Sabbath Worship - 2021 Passover Memorial

unto thee do we give thanks for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare unto thee o lord do we give thanks oh hell shalom to my brothers and sisters from the united states and from jamaica and africa it's a pleasure to greet you on this beautiful sabbath morning i want to apologize for the delay but we had some logistical problems that we had to straighten out we broadcasting from the living room of the beautiful parsonage here in beautiful sweet canaan land it's certainly an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to fellowship with you on this beautiful sabbath morning on this first morning of the feast of the large passover certainly pleased with the certainly please inspired and motivated by the service that we had the sailor service that we had on last evening and if the if the quality of the service that we had last night is any indication this is going to be a beautiful youtube passover you and i can tell our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren about the great youtube passover but the lord has been good and i'm thanking the lord god of abraham isaac and jacob i'm thanking the lord for making it possible for us to fellowship on this passover morning in spite of in spite of covet 19. but we're accustomed to to having to improvise and to move things around in order to keep the pass over if we go back to the early days of our congregation way back into the 1920s we had to do a whole lot of moving around a whole lot of improvising and and it's the case that we always scramble when passover comes always scrambling to try to get ready my grandfather used to tell me no matter what you do you're going to have to eat it in haste with your shoes on your feet your lawns girded and your staff in your hand and that's the nature of the history of the biblical history of the israelites and certainly the history of our israelite congregation so we're going to have a fine sabbath service today we have some fine participants already all lined up and ready but our goal here is to worship praise thank the god of our salvation this god from whom all blessings flow so in spite of what you and i have been going through it's been just about a year since we started to cancel our worship services in our tabernacles it's been just about a year and lord i've been praying lord i think i think a year lord is just about enough so i'm asking the lord to bless us to to overcome the ravages of this of this pandemic and i certainly want to take this opportunity to express my concern and my love for any of us who have had covet 19 some of some of our relatives have passed away but we think but the lord has been good nevertheless the lord has been good and i'm encouraging you i continue to encourage you to to be careful to wear your mask and to get the vaccination just as soon as you can i'm assuming that you clear the beginning of the vaccination with your with your doctor with your physician so we're ready to get started to have a beautiful worship service on this on the sabbath day on this first morning of the feast of the lord's passover and we will begin our service with our congregational anthem i love thy church oh god ah [Music] is my oh [Music] oh yes oh [Applause] [Music] yes says glory thank you oh [Music] [Music] [Music] so will be led in invocation by sister elder molly jones of cleveland ohio it is written let us therefore come boldly until the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy almost high and eternal god the god of abraham isaac and jacob the creator of all things the one who sits high looks low and knows all we come before you with humbled hearts bowed head and a contrite spirit to say thank you we thank you for everything that you've done everything that you're doing and for everything you still have yet to do we thank you lord god for allowing us to gather virtually for yet another passover celebration to bless and glorify your name we thank you lord god for keeping us all safe through danger seen and unseen we thank you lord god for not leaving us nor forsaking us but leading and guiding us through this kovic 19 pandemic we thank you lord god for looking past all of our fault and supplying every one of our needs for you did not have to do any of this but we're grateful and thankful that you saw fit just to do it because you are a loving god because you are a faithful god because you are an on-time god and because you are a merciful god i'm asking that you continue to bless the entire house of israel both near and far lord please continue to hold us in the hollow of your hand i'm asking that you grant peace where there's chaos grant understanding where there is confusion grant love where there is hate and grant joy where there is sorrow i'm asking you that you hear our prayer and lord please have mercy upon us according to your will father i ask that you show up in this service and pour out your spirit upon your people through every device that they have allow it to consume our hearts allow it to fill us up allow it to break up and wash away any and everything that is not of you so that we may be able to worship freely and be the willing vessels that you would have us to be help us lord god to understand that we need to stay steadfast unmovable and always be abounding in the work of the lord help us lord god to continue to love one another as you love us help us lord god to understand that we may be troubled on every side but yet we are not distressed we may even be cast down but we are not destroyed help us lord god to continue to obey your word and follow our leader help us lord god to wait on you and while we're waiting be of good courage help us lord god to keep your will and your way so that we'll be able to walk and not faint it is said that the race is not given to the swift nor the battle to the strong but those who endure so help us to run this race with endurance so that we may be able to obtain an abundant life and in doing so lord will be careful to give you all the glory all the honor and all the praise all of these things i ask in the mighty and matchless name of the god of abraham the god of isaac and the god of jacob amen amen and amen way down way down little [Music] way down [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] way down [Music] [Applause] [Music] way [Music] way [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] way down [Music] [Music] is amen way down this is a plan i thought for a moment that he was live it was so real to me i thank the lord for for letting us have a have an old-time jubilee like we used to have in the old days it occurs to me that the the spirits of our forefathers are smiling looking down on us and smiling and they're proud of us for being able to overcome the difficulties associated with this pandemic and still carry on the work of the lord it's it's just it's just astounding i'm i'm really just amazed we've been scrambling here in the living room of the parsonage trying to get everything right but in the final analysis we depend on the mighty hand of the almighty god to make it right thanks sister alder jones for the very fine very fine invocation and i was so much impressed with her invocation because she she thanked the lord in that invocation i think i was trying to count i think some 15 or 20 times and that lets me know that that's what we should be doing no matter what's going on let's give god thanks and praise for all of the many blessings that he has bestowed on from us kept us out of scene and unseen dangers as she said and brought us to this moment to this moment in time this historic moment where we are carrying on the feast of the law's passover in a virtual environment who would have thought who would have thought so now let us move along in our service it's now time for our sabbath school session and we will turn the service into the hands of saint charlemagne ringwood general sabbath school superintendent from alexandria is virginia hero israel the lord is [Music] the lord our god is [Music] is [Music] is the time has arrived for sabbath school we will begin with the shema by brother reginald johnson iii of alexandria virginia israel adonai eloheinu israel the lord is our god the lord is one one is in our god great is our lord holy is his name and thou shalt love the lord thy god with that thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might and these words which i command thee this day shall be upon thy heart we will begin our devotional period with the reading of scripture our devotional sabbath school scripture reading this morning comes from proverbs chapter 4 verses 1 through 7. hear ye children the instruction of a father and a tend to know understanding for i give you good doctrine forsake ye not my law for i was my father's son tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother he taught me also and said unto me let thine heart retain my words keep my commandments and live get wisdom get understanding forget it not neither decline from the words of my mouth forsake her not and she shall preserve thee love her and she shall keep thee wisdom is the principal thing therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting get understanding thus end at the reading of the scripture i will now recite the keys and the summary of the commandments on behalf of the sabbath school first key church of god and saints of christ first corinthians chapter one and verse two second key wine is forbidden to be drunk in the church of god and saints of christ forever leviticus chapter 10 and verse 9. third key unleavened bread and water for christ's body and blood saint matthew chapter 6 and 20 verse 6 and 20 through 8 and twenty fourth key foot washing is a commandment saint john chapter 13 verses one through eight fifth key the disciples prayer saint matthew chapter 6 verses 9 to 14. sixth key you must be breathed upon and saluted into the church of god and saints of christ with the holy kiss romans chapter 16 and verse 16 saint john chapter 20 verse 2 and 20. seventh key the ten commandments exodus chapter 20 verses 1 to 18 summary of the commandments the first of all the commandments is hear o israel the lord is our god the lord is one and thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength and the second is like namely this thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophet the morning's reading lesson was taken from numbers chapters 11 and 12. there is one precept verse which is found in numbers chapter 12 and verse 6. it is taken from the lesson the bible story lesson stone of truth i will now recite the precept as a memory verse on behalf of the sabbath school and he said hear now my words if there be a prophet among you i the lord will make myself known unto him in a vision and will speak unto him in a dream giving honor to god and recognition to prophet william saunders crowdy and our executive leader chief rabbi philippe mcneil grandfather abraham rabbinical council evangelists at large evangelists elders of israel sabbath school officers and scholars shalom alaikum our sabbath school devotional has ended we will now begin our class session our passover theme this year is wait on the lord be of good courage keep his way walk and not faint i am very pleased to present to you this morning two dynamic speakers first we will hear from the local superintendent of alex i'm sorry of atlantic city new jersey st laverne saunders who will focus on the first part of the theme wait on the lord then we will hear from the assistant general sabbath school superintendent saint khadijah miller from belleville virginia and she will focus on the second part of the theme be of good courage please welcome our first speaker saint laverne saunders wait on the lord wait on the lord i'm not an expert on this subject matter but i am an expert on my life and i'm an expert on my weight on the lord experiences and in those experiences i've learned a few things one waiting on the lord is a