Change
by Johnny Godair
1994 · The Pentecostals of Alexandria, Alexandria, LA
Kind: conference session
Scripture: Ruth 1:1-5, 2 Timothy 4:2-4, James 4:8, Ruth 1:19-20, Jeremiah 6:16, Jeremiah 35

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/johnny-godair--change
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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godair hallelujah thank you Jesus thank you brother Kelly it's so good to be here in this meeting and it's been such a tremendous meeting the preaching has been tremendous the singing the music the fellowship and just the good good feeling that we have being in this meeting thank the Lord for brother and sister Mangan senior they've been our friends for many many years we love them very much and this church has been a real has has established a tremendous Beach head for evangelism and soul winning and Revival and I appreciate these folks so much and brother Anthony and sister Mickey Manan our dear friends pastor of this church an outstanding man an outstanding preacher and an outstanding leader so I'm very happy to be here all of the sponsors and all of the men women that are heading up this meeting I'm I'm enriched by being here praise God praise God presence of the Lord is beautiful isn't it thank the Lord the preaching last night and today has been just absolutely awesome let's lift our hands and praise the Lord father Our God we love you today bless your name Jesus bless your name Jesus amen if you would open your Bibles to the Book of Ruth chapter one The Book of Ruth chapter number one and verse number one I'll try to be mindful of the time I know know that everybody's getting a little hungry better not talk about food too much had we but I'll be mindful of the time I will be here less than an hour to speak to you and U I just pray that you'll pray with me that God's spirit will move I have a message that I feel in my heart and I ask you to just open your heart to receive it the Book of Ruth chapter number one and verse one now it came to pass in the days when the judge rule that there was a famine in the land and a certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab he and his wife and his two sons and the name of the man was IMC and the name of his wife was naom and the name of his two sons mean and shilon ephra ties of Bethlehem Judah and they came into the country of Moab and continued there and IMC Na's husband died and she was left and her two sons and they took them wives of the women of Moab the name of the one was orphan the name of the other Ruth and they dwell there about 10 years and meon and chilion died also both of them and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband that's reading verses 1-5 this first chapter of Ruth I'd like to speak to you for just a little while today and I'm going to use one word for God Amen thank you and you may be seated change change is something that is constantly taking place in our society right there has never been a generation that has changed so much and so quickly as the generation that we're living in you're right someone has so aply stated that the only thing that is constant is change we're living in a changing World change has become a way of life change has become our position in the '90s the ' 80s and '90s in society we see great changes that are

taking place the homosexual lifestyle is now being wooed and accepted abortion is something that is not only condoned but sponsored by the tax dollars of the American people the value system of this country has gone through dramatic and drastic changes over the last few years and is still in the constant process of change homes are changing from the time when some of us were children homes are changing most wives are working nowadays husbands have two jobs and trying to make ends meet and everybody's busy it's a Helter Skelter lifestyle we're living in a different world we're living in a different world the schools of our society are changing in Chapel Hill North Carolina which is only 5 miles from Durham we have just sort of a twin city of Durham and Chapel Hill Chapel Hill High School two weeks ago began on a daily basis passing out condoms to young people in high school that's the kind of society that we're living in not only is it condoned but it's being given by the teachers and by the school one of our men teaches at Chapel Hill High and he has gone under a tremendous amount of adversity because he will not teach out of books that openly openly State an approval of homosexual lifestyle and abortion and so on and he has come under tremendous scrutiny by the people and by the teachers there but he's standing out as a voice for the Lord in that school Amen on the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill just last week just this past Friday they passed a rule that all boys can now go and stay overnight in all the girls dorms at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where living in a changing World 100,000 plus students take guns to school every day we're living in a dangerous Society our schools are changing our churches are also changing we're living in a time of changing churches cold churches lifeless churches dead churches Church boring churches and the baby boomer generation are tired of boring churches and that's why they're quitting Church by the thousands that's why they're dropping out and are no longer interested because they feel like there's nothing there there for them personally right if we ever needed a church that's alive with holy ghost power we need a church that's alive to I don't believe we stand a chance of affecting our generation with a with a cold life less dead dull boring church I don't think we'll ever make an impact Upon Our Generation with a church unless the life of the holy spirit is flowing through it praise God praise God my prayer is today that more than ever before in all of my life and 38 years ago this month I received the baptism of the Holy Ghost but my prayer is that today more than ever before I can have more of a touch of God