SUCOC 2021.08.29 - 9AM Morning Service

[Music] [Applause] to see one more day and you're not afraid and you're not ashamed of me then somebody ought to say hallelujah give him the highest praise [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] me me [Music] [Applause] [Music] my jesus [Music] oh [Music] come on [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] oh me [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] me [Music] me [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Applause] let the church say amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] my [Applause] [Music] is oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] um [Applause] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] our is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] is is [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Music] tell the world [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] [Music] and the strong [Music] [Applause] [Music] he's so sweet i know [Music] good morning family and friends those of you in media land again we come before you from the south union church of christ at this point in time i would like for you to bow with me in a word of opening prayer our father and our guard who ordered heaven hallelujah holy righteous and eternal name again father we approach the throne of grace with thanksgiving in our hearts thank you thee father for life for health or strength for the manifold blessings that you so richly bestowed upon us realizing dear father it was not because of what we have done but because of your limitless grace and with that father we thank you then true father we ask our blessings upon all the sick and shut in especially those of the household of faith likewise father we ask thy blessings upon those that are bereaved we ask that you might comfort them as only you can yet at the same time as brothers and sisters we need to do what we can to encourage them also then to their father we ask that you look down upon this new generation it seems that has no thought as it relates to life and godliness father we pray that you look down upon us all for we all have sinned and come short of your glory guide our footsteps that when old satan reels his ugly head that we might find that way of escape that you've already prepared then true father we ask our blessings upon all our administrators politicians at all levels city state and federal that when they make decisions that they would take you into the room with them conference room with them that decisions might be fruitful to everyone and not just to their leaders then true father we ask that choice blessing upon this assembly we pray that everyone here has come with an open and receptive heart to receive your word thereby which they might grow father we thank you once and again for your love your mercy and your grace for realize without such none of us would be here for that reason father we ask that you look down upon this worship service that we present this morning we pray that everything we say into will be in harmony with your holy and divine will it's in your son and our savior jesus christ's name who died on calvary's cross that we might have life and have it more abundantly in his name we pray let us all say amen good morning good morning i'm just a heart fighting soul surrounded [Music] yes i'm [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] and well i've got to walk right [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] will i keep on bringing souls to jesus by the service that i give amen singing redemption song angels are singing redemption sweet song wonderful theme glorious theme shout the glad message and joining the throne singing redemption [Music] [Music] oh [Music] the [Applause] [Music] [Applause] praise to our king singing reading some song over and over the middle of misery wonderful thing gloria thing heaven resounds with the tribute neighboring singing redemption song oh see [Music] over [Music] enjoy [Music] praise to our king singing redemption songs as we prepare our minds and hearts for scripture reading and also prayer let us sing i'm glad i know [Music] i'm glad you know me [Music] we praise our god we're one big family [Music] to reach the sky and i am so glad that you gave and i am so glad that you gave your life [Music] i'm glad i know [Music] [Applause] i'm glad you know me we praise our god [Music] we [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] to reach the sky oh lord and i am so blessed [Music] that you gave your life [Music] and i am so glad [Music] [Applause] that you gave your life and i am so glad [Music] [Music] [Music] good morning brothers and sisters and those out in media land today's scripture reading will take place in the book of romans chapter 15 verses 13 through 14 again that is the book of romans chapter 15 verses 13 through 14. when all found say amen and it reads now the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the holy ghost and i myself am persuaded of you my brethren that ye also are full of goodness filled with all knowledge able also to admonish one another i have read to you romans chapter 15 verses 13 through 14. the title of today's sermon is functioning on full in an empty world again functioning on full in an empty world may god add a blessing to the readers doers and hearers of his holy divine word as we are led in prayer shall you borrow with me heavenly father we humbly approach the throne of grace giving thanks for blessing us to be here this morning we thank you for blessing us to awaken this morning to be able to stand on our feet or kneel by our bed size and give praise glory and honor to you for waking us up we again thank you for safe passage to this venue this venue that we have arrived at whether it be physically or by social media connections for the sole purpose of worshiping you in spirit and in truth heavenly father we know that you are an awesome god and all things are under your control and in your power we thank you for the love that you have for us and most greatly thank you for our lord and savior jesus christ who you sacrifice for the sins that we committed we thank you for giving us this opportunity of one day making heaven our home we thank you again for all things we thank you for this body of christ here at the south union congregation we thank you for blessing this congregation to make it through this period this period of uncertainty we thank you for be allowing us to be a a a um source of uh enlightenment and and hope to the community that we work within heavenly father we thank you for each and every member under sound of my voice but heavenly father we want to reach out a little bit further and pray for those that may not know you as we do we pray that as we go through this worship service as we listen to the message that will be delivered or delivered to us shortly that someone would reach out and want to know more about what they must do to one day meet with you in heaven heavenly father we thank you again for so much you again are such an awesome god and we thank you for your glory and honor and your and the things that you provide to us and for us we thank you so much for the leadership here at the south union congregation continuing to bless them and their families and guide them as they make decisions for this particular congregation but we want to go out and pray as well for all the churches of christ throughout the land we pray that the lessons and the methods that we use are