Storm Survivors | Surviving the Storm

a man today I want to preach about surviving the storm surviving the storm of course we are looking at storm survivors so we want to look at the principles the practical pragmatic principles that come from the Word of God that we need to practice so that we can survive the storm here in Acts chapter 27 verse 14 God's Word says but the weather changed abruptly in a wind of typhoon strength called a northeaster burst across the island and blew us out to sea verse 42 says the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn't swim ashore and escape but the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul so he didn't let them carry out their plan he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for LAN the others held on the planks or debris from the broken ship so everyone escaped safely to shore it was in 1991 there was a storm with no name a no name storm that went up Nova Scotia all the way down to Florida and it calls to 500 million dollars worth of damage 13 people lost their lives along with six who were on a ship called Andrea Gail and this storm that they endured with the damage of property and the loss of life was depicted in both a book and a movie called the perfect storm and in the movie the perfect storm they talk about how these two weather fronts along with a hurricane all converge on the same spot at the same time three weather fronts all converging on the same spot at the same time and they called it a perfect storm and all of us know what is like to be in a storm storms are normal and natural storms are inevitable all of us have storms and I know there are those that tell you when you put your faith in Jesus Christ and you're a real Christian that you're not gonna go through anything no you can believe Jesus died on the cross and God raised him from the dead and receive him by faith and still have to deal with storms they are normal and natural they are inevitable all of us are going through storms and the storms that all of us are facing today in a global situation is this pandemic but those of us who are black living in America we're not just dealing with a pandemic we deal with ass endemic we're dealing with synonymous storms hitting us from different fronts at the same time you talk about a perfect storm we're dealing with the corona virus we're dealing with rooted racial systemic racism we're dealing with unemployment we're dealing with so many things that are coming at us all at the same time not just a pandemic it's a sin to me it is a storm that and if you haven't had a storm you just keep on living just keep getting up in the morning keep taking your shower and brushing your teeth everybody has a storm they're natural and normal but they're also temporal which means that they are temporary storms do not last always I don't care how bad it looks I don't care how much unrest and how much terror it brings storms all have one thing in coming they come and go I don't care if it's hurricane armor or hurricane Harvey or Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Andrew or tsunamis they all come but then they all leave because I'm with my grandmother on this one I'm so glad that trouble don't last always now I'm telling you all of this not to make you pessimistic but to make you realistic that we all got to deal with this and when we become not tesa mystic but realistic we begin to prepare for the storms that we know we're going to face in our lives when I was in elementary school with school 71 in Arlington was at 34 feet Emerson they would periodically have us to not do in a stormy time but then during the sunshine to come out into the hallways and to get up against the wall and to get on our knees and our heads this was to prepare us for storm this this was not to prevent storms we knew living in Indiana we gonna have some tornados to come through here and since we're realistic about tornadoes are going to come here's what you need to do to get ready for them they said come on out and get in in the hallway get on your knees and bow your heads it didn't prevent it the storm but it did prepare us for the store and that's a good way to prepare for storm that's a good way to deal with them fall on your knees and bow your head and call on the name of the Lord and the Lord says I'm not going to prevent what's happening in your life but I will protect you I will preserve you as you go through the things you face in your life so that we can become these storm survivors in Acts chapter 27 the Apostle Paul is on this ship is headed to Rome Rome as their final destination Paul has always wanted to go to Rome to preach and teach the gospel but he is not on this ship in acts 27 and 28 as a passenger on a cruise ship he's on there as a prisoner and as a prisoner there are guards that are on there and soldiers to watch him and the other prisoners but this ship has multiple usage going on here they also have businesspeople and merchants on the ship that they would go from shore to shore before they would import to port before they would get to Rome and these businessmen these merchants would buy product and merchandise in different ports so that they can sell it when they get to Rome to help build their wealth to help increase their financial portfolio to help them with their economic development and then as they got near Crete matter of fact they were in Crete and then the wind started to blow a storm was on the rise and the Apostle Paul told them we need to stay here in Crete this storm is gonna be rough that if we leave Crete then what's going to end up happening is we're gonna lose this ship it's gonna break apart we're gonna lose the merchandise you all have gathered together and we're gonna be on the verge of losing our lives we need to stay here and they wouldn't listen to the preacher they wouldn't listen to the prophet they wouldn't listen to the pastor they said we were getting on the roam we got to do our economic development we got to grow our wealth and it in Crete the winters are so rough and horrific we don't want to be stuck here during the winter we're gonna take our chance with the