We Will Have Joy Philippians 1: 12-18+

away i had to cry sometimes hey troubles in my way troubles in my way i had to cry sometimes i have to cry with a little wicked [Applause] i trouble in my home i had to pray sometimes i have to pray soon with a little wicked night a little awake at night but they're so right where because troubles in the church i had to love sometimes hey trouble in the church trouble in the church i had no love sometimes i had to love some will a little wicked night [Applause] i had love sometimes i have to love some with a little wicked night a little wake at night but that's all right because [Music] i said i tell you the jesus because i tell you that jesus [Music] amen amen so saw me show me the way the way and i need your power and lord [Music] so [Music] [Music] because i'm down here [Music] or saw me go away and lord i'm your trust child because i'm down here and i need your power and lord's soul i saw me sow me the way and lord i'm your child sing with me lord lord i am [Music] because i'm [Music] so me they saw me the way and lord saw me just so some [Music] or show me the way hey because i'm down here and i need your power and lost soul so me show me the way [Music] the church say amen good morning south side good morning south side visitors and good morning south side pajama pew partners wherever you're all at it's good to have everybody present this morning it's another great lord's day every day is a good lord's day we just happen to celebrate a lot of things on this particular day because this is the first day of the week a day that he set aside for us to worship him spirit and in truth john 4 tells us this morning our preacher won't be present he's in dayton ohio celebrating with one of his good friends one of his best friends as we've been told dr clevon matthews in dayton ohio it is their 40th anniversary for that particular congregation and as you all recall dr matthews came i believe to our 20th and um waxed eloquent and so brother west has returned that favor so let's wish him god speed hope all goes well for that congregation all goes well for us here as we continue to pray for one another i want you all to know that god loves us he wants us to get the most we can out of this worship please sing i know it's difficult with these masks on to be heard but god hears you so sing out loud so we can all hear each other just because we got a mass doesn't give us the license to just not sing because we know who you are i've been taking names i know who's singing i can tell when the mask is moving i know what's going on um we're just glad to be here hope you all had a great week we know there's a lot of folks having a lot of issues still let's continue to be in prayer for everybody just because people don't talk about it unless you talk to them you won't necessarily know so let's continue to pray for one another for those of you visiting with us thank you for spending some time with us we know that you could have been at home you could have been doing other things um we're just gonna continue to pray for you and your presence um we got some good news well actually it'll be announced later but we got another member placing membership here who's been here before but they're back so we're going to welcome that individual later and with that thank you brother uh victor my name's sake over there he's doing a great job annie thank you brother for your praising for your prayers for your singing and let's continue to go to god as we go now in prayer please bow with me our lord and our savior our god as we bombard your throne we thank you so much for your continued blessings we thank you so much for your continued watchfulness for our souls we thank you so much that you mean so much to us we thank you for the bible as brother west mentioned to us this week in his midweek bible study that great book that helps us to know your thoughts and know your intents and know your plan for our salvation thank you for all those who've made their way here this morning thank you for those who are worshipping with us afar thank you father for the ability that we have to even be socially connected to connect so many people so many hundreds and even thousands who find the time to look on the service and hope we hopefully will be blessed we pray for those who have been continually on our prayer list for those who have illnesses for those who've dealt with some mental things for those who are having all types of things they have to grapple with in their families we pray for our children in schools we pray father they continue to stay safe and we pray that everybody make the decision that it's going to be necessary to keep their children safe thank you for parents who have to walk that fine line between what's safe and what's right and what's actually the godly thing to do we thank you for all of us who are here we know father that we fall short we know we fall short we know that we fall short in so many ways but because you are who you are giving us that avenue to make our way back to you we have no words thanks it seems such a hollow word but thank you father thank you for the ability to repent and come home thank you for those who are watching from afar we ask that you bless this service we pray that you be with brother dz as he comes forward this morning one of our very own to give us those things that have been laid on his heart we also pray for our minister our brother our friend brother wes as he and brother cleven and others continue to celebrate that that congregation in dayton we pray that the meeting goes successfully that brother west not only arrives but comes back home safely thank you for his family in the meantime they be kept safe god please continue to watch over us help us to help one another help us to be reliant on you but help us to understand that we need to depend on one another for encouragement and for all the things that we do as people to help each other if we know somebody is sick if we know somebody has a need let us look to feel those needs for the best we can thank you again for the service may be a blessing to us but most of all may it please you we ask continually for your blessings as we close this prayer the name of jesus christ our lord our savior our friend our god our everything let this great church of christ say amen matching roving crown matching worm crown i'm gonna train myself they're home for a better one bright and fair across led to perimeter for children in the air and i joined them in that land where dinosaurs can be found and when i see you glory day [Music] [Music] i'll just wrap my robe around [Music] robin [Music] me [Music] and i'll always [Music] glory there [Applause] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] [Applause] crown all the glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to you o god woke up all the glory belongs to you all the glory belongs to you oh god [Music] oh god where the glory belongs belongs [Music] belongs to belongs to you belongs to you oh [Music] belongs to you oh it belongs to you yes it is [Music] [Music] [Music] hallelujah