March 7, 2020 "Those Church Folk Are Stone Crazy", Rev. Dr. John R. Adolph

[Music] and all of God's people who are glad to be in his house said a man and a man once more and a man like you're glad to be in church on a Saturday evening give the Lord a big hand clap of praise right where you are [Applause] in obedience to him who died once and will never die again who's been resurrected and whose name is above every name that the mentioning of his name the Bible lets us know that every knee will indeed bow and every tongue will surely confess that he is Lord that the glory of God the Father till my good friend and brother from another mother dr. Howard John Wesley to dr. Williams and took the pulpit constituency of the Alfred Street Church to deacons and trustees who were present with us who partner with the pastor in kingdom building endeavors to this marvelous choir from True Believer my god [Music] oh wow wow wow wow I want to teach you all for a moment if I were at Antioch after that last election I would say the doors are the Lord's Church I open a man thank God for their gift and for their leader their direct to give him a big hand clap man wow thank you so much thank you to the members and friends of the Alpha Street Church to Usher's who stand so dutifully to these musicians who play so skillfully and to all of you who just love the Lord Jesus good evening Church I want you all to know I've been praying for dr. Howard John Wesley and I am so thankful that my friend had enough sense to tell everybody I'm tired I'll see y'all later god bless you I just think the world of him for doing that so often times we run ourself to the point where it's completely depleted but I am so thankful for him and his walk with the Lord Jesus dr. Wesley if you're watching I love you with all of my heart I'm praying for what will come Easter Sunday morning I'm going to stream myself because I know God is going to kiss you in a mighty way first Peter chapter 2 first Peter chapter 2 sound if I could get a little bit more these monitors just right here that would help me thank you first Peter two verses four through eight I'm reading from the thundering diction of the King James Version one quick petition let the words of my mouth the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight although at my strength and my Redeemer in Jesus's name a man Peter writes to whom coming as unto a Livingstone disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God and precious ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house a further description a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ wherefore also it is contained in the scripture behold I lay in Zion a chief Cornerstone he says in that cornerstone is elect and precious and that he that believeth on him shall not be confounded unto you therefore he writes which believe he is precious but unto them which be disobedient the stone which the builders disallowed the same is made the head of the corner and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense even to them which stumble that his word being disobedient where unto also they were appointed say a man you may take your seats I want to use for sermonic thought today while it's my time to teach and to preach those church folk are stone crazy a man us as you may take your seats it took place one day in Chapel when I heard a discourse that stretched me theologically dr. timber Murphy Co who is an Old Testament professor at the ITC where I was graduated from made an interesting contention listen carefully he argues that there is too much Jesus in church his contention ladies and gentlemen is built on the theistic idealism that the church should be more god centered and less christ-centered that we talk about Jesus so much we forgotten about God he says we pray that Jesus sing about Jesus Ries crypsis about Jesus and if you mention Jesus too much folk will even shout about Jesus he said in conclusion in that discourse those church folk are just stone crazy ladies and gentlemen not long ago I was in Jerusalem and I couldn't help but take note to the fact that while walking through the Holy Land all I saw was stones there were stones in it where the gates were made of stones the walls are made of stones the streets are made of stones big stones little stones Mount Carmel Mount harmon Mount Pisgah Mount Calvary all these and gentlemen are stones and as I took note of it my mind could not help but say that maybe with the midst of the Holy Land being filled with Arab Muslims and Jews and Hindus and Christians I believed God was screaming from the top of his lungs don't miss all of these stones I argue even today as we sit on a Saturday evening cool calm and collected that when you really take the moment to analyze the Christian faith really we are a bit crazy I don't care what you say we are here today with a book in our hands that was written by oh maybe some 40 different writers over 1,600 years you haven't met any one of them but believe what's in the book wait to make it even crazier you believe that some God way up there loves you so much way down here that he touched you with a finger of love this morning woke you up gave you the activity of your limbs put seeing in your eyes hearing in your ears clapping in your hands walking in your legs breathing in your lungs and you are Corona free like this you are here because you believe in your hearts that he turned water to wine in Cana made blind men see a lame man walk death men here and somehow some woman who've been hemorrhaging 12 long years pressed is pressed her way through the crowd touched the hem of His garment and got well I don't care what you say it sounds crazy but I believe it ladies and gentlemen as we take a look at the Christian faith either you are crazy or you should be somewhere else we believe he shrinks tumors we believe he opens blinded eyes we believe he saves lost souls we believe that he heals the sick we believe