Saint Philip AME Church Good Friday Service

[Music] and it starts off like this millions of words can't describe the feeling i have down inside it's hard to explain so i'll simply say jesus [Music] if you got it in your spirit even if you're in your offices sing with us okay i'll feed you the words millions of words can't describe millions of words [Music] the feeling i have down inside [Music] so [Music] yeah we're gonna sing it one more time one more time just for someone who wants to pick it up [Music] millions of words can't describe millions of words the feeling i have down inside [Music] because you first [Music] i'm returning [Music] [Applause] is [Music] i [Music] love [Music] this is my [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] i love you i love you [Music] everybody [Music] hey viewers you are now tuning in to saint philip ame church well praise the lord everybody praise the lord everybody join us for a moment of praise and worship preparing for our good friday service my hallelujah belongs to you down at the cross [Music] my heart belongs to [Music] my hallelujah belongs to you my hallelujah belongs to [Music] you [Music] you desire [Music] [Music] hallelujah hallelujah belongs to [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] you the glory belongs to [Music] [Applause] you [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] hi oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] my hallelujah to you [Music] my hallelujah belongs to [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] down at the cross is [Music] [Music] is i [Music] am me [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Applause] is me is [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus jesus jesus there is something about that name kings and kingdoms shall all pass away but there's something about that name hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah master we come this afternoon with thanksgiving in our hearts praising you and glorifying your holy and righteous name we thank you god that we can reflect upon the week's activities how you came triumphantly into the city and how you moved through the city oh god and went and prayed and spoke on our behalf we praise you oh god for teaching us how to love one another and then for us to come to reflect upon this day we want to say thank you for going all the way to calvary thank you for loving us with an undying love and everlasting love thank you god for the pain and the suffering you went through that we might have the right to the eternal tree of life we magnify and glorify your holy and righteous name and so here we are god i ask in the name of jesus that you will open the ears and the hearts of your people that this will be a good friday like never before i pray o god that your word would go forth with power through these powerful seven preachers i pray god in the name of jesus that they will speak with boldness and declare the unadulterated word of god i pray god that they will paint a picture as if we were standing looking at calvary oh god i ask in the name of jesus for the transforming power of the holy spirit i pray master that your word as it goes out all over this world that master hearts would be pricked and they will come running asking what must i do to be saved preach god preach a word i pray that you convict and convince and deliver and heal and change lives as only you can do again i just want to say thank you thank you that you didn't turn around but you decided to die for us and i praise you and magnify you i ask oh god in the name of jesus let you bless our pastor thank you for the visions that you've given him for your people and i pray oh god that we will run with the vision i asked master that you would give him strength and renew him even now in his body i pray o god that you give him favor that cometh only from you and so lord we sit now with expectation hallelujah of what you're getting ready to do but truly eyes have not seen ears have not heard neither has it entered into our hearts a word that you have prepared for us so you get the glory seated on the throne [Music] [Music] will be forever [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] shall be foreign [Applause] oh [Applause] and it's jesus oh man it's jesus [Music] [Applause] history [Applause] is [Applause] jesus is [Applause] is [Applause] is [Music] many [Music] [Applause] oh oh hey man amen hallelujah amen our scripture reading comes from the gospel according to saint matthew hallelujah the gospel according to saint matthew the 27th chapter beginning with verse 15 through verse number 31 from the king from the common english bible you will find these words it was customary during the festival of the for the governor to release to the crowd one prisoner whomever they might choose at that time there was a well-known prisoner named jesus barabbas when the crowd had come together pilate asked them whom would you like me to release to you jesus barabbas or jesus who is called christ he knew that the leaders of the people had handed him over because of jealousy while he was serving as judge his wife sent his message to him leave that righteous man alone i've suffered much today in a dream because of him but the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for barabbas and kill jesus the governor said which of the two do you want me to please you to release to you barabbas they replied pilate said then what would i do with jesus who is called christ they all said crucify him but he said why what wrong has he done they shouted even louder crucify him pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was starting so he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd i'm innocent of this man's blood he said it's your problem all the people replied let his blood be on us and on our children then he released barabbas to them he had jesus whipped then handed him over to be crucified the governor's soldiers took jesus into the governor's house and they gathered the whole company of soldiers around him they stripped him of his military clothing they twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head they put a stick in his right hand then they beat him down in front of him and mocked him saying hey king of the jews after that they spit on him they took the stick and struck him on his head again and again when they finished marking him they stripped him of the military coat and put his own clothes back on him they led him away to crucify him this is the word of god good afternoon people of god good afternoon people of god those who have our bibles in whatever form are invited now to raise them as evidence that we stand on the word of god we know that it contains all things necessary for our salvation for strength and for miracles and we are again blessed and privileged as the church in this house to bring you greetings to the church in your houses as a matter of fact there will be seven churches greeting you from the people of god in their houses and pray that the word of god will touch you in your house we'd like to uh remind all of us that during this service that if at any point you are led to become um receive the prayer of salvation or become a member of one of the seven churches represented just feel free to contact those congregations or you may contact us at info at st phillip dot org and we will refer your prayer request your member request or your desire for salvation to the particular church that you indicate that you want to be affiliated with this service is also available on the websites of the various churches and also at any point during the service if you feel led you may contribute an offering of thanksgiving for the blessedness of salvation and you may contribute it to either of those churches websites or you may contribute to a website here and we will see that it's appropriately distributed and our giving platforms electronic or a giveaway online kiosk or cash app those of you who would like to give a uh check you may eat you may drop that check off at the church or you may uh put it in the mail we are excited about the group of proclaimers who will be participating and delivering the word of god and the order in which they will come we have the reverend conitrus houston the distinguished pastor of trinity ame church reverend dr eric lee pastor of springfield baptist church reverend dr kerwin lee pastor of the berean church the third word dr eric beckham of zion baptist marietta delivering the fourth word dr jamal bryant of the great new birth church will be delivering the fifth word reverend jennifer watley maxell uh who is working on her d men at pittsburgh theological seminary from the breakthrough fellowship will be uh giving the sixth word and your humble servant will be giving william motley will be giving preaching the seventh word let us all be prepared to be blessed as the word of god comes powerfully from these seven mighty women and men of the word come on wherever you are on your couch in your car won't you put your hands together come on oh in god there is no failure he will do whatever you ask him to just have faith and believe many blessings you will receive there is no failure no failure come on imma say it one more time in god there is no failure he will do whatever you ask him to just have faith and believe many blessings you will receive there is no failure no failure oh there's never been a time in my life he didn't catch me when i fall and there's never been a time in my life he didn't answer when i call there is no failure [Music] there is [Music] oh there's never been a time in my life he didn't catch me when i fall there's never been a time he did not answer my call there is no failure come on this next part is my favorite part it says you've got to believe what he said he'll do you come on just believe what he said [Music] come on come on [Applause] [Music] one more time [Music] come on [Music] he [Music] come on somebody lift up the name of jesus in this place there