hallelujah in the morning hallelujah in the evening hallelujah late at night hallelujah right now oh hallelujah is the highest praise we give you for this morning hallelujah hallelujah worthy worthy hallelujah hallelujah lord we love you lord we praise you lord we need you we adore you lord we worship you lord we need you hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah if you know he's been good to you you without [Music] [Music] oh god [Music] amen amen let us stand let us stand how many of us know we serve an awesome god an awesome god who is worthy worthy to be praised if you're a base i want you to meet me right here my god is awesome god is awesome god is awesome god is awesome my god is awesome god is awesome god is awesome one more time one more time [Music] oh my god my god is awesome he can move out keep me in god is all hiding behind me from the rain my god my god is all heals me strength where god is forever my god my [Music] foreign [Music] sing the whole [Music] yes he is oh oh my god oh my god my god is the savior of savior of the giver [Applause] [Music] is let's praise this holy name one more time all my time my god my god is savior a savior it's only by his grace we ought to praise his holy name oh my god [Music] oh my god my god is i found him to be [Music] he's is [Music] [Music] my god my god my god is all he can move he can keep me and keep me in the behind me from the rain my [Music] forever is [Applause] keep standing up keep standing up all right all right let's let us adore the ever living god and render praise unto him who spread out the heavens has manifest throughout all the earth and whose glory is manifest throughout all the earth he is our god he is our god and besides you there is he is our god he is our guide and besides you there is no one and lift my hands unto him you saved my soul on a rugged tree that's why i worshiped you and serve you lord throughout eternity i'll praise your name most tell you an awesome god and lift my hands unto you you saved my soul on a rugged tree that's why i serve you lord and serve you lord throughout eternity you are my god you are my god and besides you there is no one else you are my god you are my girl and besides you there is no one else singing there is no one else one more time there is no no one no one else [Applause] the lord is your keeper the psalmist says the lord is the shade or the shield by your right hand the son shall not smite you by day nor the moon by night the lord shall preserve you from all evil he shall preserve your soul the lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and even forever more and on the very next verse of the very next psalm the psalmist says i was glad when they said unto me uh let us go into the house of the lord the psalmist says i was glad he didn't say i was mad he didn't say i was sad or otherwise in disposition he said i was glad and glad is a little bit different from happy darius glad is an outward expression the psalmist says i was glad and then he said i was glad when they said unto me see the psalmist went to church with his friends the psalmist went to church with his family he said i was glad when they see we'd be glad when they said let's go to the club we'd be glad when they say let's get some kong yet we be glad when they say let's let's go sip on a drink amen if we be glad but the psalmist says i was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the lord and whether you'll know it or not you should be glad this morning glad that you woke up this morning glad that you woke up in your right mind it's one thing to get up but some of us get up crazy man i was glad that we woke up this morning glad to be in our right mind some of you overspent for coffee hey man i'm guilty amen amen amen i like good coffee and they need to taste good have syrups in it amen i need you to serve it with a smile baby i don't get it from 7-eleven no no no i'm on 7-eleven but i was glad we woke up in our right mind we were able to uh get some expensive coffee we were able to put on our clothes and many of you looking very nice on this morning we were able to put on expensive clothes expensive handbags uh as brother leonard would say ferragamo cologne uh you were able but you were you had enough mind to come out and worship god and hopefully your worship has been in spirit uh and in true for those of you who are visiting with us uh the pajama church as well i am not uh wesley t amen i mean i'm the light of a younger version of wesley t lynn and i if you look at me and jonathan we look more alike than me and leonard hey but i am one well i have one of his sons amen and it's certainly a pleasure to be with you uh on this evening it is not my intention to keep you alone uh but there is a word from god y'all stand on your feet at this time stand on your feet uh if you're able i'm standing up i've been standing up last hour hey man i preached at midtown we preach over here amen all right man so if i can get up y'all can get up amen i don't want you to take your bible just just just humor me for a second i don't do the we all got a greeting thing that west does i don't know it i tried to memorize it yesterday but it wasn't working out it's too long too involved and then i listen to y'all y'all do it all off and everything so uh uh so all y'all i'm gonna give something simple something i always do uh uh and y'all just all you gotta do is repeat after me all right all right wave your bible in there hold up high yeah i like you in shape wave it in there wave it like it oh some of y'all know that too good all right amen uh repeat after me when i'm in worship oh come on y'all got to do better than that let's start again when i'm in worship i read my bible because i don't want no preacher lying to me amen amen y'all at least read it when you're in church amen amen trevor i hear you this morning amen the prodigal son returns i started to preach that amen uh turn your bible what did i trey what was oh man what romans romans chapter one i almost went over well at just priests philippians one thank you durian i would have preached that if i would have went to it amen uh romans chapter one i said it again all right philippians the chapter is one i'm in the right place though amen philippians chapter one we begin at verse number 15 and conclude our reading at verse number 18. i'll be reading from the new king james version if you have a reliable translation it should not differ significantly philippians chapter 1 verse number 15 all that habit confirm it by saying amen paul says some indeed preach christ even from envy and strife some also from goodwill the former priest christ from selfish ambition not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my chains but the ladder out of love knowing that i'm appointed for the defense of the gospel what then only that in every way whether in pretense or in truth christ is preached in this i rejoice yes and will rejoice i read for you philippians chapter 1 verses 15 through 18 let all those who agree and believe that the bible is the word of god say amen go ahead and sit down down i like