Streamed Live on September 26, 2021 Virtual Worship Experience GIVE.. https://giv.li/qe4w8m

[Applause] [Applause] is [Music] god will be with you wherever you go if your body's sick and in pain you will be healed in jesus name [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] he will supply whatever you need god's got [Music] [Applause] if you believe [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] he will cry [Music] he's [Music] god is [Applause] if you need a new job is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] why let the devil know tonight that god is [Music] [Applause] [Music] maker [Music] you ever find yourself in a place that you don't know what to say [Applause] [Music] i used to want to understand your plan [Music] and now all i want to see is your hand [Music] my heart is [Music] [Music] me [Music] you let me know [Music] oh god give me faith to see where you're taking me [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] have and you really need somebody [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] if i rescue you oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] g g g [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is gonna require y'all to dance a little bit [Music] [Applause] you'll fight for me you fight [Music] you [Music] victory i don't have to be afraid you'll fight for me [Music] [Music] to victory [Music] victory [Music] on my own [Music] i am holding oh [Music] i don't have to be afraid [Music] i'm not worried victory [Music] [Music] victory [Music] [Music] come on [Music] [Music] all right y'all we need to finish out this night with some marching and some stepping and i'm declaring tonight that by faith you are stepping out of an old season and into a new season so you just need to take that step [Music] just gotta into the season that god has that's right ot that's right oh team got it you gotta step [Music] this is what david was doing when they made fun of him and david was just dancing because he was celebrating the goodness of his god so if you believe that you've got the victory tonight and you're stepping into a new season where god is fighting for you i want to see you pick up your feet get those knees up [Music] [Music] good morning good morning good morning park family i was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the lord i don't know about you but i was jamming to that song i was walking in victory i had my marching shoes on i was ready to go for it amen amen amen well park family i am glad you thought it not robbery to join us once again for another wonderful sunday morning worship experience right here at the park church online why don't you do me a favor right now park family go to your house even now and wake everybody up and let them know it's time to go into worship knock on everybody's door make sure they get up and come on into worship because we want everybody to know and everybody to experience what we're doing right here at the park church online as a matter of fact before we go any further in worship let us go to the lord in prayer eternal god our father we come before you once again thanking you for this opportunity for this truly is the day that you have made and your word says that we should rejoice and be glad in it we thank you lord god for waking us up this morning and starting us on our way and keeping us clothed in our right mind and giving us a reasonable amount of health father god we come before you right now lord god casting our cares upon you for your word says that you care about us forgive us right now lord god of all of our sins those both known and unknown right now lord god and we step boldly to you at the throne of grace making our request known unto you and we ask right now lord god that you meet us right here in this worship experience oh god that you be exalted that everything that we do and say be pleasing in your very sight we thank you for it in advance in jesus name we do pray amen amen amen amen amen do me a favor go into the comments section even now and type in amen we sealed that prayer with amen hallelujah hallelujah we're part family we don't want anyone else to miss out on what we're doing right here at the park church so do me a favor go ahead and share this out on all of our social media platforms if you're on facebook right now go ahead and start a watch party if you're on youtube go ahead and highlight that url and text it and email it out to your family and friends if you're on our website do the same thing go ahead and highlight that url that www highlight that out and paste it into your text or an email and send it out to everyone because we want everyone to be blessed just like you are being blessed by all that's being said and done right here at the park church what park family you guys joined us on a very special sunday that's right today what's so special about today but we've been celebrating all month long our bishop bishop claude richard alexander and his 31st pastoral anniversary and today is the day that we culminate that celebration by celebrating him for all that he's done and if you haven't done so already why don't you do me a favor and go out to our social media platforms once again and and put those pictures out there that you have with bishop put those comments that you have about how bishop has blessed you put those stories those funny stories about those times that you spent with bishop and post them to our social media platform by using the hashtag tcpbishop31 that's right tcp bishop 31 it's not too late go ahead and do it go ahead and do it because if you're like me this is the place where i grew up in christ now i i went to church growing up all the time but i didn't have a relationship with christ until i joined the park church and right here is where i learned to love the lord right here is where i've been discipled right here is where i was married right here is where i gave my life back to christ and i was baptized right here is where i had my children dedicated right here is where i did all of that that was under the leadership and tutelage of bishop claude richard alexander jr so for me bishop alexander holds a very special place in my heart so i'm always going to shout him out i'm always gonna hold him up in a very high regard because he truly is the man of god that for this time that we have right here at the park church amen amen a couple quick announcements before we go further in worship i want to remind you guys that this coming wednesday we're still going through our emotionally healthy discipleship study amen and it's not too late for you to join us in this study it's not too late we're going through chapter two right now so please make sure you take a moment to go through the assessment and be prepared to discuss during our small group time on wednesday we look forward to how god will move during our bible study this week so if you haven't done so already go online get the book and read all the way up to chapter two because we want you to be involved in this very impactful worship experience by way of learning and discipleship on this coming wednesday this is just another reason why i love my bishop y'all because he's not just he doesn't just care about our spirit man but he cares about us emotionally as well to bring studies like this to the park church amen amen amen amen i also remind you guys that we're still going through a pandemic we still have to wear our masks and we still have to be safe and let's still be in prayer for all of those front line workers those that are in our hospitals those that are going and have to go to work every day and see and be in front of people let's still be in prayer for all of those people this past week i was looking out on social media and i saw that our very own minister teddy andrews had to testify before congress this past week about all that's going on in the airwaves and how flight attendants are being assaulted because they have to wear masks and people not wanting to wear a mask at this time so let's be in prayer for all of those people that have to go to work i know some of us have been blessed to work from home but the truth of the matter is that's not the case for everybody so we want to make sure that we are in prayer for all of those people that are front-line workers and we have a lot of them here in our church amen amen amen amen part family well remember it's not too late i still need you guys to do me a favor if you're in the if you're online right now go into the comment section even now and make your presence known let everybody know who you are let everybody you know if we're in church right now we might say go around and shake and hug somebody why don't you do that right now virtually go around the room make your presence known make your name known let them know who you are and let them know which campus you worship at and let them know you're right here to celebrate our bishop on this 31st pastoral anniversary do me a favor go ahead and clap those hands throw those hearts up throw those thumbs up and let our bishop know how much we love him and to remind you once again it's not too late it's not too late it's not too late might stay in church turn to your neighbor and tell them it's not too late ah this is not too late it's not too late for you to go ahead and celebrate our bishop by posting to our social media platforms by using the hashtag tpc bishop31 tpc bishop31 i know that we have a lot of pictures about uh how bishop has dedicated our children how he's married us like i said earlier put those pictures out on our social media platforms and i promise you one thing bishop is seeing all these pictures he's reading all of these stories because we want to be a special blessing to him on this morning as a matter of fact do me a favor and go ahead and start praying even now about how you will be a special blessing on this day to our bishop we're going to sow back into his life during our offering and ties time during our sunday morning worship and we want to be a special blessing to him by sowing a seed into his life a monetary seed into his life so on all of our platforms whether you're online on on our facebook page usually on our website or however it may be make sure that you see the line that says bishop anniversary and pray and ask god you can be a special blessing to our bishop on this morning amen amen amen well park family as we get ready to go into worship i want you to do me a favor and go ahead if you land in bed get out of bed if you're sitting on the couch stand up if you wherever you may be go ahead and join us as we get ready to go further in worship by clapping those hands standing up singing those songs and make sure that you are worshiping the king of kings and the lord of lords amen amen amen amen this is going to be a special day a special day post those pictures be ready to celebrate him by to celebrate our