in accordance to your will and we are in harmony with one another we want to thank you most of all and especially for your manservant brother randall tucker senior that will come before us shortly and deliver unto us the bread of life we pray that you will bless him with a ready remembrance of the things that he has studied and he will use these things he will use his collection of words to blend with the scripture text that he selected today and as a result again it is our goal our mission to save souls we pray that his message that he delivers that you will bless it and those that are that want to uh become a part of this congregation or a part or a member of the body of christ will reach out to us and ask what must i do to be saved heavenly father continue to bless this assembly continue to bless this worship service we pray that it will be a shining light unto you it is in your son's name that we beg of all all things jesus christ let us all say amen there's a happy land of promise over in the great beyond where the save the verse shall will be happy [Music] [Applause] ransom of all ages we'll be singing around the throne in that land where no one ever knows a cave and the christians of all nations will join in the triumph song and everybody will be happy oh don't you know that everybody [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh don't you know that everybody will be [Applause] and everybody will be happy oh don't you know that everybody will be [Music] will be happy over when we reach that city of the new jerusalem yes we're gonna sing hallelujah hallelujah by and by he's [Applause] [Music] and victory and love will be our everlasting our redeemer there beside the crystal stream [Music] [Applause] [Music] we gonna oh [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah [Applause] [Music] [Music] hallelujah rest beneath that cloud [Music] i know i'm gonna sing hallelujah sing hallelujah [Music] amen oh praise the lord for he is worthy to be praised from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same the lord is great and greatly to be praised oh how magnificent how mighty how majestic how marvelous is the name of the lord our god it is a great great privilege to put one foot in front of the other on the lord's day and come to the house of worship as we assemble giving god the highest praise that he alone so richly deserves if you're thankful that the lord woke you up this morning just say amen wherever you are amen we are thankful to be in the house of god for worship and bible study there's no better place to be family than right here at the throne of god giving him all of the praise for he woke us up this morning he started us on our way he put shoes on our feet he keeps clothes on our back he continues to bless us with bread on the table roof over our head he gives us the opportunity to join with him as we join with others in this salvific experience called living the christian life there's no better place to be than to stop by and to worship god on the first day of the week in this season of pandemic we never never forget how good god is we serve a god who can bless you in the midst of your burdens we serve a god who can lift you in the middle of your sorrow we serve a god who can give you grace in the middle of your situation i'm thankful for god's mercy i'm thankful for his unconditional love i'm grateful for his uncalculated kindness because he keeps looking far beyond my faults and praise the name of jesus he meets all of my every needs it's just good i say it's just good to be here uh this morning we're thankful for each person who has mingled their voices as we have sung hymns of zion and as we have aggrandized the name of the lord this morning it is our prayer as has already been articulated uh that someone would say yes to jesus wherever you are whatever you're going through we're thankful to have you here in this worship assembly and we want you to say yes to jesus if you've not put christ on in baptism if you've not said yes i believe that jesus christ is the son of god right now even today would be a real good time to say yes to the lord perhaps you are dealing with situations and circumstances that are far far beyond your control we want to recommend to you jesus we know that we are not perfect people but we do serve a perfect god and if we take all of our troubles and cares to him uh he cares for us all amen i hear jesus say come unto me all ye that are heavy-laden and i will give you rest jesus says take my yoke upon you and learn of me and follow me why because i am meek and lonely at heart and you shall find rest unto your soul the lord has a lowly disposition and if the lord can lower himself just seems like all to be able to lower myself and say yes to him and then to join hand in hand with brothers and sisters in christ jesus who all want to make heaven their home it's just good to know that the lord has blessed us in this season as we push out of uh august let us continue to pray for our nation there's a lot going on all around us in our community and our immediate community as well as abroad let's pray for those that are in the path of this hurricane let's pray for all of the saints all of those in the communities that will have to stand in the midst of a certain and inclement danger let's pray that god would spare many lives and that uh that he would allow this hurricane to just pass on by but let's pray for one another because many have traveled to our city seeking refuge so let's be careful as we uh uh transverse about in the city because there's probably going to be a little more traffic for quite some time and you know with this being the start of a new school year we already have the school traffic to deal with praise god uh parents that know about it can say amen amen somebody said don't forget about the grandparents amen amen where would we be with our wonderful grandparents somebody said i know that's right we want to remind everyone that if it's the lord's will next month this is september and you know what september is september is homecoming month homecoming month here for us at south union and we are looking forward anticipatory to having a wonderful time listen mark your calendars for the fourth sunday of september the fourth sunday of september will serve as our homecoming sunday we're going to have uh our regular time of worship at 9 00 a.m we're going to have a wonderful wonderful time giving god glory and giving god praise with us for this special sunday will be the minister brian moss from the lake como church of christ in fort worth texas those of us who have heard brother moss we know that he's a friend of the union and we look forward to having him here and we want you to tell as many people as you possibly can to make sure uh that they tune in uh 9 a.m worship with us uh and those that are coming in person we are looking forward to you being here uh for that 9 a.m worship on sunday september the 26th now in addition to that uh we discussed and we've been praying about how would we do homecoming this year because we do realize that we're still under these pandemic restrictions and we still want to be safe while gathering so it was decided after much discussion and prayer that what we needed to do was create a hybrid event we'll create a hybrid event in other words we'll worship here on that sunday morning at 9 00 a.m uh lord willing yet everything else will be featured online so we will not have uh extended services during the week but we will take