is no failure in our god hallelujah there's no imperfection in our god hallelujah i am honored to be here on today thank you dr watt lee and for the saint philip family for having me in this good friday experience the first word as recorded in luke the 23rd chapter verse number 34 verse number 34. it reads this way jesus said father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing and they divided up his clothes by casting lots speak now for your servants our listening is our prayer in jesus name man father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing if i could place a subject on this first word it would simply be debt cancelled debt canceled can you can you imagine can you imagine showing up on the car lot finding your dream vehicle all of the bells and whistles are in the vehicle i mean it's got apple carplay it's got the sunroof the heated and cooling leather seats it's everything that you want in the new vehicle and it's also got the price tag to match but but you made up in your mind that you were going to make the sacrifice to get this vehicle that you would pay the price for wanting to have this vehicle with all of these bells and whistles and so you sign on the dotted line take a joy ride and the next day someone shows up to your front door with an envelope you open it and it says dead cancel can you imagine it i mean i mean the debt that's canceled is it's from the loan servicer that you finance your car with just yesterday and now today you receive a note at the door to let you know that that debt is canceled you've done it you picked up the vehicle you picked it out you chose all the bells and whistles you knew how much it would cost you yet you still got it but then the next day someone says to you the debt is canceled can i suggest to us that that's what god did jesus did for us on the cross that as jesus walks up and it is carried up to the place called the skull and they hang him to crucify him while he's hanging there with one criminal to his right and one criminal to his left jesus looks towards heaven and says father forgive them for they don't know what they're doing god is saying jesus is saying i'm canceling their debt the debt to pay for sin is death but at that moment jesus looks upon everybody who is responsible oh my gosh for putting him where he is on the cross everybody who will benefit oh god from him being on the cross and looks up to heaven and says father forgive them their debt is canceled can we understand today that in in 2021 it may be difficult it may be difficult to show up at a car dealership to pick out your dream car to get all the bells and whistles and then to expect the next day to get a note that says that counsel that may be difficult but can i suggest to us that the debt cancellation from christ is is not difficult how do i know it because jesus lays it out in his phrasing he says father can i suggest to us that we ought to get excited about our debt being canceled and that the fact that it can and will and has been cancelled because jesus did not ask for your mama to cancel it jesus did not ask for your best friend to cancel it jesus didn't even ask for your priest or your preacher to cancel it but when jesus looked at the weight of our sins uh jesus called out father uh in other words i don't need somebody who's gonna look at you and see all your faults and decide whether or not to forgive you but i'm going to call on my father who looks beyond your faults to see about your needs aren't you glad that when we look at an opportunity for our debt to be canceled that jesus did not look at humanity jesus did not look at sheep blood but jesus looked to the father and call out father the same one who created father the same one who formed father the same one who birthed god forgive them god forgive them jesus jesus calls out father that lets us know that our debt can be canceled because he calls on our heavenly father to do so then he gives the phrase forgive them oh my gosh jesus our debt can be canceled because jesus calls on father but then jesus says forgive them which means that jesus does not create exclusions oh gosh usually when we are looking to get a good deal to get a good opportunity to get a reward there are always there is always fine print the fine print always excludes something uh typically the fine print excludes the very thing that you were looking to get oh my gosh but aren't you glad to know that when jesus looked to cancel the debt uh for humanity jesus did not say forgive those that are standing right here jesus did not say forgive this criminal and that criminal jesus did not say forgive the one that's about to cast lots for my clothes but jesus says an inclusive forgive them in other words jesus was talking about them but jesus was talking about us and aren't you glad that jesus did not exclude us when he was asking for the debt of sin to be canceled but jesus knew before we ever messed up that we would need forgiveness and so before we ever needed it jesus looked towards heaven to his father and cried out to him forgive them not only does he say forgive them which does not exclude anybody but then he says for they do not know what they are doing oh lord have mercy uh when jesus cancels our debt uh we must remember that jesus is really doing in this moment what he declared he really came to do and that is to fulfill the law and the prophecies so it was said back by the prophet isaiah that jesus would make intercession up for his for our transgressions and it was the law that stated that there is no remission for sins without the shedding of blood it's still not the first word that jesus speaks as he is being crucified it's a word of forgiveness to oversimplify it jesus stops feeling angry or resentful towards the people who were crucifying him while they were crucifying him and then turns around and cancels the debt of the people that were crucifying him while they were crucifying him then his reasoning is because they do not know what they are doing how could jesus say that they don't know what they're doing when they've whipped him tortured him hung him and nailed him and were soon about to cast lots over his clothes which he knew they would do before they did it and he still said forgive them i would argue that the reason jesus did it was not just to cancel their debts and not just to cancel our debts but jesus did it because he wanted to make sure that we knew that he needed us to do it he said to his disciples i need you to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you in other words you've got to cancel their debts we must forgive because jesus forgave we must forgive because our enemies need their debts cancelled we must forgive because that same prayer of forgiveness that jesus prayed on the cross is the same prayer of forgiveness that jesus is praying right now on our behalf i know you told them not to do it god but father forgive them i know you told them not to go there god but father forgive them i know you told them to leave that negro alone god but father forgive them their debt is canceled is there anybody that's grateful that god cancels our debts father forgive them for they don't know what they are doing [Music] we give you the first [Music] glory glory you jesus [Music] glory thank you jesus we lift you up for filling our cups we praise your name for your goodness glory glory thank you jesus we give you [Applause] [Music] glory glowing glory god you're so worthy of all the praise from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same [Music] glory glory thank you jesus we give you the praise [Music] us we give you the praise we give you hallelujah [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] this is the day that the lord has made and we shall rejoice and be glad in it it is a blessing to be a part of the proclamation of the seven last words of jesus christ from the cross we praise god for dr william watley the senior pastor of the saint philip amy church for extending yet again an invitation to share among my brothers and sisters of the cloth our prophetic proclamations from this day nearly 2 000 years ago and i am honored and blessed and privileged to provide for you today the second utterance from the cross as found in luke's gospel the 23rd chapter i will begin reading from the 39th verse to the 43rd verse where the bible declares one of the criminals who hung their hurled insults at jesus aren't you the messiah save yourself and us but the other criminal rebuked him don't you fear god he said since you are under the same sentence we are punished justly for we are getting what our deeds deserve but this man has done nothing wrong then he said jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom jesus answered him truly i tell you today you will be with me in paradise today you will be with me in paradise i'd like to take as a subject with your prayers with god's authority the subject is post-traumatic promises post traumatic promises now lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts lord let them be acceptable in thy sight lord you are strength lord you are redeemer in jesus name we pray and believe amen last month in exeter england a 22 000 pound german bomb deployed during world war ii was discovered at a construction site this town exeter england was trying to build a future and found a bomb from the past that was meant to kill their ancestors during world war ii a bomb dropped 80 years earlier from a former enemy and the current ally was restricting their progress moving forward this is complicated because if you don't manage this properly you could lose an ally and gain an enemy the threat was too dangerous to ignore it was a live bomb it was determined by the munitions experts that the bomb could not simply be removed without endangering lives so the decision was made to perform a controlled explosion in order to mitigate the damage they built structures to absorb the blast they evacuated 26 whole 2600 homes then they skillfully and strategically