upon my life than I've ever had before you can't Pastor a Church Without A Touch of God upon your life right you can't evangelize without a touch of God upon your life you can't teach a Sunday school class effectively without a touch of God on your life you can't do anything in the work of God and do it right and the way it ought to be done without a dynamic move of the spirit praise God our churches need a move of God we need God's power amen preachers are changing many preachers are getting cold and accadia lukewarm about the work of God Saints are changing many people that have once been faithful to the house of God are no longer faithful many people that once supported the church have have drastically changed and they're supported the work of God Amen I want to say to all the preachers that are here today and especially to the young preachers that God did not call you in the ministry just to give you a job to do right God did not call you in the ministry just to give you an income God did not call you in the ministry just to give you a parage to live in and a good lifestyle God did not call us in the ministry for that right hallelujah hallelujah if there ever was a time we need men of God in our pulpits it's today if there ever was a time we need preachers that can hear from the Lord and come to the congregation after they've been in the closet of prayer and say thus sayith the lord it's surely the day that we're living in right now we need preachers that are alive with holy ghost power amen and as the pull pit goes so goes the pews thus if the pull pit is ignited with a flaming passion for Souls that kind of spirit is going to be distributed throughout the

congregation hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah I've watched a lot of people change through the years and so have you this is a changing world I read an article the other day that was rather interesting to me and it said it talked about change and it said we are survivors it talked about all the folks that was born before 1945 and that includes me and some of you praise God don't you laugh brother Cole that includes you too all of us that were born before 1945 consider the changes that we've witnessed it that we've witnessed we were born before penicillin before polio shots frozen food z- rocks Plastics contact lenses Frisbees and the pill those of us that were born before 1945 were born before radar credit cards split atoms laser beams and ballpoint pins before panty hoes and dishwashers clothes dryers and electric blankets air conditioners grip dry clothes and before man ever walked on the moon we got married first and then lived together how quaint can you be those of us that were born before 1945 were born before we had House Husbands gay rights computer dating dual careers and computer marriages yeah we we were before daycare centers group therapy nursing homes we never heard of FM stereo tape decks electric typewriters artificial Hearts word processors yogurt and men wearing earrings amen for us time sharing meant togetherness not computers or Condominiums a chip meant a piece of wood Hardware meant hardware and software wasn't even a word back then in 1940 made in Japan meant junk and the term making out referred to how you did on your exam pizzas McDonald's and instant coffee were unheard of we hit the scene back then when there really was a 5 and 10 cents toore when you bought things for 5 and 10 cents Anderson sold ice cream cones for a nickel or a dime and for one nickel back then you could ride a street car make a phone call buy a Pepsi are buy enough stamps to mail one letter plus two postcards you could buy a new Chevy coupe for $600 but who could afford it because gas was the astronomical price of 11 cents a gallon in our day cigarette smoking was fashionable grass was mowed Coke was a soft drink and pot was something you cooked in amen rock music back then was Grandma's lullabi and AIDS were helpers in the princi 's office but we were certainly not before the difference between the Sexes were discovered we surely were before the sex changed but we may do with what we had and we were the last generation we were the last generation that was so dumb as to think that you needed a husband to have a baby some of us are really antique aren't we yeah I'm in that you're in that class too brother Kilgore that was a long time ago and a lot of changes have taken place since 1940 or 1945 this is truly a changing world but there's one thing that hasn't changed aren't you glad for the constancy of the Gospel Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever hallelujah praise God praise God praise God praise God praise God Amen men are changing women are changing young people are changing yeah I read something the other day about women it says that in infancy they won't love and care in childhood they want fun in their 20s they want romance in their 30s they want admiration in the 40s they want sympathy in their 50s they want cash that's where you and I are sister to go dare but I want to say this afternoon that we don't just change from one position to another position you don't just change from one position to another position now here's what I want to say today that when we change we change from a position of not changing to a position of

