to keep the jackson family lift up and prayers and also all the other families who have recently lost loved ones we want to remember all of our sick and are shut in in our prayers and we want to continuously give a special shout out to all of our seniors who are joining us virtually just know that we miss you we love you and we can't wait to see you again we want you to know that if you have a prayer request or a praise report we invite you to join our push prayer line daily monday through saturday where we have vowed to continue to pray until something happens so if you have a prayer request or if you have a praise report we ask that you join that push prayer line at 150 to let your requests be made known and we go sharply at 2 pm to our heavenly father in prayer this month is ministry fair month and we will be having virtual meetings will be held throughout this much but each ministry that we have here at the bell it is our effort to rebuild and restructure all of our ministries to better service you all during this uh era of a pandemic we uh we are restructuring everything that we have because we are having to meet in various different types of ways and so we we have restructured all of these ministries where we are able to communicate with you all virtually so we invite you all to join in on these ministries uh virtual meetings and just see which one you like and see where you can fit in we want you to get in right where you fit in also we want you to know as a result of the funeralization of brother jackson's brother on yesterday we had to reschedule the mob reboot class and that class has been rescheduled for september the 25th at 8 00 am so brothers re-mark your calendars for september the 25th at 8 00 a.m and we look forward to having you there that is going to conclude our announcements this morning and now i want us to to direct your attention to our scripture reading for today the scripture reading for today will be taken out of the book of romans we will be going to uh romans chapter 12 and i will commence reading at verse number nine and this is be talking about love and action so if you are here with me today we ask that you stand for the reading of god's word and for those of you that are joining us virtually we ask that you just pause momentarily while we read a word from the lord again romans 12 um commence reading at uh verse number nine and i'll be reading from the niv love must be sincere you are to hate what is evil and cling to what is good be devoted to one another in love honor one another above yourselves never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor serving the lord be joyful and hope patient and affliction faithful in prayer share with the lord's people who are in need practice hospitality bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse rejoice with those who rejoice mourn with those who mourn live in harmony with one another don't be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position don't be conceited don't repay anyone evil for evil be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone and if it is possible as far as it depends on you live at peace with everyone don't take revenge my dear friends but leave room for god's wrath for it is written it is mine to repay to obvious i will repay says the lord church that's been the reading of your word this morning i want to first let you all know that brother glenn is over in most city bringing the word over there but brother peter martin is going to lift us up right here so we invite you to let us continue to have your attention now while we are led in prayer by my little brother brother aaron booty amen let the church say amen again amen i know um it's been a rough week probably for all of us you know but god is always faithful always you know we go through life trusting believing in him at the end that's all we want to hear is well done there is a word today there is a word amen let us pray dear heavenly father we thank you this day we thank you for your grace we thank you for your mercy father god we thank you for bringing us thus this far we know if it had not been for you father god we would have fallen a long time ago but lord is by your son jesus christ who died on calvary's cross for sinners like us father god that have made a way lord that we could just come to you we can worship you we can honor you we could praise you for all that you have done in our lives lord we pray father god that you just forgive us of our sins we pray father god that you as just remove anything that will just uh uh stop us from praising you from worshiping you today lord allow us father god to to put those things to the side this morning father god that we could truly worship you father god in spirit and in truth father god lord we continue father god to lift up all the the ones that have lost loved ones father god those that are in hospitals those father god are going through so much right now we lift up the people in louisiana father god may you continue to to be with them father god and touch their hearts and touch their minds and just allow them to know father god that you are still there father god with your arms open wide father god we continue to follow god to lift up our pastor lord may you continue to move in his life in a mighty way as he continue to do your work and your will father god and lord we also lift up our preacher today father god lord we're so grateful and thankful for this man you have sent us lord we ask father god that you just continue to touch his heart lord continue to move in his light lord that that he would just continue to bring your word forth father god that people will listen and they would hear father god and they would drop to their knees and ask what must i do to be saved lord we're so grateful this morning for for the baal father god we ask that you continue to build build this church up father god that it will go forth father god and touch lies because that's all you want father god at the end of the day you want people to come to you to be able to worship you to be able to accept salvation father god and serve you father god we're so grateful and thankful once again this morning and we ask lord that you be with those that will be singing father god be with the the word that will go forth father god may everything we do here today bring you glory father god and you would be satisfied we thank you this day we praise you we ask all this in the mighty name of jesus and let the church say amen [Music] [Music] thank you lord and i just want to thank you lord [Music] you've been so [Music] when you've been so good will you be so good i just want to thank you lord you say my soul [Music] thank you thank you [Music] i just want to thank you lord hey man i'm not a little robert as you can tell a little taller same blood though so we don't keep the spirit going this morning let the spirit on the lord rise among you let the spirit of the lord prince of our king and let it rise [Music] and let it rise [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] [Music] hey [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] there are some things i may not know [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] i cannot do [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] me [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] me [Music] yes paul wants us to remember the death and the suffering that our savior experienced as a people we choose to forget the pain and the agony and the suffering when it happens to us but paul wants us to remember the death that jesus experienced it wasn't his sins it was our sins so as we in this communion help our minds the lord to go back and reflect on what jesus did for us in the book of first corinthians the 11th chapter and about verse 23 it reads for i pass on to you what i receive from the lord himself on the night when he was portrayed the lord jesus took some bread and he gave thanks to god for it then he broke it in pieces and said this is my body which is given to you do this in remembrance of me in the same way he took the cup of wine after supper saying this cup is the new covenant between god and his people an agreement confirmed with my blood do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it for every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you announcing the lord's death until he comes again so anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the lord unworldly is guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the lord that is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup but if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of christ you're eating and drinking god's judgment upon yourself that is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died but if we would examine ourselves we would not just be judged by god in this way yet when we are judged by the lord we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world so my dear brothers and sisters when you gather for the lord's supper wait for each other i father what in heaven thank you for this moment thank you for giving your only son jesus allowing him to go to calvary and hang on that tree to die to suffer so that our sins will be washed and remembered no more and as we participate in this lord's supper and we take this bread and we take this cup lord we pray that we will do it in a way that only pleases you it's in jesus name amen [Music] and [Music] [Music] hey [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] all [Music] [Music] my [Music] all the days so that's your opportunity to uh drop in your offering but if you didn't don't worry get an opportunity the guys will come through in just a little bit and give you an opportunity to put your money in the basket but as we come through just wanted to remind you of that's how we are putting our money into the offering the god we serve he is a good god give it up to him give him his praise he's not good just some of the time britney he's good all of the time and he owns everything that we have and the good thing about the god that we share that we have he's not asking for all that we have did you know sometimes you got people who were asked everything of you but not god he owns it all but he's asking just for a portion of it and this is our opportunity to be able to give back to him let's just look at a scripture just for reference of the principle of giving in second corinthians the ninth chapter and about verse number six the bible says remember this a former who plants only a fruit seeds will get a small crop but the one who plants generously will get generously a generously crop you must each decide in your heart how much to give don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure for god loves a person who gives cheerfully and god will generously provide all you need then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others as the scripture says they share it freely and give generously to the poor the good deeds will be remembered forever for god is the one who provides seeds for the farmer and then bread to eat and the same way he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you yes you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous and when we take our gifts to those who need them they will thank god so two good things will result from this ministry of giving the needs of the believers in jerusalem will be met and they will joyfully express their thanks to god as a result of your ministry they will give glory to god for your generosity to them and to all the believers who prove that you are obedient to the good news of christ and they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace god has given to you thank you god for this gift god thank you for the opportunity and the example of what it means to give you you showed us by giving your son jesus your only son you're not asking for us to give all you're only asking that we purpose to give you according to what we have and so love we just pray that that will be the mindset of the christians here at belford and we just ask that you would be with our leaders as the ones come in that you would just be with them in their spirit that they would do those things that would be pleasing and acceptable in your sight we love you and we thank you for this great opportunity it's in the mighty name of jesus we pray let us all say amen well i once was lost in sin but jesus took me [Music] [Music] [Music] he will hear our faith [Music] jesus fix it sometimes [Music] is [Applause] [Music] why don't you just [Music] [Applause] [Music] he will [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and [Music] [Music] anyway anyway [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] bless me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] the sound [Applause] like me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] anyway [Music] [Applause] [Music] anyway [Music] anyway [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] anyway [Music] [Music] be satisfied [Music] when you [Music] [Music] it don't matter anyway [Music] [Applause] [Music] me