that weekend carve out some time in that weekend and we will feature our various celebration moments online similar to how we did it on last year with the one exception that we'll meet here for that sunday morning worship so all of the information uh is on the slider it's on the website it's on facebook uh but we're looking forward to having a wonderful time our youth we want to feature our youth this year in a youth talent showcase we've been blessed family to have so many young people who have been given god-given talent and ability i mean they are gifted they are leaders among their peers even now i know we talk about many times the church of tomorrow uh but it is the youth or the youth of today but really uh they're leading right now uh they are standing up for jesus in their schools and in their community in their neighborhood and and we're just thankful so very thankful to have young people who love the lord and on fire for him and we want to showcase some of their ability some of their talent and we're looking forward to having a wonderful time we encourage all youth uh that that's if you are uh a youthful i don't want to tell you what age that is because i don't want to offend anybody but all of our youth and all of our parents of the youth please encourage your young people to get involved we'll give you some additional details we want to thank our youth director uh brother sisway lewis and the youth staff and parents who will continue to coordinate this event along with sister patricia isom we are thankful for them we're thankful for their ability and we look forward to uh further communication along these lines so all of the information is featured on our website it is featured on our social media and we want you to make sure that you are ready uh to give god his his due praise now with that said if you're visiting here we want you to know that you're our honored guest all of our visitors just please stand just please stand if you're here in person and you took time to be with the lord just amen amen we thank god for your presence we know that you had a choice where you would go in and worship and we are just so thankful that you've chosen to worship here with us and uh we know that you've braved the elements to be here with us and we do not take that lightly if you're watching online and you are visiting this channel it's always good to have visitors come our way we love the community and we know that god has blessed us that we might be a blessing to others and so we invite you to worship with us and to study with us on today and we pray that your soul is tremendously encouraged to all of our brothers and sisters of the union uh that are worshiping at home it's good to see you and i know that you are smiling from ear to ear because that's what we do around here we know where our blessings come from amen amen if you don't mind please take out your bible and please stand wherever you are you can stand even in your living room and you can convert your living room into your own praying ground amen stand wherever you are and we want to give god glory in the reading of his word romans romans the 15th chapter and the verse is number 13. romans the 15th chapter and the verse is number 13 uh and verse 14. uh we want to take a look at this particular text when you have it say amen and the bible the word of god reads now the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the holy ghost and i myself also am persuaded of you my brethren that ye also are full of goodness filled with all knowledge abled also to admonish one another family and friends we would like to preach from the fault theme and tag for this text functioning on fool in an empty world somebody say functioning on fool in an empty world amen god our father we come in the holy and reverent name of jesus father we pray lord we give you honor we give you glory we give you the highest praise father we thank you for this moment of worship we thank you for this moment of learning father we want you to speak to us father we know that burdens need to be lifted and we know that you are the only one who can lift them father we thank you for joy we thank you for peace we thank you for love we thank you for mercy you have elongated our lives father we don't take this for granted let somebody leave here a better person father continue to give us strength for the journey uh increase our faith pour into us what we need so that heaven might be our home and then lord will be ever so careful to give you all of the glory and every ounce of the praise get your praise lord in the mighty name of jesus we pray amen yes i learning learning to lean every day i'm learning i'm learning yes i'm learning i'm learning to lean on jesus [Music] yes [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] [Music] on my jesus yes i'm learning said i'm learning [Music] said i'm learning [Applause] [Music] said i'm finding [Applause] yes praise god i'm learning [Music] [Music] jesus oh [Music] the altar i [Music] [Applause] [Music] um [Music] a trial i trust oh he's teaching and i'm learning [Music] i'm learning [Music] praise god yes i'm learning [Applause] [Music] [Applause] yes [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] can we sing that one more time let's sing it one more time everybody yes i am [Music] [Music] said i'm [Music] clean learning day every day every day on jesus jesus jesus my lord yes [Music] yes i'm learning i'm learning to lean on jesus oh my jesus [Music] [Applause] when the lord brings you through dangerous seen and unseen and you look back over your life and you say i should not have made it out you you know full well that you did everything in your power to mess it up and to blow it up big time and then when you see how god just covered you and kept you amen has anybody ever been covered and kept as has god has god looked at your situation and smiled on it when others were talking about you and running you down when you felt like you were all by yourself god saw you and he spared your life oh praise god that gives you hope to continue to trust him and that's what it's all about if someone's here that is wondering if they can trust the lord we've come to say collectively 150 or so of us absolutely and all together yes those online if you know that you can trust god just type into the live chat i'm trusting him i'm trusting him every day i'm learning to lean romans the 15th chapter verses 13 and 14. in this particular passage of scripture the apostle paul is writing to the church gathered in rome and this is the capital city of the roman empire paul the apostle to the gentiles born out of due season birthed out of due season had a ministry that included teaching the truth to those that had been in the faith as well as evangelizing those who were outside of the faith paul understood that his scope role function and mission was to preach the unsearchable riches of god preach christ and him crucified and allow the lord to use him as an earthen vessel so that others might be saved when we consider our theme and thematic thrust this morning functioning on fool in an empty world it is important family to always remember that this world is not our home i know that's an old school church uh concept but it's an old school church concept with new school relevance because this world is showing us every single day that this world is really not our home family if we're honest this world is in really bad shape the young generation would put it this way they would say this