to use this uh to frame a message i will have joy i will have joy we live in a world that is spiraling out of control the once predictable norms of life have been replaced by the certainty of change you don't know what's going to happen from one day to the next yet you can be certain that today is not the same as yesterday this week is not the same as last week this month is definitely not the same as last month and this year and the year prior and the years prior are so very different even if you look back at the last 10 years life is very different from one decade to the next the only thing you can be certain about in this life is this is that the world will change this world and the life that we live in changes so much that i believe that we're out of control we live in a world where children don't obey their parents and parents don't care for their children i said the world is out of control drug abuse is on a rise literacy rates are on a decline gays and lesbians seek out marriages but traditional marriages too often end in divorce poverty is everywhere peace of mind cannot be found our lives are filled with drama and reality is a show on tv the cost of living is going up and the chance of living is going down i remember at one point we'd pay five dollars for a bottle of rubbing alcohol ten dollars for a small bottle of sanitizer just remember last year when this happened now big beautifuls used to be around the book but now they're two for six dollars i said this world this world that we live in is out of control one day we're doing well the next day you're sick one day you're independent and the next day you're substance dependent you go to the doctor to gain relief from physical pain she writes you a prescription the pharmacist feels it six months later you're hooked on viking in the gateway drug for heroin your life and your family have been torn to pieces and none of this was intended i said our lives even our bodies that time are out of control but just because life is out of control doesn't mean we should not exercise or attempt to exercise the control of what we can i can't control what goes on outside my house but i can't control what happens underneath my roof i can't control what you say but i can determine what i listen to i can't control your actions but i control my response to your actions that's why i consistently pray to god god grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change give me the courage to change the things that i can and the wisdom to know the difference although those are things that in my life that are beyond control the one thing i can change and determine is me beyond that i can change my final destiny through christ i can't choose what happens to me brother davis but i can't choose my choices i can make up my mind and i decide my decisions you can't control anybody or everybody else but self-control is certainly within reach i choose my actions my reactions and particularly on this morning my state of mind say what you want to say do what you like treat me as you will but i've made up my mind this morning to control the one thing i control in my life i'm taking control of my attitude this morning i decided that i will have joy i've decided that i will remain positive i decided to not let life and its negative consequences affect me i decided not to let this pandemic bring me down i've decided not to let grumpy folks get to me i've decided that no matter what the cards are dealt to me in my life that i'm going to deal my head my hand i'm not going to be sad i'm not going to let things hold me down i'm not going to let anyone or anything help up my happiness i'm not going to let anyone anybody could bark down my contentment or my joy i've decided to live with joy i said this morning i will have joy i said i will have joy i don't know about you this morning but everything in my life ain't right right now my wife is in the hospital right now my son is at home with a small fever right now and i'm just thankful to god that we've both been all tested positive negative for covert i'm so happy this morning i'm still able to get up in my right mind still able to put on two pair a pair of pants and a pair of socks i'm still able uh to worship god in spirit and truth i don't care what's happening to me i don't care what's going on around me i've decided that i will i'm sorry i mean yeah i've decided carlos that i will i've determined in my mind that i will have joy see life is about decisions the most important thing that you can do is decide there are a lot of things that can't happen to you uh in life we we play life like space any good spray players in here oh there ain't too many cuz ain't nobody raise their hand what a good spray player say hey man hey man i ain't good i'm great hey man i teach it on the weekends i got i got a correspondence course if you want to sign up for it but but life is like space you can't control the hand that you're dealt but you can't determine how you play the cause although those are things in my life that i can't determine although there are things in my life that i can't control i can control my attitude and i've decided that no matter what no matter what happens to me in life i will i said i will i will have joy every morning i'm going to pray habakkuk's prayer listen to his words in habakkuk 3 he says even though the figs have no blossoms and there are no grapes on the vines even though the olive crops fail and the field lies empty and buried even though the flocks die in the fields and the cattle burns aren't empty yet i will rejoice in the lord i will be joyful in the god of my salvation i said i can't control anything in my life but i will have joy i said i will have joy i'm turning a corner this morning church i see my breakthrough breaking through man and i apologize if this message ain't for you now i came to preach to the preacher and if y'all get a little something out of it good for y'all uh but i've decided to turn things around this i've decided that i i that i'm not going to take offense i've decided that i'm not going to be insulted i'm decided that i'm not going to be upset about the things that happened to me in life i saw a lady fussing and cussing about getting into the line at sam's club and while she was fussing and cussing and on her cell phone i just snuck up in front of us see life is about uh decisions life is about choices i i've been that way i i've been in isolation this thing can be depressing somebody say amen but i'm realizing i knew that how i feel right now is up to me it's so simple but we often miss it and i know this intellectually but i'm now accepting it spiritually uh uh i almost didn't recognize it amen amen amen i know uh this mentally uh uh this is a simple thing uh but in life some things are simple but not easy uh i said some things are simple and not easy what you talking about preaching uh uh uh losing weight is simple all you got to do is burn more than you take in uh all you got to do is outflow more than your inflow amen uh uh it's simple but not easy uh saving money uh is easy getting out of that uh get is