bishop by giving back and sowing a seed into his life but more importantly let's make sure that we are celebrating the king of kings and the lord of lords as we go further in worship hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah so go ahead and wake everybody up in the house mama and them paul paul and them everybody as we go further in worship amen can i get somebody to make some noise in this place if you're grateful he keeps doing great things whereas we are glad come on wherever you are come on put those hands on it come on [Music] [Music] this morning yourself [Music] i like that come on [Applause] [Music] [Music] come on take a personal moment [Music] [Applause] over and over and over again [Music] i believe [Music] that's right [Music] come on look back over your life [Music] yourself [Music] [Music] [Applause] can we go back to the 80s [Music] oh tell him over and over [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] come on y'all so much oh come on [Music] [Music] with us now come on [Music] [Music] feels good okay [Music] you done great things [Music] come on i don't know who you wish you might be by yourself so this graph is insane he keeps proven [Music] he does so much thank you jesus hallelujah come on lift your voice hallelujah we thank you for your presence today [Music] hallelujah we give you glory lord hallelujah jesus [Music] give your praise for yourself you give life you are love you bring light to the darkness give hope hallelujah you restore every heart that is broken and we sing great it's your breath in our lungs so we pour on our praise pour out our praise it's your bread and our love so we foreign [Music] hallelujah come on lift your hands come on even in your homes come up with the very breath he's giving you open up your mouth and give him glory hallelujah come on everybody right here you giving life [Music] you restore jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] pour it out to your lord [Music] create all your lord jesus great eye you lord you're marvelous and all your words wonderful is your hand whoa glory and all the earth will shout your praise our hearts will cry these bones will sing great [Music] hallelujah our hearts will cry these bones will sing hallelujah [Music] [Music] and we love it's [Music] [Music] [Music] our hearts will cry these bones [Applause] yes [Music] is [Music] [Music] to your own right in your homes lift your hands if you feel his presence right where you are come on thank the lord for his presence honor the lord for the very breath that he's given you hallelujah we give it back to you lord jesus oh yeah oh yeah yeah [Music] glory glory and honor oh yes nobody but you're jesus it's nobody but you lord you're the air i breathe you're the song i think you're the melody in my heart oh yes you're the melody in my heart [Music] [Music] to you all please glory and honor strength and power belongs to your jesus we lay before you lord we cry out before you nobody like you lord nobody like you lord glory glory glory glory glory hallelujah [Applause] come on in your homes hallelujah hallelujah glory hallelujah i don't know about you but sometimes i have to remind myself that god is great and greatly to be praised from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same god god is great and greatly to be praised i don't know about you but it's in those moments that when i remind myself about how great our god is god begins to remind me that he's bigger than my circumstance he's bigger than my obstacles he's bigger than my challenge he's bigger than anything i may be going through so i don't know about you why don't you go into the comment section even now and post it our god is great our god is great to [Applause] you get the glory you get all of my prayers i give my voice to you and give you praise great is our god great is our god [Music] and i believe that there are those in our congregation right now online that need to be reminded that even in this situation that our god is great because there are those that are among us that lost loved ones so as we get ready to go through the road to the lord in prayer we'll be praying this morning for deacon james nance and minister bonita nance in the loss of his cousin praying for julie ray and family in the loss of her mother-in-law praying for gladys anderson nelson and dr philip nelson and the loss of her uncle praying for sharon welchel and the loss of her brother praying for yolanda and ricky williams in the loss of her father and being a church is intentional by prayer this morning we're going to be going to the throne of grace praying for all that's going on in the midst of this pandemic and praying that god will continue to give us guidance and cover us during this tumultuous time but not only that we'll be praying for this sunday as we celebrate our bishop bishop called richard alexander and his 31st pastoral anniversary let's go to the lord in prayer eternal god our father we do thank you thank you once again for waking us up this morning and starting us on our way thank you lord god for all that you continuously do for us day in and day out lord god sometimes we have to be reminded lord god that you are great that you are great that you are great no matter what we may be going through you are great and you are working all things together for us even now father god so we praise you even now lord god we thank you for it even now lord god lord god we also take this opportunity to lift up all those are in our congregation that have lost loved ones we pray right now lord god that you will give them peace comfort and strength like only you can father god father god we also take this opportunity father to thank you for the best pastor a church could ever have in the person of bishop claude richard alexander jr thank you for his guidance thank you for his leadership thank you for his covering father we just take this opportunity to say thank you for the blessing he is to the park church even now we also ask right now lord god for a special covering a special blessing over our first family right now lord god cover lady kim father god cover carson cover cameron right now look god like only you can father god and we will continue to give your name glory honor and praise father god i do remiss right now to think that everybody that's online or in the building even though god has everything going their way that everything is old hunky door and okay with them father god father god you know everybody's hearts and you know what they're going through and what they may be in need of so right now in the name of jesus lord god i pray that you meet them right now at their point of need look our lord god be jehovah rapha be jehovah shalom right now in their lives father god lord god we thank you for in advance because we know lord god that we serve a god that cares about us and will not leave us nor forsake us so we thank you in advance for all these many blessings in jesus name we do pray amen amen amen amen amen well good morning once again park family i was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the lord and i thank god that each and every one of you have thought it not robert to join us for another wonderful sunday morning worship experience right here at the park church online and if you're visiting with us for the first time why don't you do me a favor and go into the comment section and let us know that you're visiting us for the first time and where you're visiting from amen amen and park family as always as they go into that comment section let them know that that jesus in you loves the jesus in them amen hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah we're park family i have a couple of quick announcements before we go further in worship that's right so easy to love yes yes yes yes [Music] this sunday is the sunday that we culminate a month-long celebration of celebrating our bishop bishop claude richard alexander and 31 years of pastoral leadership that's right go and clap those hands if you're at home go ahead and throw those hearts up into the comment section but we want our bishop to know how much we love and appreciate him amen well all month long we've been asking you guys to go on to our social media platforms and share those stories share those those pictures of our bishop you with our bishop and how he has blessed you and it's not too late it's not too late it's not too late it's not too late turn to your neighbor let them know it's not too late that you can go online even now and use the hashtag tpc bishop31 and share all of those pictures and stories and tell how tell our bishop how much he has blessed you by being our pastor amen amen amen amen amen we're part family we are still doing our wonderful wednesday bible studies and we're studying the book emotionally and healthy discipleship and it's not too late for you to join us in this bible study so if you don't have your books please go and get your book even now this week we are in chapter two so please make sure you take a moment to go through the assessment and be prepared to discuss during our small group time on wednesday we look forward to seeing all of you there during our wonderful wednesday bible study amen amen amen amen it's not too late it's not too late it's not too late so make sure you go ahead and get your book number one but also go online and celebrate our bishop by using the hashtag tbcbishop31 and post those pictures even now we're part family it's time for us to get ready to go further in worship but before we do i want to remind you that immediately following that we have a couple quick presentations but we're getting ready to give back to the lord so be in prayer even now about how you want to be a blessing to this church by giving the tithe and sowing and offering but not only that being that this is our bishop's 31st anniversary we want to sow a special seed into his life so be in prayer even by even now about how you will bless him by giving back to him amen amen let's receive the part news even now [Music] [Applause] every step of the way [Music] good morning and welcome to the park church online we are so glad that you chose to join us today because today is a very special day at the park today we culminate the month-long celebration of bishop claude richard alexander jr as pastor of the park church for 31 years more on the celebration in a moment but first allow me to make you aware of all that we have going on here at the park church here at the park church we exist to extend the love the life and the lordship of jesus christ at any time that we get the opportunity to do so and we have an opportunity to do just that on saturday october the 9th as we participate in for charlotte's united day of service on this day the big c will be mobilized to have redemptive presence and share the love of christ by meeting needs throughout our community our bishop