is [Music] [Applause] now give god [Applause] to be satisfied [Music] just to move on yet another day we want to meet in prayer for pastor james as he's probably lighting it up right about now at the most city church of christ now i want to invite your attention to a very familiar passage in the old testament and that is psalm 23. psalm 23 and i ask you to stand for the reading of the word of god psalm 23 and i'll be reading from the new king james translation of the scriptures then the bible reads the lord is my shepherd i shall not want he makes me to lie down in green pastures he leads me beside the still waters he restores my soul he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name yea though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil for you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me you prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies you anoint my head with oil [Music] my cup runs over surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever i want to tag this morning's sermon fresh water from a familiar well fresh water from a familiar well you may be seated in the presence of of the lord this particular psalm is is often read it's often quoted it is often meditated upon it's often pondered upon it gives us comfort in in our times of calamity it it gives us uh consolation when we're going through the chaotic situations of our life it even gives us triumph even in the midst of our troublesome times but what i want to do on this morning is unpack psalm 23 is that all right can i can i unpack and give you the meaning of this particular psalm and and may you leave this building even more strengthened in the lord as a result of not only being able to quote psalm 23 but also to know the meaning the purpose and the power of psalm 23 this is a psalm of reflection david at this point in his life is is now an old man and he's reflecting on what the lord has saved him from for if you're like david you've been through some stuff in your life you you've been through some situations in your life david had to deal with goliath he had to deal with his brothers he had to deal with saul he had to deal with absalom he had to even deal with the sin that he committed when he slept with bathsheba and had her husband killed david said i've been through a lot i i've been through some storms of correction i've been through some storms of perfection and and i'm still here because i have the lord as my shepherd the bible says the lord and any time he's lord in all capital letters you are looking at the covenant name of god you are looking at the personal name of god you are looking at jehovah you are looking at yahweh you are looking at the self-existent the self-sufficient one lord have mercy this carries the same meaning as the word i am in exodus chapter 3 and verse number 14 when moses was a vagabond in the land of egypt and and when he left and god said i want you to go back and tell pharaoh let my people go he says lord who shall i say sent me he says tell them that i am that i am sent you not i was not one day i will be but i am somebody ought to be grateful that he's i am yesterday he's i am today and he'll be i am tomorrow that's the personal name of god and the fact that god keeps his covenant in order to give us some sense of safety security and salvation to know that no matter what i go through in life he is the lord the lord is my shepherd that's jehovah rohi he he is my shepherd the the term shepherd is often used in terms of leadership and how a leader manages and cares for his people david says listen i understand what it means to be a shepherd i had to watch over the flock of my father jesse i i was even made fun of because of the flock that i had to take care of it is a challenging task dealing with sheep it is a challenging task dealing with sheep right now i ain't talking about four-legged sheep i'm talking about two-legged sheep it's a challenge dealing with sheep let me help you to understand some things as we unpack this uh there are certain characteristics and qualities of sheep the four-legged creatures that fit us today number one sheep have no sense of direction number two sheep have no way of defending themselves number three sheep are dumb y'all come on y'all come on yeah don't don't don't hang up a line right now but i i'm going to help you along the way here but they have no sense of direction they they have no way of defending themselves and sheep are are dumb oh lord have mercy so when david says the lord is my shepherd david says the rule has been reversed i now understand how the lord cares for me i now understand how the lord manages the mess in my life because i was responsible for caring for sheep and now i understand myself as being the sheep and the lord as being my shepherd and because the lord the self-existent the self-sufficient one is my shepherd i know i i shall not lack anything i shall not want because everything that i need is in him everything that i have is because of him it is because of him i i am who i am somebody ought to be grateful somebody ought to shout with joy that because he is managing my life because he is caring for the needs of my life i shall neither won't i i may not have everything that i want from a material standpoint but i have everything that i need i i shall not want he he makes me he makes me i got no sense to do it myself he he makes me lie down in green pastures now now understand this sheep aren't just gonna lay down but they're not just gonna lay down they gotta be free from four things if they're gonna be if they're gonna lay down in peace if if they're going to rest number one they got to be free from fear because if something is lurking around that they're going to be so static that they're going to experience some form of paralysis that they're going to have some anxiety and so whatever is prompting the fear it has to be moved they got to be free from fear not only must they be free from fear they got to be free from friction because sometimes sheep have a habit of bucking against one another and fighting against one another and it's hard for sheep to be at peace and lay down in a rest when they got to deal with the foolishness of other sheep anybody right now dealing with restlessness because you got somebody lord have mercy in the fold that is constantly messing with you pestering you constantly on your back it is hard for you to be at rest but when the lord delivers you from such folk you can then lie down but not only is the sheep must the sheep be free from fear and and