Home-Going Celebration of Bishop Walter Hawkins

[Music] um [Music] um oh okay so [Music] [Music] uh so bishop anthony lynn willis presiding prelate bishop omar exciting pretty late bishop lane still the lord is my light and my salvation shall i fear lord of the strength of my life of whom shall i be afraid the wicked even my enemies and my foes came upon me to eat of my flesh they stumbled and failed though and hosts shall encamp against me my heart shall not fear a war shall rise against me and this will i be confident one thing have i desired of the lord that will i seek after that i may dwell in the house of the lord to behold the beauty of the lord and to inquire in his temple [Music] for the time of trouble he shall hide me in his bravillion the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me he shall set me upon a wrath and now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me therefore i will offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy yeah i must say praises i will say praises unto the lord hear o lord when i cry with my voice have mercy also upon me and answer me when thou said is seeking my face my heart said thy face lord will i see but not thy servant the way he may not neither forsake me [Music] but when my father and my mother forsake me then the lord shall take me up [Music] teach me thy way o lord and lead me in a plain path because of my enemies roundabout [Music] therefore i will offer in this tabernacle sacrifices of joy i will sing yea i will sing praises unto the lord i would have failed unless i had believed to see the goodness of the lord in the land of the living wait on the lord and be of good courage and he shall strengthen thy heart wait i say on the lord the earth is the lord's and the fullness thereof [Music] the world and they that dwell with their we have founded upon the sea and established it upon the floods who shall ascend into the hill of the lord who shall stand in his holy place he that have clean hands and a pure heart who have not lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sown deceitfully he shall receive the blessing from the lord in righteousness from the god of his salvation this is the generation of them that seek him that seek thy face oh jacob singer family of god lift up your heads all ye gates hallelujah and be lifted up he everlasting and the king of glory shall come in who is this king of glory the lord strong and mighty the lord mighty in battle lift up your head all he gates even lift them up yet everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is the this strong enlightened the lord mighty in battle he is the king of glory [Music] the lord is my shepherd and i shall not go [Music] he maketh me to lie down in green pastures leadeth me beside the still waters he restoreth my soul [Music] yea though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil for thou art with me thyroid and my staff they comfort me [Music] thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies thou anointest my head with oil my cup runneth 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 will lift up mine eyes unto the heels from whence cometh my help coming from the lord which made heaven and earth [Music] you will not suffer thy foot to be moved behold look he that keepeth israel shall neither slumber nor sleep [Music] the lord is thy keeper the lord is thy shade upon thy right hand the sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night the lord shall preserve thee from all evil he shall preserve thy soul the lord shall preserve thy thought out and thy coming in from henceforth and forevermore [Music] behold how good and how pleasant it is [Music] for brethren to dwell together in unity it is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon even aaron's beard that went down to the skirts of his guard as the dude of herman and as the dude that descended upon the mountains of zion for there the lord commanded the blessing even life forevermore all give thanks unto the lord for he is good hallelujah for his mercy endureth forever oh give thanks unto the god of gods for his mercy endure forever all give thanks to the lord the lord his mercy endured forever him who alone does great wonders for his mercy endureth forever to him that by wisdom made the heavens for his mercy endureth forever to him that stretcheth out the earth above the waters for his mercy endureth forever him that made great lights for his mercy endure it forever this is the day that the lord has made let us rejoice in the lord with the voice of triumphant victory for our god rage for our god rules and he is worthy to be praised from the rising of the sun to the going death of the saints yes let the name of the lord [Music] this time we're going to receive a song of praise the celebration mass choir followed by i on vacation pastor sandy coleman from the love center ministries and then we will [Music] my good morning science good morning family of god this is okay we offer god some praise because he is worthy join with us make this one big application of phrase amen amen you gotta kill the praise oh hello sing sing a song watch hello is what's up was oh thank you hello [Applause] bye hallelujah will only be to god in the house today come on he's a worthy god hallelujah however the people of god just love him because he is can i hear you hallelujah you know one thing about my pastor he was a worshiper and he was a praiser i wonder if anybody in here with tears running down your face hallelujah bless the name of jesus hallelujah [Applause] hallelujah come on praise the god of my past [Applause] hallelujah we know how to cry and praise at the same time holly are you in the house today because this is a homegoing celebration and i don't like dead celebrations i like celebration where they know we're having a real good time in god hallelujah because that's what my pastor would have wanted thank you jesus and so today i i ask you to don't hold back on your praise amen hallelujah let's bless the lord for a life where hallelujah with with a broken heart the holy ghost can cause us to do that amen we honor the lord today and we honor this great family the first family of the lost center ministries the hawkins family come on thank you jesus thank you for our love center family [Music] come on if you're visiting give them to all the pastors and leaders the friends of all of the presiding prelates in the house today we thank god for all of you coming to share with us amen amen and we trust god to just do something in our hearts today amen as we go forth in this service everyone standing let's pray father how we love you how we worship and adore you you are king of kings and you are lord of lords hallelujah you truly are alpha and omega you're the beginning and the end there is none like you lord not like you we thank you god for the life of this pastor this bishop this father this brother this uncle this musician this man of god who loved you hallelujah hallelujah served you well we ask you now in the name of the lord jesus christ that your presence will just hover in the building ah come on build a throne right in the midst of your people today as we go through the service let your presence be felt hallelujah do something for the family god we expect you to touch today hallelujah because that's what our pastor would have wanted hallelujah so god we thank you in jesus name that your presence will be filled that the dew will fall in this place today in the name of jesus christ and that lord god when we've left this place we will know that you are really god hallelujah hallelujah and we want to love you a little bit better and so father have your way today in this place in jesus name and all god's people say amen and amen and amen [Applause] as you're taking your seats i have to make one quick announcement in your uh programs you see the officiate uh bishop was supposed to be bishop anthony willis but he entered his arm and not really feeling up to it today so we have given that a responsibility to apostle ross garrison from the judah at the gathering christ church hearing amen amen for you as he goes forth amen amen god bless you so much for our old testament scripture reading my friend and brother bishop willis will come and read us our new old testament followed by bishop lord and humphrey from the olivet missionary baptist church for our new testament scripture reading followed in by pastor ronnie mcfarland with our gospel reading let's receive the men of god [Applause] thank you back to garrison just before i read the scripture just please everybody give god a hand to praise everybody oh come on come on [Music] this morning please let me make a declaration of trust the word of the lord says in proverbs the third chapter the fifth and the sixth verse it says trust in the lord with all of thine heart and lean not until thy own understanding in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct that path reader the word of the lord and the people says thanks be to god god bless you [Applause] the new testament passage comes from the book of first corinthians chapter 15 beginning at verse 15 50. now this i say brother the flesh flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god neither does corruption inherent in corruption but i show you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we shall be changed in a moment in the 20th number nine at the last trump for the trump shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be challenged for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality so when this corruptable she'll have put on in corruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality then shall be brought brought to pass the same that is written death is swallowed up in victory o death where is thy sin o grave where is thy victory the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to god which gives us the victory through our lord jesus christ therefore my beloved brethren be steadfast unmovable always abound me in the work of the lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the law the word of the lord praise the lord everybody praise the lord everybody this is the day the lord has made and we shall [Applause] gonna back up a rejoice bit and go in a program to joshua the first chapter six and seven be strong and have good courage foreign for inheritance the land which i swear unto our fathers to give them only be thou strong and very courageous that thou mayest observed to do according to all the law which moses my servant commanding thee return not from it to the right hand unto the left that thou mayest prosper whatsoever thou going then we will jump over to saint john the gospel fourth kings chapter one through six and the twelfth verse let not your heart be troubled he believed in god believe also in me in my father's house in my father's house in my father's house on many manners if it were not so i would have told you i go to prepare a place for you and if i go and prepare a place for you i will come again and receive you up to myself that where i am there he may be also and whether i go ye know in the way you know thomas said unto him lord we know not to run about goes and how can we know the way and jesus said unto him i am how to give you i am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me the 12th verse verily verily i say to you he that believeth on me the works that i shall do he also shall do in greater works than thee shall he do because i go unto my father to say amen to the reading of the word and the gospel here is a time where all of us can participate it's praise and worship in the house of the lord and i'm going to ask everyone except the family if you would stand and let's reverence our god and let's receive the love center worship warriors as they come and lead us this morning in praise and worship [Music] overlap your hands on your people shout out to god with the voice of destroyer [Music] man is is is is is is is huh and if you came tell me is is me is um hello is oh my is give him glory hallelujah