says the church is at its best when it's being most like jesus it is most like jesus when it is engaged in compassionate and redemptive action in the world the theme for this day is we serve one body one mission and there will be three missional opportunities on that day the first is leah's hopes and dreams at 616 north tryon street and parking is available in the hal martian lot leah's hopes and dreams provides our underserved communities with the tools and services necessary to eradicate homelessness in our community our task here will be to serve breakfast pray and help improve the lives of the most vulnerable in uptown charlotte community this will take place from 7 a.m to 9 30 a.m please wear your purple pea t-shirt and dress appropriately and comfortably for outdoor weather our second opportunity is at loaves and fishes 648 griffith road unit b loaves and fish's mission is to provide a week's worth of nutritious groceries to people within our community facing economic hardships they do that through mass distributions out of their warehouse to mobile and school pantries as well as their recent merger with friendship trays which allows them now to deliver home meals to those neighbors who are in need of service we will assist in assorting food donations checking expiration dates and sorting the food into 30 different categories which will include packing pre-packed seven-day boxes of non-perishables and packing bins with non-perishables to replenish the pantry shelves now there will be two shifts for this opportunity they are 9 a.m to 11 p.m and 11 p.m to 1 p.m please be sure to wear your park t-shirts so that we can show our park pride our final opportunity for that day is with the organization called med assist which is located at 4428 taggart creek road suite 101 in charlotte the mission of medicis is to dispense opportunities through improved health they seek to ensure that no eligible person in north carolina has to choose between purchasing food or their needed medication improving the patient's health and lowering uncompensated health care costs for all stakeholders we are tasked with assisting medicines in unpacking sorting and repacking medications for distribution to our neighbors in need of health medications at a price that they could afford or for free this opportunity is from 9 00 am to 12pm and we need several volunteers for this as well please bring your mask as it is required when volunteering indoors wear your purple p t-shirts and let's plan to make a difference in our community on october the 9th please make sure you visit our website at theparkministries.org or for more details you can contact minister kim morrison at kmorrison upbc.org as you can see we have a lot in store that day and some of you may be wondering hey how can i jump in and get involved in doing all that god is doing here at the park well you could do so by attending our new members classes join us this friday october 1st from 6 30 p.m to 9 00 pm and saturday october the 2nd from 9 00 a.m to 12 noon you can sign up via the church's website or you can contact reverend taswell henderson at t henderson upbc.org for more information as i mentioned earlier today we pause to celebrate the extraordinary life of our pastor bishop claude richard alexander junior and we have just the right people to lead us in that effort this morning take a look at this hi dad happy anniversary i just wanted to say thank you so much for being supportive as i branch out and become a young woman and as i start my college journey i love you all the way from california happy anniversary i'm excited that i get to celebrate you my husband bishop claude richard alexander jr you know i have always said that you are the perfect man for me that was then and this is now and over all these years i have seen you walk with our girls talk with our girls encourage our girls and to see them now at a different stage of life to know that the dad that you are has helped them to become the young ladies that they are i love you and i'm excited about this next season of our lives together time to love laugh explore and do whatever we decide we want to do in this season i love you [Music] wow park family can we just take a moment to celebrate all that god has done through our pastor i am so blessed as i know that you are to be a part of this great ministry that is led by this awesome man of god and now we get to show him just how we feel about him by sowing into his life there's a line designated on all of our giving platforms for pastor's 31st anniversary so make sure you give from your heart today to a life that is certainly worthy of this well park family that's all for this edition of the park news but don't forget to post those pics and notes to our pastor and remember to use the hashtag tpc bishop31 okay park family let's give it up one more time for the best pastor in the world happy 31st anniversary pastor come on park church come on park church don't stop don't stop don't stop let's celebrate our man of god let's celebrate our man of god the one who disciples us the one who teaches us the one who prays for us the one who covers us let's celebrate that man of god for 31 years of pastoral leadership praise god praise god praise god hallelujah hallelujah not only is he a good visionary and leader but he is the coolest and the cleanest pastor you ever gonna see amen amen amen bishop we appreciate you hallelujah hallelujah well we're going to continue this celebration even now and we're going to bring to the podium speaking cleveland huntling and immediately following him chief apostle dr kenneth wayne curry as they have their very own presentations for bishop on this anniversary sunday let's receive them even now good morning park church family wherever you are and whatever you're doing will you please pause for a moment and give our pastor bishop claude our alexander jr a shout out as he welcomed him to come near the podium what a joyous occasion this is as we celebrate not only our pastor's 40th year in ministry but also his 31st year of serving here at the park bishop alexander we extend our warmest and sincerest congratulations to you for having completed two remarkable milestones in your ministering to the people of god last year due to coven 19 we had to celebrate your 30th pastoral anniversary virtually at that time we presumed that our celebration would have been a one and done virtual proposition and after a few months we would reopen our church and reclaim our favorite pews in the sanctuary we didn't even factor into the equation the possibility that colvin 19 and this variance would still be hovering over us today unfortunately some pastors walked away from their pulpits during covet in their minds they didn't sign up for dealing with the fallout the fears and the frustrations associated with a political politicized pandemic so today we say thank you bishop alexander for not throwing in one of your towels and not walking away from our pool pit thank you for demonstrating your commitment to serve this present age by standing your ground and boldly debunking conspiracy theories and outrageous lies about the virus wearing masks and getting vaccinated indeed bishop alexander covert 19 was not on your radar when you accepted the call to become our pastor 31 years ago it wasn't on our radar either but you're leading us to a higher level of spiritual maturity in christ was on your radar you're introducing us to bible studies such as knowing god the and the mind of christ set the foundation upon which we are building transformational discipleship today thank you for placing a premium on our spiritual physical and emotional health as we navigate these perilous waters during this pandemic thank you for encouraging us to anchor our hope in the god who is our refuge and strength our present help in time of trouble in trouble excuse me we understand that your pastoring us during this pandemic has been quite stressful even as some of us had to bury our loved ones in a non-traditional manner you spoke a word of hope in our lives when you said that we shall see them again in heaven your relevant preaching teaching and mentoring have impacted our lives tremendously and your leadership has been consistently effective we commend you for exercising due diligence following the science and avoiding the temptation to reopen too soon by requesting us to return to the complete by requesting us to complete the return to church survey you demonstrated that you valued our opinions and thanks to your leadership we haven't had any false starts on a personal note i would like to thank you for your prayers and encouragement as i deal with two extremely painful arthritic needs that have to be upgraded so on behalf of the park church i present this anniversary gift to you as an expression of our love and appreciation for you and for the friendship that we enjoy with you we shall continue praying for you daily especially now that carson is attending school on the west coast but also we shall pray for you lady kim and you cameron as well on a daily basis may god bless you and keep you as you continue doing his work as a good and faithful servant [Applause] praise the lord everybody praise the lord we just thank god for this day this is a miraculous day the reason we are here today is to honor a great man of god who has served in so many different capacities and we're thankful for my brother my my friend uh dr claude alexander jr for all the work that he has done and on today as he is celebrating 31 years amen the bible said you know them that labor among you and so with that said we always want to give the correct uh flowers that are due and the awards that are due for the service of his labor sacrifice i i thank god because i'm here today to present one of the most highest awards that the president can give to a civilian and so i thank god that i'm here with my brother uh apostle dr george inlo to present this award where the honorary come forward first lady will you come and join also with your family [Music] this is a wonderful day saints of god you ought to be praising god even now [Music] god is about to do something to this church family distinguished guests saints and friends i am chief apostle dr kenneth w curry along with my brother and my friend apostle dr george inlo i represent the new horizons christian ministries of franklinton north carolina the americorps and the points of light and the 46th president of the united states joseph r biden jr and as a certifying agent for the presidential volunteer service award program i've come today on a official capacity to recognize those individuals who have excelled in the areas of community service and have gone above and beyond their lifetime calling to create an atmosphere that helps those around them be the very best and upon identifying these gifted individuals it is our duty to make sure that they