free from friction but it also must be freed from aggravation sometimes pests and insects start start biting on the sheep it is difficult for the sheep to get comfortable it's it's all anxious it's it's moving around it doesn't have the ability to to scratch itself in and bring itself comfort and and so until that problem is taken care of then he can't lie down in green pastures but then finally he needs to be freed from hunger you got to feed the sheep praise the mighty name of jesus and it's the shepherd that that takes care of the fear it's the shepherd that takes care of the friction it's the shepherd that takes care of the aggravation it's the shepherd that takes care of the hunger and when the shepherd takes care of those four things that the sheep must deal with it is at that point the sheep can lie down and green pastures to lie down signifiers you need to spend time in these green pastures you had enough dry areas in your life enough desolate areas in your life you need to be where the green pastures are yet you need to be able to feed and and rest in a good shepherd now you got some bad shepherds but the good shepherd who cares for the sheep knows how to lead the sheep to the best places because the shepherd understands that in the journey of leading the sheep that ultimately he's going to lead them to a valley lord and so before you get to your valley i need you to spend time with me uh lord have mercy how many of us have felt lonely in the valleys of life just because we didn't take the time to spend time with the shepherd we we only spend time with him when trouble arises we we only spend time with him when we got more month than money we we only spend time with him when we get a report that does not agree with our spirit well i'll tell you that speaker's sister mad at me right now make make make make time for the lord spend time with the lord and when you spend time with the lord it is then that the lord will prepare you for what's ahead of you he leaves me beside the still waters y'all fasten your seat belts there may be some turbulence ahead he leaves me beside steel waters i told you that sheep are anxious creatures that's not my mic so sheep are anxious and so they can't stand noise they get anxious they get a little jittery and so they can't stand a lot of commotion that there has to be some some calmness some some tranquility and and so the shepherd who knows the sheep knows their needs and so he leads them beside quiet waters oh watch this watch this come just a little closer it's amazing that sheep can go without drinking water for about a month or even longer because the vegetation that the sheep eats early in the morning has the morning dew over it and so when it eats the vegetation in the foliage it it also drinks the dew that's on top but if you're gonna get the best of the do yeah you got to get it early you got to get it early in the morning i just believe that if you want a better day at work you got to get up just a little early and and get the morning do of god's word get get the water of god's word in your system so will you deal with that heathen on the job oh praise god now now you can be at peace even when they are in the process of forming weapons that will not prosper against you you got to get that early due you got to get that early vegetation the problem is sometimes we're not satisfied with what god gives us in his word and so we'll do exactly what jeremiah talked about in jeremiah chapter 2 and verse 13. god says my people have forsaken me the spring of living water and they have dug their own cisterns broken cisterns that can't hold water god says you want the best come to me you want the best open up my word take take my word off yourself dust it off some and and start feeding on the vegetation of the word for on the vegetation is the morning dew that will bring satisfaction to your soul it leaves me beside the steel waters he restores my soul if sheep aren't careful they'll wander off from the fold that they'll wander away from the shepherd the shepherds going this way the the other sheep are going this way but but he's going the opposite way and sometimes he can get so far back and because he has no sense of direction he he doesn't know how to get back to where the others are and so when the when the when the shepherd starts counting the sheep to make sure that every sheep is accounted for and recognizes that one is missing you then better understand the parable in luke chapter 15 where the shepherd leaves the 99 and goes after that one because when that one is out there that one can protect itself that one is open to the vicious predators that are out there in the wilderness and so when sheep get out there by themselves now understand the physical makeup of a sheep a sheep has a ton of wool on its body which which weighs it down and and the sheep is off also bow legged so when the sheep falls and try to pick itself back up it it only ends up on its on his back and and because of the weight of the wool and because the fact that he's bow legged he can't flip himself back over blood circulation is cut in its body and he begins to panic he he gets frantic in and life is slowly leaving him that's why there's such urgency on the part of the shepherd to find the sheep because he says if i can't get to him fast enough he he's going to die and and when he finds the sheep he runs he runs he runs past the prince and he grabs the sheep and he he flips the sheep over and when he flips the sheep over he then picks up the sheep and places it around his neck he's restored the soul of the sheep he restored the life of the sheep how often do we find ourselves on our backs unable to protect ourselves and the wool of sin the the wool of trouble the wall of trials and the wall of tribulation have have weighed us down to the point that we were unable to flip ourselves back over somebody here got a testimony because you've been on your back and the lord has turned your right side up and has put life back inside of you that's why i shout that's why i get happy because i know the lord didn't do what he had done i would have died a long time ago you are here right now because he restored he restored he restored you didn't do it he restored he restored your soul sometimes god will let it get real bad so that when he fixes the situation you can't help but give him all the credit all the praise all the glory all the honor david said i've been on my back with the philistines i've been on my back with saul i've been on my back with absalom but he restored he restored my soul