detonated an 80-year-old 2200 pound bomb they could not prevent the explosion but they decided that the bomb would not be fatal and y'all here's the moral of my story you cannot stop bombs from blowing up but you get to decide if the bomb is going to blow you away has anyone ever had to absorb the blow when something exploded unexpectedly in your life has anyone ever almost lost it when you've had to endure what howard thurman calls the vicissitudes of life successful countries successful communities and successful churches and successful families successful parents and individuals are going to be those in the future who are equipped to successfully manage trauma and mitigate damage what does this have to do with the second utterance from the cross pastor lee there exists something unique and peculiar with regard to the future to the nature of this utterance it's a uniquely christian response to trauma in real time there are three men in this text facing the same sentence at the same time by the same government state sanctioned execution is exploding like a bomb upon the lives of these three men and unlike any other utterance from the cross this utterance is dialogue between dying men the first the fourth and the seventh words are directed to god the father the third word addresses the beloved disciple and his mother the fifth and the sixth word is jesus speaking rhetorically to himself to no one person directly and unlike any of these sayings this second word is the only recorded dialogue the only recorded engagement in an exchange and repartee between these three persons these three dead men these three men dying on the cross of all the seven words it's the only word from the lord that is provoked by the words of someone else it is jesus reacting to the speech of other people this is significant to me because considering the horrific and heinous bloody imagery and his physiological condition after multiple beatings and the purging and the tremendous blood loss after all his flesh has been punctured and penetrated and his hands inhumanely affixed to a rugged cross beam while his feet are nailed to the upright beam and he still has time to be bothered with the trauma and the drama of somebody else nameless in the text insignificant in history seemingly worthless and condemned but jesus still has time to talk to people who are nameless and insignificant and seemingly worthless and y'all i love the fact that even though the world saw them as nobodies i'm glad that jesus still took time as prestigious as he is as awesome as he is to see about nobody's what is man that you are mindful of him the son of man that this why does jesus have so much time for the nobodies i'm so glad that jesus is bloodied but still has time to engage to be bothered with others even though the person who's talking to him first is intending to insult him i understand how we can clearly be facing i i really don't understand how we can be facing the same kind of drama the same kind of trauma we're facing the same threat we're facing the same kind of intensity we're going through the same stress we both got nails in our hands and in our feet and how is it that you have time to level insults at me when we are catching hell from the world uh that is before us how are we catching the same hell the same nails dangling from a cross and we are in and we are engaged in a six-hour lynching and yet you still got time to hate on me if three people are being lynched there is something particular particularly diabolical when one of the lynch lashes out at another of the lynched seems like an awful waste of energy an awful waste of time why invest in such insults at such a crucial and critical and traumatic time why in the midst of all of this threat and crisis do we have time for division on 9 11. when the nation was threatened the nation was unified against that threat on 9 11 when planes flew into the towers and into the pentagon and a plane was intended to come into the capital y'all the nation was unified against a foreign threat but here we are 20 years later and covet 19 is the threat somehow the nation has invested in division and diversion and insults we we've we've we've we've started fighting each other more than we're fighting the disease when we have a common enemy it normally brings us together but there's something wicked at work when the response is to insult each other and y'all insults are hurtful insults are harmful insults are destructive that's why we can't use language like the kung flu and china virus except there would be some consequence of violence in our own country that's why it's destructive to tell lies about stolen elections except we will provoke some insurrection against our own capital this man is hurling insults in the midst of a tragedy and a trauma in the midst of a crisis in the midst of his own personal pandemic how in the world do you have time to hate on jesus but moving from insult to inspiration in one ear jesus is hearing insults in the other ear he hears inspiration he's so inspired that he punches the man's ticket to paradise promises him today you will be with me in paradise oh god oh god imagine speaking a word that is so powerful imagine uh that you speak a word so inspirational that it inspires jesus to make you a promise while the nails are still in your hands one person insults jesus but it only takes one person to inspire jesus in order to gain access into the heavenlies in order to gain access in the paradise even when you sound even when you feel like you're just one lone voice that's worshiping and celebrating it only takes one lone voice to inspire jesus to open up access to paradise and y'all that's what happens to this man this man has been issued a promise in the midst of his trauma in the midst of his blood loss in the midst of his decay in the midst of his demise god has made him a promise and y'all how can god refuse the promise because y'all what's happening in the text is that there's a man who uh who is in who has inspired jesus so much and one of the things that has inspired jesus is the fact that he is being crucified with jesus you do know that it's our responsibility as christians and disciples to take up our cross daily and to follow jesus it's hard to inspire jesus with an uncrucified life it's hard to inspire jesus when you have uncrucified language it's hard to inspire jesus if you're not a good witness of dying daily on the cross the bible says i'm crucified with christ nevertheless i live yet not i but christ that lives in me that i might know him the bible says in the fellowship of his sufferings and in the power of his resurrection y'all the man gets gets uh gets a promise from god because he has met the qualification of being crucified with christ but not only has he met the requirement of being crucified with christ he has also opened his mouth to rebuke those that would insult jesus to rebuke those that would misrepresent christ part of the job description of a disciple is not to be silent when others are speaking nonsense you got to open your mouth and tell them what thus saith the lord you got to let people know what's biblical and not biblical what's in god's word what's outside god's word what faithful looks like and what foolishness looks like you got to stand up against foolishness in the defense of jesus especially when your foolishness questions the very nature and character and the power of jesus christ the bible says that all scripture is given by inspiration of god is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness yo this man on a cross met the requirement but he also was willing to rebuke the devil to rebuke what was evil but not only did he do those two things the third thing he did was to repent of his sins he said jesus i did what i did i own what i did i take responsibility for what i said i take responsibility for what i did i own it i don't justify it i don't make excuses for it i was wrong i was foul i was flawed it's not my mother's fault it's not my father's fault it's not the white man's fault i made my own mess i own it i did it and the bible says if you confess your sins he's faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness this man met the requirement he was crucified with christ this man was a rebuke he rebuked those who spoke against jesus and he repented of his sins and the last thing he did was to make a request the bible says ask and it shall be given seek and ye shall find not in the door shall be opened unto you he asked to be remembered lord remember me when you come into your kingdom don't forget about this old criminal don't forget about this this this this this sinful man that that that had the privilege of of of being in your proximity right before he died remember me he asked to be remembered but god gave him more than what he asked jesus gave him reservations y'all we serve a god who'll do exceeding abundantly above all you could ever ask or think he asked to be remembered but god gave him reservations today you will be with me in paradise that greek word meaning paradisia which means the garden of god today you will be present with me in the garden of god now this is this is what it looks like to have a promise made to you in the midst of your trauma in the midst of your pandemic in the midst of your crisis because the church that will be the successful church of the future the family that will be the successful family of the future the individual that will be the successful individual of the future is the one that can manage trauma and mitigate the damage from the explosions of life in his book entitled the body keeps the score bessel van der kolk says that one of the things that trauma robs you of one of the things that that ptsd robs you of is the ability to imagine a successful future if you lose your ability to have an imagination you lose the ability to have hope you cannot see beyond the pain of your current situation and when jesus makes this promise he's helping a traumatized man see life beyond