are recognized by their peers and their family [Music] it is with great pleasure and privilege that we recognize bishop dr claude r alexander jr for his many years of continued selfless dedication and professionalism through his strong desire to empower others his unwavering leadership and also as a dedicated spiritual mentor to others he has expounded the boundaries of his professional calling reaching into his community nationally and internationally for his dedication today he is being presented the presidential lifetime achievement award which connects him with other recipients all around this great nation and on behalf of the 46th president of the united states joseph r biden jr and the vice president kamala harris we congratulate you [Music] and now the formal reading from the white house the american story depends not on any one of us not on some of us but on all of us i congratulate you on taking it upon yourself to contribute to the public good and i'm proud to present you with the presidential lifetime achievement award in recognition of your over 7 000 hours of service to this great nation throughout this country's history the american story has been strengthened by those who combine an optimism about what can be with the resilience to turn that vision into reality i know i'm not alone in recognizing those who are willing to step up and volunteer in service of community and country are essential to the ongoing work of forming a more perfect union by sharing your time and passion you are helping discover and deliver solutions to the challenges we face solutions that we need now more than ever we are living in a moment that calls for hope light and love hope for our future like to see our way forward and love for one another through your service you are providing all three on behalf of the american people i extend my heart felt appreciation to you for your volunteer leadership and i encourage you to continue to answer the call to serve the country is counting on you signed joseph r biden jr president of the united states [Music] [Music] this medallion symbolizes that he is indeed an honoree for the presidential lifetime achievement award [Music] also as he wears his civic attire he will have the lapel pin that also identifies him as a honoree of the presidential lifetime achievement award [Music] and now the award [Music] the lifetime achievement award with grateful recognition the americorps and the office of the president of the united states honors dr claude r alexander jr with the president's lifetime achievement award for their life-long commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer service signed joseph r biden junior president of the united states given under my hand 2021 awarded come on give it up for the man of god come on this is your shepherd bless you man of god well deserved god bless you 31 years of service my god thank god for your service sir at this time we'll have comments from the honoree [Music] our glory and honor to god for all that he has done and hallelujah to apostle curry for the for the willingness to nominate and recommend and for this presentation we do thank god for you and this honor goes to all of the members of the park church because we do this together and so god bless you thank you thank you so much we thank god for this great man of god and and also we always want to recognize amen the first lady because without eve there is no adam and we thank god for you and for this great man of god for standing by his side diligently it's not easy amen pastoring is not easy but thank god and even in this time and season we have those that will continue to hold up the bloodstained manner and continue to do the work of ministry and it will always whether people see it or not god sees it and god said he will elevate you in due season this is your season bishop god bless you and this concludes our presentation service may god bless you and may heaven forever smile upon you continue to honor this great man of god may god bless you amen amen amen come on park family let's continue to praise god for the awesome dynamic man of god that he has blessed us with come on come on come on come on come on come on let's bless god for bishop claude richard alexander jr presidential lifetime achievement award winner i don't know about you but that is awesome he's not only doing great things here at the park church but he's doing great things across this country and even the world that even our very own president sees what he is doing and has awarded him the presidential lifetime achievement award bless god bless god from mount zion the truth of the matter is is that we can see how god blesses us because of the dynamic man of god that he has given us in the person of rich claude richard alexander jr bishop called richard alexander jr and i don't know about you but i thank god for placing me at the park church at this time at this hour under the leadership of such a dynamic man of god come on one more time let's give it up for bishop claus richard alexander jr hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah well park family i want to make one quick correction during tpn we said that the volunteer opportunity for the fishers and loads was from 9 00 a.m to 11 p.m well we ain't gonna be out there that long we're not gonna be out there from 9am to 11 p.m we're going to be out there from 9 00 a.m to 11 a.m make that note 9 a.m to 11 a.m and then come back at 11 a.m to 1 p.m amen amen amen amen park family it's time for us to give unto god out of all of the blessings that he has given unto us and as we can see and we just talked about god has blessed us richly by giving us a dynamic impactful man of god the old folks used to say it like this all that i have needed thy hand has provided great is thy faithfulness lord unto me and when we look back over our lives we can truly see that how god has continuously blessed us over and over and over and over again that has been faithful to us over and over and over again and why why shouldn't we be obedient to him by bringing back to him the tithe and giving an offering out of the abundance that he has blessed us with so we want to make sure that everybody lottie dottie and everybody has an opportunity to give back to this god who has been so good to us we sang about it earlier about how good our god is but the truth of the matter is that if you have breath in your lungs god has been good if you were able to wake up this morning and watch this telecast god has been good so let's bless god by being obedient to him by bringing back the tithe which is the tenth of what god has blessed you with but we believe that god has not just been good to you that much we believe that god has been so good to you that you're going to sow an offering into him even now but being that this is our 31st pastoral anniversary we're going to give back to our man of god and sow into his life to say bishop we love and appreciate you even that much more so above the tithe above the offering we're gonna sow into our bishop's life in our first family's life by saying god we thank you for bishop claude richard alexander jr well there are several different ways that you can give you can give by using the giblify app and select the park church and follow the instructions you can text to give by using the number 704-271-9007 you can use our website and select the give online icon or you can use bill pay and put the donation out to 6029 betty's ford road we want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to give and on each one of those platforms there is a there is a section where you can annotate pastor's anniversary so make sure that you give your time amen your offering amen and so a special seat into our bishop's life on this morning let us go to the lord in prayer eternal god our father we thank you once again because we realize all that we have came from you so right now lord god we bring a tithe even now lord god attend saying god thank you for the blessings the monetary and fruitful blessings that you've given us lord god we don't stop there but we sow an offering even now look out into this ministry because we believe that you are doing great things right here at the park church but on this 31st pastoral anniversary of god we're sowing a special seed into our bishop's life even now lord god saying thank you for the many blessings that he's blessed us here right here at the park church with so right now lord god use all that we give with uplifting and building of your kingdom voice in jesus name that we do pray amen amen please use the platforms that you see on your screen even now to give even now [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] mountains rise and fall [Music] seasons come and go [Music] farther through it all thing that i know i can trust in you [Music] people let you down [Music] and life is filled with pain [Music] falling to the ground on my knees to say i can trust in you [Music] he's my [Music] he's my [Music] in the storm [Music] i will trust you [Music] [Music] [Music] winds flow i know where i will go [Music] is [Music] can trust him [Music] oh [Music] the lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverance my god my strength in whom i will trust my buckler and the horn of my salvation [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] father we do thank you [Music] for being a solid rock there is none other you are the only one thank you for being a firm foundation thank you for your name being a strong tower where the righteous are able to run in and be saved thank you god for being the unfailing one even when you're unseen you're unfailing god we do worship you and we do glorify you we we bless you we we thank you for this day for the breath we just took for the one we're about to take and so god we with the breath that we have we praise you we honor you we glorify you we magnify you we celebrate you we extol you thank you thank you god for all that you've done in the course of 31 years of pastoring people of walking by faith and not by sight of discovering what it what it means that no eye really has seen and no ear really has heard has not entered into the hearts of any one of us what good things you've prepared for those who love you because god you've done some amazing things far beyond our thinking and certainly beyond our asking you are that god and we do worship you we thank and we glorify you now god for this moment that we have for what you want to say to all of us for what you want to release for what you desire to make happen we we're looking to you we're listening to you we're open for you father will you draw somebody to jesus will you advance your kingdom will you bring glory and honor to your own name father we pray this in the name of jesus and for his sake amen amen well let me say good morning to to everyone it is indeed a a joy to to be alive and to be in