process and the process of waiting is just as important as what i'm waiting for how i wait while i wait i'm practicing participating in my own salvation and i've learned that waiting on the lord is not a dichotomy it's not either i wait or i don't wait but for me my waiting is more in levels levels that demonstrate the extent to which i wait on the lord sometimes it's a whole lot sometimes it's a lot sometimes it's some sometimes it's a little it's sometimes it's none that's just my reality and so i'd like to share my experience of waiting on the lord and these levels through my weight on the lord's story and i have five levels level number one is actually number five and i call it my top i call it my top because that's as high as i have ascended i'm sure there's levels above that i just have not extended that far but for me my top demonstrates two areas in my life where by intentional choice and decision i have surrendered those two areas of my life over to god and what do i get in return what did i get i got liberation liberation i don't have to make choices about those areas i don't have to make decisions about those areas i wait on the lord and i wait with joy and gladness and my song for this level is thank you lord thank you for the liberation that once i chose you and once i decided you i have no other decisions and my prayer is the same thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord for the peace for the calm that comes when i am at level five for the trust because i know that what you have for me will find me for the gratitude i have for what you're doing in my life for the humility that i wait with for the blessing to be able to exemplify at least in two areas of my life waiting on the lord with no time limits it doesn't matter in this level how long i wait there's no time limit because as i said i know that what god has for me will find me but every area in my life is not at this level there are some things that are a little bit lower a lower extent to which i'm waiting on the lord like level number four i have areas of my life where i'm striving i'm contending for waiting i'm fighting to wait and right now on this day in 2021 i am waiting with self-management techniques and self-regulation techniques to manage my emotions and my feelings and who am i contending with it's saint laverne contending with laverne i'm fighting in this fight i'm contending with myself and my song for this level is so that is why i'm going to continue and it's not so that is why i'm going to continue it's so that is why that is why i'm going to continue that is why i'm going to the end and i'm striving each and every day and my prayer is god give direction to my striving and i know that god will in god's own time god will give direction and sometimes it comes in the form of people that god puts in my life will give a testimony of having ascended from this level who give me techniques and tools to help me with self-management and free self-regulation who accept me and do not judge me as i work to regulate my emotions and my feelings i embody this level in this level i'm expecting i'm anticipating god to show up i'm inspired in this level my hope is high in this level i'm grateful to be in this level and i have complete acceptance of this particular level in some areas of my life and the area is not important the circumstances are important the issues are important what's important is the extent to which i'm waiting on the lord and i have some other areas in my life where i'm not at my top and i'm not striving but i'm lower and i'm struggling and just thinking about these areas go straight to my heart this struggle and i call it weight training i'm in training trying to build weight muscles and weight abs so that i can resist temptation resist acquiescing and in this la in this particular level i've paid some heavy prices and in addition to paying heavy prices god has renewed my strength in this level as i struggle and as i sing i cry out and sing lord help me to hold out i'm in this struggle with with waiting on you god for the long haul help me to hold out and sometimes the song is just help me lord help lord and i know that in god's own time he'll set me free and i'm in this struggle for the long haul asking god to give meaning to my struggle help me understand help me understand the lessons help me understand how my state laverne can overcome my laverne so that i can be what you want me to be i embrace this level in my heart i embrace this level but in my head i have limiting beliefs chattering trying to overcome me with what if with complaining with doubting with comparing and then here comes the impostor syndrome fighting st laverne and laverne is holding on to embracing because i know that god is with me and i know that even though i fall sometimes in this level and i pay a price sometimes in this level i know that even when i find myself in the mat i just struggle to get up before they count to ten i pull myself up i jump myself up sometimes i hold the rope to get up but i get up because i'm in it for the long haul and then i even have some areas that are below this these are areas where i'm i call it considering in fact you might even want to call it holding out on god i've set no intention here i'm full of excuses and i'm out of god's will and my song here is joke waited on the lord but the important part of this song it goes along with this level it's why can't i and when i get to the why can't i i do it with excuses i can't i can't i don't think i can do this i don't even have a prayer for this level because i'm stuck in arrogance and stubbornness and using the good brain god gave me to rationalize and justify and if you see 5432 you know there's a one there's a lower level and this is the level where i don't know and i don't even know that i don't know and i'm not open to the people that god puts in my life to help me this is where i'm dwelling in the darkness of ignorance i have no song i have no prayer i don't even have self-awareness of what my state of mind and attitude are this is me this is my story and my hope is that it resonated with someone under the sound of my voice i hope that you are inspired if you can relate to any aspects of my story i hope that you feel heard that you feel seen that you feel valued that you know you are not judged for the 54321 levels in your life that you are loved and that you are supported and that you are not alone and that the blessing is not just in the answered prayer there's a blessing in waiting that process of waiting is just as important as what you're waiting for and my hope is strengthened because of the cloud and i ask you remember the cloud the cloud did not leave the children of israel the cloud represents the presence of god and the cloud is still with us with all of us level one two three four five it doesn't matter it's there and because of the cloud because of the presence of god as long as there is breath in our body there is hope for us ascending and our ability to wait on the lord because you love me please pray for me as i continue to pray for you saint khadija miller thank you st laverne all hail saints happy new year happy sabbath and happy passover as you know i have been tasked to discuss the second quarter of our four-part command of our passover theme be of good courage as i prayed and meditated on this lesson brief i thought about what does it mean to be of courage courage is to be strong confident and bold but to be of good courage what does that mean is it godliness yes it is divine it is godly it is of god like when moses's mother saw that he was a goodly child as a baby she wrapped him up and put him in a river all by himself that kind of courage then i wondered how can i convey this thought to the scholars and it came to me with a fist to be of good courage can be summed up with a fist a fist to demonstrate a divine good attitude courage provided to us by god as rabbi brent shared last evening a fist that represents the pillars of cloud by day and the pillars of fire by night that have guided and saved the children of israel and that are continuing to save us today so i know you're asking what are you talking about saying khadijah we cannot walk around with the fist but oh yes you can it could be our code signed to encourage one another as we persist so why and how can we be of good courage let me share some examples this is the feast of the lord's passover and the feast of unleavened bread that we're going to experience over the next several days now our man god's man moses he was of good courage we know the story he gave a plethora of excuses to not heed the call but god gave him courage and in the end he was a bad man of courage you may say well he was a prophet of god so i say look to the children of israel they too were of courage enslaved hundreds of years generations never knowing freedom yet they listened to moses as led by god and they said all that the lord has said we will do they had to be of courage to grab their belongings to break bread before it rose to walk the long way out of egypt towards the promised land with pharaoh's armies on their heels by strength of hand that fist they were freed they were of good courage so you say well that was the bible what about in our day so glad you asked prophet william saunders crowdy was a big courage think about it he escaped enslavement at 16 and he joined the army he found his own way as a cook he was a mason a deacon a husband a father a landowner and eventually fulfilling his destiny as a prophet of the almighty god in our day it took courage to preach teach convert and stand up against multiple systems of oppression naysayers and so much more but you say he too was a divinely inspired man of god so i say look in the mirror you my brothers and sisters are examples of god's good courage of good courage of god's bodacious protection his sustaining coverage his unchanging love and bountiful grace you and i we are surviving through a global pandemic and we are still standing everything is online services school work play family gatherings cooking tutorials and folks even losing their minds covet fatigue zoom fatigue covert weight one and a half pounds for every month that's like 18 pounds lord have mercy wait i'm depressing myself and i'm supposed to be encouraging us so i digress the point is you my brothers and sisters are examples of what it means to be of good courage so make a fist and repeat after me what your own fists may represent finding inner strength to tarry on faithful in silent times make your fist favor in submitting totally to god now what else did jeff be faith in our father god being faithful being firm in god's omnipotence figuring it out freedom by god's strength of hand finding insight and as chief rabbi stated last night god has and he will fight for us being fierce in the force and flawlessness of god the i the great i am insight from the man of god to lead us through the immutable incorruptible insightful inspiring infallible influence of god in our lives the s the supreme being standing still and seeing god's salvation god keeping us spotless in the midst of a spotted world as in the protection and the grace that comes from being a member of the blessed church of god and saints of christ strength sovereignty and thank you rabbi brett stunned silence t time to be with god trusting god the truth of god's words teachings from the man of god thankfulness so to reinforce your favor in submitting totally to god hold your fist and fix your face because this is good courage and be confident because god's track record is unblemished god empowers us and emboldens us to be of good courage look in psalms 6 and 50 verses 3 and 4 what time i am afraid i will trust in thee and god i will praise his word and god i have put my trust i will not fear what flesh can do unto me be of good courage isaiah 1 and 40 and verse 10 fears are not for i am with thee be not dismayed for i am thy god i will strengthen thee yea i will help thee gay