storm and so then they move on out as they go out then here comes the perfect storm in chapter 27 of Acts is called the North Easter that's because it had hurricane winds blowing in from the north and hurricane winds blowing in from the east at the same time converging on this ship even to the point that there was nothing that they were able to do to control the ship in the midst of the chaos and the confusion and the crisis and the storm that they found themselves in but yet they were gonna survive this and so I wanted to look in God's Word and see what they were doing so that you and I can apply these principles to our lives so that we can survive the sin Dimmick that we're in was so much coming at us at one time and one of the things in the text it says that they began to do in the midst of that storm on that ship they begin to throw their cargo overboard their tackle overboard those products that they were gonna sell in Rome they threw those overboard the merchandise that they had acquired that was still on the bill their wealth they threw that over boy here's what they were doing they were prioritizing their life they had come to grips with if we're gonna survive this and make it through this we gonna have to get our priorities straight we don't have to figure out what's important what we need to hold on to and what we need to let go of and they begin to throw their merchandise and product overboard to try to get some degree of control of the ship now mind you before the storm they thought this was necessary and vital that's why they own the ship that's why they hated the room that's why they have all of these things and because they felt this is necessary and vital that was before the storm in the storm they got a revelation the stuff we thought we needed we really don't need the things we thought we had to have we really don't have to have this and they begin to but it was the storm that revealed to the what was most important storms have a way of having some manifestation and some revelation to help us to know what we need and don't need and they had to come to a decision they had to make a choice that I can hold on to it and die or I can let it go and live that's what I'm trying to get across we got to get our priorities straight some of us are holding on the things we need to let go of and others of us are letting go of what we need to hold on to jesus said seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything you need will be added unto you is putting God first putting Christ first and then making sure that my faith in Him is straight and he begins to add and I got to let go of the possessions and the people and the things of that and the predicaments and the places that are going to keep me from surviving as I move through this and so it's not just about priority and that the the storm revealed that but then they started listening to the preacher they started listening to the Apostle Paul remember before the storm he said now let's not go the storm is gonna be bad the ship is gonna fall apart you're gonna lose all this product you got and we're gonna be on the verge of losing our lives and they didn't listen to him in the sunshine but when the storm came and then the Apostle Paul comes back and says listen the angel the Lord spoke to me last night an angel the Lord said it's gonna be bad you still gonna lose some stuff the ship gonna break up but we go all get their sake and they began to listen to the man of God the Bible says that he has given us pastors after his own heart for our understanding and the knowledge of his word in the book of Romans it says how beautiful are the feet of those that preach the gospel y'all we in the midst of all that's going on in the pandemic and the send them again the social unrest and all that is happening a lot of people are talking but we need to get the message from God from the messengers of God we need preachers and pastors and prophets who are willing to speak the truth even in the midst of promise what I love about Paul Paul told him the truth he didn't just set up their time are you gonna be rich and healthy he's an are you gonna go to hell this thing gonna be rough but you're gonna survive you're going to make we need some preachers who has spent time in the presence of God he said an angel told me with the right word of God bringing the truth here's what I want to get across to us that y'all the enemy seeks to destroy us through lies the Bible says he's the father of lies he's come to do nothing but to steal kill and destroy he uses lies to destroy us what God uses the truth to develop us when I was a kid I used to call it sugarcoating the gospel just trying to make people feel good and give them an emotional stir buzz and I'm not trying to give you an emotional stir I'm gonna tell you what God told me and spoke to me even in the midst of the crisis that we're dealing with and we need some preachers who will stand and proclaim the truth because it's the truth that will develop us so that we can survive the storms that we're going through thank God there's still some men and women of God who spent time with the Angels and the presence of God how you gonna talk for God when you haven't spoken to God and thank God that there are those that in the storm are open to what the preacher said and before the pandemic and then we're cuz each to start church is considered a large congregation because we have thousands of people and thousands would show up on Sunday at three different locations to hear the gospel and thousands before the pandemic would would listen to us extreme us and watch us but since the pandemic those numbers have doubled almost tripled and those who are open to hear God's Word because at least we understand if I'm going to survive this storm I gotta hear what the men and the women of God are the message they bring from the Lord and then Paul total miss Paul say you don't have to stay with the ship he said if you're gonna survive the storm you've got to stay with the ship it's gonna get rough it's gonna it's gonna be difficult stay with the ship when I was a child they they had our church they used to