crucifixion you do know that there is life beyond covet 19 you do know that there is life beyond grief and sorrow you do know that there is life beyond divorce and there is life beyond financial frustration there is life after death there is life after trauma i know you've got post-traumatic stress all of us do how can you not have post-traumatic stress when just in the last 12 months we've lost a half million citizens how can you not have post-traumatic stress when you pastor a church and you've done funerals at gravesides and and you've lost members to cancer and coven and car crashes how can you not have post-traumatic stress but in the midst of the post-traumatic stress god makes a promise a post-traumatic promise in the middle of your stress jesus made a post-traumatic promise i know that so many of us are going through difficulty i began this text with an explosion i've got to end it with an explosion last month a united airlines boeing 777 uh took off uh in the united states of america and in the midst of it trying to take altitude one of the engines exploded in midair and people in the plane filmed this engine on fire in mid-out but calmly the pilot navigated the crisis and landed the plane there was no loss of life there were no injuries to report because the plane that was being flown was designed to steal fly even when one of its engines malfunction and i'm here to tell you that there might be some things in your life that have malfunctioned in the last 12 months but god has has providentially organized and created you in such a way that even though you take a lick even though you're handling trauma you can still make it back home be not dismayed whatever betides you for god will take care of you even when you're nailed to a cross jesus still promises that god will take care of you somebody lost the family member to covet 19 but god will take care of you somebody's feeling guilty because you only got sick but somebody else died but god will take care of you somebody's marriage is going through crisis but god will take care of you somebody somebody's money has run out but god will take care of you that even though there was an explosion the explosion didn't blow you away and that's because god made you a post-traumatic promise father thank you thank you for all the explosions that are behind us that we have survived thank you now god for the reminder that you didn't bring us this far just to leave us where we are somebody's going through trauma as i'm preaching somebody's been going through trauma and never knew what to call it but god thank you for the promise that even this too shall pass god i pray now for counseling i pray now god for wisdom i pray for preachers to preach therapeutic sermons i pray god that wherever they get information that there is an opportunity for post-traumatic relief from post-traumatic stress have your way now god rebuild our families rebuild our churches rebuild our country let the insults end and let the inspiration begin have your way now in jesus name we pray amen amen and amen [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] [Music] there's [Music] to from [Music] i wanna be [Music] be [Music] oh [Music] one of these days [Music] i want to be [Music] my [Music] foreign [Music] what a great joy it is to be back with the saint phillips family and we certainly give honor to the visionary leader and our host the one and only dr william watley thank you thank you thank you so much for another invitation to all of the pastors all of the pastors who are sharing this year praise god for you the passage that i have been given is found in john chapter 19 john chapter 19. i'm reading verses 25 through 27 verses 25-27 i'm reading out of the niv translation you follow me along you follow me along in the translation of your choice beginning with verse number 25 near the cross near the cross near the cross wow how appropriate just finished singing the song and verse 25 opens up in niv saying near the cross of jesus stood his mother his mother sister mary the wife of clopis and mary magdalene when jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby he said to his mother dear woman here is your son and to the disciple he said here is your mother from that time on this disciple took her into his home and for a few minutes i want to preach from this subject matter i'll always love my mama i'll always love my mama in 1973 there was a hit jam that was recorded by a group called the intruders the name of the song was i'll always love my mama i encourage you if you've never heard the song that you would pull it up but likewise also get the lyrics so that you can get the meaning of the song in a nutshell it's a song where the writer talks about his fine affection for his mother because of all the sacrifices she made for him listen i believe with all of my heart that if jesus was living on earth in 1973 he too would be jamming by a track he too would be jamming by cassette he too would be jamming by a 33 or 45 or how many you remember the 33 and the 45 listening to the song by the intruders i'll always love my mama it is clear from john chapter 19 verses 25 through 27 that jesus had fine memories of his mother and what i want to do with the remaining minutes that are left is i want to share with you i want to share with you the way jesus showed love for his mother the way jesus showed love for his mother when you get a chance you look at verse 25 verse 26 and verse 27 because it gives us a lot of information and insight about the cross verse number 25 we discovered the assortment around the cross we find the five individuals four ladies and one man who happen to be at the cross and then in verse number 26 we discover the statements the statements from the cross we discovered what jesus had to say to his mother and what jesus had to say to john and then finally in verse number 27 we discovered the commitment the commitment after the cross we discover what john did because of what jesus said and what i want to do what i want to do is i want to give you i want to give you i want to give you three ways that jesus showed love for his mother number one jesus show love to his mother by respecting her respecting her number two jesus show love to his mother by connecting her connecting her and then finally jesus showed love to his mother by protecting her we see him respecting her in verse number 26. it depends on what translation you're reading from some translation said that he said woman woman woman woman behold your son but then there are other translations the one i read from today the niv version said that he said dear woman dear woman it was a term of respect dear woman he called her woman in john chapter 2 right before the first miracle and then here he is at the end of his ministry and again he says woman but he says dear woman because he is showing respect number one jesus show love to his mother by respecting her respecting her number two jesus show love to his mother by connecting her by connecting her notice what he said dear woman that's the respect but then he said behold your son behold your son behold your son he is connecting her to john notice he's not connecting her to peter he's not connecting her to thomas he's not connecting her to any other of the disciples he's not even connecting her to any of his brothers or sisters because they weren't believers at this time and history tells us that joseph the dad had died and with jesus being the oldest brother it's his job it's his job to care for his mother and here he is on the cross and he connects her to john he connects he connects her to john jesus show love to his mother by respecting her jesus show love to his mother by connecting her and then finally jesus show love to his mother by protecting her notice what he said notice what he said in verse 27 he said hey john here is your mother hey john he said to me he said to mary here is your son and he says to john here is your mother which means now it's your turn to protect her now it's your turn to see after her now it's your turn to meet her needs now it's your turn to be there for her now it's your turn to provide security for her and you know what i believe with all of my heart that jesus showed i'll always love my mama and he showed it by respecting her he showed it by connecting her he showed it by protecting her and verse 27 says from that time forward john took care of mary you know what this third cry from the cross says to us you have to respect your mother you know what this third cry from the cross says to us that you need to connect your mother and don't just connect her with people who will bring her life down connect her with people who will elevate her life but then it also tells us you need to protect your mother you know what's interesting as i close mary is looking up because jesus is on the cross and mary is down at the foot of the cross and she's looking up and while she's looking up guess what jesus is doing he's hooking up mary is looking up and jesus is hooking up and i want you to know that even now if we stay near the cross and continue to look up jesus will hook up he'll hook you up with what's best for you he'll hook you up with what works for you he'll hook you up with what you need he will hook you up with the things that you so desire that fall in his will and i don't know about you but like jesus i'll always love my mama because i remember the sacrifices she made for me can you remember the sacrifices that your mother made for you story is told of a third grade student by the name of jeffrey and jeffrey was in a math class and his teacher said to him jeffrey you're in the home with you your mother and your father and they're three slices of pie how many thirds will you have how many thirds will you have jeffrey said i'll have two thirds she said i'm asked you again you're in the home with you your mother and your father and they're three slices of pie how many thirds will you have jeffrey said i'll have two-thirds she kept