worship with each of you wherever you are as you are celebrate the goodness of of our god one more day and to particularly celebrate the goodness of god in the course of of 30 31 years that is that's a lifetime that is a lifetime and we are grateful to god for for the journey that has been uniquely ours i want to thank those who came out on yesterday for the for the drive through it was so good to see each and every one of you it was just a joy to be able to see and and talk and and share and what the what the lord impressed upon me in the course of that time and indeed as it's been my my privilege to to listen to the various tributes and to read some of the posts one of one of the greatest things that you're able to do which is what the church is designed for is the sharing of life the spending of your life with god in community in fellowship and sharing and for for those for whom it's been a privilege to share the whole 31 years though those who those who saw me when i was even smaller than i am now and and to have walked the full journey of of seeing the single then the married then the father that's been a wonderful thing and as i as i've been able to share with with you in in your lives the birthing of your children seeing them grow life is not lived to be in isolation it is to be in community it is it is to be in in sharing and so i want to thank you for allowing me to share my life with you and for your sharing your lives with me because that that truly is what this is about communion shared union community shared oneness our life together with the lord and so i i that that is what really struck home with me really on yesterday the sharing of life thank you thank you so much for sharing your lives with me and allowing me to share my life with you now uh the soloist for for the sermonic is one of our one of our virtual members in youngstown ohio angela sanders and so we we thank god yeah we are we we're all over the place and for what the lord is is doing in this time and in this season to to him be be the glory and the honor as returning to our text first samuel chapter 13 certainly delighted for my for my my wife and my and my daughters uh they are one is here and one is in california it might be a little too early for her to be watching this service there but i'm but i'm so grateful to god for the for them and for for their love and for their their support first samuel chapter 13 beginning with verse 1 reading from the new living translation of the scriptures the word of the lord is as follows saul was 30 years old when he became king and he reigned for 42 years saul selected 3 000 special troops from the army of israel and sent the rest of the men home he took two thousand of the chosen men with him to mikmash the hill country of bethel the other one thousand went with saul's son jonathan to gibeah in the land of benjamin soon after this jonathan attacked and defeated the garrison of philistines at guiba the news spread quickly among the philistines so saul blew the ram's horn throughout the land saying hebrews hear this rise up in revolt all israel heard the news that saul had destroyed the philistine garrison at giba and that the philistines now hated the israelites more than ever so the entire israelite army was summoned to join saul at gilgal the philistines mustered a mighty army of three thousand chariots six thousand charioteers and as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore they camped at mikmash east of bethhaven the men of israel saw what a tight spot they were in and because they were hard-pressed by the enemy they tried to hide in caves thickets rocks holes and cisterns some of them crossed the jordan river and escaped into the land of gad and gilead meanwhile saul stayed at gilgal and his men were trembling with fear saul waited there seven days for samuel as samuel had instructed him earlier but samuel did still didn't come saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away so he demanded bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings and saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself just as saul was finishing with the burnt offering samuel arrived saul went out to meet and welcome him but samuel said what is this you have done saul replied i saw my men scattering from me and you didn't arrive when you said you would and the philistines are at mcmas ready for battle so i said the philistines are ready to march against us at gilgal and i haven't even asked for the lord's help so i felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came how foolish samuel exclaimed you have not come kept the command the lord your god gave you had you kept it the lord would have established your kingdom over israel forever but now your kingdom must end for the lord has sought out a man after his own heart the lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people because you have not kept the lord's command thus far the word of the lord meanwhile saul stayed at gilgal and his men were trembling with fear saul waited there seven days for samuel as samuel had instructed him earlier but samuel still didn't come saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away so he demanded bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself just as saul was finishing with the burnt offering samuel arrived saul went out to meet and welcome him but samuel said what is this you have done saul replied i saw my men scattering from me and you didn't arrive when you said you would the philistines are at mcmaster ready for battle so i said philistines are ready to march against us at gilgal and i haven't even asked for the lord's help so i felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came i want to deal with today on the subject competing tensions competing tensions so i was thinking about what i would preach on this anniversary sunday i was asking the lord lord what do i preach to myself the lord said preach what you would preach for another pastor pre pre preach what what you would say to one of your peers because whatever is good for that person whatever is good for his or her congregation to hear is good for you and is good for the part whatever you would tell somebody else say to yourself as i began to think about it and began to meditate on the nature of leadership one of the prime challenges of leadership at any level in any form whether you're whether you're leading a company whether you're leading a family whether you're leading yourself at whatever whatever level or layer of leadership you are one of the prime challenges of that leadership is navigating and negotiating competing tensions there are forces and factors that push and pull upon a leader there are cares there are considerations whose validity and polarity create an inner conflict that demands a resolution because each of those factors each of those forces each of those cares each of those considerations seeks to assert primacy upon you each seeks to hold sway in your life and the resolving of of those tensions that are competing against one another those cares those considerations always entails risk and reveals what the leader holds as core however you resolve the competing tensions the competing cares and considerations however you resolve them will reveal what is core to you what is primary what is fundamental to you the text before us presents such an occasion in the life of saul it is early in his reign and his leading israel in its resistance to the philistines with two thousand chosen soldiers saul led israel against the philistines who had listen to this three thousand chariots six thousand charioteers and the bible says and as many warriors as the grain of sand are on the seashore the writer lets us know at the sight of this many of saul's soldiers tried to hide wherever they could they hid in rocks they hid in thickets they hid in holes they hid in cisterns they wherever they could find a hiding place these soldiers tried to hide some of them even fled across the jordan river into the land of gad and gilead meanwhile saul stayed at gilgal with the remaining men the bible says we're trembling with fear so with everybody else having running head those who stay are trembling with fear the prophet samuel had instructed him to remain there until samuel arrived seven days passed without samuel and it is at this point that the troops that remained the bible says began to slip away rapidly and at the sight of their departure saul demands the burnt offering and peace offerings be done he takes the unusual step of sacrificing the burnt offering himself rather than waiting on samuel and just as he was finishing samuel appeared with a haunting interrogative what is this you have done and saul's response is telling saul replied i saw my men scattering from me and you didn't arrive when you said you would and the philistines are at mcmarsh ready for battle so i said the philistines are ready to march against us at gilgal and i haven't even asked for the lord's help so i felt compelled to offer the burn offering myself before you came do you see and hear the competing tensions at play within saul do you see how what saul saw was in conflict with what he had been told he saw troops leaving he had been told to wait on samuel here is the first tension my friends in in leadership at at any level it is the tension between what you see and what you've been told saul was told to wait on samuel but he saw troops leaving samuel asks all what he did the first thing that comes out of saul's mouth is i saw men scattering first thing that comes out of his mouth is what he saw now what he saw did not change what he was told he was told to wait on samuel's arrival he saw troops leaving and what he saw challenged his allegiance to what he heard and by his actions he displayed that what he saw overrode what he'd been told what he saw held greater sway than what he heard what he saw seem more urgent than what he heard for anybody seeking to exercise any degree of leadership especially spiritual leadership there is the competing tension between what is seen and what is heard at the core of adam's leadership was the tension between what he saw and what he was told he was told he could freely eat of any of the fruit of any of the trees except for the fruit that came from the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil and if he ate it he would surely die he shared that with his wife eve yet the bible says when eve saw that the fruit was good for food pleasant to the eye and desirous to make one wise she ate and when adam saw her offering it to him he ate it what he saw overrode what he'd been told look look at the leaders of the tribes of israel who were sent out to spy the land in numbers chapter 13 they'd been told that the land was theirs however they saw the people who lived there they were larger and more numerous than they and what they saw overrode