he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake that is he leads me in the right path to do the right thing for his name sake who lord have mercy he leads me because i have no sense of direction jeremiah 10 23 says oh lord i know that the way of man is not in himself it is not a man that walking to direct his own steps the bible says in psalm 37 23 that the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake that means that his reputation is on the line i got time just for a little more teaching you see a shepherd's reputation was tied to how he managed and cared for his sheep you were either a good shepherd or a bad shepherd or you may have even been a hireling and had no care for the sheep whatsoever but a good shepherd would lead his sheep in the right paths because he understood that his reputation was on the line and sometimes when we veer off the path that the shepherd is leading us on sometimes we give our shepherd a bad rap how many of it had talked down on jesus because of how you behave you cussing folk out on your job oh yeah y'all didn't know it's going to turn that way did you but when you're doing what's right and when you're hungred and thirsting after righteousness you're going to be filled and his reputation is going to be high he leads us in the past of righteousness for his name said he says yay y'all say yay yay though i walk though i walk through i told you the valley is coming you ain't ready for it if you ain't spend time at green pastures you ain't ready for it if you ain't sipped from the cool steel waters ready for it if you have not yet been restored you you ain't ready for the valley if you're not walking in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake he says yeah though i'll walk through y'all say through somebody say i ain't pitching the tent up in this thing i i i'm not i'm not signing a lease and living up in this thing i i'm just going i'm just going through may god help some of your vision to see the throughness of your situation somebody ought to shout trouble don't last always i i'm just going through this is this is just a pit stop on the way to my purpose it's just a pit stop on the way to my provision it's just a pit stop on the way to god's power i'm just going just going through we need to stop having a permanent mentality about temporary mess we're just going through yeah though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death y'all say shadow i'm walking through the valley of the shadow of death few things about shadows number one shadows can't hurt you a shadow has never hurt me but then number two a shadow can only exist when there's light yeah y'all let that sink into your spirit you'll never see a shadow without light for light hits an object and creates the shack so if i'm walking through the valley of the shadow of death i i know light is somewhere near whoa i'm trying not to get too happy too soon i'm going through a valley of the shadow of death that is a shepherd would lead the flock of sheep through through dangerous terrains through mountainous areas even through dark valleys where predators are lurking and they're looking through various crevices looking for an opportunity to to to eat and to kill the sheep but when the sheep keep their eyes on the shepherd they're not worried about what's was lurking around that that's the problem we we we get like peter and and we we we get off the boat and and we're floating for a while and and then we start looking at what's around us and then we begin to sink keep your eyes on the shepherd can i tell you your enemies are going to be there your predators are going to be around you you ain't got to look for them i'm telling you right now they are there they're there and so now that you know that they're there focus on the shepherd keep your eyes on jesus because when you keep your eyes on jesus then what's around you won't take you down who lord have mercy i'm walking through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil watches because you are with me you are with me this is jehovah sharma that is the lord is present and so you may feel that you're alone you may feel that that nobody cares you may feel that nobody has come to your aid to help you and support you but but when you hear jehovah shama you know the lord is right there he's right there the devil wants you to feel like you all by yourself he wants you to feel like you got to deal with the struggles of life by yourself but but god says i want you to know i'm right there for you are you're with me now this next part gonna make you wish god wasn't with you at all times your rod and your staff they comfort me the rod was used for correction sheep would often get out of hand remember i told you about that sheet that was right over there that they left the flock that was over here going in the opposite direction every now and then the shepherd would have to go get that sheep and he'll bring them back that same sheep will wander off i told you he's dumb and he had to go and grab him and bring him back that dumb sheep will leave the flock again and so the shepherd is like you know what i am tired of continuing to retrieve this wayward sheep and so when he gets him he breaks the leg of the sheep and then he wraps the leg up and then the sheep is limping but it's that sheep that stays closest to the shepherd i'm trying to help somebody to know that sometimes god has to break your leg sometimes god has to break something in your life just for you to get a little closer to him there there's a boy who had a sailboat and he was on the beach with his older brother and and he put his boat on the water and the boat got away from the boy and so the older brother started grabbing rocks and throwing it in the direction of the boat and the little boy said why are you throwing rocks at my boat and he he ran and he tackled his bigger brother he says why are you trying to destroy my boat he says no i'm not trying to destroy it i i see that i see that your boat is getting away so i was throwing rocks beyond the boat to create ripples to bring the boat back to you and so sometimes rocks are thrown in our direction because we've gotten away from where we need it to be and god uses creative ways to bring us back that's the rod that's that's the rod who prays they say when you limping you can't you can't do the lazarus y'all come on back to jesus if you know what i mean just look at the sermon from a few weeks ago but then the the staff the staff is very important it it it points me in in the right direction it it it it