i will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness freedom in stunned silence in silent times isaiah 1 40 verses 13 to 14 for i the lord thy god will hold thy right hand saying unto thee fear not i will help thee fear not thou warm jacob and ye men of israel i will help thee sap the lord and thy redeemer the holy one of israel be of good courage deuteronomy 1 30 and verse 6 be strong and of good courage fear not nor be afraid of them for the lord thy god he it is that just go with thee he will not fail thee for safety nor forsake thee be firm in god's salvific touch be of good courage you can also read first corinthians 16 verse 13 hebrews 13 verses 5 through 6 psalm 27 verse 1 second timothy 1 verse 7 first john 4 verse 18 you get the drift go to the word of god remember that to be of good courage is to put on the whole armor of god by reading god's word and meditation and prayer it is by obeying god's commandments and loving ourselves and our neighbors fist with me to demonstrate that the good in our deeds of kindness and the courageous confidence that god has our backs when we do right when we do godly rights in love peace and truth feet fist faith in submission to truth brothers and sisters children of god armor bearers and grandfather abraham show your good courage hold up your fists and remember psalm 720 verse 14 which states wait on the lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen thy heart wait i say on the lord i turn the services into the hands of our beautiful leader chief rabbi philip e mcneil grandfather abraham amen wow wow that was a that was a storm of good instruction a storm of inspiration and encouragement i'm certainly pleased to have been a witness to this fine sabbath school session i i want to offer a word of congratulations to to young um what's his name reginald johnson who did a tremendous job with the with the shama that that was outstanding and what i like about brother johnson what i like about what you did is you extended it the hebrew into the into that next phrase but how you had to buy irene so that's a that's a challenge to all of the sabbath school scholars to move on down now into baha'i you had ailee i shared a key very good continue to work hard you're doing very well thank god for you and and those and and those two and those two fines find scholars it occurred to me that you know we say out of the mouth of babes i'll say out of the mouth of women out of the mouth of women came forth this very fine sabbath school lesson waiting she said is a process and she she made it so clear that there are levels of waiting and you and i have levels perhaps that that she did not cover um and what i like about i i like how they related some of the the thematic points to that verifying sermon that we heard last night from elder brent uh wait why wait well because the cloud is still there she said that was a very fine point and then they and then that fist lord have mercy we'll be walking around fisting one another now incur encouraging us to be courageous why be courageous well that fist can represent that pillar that pillar of cloud that's that's that's still there that's always there i i love the intertwining of those themes the themes from the from the two scholars intertwined with the theme from that verifying sermon coming from rabbi brent uh uh saint charmaine um you you did a good job selecting these two scholars and it's nice to be able to sit back and and let others carry the ball you've been carrying it for a long time and and you're still and you're still carrying it so so thank the lord for this father who who would have thought that during this pandemic that we could have such a very fine sabbath school session who would have thought only god right only god is able to perform these these magnificent acts and i said before our our forefathers must be must be smiling that they must be looking down on us and smiling saying that the things that they had taught us how how to get over difficulties how to get around problems are being brought to fruition by us during this pandemic we thank the lord so thank god for this very fine sabbath school session we we have a running start now we we we're we're we're running down we're we're running down the the runway now now we're ready to take off because we're now ready to go into our worship service we're going to take as is our custom we're going to take a minute or two to get ourselves together and get prepared for the worship service thank you so much saint charmaine so while we have a musical interlude and perhaps some announcements we will take a break here in preparation for our sabbath worship service all right those girls it shall be the first month of the year shall be eternally it shall be the first month of the year of the year is according to your family and kill it for the past [Music] and moses called for all the elders of his right according to your families [Music] and there shall [Music] i am the lord i'll pass through the land of each of these nights and when i the lord shall see the blood [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] oh shall be foretold [Music] [Music] [Music] with ye [Music] shall see [Music] [Music] shall see the blood i will be [Music] this passover is to be kept holy this passover is lord this passover is is [Music] your shoes on your feet and you're slapping your head ye shall read it [Applause] ye shall give it your shoes on your feet and your stuff in your hand ye shall beat it in is with your shoes on your feet [Music] is is is foreign [Music] [Music] to oh you when i smite the land when [Music] guys [Music] [Music] in the holy city [Applause] in the holy city [Music] [Music] days [Music] we all shall live is [Music] birthday [Music] uh [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] mm-hmm [Music] foreign [Music] is thanking god again for this very fine service that we're having this is god's seven-day sabbath it's also the first day of the feast of the lord's passover in thinking about this this waiting theme this particular day in history in the history of our forefathers in the history of the exodus this particular day came after a night a night of waiting for our forefathers had to have to wait until the lord god of abraham passed over them cutting the the bonds of their slavery and they had to wait really not knowing if or when or whether the lord in his infinite mercy would pass over them so it was a waiting period they had to wait they had to be of good courage and they waited and on this particular morning they looked out and they were and they were free people i started to say free men they were free people and you and i have to wait some time sometimes we just have to have to wait i wanted this epidemic this this pandemic to be over months ago but the lord said no you got you've got some waiting to do and while you wait you might develop you might as well have some some quality some quality time might spend some quality time with me the lord says but why why are you waiting and then the weight will be of benefit to you we beneficiary so on this particular morning on the 14th day of april our forefathers came out of their houses the sun was probably shining the way it is now and they were aware that the lord had passed over them and had and had and had and had taken them out of bondage with one with one significant act namely the slaying of the firstborn of the egyptians and then they had to prepare to get ready to get out of there the passage the passing over was one thing but now they had to prepare to leave egypt and the lord required them to commemorate this leaving out of egypt by commanding that they keep the feast of unleavened bread so the passover feast commemorates the passing over the feast of unleavened bread commemorates the actual going out going out of egypt and sometimes the lord will take you and me out of bondage and sometimes we don't have sense enough to receive the passing over the passing over phase don't have sense enough to go into the exodus phase so so when the law relieves you of some of those bondages that you and i suffer you and i have to have the sense to walk away from those entanglements and not and not go back so thanking the lord for for the for the beauty for the beauty of what he of what he did in egypt but more importantly the beauty of what he can and will do for you and me as we continue our struggle to grow in grace and in mercy and in love so thank you my father thank you for just giving us the opportunity just giving us the opportunity to participate in this glorious event in this glorious memorial of the of the tremendous act of mercy that you did for our forefathers in the land of egypt so now let us turn our attention to worshiping the god of our fathers on this sabbath morning we are pleased to to have to have waiting to give us a call to worship elder aaron roberts of boston massachusetts our worship leader will be elder isaiah lumpkins from cincinnati ohio and he will be assisted by responsive reader saint katura eaves of atlanta georgia after which we will have sermons coming from rabbi marcus carr of washington d.c and rabbi james young of greensboro north carolina so let us now prepare to worship thank you sir giving praise to the most high god to this blessed house of israel thanking god for the coming of prophet william saunders crowding and thanking god for our grand and noble leader chief rabbi philip e mcneil grand father abraham to the ministerial body sons and daughters of god armor-bearers of grandfather abraham and all the children of god on this youtube channel today from every part of the world shalom aleichem may i have your attention please may i have your attention please as we collectively transition into the next portion of this blessed experience this awesome occasion this holy sabbath virtual service this first day of the feast of the lord's passover let us individually reflect on our lives our wetness to properly prepare our hearts and mind to give the most high god the praise and thanks rightfully do him all of us at one point or another in our lives as maze featuring frankie beverly put it in a song and for us old school lovers of hip-hop bra base put a beat over it joy and pain sunshine and rain every single one of us has experienced it we've all had joy we've had pain we've had sunshine and we have had rain from last passover to this very present time we have lost loved ones been hospitalized been displaced lost jobs lost relationships lost businesses have nearly lost our mind a lot of things have happened that either directly or indirectly brought us to smile and at other times brought us to tears yet through it all the ups and downs the peaks and valleys the highs and lows the good times and bad we are still here we are still here and this is all possible because of the loving kindness and the tender mercies of the most high god when i made my bed in hell god gave me a round trip take it to get out of there and i have heaven in my view when i was lost strung out or maybe even turned out god gave me a round trip tickets to get out of that existence and the strength to go get help when i was in a hospital god gave me a round trip ticket to get out of that place and bless me to recover my strength when i was jobless homeless and maybe even foodless god made a way out of no way when the bills were high the cupboards were bare and the money was low the most high god moved upon the face of the earth and stirred the heart and mind of one of his children to call me when i was down and low in spirits shook my hand so i could keep my lights on brought a meal over so that me and my family could eat god did something incredible to help me when i couldn't help myself didn't know where to turn and what to do and wanted to give up somehow some way you i we overcame and i'm still here because of the goodness and the mercy of god god is still blessing you and i to have a roof over our head still blessing us to have a reasonable portion of health