what they heard brothers and sisters there is always the tension between what we see and what we've been told we've been told to bring the tithe to give the offering but we see the balance in the bank we see the bills we we see the things that that we desire to purchase the places that we want to go what we see and what we've been told we've been told to live with honor and integrity but we see those who cut corners are getting ahead of us what we see and what we've been told for some single you've been told to maintain your body as a vessel of honor but what you see is the possibility of being alone if you don't compromise your virtues and your values what you see and what you've been told you've been told that the battle belongs to the lord that you need to stand still and hold your peace and watch the lord fight your battle but what you see is the enemy advancing and gaining ground there is the tension between what you see and what you've been told what has the lord told you what has the lord said to you what promise has the lord given you what what vision has the lord provided for you and there is tension between what the lord has told you and what you currently see the tension between what we see and what we've been told saul was told to wait on samuel but he sees troops leaving there were the troops leaving and there was saul delaying with leaving in the present there was samuel not having appeared yet and here is the second intention my brothers and sisters and and that is the tension between what is happening and what has yet to happen what is happening and what is yet to happen saul was torn between two things that were happening and one thing that had yet to happen listen to him again i saw my men scattering from me you didn't arrive when you said you would and the philistines are at mcmash ready for battle do you see he sees troops scattering and the philistines ready for battle the troops were leaving the philistines were ready that's what was happening samuel had not arrived that's what wasn't happening with troops leaving with philistines ready and with samuel not having arrived saul offers the burnt offering the troops impatience and the philistines posture challenge saul's waiting on samuels arrival with samuel not having come when saul believed that he would come saul acts now upon what is happening his anxiety with what isn't happening prompts him to give in to the pressure of what is happening what is happening puts him in doubt about what has yet to happen with the troops no longer willing to wait he now is no longer willing to wait friends spiritual leadership is often fraught with the tension between what is happening and what has not happened yet what is going on and what hadn't come yet abram and sarah face that tension with a child yet to be conceived between the two of them and with hagar having conceived what is happening what hadn't happened yet joseph faced the tension with being sold into slavery being imprisoned other people's dreams being fulfilled while still waiting on his dream to come to pass what is happening and what hadn't happened yet moses faced the tension between pharaoh hardening his heart and increasing the burden upon the people while still waiting on god to deliver his people what is happening what hadn't happened yet aaron faced the tension seeing the people's impatience while waiting on moses's return what is happening what hadn't happened yet there is tension between current difficulty and divine delay it's the push and pull of the present challenge and the promised fulfillment it's waiting on the lord while witnessing threatening opposition is the problem getting bigger while you're still waiting on the lord to solve it is the child rebelling while you're waiting on the lord bring the child back it's the marriage getting rockier while you're waiting on the lord to resolve the issue it's what is happening and what hadn't happened yet you know what the lord said and yet while you're waiting on what he said stuff is happening troops are leaving the philistines are advancing and samuel hadn't come yet the the help hasn't come yet the answer hasn't come yet the resources haven't come yet the door hasn't opened yet the burden hasn't lifted yet the offer hasn't been extended yet the breakthrough the turnaround hasn't arrived yet there's what is happening and what you're still waiting on saul replied i saw my men scattering from me you didn't arrive when you said you would and the philistines are at mcmaster ready for battle so i said the philistines are ready to march against us at gilgal and i haven't even asked for the lord's help so i felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came with what is happening and what hasn't happened yet notice what comes next saul says so i said that the philistines are ready to march against us at gilgal and i haven't asked for the lord's help so i felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came there are six words that are revelatory i want you to hear them they are so i said and so i felt so i said and so i felt what he heard himself saying impacted what he found himself feeling oh lord what he heard himself saying impacted what he found himself feeling here is the third tension my brothers and sisters and that is it's the tension between what god says to you and what you say to yourself what god says to you and and what you find yourself saying to yourself saul is caught between the pulls of god talk and self-talk god through samuel had told him wait on samuel's arrival that's what he heard from god but that's not what he tells himself he doesn't say to himself what god said to him he begins to speak a different message he says the philistines are ready to march with god having said wait on samuel saul says to himself the philistines are ready to march and his self-talk causes him to feel compelled his self-talk creates an anxiety and a compulsion his self-talk of the philistines impacts his feelings which prompt his action now notice notice notice if you will that while god is mentioned in his self-talk god is not the primary influence of his self-talk his self-talk is the philistines are are ready for battle and i haven't asked for the lord's help yet that that that that's that's what's in his self-talk god god is mentioned in his self-talk but god is not the primary influence in his self-talk because how do you know that here's how i know it had god been the primary influence of his self-talk he would have felt compelled to seek god's direction for waiting and not god's help for fighting his problem was the philistines are ready and god hasn't shown up yet samuel hadn't shown up yet is what he sees while he's waiting on god to do what god said and had god been the primary influence he would have prayed god help me wait rather than god help me act when i'm getting impatient with samuel having yet to arrive it was not the time for saul to fight it was still his time to wait and his self-talk informs his feelings which prompt an action when he simply should be waiting lord have mercy and i know i know i know this is a hard subject for for our society because we don't want to wait we want to act we want to do we want to make happen but there are times when it's not for you to act it's not for you to make anything happen it's just for you to wait on the lord and had he given what he'd received from god the weight that he deserved he would have waited if he needed help from god it would be praying for god to help him wait and what he heard from god had greater volume than what he heard from himself there would be the anticipation of samuel's arrival rather than the fear of the troops leaving and the philistines being ready to march had he been willing to wait somebody knows that tension between what god says to you and what you say to yourself it's the tension between god's thoughts and your thoughts and the problem is god's thoughts are not our thoughts and god's ways are not our ways and god's words constantly challenge the words that we are prone to say to ourselves here it is because god's words are based on what god desires what god sees what god knows and listen to this and are timed to moments that are often longer than we'd like and consequently we find ourselves talking about what is and not about what god said will be we talk about the difficulties that we that we see and the pain that we're experiencing and the pressure that's on us rather than the promises that god makes in the midst of them that still have yet to come to pass our self-talk comes from the limits of our knowledge our understanding our perception of power and meanwhile god's words come from god's absolute and ultimate knowledge god's understanding god's power god reveals his thinking through his word and through his promises to enliven a faith and a hope in him and in his actions in other words god shares his thoughts to inform and shape our thinking god reveals a purpose and speaks a promise to guide what we then say to ourselves and feel about ourselves it is god's word that god desires for us to say to ourselves it's god's word that god desires to shape our perceptions and our feelings that's why the psalmist starts out the very first psalm in the hymn book are these words blessed is the one that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful but in that person's delight is the law of the lord and in the lord's law does that person meditate day and night and that person shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit in his season his leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever that person does shall utterly prosper that word for meditate means to speak over to yourself the person who choose on the word who speaks god's word over to himself or herself who allows what god says to be primary is the one that the psalmist says is like a tree planted in other words god's word plants you god's word settles you god's word positions you and further down that psalm there is the assurance that god's words provide whatever that person does shall prosper that sets the anticipation and it's in the midst of challenges my friend that when you have the word of god and when the word of god has more volume than your words to yourself there is the anticipation of god and when god's word is primary god's word can then shape the words that you say to yourself and when god's word shapes the words that you say to yourself rather than feeling compelled to do something you feel content to wait on the lord you see the thing that that that you should know about the difference between your words and god's words is your words will make you feel compelled god's word will bring some contentment your words will will make you anxious god's word will make you settled your word will create chaos god's word will create calm that's why the psalmist put it like this i had fainted unless i had believed