um i would praise him with everyone oh give me [Applause] boys let everything that have breath come on let's praise the lord hallelujah [Applause] you can't help but to have a praise atmosphere with the life of a worshiper in the life of a praiser has gone on to glory [Applause] at this time we want to move forward with our civic acknowledgements [Applause] um [Applause] so [Applause] so well so [Applause] [Music] i'm sure that's not all for this morning but let me move on with him we can hallelujah hallelujah in praise it's always right it's always in order amen our civic announcement acknowledgements the white house washington to the hawkins family dear friends michelle and i were saddened by the loss of bishop walter hawkins please accept our deepest sympathies as you mourn his passing and reflect upon his life we are constantly reminded of the abiding truth that each of us has the power to create a better world for ourselves and our children when we do god's work here on earth bishop hawkins touched countless lives and he will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him may you find solace in your cherished memories of bishop hawkins and comfort in the presence of family and friends in the days ahead please note you will be in our thoughts and prayers sincerely barack obama the city of oakland mayor's proclamation walter hawkins day whereas walter hawkins was born may 18 1949 in oakland california where he was reared in the church of god in christ denomination walter became a master pianist as well as a dynamic singer with an operatic vocal range his brother edwin had already made a name for himself in 1969 when oh happy day became an international hit while studying for his masters of divinity degree from the university of california at berkeley hawkins recorded his first lp do your best in 1972 whereas the following year walter hawkins became a pastor and founder of the love center church in east oakland and after forming the love center choir recorded their first album as a church family he used 1800 as he borrowed 1800 as he borrowed from his mother-in-law to complete the project whereas during the in the 1970s walter hawkins personified a new wave of gospel artists including his brother edwin hawkins of oh happy day fame and andre crouch who brought a youthful contemporary vibe to gospel music hawkins cut a series of best-selling level live lps that remain gospel classics to this day hawkins songs have been recorded by whose and who in music ranging from aretha franklin and american idol winner reuben stop stuttered and vicki winins and m.c hammer whereas hawkins released being a pastor as much as he enjoyed singing early on i thought my ministry and music were apart from each other but now i see that they work hand in hand he once said i can go a lot of places with my music that i can't go as a pastor and vice versa the purpose of them the purpose of both is getting the message out to people i have had some material blessings and it is okay to have them but to be blessed with peace of mind and joy in your life that's when you will be really truly fulfilled whereas walter hawkins has brought great credit to the city of oakland whereas through the music and the essence of his being hawkins will remain a figure remembered for speaking a message of love through his life and music and carrying out that message in his own life now therefore i ronald v deluxe mayor of oakland proclaimed july 21st as walter hawkins day in the city of oakland and encourages recognition by all oakland citizens in witness thereof i have a heron to set my hand and cause the seal of the office of the mayor to be at fixed ron deland's mayor city of oakland we also have a declaration from the county of alameda we have one from barbara boxer and we also have one from the city council amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] at this time let's receive the celebration mass choir as they come and [Music] [Applause] [Music] minister [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] oh [Music] guys [Music] oh [Music] is is oh break [Music] [Music] hey [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] is ah hello [Music] is [Music] ah [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh uh at this time we're moving for our episcopal facilitations let's receive bishop julia whitehurst wade followed by bishop kenneth oma from los angeles california from the faithful central baptist church followed by bishop george mckinney in that order and then the celebration last choir will come i am reminded of the apostle paul in romans chapter number one probably about verse six he said to those called to be saints to those of us who are called to be saints today i am persuaded that we are sitting right in the center of the perfected will of god it is the will of god that this life be transitioned from earth to glory and though our thoughts would be sad i draw courage and strength that he has lived a life that has been pleasing to god and god would transition him from earth to glory and name him of the saints among the angels and the ages and to this gathering i say holy greetings to the father's people and to my friends i thought it difficult to do this i thought it difficult to make this journey when i am persuaded today that all is well so i rise i acknowledge the protocol having been set and all that is gathered i rise my task is to offer congratulations solicitations joy on behalf of the one i love the one i believe we all love so with that in mind felicitations for the right reverend walter lee hawkins founding pastor love center presiding bishop love fellowship co-founder edwin hawkins and walter hawkins music and art seminar and i say this is dedicated to the one we all love a man with a word message and preached and in song over 14 years ago when i was entreated by walter to be mindful to become his friend we were in western salem north carolina both preaching for a holy convocation and i was a day early and it was walter's evening to preach and as we left it was late and walter said i'm hungry he said what about you since i'm not really hungry but i'll go with you and about that time of the evening late as it was there weren't many places open and they wrote us and wrote us until they found an ihop and we're repeating ihop about 12 20 in the morning and that began my sojourn with walter hawkins for over 14 years ago it was at that time he said you know i want you to come and preach for me at uh music and art seminar walter had never heard me preach and i said okay he said give me a card i said i don't have one and i say to this gather crowd today 14 years later i don't have a card he said well write it on something and i wrote it on a napkin and a few weeks later i received a call he said is this the bishop i said it is the bishop he says well you didn't have a car but i still have that wrinkle up napkin that you gave and i need you to say yes and so it began in tampa florida june 1996 my first engagement with one who became my brother my friend my confidante my colleague it was so wonderful in the service on that wednesday evening early thursday morning he says julia you're going to have to come quickly to my church he said you know where my church is i said no he said well it's in oakland california love center and perhaps the next week i got a call that said i don't want to wait until october for our church anniversary i want you to come for three nights and you have to put sunday on so we got there and i said well one of the three nights walter he said saturday night is one of the three nights i said well nobody goes to church on saturday night i'm from orlando florida you don't do much church on saturday night and to my great surprise we were at the school at that time it was filled to capacity and i began my soldier not only with walter but with love center and from that time for nine years not a year passed that i did not preach at seminar or the love center church and today my heart would be sad but i know that my friend and my brother my confidante is in a place that is so rewarding for all that he has done for us walter was just that kind of friend never selfish and so as we so journeyed in 1999 to long beach california for seminar and walter some of them had to leave uh for another engagement near the end and he said i want you to stay here and and be with edwin and in the live recording at the end of that session edmond said bishop whitehurst i want you to promise that you will become a part of the seminar family and so walter's family became my family and in 1999 he came to apopka florida and then back to orlando florida and my people became walters people and over the years that's our life and i believe today that walter has blessed our lives in a way that's incomparable to most people his kind and his compassionate ways and his gentleness and he would call and he would say julia what are you doing and i said well i'm not doing much but there's a three-hour difference in our time and walter will call it 11 o'clock at night so you know that's about two o'clock in the morning so my response is well i'm really not doing much and that was our relationship and i want to recall this as i prepared to relinquish this mic on one occasion he said julia did you ever think about singing i said yes he said well i never heard you sing i said let's foco that walter he said no you know what you're saying don't you sing i said what do you want me to sing he said what you're saying right now i said well what do you want me to sing he said oh whatever you want to sing and so i i knew that was just between walter and me so i sing one in a million and i am the best in [Applause] [Music] i'm confident of this very thing that it is not over for us with water for the scripture says to be absent from the body is to be present with the lord and i would like to leave this tribute of what i've thought about over these past few days on the pages of almost any hymn book you will find hymns that have been written or composed by um as it was and they've been sung over the years and i say that for the generations to come that's the legacy of walter hawkins but i'm gonna leave this with you because i believe he was a man with a message in word and in song and the tribute i would like to leave is psalm 19 verse 1 and 2. lord thou hast been out dwelling place in all generations before the mountains were brought forth i ever thou hast formed the earth and the world even from everlasting to everlasting thou art god and because i believe that his message was always paraphrased his songs were paraphrased from the word of god so was isaac watched him oh god our help in ages past i hope for years to come out shelter from a stormy blast in our eternal home under the shadow of thy throne thy saints have dwelt secure sufficient is buying home alone and our defense is before the heels and orders stood our earth received her frame from everlasting thou what god to endless years the same thy word commands our flesh to dust ye sons of men all nations rose from earth at first and turned to earth again a thousand years in that site unlike an evening gone short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun the busy tribes of flesh and blood with all their lives and cares are carried downwards by the flood and lost in falling years time like an ever rolling stream bears all its sons away they fly forgotten as a dream dies at the opening day like flowery feels the nation stands pleased with the morning light the flowers beneath the moor is happening light withering here it's night our god our help in ages past our hope for years to come be thou our guide while troubles last and our eternal home to the church of the living god [Music] shalom in his contemporary paraphrase of scripture the message eugene peterson paraphrases paul in first corinthians it is there that paul synthesizes and summarizes and capsularizes the essence of ministry and it is there that paul says ministry is as if god has placed us on a stage in a theater where no one wants to