and strength still blessing us to be able to have food on our table and clothes on our back still blessing us that breath you just took and that breath you about to take god is letting us know he's blessing us and we are still here wait on the lord build good courage keep his way walk and not faint never ever forget you are a child of god and despite it all it has been we have been blessed beyond belief and still are being held in the hollow of god's hand there's still valuable purpose to your life there are still blessings coming your way god and only god has blessed you and i to see another beautiful sabbath wait on the lord god and only god has blessed you to reach the season of liberation be of good courage god and only god has blessed you to participate during this time of freedom keep his way god and only god has blessed you and ah to still be here walk and not faint i have been young and now i'm old yet have i not seen no righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread god has touched you look at your hands they should be new god has touched you look at your feet they're nudes too the pull of fire by night and the pull of cloud by day the most high goddess blessed us to still be here so get an attitude of gratitude and as a child of the most high god someone who has been blessed abundantly to give god praise to give god thanks to give god everything that you got for god is worthy to be praised so now that i have your attention now that you've been reminded of who you are and whose you are let us prepare for worship hey man i i just want to take a moment to reflect on a couple of passovers ago when elder aaron roberts was doing the devotional and when he got up to to do the devotional he he began his devotional with a song you remember that song ella roberts what was that song lord help me to hold out and you were singing that song you didn't know that you would need you would need that song one of these days we all need it lord help me to hold up wait on the law help me to hold out help me to hold out i thank the lord for your very fine and moving call to worship let us now worship [Music] the salvation foreign [Music] and [Music] salvation [Laughter] the lord will fight for you stand [Music] and see the salvation the lord [Laughter] please [Music] and see the salvation of god stand still and [Music] [Laughter] the lord will fight for you [Music] if [Music] peace you if you are [Music] [Music] the lord [Music] [Music] r [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh me [Music] [Applause] is peace our worship service for this sabbath will be sabbath number three come let us worship the lord let us praise the mighty god the king of the universe hear o israel the lord is our god the lord is one one is our god great is our lord holy is his name praise the lord with me and let us exalt his holy name thy greatness o lord is infinite thy loving kindness is endless thy tender mercy is everlasting thy kingdom and thy power fill the universe thine oh lord is the victory the majesty and the glory forever let us worship the lord at his holy mountain for holy is the lord our god we thank thee for ordaining and lord gracious father we thank thee for ordaining this day for communion with thee and for fellowship with one another thank you lord for this time of rest and spiritual renewal heavenly father help us to know the real meaning and beauty of the sabbath so that we can truly delight in its blessings help us to see that sincere spirituality is to walk humbly with thee bless us to know that only through human betterment true fellowship and deeds of kindness can we feel thy presence help us lord to take the glory and the glow of this sabbath into our daily lives so that we can continue to enjoy and share its beauty and its blessings amen and now let's have the greeting elder isaiah all hail is it well with thee all is well it is well with thee [Music] holy name [Applause] [Music] he's is to be praised for the lord and praise [Music] [Applause] and praise his holy name [Music] he's worthy to be praised magnify the lord and praise his holy name [Applause] the lord is great he's worthy to be praised magnify the lord and praise [Music] and praise [Music] the lord magnify the lord and praise acclaim the lord with me and let us exalt his name together i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth the lord delivers them that revere his name worst the lord with thy whole mind soul and strength love the lord with all thine hearts exclaim his praise from the end of the earth the lord is good and a stronghold in the day of tribulation he is our refuge and our strength our light and our salvation our help in the day of trouble he is a shield to them that put their trust in him he gives us rest in a weary land he is our rock and our redeemer he is our father and our god let everything that has breath praise the lord god is the lord of all creation the almighty is king of kings in his glory and in his majesty he is without equal he alone is god we worship him and no other the sabbath day itself is god's creation and a gift to his people the sabbath in humble submission and adoration sings it is a good thing to give thanks unto the lord enjoy all creation sings and to praise his holy name in sacred harmony the whole universe extols its creator the heavens declare the glory of god and the firmament shows his handiwork the angelic host praises the everlasting king they open their mouths with holiness and purity with song and melody with humility and harmony as they bless exalt lord and acclaim the mighty god as they accept the rule of the kingdom of god and bow in submission to the holy one of israel the seraphim sing lord how great thou art the cherubim sing he is a mighty rock and the creator of all that lives in unison they all sing lord how great is thy faithfulness they worship the name of the mighty and revered god and king holy is he and for chorus and ringing melody the angel claimed the sanctity greatness and majesty of their creator they extol the name of god they sing hallowed is his name in unity and in all they cry holy holy holy is the lord of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] the is of his holy name shall cause thine enemies to flee before weapons if thou art intelligent the unto his wars people of the earth shall see them are talk by the name of the lord lord god of israel and they shall be afraid of thee the lord shall establish the unholy people as thee has one unto thee if thou shalt keep the commandments of god and walk in his way praise the lord you servants of the lord o praise him praise thy great creator for his loving kindness [Music] reaches unto the clouds praise the lord you service of the lord o president praise thy grace creator for his love [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] of this world for the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our lord hallelujah hallelujah glory be to god on high for the kingdom of this world for the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our lord and of christ and he shall forever [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] remember [Music] oh [Music] yes praise his holy name [Applause] [Music] is [Music] please don't oh clap your hands all ye people shout unto god with the voice of triumph for the lord [Music] oh your hands are ye people shout unto god with the voice of triumph for the lord both god is king of all the earth of his shall holy thine enemies to flee before my face if thou art intelligent lead unto his bones oh clap your hand saw your people shout out to god with a voice of triumph blessed be the grandeur and the goodness of the lord from the majesty of his holy throne to the mighty god they offer hymns of love and praise to the one who is our savior and king they lord and honor his name god's mercy and kindness are boundless where there is darkness he is light where there is uncertainty he is understanding where there is weakness he is our strength where there is discord he is harmony and where there is despair he is our hope the lord is our redeemer and our healer beyond the brief and momentary nature of all else he alone is the source of all real permanence true happiness and inner peace he is the one who makes it well with our souls he is our anchor and our god he is our strength and song he is the one who loves us endlessly and unconditionally he is the one whose grace is marvelous miraculous and beyond all human understanding we thank god for his love we thank him for surrounding us with his favor as with the shield we thank the lord for blessing us continually with his goodness and his mercy like as a father pities his children so the lord pities them that fear him bless the lord o my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name i will praise thee o lord my strength and hear o israel the lord is our god the lord is one one is our god great is our lord holy is his blessed be the name of his glorious kingdom forever and ever and thou shall love the lord thy god with all thine hearts and with all thy soul and with all thy might and thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself on these two commandments rest all the torah and the prophets [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the lord is our god the lord is one and there is the lord is our god the lord is and thou shalt love the lord thy god by [Music] [Applause] heart and thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart [Applause] [Music] it's almost [Music] [Music] oh the lord our god [Music] raise me too [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] israel [Music] [Music] is [Music] is the lord reigns he is clothed with glory and majesty the lord is clothed with strength wherewith he hath girded himself thy throne o god is established of old thou art from everlasting the floods have lifted up oh lord the floods have lifted up their voice the floods have lifted up their waves the lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters yea then the mighty waves of the sea thy testimonies are very sure holiness becomes thy house o lord for ever honor and majesty are before thee strength and beauty are in thy sanctuary oh come let us sing unto the lord let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto him with singing for the lord is a great god and the great king above all gods in his hands are the deep places of the earth the strength of the hills is also his the sea is his and he made it and his hands form the dry land oh come let us worship and bow down before the almighty let us kneel before the lords our maker for the lord he is our god and we are the people of his pastor and the sheep of his hand hear his voice unless the lord had been my help my soul had almost dwelt in silence when i said my foot slips thy mercy lord held me up the lord is my defense and my god is the rock of my refuge lord thou art our savior the lord of hosts is thy name blessed art thou o lord the redeemer of [Music] israel [Music] [Music] [Music] oh my god [Music] me [Music] peace [Music] is says yes [Music] [Music] oh so i will sing praise today is that oh salvation was oh i don't know where i foreign oh is i will sing praise eternal god open thou my lips that my mouth may declare thy praise amira praise our thou o lord our god and god of our fathers god of abraham god of isaac and god of jacob mighty revered and exalted god thou bestows lovingkindness and possesses all things mindful of the patriarchs love for thee thou will and thy love bring a redeemer to their children's children for the sake of thy name amen kedusha hallowed be the name of god holy is the mighty one of israel the whole universe is filled with his glory blessed be the beauty and brilliance of the lord throughout all creation the lord shall reign forever thou art god and zion from generation to generation hallelujah [Music] nation of [Applause] stand still and see the celebration salvation oh god [Laughter] [Music] [Music] is me lord me [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] things [Music] lead me lead me to the rock that is [Music] unto me lead me lead me to the rock that is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] lead me to the rock that is [Music] [Music] lead me lead me to the rock that [Music] rock is is lord in thy mercy and in thy wisdom thou has given us the sabbath thou gave it for our salvation through the sabbath we know that we cannot live by bread alone our souls our spirits and our lives need the strength and wisdom of thy word our hearts and our minds need this sacred time for spiritual union with thee we need this holy moment to fully express our thanks for thy love thy mercy and thy grace we need this holiday to reaffirm that thou art god by the power of thy might thou are great by the glory of thy name thou alone ought our king and our creator thou alone are the ruler of the universe blessed be thy holy name lord we also thank thee for blessing us with this time for fellowship with each other the sabbath teaches us that our relationship with thee and our relationship with each other are our truest and most beautiful blessings when moses descended mount sinai his face reflected thy glory lord we thank thee for the blessing which thou has given us through thy servant moses when he brought down the words which thou inscribed on the two sacred tablets of stone thou gave us the sabbath as a precious and most holy gift thou gave it to us the children of israel and not to the heathen of the world it is a sacred covenant between thee and the children of israel forever lord teach us to do thy will help us to keep honor and sanctify the sabbath in accordance with thy word father in heaven help us to delight in the sabbath lord help us to understand that this holy day truly blesses the seed of jacob father accept our rest our prayers and our worship purify our hearts to honor and praise thee in truth sanctify our minds and our spirits so that we may serve thee in the beauty of holiness and bless us so that we may further revere and sanctify thy name by loving and caring for others bless us lord to live in peace joy and harmony so that our lives are a sacred tribute to thee these and other blessings we humbly ask as we worship and extol thee on this holy sabbath day hallelujah praise god amen is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] with oh mother and thy father for save me [Music] for lord me [Music] he will strengthen thine hearts oh he will strengthen thine be of the courage if you wait on the lord [Music] mercy also upon me [Applause] oh [Music] thee [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] be of the courage if [Music] oh [Music] he will strengthen thy heart if you wait on the lord [Music] our scripture readings for this sabbath comes from second chronicles chapter 20 verse 3 and 4 verse 18 and 19 and the 37th psalm and 4 and 30th verse and jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all judah and judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the lords even out of all the cities of judah they came to seek the lord psalms 37 4 30 verse wait on the lord and keep his way and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land when the wicked are cut off thou shalt see it the word of god [Applause] is man [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] lord is oh [Applause] my god [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] into the house of israel first giving praise and thanks to the almighty god who's kept us alive did not that are slit god has been good to you has been good to me we may not serve them as we should we may not deserve all of this good but so many things are not as they should be but still god is so good to me we thank god for our chief rabbi philip e mcneill grandfather abraham the leader of the church of god and since christ ministers of the holy cow who are faithful members of our religious body include our brothers from the north south east and west shalom alaikum i always like to greet because i know our brothers and sisters in the world are with us so to our christian brothers and sisters praise the lord to our muslim brothers and sisters our salaam alaikum to our kinetics brothers and sisters hotel to our grassroots brothers and sisters we meet on the streets and on the corner what's happening let us turn our attention to ii chronicles the 20th chapter it says in jehoshaphat i'm not going to read everything we have already heard jehoshaphat feared he feared his god of heaven and he set himself to seek the lord and proclaim a day of fasting and praying throughout all judah and all judah together came together fasting and praying with their heads bowed face on the ground all the inhabitants of jerusalem and judah fell before the lord worshiping the god of heaven and the sons of cork praise god with the loud voice the sons and daughters praise god with a loud voice for a few short moments i just want to preach from the subject it's time to unmute your internal praise mike it's time to unmute figuratively speaking but serious about it within you it's time to unmute your internal praise mics over the last year we all have been worshiping over our virtual service one phrase we have heard from our technicians please mute your mics i think that's the most famous phrase that's not all but they remind us please mute your mic and we can see in this world what will happen with the unmuted mic many people have been fired things have been said that they didn't want to hear anyone say but their mic was unmuted but we are reminded when we get on our virtual service please mutual migrants this sabbath day this day of passover is a time for us to our unmute praise mikes i have a question i want to start out with what does one do when life has pushed you to the edge of your own reality well in the book of second chronicles the 20th chapter we read a story that challenges us to stay with the lord in the midst of whatever we're going through whatever crisis is facing us this story teaches us to stay with the lord even in the midst of a coronavis in the midst of hard trials and tribulations stay with the lord keep praising and worship him jehoshaphat was the king of judah and judah means praise judah was the beloved of god the believers of god but they were facing a serious and great crisis what the text suggests is that you may be the beloved of god you may be a staunch believer in god but you are not exempt from hard trials and tribulations you are not exempt from a crisis it also teaches us that a believer of god although you may not be exempt from crisis but each and every one of us have someone to take our crisis to as a song that we sing somebody that's greater and bigger than you and uh in the text jehoshaphat discovered that three nations that are mentioned in second chronicles 20 they mentioned in verse 10 conspired against that little tribe of judah these three nations were ammon moab in mount seir they camped outside of the wall of judah fade and destroy the city they conspired to come together to defeat that little tribe of judah and by all logical reasoning it would appear that they were going to destroy you just like the nation of corona or the corona virus nation has conspired to wipe all of us out and by all logic we all should have been gone but we know that we have someone that's greater than you and i not only will be there for us but will take us through our crisis jehoshaphat looked at the situation and size it up the people of judah became aware of the situation and realized they were facing trouble because the situation caused an eternal set of dynamics to release themselves in their lives and all of judah was at the point of fear the bible says that jehoshaphat called the people of god together to seek god's heavenly spirit in the midst of this crisis i'm telling you out there there are times and seasons in our life where it calls for extra measures of faith what we see in the text are two extra measures of faith that jehoshaphat said to the believers something that we all need to exercise often the first one is fasting every child of god should fast and we should fast often if you are physically unable it's understandable but if you're able to fast every child of god should fast often because what we learn in this text fasting is an extra measure of faith what fast and does it bring you closer to your heavenly father it is an extra measure of faith there are times even in the midst of your crisis that your rational mind cannot figure out what's going on what's happening in my life some of you are going through something right now and you're wondering what's going on but every child of god must have an experience in your life where you realize that you couldn't get the results from god you were seeking so you had to take an extra measure of faith you've been praying and praying and praying but that's not been enough you had to go through some extra measures and what god is doing he's showing you there's some things that are required those things that are required are those extra measurements when you look around and see everything around you falling down everything seems to be target towards you everything is unraveling and messed up in your life that's the time to take some extra measures get away from the cell phone get away from the gossiping crew get away from twitter get away from facebook get away from instagram turn your plate down and turn your face to god and call upon the name of the lord the oldest saints would always tell us when things were going wrong we should keep the commandments and live joshua said i don't know any means to get what i'm seeking for in the midst of this crisis that we're going through except then takes except to take some extra measures and have faith in the almighty god fasting is one extra measure of faith and the second one that jehoshaphat talks about is prayer i'm talking about with everything inside you call out to the name of the almighty god and you need god to intervene not tomorrow but right now i'm talking about when you're drowning you're going down for the last time and all you know is the call upon the name of the lord call upon the one that is able to keep you from falling and present you fought this for the presence of his glory there are times when the pressures of life and the forces of evil are so concentrated on you it's time for you to pour out pour out to your gum father i need a breakthrough father i need your help i need some answers i'm not going to make it without you we're not going to make it in this life without the power of the almighty so john's effect goes the extra measure of faith he says to the people he called all of judah together and he said to judah we about to die in this camp we know these three kings and their armies are coming up against us so he called judah together and jehoshaphat said through that tribe of judah we have to fast and we have to pray we have to get and go through some extra measures of faith i'm not just talking about praying when you act in bed and you forget what you prayed about we need to seek god with fasting and praying because we are in trouble during this great rotavirus epidemic we need to continue to live prostrate before god there is somebody here that has been through so much this year so much pain so much disappointment so much frustration as the apostle said we are troubled on every side yet not distressed we're perplexed but not persecuted we'll forsake him but not cast them sometimes we you really sincere most the time all the time when you're really sincere when you go before your god something will happen when you get a group of people on one accord going through some extra measures of faith keeping the commandments of god something will happen our heavenly father will begin to move on his throne our heavenly father will begin to manifest himself the text said that in verse 15 while the congregation of judah was together seeking god and praying and fasting you