simple getting getting out of debt it's simple uh pay off your bills and don't charge no more that's simple but it ain't easy uh-uh it's simple making up your mind but it's just easy that that's not easy that's why i'm saying i've just cited see well i tell i'm telling you like i tell my son son make up your mind what you're gonna do about the situation before you get to the situation because if you're in a situation trying to make up your mind y'all know what i'm talking about brother coming make up your mind what you gonna do before because if you wait until you get to it oh boy oh boy amen amen you see whatever happens in life happens i can be mad i can be hurt i can choose to be offended those things are easy to do we live in a world where people are just offended by everything and we are ran by the minority of offenders you know there's a small group that gets offended by something and they change the laws for everybody and they having with society and i got time to deal with this what's called the silent majority most of us are kind of middle of the way about everything we can care less about this or that but that might that vocal minority drives life they're offended by everything but i've decided i said i've decided i've decided that i will i will i will have joy y'all got time for this philippians did i get it right flipping say amen did they get on the screen hey yeah i got slides i hope them the right ones amen philippians chapter one y'all know the book of philippians paul writes uh to the church at philippi and paul had a relationship with the philippians he was founded in adversity and y'all know how that is when you go through a little something brother david said you can come tight uh it's good for families to go through something uh every now and then brother benjamin because it brings you together it it brings you closer uh together it's good to go through some things if you know somebody is with you durian when you go through some things with them when you when you're on the bottom and they still with you you know that they're with you and so paul and the philippian church they was founded in adversity i remember paul uh paul in the philippian jail y'all remember that uh and he baptized the philippian jail but do you remember how he got into jail uh they had that woman they was using and society ain't changed they were using this woman for their own game and paul kind of got tired of it he didn't he didn't throw the demon out because he was trying to help he was just tired he told the demon get out because she was tired of her proclaiming that these men proclaimed jesus christ and he tossed the demon out and but when they saw that they money uh yeah yeah my mentor told me son when you're preaching uh stay away from two things he said stay away from the money and the honey you say you don't make a lot of mistakes but if you stay away from the money and the honey you'll be all right amen oh brothers y'all be shading yourself all the men all the manly man should be saying amen oh boy we'll get that next time i'm here amen amen amen so he was thrown in prison but the church stuck with it and the church flourished there you had the philippian jailer you had this incident with the woman you even had the women that were praying you know those godly jewish women amen thank you as i look at sister leonard uh mama lynn i thank god for praying praying sisters amen uh and so he had him he had these praying sisters and he converted them and so they started in adversity so by this time paul was writing to a church when he was in trouble and he wrote to that church when he was in trouble because they had been with him in trouble before amen i see when you were in trouble in life and you can look back and see who was with you and those are the people that you know can count on you and if you've helped them then they'll help you amen and that's why right now even in the midst of all these things have been happening in my life there's one or two families that we've been able to rely on uh some folks that we've been able to draw strength from because they've been there when we were in trouble and so paul writes to the church at uh philippi he says verse number 12. i want you to know and notice the text he says my dear brothers and sisters he's writing to a people he have a relationship uh with it's on i teach at midtown that the most important thing in the church is relationship god is a father a relationship he he is a god in relationship god the father the son and the holy spirit in relationship made man in relationship he said let us make man in our image and the male and female made he them he made us in relationship we are a triune being we are a soul that has a spirit and a body we are people about relationship god is principally concerned with relationship that's why when we come to jesus christ we're given the adoption of sons he invites us into the family into the tightest are supposed to be tightest amen amen because some of us don't like our families amen uh into relationship he says i want you to know my dear brothers and sisters he says that everything that's happened to me and i don't notice that he says everything he says everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the good news and we know the good news is the gospel and the gospel is good news because those who are lost in our sins if we obey jesus christ we'll be forgiven of our sins and we don't have to suffer uh the second death that's good news and he says those that has this thing that's happened to me notice his perspective from the start paul is writing at the point scholars say paul is in prison and from this text we see that he's in prison in a larger prison and we see here that he's telling them that everything and you look at look at the texture say everything can't be everything but paul's attitude is that everything that has happened to me my dear brothers and sisters has helped to spread the good news he's in prison but he's talking about the good things about it he's in prison and he's celebrating his uh challenges he's in prison and he's thinking about the bright side why paul he says for everyone here including the whole palace gods knows that i'm in chains because of christ uh uh paul says everybody here knows that i'm innocent and when i read the text i i laugh sometimes because if y'all ever known somebody in prison everybody apprentice is is innocent uh amen but paul is innocent for real uh he ain't like our cousins this morning that that that there are they are uh uh uh an unfortunate consequence of a miscarriage of justice he ain't like ah our people paul is innocent he's thrown in jail on trumped-up charges he's thrown in jail for spreading the gospel the good news he says everyone here including the palace guard including the cos including the wardens know that i'm in chains because of christ and i want you to think about how it feels to be falsely accused has anybody ever been lied on this morning if anybody ever been stabbed in the back this morning has anyone ever had a situation of being twisted in a way that just so out