asking him and he kept saying the same thing i'll have two-thirds and finally she said to him jeffrey you don't know math and jeffrey said no it ain't that i don't know math you don't know my mama because knowing my mama like i know my mama she would see to it that she would even give me her slice because that's the type of mama i have she makes sacrifices for me and won't you thank god for your mother and the sacrifices that she made for you but not only should you always love your mama you should always love your savior because likewise your savior has made sacrifices for you and have helped you get to the place where you are and don't let people say you're not gonna make it you're not gonna be able to handle things you're not gonna be able to get out of your trouble let them know as long as i keep looking up i'll save a savior that will hook me up and if they ask you what's taking so long tell them what i know about my savior is he may not come when i want him but if i wait on him if i wait on him if i wait on him anybody know if you look up he'll hook you up look to the heels once coming your help keep me near the cross will anybody know he will yes he will i will always love my mama but i'll always love my savior i'll always keep my eyes on the hill where he died [Laughter] i'll always love my mama and my savior hope is [Music] i dare not trust but holy trust but holy trust in jesus name hallelujah let's sing that one more time my hope is my hope is [Music] i dare not trust [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is the do lord believe that today when dog proceeds to hide its face i rest on it is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] with [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] bring greetings to the saint phillips amy church and all of the participating churches in this good friday service we give a great honor to god for pastor dr william watley my word is found in mark chapter 15 and the 34th verse and at the ninth hour jesus cried out with a loud voice saying eloy eloy lama sabachthani which is translated my god my god why why why hast thou forsaken me i want to talk today about why why growing up asking the question why was often a problematic question to pose to my parents anytime i ask that question more often than not the same exact answer was returned because i [Music] told you so and sometimes if i was really irritated about something and felt like i just had to know i would keep on asking that question why why do we have to go to bed now why can't i eat the candy now if i push too hard i might have gotten the belt my mother would indicate that your mind is just too limited to understand just don't get it for so now all i got was because i told you so maybe one day you'll get it but as for now just take that and live with it it took me many years to understand why my parents did what they did but praise god i think i got most of it by now here in mark chapter 15 the son of god is dealing with his father and he has a question to ask and i think you know what that question is why while on the cross in verse 34 of chapter 15 jesus offers up a prayer to our god jesus is not asking for a miracle he's no longer asking for deliverance he is not asking for his life to be extended he's asking why has already told god in an earlier prayer in the garden of gethsemane that please let this cup pass from me i really don't want to have to go through this at this point what is going to happen has happened and the only thing that jesus can now ask god for is not healing not a miracle but an explanation why that's the ask there are times when we get past asking god for something for a miracle for result you already prayed you pleaded to god you told god what you needed what you wanted what you were desperate for and so when something happens and the results are not what we like the only thing left for us to pray is the question that remains we are resigned simply to ask god nothing left but why has anybody ever been there playing is essentially over things didn't really turn out we're asking for the healing but it's too late asking for the miracle it's over and at the end of the day we are left with nothing else to pray for but why at least give me a reason and jesus asked why why god well the next thing we notice about the prayer inside of this ask is that it is accusational there is an accusation that jesus makes in the prayer he is questioning god and he is making a statement in the question and he says my god my god why have you forsaken me he is accusing god of abandoning him within the question he says to god or rather he accuses to god you turn your back on me when i needed you you were not there that is a fact that is not in question there is no questioning of the veracity of the fact that god you shunned me and you walked away from me jesus is not asking god are you there jesus is stating to god the fact that you left me alone and the only question i have is why did you do this you did do it and that's the reality of what i'm in and i want to know why so look at this the question is not why do i have to die the question jesus is asking of his daddy is why did you disconnect from me while i was dying it's one thing for jesus to die he knew he was going to die he did not ask god why i'm going to die he asked about god the question is about you god and what are you doing while i'm going through this why are you this is about you why have you forsaken me on that cross lines of communication were cut the signals were scrambled when jesus died up heaven he got the message that the number is no longer in service and there is no further information available jesus had been infected with sin and he had acquired immune deficiency of the soul became susceptible to all the sins of humanity aids of the soul and it was at that moment of eternal disgrace that his father shunned him turned his back on him jesus was dissed by his dad until here he speaks to his father in heaven here in mark chapter 15 and look at how he addresses god in an unusual fashion something happened at calvary because any other time in the gospels jesus always referred to his god as his father he said abba father a term of endearment daddy but things have gotten so tough at the cross of calvary that he does not say father he says my god my god because there was now a divide and a distance to the deity siamese triplets of the father son and holy spirit have been severed at their souls jesus no longer has access to heaven and so now he refrains from calling out to his daddy and simply says eloi eloi my god my god why because what kind of daddy would desert his only son and leave them to die alone my god why why would you lead me to go through the pain of eight inch metal spikes driven through the nerves and tendons of my wrists and the bones in my feet what daddy would turn away and cut me off while i'm being whipped and beaten with the flagram of sheep bones and iron balls and broken pottery pieces tearing out chunks of my flesh this by his daddy he says i can't even call you daddy right now that's not even what a father would do my god my god you know when your parent calls you out of your name and they get irritated boy girl jesus can't say daddy he says my god in other words mr creator of the universe instead of dave saying daddy he says mr i'm not present here there and everywhere except you're not here when i need you so god left jesus to die on that cross and y'all know what happened he died i'm reminded some years ago about one of my cousins who found himself in jail a long ways from home and he called up his father my uncle and a misdemeanor situation he was in left him in jail and his father said son well you're gonna have to sit there for the weekend because i got some stuff going on over the weekend so when i get through with that i'm going to come he tells him what i'm going to do you sit tight over the weekend sit there in jail for a few days and i'm gonna come and i'm gonna get you out but you're gonna have to wait a few days and so after he got through with this big event on saturday early on sunday morning he took the next flight and went to find his son and bail him out of jail because his uncle had told him that i will come and get you and i want to tell you that's exactly what the heavenly father did for his son when jesus got into trouble he called on his father and said let this cup pass from me but god told him i'm sorry i'm gonna let you pay for the penalty of humanity's sins on the cross and you're gonna have to stay there for three days and i'll come get you over the weekends uh my brothers and sisters i got some good news that god did tell jesus that i'm coming back to get you and y'all do know what happened the bible says that he died and he went down into the penitentiary of the grave stayed there friday nights he was in the grave all day saturday and all night saturday night but can somebody praise god that it was early on sunday morning that god sent the angel on the first flight to the grave to bail jesus out of the prison of death can somebody say yes lord that god did not forsake jesus god did not forget about him the good news is that he rose jesus from the dead with all power in his hands and he is now seated at the right hand of the father and i got to close my brothers and sisters because there may be times in our lives when we face trials and temptations when we go through challenge challenges and situation when things go wrong and it gets so bad that all we have left to do is ask god why but can i tell somebody there's some things that we don't understand there's some things that we cannot see with our natural eyes there are some things that we have to go through you may have to sit in prison of your problems over the weekend but god told us weeping may endure for a night but praise god joy will come in the morning i got to tell you you may not feel them but god will never forget you you may fall but god will never fail you you may be lonely but god will