don't know who god is going to put his spirit on that was one from judah by the name of jehaziah the scripture said the spirit of the lord came upon him and jahaziel unmuted his and he told the people don't be afraid don't be afraid don't be afraid of airmen more air and mount fear these nations don't be afraid because the battle is not yours it's the lord's in second chronicle 2020 this is jehoshaphat and he rose up early in the morning and went forth to the wilderness of decor and as they went forth that student said hear me o judah and you inhabitants of jerusalem believe in the lord your god so shall you be established believe in his practice so shall you prosper the bible says that jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground and all of judah and the inhabitants of jerusalem fell before the lord worshiping god thanking god for his goodness they were saying all types of things when they fell to the ground but when that little nation of judah went to battle with anand moab and mount sin where for judah how you gonna fight this battle is all god was saying judah i want you to praise god hey look i'm really going to battle i i think i want to hear a little more than that just praise god no judah all i want you to do is to praise god get the son of the daughter of court stand up and praise the lord with the loud voice i would require to be out front in the battle i want the directors of the crime ahead of the car i want the black top on one side and the yellow top on the other side i want the sopranos on one side i want the altos on another side the tenors and the bass following up okay we're getting ready to do the battle don't we need a little more than that no all you need to do right now is just unmute your mic you hear what i said all you need to do right now to know it's time for you to meet mute that internal mic that is within you i know your mic has been mute muted up but it's time for you to unmute that mic and don't be afraid because the battle is not yours it is the lord if we trust and praise god i don't care what enemy comes before us god will take care of you it's time for each and every one of us on this virtual call to go within yourself and i knew that praise mike i knew that praise my all of us we've been through a lot over the last year all of us have suffered someone who had passed my family over the last year all of us we've been through difficult times and i want to tell you i've had some good days i've had some hills fun i had some weary days i've had some sleepless nights but when i look around when i look around when i look around and think things over all of my good days outweigh my bad days i i i i i won't complain sometimes the clouds hang low and i can hardly see the road and i ask the question lord lord lord i'm suffering lord lord lord why so much pain but he knows what's best for you and i although my weird eyes they can't see so i just want to say today and i'm finished thank you lord i just want to say i got a new this spiritual inner mic within myself and just say thank you lord i said thank you lord i i won't complain lord has been good to you and me he has been good to us he's been good to us more than this world could ever be he's been so good to us you know what he did for you i said i wasn't going to tell my body but i just can't keep it to myself you would have been there when he saved my soul you would have been there when it made me whole you would have been there when i was laying in that hospital room you would have been there when the doctors gave up on me when the doctor stepped by the room it says over when the doctors left out you started praising god and god came into the room and put his arms around you put his spirit around you and you cried and you cried out like moses and the children of israel did the lord is my strength and my son he has i said he has he has become my salvation he's also my god i will prepare him a habitation on those bases i will sing of the lord for he did triumph ghostly the horse that strong beautiful animal the horse and his rod has been thrown into the depths of the sea the lord is a man of war i know that god is not anthropomorphic but sometimes god's spirit can move so somebody cried out that the lord is a man of war and the lord is his name thy right hand lord has destroyed the pieces and then moab i want to praise god who is right anthony oh lord among the gods who is right don't you think glorious and homeless fearful and praises doing wonders god is doing wonders he's turned your midnight in the days so i just want to say to you thank you lord i've been lied though but thank you lord i have been cheated but thank you lord i've been mistreated but thank you lord i've been built but thank you lord i've been scorned but thank you lord i've been talking about choice you're born but thank you lord i said thank you lord thank you lord i've been talked about by everybody and everything you've been talked about but thank you lord i want the blame i knew your eternal praise mike i knew that praise mike and thank god don't be ashamed to call upon his name the psalmist said praise the lord praise god in the sanctuary praise him in the front of his power i need that might praise him for his mighty acts praise him according to his excellent greatness praise him with the sound of the trumpet praise them with this altering heart praise them with the temporal and dance praise them with the string instruments and the organ praise him above the loud symbols praise them about the high sounding symbols let everything let everything that everything they have breath praise you the lord praise god i got to unmute my mic i said praise god i got that i need this eternal mic within me i said praise god have you not known have you not heard that the critter everlasting god until the end of the earth they did not neither does he grow worried there's no searching of this understanding he gives a power to the faith and to those that have to make he increases strength that you shall think and be worried young men and young women shall utterly fall but they that wait they that wait they that wait upon the lord shall renew their strength it should matter with wings over your mountains of difficulties they should man up with wings over your mountain of hardship it's your matter with wings like eagle it should run and not be weary this should walk and not face i got to unloop my mic this morning i'm gonna wait on the lawn i'm gonna keep his ways i'm gonna march by the trumpet center wait on the lord feel good keep his ways walk and not finish [Laughter] for his loving kindness [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] to the only wise god our savior [Applause] oh shall we see the crown of the [Music] righteousness and i shall we see [Music] we oh your crown of the righteousness [Music] giving honor to god thanking him for blessing you and blessing me and thanking him for allowing us to reach this season i could relate with elder roberts when he was saying during the call to worship that we need to have an attitude of gratitude i'm sitting here today in awe in humility a bit uneasy i'm thanking god lord have mercy i'm thanking him for the big things and i'm thanking him for the little things let me share something with you if you don't mind this is a handwritten note written by a saint of christ in 1991 she was battling helping father she was battling breast cancer she was closer to me than my heart she was being treated at georgetown university's hospital battling for her life god was about to call her home but she left this hand written message for you and she left it for me for such a time as this it says quote never let us take the small things in life for granted for they are the things in our lives that mean so much such as walking talking smiling singing and laughing these things are given to us by god the anointed one they can change by a flash of an eye quick as a light flashing in one's eyes i'm thankful today for the big things and i'm thankful for the little things and i encourage all of us to do likewise i'm certainly thanking god for sending us prophet william sound is crowded we all have our reasons why we're thankful but they only gave me 20 i've got to do this in 20 minutes or less i've got to move on but let me just simply say i'm thankful for the prophet in part because he reaffirmed our identity our history our heritage he he centered us he grounded us through god and why are those things important those things are important in part because they help us to know what we are capable of i'm so thankful for our leader chief rabbi philip e mcneil grandfather abraham he rules in love he rules in righteousness he rules in generosity and i thank god because leadership matters i'm thankful for the ministerial body i'm certainly thankful and i offer a warm greeting to our saints from the northernmost tip of mozambique to the southernmost tip of eastern cape some of them called me this morning they texted me they what's apt me if that's a verb to let me know that they were with me and they were praying for me and i feel your spirit and i thank you i thank you to the saints of our congregation i say all hail and to those who may be worshiping with us who are not familiar with our greeting i say to you good morning good afternoon good evening depending upon the time zone in which you are currently residing the scripture today is taken from psalm 37 and verse 34 wait on the lord and keep his way and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land when the wicked are cut off thou shalt see it today we're going to launch from that verse but in pertinent part keep his way psalms 37 is when we find familiar scriptures such as the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord mark the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace we find uh fret not thyself because of evil doers for they shall soon be cut off we find delight thyself also in the lord and he shall give thee the desires of our heart we find a theme that's woven through psalms 37 which in essence it re it encourages us to redirect our emotions and be resolute in righteousness what are you talking about redirect our emotions it says fret not thyself don't be anxious don't be worried about the evil doers for they shall what soon be cut off we get angry we get anxious when we see the wicked in power spreading themselves like the green bay tree but the scripture says fret not their day is coming our wrath gets kindle when we see the wicked plotting against the just it grinds our gears because it's not right but the bible says to fret not fret not because the lord shall laugh at them for he see it their day is coming yes evil exists it's stubborn like an indelible stain woven into the segment of humanity but revelation chapter 22 and verse 11 says he that is unjust let him be unjust still he that is filthy let him be filthy still but but he that is righteous let him be righteous still and he that is holy let him be holy still psalm 37 instructs us to redirect our emotions and be resolute in righteousness yes the wicked they'll have their day of prosperity but the bible says their day is coming and here's the thing we might not even be around to see that day we don't know but we were taught that god would visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children they may be cursing their children and don't even know another recurring theme woven throughout the 37th psalm says that we have to wait on the lord and the beautiful thing is saying laverne she covered that there's nothing i can do to top that so all i'm going to do is perhaps add something that may complement what she already said with specific examples some of us are waiting for the lord to strip the wicked of their power in their influence we're tired of it some of us are waiting to be healed from the trauma that we have suffered this past year which was akin to witnessing a spiritual train wreck some of us are waiting to be healed from the