of culture has anybody ever been misled and abused paul says i'm in chain because of christ i'm here not because i've done something wrong i'm healed because i'm doing some things right sometimes in life you're going to get in trouble not because you're doing stuff wrong because you're doing stuff right mama used to tell me that if you don't do it move you'll never have friction and movement causes friction and friction causes heat sometimes you get into a little trouble because you're doing something in life if you don't want no trouble just do nothing he says and because of my imprisonment most of the believers and you can't help everybody he said most of the believers most here have gained confidence see that's the importance of sharing your testimony sister kramer you got to tell some folks what god has done for you and don't just tell them the good parts tell them all the parts and don't just tell them the bad parts so sometimes we just tell them the bad stuff too uh tell them how god has gotten you through your mess that that's why uh uh the 12-step programs are so important because there's other people talking to others about what they've been through what they've undergone and how they've been delivered paul says because of my imprisonment most not everybody most of the believers here have gained confidence if paul can go to prison then i can stand up most of them gain confidence and boldly speak god's message without fear paul were right the tendency god has not given you the spirit of fear that's the thing that troubles me about these times that we live in it is good to be cautious is good to be safe in terms of hygiene but let's not live in fear paul's testimony here lets us know that our testimony can be powerful he says most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speaks god's message without fear you see bad times sometimes strengthen your resolve uh when you go through some stuff sometimes it makes you tough that's why i try to tell folks and council folks brother company don't don't take all the don't take all the punishment away from your child don't don't take away all the consequences of their actions you got to let them scrape their knees sometime you got to let them stumble and fall because if you catch them every time he said it is true that some i told you he said most of the believers have gained confidence verse 14 but then he says in 15 it's true that some that some are preaching out of jealousy and robbery uh others are just taking this opportunity uh uh yeah yeah yeah it's competition even in preach uh uh i know i ain't supposed to say this but there's some preachers who you know can you top this sermon it's only is this competition come on song leaders you go to uh if you don't know go go to the next event that we have y'all have the uh my birthday celebration october me and my son's birthday celebration october 23rd and the 24th y'all calling it the uh uh fall festival but it is our birthday weekend october 23rd uh and 24th uh uh uh uh uh y'all if there's some singing happening uh what you'll see is that if somebody comes up and everybody's moving and moving the congregational song the next guy that comes up he gonna draw that thing out babe man unknowingly durian say amen oh boy sometimes there's some competition he said some are emboldened by my action but some are preaching out of jealousy paul in prison everybody oh gagging over him everybody all paul this paul that he said but others preach about christ with pure motives the thing that occurred to me is i don't know what your motivation is and that's why i've decided that i'm not going to judge people's motivation uh one of the things that uh biden did well or said well when he was vice president uh was that i i don't judge a man's motive i just evaluate his actions so you can't look at what uh what what you think a person means by it i had a guy a friend when i was in high school and nearly about to graduate he went to prison for 15 years because he shot a guy for stepping on his sneakers now he stepped on his sneakers at a nightclub and he assumed it was disrespect you're in a nightclub wall to walk y'all know how that from the window oh what he decided you don't know people's motive that's why i'm deciding to have joy sometimes folks say stuff to you like well why would they say that and it seems in your mind there ain't no other reason why other than to but i don't know your heart the bible says god you don't even know your heart the bible says that the heart is desperately wicked who can know it you don't know your heart that's why we ought to be careful when we say i follow my heart i don't know what's in my heart your heart is deceitful and desperately wicked don't follow your heart follow god he says true that some are preaching out of jealousy and robbery but others preach about christ with pure motives you see there's a dark side to every good story and some folks will take the opportunity to capitalize on your pain they preach paul says verse 16 because they love me for they know i've been appointed to defend the good news those others do not have pure motives as they preach about christ they preach with selfish ambition you know people like that they only do stuff to get something out of it hey man you know some people they don't do stuff unless something's in it that's preaching every walk of life he says others preach and do not have pure motives as they preach about christ they preach with selfless ambition not sincerely intending to make my chains more painful to me paul is not only in prison but he's been taunted yeah it ever had somebody poke at something and just poke at it and try to aggravate you but notice what paul says in verse number 18. i'm reading from new american studies he says but that doesn't matter you can't let people get on your last nerve and you can't if they on your last nerve you can't let them know it see sometimes in life are going to press at you sometimes in life folks are going to take an opportunity to get at you sometimes in life people are going to take your weaknesses and your low terms in life and use it for their advantage you and your baby boy your girlfriend going through something and you're wearing it all over your face i'm looking at my friend carlos carla you know and you're wearing it all over your face and she come over and says everything all right now you're a woman but some folks take your weak moments and use it to exploit you but paul says that doesn't matter he says whether their motives are false or genuine he says the message of christ is being preached and whether the folks are being honest or disingenuous maybe they're trying to help maybe they're not maybe they're good maybe they're bad maybe they're honest maybe they're dishonest maybe they're evil maybe they're good i don't know but the message of god is still being preached and we ought to be excited about god's message being preached and i know i ain't no preachers standing up next to wesley t but the message of god is still me and preach it doesn't matter who stands before you but is he opening up the word of god