buy a ticket paul summarizes and synthesizes ministry and he says this is what ministry is like it's as if god puts us on a stage [Music] in a theater where no one wants to buy a ticket and he speaks of the challenges that we have in playing the various roles that god describes to us as we serve him walter hawkins enters the stage in the theater of life and in this scene he plays the role of a pastor and his heart beats for love center and he agonizes over you he he enters and stands in the gap for you he does battle against the enemy for you he prays for you in the middle of the night while you are asleep he takes a hold of the horns of the altar and he pleads your case before the living god he played the role of pastor and on behalf of the world we thank you love center for sharing him with us because ministry is as if god places us on stage in a theater walter takes the stage and the role of the prophet the prophet is able to speak from where you are to where you are going it's prophets stand and meet you in your right now and speak unto you and not yet walter stood in the role of a prophet and he would usher us from the agonies and trials of our right now and to the joys and blessings of our not yet a few weeks ago not even knowing what god had in store for him i was going through one of the most difficult times of my life wrestling with decisions and wrestling with ministry and wrestling with the lord and and i heard the voice of the prophet asking the proverbial question is there any way that i can make it i've come so far and he reminded me to remind god lord he promised to be with me through the storms and through the rain and he played that role for us as he walked through the trials and the struggles of life as we saw him battling with the enemy and we saw the enemy clawing at him and trying to take him out and trying to destroy him and yet he stood in his role for he was as an actor on a stage with an assignment to speak from our right now into our not yet [Applause] because life is as being on a stage [Music] an actor and a theater he he takes the role of a performer he does not back down from that rule for he is multi-gifted and he's able to play many different roles in the same performance and he always stood with class and stood with proficiency he stood having grown his crap he stood having done his homework and having paid his dues that's a good lesson for those of you who are coming along as young thespians studying how to come on this stage you've got to pay your dues you've got to go through some stuff you can't just sing words that someone else has created you've got to live some stuff you've got to cry some stuff you've got to struggle through some stuff in order to stand in reality in the role that god has you could tell that his body was weak and you could tell me that he was wrestling within within himself and yet you saw him almost come to that stage bowed and punched and positioned the performance and yet when it was his time and then that spotlight with him you saw him rise up because when the true performer stands it's not just he who stands it's something within him that stands up there's something that god places in you that makes you stand up when you don't feel like standing up that makes you speak out when you don't feel like speaking out that makes you perform when you don't feel like performing and when walter took that stage and he began to talk about how marvelous god is not ashamed to speak in the tenanted setup of a marvelous god you've got to learn how to not be ashamed of who's watching you when god's giving you a testimony you've got to deliver your lines your life is a marvelous god he's a marvelous healer he's a marvelous deliberate you've got to deliver your lines and at the end of the performance rather than taking a bow with all of his struggling and with all of his weakness instead of bowing down i saw walter stand up and throw his hands in the air in victory and the whole place stood and gave him a standing ovation we ought to give this man of blood a standing ovation today because he stood on a stage somebody [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] to god be the glory great things he has done bishop walter hawkins was without a doubt a gift from god to his family to the church and to the world it was god's unique ability to take whatever is available to him and to use it for his glory many of us remember how god used the gift bishop walter and his brother edward to revitalize and send forth a simple song that touched the hearts of people all over the world it was this gift that god gave to them that resulted in christians muslims jews catholics and non-believers singing with joy oh happy day oh haven't been since jesus took my sins away it's my privilege to be introduced to bishop walter hawkins through daddy cleveland many of you would remember him dad cleveland dad cleveland loved bishop walter and the edwin the fatherly love and he introduced me to them and i too began to be a fan in the love of these great men it was my privilege to develop a friendship and fellowship with bishop walter that has been cemented through former events conferences at mount hermon workshops that he conducted for us in san diego at the joy of conducting the revival that love centered many years ago [Music] then it was my privilege and honor to be asked to deliver the message of consecration when he was consecrated bishop all of these events meant so very much to me and we are thankful i'm thankful for all the life the witness the faithfulness the service of this servant of the most high god so it is my privilege to say a word of comfort and solicitation to the family and to all of those who are assembled here i comfort you in the words of saint paul declare that behold i show you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye i comfort you today in the name the words that jesus gave to john on the isle of papus and told him to write this word for love center and for all those who love god blessed are the dead who die in the lord for they shall rest from their labors and their works do follow the deepest meaning of that word blessing is that one who is truly blessed is accepted by god and when god accepts us all other rejections are insignificant [Music] bishop walter is blessed today he is accepted by god i comfort you in the words of the great poet william collins brian who wrote in the famous porn vanatopsas so live that when your summons come to join the innumerable caravan that moves into the mysterious realm while each should take this chamber in the silent halls of death who thou not as a quarry slave by night scourge to his dungeon but be sustained ensued by an unfaltering trust approach thy grave as one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams i comfort you today my brothers and my sisters in the words of bishop walter hawkins declared in that musical note when the battle is over when the battle is over we should wear a crown we're going to continue with the two following we're asking for bishop carlton pearson to come followed by reverend jesse jackson in three minutes expressions each amendment [Applause] [Music] the blessing of the lord maketh rich and addeth no sorrow turn to somebody and say the blessing of the lord make it rich and adds no sorrow to it death as we perceive it is an arrogant obstinate opulent and extravagant illusion we don't really die we just transcend when the soul outgrows this body we go to the next level of consciousness just down the road south a little bit i used to go to the high five back in those days in the 60s and put those big albums on and listen to walter hawkins and edwin [Music] tremaine bishop cleveland as bishop mckinney made reference to ernestine maggie all the family church of god in christ samuel crouch andre crouch a lot of weaving in here today we're all one big family but walter and the love center re-established the consciousness of welcoming affirming inclusive love for all of humanity jeremiah said before i formed you in your mother's womb i knew you [Music] who is the unformed you we're not here today because walter died we're here because bishop walter hawkins lived and his fingerprints and faint pranks and footprints are all over all of us in one way or another before i phoned you in your mother's womb i knew you that's a very intimate term that's a term of commitment and covenant which means when you knew when god knew you you knew god and what if we all agreed in that knowledge to come to this planet we all agreed to come here but most of us forgot it and we've been struggling ever since between the womb and the tomb we forget that we said yes to god and we say we love walter but what we're saying is we love the part of ourselves that we experience when we were with him or when we were listening to his music when you say you love anybody you're saying i love the part of myself i experience when i'm with them or i'm with them we agreed to come here and as long as we say yes to god we will fulfill our destiny death argues not displeasure for him god loved best died first and the murderer was punished for the living that didn't first strike adam the first sinner nor cain the first hypocrite but evil the innocent and righteous the first saw that met death conquered death the first soul that parted earth went to heaven we sing that song coaching i'm on my way to heaven and i'm so glad i'm on my way to heaven and i'm so glad i'm on my way to heaven and i'm so glad this world can't do me know we're okay do we know how walter is in the presence of god our bishop our friend our brother i'm a lady to share with all of you today that we all said yes remember you said yes stop contesting protesting resenting or resisting your presence and when you say yes to god the whole universe will organize itself around your yes and the doors will be open to you and your yes will take you to the end of the earth and your soul will rejoice singing the song of the soul set free god bless you i love you the best for all of us is yet to come [Applause] [Music] [Applause] under the protocols established today i've been blessed to ask to share word the time of the transition of my friend and brother so many profound preachers sitting there who want to say something some singers who want to sing something musicians want to play something we can't do all that but we can all stand on our feet right now and put our hands together and express our thanks to god the walk our hearts put on your feet and show your love on your feet show your love for his preaching for singing for his writing for his joy for his joy for his power put your hands together not going up guys put your hands together knock over half a day put your hand let the heavens decline the glory of god put your hands together say thank you walter thank you for your joy thank you for your preaching thank you for your prophecy today as we rejoice in the life and likeness of walter hawkins our hearts are heavy i love walter i speak not in past tense but in present tension because he still lives walt and edwin like siamese twins same mother born on different dates but someone like cain and abel who let god down walton heaven lifted god up and we rejoice in their lifting gifts we miss them already and you'll be rejoiced in the memories and the legacy the jackson family and the hawkins family work together around the world together we come today to say thanks to the creditor we are the debtors he left us better off than when he found us the question is what is this that i feel inside that sets my soul on fire whatever it is it insulates me it does not isolate me whatever it is it's a key to eternal life whatever it is it is has defeated death whatever it is graves cannot contain it whatever it is lies cannot stop it whatever it is rumors cannot deter it whatever it is it never loses its power whatever it is it allows you to keep on living after you die whatever it is we live our lives as if life is certain that death is uncertain the fact is death is certain life is uncertain