that there's nobody who can love you like him trust you like him build you like him we believe in a resurrected Savior ladies and gentlemen hook is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever ask or think his power is unmatchable his love is unfathomable his grace is enough to make you cry his love showers you and on top of all of that he gave me all of us call him and never get any of us confuse touch your neighbor and say I believe all of that here it is I'm about to shout myself wait first Peter he writes as he chronicles this wonderful epistle it is really a carryover from Matthew 16 where he declares thou art the Christ the Living God I want you all to know this right off the bat Peter is my favorite disciple of the Lord 12 he reminds me most of Li Peter is flawed to the nth degree he is that Lord's disciple of the inner circle of Peter James and John I like him I have a personal passion for Peter and it is because the Lord tends to use the worst of us to help the rest of us let me let me let me let me argue it this way Peter if you made him angry would still curse if he had to how long he has passed some of y'all your extra hole in your part of the high priesthood you've met Jesus you no longer use profanity but Peter could still cuss if you made him angry wait and he was the lowest disciple who carried a hook shaped knife in his vesture called the sea car and if you pushed him far enough he would whoop that joker out and do some cutting don't you don't you love of Christian with a Bible and a nine-millimeter really don't you touch it ladies and gentlemen Peter is the Lord's disciple and what he does in this entire letter is make certain that Christians know that if you love God listen you will suffer from time to time oh I wish I had at least a hundred of you who love God but you know what it's like to cry sometimes you've had to bear with some folk you love you've had to go through some things that caused you to weep but just because you go through it if it doesn't kill you it always makes you stronger Peter says to us beloved think it not strange when the fiery trials come but for the try you as if some strange thing happened but he says the resolve for you is to learn how to rejoice while you're going through it can I press pause right quick for all of you who are comfortable you've never had to suffer never had to strain this first shout is not for you but for everybody else who's been through stuff that should have made you lose your entire mind you ought to help me thank God for keeping you through that whole thing just for just keeping you and holding you he goes further than at illness that not only are we to be steadfast in suffering but he says you ought to be sold out to the Savior don't let anything change your mind by the time he gets to dealing with these epistle like pillars he then lets us know in chapter 1 verse 13 that everything in Christ comes alive number one we have a Living Hope in first Peter 1:23 we have a Living Word and in first Peter 2:22 first p224 through eight we have a living stone he lets us know that in Christ we are alive he uses a metaphor that lets us know that we are stones but he is the rock you know what I find interesting some people when they go through turbulent times reach for things like Ciroc and I wrap all of that I all get what you need is the rock paper you need the rock hola he shows us these stones he says it six times in just the span of a few verses he says that he is the chosen stone the chief and cornerstone that we are lively stones that because we are lively stones he is the chief and cornerstone who was disallowed as a stumbling stone in a stone that's been rejected but the ones that they reject it became the chief of the corner the pillar the one who holds everything together and when I finished looking at this particular text I contended ladies and gentlemen that dr. Murphy Coe is correct Christians are stone crazy you showed up on a Saturday evening just to lift your hands in the house of the Lord you can't see him but he's got an eye on you I wish I had everybody in who knows God's been watching you and taking care of you to look at a neighbor and say neighbor you can call me crazy if you want to but God's been blessing me taking care of me leading me guiding me ordering my steps he's been blessing me the whole time you can call me crazy if you want to but I plan to wave and I'm not saying goodbye I plan to cry and I'm not sad I plan to shout and ain't nothing scary I plan to run and ain't nothing chasing me is there anybody in here who loves my God look at you me if it's a neighbor they may talk about me but I am stone crazy I love the Lord with everything in me and I'm okey beloved him until the day I die what's their mistakes what's what's in this passage Church it ought to make us say this is crazy listen carefully because I want to borrow your intellect number one listen carefully we believe in a rock that's been resurrected there is a difference between a tombstone and a living stone a tombstone tells you who is dead but a living stone ghosts don't want who is no longer dead but is alive I argue ladies and gentlemen that churches who are in love with Jesus ought to be the loudest rowdiest all kind of commotion going on it is because our God is alive he no longer needs a tombstone he is ladies and gentlemen a living stone here's the stone story from verse four he says to us number one he receives us like we are oh can I can I ask you this I know you've been in church for a while but can I just ask you what would you like when you first came to Jesus listen to me if you cannot remember what you were like when you first came is because you haven't come yet so let me let me stretch you let me just stretch you a little bit I just ask a question wait hold on think about what would you like when you first came to Jesus wait can you borrow this as your testimony I may not be perfect but he has brought me I heard