it reminds me of time we were uh worshiping over at uh what was that chain of lengths yeah for all y'all newcomers i was here before y'all hey man i'm a son of south side hey man hey man man i i just didn't i stole these mics right here hey man amen uh we was over at a chain of lakes i remember like yesterday we we had a brother uh we had a brother that was known uh to be friendly uh with all the sisters this brother was known to be here no more don't be looking around he was too extra friendly there i'm just looking at theirs theirs he was extra friendly i'm looking at derrick because her friend in my house uh it was extra friendly and uh i remember a sister called me because i used to set up the worship right uh uh sister called me says y'all are not let him work on communion he ain't no good i said he's so bad he can't surf he ratchet he's so bad he can't stand up in hand make me not even want to take paul said that doesn't matter whether their motives are false or genuine quit trying to read in people's motives my godfather told me he says man you can learn something from anybody he said you can learn a lesson from a drunk on the street he said so just shut up sometimes and listen and i know it ain't right to say shut up but back when i was growing up people would tell you to shut up not be quiet could be quiet means lower your volume shut up means just stop talking see you got to say what you mean sometimes you don't want folks to be quiet you warm this don't tell your way or that don't tell her that don't know you want to don't tell it i try to help the newlyweds amen amen amen amen he said no matter what their motives are he said some mothers are false others are genuine he says the message about christ is being preached either way so i rejoice he says because christ is being treated not only do i have joy i reap joy rejoice means to have joy over and over again i know y'all know this but let me tell you again he's not saying i'm happy because happiness is determined by happenings what he's saying is there's something going on inside of me there is something that possesses me he says the spirit of god has filled me in such a way as long as the mission is being met it doesn't matter whether it's me or someone else preaching the word the word is being preached and lives are being changed and folks are coming to god and people are being baptized and folks are getting off drugs and getting off the street and making a difference in their family life homes are being rebuilt our marriages are being brought back together it don't matter if it's him or me or false or good christ is being preached [Applause] he says and because of that because we made we're winning see paul's got a team mindset there's some folks in church unless they doing it they ain't happy about it unless they over the program they ain't happy about it unless they got a talking part they ain't happy about it unless they're the chairman or the committee or the chairwoman of the committee they're not happy about it but paul says as long as the message about christ is being preached i rejoice and then he makes a determining statement and that's what i want us to do this morning to make determining statements in our life he says and i will continue he says i'm rejoicing now and i'm gonna keep it up in other words like mama used to say i ain't gonna let nobody turn me around he says i'm not gonna let you mess me up i'm not gonna let you change my mind i'm not gonna let what you say damper my spirit i'm gonna have joy i will rejoice that's why every now and then you gotta have a praise party all by yourself every now and then you gotta say hallelujah while you're in your pajamas every now and then you gotta stand up and pray when i listen to my spiritual zone especially on sunday morning but all throughout the week sometimes i just wave my hands in the air when nobody is looking i sing out loud in the shower because i still have my prayer i ain't gonna let nothing hold me down i will have [Music] i will and i'm not gonna let you you you you you quit letting other people determine your disposition church they just say uh misery loves company no no no the miserable love company misery is an inanimate object the miserable love company i ain't going to your party i'm having a party all over here if you want to get some of this joy if you want to get some of this praise see this is just part two to what wes talked about last week he talked about bragging on god amen that's the outward but the bible says out of the heart uh the mouth speakers now the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh in order to get that braggadocious nature going outside you got to get it right on the he says christ is being preached so i rejoice and i will continue in other words you ain't going to stop me for i know that as you pray for me and the spirit of jesus christ helps me i'm going to be delivered you see your prayers and god's action lead to deliverance that's why you can help joy because i know weeping endures for a night uh but joy comes in the morning we use the same sound trouble don't last always uh we know that all things work to the good of those who love the word wait on the lord be of good courage he shall strengthen us path wait i say on the lord your prayers and god's actions leads to deliverance prayer changes things if you're not determined this morning you need to be i said if you're not determined this morning you need to be i said brother watch now well how do i do that everything it's it's everything starts with first one thing a decision you need to decide that i'm going to have joy it ain't always going to be easy like i read a book not too many months ago it's called unoffendable changed my life made me look at myself in a way that says look these you can choose to let stuff bother you like every time my boss say something silly come on now am i the only one to have bosses that say stuff silly or say something that don't make sense to me based on what i'm seeing usually that's what it is either you have better information or they have better information but every time you say something silly to me i'm not going to be offended every time somebody not of my skin color says something that don't sound right to me i'm not going to accuse them of being racist i said every time they say something i don't like i'm not going to accuse them of being i know that ain't popular but we hinder ourselves when we become offended by i'm going to decide i will have joy and it ain't gonna be easy as soon as you decide to do something stuff because it's coming your way amen hey man as soon as you decide that you're gonna get out of debt save some money stuff happens you know what i mean every time you save up a few hundred every every time uh every time yeah yeah yeah every time we were doing good and then white got sick and did it man we she ain't even at the hospital and then i get to co-pays amen here's what your estimation wait wait a minute she just got home how is this here but it starts with a decision i'm deciding that i'm going to have joy if you don't know christ that's your first decision name christ as your lord and savior how do i do that brother why did you do that by hearing the gospel you've heard it christ came he took on the form of a servant crafted in the flesh of mankind suffered hung on the cross died buried but he rose again believe it that's a choice you see coming to christ it's a choice belief is a choice faith is a choice y'all it no matter how you do it and every now and then when i preach i try to show people proofs that exist in nature and talk about that but it gets to a point where faith is a decision yeah yeah yeah you can decide that these hypothetical universes uh that they can't prove which they just say based on this other thing that this now we believe you can decide that or you can decide to believe in god faith first is a decision and once you decide that you believe that you'll change you have a change of heart that's what repentance is is i've changed my mind if you believe something you'll change your mind if you believe something bad enough it'll change your mind that's called repentance i've decided to change my ways and then you'll confess what you believe and when you come to christ you don't confess your sins how that's anger you confess what you believe uh because if you confess your sins when you come to christ we'll be here all day amen it took you 30 40 50 60 years to do all that stuff and if you try to confess it all you wouldn't because you forget you forgot i've forgotten more the sin that i remember somebody say amen you confess what you believe i believe that jesus christ is the son of god and based upon that confession we're baptized in water uh i was hearing online that you had a baptism we'll baptize you even in the midst of a pandemic we'll baptize you today if you're a christian and you're subject to the invitation and you maybe you just vowed things in life to weigh you down maybe you've allowed some things some people some situations to steal your joy maybe you need just some prayer whatever it is there are folks i'm i'm told that we we take response cards uh just raise your hand someone will come to you at this time but wherever you are will come to you if you need to be baptized contact the church email the church whatever you whatever you need will make it a way for you to come to god or make your request known but decide whatever you do make a decision and make it today my desire for myself as well as you is that you'll decide to have joy so let it be written so let it be done if you're subject to an invitation where i invite you to come as together we stand and ask together we sing i still have joy i still have joy [Music] [Music] and i still have peace and after all the things i've been through i still have peace and i still had peace and i still have peace [Music] we've come to this uh time in our worship where we obey the lord's commandment and that we do this speaking of communion in remembrance of him paul writes in first corinthians chapter 11 for i received from the lord with that which i also delivered unto you that the lord jesus in the same night in which he was portrayed took bread and we had given thanks he broke it and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you this do in remembrance of me let us pray for the bread father god in the name of jesus we come thank you for this time we come thank you for your son's body the body that was laid on the cross it was giving us a sacrifice for us we ask that you bless us as we take this bread that we remember what he has done and we live the life in our body that's reflecting of our gratitude this is our prayer in jesus name amen i know this is a little bit different but let us now access the bread and together let us eat in the same manner he also took the cup at the supper saying this cup is a new testament in my blood this do you as often as you drink it in remembrance of me let us pray for the cup father god in the name of jesus again we come to you father thinking about on calvary's cross this time father particularly reflecting on your son's blood that blood which cleanses us from our sin that blood which is given as a sacrifice as an atonement father we ask that you allow us to partake of this cup uh help us to do so in the right mind help us to do so in a way that embolden us to action this is our prayer in jesus name amen and let us access the cup and let us drink for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the lord's death till he come therefore there are four whoever eats this bread and drinks his cup of lord lord and unworthy man that will live will be guilty of the body and blood of the lord but let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup at this time we uh make it available uh give you the opportunity uh to give uh and i say opportunity because giving is truly an first opportunity [Music] give it a try the bible says you always have all sufficiency in all things let us pray converse of a father we thank you for this opportunity we have to give to give back a portion of what you have given to us to give it for the building of ministry to give it for the outreaching to to the community give it for the benevolence of others father we ask that you bless those who are giving ask those you bless those who are directing the use of this funds help them to be wise and prudent in their actions we love you so much and we thank you it's our prayer in jesus name amen uh i'm told that there is a you may give the uh you can mail your check in to the church's p.o box which for your for the pajama church is online but you also may give through a variety of messages uh paypal text uh giblify and uh whatever that green thing is i'm not cash out okay yeah yeah yeah i'll get cash out uh but whatever it is uh give give uh we don't pray that bless those who could not give because we all can get the widow only had two pennies two mice and she put them both in you can find two pennies i ain't my church so i i ain't gonna get a nickel at this amen but it's what god would have us to do then we'll receive a confirmation if you use any other electronic methods and so uh your giving will be uh secure and it will reach the church and i believe that this church will do great things uh with the monies that i've offered i now turn over the service to uh one of our competent and capable elders big willy i mean brother brother davis he's getting a little old that's it i could still spank him as i said yeah i remember our times at starbucks getting some counsel but based upon his message today i think he then growed up a little bit so just a little bit he learned a few lessons about that money you know it says dr washington he is a a pharmd so also so he's he's got all that health care knowledge that he was talking about earlier and we're glad we appreciate you being here son making the effort we want to pray for yana and in their household that they can stay well and we just know that god will continue to provide for them and strengthen him a great topic today and enjoy we still have it and we must keep it throughout all of this let's have a couple of uh requests