referred to the church as the old ship of Zion it has landed many a thousand get on board get on board and and Jesus is the captain of this ship get on board and they refer to the church as the old ship of Zion if we're gonna be storm survivors we gonna have to stay with the ship we gotta stay with the church we gotta remain committed to the church even in the midst of the chaos they commit it to the church even in the midst of the confusion stay committed to the church even in the midst of the crisis Jesus said upon this rock I'll build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail and the book of Hebrews it says do not forsake the assembling of yourselves as some do that was in the midst of oppression that the book of Hebrews was written that was in the midst of social injustice that that was written and he told them you still gotta stay committed to the church in Genesis chapter six seven and eight it was Noah that was preaching a storm is going to come and the only ones that are going to survive I don't have to get into art you got to be in the art of safety and so he said everybody that's gonna make it the only ones going to survive are the ones that stay with the ark and so people got on the ark but you got to understand too that two of at least two of every kind of animal also got on the ark and there was a covering on the ark with two of every kind of animal and then there was 40 days of rain 150 days of flooding a year of quarantine in the discharge from the animals were on the ark and the waste from the animals was on the ark with a covering on that thing for a year there so if things would get dirty and messy and nasty and a stench would be there but Noah said the only ones are gonna survive are those that stay with the ship and those gonna get messy it's gonna get dirty it's gonna get nasty at times but if you're gonna survive because the alternative is to drown on the ground I'd rather sail with the stench than to drown on the ground and that's what I want to help us understand that sometimes ministry can be messy that when people get saved they don't automatically become spirit-filled Christians it takes time for somebody to develop and grow and who they need to be and so ministry can be dirty and nasty and messy and that's why some say that's why I don't go to church that's why I'm not committed to the church that's why left the church because well you know you gonna make it if you're gonna survive you got steak admit to church regardless of all of that because the alternative is the Drowned on the ground and and and understand with the church the church has never claimed to be a place for perfect people people run around reason why you're not committed to the chuckles you can't find that perfect church my childhood past the Charles Harris said even if you find a perfect Church don't you join it because you gonna mess it up with your imperfections but the church is never claimed to be a perfect place for perfect people but we claim to be a hospital for sick Souls and when you go to the hospital nobody goes to the hospital expecting everybody there to be well a we go to the hospital looking for sick people getting better y'all our commitment to the church and our coming to church is not because we're perfect we come to church because we are sensing and soul see and we need another prescription written from the Word of God we need another dose of the Holy Ghost to help us to deal with the crisis of life and the only way we're gonna make it is to stay with the ship that's they commit it to the church it was in 1990 out on the golf course Golf Gulf Coast of Florida that for NFL players went fishing they went way out they were going fishing on a 21 foot boat they ran into some wind and a storm and the boat flipped over they were able to grab their life jackets before it was completely turned over and there they were in that water with your life jackets heading the boat upside down and they would try to sit on the boat but they would slip off into the cold 60-degree water and after a while three of them decided that I can't stay here I got to try to at least swim for it I'm an NFL player I'm trained I'm one of the best athletes in the world I think I can swim to land and get there safely and they began one at a time to swim off and all three they tried to make it under their own ability and own capability and strength they died but there was one to decide it with my lifejacket I'm gonna stay with the boat he had been exposed to boats and grown up around boats and he knew no matter how bad things get even when things are upside down although the best way for you to survive is to stay with the boat and he stayed with that boat and he said that he would get up on it didn't slip down into the water and then which he had to the lifejacket on he said but he cried out there but he stayed with the boat he was lonely but he stayed with the boat he was all by himself but he stayed with the boat he was hungry it looked helpless and hopeless but he stayed with the boat and after 48 hours that's when help showed up and when the help showed up they were able to get him to the doctor and the doctor said had he been out there for six more hours then hypothermia would have killed him but it didn't kill him he survived it because he stayed with the boat you know sometimes in life things get difficult and hard and lonely and painful and sometimes we cry and it seems hopeless and helpless but when you stayed with the church jesus said upon this rock I'll build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail if we're going to survive we got to stay with the boat Paul told them stay with the ship is gonna get rough but we're gonna make it a matter of fact they it says that that when they got close not to Rome their final destination was Rome but the storm threw them off and that storm that threw them off now they get near a land that they're not familiar with and as they get near this land they're trying to figure out how to get to the land and then they run into something else and then the boat begins to fall apart the boat begins to break up and here's what the instructions that were given everybody who could swim jump overboard and begin to swim towards shore and then said everybody else they can't swim as this boat is this ship is falling apart you got to grab something that will keep you afloat grab a plank grab a board grab something that can float and now you head towards the land you got to see what it says in the text in acts 27 it says everybody that can swim you jump over and you swim first but those who are like the musical group Parliament and you never learn to swim can't find the rhythm of a stroke I should hold my breath thinking that I might choke you got to grab onto something that will float that will keep you up those that can swim swim told them to go first the reason why we need you to go first is to become a model for the rest of us to overcome hopelessness and helplessness to know that in a storm we can survive that we can make it how do you know that because look at those who are swimming even in a storm we need you to go first if you can swim swim because you remove the excuses from the rest of us that I can't make it because look at this storm look at this pandemic look at this sickness look at this racism look at this police brutality look at this unemployment look at this economic downturn I can't make it nobody can make it in it but when we see you swimming it's swimming in an economic downturn but you still doing well even though you black and brown in this nation you've been able to rise above this racism you give us hope you got if you can swim go on and swim and the rest of us he said yes it's gonna fall apart but you got to find something that you can hope something that can float in these times that's what you're looking for something that can float and y'all hatred can't float vengeance cannot float helplessness cannot float depression cannot float y'all you gotta find something that can float evil cannot float you cannot violence cannot float you cannot cast out Satan which Satan you cannot put out fire with fire you do not overcome evil with evil you overcome evil with good that stuff will not float but a right relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ that will float whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord that will float if you confess with your mouth and believe in your confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead you shall be saved that will float the power of God's Holy Spirit the power that comes from his word the power that comes from connecting with those who are committed to Christ at the church and the Kingdom that will help us to survive even in the midst of the storm and in in in Acts chapter 28 verse 14 it says and we all made it to Rome safely that we all make we made it safely we did that we got safe to the land but they didn't get straight to Rome they ended up on this island that they had never heard of you know they found out this to Alan of Malta and on the island of Malta that they swam and others made it all broken pieces they're now warming themselves at a fire that's Paul warms himself at the fire a snake bites the Apostle Paul he shakes it off no swelling no sickness no death but he did get bit by a snake that had it and I already know it better been you and I got all to hell we've been through and now they get bit by a snake their God the only reason I'm a prisoners because I'm preaching and teaching your word in communities and cultures that are not receptive to Christ and the church in the kingdom and now I'm arrested that that God I've been the gospel Globetrotter for you that I've been taking your word to different countries and communities their God I and and I preached and taught your word and now I've been shipwrecked I had to make it all broken pieces I've gone through the storm I've lost so much i dealing with brokenness and after all of that you gonna let a snake bite me like this the least you could do is keep me from being bitten by a snake and then you Paul of course he's not like us Paul understands that God promised him that the same witness that you gave in Jerusalem in acts 23 the same witness you gave me the rousseff you gonna give that in Rome now your final destination is wrong and yo first century Rome is like 21st century New York you tell my taking a bite out of the Big Apple it's a major metropolitan city it's a large city and so much going on and he's letting Paul know when you get to Rome there are a lot of snakes in Rome and if you can't handle one snake bite on an island in Malta you ain't gonna be able to handle all the snake you're gonna be dealing with in Rome so I allowed you to be bitten by a snake here to learn how to shake it off so when you have to deal with snakes at the next level yo God yeah I know we're praying God take us from faith to faith and glory to glory in level to level we want to sit with Christ in heavenly places and God has so much in store for you yeah but before you get to that next level you better handle the snakes on the level you own because I'm with my charismatic brothers and sisters for every new level there's a new devil there gonna be some snake a lot of snakes as you begin to go up and if you can't handle the snakes now you're not gonna be able to handle them at the next level he shook that off then the chief official of the island invited all them to his house it was more than 270 people on the ship and the chief official invited all of them to his house now that's a major house when you can get 270 people to come over and entertain 270 people get to the house find out the chief officials father is sick Paul healed the man's father and when the island found out there's a man on the island they can heal then they start bringing their sick family and friends and co-workers to Paul and Paul begin to heal people on the island I'm trying to show you something the final destination is Rome but there is a connection that he must have with Malta and it's not just about him he says we all landed safely not not me we let so many of us think Christianity is and my relationship with God is about me it's not just me it's we it's not just personal if social it's communal