hooks me and puts me where i need to be but it's also the thing that i pass under so the lord can inspect me to see if anything about me needs to be fixed you see this is the true meaning of oversight there are power hungry elders not here that don't understand the meaning of oversight let me say this let me say this let me say this when you look at oversight is sight over you're looking over what are you looking over looking over the sheep as they pass under you're expecting you're trying to look for opportunities to help the sheep and meet the needs of the sheep if if there's a cut you're going to put salve on it if there's something sticking to the sheep you're going to remove it because your job is to care for the sheep not control the sheep and anybody that's trying to control the sheep i'm glad this is aaron live those men need to be put out of that eldership they need to be put out of that pastorate if you're not caring for the sheep if you try to control and exercise power that ain't your job you are no jesus junior you are an undershepherd that needs to care for the sheep sometimes you gotta get up at two o'clock three o'clock in the morning because some marriage is getting ready to fall apart somebody is addicted to something and they need you to care for them it ain't your job just to sit in the office and try to dictate what's going to happen go out there and care for some sheep that's why you got your staff that's why you got your staff let me smile so y'all know everything is all right you see when you use your staff properly then folk are comforted and not conflicted if there's no comfort that means something has gone wrong but when you use it the right way sheep are comforted who let me jump so because i got a whole lot more on that but now prepare us is that where we are well y'all had to get me off that train right there that prepare to prepare us a table before me in in the presence of my let me tell you how bad my shepherd is when i say how bad i mean how good he's bad and good they mean one of the same in this context i got a bad good shepherd he he he makes a spread for me but he doesn't wait until i get away from everybody that wants to harm me he brings me right in the midst of all my haters in the midst of everyone that don't like me everyone that doesn't care for me in the midst of my enemies he'll prepare a table and guess what i can eat at peace and it no matter what haters look you just look you just look because just because you hating don't mean he ain't gonna bless me he waits until i get in your presence to do what he wants to do oh man i tell you it's a wonderful thing when your enemy becomes the front row audience to watch god bless whoo man did i know this was in psalm 23 you prepared a table before me in the presence of that's almost like luke 15 when the prodigal son returned and the father threw a great feast and who was on the outside looking crazy the father prepared a stable for him even in the presence of his enemy god will bless you in the midst of folk who are trying to block those blessings and when god does it he doesn't just do it for your benefit he does it for his glory that's why you got to be careful when you start fooling with god's chosen got to be careful because your arms are far too short to box with god he he prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemy he anoints my head with oil as sheep are are walking through the dark territory the dangerous territory there's a great possibility for snakes to pop out and bite the heads of the sheep oil here is symbolic of protection who jesus and so when the snakes would come out they would slide right off because the shepherd knows how to protect his his sheep whereas other animals would easily become the prey of the predators when it comes to those that are cared for and managed by the sheep the sheep are protected one of the things that that that interests me are spiders i know y'all like spiders i know some of them there may be some arachnophobiacs up in here but but i want you to see something about the spike can i just share something that ties to this point you ever notice how insects get caught in a web and they can't do nothing about it i mean they might as well just go ahead and activate their will because they did they did there's nothing they can do but then something boggled me how is it that the very thing that other insects get stuck in spiders can walk across yeah yeah you ever think yeah you ever wondered about that how is it that that insects who are caught in the web can't move but then the very spider that created the web walks across what other things get stuck in all right yeah yeah i thought about it long enough here's why here's here's the deal the spider releases an oil and then glides across the oil to get to what's captured in the web the the reason why you can glide across what other folk get stuck in it's because oil has been released oreo symbolic of the holy spirit allows you to move through stuff that other folk gets stuck in he anoints my head with oil my cup runneth over i'm almost finished now my my cup runs over this is ancient near east hospitality going on here folk were very hospitable during that time period they love to welcome people into their homes come dine sup with me but now when certain folk get in their homes and they just all over the place and you get tired of their company then what you do which is understood is that you'll take their cup and you'll fill it halfway as if to say to them that when you drink was in this cup don't let the door hit you the good lord split you you ain't got to go home but you got to get up out of here but if if you enjoy the company then you'll take that cup and you allow the content to run run over as an indication that i want to spend more more time with you i i enjoy this time that we have together i'm enjoying this intimate relationship with you you now understand that it's not just about the gift it's about the giver it's not just about the blessing it is also about the blesser and you have chosen to spend time with the blesser and the blesser has chosen to spend time with you he allows your cup to run over as an indication that i want to spend more time with you is there anybody here that would dare to testify i just need about 50 of you and i'll be number 51 that i'm glad when my cup runs over i'm glad when god allows the blessings to run over because god is telling me peter i want to spend more time with you there's some things that you can't see that i can see and i was spending time together is