never let you down you may be in the darkness but god will not desert you can somebody say yes you got to wait for a weekend but when you can't trace god's hand make sure you trust god's heart because god said that he will see you through he'll hear you when you call he'll catch you when you fall just have faith god will be right there there's a songwriter that said when the morning comes when the saints of god are gathering come home we'll tell the story of how we've overcome for we'll understand it better by and by [Music] thank you jesus we worship you lord of life sent down from glory many things you were on earth you are the living word say bread sent down from glory many things you were on earth a holy king a carpenter [Music] if you are the living word he's an awesome rule gentile redeemer yes he is he's god with us the living truth and what a friend we have in you you are the living word jesus that's what we call you that's what we call you major boys you are the living word jesus that's what we call him [Music] yes [Music] shame you [Music] yes [Music] i'm honored i'm humbled i'm horrified to be entrusted with the sacred task of speaking god's name out loud i want to publicly appreciate our host our pastor for allowing me this precious privilege i want you to come with me to john chapter 19 verse 28 later knowing everything had been finished and the scripture was fulfilled jesus said i thirst i want to preach today using as a subject this ain't the last word but it is the last time this ain't the last word but it is the last time the pandemic has opened up a can of worms exposing what the system has tried to cover up from cameras ranging from health disparity food insecurity economic inequity and educational mediocrity the cat that has clawed its way out the bag is the crippling condition wrought by the reality of absence of self-care from gaining weight to skyrocketing blood pressure elevated anxiety and seemingly insurmountable stress published psychiatrist dr lisa clark posits that there are three pairs of shades that block us from seeing ourselves because we often look out the window but seldom look in the mirror the first is uh effort a lot of people have ideas below the execution you know you gotta eat better but you won't meal prep you know you gotta lose 10 pounds but won't get on the treadmill you know to your core you are tired but you refuse to rest it requires effort a lot of you do not exercise self-care because you can't find the strength to serve yourself the second pair of shades that block us from seeing the need for self-care after effort is indulgence hear this it stops being self-care when you are made to feel guilty about pleasing yourself is with five foot three james baldwin called survivor's guilt you feel bad about doing well be mindful all things are good in moderation you do not require an apology hear this for wanting to be alone you are not lazy because you want to be left to yourself you can never allow people to make you feel bad for wanting balance effort indulgence the third one is in the fatigable is somehow another you keep going even when you don't have the strength to go keep trying to please keep trying to be there for others who refuse to be there for you god gave himself a sabbath and yet you won't take one i don't know how it is that god being omnipotent having all power realize i did all of this now i need to take a day i don't know why it is that you feel like you just got to keep going and it is a badge of honor to be burnt out in john chapter four you remember that uh jesus is sitting on a well and a samaritan woman comes up to him she's trying to get some water out of that well and jesus said to her if you knew who was standing in front of you you would never first again that's what jesus said to the woman hear this who wasn't in covenant woman who wasn't in church if you knew who was in front of you you would never thirst again i want you to go three chapters over to john chapter seven here now what jesus says in verse 37 he says let anyone who is thirsty come to me let the one who believes in me drink i need you to see what just happened jesus said to that woman at the well you'll never thirst again and then says in john 7 anybody who comes to me you will drink from me and have no thirst and yet when i find jesus dangling on this ignominious cross in john chapter 19 and i peer in and hear what he mutters i first i'm outraged i'm indignant and i am offended why because jesus had the nerve to do it for a sinful woman and a crowd of strangers but never thought to do it for himself jesus in this moment is proving his humanity that i've taken care of others but i have not executed self-care and many of you are dying on the cross of negligence you're dying on the cross of putting yourself last i came to interrupt this seven last word service just to let you know i am not preaching the last word but i want you to know this is the last time it's the last time you let people take advantage of you it's the last time you give your last and you got nothing left over for yourself it's the last time you get tired of working somebody else's dream while yours is never fulfilled this is the last time people are allowed to use you hear this and you know they're using you it's the last time you give yourself away to people who can't find the receipt this is not your last word but this is your last time being thirsty i want you to know you are not desperate the straw is in your hands if you knew what was in front of you you would realize that god is not through they hoisted up to jesus and gave him on a spear a sponge that was dipped in vinegar the reason why it is that they allowed it to be dipped in vinegar hear this is because in case you don't know it my vocal majors will tell you that vinegar closes the vocal passage he had spoken already so when they gave him vinegar they were trying to shut him up the amazing thing is do you know how many people get irritated when you talk about what you need get offended when you discuss what you're wrestling with they want you to be our ears when they talking about their needs and their wants but they get busy and forget they put you on hold when you discuss what you require this is the last time you allow your search to cut off your voice can you imagine that after they're giving him a sponge watch his act of defiance the bible says and he screamed i wonder how many of you can lift your voice while you're drained how many of you can lift your voice while you're driving on empty how many of you can lift your voice when you watch people eat when they know you're hungry how many of you can lift your voice because you're sick of them texting you good night and texting somebody else i can't sleep god is saying to you in this moment let this be the last time you allow strangers to treat you better than the people who are in your intimate space let this be the last time that you allow yourself to suffer publicly when they ask for your help privately let this be the last time that you allow yourself to be vulnerable in the presence of people that want to break you jesus declared i thirst but refuse to drink their vinegar don't you ever get so desperate that you'll take whatever is offered to you you got to know your value and know your worth i better say it for you i'd rather starve to death than let you feed me and tell everybody you did it this is the last time that i'm gonna be thirsty how do you know pastor not mean i'll never be broke it doesn't mean i'll never struggle it never mean i won't wait on that stimulus check but when i am thirsty i gotta remind myself and he will supply all of my needs according to his riches in glory can nobody to me like jesus can nobody do me like the lord i'm thirsty but i'm not desperate it's my last time but it is not my last word [Music] [Music] you are holding me you are holy what a privilege and an honor to worship at your throne to be called into your presence so worthy yes you are you are worthy [Music] to be called [Music] oh [Music] what a privilege and an honor to worship at your throne to be calm into your presence [Music] oh you're so faithful [Music] [Music] [Music] as you're [Music] i could search the heavens high i can search the earth [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh worthy there is [Music] oh [Music] there is no [Applause] [Music] no [Music] me i can search the heavens high i can search the earth below but there's no one absolutely [Music] greetings my brothers and sisters in christ it is indeed an honor and a privilege for me to be here with you today i want to say a special thank you to dr william watley and the st phillip family for bringing us together once again for our annual seven last words service and our time of fellowship i want to say to all of my fellow preachers how humbled and honored i am to be here among you will you pray with me today god you who are holy mighty and all powerful we come this afternoon thankful and grateful for another opportunity to press a little bit closer into your word and a little bit deeper in you i ask that you would take this your frail servant and hide me behind the cross and under the drippings of your blood that the meditations of my mouth and the meditations of my heart would be acceptable in your sight in the name of your son jesus christ i pray amen amen amen today our scripture comes from john the 19th chapter verse 30. in the new international version it reads when he had received the drink jesus said it is finished with that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit for the next few moments i'll be preaching from the subject no take backs no take backs when i was young one of my favorite games was tag at the time we lived in flushing new york where kids of every ethnic background lived and my school ps24 was extremely diverse during recess there were often games shared from native lands that had to be explained or learned but tag was one of the few games that was universal no matter where you