change and then once you've changed and moved into a position of change then it's hard to stop right amen you don't change just from one place to another you change from not changing to changing yeah and then once you change then change is the constant thing it's an inevitable it's something that keeps going amen amen all of us here are changing Even in our physical appearance we're changing if you don't think you're changing you ask somebody that you love amen the gray hair the weight yeah we can look in the mirror can't we the gray hair the weight we're getting a little older we're weighing more unless you're like Mike Williams and losing 50 lbs and we are looking older unless you're like brother GA manangan he's like the Lord he's the same yesterday today and forever you haven't changed a bit since the first time I saw you that is the truth I mean in vitality and Power in everything this man never changes when he's 95 he's still going to be the same praise God pray praise God praise God and so when we change basically we change from not changing to changing and then we enter into the arena of change and changing is not always a swift thing it is a gradual process it is not an overnight situation it is a gradual thing amen even in the matters of the church business and the work of God changes are taking place some of them I like some of them I don't like amen I like progress I love Revival praise God I don't believe that any church ought to be stuck in the mud I don't believe that any church ought to say well this is the way we've been doing it for the last 40 years and so this is the way we're going to keep on doing it I don't believe there's any church member or any church board or any church leader whatever they may call themselves that would try to tie the hands of the apostolic Ministry that is truly seeking after the power and the fullness of the Holy Spirit and is wanting Revival more than anything else in the world if you're here today and you're on a church board or you're a member of a church what you ought to do is release your pastor to be the man of God and to be the man that God has anointed and placed in that Pulpit don't put your thumb on him don't touch God's anointed don't put restrictions on his ministry let him be the man that God called him to be in that place amen amen hallelujah hallelujah I talked to a man not too long ago and and this was what he said he said I can't stay with the United Pentecostal church and I said why not he said well the crowds and the money is not there he said man it's just chicken feed what you getting preaching in in United Pentecostal churches and that's probably true in the assembles of the Lord Jesus Christ they don't look much richer but I tell you what what what you get preaching in our churches you're not going to get rich on but I want to say again if a preacher is out and if that is his motivation if that's his motive as his intention he's got the wrong motive all together brother i' rather get out of the ministry today I'd rather get out of the ministry today than to live only for crowds and money Prestige and honor and and the accolades of men we need favor of Jesus Christ upon this church more than ever before hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah I don't believe the true preacher of God can be bought anyhow amen I think there's a deep love for the truth and a deep commitment for souls and a love for the work of God in the heart of every man of God and I don't think you're going to buy off a real true preacher of the Gospel they're going to preach the truth hallelujah I said they're going to preach the truth but every preacher in this building today faces in your city in your community you face daily or weekly or monthly the pull on you to change there are subtle pressures that are placed upon us all the time all the time there are subtle pressures that are placed there but thank God there's still an Apostolic Ministry in our day thank God there's still a godall Ministry that's going to preach the word of God Paul said Timothy preach the word be

instant in season and out of season he said reprove and rebuke and exhort with all longsuffering and Doctrine for the time will come when they will not endure sound Doctrine but after their own lust shall they Heap to them themselves teachers having itching ears who shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned into fables thank God for the truth today you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free we shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free praise God praise God praise God and I do not subscribe to the theory nor the idea of people that say that if you preach the word of God nobody wants it in this hour I don't believe that I do not subscribe to the theory that if you stand for the word of God nobody wants to receive what you've got to say I believe with all of my heart there are some hungry hearts out there there's a there's an untapped resource out there there are thousands of people that are wondering and staggering in in darkness of the midnight of their life and they're looking for something and they're searching for something and they're longing for something and this Apostolic Church in this hour has that special something that they are looking for Hallelujah there's never been a day that I've been more happy to be Apostolic there has never been a day that I've been more thankful to be Pentecostal hallelujah hallelujah I don't feel negative about who we are I don't feel negative what about what we believe I believe the whole world needs what we've got I said I believe the whole world needs what we've got amen and those that sit by with just a handful of people and never praying and fasting and seeking the face of God for Revival and sitting in their own little corner saying it's not going to happen and nobody wants God anymore and nobody wants the church anymore and all the young people are going to the dogs and nobody cares about church the church anymore that is absolutely not the truth that is absolutely not the truth somehow the holy spirit's got to change our thinking somehow the Holy Spirit has got to change our mentality somehow the Holy Spirit has got to come to us and visit us today and let us know that the fields are white and they are ready to be harvested the problem is not the field the problem is in the labors the the laborers are few and Christ's prayer request was that we would pray that the lord of the Harvest would send forth labors into his Harvest ladies and gentlemen I tell you today the fields are white they are ready to be harvested there's a Revival in your church there is a Revival in your community we just need to reach up and get it and get a hold of it in the name of Jesus hallelujah hallelujah now the Apostle Peter didn't say and just sort of decide in