and every now and then before God gets us to our final destination he doesn't give us a direct flight he gives us a connecting flight so that we can get somewhere to meet people we never would have met to connect with places we never would have connected with so that people can learn about our God that they never would have known had we not gone through that particular place maybe that's why God has allowing things to fall apart in your life maybe that's why God is allowing things to break up in your life maybe that is why God is allowing you to be where you are it's not your final destination but you need a connection in order be to be able to deal with not just me but we to be a blessing to them and even as he's now he's he's preaching the Word of God and he's teaching a God's Word in this area and even as he's doing this he now gets to Rome and when he gets the Rome he begins to preach and to teach God's Word I love that because God told him in acts 23 the same way you witness for me in Jerusalem you're gonna witness like that in Rome how did he witness with preaching and teaching and now he's doing that in Rome but my point is this God is a God that keeps his promises God promised you you were gonna get to Rome now he didn't he didn't promise you that you're you'll ship with not wreck and things would not break up and you got to make it all broken pieces he didn't promise you that he didn't promise you you were gonna lose some things along the way he didn't promise that but what he did promise that despite all that you're dealing with I'm gonna get you to your final destination and he begins to preach and to teach God's Word there God is a God that keeps promises all the promises of God are yes and a man when God makes you a promise you don't have to be up all night wondering if this going to come to pass when God makes you a promise gone and go to sleep cuz God is going to do everything he said he's going to do and one of the promises that Jesus made Jesus said the Spirit of the Lord is upon me and he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor to to give sight to the blind and to set the captives free to set the oppressed free so all are you saying nothing's ever gonna change it's always gonna be like this we don't always deal with this social injustice either you don't know the promises of God or you don't trust the promises of God the promise is that I'm jesus said I'm gonna set the captives free I'm gonna set the oppressed free and I know this he may not come when you won't him but he'll be there right on time he's a known time God yes he is and God keeps his promises he shall set us free and then finally Paul didn't just preach and teach in Rome he praised God and he praised god cuz God brought him through a storm and when Paul when God brought Paul through that storm in acts 28 Paul gave God all the praise a lot of us we've been through storms when we come out of storms we come out sad Paul came out shouting that we go through storms and we come out bitter Oh Paul came out better yo we got to learn how to praise God because the God we serve is able to help us to survive the storm and not just survive the storm but thrive the storm if we get out of God if we hear the word of God being preached and taught by the men and women of God and we stay with the ship and commit it to the coming out praise and no let me change that I'm not even gonna wait to the storms over I'm a shout right now I trust God enough to know he will do everything he said he's going to do and if the storms don't cease and just in case the winds keep on blowing in my life my soul has been anchored in the Lord I know that God will be that anchor for me in the midst of my storm and God is going to bring me out of everything that I'm going through God is a God that doesn't always prevent storms but he preserves us and he protects us and he brings us through the storm to put us in a position to be a blessing to other folk as we go through it let me close like this because I know that there are those saying with preacher you know I'm this storm is rough and the pandemic and the sin dimming and all this coming against me and why would God allow this thing to happen my friend dr. Frederick Douglass hangings the thirty pastors in Dallas Texas he talks about how he was watching an animal channel and he saw this this huge eagle flying over this river this body of water and there was a fish caught in a block of ice and the eagle swoops down and and puts his claws in the block of ice and begins to pick away in the block of ice to try to get to the fish where the fish in the block of ice was headed towards a waterfall and as it's headed towards the waterfalls pecking away and he's able to get in wrap the tail of the fish but as he grabs the tail of the fish he can't fly away because his claws are stuck in the ice Freddie Haynes said that the Eagle he got a you got the wrong got hold of the wrong tail and then he couldn't let it go and he's headed towards the waterfall and as he held the fall breaks the ice and the Eagle now is able he doesn't have the fish and he doesn't have the ice but now he's able to fly at the heights that he had flown because of the thrust of the fall the fall was necessary so that he could break free and get to where God had designed for him to be you want to know why God has us in situations that we're falling because some of us have gotten a hold of some things that we don't need to have a hold of and God allows us this we couldn't break free on our own to be able to go through this fall in order to break us free to go from faith to faith and glory to glory and height to height God has a design for you and you're gonna survive this storm and you're gonna thrive after this storm but you got to be willing to follow the principles that are in God's Word and it actually starts with a right relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ and if you've never invited Christ into your life for forgiveness of sin you've never been saying I'm gonna give you a chance to do that right now time for you to get your priorities straight seek first the kingdom of God you