that AHA - your story - from a mighty mighty mighty low boy not only does he receive us ladies and gentlemen but there are others who reject him I want to say this while I have this mic in this pulpit of my friend everybody that is talking about God ain't bragging on yours please know ladies and gentlemen that we do not fathom or even embrace the idea of the universal Fatherhood of God listen to me we are all God's creation but we are not all God's children you have to have a birth certificate that says I have been born again for everybody in here who has met him up close look at a neighbor's a neighbor Kate nobody do you like Jesus can when you get through ladies and gentlemen not only does he receive us and others reject him but they disallow him that's what the text says took the point they crucified him but y'all here is the best news you're gonna hear all day long they crucified him and he died it was a bloody mess it was horrible but here is a mistake they made dr. Williams they took the stone off the cross and put that stone in another stone and covered it with another stone and then they thought that the stones at the head around this stone could hold these stone in but this stone caused the earthquake just just for those tectonic plates those big stone ships and when those fellas got to shake it all kind of stuff don't happen in Jerusalem and the Bible records this one truth that ought to cause your heart to rejoice on a Saturday evening at about 640 he's alive ladies and gentlemen I argue today that the shout of the church is not the robes the choir wears or the music the choir sings or the drums beats are the music that plays are even the sermon the preacher preaches the Christian mantra that ought to be the shouting news of the church until the trumpet sounds and the rapture is this he's alive did you hear what I just said it doesn't have to be Easter Sunday morning for you to shout about that you serve a living Savior I want to listen I want to make sure I say it over and over he's alive did you hear what I just said he's alive the Angels recorded it here's what Gabriel told the women who came to the tomb you seek the living among the dead he said you to label he's alive wait pull oh hello Peter and John showing and then the Bible says over five hundred one time witnessed it when I was in Jerusalem that long ago something really interesting happened they took us to the garden tomb where Jesus was buried it was the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea in the garden next to God got for the hill the place called the skull and so when we got to the tomb they let us go in 6 and 7 at a time and so I wouldn't with a couple of people and then as I was coming out another group was coming in and as they were coming in one lady that I was unaware who she was looked in the tomb and then told everybody hey there's no body in here I want y'all to know I took great joy [Music] in chela note you had to come all the way to Jerusalem to figure that out honey I know he lives because he lives in me I wish I have about 300 y'all in here who would just shout on the fact that he is Allah hello not only do we look crazy because we believe in a rock that's been resurrected but hold on watch this we are also people who believe that he uses pebbles as priests who were filled with a portion of praise watch this I am so thankful ladies and gentlemen for the afro centric scholarship I was trained with I have I have come to grips with the fact that Christian scholastic honor does not have to be German it does not have to be white it can be African American but thick lips nappa hair and an intelligent brain hallelujah come here stay with me why don't wonder man who trained me in school his name was dr. job and see Jackie was a litigant existentialist and one particular day he had read for us - triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem you know what they shout Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna you know save us all of that and so some of the church folk got mad so they told Jesus listen tell your folks that know is done and Jesus said if they hold their peace on a day like today the rocks will cry out and so when dr. Jackson finished reading that one of the students that my school would be one up to his he went up to him with his two lithium existentialism and said to him do you really believe that rocks can cry out dr. Jackson he said do you really believe that and dr. Jobs did Jackson says some I will never forget he said what fool will wait long enough to find out he said I plan on praising him every time I get a chance I wish I had about a hundred yo and he was saying I'm not gonna let a rock or a tree or anything else happens here I'm gonna bless God while I have breath in my body hold on rustic I'm almost finished check this out when you get two verses five and six of chapter two you will know this ladies and gentlemen two particular metaphors Peter uses to describe church folk with number one we are a holy house and number two we are priests everybody say holy house now say priests stay with me if you can it's interesting because in the Old Testament dr. Williams God or the house to be built for the people but in the New Testament the people make up a house for God we are a group listen to me of literally stones that make the Church of God who and what she is oh you ought to take a look around the room don't touch nobody this time just look cuz all of us are pebbles in the Lord's Kingdom hold on there were no big bricks or no little grits all just pebbles that make up the whole house what's interesting ladies and gentlemen is this these pebbles are priests and the priests have one job that is to bring the sacrifices unto the Lord and because he has already died on the cross you don't bring a lamb or a bull or anything else you bring one thing unto God your Thanksgiving and your gratitude for all God has done for you if God has done nothing then you