to see the goodness of the lord in the land of the living weight on the lord be of good courage and he will strengthen your heart i in other words what i see on the outside what caused me to faint but what i have on the inside i have something on the inside that tells me i'll see the goodness of the lord in the land of the living and rather than feeling compelled to act on my own i'll wait on the lord i'll be of good courage and know that the lord will strengthen my heart souls self-talk creates an impatience that prompts him to take unsanctioned action the offering of the burnt offering was not his to do it was samuel's to do saul assumes that as the king he can presume a role of the priest while he has authority he is also under authority and here is the fourth tension that we see and that is the tension between having authority and being accountable having authority and being accountable while saul was king he was subject to samuel as the priest and prophet of the lord yes he's got authority but he's under the authority of god and he's subject to samuel as priest and prophet it was samuel whom god sent to find him and anoint him as king over israel it was samuel who had the position and the responsibility for sacrificing to burn offering on behalf of the lord's people and therefore it was upon samuel that saul was to wait before sacrificing the burnt offering however saul confuses his position as king with being free from accountability he presumes power that is not his and friends every leader must deal with the tension between authority and accountability there is a lane and there is a limit for every leader then there are times when pressures or challenges present the temptation of taking actions that are outside of the boundaries that god has set there is the seduction to that which is unsanctioned that which is unwise and friends the subtlety in saul's case was that he doesn't do anything immoral he's not doing anything evil he's not doing anything wicked he's doing something unsanctioned yeah yeah in other words what he did wasn't wrong in and of itself it simply wasn't his to do and friends that's the subtlety of the enemy because he can wrap something up with spiritual language but it's still isn't something for you to do he'll drop god's name on it but it still isn't for you to do it was for samuel to do it wasn't for saul to do and that's why you got to try the spirit by the spirit to see if it be of god because everything that that that drops the name of god is not god for you saul's fear of troop departure and philistine readiness motivates him to take unsanctioned action that displeases god and listen cost him his throne doing something to keep and please people can cause you to do something that displeases the lord and miss out on what the lord might have for you and here is the fifth tension it's the tension between troop loyalty and divine faithfulness and presence saul saw troops leaving he was told to wait for samuel there were the troops and there was samuel there were those whom saul was charged to lead and there was the one to whom saul was to submit and await and the question now is which holds greater influence the departure of the troops or the arrival of samuel at issue is what is the source of saul's security is it the troops or is it god you see at issue always and however you resolve competing tensions is what is the source of your security upon what do you really depend and rely on the bottom line what is your bedrock uh what what do you really count on being your solid rock and that's what's at play here there are troops leaving and samuel not having arrived who has greater influence where is saul's house all's security you see the troops did not make saul king in chapter 10 with saul hiding among the baggage samuel had the people bring saul out and samuel proclaimed saul king there were those who had scorned saul saying how can this man save us it was god who made him king however saul began to see his security as king being tied to the loyalty of his troops and when he saw the troops leaving his security was threatened in that moment saul's desire for troop loyalty and presence was greater than his dependence upon god's presence and god's faithfulness friends there is always the tension between the desire for troops and the dependence upon god and the more troops that you amass the easier it is to become confused with your security being tied to troops rather than god the enemy can spiritualize it and equate it by saying the number of troops that you have is how favored of god that you may be or not be the problem is troop loyalty has its limits to be sure yes there are those who are ride or die there are those who are with you to the end and they are the core they are they are they are the koi it does not matter what and the core is usually 20 of the 100 that you have it's 20 20 there there's there's the crowd that's not the core and it's where the crowd is that the tenuousness of troop loyalty really resides because with that 80 you're one disagreement away one misperception away one bad sermon away one one decision that somebody doesn't like one mismeeting one one miss this one miss that you're always on the edge with the crowd we don't live by troop loyalty at any level at any level you you don't live by by friend loyalty no no the believer lives by divine faithfulness because my brothers and sisters the faithfulness of god is far greater than the loyalty of people the lord looks for those whose hearts are after him whose trust and dependence are upon them to them the lord says i'll show myself faithful why because the lord himself is is faithful the security of any leader is in the promised and faithful presence of god himself look at it against the might of pharaoh it was the promise presence of the lord telling moses i will be with you against the absence of moses and the challenge of jericho it was the promised presence of the lord telling joshua as i was with moses so i will be with you against the challenge of his youth it was the promised presence to jeremiah and don't be afraid of the people for i'll be with you and i will protect you we live and we lead by the promised presence of the lord the lord is with you period at your best the lord is faithful and guess what at your worst the lord is faithful in fact it is of the lord's mercies that we are not consumed his compassions they fail not they are new every morning great is the lord's faithfulness it's the lord's faithfulness not true loyalty not not friend loyalty not not family loyalty not not not workplace loyalty it's the lord's faithfulness because friends troops will leave when things get rough troops believe when resources get thin troops will leave when something newer comes on the scene but the lord will remain faithful when the sermon flops the lord is faithful when the program fails the lord is faithful when you're no longer the flavor of the monk the lord's is faithful when things are tight the lord is faithful i'm talking to somebody who knows that there are situations that have caused people to thin from you but the lord is faithful therefore when you find yourself torn between the tension of troop departure and divine delay let the troops go and wait on the lord because the lord he is faithful come here get in you started with ten thousand and it went down to three hundred gideon says let the troops go the lord is faithful look at jesus in john chapter 6 where a large following left jesus and followed him no more jesus says let the troops go the lord is faithful and even when disciples got funny at the end and left jesus the father was still faithful jesus had foretold it in john chapter 16 32 he says but the time is coming and indeed it is here now when you all will be scattered each going to his own way and leave me alone yet i'm not alone why because the father is with me the father is faithful the father was with him in the garden of gethsemane the father was faithful at the trial the father was faithful on the cross the father was faithful in death the father was faithful in resurrection that because the father was more than anything that jesus saw i'm trying to help somebody understand that your life is secured by one thing and one thing alone and that is the faithfulness of almighty god i wonder am i talking to anybody right now who can say i know the faithfulness of god i wonder is there a witness that when you couldn't depend on anybody else the lord himself was faithful against whatever you face has the lord been faithful against the difficulty has the lord been faithful against the challenge has the lord been faithful against your distress has the lord been faithful against your disappointment has the lord been faithful in the midst of challenge and sickness and disease has the lord been faithful when your finances got funny your change was strange has the lord been faithful check this out when you could not even depend upon yourself has the lord himself been faithful on your behalf i just want to testify and say lord i want to thank you for being faithful i've had less numbers i've had more numbers but lord you've been faithful i once was young and now i'm older but i've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread the lord is faithful somebody just type in the lord is faithful and even when i've been faithless when i have not had the faith that i should have god i want to thank you for being faithful to me i thank the lord for who he's been in me and for who's he's been for me and for who he's been through me and for who he's been with me and for who he's been to me i wonder am i talking to anybody who can say i can trust who the lord is in me even when i can't trust who i am in and of myself i can trust what the lord has said to me i can trust what the lord desires i can trust the lord to fulfill what is true about him in me i can trust what is true about him for me i can trust what is true about him through me i can trust what is true about him to me and if that's you i just want you to give god a praise for his being faithful for his being dependable for his being reliable for his never failing you for his never forsaken you for his coming through always and he may not have come when you wanted him but he comes right on time and i want to encourage somebody if you see if he hasn't come yet wait on the lord wait on the lord and be of good courage if your grip is getting loose tell the lord help me to tighten my grip to wait on you until you come because when you come it's going to be exceedingly abundantly above all that i ask or even think because you are faithful the lord is faithful the lord is faithful my friends the lord is faithful and when you can't count on anything else you can count upon him somebody is able to agree with the words of that song as i look back over my life i can see how your love has guided me even when i've done