social the political the economic trauma of kovid 19. some of us are waiting to hug our loved one's neck some of us in business lord have mercy we know what it takes to make it in business we need access to the markets we need access to capital we need access to mentors we need access to ongoing training but some of us are still waiting because one of those blocks and perhaps two still have not been checked in our business some of us are waiting for healing from a major surgery some are waiting for companionship some are waiting for medical advances to cure all forms of cancer some are waiting for god to mend our broken hearts because obit 19 took some people from us that we love some of us are waiting for the tears to cease we receive terrible news that our loved ones have passed away multiple times during this past week and we can still feel the pain some of us we just laid loved ones to rest so recently that we can still smell the freshness of the soil that was disturbed to prepare their final resting place some women are waiting for equal pay for equal work some women are waiting for their opportunity to bring their spirituality their intellect and their purse to the ecclesiastical table of decision-making and have their voices duly heard and not simply tolerated some of us are waiting to return to our various houses of worship and we'll get to that in a minute i don't have to spend much time convincing you that sometimes we just simply need to wait the third theme that flows through psalms 37 it says to keep his way let us drop our anger right there why because chief rabbi directed us there keep his way very simple three words but let's see how simple that really is enough talk about the wicked now let's talk about me let's talk about you the good people the the church folk the the communities of faith the message for us that god gave me to give to us is good people we must be vigilant to keep his way lest we kindle god's wrath it's not just those people it's us too let me give you an illustration i had a terrible encounter about this time last year first of all i was on my bed of affliction to say the least the u.s had not officially deemed covert 19 to be a pandemic we weren't quite there yet there were no requirements to mask yet there was nothing about wearing gloves yet nothing about social distancing yet nothing about frequent hand washing yet but it was at 3 30 in the morning a thursday morning i was not well but i was asleep and i had a dream the spirit said to me there is as much corruption in the houses of god as there is in the streets there's going to be a shaking there's going to be a cleansing there's going to be a purging that's a direct quote let me say it again 3 30 in the thursday morning about a month before easter about a month before passover years with spirit browsed me out of my sleep and said there is as much corruption in the houses of god as there is in the streets there's going to be a shaking there's going to be a cleansing there's going to be a purging and as terrible as it was i didn't wake up at that moment and i was still asleep and i asked god in my dream i said god are you only disappointed with our congregation he said no i said there is as much corruption in the houses of god i was so disturbed i couldn't go back to sleep there was no slumber there was no sleep to be had so i got out of my bed i went to my kitchen and i sat in the dark and then i turned on one light just enough to interrupt the darkness but not enough to disturb my family stay with me we're talking about keeping his way good folk you and me again the u.s hadn't officially deemed the cover 19 to be a pandemic there was nothing about masking nothing about social distancing nothing about hand washing quite yet a month or so about before easter or pastor or or passover rather i went to my table and i sat by myself almost in the dark and i got the bible pull out the bible and i was led to amos chapter 5 verses 21 through 24 we say 1 and 20 through 4 and 20. here's what it says again one month before passover one month before easter we're getting riled up here's what spirit here's what the bible says i hate i despise your feast days i will not smell in your solemn assemblies though you offer me meat offerings burnt offerings and meat offerings i will not accept them neither will i regard the peace offerings of your fat beast take away from me the noise of your songs for i will not hear the melody of your viles but let judgment run down his waters and righteousness as a mighty stream i was messed up and i had heard i'm not really in the facebook community i don't really do that that's okay i don't do it but i heard there was vibrant discussion at this time in our congregation and others should there be a passover should we have each vibrant discussion going on everybody giving their opinion and when someone called me and told me what was happening i said to that minister i wanted those who are giving their opinion stop and ask god what does he want stay with me i was messed up went back to bed still no sleep i laid down and i began to weep and i asked god lord what have we done tears began to slide down my face they became a one with my pillow then i asked god what did i do to help kindle your wrath and god told me at that time i began praying for the sinners and the righteous it didn't matter i began praying for you i began praying for you it doesn't matter where we fall on god's continuum of righteousness i was praying for everybody stay with me good for keep his way i was so messed up the next day i called two people it was too much for me to bear alone i needed to recount to someone to help me bear witness of that encounter see some argue that if we bear witness only of ourselves well it's not true some say uncorroborated testimony doesn't really count or carry that much weight so i sought two witnesses one she's the former mother sir of the washington dc tabernacle i can talk to her about anything especially spiritual matters i told her about my encounter she just got quiet spirit led me to call an ordained deacon or a charmer from baltimore tabernacle i won't call your name some of you all know who he is see if you know me if you really know me you know i have a silly or comical side but when it's time to go deep ice quickly or swiftly pivot from the mundane to the spiritual and at that point i needed someone who was active in the spiritual realm i found this ordained deacon i mean one of those first timothy chapter three deacons those who are who are grave and and not double tongued and not given too much wine not greedy of filthy lucr those who hold the mystery of the faith in pure conscience i called my two witnesses and then i bear witness of myself now i have my three as time went on i called some of you out there you know who you are i call some of you singing levites seeing your singing levites because i was thought that you all helped to preach the first sermon that means you have some spirituality about you too i called a sister elder she knows who she is she was at work and she stopped in her office and she opened the bible with me i reached out to our leader he said young write these things down i said yes sir yes sir saints good folk members of the communities of faith we have to be honest with ourselves we were taught that the truth that will set us free is a truth or many of us have heard that the truth that will set us free is a truth that we don't want to hear but this is the season of freedom and somebody's going to get set free today lord what have we done i'm compelled to give it to you just like spirit gave it to me i'm not going to have the blood on my hands for zion's sake i will not hold my peace for jerusalem's sake i will not rest until righteousness thereof goes forth at brightness and the salvation thereof as a lamb that burned martin luther king jr said our lives begin to end the day that we become silent about things that matter justice matters to me it just does equity matters to me it just does fair play matters to me it just does i will not hold my peace lord what have we done so i say to the members of the faith communities here everywhere abroad regardless regardless of what day we worship who we worship where we worship or to whom we pray we have a spiritual responsibility we see what the government does they can't fix everything no we have a spiritual responsibility and we have power and we should use it for good [Music] i didn't give you the spirit of fear i gave you power and a sound mind can you deal with some truth i'm about three quarters of the way finished we have to be honest with ourselves before we can heal and move forward i know i know i get it true sometimes it's too painful for us to want to feel it it's too embarrassing for us to want to acknowledge it it's too bitter for us to taste it i get it i'm there i'm with you i get it i get it but good people communities of faith regardless of the day that we worship how we worship where we worship or to whom we pray some of us of course the former times some of us we tried to cover up iniquity in our congregations by singing it away preaching it away and changing the headlines on our various newspapers and social media platform god's not pleased with that we need to keep his way i'm talking to the good people the members of the faith community irrespective of the day we worship how we worship where we worship or to whom we pray some of us not all some of us have redefined righteousness as those who have the best church synagogue or mosque attendance records say amen that's not pleasing to god let's not go back let's go forward let's keep his way second timothy 3 5 speaks of having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof the bible says from such turn away some of us some not all some of us in the various faith communities regardless of the day we worship where we worship how we worship or to whom we pray we have redefined righteousness as faithful observance to religious holidays and festivals but speaking god's speaking through prophet amos lord have mercy god speaking through prophet amos said when he doesn't see righteousness when he has to look hard for judgment amongst us he said you know what keep your feast days i hate them i will not smell in your solemn assemblies though you offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings i won't accept them neither will i regard the peace offerings in europe of your fat beast take away from me your music i don't want to hear it you like it i don't want to hear it not right now but i will not hear the melody of your vials but let judgment run down his waters and righteousness as a mighty stream that's what god wants key his way let's not go back let's go forward let's keep his way what do you mean keep this way well righteousness is defined simply as the quality of being morally upright our leader has been teaching us this he has been exhorting this from his day one and you have to agree with me on that sure none of us is perfect that's a given i get it you get it we get it but let me suggest something to you our imperfection is not an excuse for poor behavior let me suggest this perhaps we could reframe our imperfect nature from being a flaw to a strength what are you talking about here he goes again listen what gandhi to a gandhi said he said i am painfully conscious conscious of my imperfections and therein lies all the strength i possess let me say that again he said i am painfully conscious of my imperfections and therein lies all the strength i possess because it is a rare thing for a man to know his own limitations members of the faith community a couple of questions number one are we painfully conscious of our imperfections or are we painfully conscious of each other's imperfections emoji face members of the faith community are we painfully conscious of our imperfections and how that impacts other people or do we really care um emoji face or should we care um emoji face and if we do care about how our