world is a hot mess somebody say hot mess this world is something else this world is flip turned upside down we are now calling those things that are bad good and those things that are good bad the scripture has already prophesied that days like these would come this world somebody said is tore up from the floor we are living family in some perilous times we are we're living in some sinful times we are living in some dangerous times and as a result of being affected uh by the world many times it's easy to be desensitized by this world you see many people in the world are living their lives every single day feeling empty on the inside somebody say empty someone even right now is listening and worshiping with us yet feeling empty on the inside they look good we make it look nice we dress ourselves up we don't want anyone to think that we have any need for anything because we don't want to present ourselves as a case of destitution yet if we're all honest in here family there's something lacking in all of our lives there's a there's an itch that you just can't scratch there's a there's a place that seems to be dry and barren there is a situation right now that you're trying to get your arms around but it is too big for you to handle we all family need the lord can we be honest in here family and just admit that everyone who woke up this morning needs the lord to save them can i tell you the truth about it family no matter how much i study and no matter how straight i think i'm walking i still need the lord can i just get real with you can i be honest with your family will you not judge me or will you not castigate me if i admit to you that sometimes family i shake my head because i'm doing the very thing that i should not do can you be honest and real in here this morning and say that you thought some things that you should not have been thinking that you said some things that you should have never said that maybe perhaps even in fact if your neighbor's not looking maybe you can admit inside internally and give me an inside internal amen that you've been places that you should not have been we all family are struggling with something james put it this way james said that if we uh say that we do not have sin that we deceive ourselves the truth is not in us you see family we need the lord and we are living in some times in some desperate times where people are running on fumes people are empty on the inside sometimes family our energy can run low sometimes family our faith runs low sometimes family our perseverance runs low sometimes family friends deplete you family stretches you your associates will use you the job overworks you your supervisor doesn't appreciate you your children can seem to stress you your spouse is always mad at you your neighbors annoy you your troubles find you and your bills seem like they killing you you're empty on the inside the wise man solomon put it this way he said that uh all that is in the world is vanity and vexation of the soul you run looking for relief you run looking for enjoyment and fulfillment and it feels good for a season and then after a while you are left feeling empty you are in a room full of people and there's much uh going on in that particular environment but you're sitting there feeling like you're all alone the bible tells us that the whole duty of man ecclesiastes the 12th chapter is to fear god and keep his commandments but family while we are living in this world it is easy to become distracted and we have to learn family we have to learn how do we function on a full tank of faith while living in a faithless and empty world well now family let's see let's see if we can feel this empty room by using the word of god i believe that paul explicates six glorious qualities that if we would add them to our faith walk that it would make us stronger christians in the future than we've ever dared to be in times past let's pick up the text and let's do a little reading in romans 15 and the verse is paul writes as he closes his epistolary encouragement letter to the church there in rome he says now the god of hope somebody say now the god of hope filled you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the holy ghost now when paul writes this he begins his uh this part of this text by using a word that creates a time capsule he says now this word now indicates to a specific point and marker of time i like the word now because now is a word that never grows stale you see now is always in the present uh hold on family we're going somewhere now is always in the present somebody say present that's right now that's at this moment that's in this moment in time paul says now which means it doesn't matter if you were in this particular audience in the first century or whether you are in this particular assembly in the 21st century that word now suggests that god's ability to step into your situation is always available real and accessible this means that god can never be out of date he can never be out of time he can never be off time he can never run late he never shows up behind schedule he's a right now kind of god i need peace but i need peace right now i i need love but i need love right now anybody need forgiveness but you don't need it tomorrow you don't need it the next day don't you want it right now don't don't you don't you want god's unconditional favor on your life right now we serve a right now kind of god i i heard my mama sing when i was a younger fella that he's an old-time god yes he is he he may not come when you want him but he's always right on time sometimes we think that god has forgotten about us we think we wonder why is there a delay on my blessing seems like everybody else is getting ahead and seem like everybody else is making headway and here i am serving god praying to god reading my bible trying to be a better person and it seems like my breakthrough just will not come i want to encourage you brother and sister i want to encourage you child of god that you serve a right now kind of god and god always has you in mind the text reveals paul says now as he prays this letter out he says now the god of hope somebody say hope hope is the first quality that helps to fill this room watch this family hope is not what you see but you rather hope in what god has said if you see it it's not hope hope is this confident expectation that looks through here it is the unknown even in the face of the unseen what is hope hope is the confident expectation where you look through the unknown even in the face of the unseen simply put you cannot put your trust in what you see you have to put your trust in what god has said because there are many things that you see but these things that do exist were not made by the things that do appear if you're going to make it in this world and if you're going to come climb out of your cesspool of bad sorrow and untenable situations you've got to see beyond the trenches right now family even right now we are trying to disembark and disengage we are trying to leave a foreign land called afghanistan and even though we are over there right now a war that has lasted for at least 20 years somebody said it's america's longest war we've been over there we're trying to pull out but we found ourselves in some unforeseen trenches somebody say a trench will hold you down if we are going to make it we're going to have to look to a higher power come here closely family it's not the president that can pull us out of afghanistan and keep everyone safe while doing