here crystal beatty you back with us now are you visiting okay okay stay in your head put your hand up there stand up gotta go just stand up crystal [Applause] okay she's back with us from louisiana so you got a nursing degree she's back here to be gainfully employed and help us in this pandemic so just pray for her pray for her parents back in louisiana her father is a position he and i went to school together so uh donny and just pray for their family his her mother in particular she asks prayers for a friend of hers jonathan he's on an ecmo and the doctors are doing everything they can to save him from this covet also for the nurses physicians health care workers and she says we are tired and i think we lose sight of that sometimes he says that's their job but they just flesh and blood just like us they get tired i know i get tired so just pray for them also brother lafayette kyles where are you okay he's placing membership with us he's been here a while and uh lafayette jr awesome okay all right okay he's up the road there so pray for him uh cheryl kravis uh text me on the way in this morning uh heard and chloe on their way back from virginia chloe's paternal grandfather passed away they had services for him yesterday in virginia so pray for their safe return here to florida uh sister lily zelis davis uh lily her mother passed away yesterday want to pray for her and danny and their family so going through this i want to ask for prayers for my sister geneva marie randall she is vaccinated but she is one of those breakthrough covet cases so just to pray for her she's down there in hollywood florida so uh she's doing better but she does have a lot of symptoms so i just ask for your prayers for her and again we want to remember sister jana washington visitors if you would raise your hand if you're visiting with us today look around it's just one two three oh back okay good glad to have you okay very good we appreciate you all uh honoring our while we're inside to keep your mask on we appreciate that we asked that you would just still comply and those of you that are 65 and older i encourage you to get the booster shot okay it is facts are coming out that we owe to people unfortunately our resistance wanes a little quicker than the younger people so i encourage you to get in line and get that booster shot the third shot whatever you want to call it's the same vaccine but go ahead and get it as soon as you can we want to encourage all of our members here to do so i know you have your various reasons why you aren't but even with my sister you have a better chance if you do get infected if you you are vaccinated it's just a fact as we go forward and continue to pray a lot of people have other issues in their lives that are going on and let us look aside look at them just want to share one thing i've been studying a lot for some reason studying the book of john chapters 11 through 13 or so jesus raises lazarus from the dead and something just been reading it over and over all week but something that just stuck struck me in chapter 11 verse 44 after jesus had told lazarus to come forth you know he came out he was fully wrapped and bound he said he had the cloth over his face and you would think that would be enough but afterwards jesus said loose him and let him go even though jesus did what he needed to do there still was something yet to be done and that which was left yet to be done had to be done by the people that were there so a takeaway that i i i get from this is that there's still work for us to do a lot of us have been raised so to speak given a second chance but we haven't been loosed yet and that loosing has to do with us helping one another and jesus later on that same passage is a new commandment i give you it says that you love as i have loved you a new commandment and that love is sacrificial and giving during this tough time it's still important that we reach out get outside of ourselves it's imperative that we do that that is what's going to allow us to have the joy because when you're just looking taking care of yourself you're not going to be very joyful but when you help someone else there's such a great feeling a sense of of worth by doing something even if it's a little bit but let us consider that as we go forward not just for the church folks here but those people in your neighborhood in your cubicle on that zoom call that you're on whatever you're doing let's be considerate of others as we go forward okay anything else i'm missing bishop again let's pray for our senior minister he's in dayton ohio just pray that all goes well pray for sister pam and uh and colin and the family and all of our members that are going through various things let's stand together and i'll dismiss this in prayer again thank you dc appreciate it let us pray our god and father we are so thankful for your kindness and your love you love us in such a way that is it's hard for us to comprehend that even though we transgress your will we sin we do those things that are not pleasing to you you love us and you've shown that by the tremendous gift that was given for us we thank you for the lesson today from my dear brother dc we pray that you would bless him bless him in his efforts bless his family bless his wife strengthen her heal her and help them to move together bless their sons and just watch over them also we ask god that you would be with those that are hurting at this time we know that their hospitals are still very full especially the icu's we know that the personnel have been taxed beyond all normalcy but strengthen them god give them a renewed sense of strength as they go forward but keep them safe too and their families as they go in and out of these areas that infection seems to be spreading in such a faster way we thank you for sister crystal coming back to us and our new brother coming to us and placing membership we just pray that there will be a vital part here at south side father be with our members be with uh cheryl as they're traveling and just her and chloe keep them safe and others that are on the road at this time father help us not to neglect you or this congregation there's still a lot of work to be done as our brothers taught us today that the gospel needs to be shared with others not just in word but indeed help us to portray what the gospel is all about by the lives that we live and we ask god that all that we do will be to your benefit and to your glory father we need your help we ask that you would mitigate this virus that you would mitigate some of these bad attitudes and actions and behaviors throughout this country and especially our state i pray for our children my grandchildren great-grandchildren god and these testing times keep themselves safe father we love you so much we thank you and i offer this prayer in jesus name let us all say amen you know that i'm [Music] [Music] [Music] wait [Music] [Music] you know that i'm [Music]

Channel: Southside Church of Christ, Orlando

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Length: 91min 38sec (5498 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021