have every right to fold your arms cross your legs look so Diddy and I'll catch you tomorrow if you come to church but if God has done things for you that you know it took God to do you O God at least one thing a thank you you've been holding all week long I'm preaching so good wait I don't want to stage it alone when I've got to tell you all this the job of the priest listen carefully is to keep the fire on the altar burning listen carefully if there is no fire in church it's because you showed up without a flame [Applause] I was preaching one Sunday at the end of y'all church church was boring what nobody clapping folk they really want to be there quad song the same old songs you know just one though Sunday and so one lady told me pastor a though I didn't feel the spirit move in a church was boring I said that's because you showed up without the fire your job at the show up would have enough fog it and light up your whole row okay wait it's time for a future tell your neighbor if you could only see what God has done for me if you can see the doors he's open and the ways he's made and the things he's done and the times he's forgiven me and the moments he's blessed me and how he's taken my resources and blessed him and stressed him and how he's taken my family and put his hand on I need to preach to about a hundred blissful bright quick who came home peace when you think of the goodness of the Lord and all he's done for you your hands automatically wave your soul automatically shouts Wow I feel of shouting me look over at a neighbor and say neighbor you have no idea just how good god has been to me tell him he's forgiven me for sins I know I committed tell him he's look beyond my faults seeing every one of my lead tell him he hadn't just put a roof over my head he's blessed me like crazy who am i preaching to if that's your testimony throw bow for your hands up until God right quick hallelujah at miss Blake [Applause] wait I must caution you whenever you worship God and give God gratitude that is proper other focal don't think you were crazy but that's because they what now when god bless you like he did I've got Bible record to go along with it David sees the Ark of the Covenant returning to Israel and the Bible says he pulled off his raw your vestige sure and just want a linen ephod and danced all around the whole city so much so to Michael look out of a window with disdain I argue friends if your worship does not work somebody else's nerves you probably are not worshiping God at all your Thanksgiving ought to be so radical and so real until people who normally sit by you say I ain't sittin by you no more that didn't take all of that you didn't have to do all of that you embarrassed me and that's what you ought to tell them if you didn't wake me up you can't shut me up if you didn't heal me you can't heal me if you were not bad you don't understand my testimony who am i preaching to I just need about twenty five of y'all right quick to tell somebody when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he's done for me my soul cries out [Applause] [Music] [Applause] I frown on churches and ministries who have a lathe our elders aside I'm 53 years old and I frown on churches who sure beside folk with gray hair hold on we need our young people yes we do come home and we need you but hold on leave my mowing them right where they are leave sister pearly me husband where she don't you move there there are living ancestors they shout differently they worship differently they are different their experiences encounters are different but I crown churches that shove them aside here's why I believe there's something burning in their bosom that the current church needs our current church needs music to help it worship but when you've been through what they've been through you make your own song help me hold the ghost i hide like this because there was a woman that I hurt your name was mother Katie Mae Tim's she would walk in the church with an air tank she suffered from several pulmonary illnesses but she didn't let that stop her from worshipping her God she said on the third road to the left if you said that she was gonna slide you down that was her seating them at harp at church whoa and and and and what what happened is she would come in and she wouldn't worship at first she listened to the Deacons do devotion then she'd kind of get a little warmed up you're no little rocket and then quad I was saying two or three more songs and she might wave a little bit but by the height or worship she would take off the oxygen thing she'd go to rocket and clapping and then when the worship was hot and high she would literally dance up in front of church they would have to come Fanny she would move the people that stand at her and then after church she would just sit down and just collapse several times we had to call EMS because we saw she was gonna turn purple on us so we had to call EMF and so one Sunday I asked her why did she do that she said baby when you get my age you don't know when it's gonna be your last time so she said but you saw me do was I was saving my Thanksgiving up so I could give him all that I had can I ask you you say anybody who's been saved in a hallelujah I just want about maybe a hundred and fifty year who've been saving and thank you Jesus all week you had to let it out yet can I tell you what you ought to do you ought to light this place up with a spiritual fire you lift your hands in this house and tell the Lord thank you for who you are in my life lastly we not only believe in a stone that's been resurrected but not only believed in temples that a priest filled with praise but lastly we believe that there is one stone who keeps everything else together I'm through when I say this you can make it without money cuz I've been broke a whole bunch of time you can make it without some people in fact you better off on some folk believe listen to them I'm about to shout myself live