wrong you never left me alone but you forgave me and you kept on blessing this i recall to my mind and therefore i have hope it's because of your mercies that we have not been consumed but your compassions they fail not they are new every morning and here it is great is your faithfulness great is your faithfulness lord you've been faithful i dare you to lift up your hands before the lord and say lord you've been faithful lord you've been faithful hallelujah lord you've been faithful lord you've been faithful lord you've been faithful lord you've been faithful lord you've been faithful lord you've been faithful as i look back over my life [Music] [Music] but you forgive me [Music] it is because of your mercy that we are not consumed because my compassion every morning [Applause] [Music] has got to be [Music] this is every morning foreign [Music] [Music] oh [Music] and you my is [Music] [Music] is [Music] how you lose oh [Music] oh [Music] oh me [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] is [Music] i want to deal with some people who who've been living in some sort of tension [Music] what you see what you've been told what's happening what hadn't happened yet [Music] the tension on where your real security lies [Music] whichever one of those tensions you find yourself dealing with the answer to them is the same god and god's faithfulness father right now in the name of jesus we we thank you for the words searching us and you finding us you finding us right at the place where the wrestling is the difficulty is the stress is the challenge is and god regardless of which one it is or how many of them it is we look to you to be the answer god we thank you that that you are true and we thank you god that your word is true and that your purpose is true your promises are true your your plan is true oh god and god thank you that that what you have said regardless of how long it takes it is sure it is certain and it will prevail so god i'm praying for parents who are who are facing the tension and what they desire to see in the lives of their children [Music] it hasn't happened yet [Music] i'm praying right now for a man and woman in marriage oh god desiring to see something that hadn't happened yet [Music] for a single desiring and it hadn't happened yet for for something desired on the job or in the career that hadn't happened yet thank you god that you are true and you are sure thank you god that everything that you've said about them and for them it is sure and is certain so father i'm praying right now for a faith a faith that can hold a faith that can stick a faith that can rely a faith that can depend a faith that can wait and oh god in the midst of the sticking and holding and staying and waiting o god may they see your blessing even as they're waiting may they see your glory even as they are waiting may they sense your presence even as they are waiting oh god may they celebrate the things that are happening even as they're waiting for what is yet to happen [Music] because you are the faithful god thank you that you are the one who makes ways out of no ways thank you that you are still the god who turns darkness in today thank you god that you are still the god whose joy and sorrow and hope for tomorrow and peace in the time of storm and strength when we're weak and one thank you that you are the same god yesterday today and forevermore and your god right now your god right now your god right now hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah in the name of jesus we pray amen what you wanted me to do oh foreign oh for someone right now this faithful god wants to show himself faithful in the most important way that he can and that is in his faithfulness to save [Music] his faithfulness to draw and forgive and his faithfulness to be [Music] i want to leave somebody to jesus you're watching you're wondering is this god for real yes he is is this god true yes he is does this god love me yes he does can he do for me what i've heard he's done for others yes he can i want to lead you to it the privacy of your own heart i want you to pray this prayer based on the promises that the lord gives us father i come to you in the name of jesus thankful for this day god i thank you that i'm alive and i thank you god that that i've been hearing from you when i logged on when i was invited to share i i came on but i didn't didn't know i didn't expect but but god i can't deny you've been speaking to me [Music] and that you're present right where i am so father i thank you that that you speak to me [Music] that you speak to me [Music] you you tell me of your love for me simply because you're the god who loves me not because of anything that i've done and certainly in spite of anything that i've done wrong you yet love me you loved the world and you sent your son into the world to die for the sins of all of us that included mine you raised him from the dead and he's alive forevermore [Music] and god you tell me that he can be my savior [Music] god god you want me [Music] thank you [Music] thank you that you want me and god i want you i'm new with this i don't know a whole lot about it i'm just i'm just in it i'm just saying i know you i know you're speaking to me and you've told me that you want me and i'm telling you i want you so god i'm i'm coming to you right now believing you to be true believing and now confessing that jesus is lord he's he's over everything i believe in my heart that you raised jesus from the dead [Music] i confess my sins i say to you i'm sorry god will you take me [Music] will you fill me with your spirit will you make me into the person you know i can be [Music] by faith i declare i'm saved i i have eternal life because i believed on the name of your son jesus who is the christ it's in his name that i pray amen if you pray that prayer i want you to know salvation is yours it's not a matter of your feeling it's a matter of your faith and if you did accept jesus on the day we want to thank god for what he's done for you i just want you to put in the chat section or the post i accepted jesus and we want to give you some information about this new life that you have in jesus and so if you'll just give your your name and your email address we want to send you some information there there are people who've been praying for you waiting for you to make this decision who want to share just some information with you about what this new life in jesus means father in the name of jesus we thank you for a brother a sister having made jesus their choice [Music] father will you put them close will you hold them tightly will you let them feel your love and hear your voice and walk in your way god for who they are and for who they will be by the working of your hand upon their lives we thank you right now we pray this god in the name of jesus and for his sake amen amen amen praise god god bless you welcome to the family of god there are those who may be saved and the lord is saying i want you to connect connected to a body of believers in fellowship sharing your life and their sharing theirs even if right now it is virtual we'd love to be that church i'd love to be your pastor and if that's you minister tucker is going to tell you how that can happen praise god praise god praise god well family as bishop has already stated if you prayed that prayer with him on this morning we want to connect with you please do me a favor don't log off of this broadcast don't click away don't go away without letting us know that you gave your life to christ we want to connect with you we want to give you more information about this newfound walk with christ and you can click on the link that's in your on our website even now or you can even send us an email to let us know that you gave your life to christ on this morning the bible lets us know that the angels in heaven are rejoicing even now just because of the decision that you have made but not only that i know there are those that are among us even now that don't have a church home and perhaps god is speaking to you even now about making the park church your church home go ahead and click on that link even now that's in the comments section and connect with us even now to make the park church your church home your church home excuse me and i promise you you will be blessed by connecting with us amen amen amen well park family i have a couple of quick announcements before we go back to our bishop i want to remind you that today once again we culminate our 31st pastoral anniversary and you still have time to reach out to our social media platforms and use the hashtag tpc bishop31 and connect with us by sending up those pictures by giving us those stories and letting us know how our bishop bishop claude richard alexander has blessed you but not only that but this coming wednesday we're going to continue on our wednesday night bible study where we will be studying emotionally and healthy discipleship it's not too late if you don't have the book make sure you go out and get that book and when you get it read up to chapter 2 and take the assessment so that you can be ready for bible study this coming wednesday hallelujah praise god what a dynamic word we heard this sunday from our bishop that reminded us that god is faithful i don't know about you but god is faithful and that we should not listen to our own word but listen to what god has already told us and wait on him and any decision that we have in life when we go through this week let that be the word that's going to echo throughout our minds wait on god and god is faithful what part family that's all i have for you right now let's go back to our bishop for his final words and benediction be blessed we're certainly looking forward to this week bible study continuing as we go deeper and deeper and deeper and i challenged even even the more talking about challenge um at the beginning of of the season i gave my prediction for for who would be in the super bowl and there were a couple people who then told me what theirs were so we're gonna give you a chance one week one week to let us know what what your predictions are and we're gonna see we're gonna see who's true we're gonna see what happens and we're gonna celebrate at the end of the season [Music] this week the challenge is let god talk be the primary talks amen let his words shape what you say to yourself and you'll be surprised at how that changes how you feel [Music] and and you'll find yourself no longer operating by compulsion but you'll find yourself walking in contentment because the god who is your god is the god who is the faithful god now may the grace of the lord jesus the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with us all amen god bless you have a great day me hey [Music] you

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Length: 164min 15sec (9855 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 26 2021