but for the christian there is a comma not a period it loses its stain all these people are here today from around the world with walls of testimonies i've gotten calls from south africa nelson mandela came out of jail that sunday afternoon i was with him it was saying oh happy day i got calls from europe all of these warfare stories a change has come over me going up yonder all of these walter stories he inspired us he taught us he gave he gave us a new leash on life like in the military those in the foxhole said he led me he lifted me he lifted my ministry all these [Music] wall testers we're here today because each of us has our own walther story it's sad to have a long life with a shorter picture right i'd say it's sad to have a long life on a show like this word methuselah had a long life one sentence fish very he left it's sad to live a long life but have a fiddle and apollo with some empty seats some live a long life but rather to have a dash in between they have a dot they were born they survived they got sick and died no service no protest no change it just lived and died walter leaves us an obituary brother king died at 39 malcolm at 39 jesus and done at hathaway at 33. walter 61 god led him down easy and let him make his statement and so when he gets to the gate and submits his papers you can say from dr king to obama he was always there i left you with more than i found when i met you and now even now god is with him not just flesh and blood he rostered with powers and principalities and now he can stand he left us in the morning god promised one glad morning and this life is over now he can fly away he saw us i would reach the rest walter if when you give the best of your service he'll say well done keep flying walter you're going to be honored to express a place where you'll live eternally good night oakland good morning glory [Applause] [Music] michael smith you are needed immediately at the stage door michael smith moving forward we are on a time restraint and we really want to respect the wishes of the family and so in our following uh presentations we're going to ask our speakers to take three minutes only amen let's receive the choir as they common [Music] let's encourage each other with this song he'll yes thank you with me all you gotta do is keep your mind oh yes it will [Music] me [Applause] come on [Applause] yes come on here we go knows what i'm talking about [Applause] he's my stranger he is oh my he's just a mighty god does anybody know what they mean he's a cheaper we gotta quit we gotta quit let's go out with this come on me in this house let's receive at this time our ecclesiastical facilitations three minutes pastor sandy coleman loves sinner ministries pastor larry coleman restored life ministries and pastor gregory peyton from the saint john baptist church here in oakland followed by the choir i was thinking this morning how blessed we are i love saller family to have had a shepherd like the one god gave us the love fellowship pastors delegation of pastors from across the country pastors all over these united states and the world and not just the pastors but the people of god and not just the people of god because in japan most of the people who love the music aren't saved they don't know jesus but they would come to our music and arts love fellowship conference with founders edwin hawkins and bishop walter hawkins and they didn't allow religion which is simply man's quest to reach god [Applause] they didn't allow religion to prevent those buddhists and shintoists and people who didn't know jesus to sing in a gospel choir and they would sing gospel music and then get saved see nobody don't want to clap their hands but that's powerful ministry because if we had a pastor who was seated in religion and religiosity we would go through the motion and talk about a god that we don't know but i'm here to tell you today with both my hands lifted up god bless god for the man of god who would speak the word without shame he would speak it with power and under anointing and he preached a balanced word so that people would understand and lives would be changed can i tell you he really wasn't interested in challenging us he wanted to see us changed his mantra was we don't we don't model perfection in our ministry but we must change our bless god today because there are a whole lot of us who've been changed by the word the unadulterated pure word of god preached to us under the anointing of god that would cut us going in and didn't feel too good coming out but over time we saw something different in our walk i bless god today for before i take my seat one of the things we always talked about he said pastor we've got to take open we gotta win oakland we gotta bring oakland together we gotta bring the pastors together and because god is suffering and he does all things well today we're sitting with over 160 clergy from around these bay areas california and all across the country over 160 strong delegations from open which is it's beyond belief [Applause] so many pastors god answered his prayer and brought us all together in this house today and i believe that there is a greater reason for this i believe we just did a sampling for ongoing service because my my pastor is already home but god answered his prayer and his cry just to see us come together i challenge you pastors especially right here in oakland california now we're bonded together we can shop together and fly together and sing together something not happen i believe god is going to honor the man of god and i believe going forward we're going to form relationships we're gonna learn to love each other i thank you so much for your support oakland especially the clergy thank you so much for your prayers thank you for stepping in and walking alongside of us i've left god for you today and to my love center family and to the hawkins family you know we're family and we're going to go through this together and i trust god because of scripture that keeps coming up in my spirit is that weeping may endure for a [Applause] night much has been said about the [Music] passion that bishop hawkins had to be a blessing to god's people through his gift of music but i want to let you know that bishop hawkins was also very passionate about ministering to pastors and the reason he was so passionate because even though he was accepted through his music he was rejected as a pastor in those early years some of the stuff was praising him now but early on he was alienated nobody wanted to fellowship [Applause] i'm here today because he's passionate about love pastors and out of that passion is what gave birth to love fellowship pastors and as i heard reverend jackson say that everybody got a walter story and every one of the love pastors fellowship pastors have this story but i'm just going to take a minute and tell you my story i got to honor him with my story because i came to know him because i was struggling with a crack cocaine addiction and i wish that i could tell you that it happened before i got saved but that ain't my story i wish i could tell you that it happened before i became a preacher but that ain't my story i wish i could tell you that it happened before i became a pastor but that ain't my story i was a preacher and i didn't know i had nobody to talk to nobody wanted a fellowship with me but i wrote a letter to bishop walter hawkins and he did not know me and i just asked him to pray for me and one day i came home and my wife told me there was a call from pastor walter hawkins he went in his pocket and bought me an airplane chicken and flew me to oakland and for one solid week he ministered to me and i know what god does and i say to you pastor mcfarland and pastor coleman and love sinner i know you're hurting i know you're tired but if i could just use a few of his words he would tell you hold on oh soldier i know you're tired hold on a soldier remember your past every time you ask he was right there opening doors to you [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] god the clergy the hawkins family the love center ministry [Applause] it is another day's journey and i'm glad about it this is the day that the lord have made and we ought to rejoice and be glad in it i'm honored to be in this place at this hour and i know this is the lord's doom but i'm another one of those preachers that pastor hawkins reached out to i don't want to talk about the singing because i met him as a pastor and a preacher and if you don't know he was a preacher [Applause] that's the moment he told me when i was installed five years ago at the greater saint john church he came over and he showed himself a friend i didn't know him that way but he reached out to me and said greg we need to take oakland we pastors need to come together let me tell you pastor hawkins was one a man of love he loved people and he came to saint john and he preached and he told me he said this is about kingdom and a lot of things we do in church today ain't got nothing to do with people we judge we talk about we put down ain't got nothing to do about kingdom he said greg if he said the word said if i'd be lifted up and it didn't matter who came god said if i be lifted up it don't matter what you are said if you lift jesus up he got sick and i got sick two years ago and he called me and he called me and i said pastor you sick he said no greg i just i'm worried about you i want to encourage you that you hold your head up you'll be encouraged i said well bishop i'm going to tell you the same thing you hold your head up and then he said greg i want you to come out we came out me and sandra went out to the house and i had a bad back and he was telling me about the 23-hour surgery how god blessed him and then he's walking around the house and he was so excited about being together with his family and i i thought that was miraculous where all of the sisters and brothers lived in one house together not as children but as adults and he was so proud he walked us around that big plantation from room to room i met a sister there and another sister and and edwin was out of town and i looked in his immaculate suite [Applause] he said greg god is good to me i said ambition how how do you keep up the spirit and the energy you know what he told me he said greg i will bless the lord and watch this he didn't say it sadly but he said i will bless the lord and all he was saying in spite of what i'm going through in spite of what is trying to destroy me he said i will bless the lord he said great i sought the lord and he heard my cry i can't tell you what my future is but i can tell you whose hands that i mean and i come to tell you love sinner if you hold on to god's unchanged we've been i've been where you were but i tell you if you hold on to god's unchanging hand and you can say like bishop i will bless the lord hello at all times and even today hawkins we can say i'll bless the lord at all times and then you can grab your brother and say oh magnify the lord with me let us exalt his name together and then as i close i want to tell you this i'm like pastor coleman it come to me it said weeping man doing for a night and all he was saying was it won't last if you keep your eyes on jesus guess what we gonna shout together bishop was a worshiper i wish i had about 10 worshipers in here as i go to my seat he was a worshiper guess what we may be crying today but we ought to rejoice if you really know jesus you in here and thank god for the man of god not that he died but because he lived we only shot somebody got saved under his ministry somebody got delivered under his ministry somebody got saved under his ministry you want to rejoice [Applause] [Music] um [Music] uh me [Applause] i'm ah hey today me me me is thank you ah thank you please so [Applause] so [Applause] so [Applause] this [Applause] [Applause] now you know something needs to be said right about that but we gonna move on [Applause] hallelujah [Applause] he will take care of you come on [Applause] oh so [Applause] [Applause] uh so so so so so so so no [Applause] thank