so i want to suggest to your family that we need somebody who's higher than the president we need somebody who's higher than your u.s senate senators we need somebody who's higher than your u.s representatives we need somebody higher than the u.s ambassador we need to depend and totally rely on god if we're going to make it out of our trenches hope is having a confident expectation looking through the unknown in the face of the unseen now the genesis record helps to reveal this fact because if you begin at genesis 1 and if you read down just a few of the following verses you'll find that in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth and then the bible is so careful to explain that the earth was void and darkness was upon the face of the deep if we began our spiritual journey at genesis 1 and didn't have an understanding of who god was and god is then we might falter stumble and fall to say that there's no hope and there's no use in this particular situation called the world or called earth because the earth was dark in act one the earth was dark watch it now and it was undeveloped watch this god step into darkness and when god stepped in darkness had to dissipate god stepped into what was undeveloped and started developing things and called the world by his divine fiat into existence when god said let there the things that did not appear started straining to become why because god said so come here child of god don't be caught up don't be apprehended don't allow your situation to arrest your faith put your hope in what god said even when it's unseen see sometimes we say talk is cheap and talk is cheap when you speak to the aptitude and the inability the fr the fragility of man talk is cheap and the reason why talk is cheap is because mankind has deficiencies and part of our deficiency is the proclivity to prevarication let the church say what i say part of our proclivity as men as mankind men and women is our proclivity to prevarication in other words uh they said growing up a wise man once told me that a pair of lips will say anything you cannot put your faith and confidence in what man tells you because man will sell you a bill of goods and then leave you high and dry at the end man will promise you a warranty and or guarantee and then forfeit their own contract why because man is finite man is fickle and sometimes men are phony i need somebody to see that i'm not telling you to put your trust in what you see i'm telling you to put your trust in what god has said ordinarily i would not put much stock into what someone would say to me perhaps but when paul writes to uh the church at rome he says i want you to put your trust in god watch this family he says now the god of hope somebody say source see the world needs hope in god but in order to get hope you've got to go to the source of hope see let me let me let me bring this on closer to home see god is the hope dealer [Music] now you've heard another word that rhymes with hope and if you have any kind of history in the neighborhood you know what that's all about not hopefully from first-hand experience but you've been around the block and when folk are looking for that kind of dealer they have no problem finding his locale come here real close family this world needs hope but in order to get the hope that the world needs we've got to find ourselves at the throne of the hope dealer and his name is jehovah nisei his name is jehovah rapha his name is elohim his name is the most high god yahweh his name precedes him if you want to make it out of your situation quit going to the wrong dealer find your hope dealer and your hope dealer can set you free from your situation your hope dealer can build you up in the most holy faith your hope dealer can step in your situation and intervene even when you don't even recognize that you need intervention oh family the first quality if we're going to ride on full in an empty world is we have to have hope somebody say hope and then secondly family paul says now the god he says now the god of hope feel you somebody say feel this word feel is important this word feel is a transitive verb it's an action verb here it is feel means to pour in it means to furnish it means to supply as much as can be contained in other words what paul is praying for on behalf of the roman citizens and christians those that are citizens and saints in the kingdom he's saying that it's my prayer that the god of hope will fill you will pour in to you watch the text though joy all joy and peace in believing in other words paul says i want you to be filled and in order to be filled family we must i want you to write this down in order to be filled i've learned about life that you must be still you cannot be filled with god's revelatory salvation word of encouragement if you are always on the move it's right here in the text paul says i'm praying that the lord will pour into you i'm praying that the lord will supply you i'm praying that the lord will give you all of the joy and peace and believing that you need in order to live the abundant life i'm praying that he feels you but we have to be still in order to be filled the reason why i can't be filled is because i won't be still and since i won't be still i can't be filled see i can be still watching my favorite television show i can be still when i'm at a concert or being entertained at the football game i can be still when i'm on my cell phone i i can be still when i'm at the fraternity and sorority meetings i i can be still when it comes to what i want to do but the question is this morning can you be still long enough for god to fill you spiritually i found out i'm not the i didn't graduate valedictorian of my class i wasn't last of my class either the name of jesus i wasn't i wasn't i wasn't in the middle either but i wasn't the valedictorian but watch this now um i've learned that in order to drive my vehicle successfully bob holland papa ellis i have to take my vehicle at least once a week to the feeling station i i'm not i'm not i'm not smart as you are but i do know this if my vehicle is going to run successfully and reach its peak performance i had better find myself making a stop in the filling station so that i can fuel and refuel my gas tank because my gas tank won't run on wood or could of sugar my gas tank needs petrol it needs some gasoline in order for it to reach its peak performance but i'll tell you something else i learned i won't be able to successfully fill my tank even if i come to the gas station and i don't stop at the pump i can be at the right place where i am to report to when my tank runs low but if i don't have the sensibility to put my vehicle in park and i'm gonna say turn the engine off somebody get that out the wire turn the engine off and then stick that pump of that gas spout into the tank and press in [Applause] on the lever if i don't take these necessary steps i can be at the right place yet drive right on through and leave on empty come here family did you not know that we could be guilty sometimes come into god's spiritual fueling station but if we don't stop long enough to take some effort to take the spout and stick it in the gas tank then we can be at the right station and still leave on our way back home on spiritual fumes having nothing inside of the tank in other words we can leave being empty i've come today to encourage somebody that i need to learn and love the lord long enough to stop by the church to have the word of god enrich my life i'm always moving uh