imperfections impact or adversely affect other people what are we to do about it hmm emoji face we're talking about keeping his way the truth is if we can't find concern for others if we can't find righteousness if we can't find equity if we cannot find fair play if it's difficult for us to find honesty in our various communities whether shall we find it that's my scripture first peter says the time has come that judgment must begin where at the house of god finishing up time is quickly passed lastly as to in his way we're clear that the ten commandments are encompassed god's way we're clear about that but the reality is many of us from the time we could walk we were learning the commandments and sometimes you can see something so often we stand up in our congregations we we recited verbatim some are looking here looking there we just kind of know and sometimes you can become so familiar with something that it may lose to a certain extent its impact or its meaning so i haven't asked of you i tried to ask much of anybody probably one of my problems i ask consider an additional resource that can help us keep his way now to my fellow rotarians you know where i'm going with this at the conclusion of each of our meetings we have to recite what we call the four-way text stay with me it's a non-partisan non-sectarian ethical guide for us to use in our personal and professional relationships if you have a pencil write it down if you so choose here's how it goes before we can leave our meetings here's how it goes of all things all things that we say that we think and that we do here's a litmus test of all things that we think that we say and that we do number one is it the truth in our congregation we would say something like this speaking every man the truth to his neighbor number two is it fair of all the things that we're saying thinking and doing is it fair to all concerned our congregation will say something like this god is no respecter of persons number three will it build good will and better friendships our congregation may say something like it's only through human betterment true fellowship and deeds of kindness can be filled by presence and number four numero will it be beneficial to all concerned we may say something like this do good unto all men as we have them do unto you this ethical guide helps to provide us with common purpose and direction i'm asking you is there any place for some more common purpose amongst the communities of faith this ethical god can serve as a foundation for our relationships with each other is there any room to improve upon our relationships with each other if we members i submit if we members of the various communities of faith regardless of the day we worship how we worship when we worship or to whom we pray if we would step out of religion for a minute and get into ethics for a moment non-partisan for example right non-sectarian just for a moment just for a moment our households would be a better place you wouldn't have a christian and a jew and you split up because you can't get together what is that if god calls you together half the family going this way half of that what is that power struggle my religion's better than yours okay okay if we would adopt those ethical standards or principles set forth our households would be a better place our neighborhoods would be a better place our schools would be a better place our place of employment and business would be better our congregations would be a better place our country would be a better place the world would be a better place we're talking about keeping his way communities of faith let us keep his way closing here's the good thing we can do this we can do it we can get better sure we can we can do it and it's good for us to do it why why keep his way scripture says that the lord showed mercy unto the thousands and then love him and keep his connection we're all gonna need some mercy sometimes we just said we're not all perfect right but i wanna need some mercy sometimes why keep his way the bible says no why keep his way the time will come when we will find ourselves in darkness and we won't be able to see now if you are of suitable age and discretion you know what i'm talking about you've been there but the bible says for the commandment is a lamb and a light the law is a light that's why we should keep it why keep his way because the holy rich says the lord will not forsake his sins that's why we should keep his way why keep his way because the scripture says the lord loveth judgment that's why we should keep his way why keep his way because the scripture says to the righteous he showeth [Music] why keep his way because the scripture says though we fall yes we're going to fall sometimes right so we are we don't we don't hit the market every time because someone act like they do now no no we're not that good though we fall we shall not utterly be cast down why keep his way the bible says the lord will uphold us with his hand that's why why keep his way because the bible says to do justice and judgment is more acceptable than the lord then sacrifice that's why why keep his way because peace resides within the commandments of god the scripture says great peace have they that loved thy law and nothing shall offend them closing why keep his way martin luther king jr said that time is always right to do the right thing that's why why keep his way as stated by nobel peace prize winner arch bishop desmond tutu and his daughter info tutu also an episcopal priest we are made for goodness and goodness makes a difference that's why lastly why keep his way because many of us have been taught to do right because it's right to do right that's why for all who know the word of prayer and who can connect with the great i am that i am and who believe and keep in his way pray for me as i pray for you [Music] is [Music] and [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] i [Music] i will is my mic unmuted i guess it is because i'm praising the lord do i know why i should keep his way yes i do because rabbi young made it so plain in so many ways i'm thanking the lord for this fine service that we have had thank the lord for stopping by and lending us a portion of his spirit appreciative of all the participants who made this worship service the inspiring and uplifting worship service that it is the lord has certainly been good to us to permit us to come together in fellowship with one another encourage one another inspire one another console one another and i'm thankful for the opportunity to just to just be a part of it i think thanking the lord for just for just letting me be alive today he didn't have to do it he opened my eyes this morning and yours and gave us another opportunity another opportunity to to unmute our unmute our microphones of praise and to keep his way as rabbi young so articulately preached to us the lord blesses us in so many ways sometimes we just be sometimes we just take his blessings for granted and sometimes it's good for us to just sit down and and count our blessings and name them one by one and think and praise him for each and every one of them sometimes when i'm tossing and turning in bed and i can't go to sleep i just start counting my blessings one by one and pretty soon sleep overtakes me so thank the lord for our successful beginning of this feast of the large passover we had a very fine and uplifting and inspiring a seder service on yesterday evening the lord has permitted us to have a very fine sabbath day service worship service today and we can say this is this this is this is one down and 15 to go one down and and seven and seven to go we have planned for you i think many of you have a copy of the schedule for the week but we have planned to just have prayer services and we're going we're going to have a passover of prayer we we need we need prayer and we're going to be praying three times a day during these passover days 6 a.m and 12 noon and 6 p.m and we have lined up some participants to pray with us and for us and we've we've lined up some participants who will give us some inspiring sermonettes as a part of the prayer service so i encourage you to get up for prayer tomorrow morning at 6 a.m have a have a beautiful inspiring prayer service and a sermon that and the same for noon and the same for 6 p.m and we've asked us some of the departments of our congregation to participate in their own way um the ypil the daughters quorum we're devoting a day to our brothers and sisters in jamaica a day to for our brothers and sisters in in africa and we're just going to have have a grand old time carrying out the command that we have from god almighty to keep his passover holy so thank the lord again for this very fine service we thank all of the participants everybody did a beautiful job thank the lord for these fine sermons from these rabbis thank the lord for the fine sabbath school session thank the lord for the the wonderful singing that we enjoyed i don't want to use the word canned but but but but if can serve but it can singing can make me feel the way i feel today i don't i don't care what you call it i thank uh elder roberts for the the beautiful worship introduction i thank young brother uh johnson for the the very fine rendition of the shema i want to thank the general sabbath school superintendent saint charmaine ringwood for conducting a fine sabbath school session involving saint um um sanders so what's our first name laverne st laverne saying the vernon sanders and i say um khadijah miller i want to thank sister elder jones for the inspiring invocation that she gave us thank saint um it was the ease katura [Music] for her delicate and articulate responsive readings thank my thank my cousin ella uh is that him isaiah lumpkins i haven't seen you for a while elder you all right and of course the the crowning the crowning of the crowning two blows from rabbi carr and from rabbi young the lord has has certainly been good we we have so much to be thankful for just looking at these at these participants on the screen just lets me know how good god is and how he's able to come into our hearts and to thrill us with his spirit so thanking the lord again for this very fine service and if there are no other announcements for today i've talked about the 6 12 and 6. if there are no other announcements for today we will conclude our service with a song followed by the priestly benediction been good to me [Music] the lord for his [Music] [Music] we will praise his name and we will praise his name the god of all the earth [Music] [Applause] we will praise his name we will praise his name amen [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] we will praise his name [Music] [Applause] oh we will praise [Music] [Applause] [Music] is i'm thinking about elder judah roberts and brother james roberts they they have they have gone on but we're still singing this song and that's the way it is if if you you do something significant for the lord it it reverb reverberates reverberates down through the down through the centuries we will praise his name so let us now close out with the priestly blessing elder isaiah are you ready for the priestly blessing yes sir all right the lord bless thee and keep thee the lord make his face shine upon thee be gracious unto thee the lord not to miss counters upon thee and give thee peace the lord blessed thee and keep thee the lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee the lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace my salam alaikum shalom alaikum i like them shalom you

Channel: Church of God and Saints of Christ

Views: 12,520

Rating: 4.8947368 out of 5

Keywords: Church of God and Saints of Christ, COGASOC, Temple Beth El, Belleville, Phillip McNeil, William Crowdy, William S. Crowdy, Howard Plummer, Howard Z. Plummer, Israelites, Black Jews, Judaism, Hebrew, Sabbath, Bible, Torah, Commandments

Id: py3HRFOttAY

Length: 219min 55sec (13195 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 27 2021