you hey [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] um [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] um [Music] and recognize hallelujah we thank you so much for all of the many many many many cards and condolences through email hallelujah and telegram but i can only recognize hallelujah a freeway man amen congressional record house of representatives honoring bishop walter hawkins honoring barbara lee of california and the house of representatives tuesday july 20th 2010. [Music] the church of god in christ international office of the presiding bishop the most reverend john c white in memoriam of bishop walter hawkins hereby we have fixed the seal of the church of god in christ international and let this write be read and so done on this 21st day of july in the year of our lord 2010 so be it and so it is amen bishop john c white presiding prelate bishop l.a wilkerson vice president prelate car bishop carl e williams jr secretarial general mother gloria white national supervisor church of god in christ bishop charles e blake and the wes angelus god in christ bishop t.d jakes the pastor of the potter's house family bishop noel jones the city of refuge family bishop yuvette city of refuge united church of christ and the entire fellowship mother albertina walker queen of gospel chicago illinois city of refuge christian church dr ralph petty founder and pastor amen anointed gospel christian center church ronnie clark pastor ronnie clark amen founder hope of glory christian center dr calvin b rome pastor and teacher the new covenant perfecting ministries incorporated pastor julia e w wade reciting prelate and we have here the stellar awards in resolution memorializing bishop walter l hawkins submitted by don jackson the chairman rose jackson vice chairman of ncfo irma gray davis president and ceo thank you all so much for your love on behalf of the entire hawkins family and the entire love center church family we bless you and we thank you and we love you again amen [Music] once again we're asking for michael smith from the bank of america if you were please see edmund james edmond at the side stage door this time let's receive sister mary and catherine and she comes with our obituary good morning this is an esteemed honor improvement privilege for me bishop walter lee hawkins on may 18 1949 the breath of god blew upon the earth and man became a living soul as god exhaled he gave life to the seventh child of dan lee and mamie vivian hawkins on sunday july 11 2010 god in his infinite wisdom called him back to himself bishop walter lee hawkins presiding prelate of the love fellowship pastors pastor and founder of love center ministries incorporated therefore let it be so documented in the registry of the righteous that in the life of this great man destiny was fulfilled and divine purpose was accomplished walter lee hawkins was born in oakland california this humble family lived in the west oakland projects until their father dan lee moved the family to what was then non-integrated middle class east oakland it was here that walter began his matriculation to the oakland public school system during his time as a young student at the elmhurst elementary school and castlemount high school his leadership ability and musical gifts surfaced at the tender age of 10 years old he began playing the organ for churches and pastors in the bay area he was the featured soloist with the casamount cassiliers and won awards for his outstanding vocals he attended laney college but ministry and music was drawing him he met tremaine davis when she was 7 years old and he was 10 years old they were childhood sweet hearts and sang together at ephesian church of god in christ and eventually as featured soloists with the original edwin hawkins singers they married in 1971 and from this union two children were born walter jamie hawkins and tristan hawkins 1971 was also the year god planted the city for walter's ministry during lively biblical discussions held in his parents home these discussions grew into farm informal group meetings which quickly evolved into regular prayer services and bible studies he answered the call to pastor and was licensed and ordained by his own pastor bishop e e clegan shortly thereafter the ministry to which he devoted 37 years of his life love center ministries was born his love for the people god entrusted to him regardless of the states they were in was genuine god gifted him with the ability to correctly analyze and skillfully teach the word of god with profound insight and revelation his anointed and powerful teaching gift attracted the attention of the scholarly community and earned him an invitation to become a visiting professor at the berkeley religious school of the pacific he was awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree by the united baptist college and seminary in 1992. his passion for the word of god and his love for god's people made him sought after national and international conference speaker in response to 21 years of committed and loyal service in october 18 uh i'm sorry on october 18th 1992 bishop george d mckinney of saint stephen's church of god in christ and bishop wilbert l baltimore of holy temple cathedral church of god consecrated pastor hawkins to the office of bishop shortly thereafter god called him to become a spiritual father to independent pastors across the nation the addition of the love fellowship pastors network provided an ecclesiastical component which bishop hawkins believed added spiritual balance to the annual music and arts founded by he and his brother edwin in 1975 bishop walter hawkins decided to record his love center church choir long time family friend andre crouch introduced walter to light records providing a platform for the first of what became a series of five best-selling love-alive lps that remain timeless gospel classics the impact that walter hawkins had on gossip music was so profound and far-reaching that it is now and forever shall be part of gospel's dna says gospel music historian bob merlich he earned nine grammy award nominations during his career and won one for his performance on the lord's prayer lp in 1980 in 1990 he released love alive 3 which became the biggest seller of the love alive album series the radio favorites were there's a war going on i love you lord he'll bring you out and when the battle is over the lp spent 34 weeks at number one on the billboard gospel album sales chart during the almost 100 weeks it spent on the survey the album went on to sell over a million copies the 1993 love alive four was also peaked at number one on the album sales chart and spent a year on the survey bishop hawkins relished being a pastor as much as he enjoyed singing early on i thought my ministry and my music were apart from each other but now i see they work hand in hand he once said i can go a lot of places with my music that i can't go as a pastor and vice versa the purpose of both is getting the gospel message out to people i've had some material blessings and it's okay to have them but to be blessed with peace of mind and joy in your life that's when you will be truly fulfilled bishop hawkins leaves to cherish his memory and to anticipate a glorious reunion according to first thessalonians 4 verses 16-17 his two children walter jamie tristan and daughter-in-law maya sunny two grandchildren jamie daniel and yave five brothers and sisters carol fetty edwin daniel and lynette brother-in-law reginald and sister-in-law marcia one um mother nadine henderson ten nieces and nephews sharon kemp otis liddell kelp danika county joel smith basil smith marion smith kimberly smith jason wright jr tony hawkins and shawn harkins four great nieces milan mia coco bella and alyssa six great nephews joshua tabari devin jason iii dayan and makai six god children moani coley kimmely samuels chauncey evans brandon mcfarland cynthia robinson and townsend milligan 26 first cousins shirley miller jeannie king brenda augustine minister gloria king cynthia jennifer king linda king renee matthews charlotte johnson sheila matthews francis matthews lolita al harp lorraine matthews debbie reilly lawrence matthews cecilia matthews sandra matthews bobby matthews leon matthews jr linda matthews regina shavers teresa shavers laurita shavers kathleen pittman leonard hitman william pittman charles goodman and the host of relatives and friends he leaves to mourn cherish and walk in the power of his memory the spiritual children of the love center church family whom he has loved birthed nurtured ordained and set forth [Music] this time it enforced me with great honor and privilege to bring the living legend brother edwin hawkins and [Applause] of god can we uh unless we see this gracious family put your hands together and let's receive our friend and our brother brother edwin [Music] hawkins [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] amen [Applause] my best friend my partner my pastor my bishop you all can be seated i want to say just a small word but it means so much for my heart the hawkins family thank you you saw how much you cared and we love you for that god bless you pastors bishops reverence from all across the country far near are here today because of bishop ultra hawkins celebration choir you all were wonderful we thank you all these musicians we've worked with one time or another some longer than others but we've known them for many many years and we love you we love you we appreciate you cole pastors pastor sandy coleman brother ronnie mcfarland would you all stand once again just so they can see the love center body would you stand where are you seated here in there's a lot of light over all over that's the love center family we love you all this vision will continue it will continue and i want you to see we can only just bring the siblings pastors brothers and sisters and his son and daughter i wanted to bring them all along but our family are so special would you all stand so they can see you a large family stand up family thank you so much we heard many stories today about my brother he was with me from the beginning of the edwin hawkins singers he and tremaine and um i remember being so ridiculed because we were so different in our approach to music by the church and my mom taught me you don't talk back to the saints you respect them and you listen but i rebelled quietly i [Applause] [Music] minister of music back in the day but i was acquired director of the organized pianist and i was there seven nights a week it was ephesian was like a revival center inventors were coming on sunday morning i played i was trying to go to junior college i would fall asleep on the organ doing the message wake up to this mess go home and come back the next night on saturday night was choir rehearsal so i was literally there seven nights a week and i was faithful judy i see you god bless you don jackson good to see you carlton tristan i see you love you you all know what i'm talking about i'm blessed because i was faithful but i said to myself i didn't talk back to the same thing i'm gonna go back to church i'm tired of picking on me well we were in europe i think we were in amsterdam trimming probably when walter shared with us that he answered the call to ministry we were having prayer every day at noon that was the thing that really kept me together because when i decided i was not going back to church i didn't go to church for like a two year period the love center ministry saved my life i was on my way somewhere else but because of his answer to the paul is why i'm here today um which i thank god for my brother's going to be a tremendous tremendous adjustment because i've had it with me all my life i'm not going to try to fill his shoes but i told his son his daughter [Music] sonny maya's wife that i'm going to be there 100 i can't love you like he did but i'm going to love you with all my heart i feel responsible to them i'm gonna be the uncle that becomes dead [Applause] i i want to all the artists that have come you all have just overwhelmed us on last