even sometimes when we come to the church we have to make look like we are busy and somebody say make look like that's going back may look like we are busy but listen family if i am too busy to receive god's word then my life will always remain dead i will always be depleted i will always be low on spiritual fuel because i'm too busy for my own good no listen family brother come into the worship but sit down child quit talking sister we'll talk about that later i've got to get a word of encouragement because when i hit these streets called life the devil is waiting on me i'm going to be real in here i'm going to be real in here sometimes you don't even make it out of the parking lot before satan comes to you and tries to bring you down i need a word of encouragement i need a word from the lord i need to know that god is going to bring me a more qualitative life i need to know that god has provided peace in the time of suffering i need to fill my my spiritual fuel tank up every single week i need to feel it and if i'm going to feel it i have to stop a while church the spiritual house of god is god's feeling station if i can stop for what's going on in my social life ought to be able to stop and receive a word from god you see the word of god is applicable it helps me to function while i'm here i know we talk about going over there and and hopefully one day we will be there the word of god helps you right here though it helps you to stay out of trouble it helps you to get a good night's rest at night it helps you to get along with folk on your job it helps you to appreciate others whom god has placed in your life that might be a blessing to you it helps you to have a strong family life it helps you to to love yourself and like yourself even though you've been through hell and high water it helps you to forgive yourself it helps you to erase doubts and fears it helps you to trust that god is going to be with you and work things out even when you don't know how you're going to make it see the word of god is not just some uh empty uh verbal exercise i need to internalize this word god is speaking to me god is trying to fill me up but i've got to stay off my cell phone long enough to be filled y'all going to help me here talking about i'm reading the bible not all of us somebody get that after a while listen family because listen listen if that's what you want to do that's your prerogative but as for me i need this word because i have not arrived yet been preaching for 19 years if it's the lord's will to be 20 in february but i still have not arrived yet there's a whole lot of stuff i need to learn there are whole lot of ways i need to grow and i need every bible class that's offered i need every sermon that's preached i need every encouraging word that my brother and sister passes along my way i am not there yet i'm trying to get there but y'all just pray for me i have to stop by and be filled as i hasten toward a conclusion paul says i'm praying that you are filled with hope somebody say hope but then he says i pray that you're filled with joy somebody say joy now joy is the quality that calm that causes cheer and dispels gloom we're trying to fill this room y'all see it see joy is the quality that causes cheer and dispels gloom you see everybody cannot be joyful while they are dealing with situations that have gone wrong that takes a special kind of power somebody say power in john the 16th chapter john gives us insight to what jesus records regarding the holy ghost now i know that the holy ghost is a word that some folk don't like they have a problem with it but the holy ghost the holy spirit is that third in the godhead is that individual whom jesus said i promise i'm going to send him now watch it his job is to comfort the believer that's what his job is he has feelings he's a personality he can be grieved this holy spirit is the comforter who allows us to reach a level of joy in our lives where we can sing and really mean joy and pain sunshine yeah and rain i i can look at a situation and i see a cheerful opportunity for god to get his glory even in the face of gloom and doom but someone says how do you remain cheerful in a situation that is sad and heartbreaking you're going to need the holy spirit to achieve it the bible says that paul prayed that god the god of hope would fill them with all joy and watch this word peace somebody say peace peace peace is important this quality of peace suggests that we are free from disturbance but notice not necessarily disruption uh let me let me deal with that free from disturbance but not necessarily from disruption there can be some disruptions all around you but your spirit can maintain its hope and its strength because that disruption does not have to become a disturbance your spirit can be strong your soul can be strong because you are a person who dwells in peace in other words you know how to manage disruptions and keep them from destroying and disturbing your soul everybody cannot do that every i say everybody cannot do that every christian every child of god cannot do that but when you have reached a certain level of spiritual maturity even when you have uh disruptions those disruptions don't have to disturb your soul paul says and then i'm praying i'm almost done i'm praying for your goodness he says in verse number 14 he says and myself also am persuaded of you my brethren that you are also full of goodness somebody say goodness watch this now goodness means to be holy and pure how can a man be holy and pure when there's nothing good in man that qualifies him to be in such a condition how does a man classify in being good because when there's no good thing that dwelleth in him family paul said it takes the holy spirit see that's the work of the holy spirit to create about a good spirit in all of us but in order to get the good spirit that is necessary to be full in a world that is empty you're gonna need the holy spirit now this introduces covenantal relationship because only those that are baptized in the blood of jesus can access the holy spirit and when you are in the body of christ the holy spirit will come and comfort you unless you've grieved him unless you have resisted him unless you have fought against him that is the job of the holy spirit to dwell within us and give us the kind of peace and goodness we need for the journey family i'm closing now somebody say he's closing i'm closing now the family i believe that it's time for us to not just quote and tote but to understand what god is saying the last quality that paul mentions is he says i want you filled with all knowledge now watch this able also to admonish one another now watch this somebody say knowledge let the church say knowledge again this is not some esoteric knowledge this is spiritual intellectual knowledge that is uh possessed by god and is only revealed in the imparting of his word simply put you don't get this kind of knowledge from hanging out on the street corner or from listening to the lords this is a spiritually discerned knowledge that is only found in the word of god you see god gives his wisdom through his word now there is a wisdom of the world that's experiential and there is a wisdom of god that is divine and in order to understand divinity and unlock the keys to living what is truly the abundant life i'm going to need some help i'm going to need a copy of the word and then i'm going to need to make the word accessible for me in my life listen to the text it was paul who said that god's word