his mind I think I'll just quit the ministry he didn't say that but I tell you what he did do he slept while Jesus prayed I'll tell you something else he did he lost his temper and he cut off the ear of the high of the high priest servant yes I tell you something else he did I'm talking about change today he warmed at the devil's fire tell you something else he did he followed a far off something else he did he denied the Savior something else he did he finally just denied the faith and finally he said I'm going fishing amen that didn't happen just by preconceived idea or plan but I tell you what he did he entered into the arena of change and when he started changing there was no place convenient to stop changing amen Abraham didn't say one day I think I'll become the father of an illegitimate child he didn't say that but I tell you what Abraham did do he left her the Cales to seek a city whose Builder and maker is God he went to the land of Canan and then he went down to Egypt and then he said to Sarah I don't want them to know that you're my wife he he was not totally honest about the matter I tell you what else he did he hired a girl that he shouldn't have hired Hagar and then he he brought Hagar to Canaan and then Hagar got pregnant and then Abraham became the father of a child he became a father of the Arab nation and the Arab people but Abraham didn't say I'm going to do all of this and I'm going to start a race of Arabs that's going to give Israel all kind of fits and troubles down through the centuries he didn't say that it was a gradual process it did not happen overnight it was a spirit of change that got a hold of him praise God praise God I pray that that

kind of a spirit of change will never get a hold of God's preachers and God's Saints who have gathered in this Hall this afternoon to praise and magnify God hallelujah I don't think there's anything wrong with the oldtime gospel I don't think there's anything wrong with the power of God hallelujah hallelujah we're in the greatest church that the world's ever known I said the Jesus name Apostolic one God church is the greatest church that the world's ever known it's more than a denomination it's more than an organization it's more than a fellowship it's the mystical Body of Christ on the face of the Earth and you and I privilege to be a part of it today let's all clap our hands for the Lord Hall hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah I feel the Holy Ghost here today Glory somebody shout hallelujah hallelujah Samson didn't change overnight I'll tell you what he did he said to Delila you bind me with seven green wids that were never dried that didn't work and secondly he said if you'll bind me fast with new ropes that were never occupied and when that didn't work he said if th weav us the Seven Locks of my head with a web I'll lose my power but that didn't work and fin finally after she was talking to him persuading him day after day finally the Bible said he told her all of his heart he told her all of his heart he said no razors come on my head I've been a azerite from my mother's womb I want to tell you today that Samson didn't lose his power just in a few seconds or a few minutes but it was a process of time Hallelujah I don't know how you feel today but after 38 years of living for God I don't want to become a spiritual casualty I don't want to become a drop Dropout I'm not here to preach a negative sermon but I am here to tell you this today there are we might as well face the truth and most of you are preachers and their wives and families there are people failing God in this hour there are people turning their back on the truth in this hour there are people that are backsliding today there are people that once shouted the aisles and spoke tongues and prayed in your prayer rooms that are drinking whiskey today and living in sin and so we might as well face the fact that we are living in a changing World Hallelujah but I believe the purpose that has drawn us together in this meeting today is what we need to seek after we are here to draw close to God we are here to draw close to God he said draw out of God and he'll draw out of you cleanse your hands your Sinners purify your heart you double- minded praise God we are here to draw close to God we're living in a time when I've seen in my limited time and vision I've seen people changing I've seen preachers changing I've seen Preachers Wife changing preacher's wife that used to be a pastor's wife in our district and a very active person I was told just this week is out running around drinking whiskey and living a sinful life those are heartbreaking situations but change doesn't happen overnight change doesn't happen overnight it is a gradual process that can happen in any preacher's life in any preacher's wife in The Preacher's children it can happen in the Saints it can happen in the best to the best of saints it can happen in any church Hallelujah but I pray that somehow today the Holy Spirit Will so endue us with spiritual power and anointing that the powers of the enemy will not be able to put his hand on our life amen hallelujah the prodal son didn't just totally go out perhaps and overnight first of all he wanted some money and he said give me what's coming to me and then he left home and then he went with the wrong crowd and that seems to always kind of go along with it getting with the wrong crowd and and then he spent all that he had and then he wound up in the hog pin Hallelujah it was there that he came to himself and said my father's got some servants that are eating meat and bread and I perish with Hunger tell you what I'm going to do I'm going to rise and go back to my father and say father I've sined against heaven and before thee and I'm no more worthy to because your son make me one of the hired servants Hallelujah when he left there he was saying give me when he come back he was saying make me he had a total attitude changed while he was out there in the hog pin oh Hallelujah and I believe today that when every prodigal son or daughter gets ready to come back into our churches there needs to be a strong Church there praise God that's still preaching the word of God when they get ready to come