night it was just a marvelous marvelous evening just you thrilled our products just the fact that you would spend your hard earned money to fly here to be with us we got a movie star richard gantt right here on the front row thank you richard [Music] a young man that traveled with us as a rogue manager early in the days with henry winston god bless you but i want you you all didn't have to do that you did it we don't take it lightly that's in our heart forever but i want to give a special shout out to this production team i can't call all their names right now but james edmond walters manager derek williams came in he was only he works for tv jakes he came in was supposed to go back and decided he couldn't leave there was too much to do they came and put this whole production together they had a staff but the two of them i tell you have just been tremendous tremendous [Music] and if i'm leaving anything out charge it to my no don't try to show my head because i ain't crazy yet i just forgot but no i love you um i want my my my nephew this is walter ii [Applause] [Music] we call him jamie welcome jamie [Applause] [Music] [Applause] uh i want to thank you all for it my god if my father could see this he was a humble man and uh he always felt like he didn't have a lot of support in his hometown sometimes they had to go back east do concerts a lot out there and preach out there if you could see this and he taught me he said um when you go to heaven you get to see jesus so i don't believe he's looking down at all this i think his intention is otherwise diverted i believe he's looking at jesus the one that took this point to that point holy holy holy holy [Applause] he modeled it changed he modeled the progress the growth process i saw him speak faith and look in the mirror at cancer shake his head and say no i speak faith i'll never forget that i saw him love unconditionally i saw him forgive over it i remember going to school and people telling me oh you go to that church your father is the pastor of that church i remember losing friends when they found out that i was associated with thank you and then i remember my father's lessons about forgiveness and love and when my wife and i got married we went through some trying times and those lessons [Applause] [Music] i learned love and forgiveness on a whole nother level not just in words but i saw it modeled i want to say to my mother you've been my backbone and i love you i love you so so much [Music] i mean that from the bottom of my heart mama and the bottom of my heart i'm gonna say to the love center family that i love you you're not just people i go to church with [Applause] [Music] and before they come i want to further say to tremaine someone moved prematurely on last night uh you know you give folks a little room and they kind of take it beyond it was not our intention to leave here when we did someone said to me that i think you all should leave before the crowd bothers you and so i asked i said is this the last song and they said yes it was not our intention to walk that's my heart to me she will always be [Applause] [Music] so what i said last night we were pretty upset about that i said i'm going to tell james james edmond because he can get you straight with a few choice words just being real he can get you straight but i want you to meet um my brother's baby tristan his daughter and then i want you to see who uh the siblings are that are here tristan she looks so much like chilling come on baby i want to thank you denny [Applause] i love you timmy much more than i think i've ever loved you i appreciate what you did for your uncle when we pray we look for sometimes i believe we pray for specific things i know my dad love life and we we look forward to a specific healing and i believe both my dad and i and others that were praying for him not all but i believe we were narrow-minded oh i looked at the scripture and knocking the door she'll be open and i was sharing with my auntie met i said sometimes when you're not gonna adore you don't know what is on the other side of that door and through my dad's death not only did he get healed but i was also healed i see more now than i've ever seen and i've been blessed and i just that's all i have to say when you pray continue to pray and don't be discouraged by what you see with your natural eye because god has so much more in store for you than what you know [Applause] i just want to say and i'm very short on words right now that was not just my father-in-law but bishop walter hawkins was my only godfather i knew him as a father from the day that i was born he meant the world to me he still does he poured so much into me he stood beside me when i was dead wrong he was a man that i could look in the face and be transparent before he knew how to correct and direct without judging full of the word full of faith full of joy full of life i love him i miss him and he lives through the things that he taught us through the love center family who meant everything to him everything i just want to say that i love him [Music] i i kind of took charge because i am in charge right now but i know you're wondering among some of these senior folks that are up here who is the oldest aren't you i'm going to ask my older sister this is carol and then he's going to come after her she's the next in line and then i'm right there in the middle daniel's after me and then my baby sister lynette carol [Music] i'm not a talker but i just want to let everyone know that i appreciate everyone that is here this afternoon my brother would be so happy and i'm happy and i love you all very much especially [Applause] donald trump lawrence he's been a great help too and richard thank you you guys reminded me donald's been that kind of friend you know that song that jermaine says he's been that kind of friend he was with us in the hospital two years ago we set up all night during walter surgery he sat there right with us and then he was here the day uh pastor went home to be with the lord he was coming especially to visit and uh stayed right through him he's just been a tremendous support can tell you how much i love you donald i love all my friends there's so many friends that are here with us and i wish i had time to call everybody's names but time will not allow but we love you please don't think that i'm overlooking you because you're in my heart forever and the family will get some thank you notes out i see you fred yes god bless you bless you her car come on fetty god i thank god i love the lord i love everything that my brother have done for us we would get upset with some of you people and he will uh uh you can't do that you got the love and spite up you know and he would tell me to look at me i'm the one i'm the pastor i'm the preacher and you got to be just like me i told him i said i can't be like you it only takes god to put that love down in me you know and i just i praise god for every one of you the ones that came by to see him and prayed with us the family would get together to pray and on the day that my brother left here i i was with him and i never experienced death i asked walter i said walter are you in pain he said no and he would always do me like this there was always move and i think to myself i said he was talking to god i was interrupting him asking him did he need some medicine you know but he wanted me to get i know he was in connecting with god and i thank god for his life and i thank god for my older brother everyone associates we did i love them but i love all you all and thank you all for coming today to for your support we need one another now he made the foundation and left center we got the walking you can't just talk you got the walking okay [Music] and there's me and then daniel is next daniel um hello everybody i'm not really a talker uh you know especially in this kind of situation um i'm going to miss my brother and i was sitting there thinking you know about how me and wally always kicked it all the time how we always acted up and and acted stupid and doing funny things and saying funny things to each other we could always do that and i'm gonna really miss that i'm gonna miss him but i love my brother you know i just lost my baby son like two years ago and now i just lost my baby brother so it's really hard i know as time goes on time heals but i really love my brother and he really loved me uh when i would call the house he had a certain way he would say my name i'd say hi wally and he'd say hi danny you know those i'm gonna really miss those times but uh i know wally's with god that's the main thing you know i know he went home i know when he went home he went home in peace he was ready to go he knew it was his time and he was real brave about it and i you know i love uh the the last week that we spent with him at the house you know and he was still even in his illness he would still kick it around you know and act silly and do little funny things so and i thank everybody for all your support for all your love and i didn't realize you know until last night how much my brother was loved and how he ministered to to i don't god knows how many people in the world all over the world i thank god for that i thank god that he used my brother the way he used them and i thank him for the revelation that he had in christ because i know it was from the holy spirit there wasn't nothing else that was god so thank you thank you [Music] my baby sister lynette [Applause] [Music] all right okay i thought i was coming up here to support you [Applause] i didn't know i was going to have to speak i don't know what to say really i it just doesn't seem real god i loved him so much and uh i had the opportunity to speak those words to him before we left that sunday morning he had his face turned to the wall he would do that a lot he wasn't speaking a lot i told him i love you so very much and um he had his face turned to the wall and he said i was walking towards the door and i looked back for some reason he was looking at me [Applause] [Music] thank you so much for having our brother my pastor i really mean i love you i love you [Music] at this time let's receive our friend and our brother pastor donnie mcclurkin see come with us following which i'm going to ask all to stand and let's receive bishop kenneth kenneth h mose our eulogist for today the lord bless you [Music] tell me what do you do [Music] tell me what do you say when your so-called friends turn away you're all alone all along [Music] you just stand and watch the lord see you through this after you've done all you can you just stand [Music] tell me how do you deal with [Music] filled with and it seems like you can't make it through well you just stand don't give you god take you through the your rain after you've come through the smaller after all he'll pick you up in the mid-line [Music] [Music] you just [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] it's a great family of god and especially to the hawkins family i'm truly humbled to be able to have been asked to say something time is far spent it's been a long week for you all and i'm very sensitive to that i'm going to try to be as brief as possible they used to call it popcorn ceremonies to do it real 1967 when it was the hebrew boys book tour in connecticut me and my wife had just been married and they that was our first guest in our home sister jermaine was traveling with the hebrew boys sister beverly caesar called us from new york and asked if we could host them that sunday afternoon and from 67 until now we've been friends i think in the last 10 years i became very close to him he was concerned about his church family he loved them with a depth that only members would understand and he wanted me to make sure just to be there for him and for them and that's why i'm here and i will be back when all this is over now amen 30 days our morning is over we'll come back and sit with you as you make this transition because that's where the test of your love will be when this is over and all of us have gone home all of the lights