going to prepare you for what is to come i declare the end from the beginning i see all time at one time and so i'm gonna allow your cup to run over just to prepare you for the next level in your life because you can't rise to a new level without dealing with the new devil and so you need your cup to run over just to deal with what's ahead of you surely surely the twins of goodness and mercy shall follow me shall pursue me constantly chase me every time i look back i see goodness every time i look back i see mercy jeremiah says in limitations 3 22 that they are new every single morning i'm so glad that god doesn't give me rotten mercy i'm so glad that god doesn't give me decomposed mercy i'm so glad that his mercies are new every single morning and even when i get some mess in my life i i can look back and there's still goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever somebody ought to testify it's not that i've been so careful it's not that i've been so good it's not that i've been so righteous it's not that i've been so holy that i've come to this point in my life i gotta look back and see goodness and mercy that is followed me but then i want you to see this i i want you to see the entirety of this psalm i got the shepherd in front of me i got the rod and the staff are on the other side of me i got goodness and mercy behind me i got surround protection i got the lord in the front good in the rod and the staff on the side goodness and mercy behind the lord knows i'm troubled on every side and if i'm troubled on every side i need help on every side now i'm not much of an artist but but if i look at this diagram that i've just verbally drawn for you if the shepherd is in front the rod and the staff on the side goodness and mercy behind me if i draw a line i'll get a cross lord whoa lord have mercy can't you see what's happening can't can't you see can't you see what's happening praise the mighty name of jesus this this psalm ain't really about sheep it's about what the shepherd does for the sheep heard a story a while back about this man who was very very eloquent and and he would recite poetry and and powerful scriptures before a large audience and so this man recited psalm 23. he he he recited it with with such animation that the folk gave him a standing ovation and then he he sat down and then there's this old fellow pastor prince who who said i i wanna i wanna try to quote psalm 23. they let him come up to the mic and this man is just stumbling all over the place he's mispronouncing this and he's he's mispronouncing that and he's mixing up the scriptures and and when he finally got through there was not a dry eye in the place and the man who recited it perfectly said how is it that i do it so well and i get a standing ovation but this man butchers psalm 23 and people are crying an old lady tugged on him and said listen there is no doubt you know the song but this man knows the shepherd i want to get to a point where i can get beyond knowing it and knowing him paul said that i may know him in the power of his resurrection the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his his death this is fresh water from a familiar whale and so anytime you you read the passage hear the passage there's also some relationship between the shepherd and the sheep ought to immediately enter your mind and you could just thank god for preserving your thank god for keeping you thank god for protecting you thank god for making you lie down in green pastures thank god for leading you beside the still waters thank god for anointing you thank god for allowing the cup of your life to run over thank god for dispensing goodness and mercy to follow you up all the days of your life but the last blessing is you will dwell in the house of the lord forever we're just pilgrims we're just pilgrims passing through this world is not my home i'm just passing through my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue i got a mansion with my name on it i got a match i know some of y'all claiming two or three man y'all just greedy i just need one i just need one mansion in glory i want to be fitted for for my robe fit it with with my crown and then praise god forever and ever endeavor lord thank you for allowing us to drink from this this familiar whale and gain some fresh some fresh water for our souls my question to you is are you thirsty for what the lord is offering do you have or better yet you have the capacity to receive what god wants to give my question is are you going to move the junk out the way so jesus can come in he wants you to be a part of of his foe john 10 16 jesus speaking about the gentiles he says and other sheep i have which are not of this foe them also will i bring and they shall hear my voice and there shall be one fold and one shepherd jews and gentiles in the same body in the same church this salvation ain't just about the jews they got it confused they are so discombobulated right about now it's for everybody i said it's for every everybody has a chance to be saved and in the fold of our good and great shepherd jesus john 15 13 the bible says greater love hath no man than this then for a man to lay down his life for his friends and that's what the shepherd did he laid down his life for his sheep all we like sheep have gone astray and have turned everyone to his own way and the lord had laid on him the iniquity of us oh i i pray that this this this word has been sweet to your spiritual palate and that you will continue to drink from this familiar well and and other familiar wells in scriptures so that you can have what god intended for you to have and that is an unbelievable relationship with him because that's what it's all about a relationship many have elevated religion above relationship and you wonder why you kicking the cat every day i ain't gonna say any more about that but get a relationship get a relationship get an intimate relationship with jesus and watch your life change it change stop stop wandering away from him stop stop digging your own whale and start drinking from the well that he has provided for you so that you can feel refreshed so that you can feel rejuvenated so that you can be reactivated and do his will we're going to ask you to stand right now there may be somebody that wants to give their life to jesus somebody that wants to be baptized somebody that wants to be a part of the fold of the lamb of god he's not going to lead you in the wrong direction he's going to lead you right back to glory that's where he's leading you right back to glory he is our