came from there was a version of tag in your hometown you remember tag don't you someone is deemed it and has to go to count as those who are not it run as far and fast as they can the person who is it then has to chase the others and tap or tag them out of course the challenge was that there was always a kid who constantly got tagged out because they were slower younger smaller or less dexterous than the others that is until the child got tired and called no backseas or no tag backs that meant that he or she was set apart as safe and could no longer be tagged out until the next round of play you see no backseats or no tag backs was the great equalizer because it gave kids like me who were smaller younger slower and less dexterous than the others a chance to be successful you see before many of us knew what grace was we experienced it on playgrounds and didn't even know it the thing about no backseas though is that it was limited it only worked for a round or two but you couldn't count on it to save you in another game or on another playground right it meant you were done from being tagged it for a little while but you were not finished forever these days it seems like nothing is finished forever anymore thanks to the internet and the ability to take pictures and record on our electronic devices the culture's memory is long but unlike dr king's moral arc of the universe it tends to bend toward our destruction and not toward justice don't get me wrong it's good for some things like documenting a marriage proposal or a new baby's birth it's good for voicing our support of the black lives matter movement demanding an end to white terrorist supremacy for exposing and eradicating patriarchy and misogynoir discrimination and ordering an end to the resurgent anti-asian violence we just experienced here in atlanta this past week but while it's good for some things it's bad for others for example when celebrity and cancer culture mix it's a toxic brew for us all when someone takes a sermon preached by a mentor out of context and turns it into fake news 20 years later to defeat your bid for office it's bad when someone takes a private moment of anger and secretly records it and releases it publicly to humiliate and shame you it's bad when someone takes advantage of you rapes you or abuses you and posts the clip on social media to torment and shame you it's bad when someone finds the blog post you wrote before you were woke and uses it to discredit your current work showing your growth and development it's bad i'm just saying it's a terrible reality when everything you've done is never truly finished while there are some things that we wish would last forever god created a world where to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven nothing is supposed to last forever well almost nothing at this moment in the crucifixion story jesus has been actively engaged in the process of dying for some time and he has done almost everything he was sent to accomplish and is facing his final moments of humanity i can imagine that his clarity of purpose hasn't emptied his memory of how those who said they loved him had treated him i can imagine his feeling all the feels as one who is fully human and wrestling with his own betrayal pain and agony along with the physical torture and emotional abandonment i'm sure his humanity like ours reached a point like that in the garden of gethsemane where he just wanted to call the whole thing off knowing he could speak a word and condemn those who stripped and beat and mocked him knowing he could speak a word and discharge an army of angels to apprehend the two-faced crowd who praised him on sunday and humiliated him on friday knowing he could speak a word extricating himself from the earth and condemning us to sacrifices and feeble attempts to get in and stay in good graces i'm sure at some point jesus wanted to just count it done however knowing what he knows and feeling what he feels jesus stayed his course and finished what he started there were many moments along the way i'm sure when he could have tagged out and declared himself done when the sanhedrin council conspired against him he could have been done when judas betrayed him and led the mob to arrest him he could have been done when peter denied him not once but three times he could have been done when pilate sent him to be crucified despite knowing his innocence he could have been done when they marched him through the streets and pulled poor simon of cyrene to help him bear the cross he could have been done when they hung him and stretched him and nailed him and pierced him and crowned him and gave him the wine of hyssop he could have been done but he persevered so he could finish you see being done is not finishing being done is to stop or quit or relent it's a it's a it's a temporary measure to often long-lasting situations i mean i mean how many times have we been done with a mate only to get back together a couple of months later how how many times have we been done with our jobs only to wake up and put on our mask and put on our mask to do it all the next day how how many times i asked have we been remorseful disappointed and done with ourselves only to turn around and make the same mistakes all over again our humanity makes us incapable of truly being finished with a lot of things but that's where our faith and our finishing jesus kicks in it is finished is the english translation of the greek word telesty which comes from the verb tello meaning to bring to an end to accomplish or to complete it's significant because it refers to the successful end to a particular course of action not only that it is the perfect it is in the perfect tense in the greek which speaks of an action which has been completed in the past with results continuing in the present in other words when jesus cried out it is finished he didn't just mean it's done he meant it is finished in the past it is still finished in the present and it will remain finished forevermore when jesus uttered it is finished on the cross he declared it was is and forever will be finished which is another way of saying no take backs unlike savion in the movie love jones jesus didn't just break down our sin he finished it so it could forever and consistently be finished and that's a good word for us because it means that despite the fickle wills of culture and those who exploit it our salvation is complete and everlasting jesus is it is finished sealed in his blood and guaranteed in his resurrection means our salvation isn't based on our behavior our beliefs or in our ability to adhere to others arcane interpretation of the gospel our salvation is fulfilled through jesus and jesus alone and that's good news because it means when the culture critics try to drag us and sully our good name we can tell them we are redeemed by the blood so there's no takebacks we are who we are we are who god says we are we are fearfully and wonderfully made it means when folks try to exhume our past and cancel us out we can tell them because of jesus's redemption there's no take backs god's grace is sufficient for each and every one of us whether they agree with our actions and our decisions are not when racists try to roll back time and strip us of our rights we declare because of jesus's sacrifice there's no take backs we were are and will always be free we ain't going back nowhere in jesus name when they try to secularize our culture and tell us that the church is irrelevant we call on the advocate the holy spirit that dwells among us and say no take backs the communion of the saints undergirded by the word of our god is still powerful and relevant we will accomplish everything that our god set out for us to do in this earth when our brothers and sisters try to usurp our faith and use it for our own political for their own political and financial gain to support their white supremacists habits tell them no take backs the grass withers and the flowers fade but the word of our god stands forever as truth when jesus declared it is finished he guaranteed our sufficiency is of no other person or power than god so when the enemy tries to sift you as wheat i dare you get on your knees grab your oil and your bible and declare satan you have no dominion or power over our lives we belong to god so there's no take-backs hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah it is [Music] finished [Music] [Music] [Music] came [Music] from my they said if you mean [Music] [Applause] [Music] calm down and save your life [Music] but jesus oh sweet jesus for he knew that oh my lord for if he had come down [Music] [Music] my soul would still still be lost [Music] [Applause] [Music] your my would sting just [Applause] [Applause] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] two two [Applause] two [Laughter] [Applause] hey [Applause] [Music] bye is [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] ah me [Applause] wow [Applause] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] so [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] i think somebody's happy to be in church into your presence we become gracious god grateful to be on praising ground one more time and we pray that the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart to be acceptable in your sight oh lord our strength and our redeemer and that nothing absolutely nothing no one will more interfere with diminished distract take away from me the word of worship this day bring the harvest that you desire to your glory into your honor nothing more nothing less than nothing else jesus name amen from the gospel as recorded by luke chapter 23 verses 44 through 46. it was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon while the sun's light failed the curtain of the temple was torn in two then jesus crying with a loud voice said father into your hands i commend my spirit having said this he breathed his last maybe seated in the presence of the lord doing what comes naturally doing what comes naturally in the