have been turned down love center we will see the fruit of your pastors sowing into your lives that you all will love each other i told you on sunday morning this is your season of morning and then you will consult the lord and he will give you good instruction do you know my savior have you known his favor jesus the son of god he will save and keep you he will never leave you jesus [Music] oh [Music] jesus the son of god [Music] sweet wonder i need the sights to sing it oh we've been sunk everything else come on sweet wonder [Music] jesus jesus i need some old time saves my soul love jesus i need to hear your sights my eyes jesus [Music] come he's the one so hallelujah he's a wonderful hallelujah he's oh [Music] bless his name come on come on come on come on [Applause] yes now everybody can praise it but only the saints can worship him i need you to clap your hand you didn't shout but open your mouth and give him the fruit of your lips i need you to bless him here hold the music a minute bless him come on come on come on come on just a few seconds i'm not gonna hold you come on let's put on the strength of god hallelujah hallelujah we need you now oh jesus touch us now heal us now save us now strengthen us now click on your children here this hawkins family we've come to be strength to their strength we didn't come to be strength to their weakness but we've come to be strength to their strength strengthen them now and strengthen us that are grieving now many hearts are broken but you're the hot fixer you know how they heal us even in our grief you bore our sickness our pain you brought our grief and we need you to heal us now and bless us now keep this children this church family let you come and see they've lost their shepherd but you are the great shepherd you know how to leave [Music] silence the murmurs find the opposition rebuke the entitlements in the name i need somebody to call his name lord jesus i just need somebody to say oh jesus and we thank you and we thank you and we thank you now it's time to clap your hands oh give thanks unto the lord you may be seated i need to know how i'm going to congest this i feel the mocha hallelujah oh you know i'm not going to leave till i say [Applause] i'll come back to that [Applause] second chronicles i'm gonna try to just pull this together i'll be back [Music] well he's here now i said he's here now and he's working the work right now i need you to clap your hands again and bless him i said deck is not here life is here celebrate the light come on celebrate and that'll abundantly [Music] second chronicles 35 22 and the archers shot at king josiah and the king said to his servants have me away for i am sore wounded his servants therefore took him out of the chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had and they brought him to jerusalem and he died and was buried in one of the supporters of his fathers and all judah and jerusalem mourned for josiah and jeremiah lamented for josiah and all the singing men and all the singing spake of josiah in their grief even unto this day and made them an ordinance in israel and behold they are written in the book of lamentations now the rest of the acts of josiah and his goodness according to that which was written in the law of the lord and his deeds first deeds and last deeds behold they are written in the book of kings of israel and judah this is the word of god thanks be unto god i want to preach for a few minutes about the pains of change the pains p-a-n-g of change before i so note that i must thank god for the fruit of this family their parents that sowed such wonderful seeds come on give us such a family [Music] brothers and sisters in your righteousness we must remember great men and women don't happen solomon prayed that you bless me to judge so great people so great people make great leaders not great leaders make great people so we have to celebrate the love center that helped make this man who he is come on come on [Applause] [Music] pastor sandy pastor mcfarland the trustees of the deacons can we celebrate the church in season and out of season come on we can do better [Music] all the gospel greats denounces everyone the pains of change pain is a sudden sharp feeling it's emotional stress there are pains of regret it is synonymous with pain but it's like a woman in travail it's it happens suddenly sharp and it hurts it's it's this week you've felt death pain uh it's it's like a stabbing suddenly but the difference in pain and pain is that when you feel pain use this because you're giving birth to something when you get stabbed suddenly usually it means something new is about to be born may i say to you this grief this distress this sudden feeling this pain has divine purpose your brother did not go to be with his maker because of an accident that he had nor of an aging pain but one that will produce new growth it was purposeful sudden removal for god's glory when there is a visitation of god there is a manifestation of his immediate perfect will change takes place when god feels and institutes pain in your life it's a pain that you're not warned of it's a plain pain that you're not ready to receive but if god ordained so that you could see a portion of god that you can't see right now obama talks about change that you can believe in people are now against him but this change that i'm talking about reveals the kingdom of god in three experiences uh and understands and reveals the mind of the spirit uh first it is a revealing of the fulfilled season of time it means that something is over so that something new can begin it's it's it's it's from time into eternity is what your brother felt on last sunday jesus jesus spoke it and said now my time has come that that that the father be glorified he speaks of at a young age of only 33 but in those three years that he was able to minister uh it was followed by a manifestation of pain that's called death death came in order to manifest a more perfect will of god the second experience of pain is that it brings you to a new divine portion of plans in other words it helps you to see what god is getting ready to do that hasn't been done up to that point it's a new moment it's a new opportunity for a people to develop anytime uh god removes one person that he loves to place another person in place it's only because he loves you more than the person did i i know that's kind of hard to understand but whenever god visits you like he has so suddenly it's because he's ready to bless you in another dimension uh jacob had to make way of isaac and uh abraham had to make way for isaac and isaac may way for jacob then you have jesus making way for peter and for paul and any time you have a visitation that kind of hurts you suddenly it's because god really has favored you i need somebody just open your mouth and bless him right there it's hard to identify it because the pain you feel is so real but also it presents to you a new day in your life and in the life of god's people thirdly the experience of pain also brings you to a future it brings you closer to the end than to the beginning it means that you're a little closer now to what god really wants to do than you were before you had this experience yes it is grateful but i was isaiah that said that in the year that king of zion died he said i saw the lord he he was high and lifted up and his presence kind of filled the temple cannot can i prophesy love center by the time you get back to the church there's going to be a release of another presence there is going to be another manifestation of a presence of god that's going to come upon you to empower you for the next part of the journey i know it seems painful now but change has purpose change helps you to accept what you don't understand change helps you to bring you to a place where god is glorified and you are edified here we have in the text josiah he's a young king he's the king of judah the son of amen he's the son of vanessa he's he starts his ministry when he's eight years old i see uh pastor hawkins all in the taxis he's 31 years old now uh uh he he he has an encounter with god at such a young age because of the trouble that's going on in the body of christ he he did what was right the bible says in the eyes of god and it says also that he walked in the ways of david his father and it says at 18 years old he says i'm going to the house of god send a high priest there that he might reveal the word of god and we read that in the midst of all the turmoil in the midst of all the apostasy that was going on it was josiah that renewed the covenant of god's people can i say to you even in the midst of what we're feeling right now there's a revival going on in love center i know you don't see it i know you don't feel it i know your hearts of heaven but the text says and josiah died it says but he died without them not celebrating with them celebrating forgive me of the acts of goodness he said he he he had done so much good that even in the midst of their grief they had to celebrate the goodness of god that was extended to him for the life that he lived before them i've been here since friday i've heard such testimonies about the goodness of god through walter hawkins testimony after testimony i don't know the sister that said she came out of jail suicidal and nobody wanted to be piloted with her it was pastor hawkins that said come on over here and now she's getting ready to finish her master's degree because there's something about acts of goodness that will save people that are dying can i get a witness here it's a wonderful thing for someone to be able to testify about your goodness not only did they speak of his goodness but they spoke of the testimonies of his kindness as one of the great kings of judah he he kind of brought the people together in a praise that was like none other the bible says that he called for the singing sisters and the singing brothers that even in his death we need you to sing now it was a song of grief it was a song of pain but there's something about mourning that will turn into dancing if you keep on singing uh there's something about the song that you sang last night a wonderful change going up beyond in all of the songs it's wonderful to see but when you're able to sing them when you're hurting and seeing them when you're in pain they release a poem that heals delivers and blesses your soul can somebody praise him for pastor hawking's goodness [Applause] [Music] speaks to in his quotes and he says uh when you're pursuing a dream or a vision men first ignore you then they laugh at you then they fight you then you win [Applause] i say it again when you start out on your journey to obey god men first ignore you like they did pastor then they laughed at you like they did pastor then they fight you when they see you're not gonna get up but give up but in the end you win today we are not celebrating defeating we're celebrating because pastor has won can i get a praise there he not only celebrated his acts of goodness but they celebrated his deeds from beginning to end said from his first deed to his last deeds that talks about good works uh there was a day in the life of jesus and i talked with pastor and you wanna you wanna be you wanna be persecuted get with church folk that ain't delivered even people that are jealous of you just just get with folks that really don't know you but but but they want what god has placed in your life uh jesus told them when they were gonna stone him he said for what good deed he said he said if you don't believe me for who i am believe me for my work's sake and i believe with all of my heart regardless of what you thought or what you said about the bishop his work speaks for him their soul heaven doesn't shout because the same shout every child with a sinner repents heaven rejoice over one senator repent that over 99 just i get a praise in here tonight walter hawkins experienced all of these that we spoke of in the midst of his walk but there's a different scenario of what happened last sunday the 11th two things happened last week one