need to be saved the Bible says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saying imma have you call upon the name of the Lord in prayer and the moment you believe it you become a Christian I want you to I must pray and I want you to follow me saying it out loud in prayer father I come right now I know that I've sinned I know that I've done wrong I'm sorry for my sins please forgive me of my sins I believe Jesus died on the cross I believe you raised Jesus from the dead I receive him by faith please fill me with your Holy Spirit in Jesus name Amen well if you prayed that prayer let maybe the first one to welcome you to the family of God you are now a Christian and I want you to email us here at Eastern Star Church so that we could all celebrate and shout with you and you can email us at membership at Eastern Star Church not org membership at Eastern star church dot org and just let us know you made this commitment and we want to get you connected to the church so you in a position to stay with chip and those of you who already Christians you already a child of God but for whatever reason you slipped off the boat and took off your lifejacket and start swimming on your own capability and own ability we want to give you a chance to get reconnected to get back with the boat to stay with the ship you need a church home and so go ahead and email us that membership at Eastern Star Church org so that we can get you connected to the people of God in the place of God so that you can survive these storms that we all have to deal with well it's time for the offering and and this is an opportunity to opportunity for us to invest in the kingdom of God through Eastern Star Church thank you for the generosity that so many things are happening and we know the needs are great because more than 44 million jobs have been lost in the economic downturn and this pandemic and all the social unrest it people are really hurting and so we've had to increase in terms of our help whether it's with the drive-through pantry or with the homeless shelter that we help with our the seniors that we making sure that we get meals to and get their needs met and so many things that we're doing in ministry it's because of your generosity and one thing I'm excited about is the rock fresh market in the neighborhood we're in in Arlington will it's all grocery stores left it was considered a food desert until eastern star church Rock edition open the rock fresh market so that the families in this community can have options healthy affordable food options and so the rock fresh market we had a reset on that and a reboot on that it looks wonderful full of great healthy affordable food options and so we want you to certainly support the rock fresh market and also pray but just know it's your generosity that helps us to keep the cost so low to be able to meet the needs of families in this community so every time you're giving in this ministry is helping at least the lonely in the left out we just believe that's the way God Jesus identified with the marginalized and so we bless the marginalized as a way also to thank Jesus for what he's done in our life so if you want to help us in ministry with the work of God you can give to the Eastern Star Church through our website Eastern Star Church dot or Eastern Star Church not org there's a tab there forgive and you can do it like that or you can text to give texts four or five seven seven seven and then ESC in the message field with your amount four or five seven seven seven e s C and then of course you can mail it into Eastern Star Church 5750 East 30th Street and four six two one eight in Indianapolis fifty seven fifty East 30th Street Indianapolis four six two one eight let me ask God's blessing upon our gifts today Lord thank you and we praise you and honor you we know we're gonna have to deal with storms thank you for the truth of your word and thank you for the man and the women spent time in your presence to bring us truth to develop us rather than lies to deceive and destroy us thank you did God that even though the storm was not prevented you've been protecting us and preserving us through this thank you for allowing us to be survivors and now father we give back to you as you've been so generous with us and we give our tithes and our offerings and we pray that you would take it and bless it and use it and stretch it to make a difference in this city in this community this country even throughout the world father and those who are giving to God I pray that you'll give back to them good measures press down shaken together I pray you make it run over in Jesus name Amen praise the Lord well let me say Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers and the grandfathers and the uncles and the mentors and the coaches the stepfathers and all of those who've been fatherly and somebody's like happy Father's Day to you and I always about one of my son's was born on five estate my number to Jordan but the greatest gifts my wife has ever given to me or my four sons that I'm so excited about that and this year of being a grandfather so I'm celebrating with you on this Father's Day and I'm so grateful for how God has blessed us so enjoy your day enjoy your time and enjoy your children and your grandchildren and all of those that you have been a blessing to let me ask God's benediction on us today may God bless you and keep you may God have his face to smell upon you and be gracious unto you may God turn his countenance towards you and grant you peace I pray that God will help you to do good and love mercy and walk humbly with your God and I pray that through the anointing in the Holy Spirit of God that justice is gonna rush down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream and I

Channel: Eastern Star Church

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Keywords: eastern star church, pastor jeffrey a johnson sr, indianapolis, indy church, indianapolis church, gospel, god, sermon, faith, hope, inspiration, motivation, jesus, love, christianity

Id: w53yUiw4yPo

Length: 38min 47sec (2327 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 21 2020