forerunner and he wants us to follow in his steps he's a he's a mighty good leader and he's not going to lead you in places he ain't been uh praise god he's going to lead you in the paths of righteousness the path that leads to the land of glory where the sun forever shines where darkness is not invited where where sickness doesn't get an invitation where where death is not invited where where arthritis and and covet have no place there is a land there's a land but if you're going to get there you got to get with him he said i am the way i am the truth i am the life no man comes into the father but by me my goal is to get to get to god but i can't get to god without going through jesus i i can't go through jesus until i get in jesus when i get in jesus i can go through jesus and i can get to the father question is how do i get in him that i might go through him and get to the father that's the million-dollar question you've heard what he did for you question is do you believe that with all of your heart are you willing to repent of your sins turn from your wicked ways and start following the lord stop stop following your own path you you have no way of directing yourself to god you can't do it you're not going to accidentally do it it ain't going to happen you got to follow the lord but you got to stop doing what you're doing and start following him you got to confess the sweetest name that has ever rolled off of mortal tongues and that is the powerful name of jesus and then we'll baptize you today for the remission of your sins it is then that you become a new creature old things haven't passed away all things becoming new then you'll get in the fold and then you'll see the blessings that are showered upon the sheep by the great shepherd i tell you i'll never look at psalm 23 the same way because when you insert your life into those passages i think you'll complain less and praise more and so if your subject conversation if you just need prayer we're going to put the we're going to put the four o'clock timer on there four o'clock timer if you if you need prayers we're going to ask you to to point your camera don't don't take the picture just point your camera at it and and it will allow you to to fill out your request so that we can capture those requests so that we can pray for you not only today but also through the week we want to pray but want to pray if you desire to be identified with the bell for church you want to place membership i want you to know that we're going places our preacher brother glenn has a great vision for us and we are going places i'm telling you right now i'm all in i i i'm sold out for where it is we are going and i'm willing and ready to work tirelessly to to help this vision become a reality we want you to be a part of what it is that god is blessing because he is shown off blessing us here at the bell i don't care what anybody else got to say we are being blessed at the and some folk can't stand to see you blessed that's a whole nother sermon right there but if you want to make that decision we want you to make that right now make that right now as we sing the savior's invitation [Music] of the thyself [Music] oh amazing grace i'll sweep the [Music] he wants to save ya [Music] let god bless you let god bless you may god bless you he he's going to lift you up he's going to lift you up he's going to lift you up and when god lifts you up can't nobody bring it down [Music] it's all about god [Music] got a little over a minute and a half get those potentials get those petitions in so we can pray for you [Music] me [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] you are [Music] he will be [Music] [Music] amen thank god for your undivided attention on this morning and as always it is my prayer that this word has touched you in some small way to help you to see the grandeur of god's blessings that he wants to bestow upon you every day of your lives and so we just thank god for you and at this time we want to see if we have anyone who has requested prayers we're going to ask uh sister roshika to share that information with us jermaine patricia jackson charles amen we have felicia butler mary scott lee weber amen amen we're going to definitely keep all of those who have submitted their petitions in our prayers not just today but even throughout the week as you are remembering what was stated on today uh so that we can keep each other lifted up there is power in intercessory prayer that's when somebody is praying for you sometimes you get to a point where where you just can't pray for yourself and you need somebody to step in somebody to pinch it somebody to to pray for you and and all of us can testify that we are here today because somebody somebody prayed for us and so we're going to ask the brother who is been assigned to pray at this time to to come before us and to word a prayer on behalf of those who have made their request known unto god so that god can bless them in their lives the way they stand in need of of that blessing um yes yes amen amen we have come to the end of the service we want to capture any other announcements that that we may have at this time any any closing announcements from our brothers from our elders deacons if not will you stand with me dear father we thank you so much for being so good to us the father you've been better to us than we've been to ourselves and we pray now to father that you continue to bless us and father that you'll continue to keep us that you will continue to allow the fire that is within us and father to blaze for your glory and your honor that we may find ourselves busy doing your will be with every member of their father that as we prepare to embark upon these various ministries the father to expand the borders of the kingdom put strength in our bodies and in our spirit that father that we may work tirelessly to make an impact and an impression in this world in which we live go with us now as we leave this building but never your presence allow a safe passage and so we can return to father safely to worship you again in spirit and in truth we love you we thank you we ask all of this in the sweet and the powerful name of jesus christ our lord and our savior amen oh [Music] [Music] tell them that god [Music] oh [Music] my god [Music] my god [Music] [Music] my soul my savior [Music] [Music] sings my souls [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Bellfort CoC

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Length: 126min 22sec (7582 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 05 2021