but listen you cannot make it without Jesus Christ Jesus Christ help you keep everything together is there anybody in this house who's lived long enough to know that if you have Jesus you have enough listen to me carefully Peter says that he is the chief Cornerstone the same stone that the builders rejected and disallowed God made him elect and precious I look this word precious up because I knew I was coming to preach for dr. Howard John Wesley and I discovered that it's mentioned twice same root word same tense voice and mook same Greek mythology layman's syntax it literally means to be honored to be highly esteemed to be like none other in other words the Lord took jesus's life and made him like none other that there is nobody like him that whether you look in heaven on earth or even inhale you will never find a for the maker that you love who is your master ladies and gentlemen let me hover took my clothes that's enough time for my first sermon let me tell you all this I rushed to work one morning I got there early Institute I had male stacked everywhere I told my secretary I don't want to be disturbed I get there really early the telephone rings sister girl then took a coffee break I don't know where she went she left I mean she must have went and invented Starbucks so I'm there by myself and the telephone is ringing off the hook I don't want to talk because I'm in there and I'm trying to get some stuff done so the phone is ringing getting on my nerve dr. William so I answer the phone with a rush in my voice I say any of my shirt that the church I'm gonna help you and a faint female voice came over the speaker and she said is this the pastor hey y'all can I be human for about 30 seconds I want to lie so badly I want to tell them no y'all chill holder let me tell ya I want to say no he's not available just yet but I couldn't do it on that show I said yes ma'am this is he she said I watched your broadcast and I have a question for you I said go ahead she said my husband went to prison and came out of Muslim he said to me we should not worship Jesus we should not pray to Jesus we shouldn't not talk about Jesus but what do you say y'all I was a wonderful way to start my morning I'm crazy I don't care what you say I told her I said baby let me tell you one thing there is nobody in heaven or earth or a hell like him I said if you kill him he rises again if you tell if he can't he'll show you that he can he has all power in the hollow of his hand when he walks worlds are created when he talked galaxies are formed He is God wrapped in a body he is human enough to feel my pain and God enough to heal me he speaks to storms it makes water stop then lay down in me to win wrap it up like a scroll I said and when he died even heaven had to admit that two songs can't shine at the same time but s you ain't had to fold it up wider SOA and got us here to sunshine she said well should we worship Him I've said every day of my life I plan to lift my hands and bow my knee because there is nobody quite like him nobody loves like him nobody saves like him nobody heals like him nobody blesses like him nobody strengthens like him nobody cares like him nobody wipes a tear like him nobody shrinks a tumour like him nobody makes a crack here a detail like him nobody turns people's lives around like him is there anybody in here who loves him with all of their hearts wait I don't want you to say it because your neighbor is saying it but I want you to say it because you stone crazy your dog old self shake your neighbor by the hand look at them right quick like you got a chance and say neighbor I love him with all of my heart with everything in me I've come here to worship Him in spirit and in truth yes yes yes find one more hand find one more hand shake it like you're not afraid they have coronavirus hold it like you've been born again and say neighbor they think I'm crazy but I planned about my knee every time I get a chance and I plan to call on his name every time I can't is there anybody in here who doesn't mind worshipping him like right now can I tell you what you ought to do you ought to lift up your hands on and open up your mouth and just tell them thank you for everything you've done thank you for every way you made thank you for tagging in my place a knee alright I said Amy alright say see yes well I feel alright anybody know that he can't nobody do you like he came don't fool me now but if you know that ain't nobody love you like he can't shake one more neighbor's hand and hold it like you got a testimony look I'm squaring the face y'all still looking at me I want you to find one body one person that's to you look I'm squaring the eye and tell your neighbor these words came nobody to your life Jesus ain't nobody nobody came nobody kill you like Jesus came nobody came nobody came nobody save your life Jesus came nobody came nobody baby alright [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh we that worship touched my soul I hope it touch yours as well listen I'm gonna thank you for watching for worshiping you being part of our witness today get the Word of God in the worship moved from your heart and you want to continue to support the great things that God is doing it Alfred Street you can give you lectronimo online through our app or even our text to give option I once heard a sermon and afterwards someone said is the sermon done the ushers respond to us the sermons over but it has yet to be done you just received a word from the Lord worships over now let's go live the word and get it done it's past 2 West see you next worship service [Music]

Channel: Alfred Street Baptist Church

Views: 45,604

Rating: 4.6944447 out of 5

Keywords: Alfred Street Baptist Church, 2020, Those Church Folks Are Stone Crazy, Rev. Dr. John R. Adolph, Peter 2:4-8, King James, crazy, #wearealfredstreet, #asbc, #selah

Id: 2szoiRcQlqs

Length: 39min 36sec (2376 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 10 2020