is he died he died as pain he died he died but he died the death of the righteous oh jesus i'll is the pains of change he couldn't go to the next dimension until he died and he i don't believe someone took his life i believe he gave it up i i believe that he was so close to where he was going that he just said i'll just take an exchange and i'll lay down this that i'm going through and pick up what i haven't ever experienced before it says in the text that that's a josiah it's painful sometimes it's ugly but there is a deliverance when you're able to say he died oh yes but the second thing that happened after he died he now lives oh my oh my feet died and quicker than you could bet your eyes he was living because jesus at the grave of lazarus said he that believeth in me oh i can't [Applause] and i tell you something in the next 30 days that we're mourning and groaning his presence is in this room right now there's a life-giving presence that's among us right now and because he died because he lives hallelujah we shall live also he's living right as we think right as we speak but a third thing happened to walter he sang about one more change i never have listened to a songwriter write so much about salvation he calls it a wonderful change dorsey professor thomas a dorsey when his wife and baby died the same day he writes a song called precious love he just doesn't say lord major says precious lord he calls this salvation grace a wonderful change has come home for me can i tell you uh he is now uh in line for one more change i i believe the scripture said behold i show you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we shall be changed in the moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and not the living not the limit not the living but the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortar must put on immortality so when this corruption shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality then shall be brought the past the same that is written death is swallowed up in victory that means victory got a bigger mouth than death i can't get a witness here but i want you to know in the midst of our pain there's victory in this house there's victory in our soul oh death where is thy state oh grave where is thy victory but the stain of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks peter god who giveth us the victory through our lord jesus christ that far beloved peace that fast unmovable always abounding in the work of the lord for as much as we know that our labor is not in vain i know it was a sudden painful loss to us two weeks ago a week ago but thank god for today for today is a day of celebration to be absent from this body is to be present with the lord i don't know how you feel today but i feel glad about the will of god loves love center be encouraged the presence of the lord is with you you shall see in a few days the will of god being manifested there is something that i feel we ought to do and that is lift our hands and give god praise for the will of god being done with your hands open your mouth and give god praise come on come on come on come on come on hallelujah [Applause] come on oh hallelujah blessed name he says yeah he has died but his works do follow him and thank you and i praise him and i bless him for walter hawkins but i praise god for his grace that his grace is sufficient by those that that nobody wanted to care about those that seemingly nobody cared for this man stood in the midst of persecution and did like jesus that hung with sinners and wine members and prostitutes and people that were castaways and said i'm not afraid to stand with you for i know in whom i believe and i'm persuaded that he labor and today we celebrate the victory of walter hawkins because of what god did in his life we give him praise oh [Applause] my god [Applause] [Music] came to celebrate the experiences that he suffered in his body and in his death but death has been swallowed up in victory and as i said to you on sunday this is a time of morning and i know they don't like to say that they want us just to make noise and act like it didn't happen but it did happen but the best is yet to be manifested if we just can get over this we will be able to celebrate and magnify the well well let me say this before i take my seat you will now see the seeds of his suffering i'm going to say it again i told you on sunday if you will mourn and not murmur [Applause] hallelujah i said if you were mourned and not firmer even at the death of josiah as that a young man's death 61 years old this is not an accident this is the direct will of god hallelujah to god i'm telling you as a church and as a people you will experience a new presence starting from this day starting this day you will experience a new presence when anything is is is cut when anything is severed it brings new growth any time god takes he got to give oh help me i said anytime god takes oh help me i said anytime god take it well tell me my bible i forgot the verse but now i'm not intimidated uh i see this verse here then this is the next verse then the people of the land took jehovah as the son of josiah and made him the king in his father's stead could you i'll read it again the next verse says then the people of the land took jehoshaphat the son of josiah [Applause] and made him king in his father's stead in jerusalem i'll say it again and the people took the son of josiah and anointed him i can't get nobody to get this and the people took the seed of josiah and they anointed him i'll say it again from the scriptures and the people to just [Applause] [Applause] and the people be very careful how you treat the seed of this man i have to say what god told me it's a pain change it's not a change by vote it's a change by ordination god has already obtained your future i can't get no praise here i know i feel you're kicking but that doesn't matter to me i'm not afraid to say what god says and after josiah died his son was anointed i don't mean to get in y'all's business [Applause] and you know what i'm not let me say this you could be anointed and not ready i can't get no praise here i say you can be anointed and not ready but if you have people that love you they'll stay around and help you to get ready i am going to take an apostolic father anointing bring him here to me in this house i need a praise in this house i need a praise in this house i need a praise in this house i [Applause] stand there where's your mother mama and uncle come stand behind him on either shoulder and the mother on the other shoulder and the lord said pastor you get on his right side you pass over there hey charlie get over here and i heard god said he's sovereign he can do whatever he's preparing me for what i can't handle right now i need a praise in this house i'll be a lying prophet may i never ever preach again i said i wasn't gonna do this before i left my office before i left my room god said go back and get your oil i said what am i saying i'll tell you and i didn't plan to do this because i get in trouble for this and i don't it doesn't matter what the church do i want you to know that you are the successor you'll share you will sit at the if you as you were faithful to his father he's not ready yet but i've felt anointing on me for a year's time son you will see god is levitical priesthood the seed is in you god doesn't ask you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] point your hands this way [Applause] the will of god as he was with moses so shall he be with thee see you seek the lord with your whole heart you're not ready yet it's an opportunity god will see what you do in your consecration from this day forward but if you will go where your father went into the secret place of the most high he will give you the orders he will give you direction because i heard the lord said the house is in order oh my god hallelujah [Applause] hallelujah now this phrase is not it's from when you go to take back from the enemy and all the years that the cankerworm had but you're gonna be like jonah you're gonna make it up in three days i can't get no praise here all the things you don't understand is gonna come open now i'm finished with what god come on so [Applause] relax that you be seated at this time as our pregnants stand and they're going to urge the family we ask everyone would you please be seated and please clear the our way at this time we're asking everyone to remain in your seat excuse me until the family and our president presidents exit the building at this time amen let's thank the lord for the word of the lord [Music] and for the orchestration of the holy ghost [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] as the family goes up they're going to ask you all if you'll be seated just for a moment you can continue to play let them go out just be seated for one minute they just asked us just for one minute how the family goes do they have them quietly just before as they're going listen they've asked us many of you were here last night and they're starting a foundation in brother hawkins name and they're asking if anyone would want to contribute to the walker hawkins foundation if you would love to do something today if you're late raise your hand they want to pass out some envelopes to you and those of you that would like to give for his foundation just lift your hand and they're going to come and give you an envelope just lift your hand up from wherever you are there's some purses right there come on if you can come with those envelopes just lift your hand anywhere in the building there's some in the back there that are raising their hands that want to give to the walter hawkins foundation lift your hand from wherever you are way there in the back there's some in the balcony too if you can get up in the balcony fill them out right now they want you to fill them out right now you can put whatever you want to put your credit card on there they'll take it out of your account if you want to give to your credit card you make your checks out you can make them out to the love center ministries just lift your hand yes there's some hands there there's some hands in the back there's some hands on this side too [Music] yes just lift your hands you want to give today to the walter hawkins [Music] they're in the neck fill them out and then just lift them up and they're going to come back and take them as the family is going out just raise your hand [Music] anyone else when you finish filling it out just lift your hand they're going to come back and get them as soon as you put your contribution in there [Music] yes if you finish them just lift the whole envelope up and they'll come back and get them [Music] yes just lift your hand and they'll receive them anyone that's filled it out already there's some in the back there yes trustees if you have a basket you can come back and collect these from those who have already filled them out i'm [Music] yes whatever you have lift your envelope this one right there and they'll collect them just raise your hand raise your hand there's a hand there once you fill the envelope just lift your hand and they'll come [Music] come on let's celebrate this family put your hands together clap your hands as his family leaves [Applause] come on let's stand as they take our our pastor leaves the stage go now under him who's able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask nothing according to his power that worketh in us let the redeemed of the lord say amen please do not leave to him all the family is out and we bless the lord you

Channel: Trevon Dawson

Views: 81,491

Rating: 4.7808919 out of 5

Keywords: Gospel, Walter Hawkins, The Hawkins Family, Contemporary Gospel, Edwin Hawkins, Love Alive, Love Alive 5, Music, Black Music, Soul Music, Church, Choir, Sing, Singers, Song, Vocals, Tramaine Hawkins, The Winans, Donnie McClurkin, Homegoing Celebration Walter Hawkins, Funeral Service, Bishop Kenneth Moales

Id: zfuL2qy31rU

Length: 231min 28sec (13888 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 09 2020