position in which the lord was crucified body hung high stretched wide on a cross crown of thorns on his head spearing his side nailed the natural position of the head would be down but it is almost inconceivable that jesus was on the cross with a hung down head even though that was the natural position of the body his first prayer from the cross was father forgive them for they know not what they do and it's hard to speak about forgiveness with your head hung down second word was to a dying thief today you will be with me in paradise it's hard to talk about salvation with a hung down head third position even when he looked at his mother and john and said behold thy son behold i am mother it's hard to express love for people with a hung down head even the fourth word my god my god why hast thou forsaken me it was a prayer and and we don't pray with a hung down head we pray with an uplifted head and spirit as if even in the trying hour we are expecting something when jacob ran from his brother esau he looked up and saw angels ascending and descending moses went up to mount sionar to receive the covenant david said i will lift up mine eyes into the hills from which cometh my help my help cometh from the lord elijah was separated with a by a chariot of fire from elijah and was carried up in a whirlwind isaiah in the year king of zion died said i saw the lord high and lifted up with his train filling the temple jesus went up to mount hermon where he was transfigured paul in the spirit of ecstasy said i was caught up in the third heaven when john was given an invitation on the isle of patmos a voice spoke to said come up even in a moment of of agony when you pray to the lord the natural way is to look up when when he cried out i thirst there was no reason for him to look down because what he thirsted for could not be found on the ground and when he pronounced the word of completion it is finished he had to be looking up because there is no reason to look down when you've done what you're supposed to do and in this last word when he says father into your spirit you had to be looking up when when you have been surrounded by your enemies when the devil thinks he's gotten the victory over you and you know that there is another word beyond what the devil gives you there is no reason to look down and and so i believe that when he he uh uttered this last word father into your hands you don't say that with the hung down head you don't talk to god with a hung down here the natural position is to look up of the uh of the seven words the first the fourth the the sixth and the seventh were words of praise and prayer that that that even the fourth word is a word of scripture and and and praise and prayer in the moment of agony uh causes you to look up because when you look up you affirm that no matter how dark the night is there is a bright side somewhere in that and that weeping may endure for the night this night this pandemic this season there will be joy in the morning yeah yeah yeah and and and and of the seventh word the fourth and the seventh were both words of scripture the fourth word my god my god wise thou forsaken me comes from psalm 22 1 the end of which before we get to psalm 23rd the lord as my shepherd is an expression of praise father unto thy hands i commend my spirit comes from psalm 31 when you're in trouble what's in your mouth if the word of god is in your mouth you have to look up your word the word of god that says heaven and earth shall pass away my word shall never pass the way the grass withers the flower fades but the word of god will stand forever you have to look up when you said your word have i hid in my heart that i might not sin against you you have to look up when you say uh your word is a lamp unto my feet and the light into my path you have to look up when you say all things even this don't work just separately you see to understand what we are going through you have to understand that it's part of a larger picture all things work together for good not just for anybody but for those who love the lord and who are called according to his purpose that when you're going through you look up because the word of god in your mouth will cause you to walk around with an uplifted spirit no matter what is going on around you and the reaction of people to you of these of these words uh first third and fifth can concern concern others first word concerning his enemy second word concerning his his uh his uh a dying thief third word concerning his mother and uh and the sixth and then the seventh word concerning his relationship with god that that even when you know that god is your father it will help you be concerned about somebody else as a matter of fact some of the greatest prayer warriors i know have been through something themselves and what they have been through themselves will cause them to have power that reaches other i told you about that time back in 1968 uh when when the general conference was being held in philadelphia pennsylvania and believe it or not i was the youth representative along with mckinley young and i went to a preach at a church in south jersey and later on after coming to saint james 1984 i went back to the same church to preach and one man said you know i remember you from before you were here before you preached words but now you preach power and what i told him was i had been through some things that i hadn't been through when i was a boy i mean i had had two operations since then i had been fired from a job didn't know how i was going to feed my family since then the lord had brought me back to a place i didn't think i'd ever go after being told i would never pastor again that when you know in whom you have believed what's in you automatically reaches out and blesses somebody else and you can't be a blessing to somebody else a real blessing and walk around with your head hung down father until you you gotta look up when you know that god is your father yeah that he is your creator protector provider sustainer and that he's not just a father he is the heavenly father and that he rules and super rules over your life and that he has a vision for your life that is greater than any vision you can have for yourself or others can have for you you've got to look up yeah yeah that's what the writer was talking about when he said my faith looks up to thee thou lamb of calvary savior divine now hear me while i pray take all my sins away oh let me from this day be holy down may thy rich grace and poor strength to my fainting heart my zeal and spy as thou hast died for me o may thy lord for me pure warm and changeless being a living fire i i i just i just came by tell somebody that no matter what you're going through when you know that god is your father you keep looking up i mean i know it's tough but you keep looking up i know all around you you hear bad news that go from you keep looking up i i know that some of us didn't ever think we'd be in the position we're in that we'd be as short of money and having to stand in the food line but no matter what your outward circumstances is make sure that your natural position is up and when all hell breaks through you just say father into your hands i commend my spirit my life my future my family my relationships because when i put it in your hand the devil may come against you but no weapon formed against you shall prosper when i put it in your hands i know that even though it's good friday sunday is coming my resurrection is coming keep looking [Applause] [Music] randy's still here randy this young man who sang john randy bankston he's still here john we're praying for your baby had a baby baby came out ill but the way he sings [Applause] you wouldn't know didn't have a problem in the world [Applause] when you know in whom you have belief he'll give you power to look up [Applause] the devil is a liar he thinks he's going to defeat me now keep looking my my mama faithful talk too [Applause] [Music] and so my brothers and my sisters looking up time let that be your natural position and so if you have never received jesus as your personal lord and savior don't know him in the pawning of your sins or if you need a church home or a new church home either this church or one of the churches in this fellowship whose pastors you've heard today will be happy to introduce jesus to you just email those churches or mail this one if you need a church home just email us or email them if your letter wanna come back just email now they'll be happy to receive whosoever will this is a word for you to keep looking [Music] on [Music] my head [Music] thee [Music] now [Music] i know i said [Applause] me [Applause] my me [Applause] who desire to make a contribution may make it now and uh not a seed for something you're expecting but an offering of thanksgiving for what you've already received amen president we'd like to thank all of those preachers who have allowed the lord to use them and we trust that all of us will have a bright easter sunday that the lord says so we'll be having an outdoor service in the parking lot here at saint philip at 8 30 and that service will be again streamed at 11 o'clock praise god from whom all blessings flow [Music] [Music] me uh the lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you the lord lift up the light of his countenance and give you his shalom in noman de jesus christi nostra domini in the name of jesus christ our lord [Music] ah let the church say amen [Music] let the church [Applause] [Music] let the church save [Music] [Applause] stay god [Music] [Applause] says [Music] there is oh [Music] i [Music] [Music] love you [Music] everybody [Music] hey [Music] hey [Music] hey oh jesus i love you thank you for tuning in to saint philip amy church

Channel: Saint Philip AME Church

Views: 4,258

Rating: 4.818182 out of 5

Keywords: Sunday, African Methodist Episcopal, Sermons, bible, God, GodisGood, Jesus

Id: tj4mok67Nko

Length: 179min 9sec (10749 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 02 2021