is scripture he admonishes and encourages timothy that from a child thou has learned the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation these scriptures it is not just a summer reading book it's not just good at a bedtime story event but these scriptures help to transform my life help to transform my mind help to transform my soul and my spirit paul goes on to say ii timothy 3 16 all scripture is given by the inspiration of god and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for construction for correction instruction in righteousness that the man of god may be perfectly uh thoroughly furnished unto all good works the bible says that you're going to need the scripture how are we going to be full while living in an empty world we're not going to be filled unless we stop by god's fueling station and when we allow god to give us the spiritual diet that is necessary to make the journey then and only then i'm closing now then and only then will we be able to reach that's that golden shore called heaven listen family when we apply the word of god to our lives we can live and ride around on fool while living in an empty world this world is empty schools empty of god families empty of god relationships empty of god yes even churches empty of god people empty and void of god all but when we come to god's filling station when we allow the word of god to germinate in our soul and to germinate in our spirit and to germinate in our mind then and only then can god bring us out of what we've been dealing with bring us out of depression he can raise you out of your poverty line he can bless you with new friends he will give you a new family he will give you a new lease on life god can do it and you can ride around all day on fool while living in an empty world he'll give you peace in the midst of your pain he'll give you love in the midst of your loneliness god will do it god can lift you up when others have put you down god will fill your tank you'll ride around on full you'll be looking for an opportunity to bless somebody else all because you have spent time with the most high god let the redeemed of the lord say so here it is the psalmist says blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the lord and in his law yeah does he meditate day and night and here it is he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water which shall bring forth fruit in his season his leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he do it shall prosper you can ride around on form in an empty world you can do it you can do it we wonder how we're going to get it done we're not going to get it done by doing it our way i can tell you that right now we're not smart enough we're not smart enough figure this world out on our own not smart enough not smart enough someone says you don't know how smart i am well are you smart enough to make the sun [Music] are you are you smart enough to weigh the mountains in a scale are you are you smart enough to know the numbers of hairs that are sitting upon my head family we are not smarter than god and god did not give us this bible and neither did he give us this pandemic for us to remain at the same level of faith somebody say growth somebody say spiritual growth how many of us really really want to grow spiritually just raise your hand if you don't mind now you take a look around you take a look around because see one thing about growth is you have to have accountability see y'all put your hands down yeah yeah no no no if you really mean it don't you want some if you're going to lose some weight they tell me you have to have an accountability partner i'm going to stop right there because you have to help one another that's what paul said paul said that that when you come into this relationship you help to admonish one another that means to warn one another that means to have concern for one another that means to edify build up one another hold up one another lift up one another the church is a lifting up kind of society where we lift up one another we don't suppress one another we don't oppress one another we lift up one another that's what god wants us to do and that's who he wants us to be listen you've heard the gospel and now is the time to obey you're going to make it this week you're going to be successful but you're going to be successful because you have the lord on your side amen praise god i say amen you're going to have the lord on your side you've heard the word believe it with all of your heart repent of all of your sins know that jesus christ is the son of god confess his name before men he went to the old rugged cross shed up his blood and was buried but rose again the third day he wants us saved he died he did all of that so that you and i can be saved if jesus did all of that if he left glory came down here to deal and tabernacle with men if he went to the old rugged cross if he was spat upon if he was lied upon if he was mistreated and abused if he did all that for me don't you think i ought to do something for him just seems like i ought to be able to do something and saying yes to jesus would be the best thing that you could ever do if you need prayer you need forgiveness of sin now is the time don't leave here being in the same spiritual place on your spiritual tank leave having been filled with the power love mercy and grace of god amen would you stand to sing the song of invitation will you come [Music] oh [Music] is [Applause] is [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] let the church say amen did you fill up this morning you know i've seen people on side of the highway that had ran out of gas and the desperation and despair on their face wasn't good so please fill up while you can i'm here to read our prayer request this morning and sister ruth bason she says please continue to pray for my mother's sister aunt edward edbernell davenport of my pleasure and the entire family she's still recovering in dallas under doctor's care ernest dean lewis she asks prayers for her and her family that they may have a better understanding of one another sister ruby cole she says please pray for the people of louisiana and the surrounding areas that are in the pathway of hurricane ida it says uh please pray for their safety brother reginald trudeau says please pray for him as he will have a procedure on monday brother holland says prayers for sister claudia monroe she is in herman memorial hospital paralymp sister tammy scott is asking prayers for her cousin jesse snowden says he has contacted chloe sister dana brooks asked prayers for her best friend's mom mrs m williams who suffered a stroke the daniels family are asking prayers for their daughter amber as she goes to help her son on monday i pray that all goes well sister betty sanders she says please pray for my cousins and family in new orleans as some are evacuating but others will not just pray for the johnson thomas mckinney nix and minnick's family says her daughter lost her father-in-law it says two weeks ago and they will they will funeralize him on september the 4th says i also lost a cousin on thursday alan johnson says please pray for his family pray for the entire family continued prayers for kim avery and sister audrey granderson now a praise report benson davis wants to thank the south union congregation for great test results so we want to continue to pray for mint and amen we want to continue to pray for vincent as he continues to battle we will continue to pray to god that he wins a victory also pray for his loving wife bertha as she is right there with him and she is having health situations as well so if there are no other prayer requests would you bow with me please to the great god of heaven to the father of the lord and savior jesus christ mothers once more again you have blessed us by allowing us to rise this morning with you in our hearts and on our minds that we were able to make it here to the spiritual fueling station and we just thank you so much for all your man servant father being able to deliver such a dynamic uh word to us this morning we just thank you so much we pray father that you would be with those who have asked for a prayer request father we just pray that you would be with those who have asked our prayers for the healing of their loved ones we just pray father that you would bless them comfort them strengthen them that they would be able to recover from their illnesses we pray father that you would uh be with uh brother trudeau as he will have a procedure on tomorrow with your spray father that thing will work well with and for him and that his procedure will go well we pray that you would be with sister amber father if she will uh deliver our son on tomorrow we just pray father that you would uh be with her be with the daniel's family that things will go well with the delivery we pray father that you would be with all of those fathers who are in the path of this hurricane we just pray father that you would bless them realizing that 16 years ago today they were hit in the same area with the hurricane father and we realized that there was much devastation father but you delivered uh so many and that they were able to rebuild but father we just pray father that things will work well for those fathers who have evacuated those fathers who have stayed realizing that those fathers who have evacuated have no idea what will happen to their homes their possessions but we just pray father that you would comfort them ease their mind letting them know that you are god and you're good and that things will work well with them for them and father we just pray that you would just continue to be with all of those fathers who may be having trouble in their homes on their jobs father we just pray that you would bless them and touch them in a special way and father we come on behalf of brother vincent davis just thanking you father for being with him as he has had favorable test results and we just pray father that he would continue to improve we just pray father that you would bless his wife and his entire family we just pray father that you would continue to be with each and every one of us father realizing that we all stand in need of something whether we made it known or not we just pray father that you would bless us in the ways that you know we stand in need of we just pray father that as always you would search this congregation search those on the airways for the blessing healing and absent prayers that you see fit now father these blessing betraying your daughter and son jesus name amen before we get to contribution is there anyone on this that need to turn into contribution i ask that you please raise your hand and us will be by to pick up your contribution now we have come down to our part of our service knowing his contribution this is the opportunity for us to give back to god a portion in which he have blessed us with we find scripture of reference as second corinthians the chapter is nine and the verses are six and seven and the bible reads now this i say he who soul spiritually would also reap spiritually and he who sows bountifully but also reboundfully each one must do this i see a purpose in his heart not grudgingly or under compulsion for god loves a cheerful forgiver let us pray a father without heaven we come thank you for this day and the many blessings that you have bestowed upon us we thank you for your son jesus who died on the cross for to mention our sins we thank you for allowing us to be stewards of the many things that you have given to us oh lord we come praying on behalf at this time on behalf of the contribution that was collected we pray that the funds will be used to advance your kingdom and that you will grant wisdom and knowledge to the elders the best to oversee these funds and to best use them to spread your kingdom o lord i ask that you continue to make provisions in our lives and that you continue to bless us with everything that we need and bless those who wanted to give but they have any means to give oh lord jesus saying i do pray and ask it all amen now we come down to a part of service that's known as the lord's supper this is a time where we should reflect back when our lord and savior jesus christ hum bled and died on a cross for the remission of our sins follow the examples of the earth of christians in the book of acts chapter 20 verses 7 that bible reads on the first day of the week when we were gathered together to break bread paul began talking to them intended to lead the next day and he prolonged his message until midnight we find further scripture of reference in first corinthians chapter 11 beginning at the 23rd verse at the bible reads for i received from the lord that which i also delivered to you that the lord jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you do this in remembrance of me in the same way he took the cup also at the supper saying this cup is a new covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the lord's stealth until he comes therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the lord but a man must examine himself and in so doing he is the year of the bread and drink of the cup for he who eats and drinks eats and drink judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly let us pray of all watching heaven we come once again thank you for making the greatest sacrifice that ever could be made by sending your son jesus to die on the cross for our sins we know that you loved us but you were thrown by the sacrifice of your son on our behalf now o lord become praying on behalf of the simple emblems the first one being the bread that represents his body that was broken on the cross at the second world being the cup that represents his blood that was shed out for many for the remission of his sins i just asked lord that whoever should take this bread and take this cup we do so with clean hands and a pure heart jesus name i do pray amen why did my savior come to [Music] [Music] he loves [Music] me [Music] he gave his [Music] be so our heavenly father we thank you for allowing us an opportunity to wake up to see this day oh god that we'll never see them all in our lifetime father you have been so wonderful and so good to us all father do through the storm you will spare us it could have been us instead of louisiana oh god we just thank you for being a wonderful god father and forgive us for all of our sins whether by words thought or need for relies on all kind master we sinned at times but we thank you for your love your peace i hold your amazing grace father bless the elders here in the deacons all in their family as well bless us all our heavenly father as a body of christ we're struggling to make heaven our home now go with us father protect us i believe with our loss of one we ask all these blessings the wonderful counselor the prince of peace let us all say hey man

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Length: 120min 47sec (7247 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 29 2021