back I do believe there's going to be a great Revival of backsliders in this end time I believe that with all of my heart people that know the truth in their heart they know what it means to be saved but the devil is so enticed and Allure them to take them out into the pit of sin I believe that God is going to bring us an end time Revival and bring back ladders by the scores back to our altar to pray and repent and seek God I tell you what when the come back to my church I want to still be there praying and preaching and loving God they still need a strong Church to come back to they still need a prayer room they still need an altar they still need a loving Church they still need concern Saints hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah but when the process of change takes place in some cases my friend when change starts happening you won't even know yourself in a little while once you enter into the arena of change in five or 10 years as the case with Naoma 10 years you won't hardly know yourself and the others won't recognize you either amen I want you to look back here for just a moment in this story of almc and how that they left Bethlehem Judah because there was a famine in the land how that they went down to Moab and the Bible says that they continued there but in verse one it simply says that they went to sojourn in the land the word sojourn means to pass through that's all it means just to pass through they went to the land of Moab just to pass through it because there was a famine in the land of Bethlehem Judah but when they got there verse one said they started to sojurn which is passed through but verse two said that after they got there they continued there sin has a way of holding people sin has a way of keeping people sin has a way of binding people we see it in our local churches every week the powers of sin are Mighty strong in the lives of men and women and young people as they're Bound by alcohol and drug addiction and and sexual abuse and every kind of sin in the book today God help us sin is a powerful force but there's one thing today that can break the powers and the shackles and the chains and the bondage of sin and that's the power of the blood of Jesus Christ oh Hallelujah whom the son had made free is free indeed aren't you glad you've been free today so they went down into Moab it was a heathen country they went to sojourn there but the Bible says that after they got there that they stayed 10 years the scripture teaches us that in Moab the first son married a heathen girl the second son married a heathen Girl by and by that first son died and then the second boy died and then finally the husband died and Naoma was left to herself and here's what she said I think I'll go back to Bethlehem I think I'll go back to where I came from I think I'll go back to my raising and I want you to read with me please in Ruth chapter 1 and verse 19 chapter 1 and verse 19 you know the story how that orpa kissed her mother-in-law and and turned around and went back to her gods g o DS plural Hallelujah but Ruth caved to her mother-in-law and said whether thou goest I will go and whether thou lodgest I will Lodge and thy people shall be my people and thy God God D singular thy God shall be my God hallelujah hallelujah and the Bible said in verse 19 that the two of them naom and Ruth came to Bethlehem and it came to pass when they were Come to Bethlehem that all the city was moved about them and they said is this naom is this Naoma they didn't know her brother beckon they didn't recognize her she went to sojourn in a land and just passed through it but she stayed 10 long years and it left its mark and it left its toll upon her life and they said is this Naoma and she said to them call me not Naoma call me Mara for the almighty ha dealt very bitterly with me I went out full notice this I went out full and the Lord has brought me home again empty I went out full and I came came back empty the word Naoma means Pleasant the word mea means bitter she said I went

out pleasant but I came back bitter I went out there in good shape but look how I came back hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah I want to tell you something today friend all the makeup in the world can't cover the marks of sin they don't make enough makeup in this world to cover the marks of sin Hallelujah and there people sitting right here on these pews today oh you say everybody here loves God that's probably true everybody here is living for God I trust that's the case but there are possible Sinners and potential sinners in this building today we who have once had the Blessed touch of the Holy Spirit we who have knelt at an altar of prayer we you have repented of our sins we you have been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins we have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and spoke with other tongues as the spirit of God gave the utterance we who know who Jesus is we who have a an illumination of his name and his deity thank God for that today I still believe there's one Lord and his name is one somebody say praise the Lord I said there's still one God here oh Israel the Lord our God is one Lord and there's still one name that saves from sin just one just one just one and it's not Mohammad and it's not Buddha and it's not her Krishna and it's not the Revival of Eastern religions I tell you there is one name that delivers there is one name that saves there is one name that heals there is one name that sets the captive free and his name is Jesus Hallelujah somebody shout amen hallelujah recently my wife and me had preached a meeting in a western state and we were staying over the weekend and taking two or three days off and we were driving out in the country going to a particular City and we stopped on an in an afternoon in a little Dairy Queen out in a small town farming area walked in the Dairy Queen to get some ice cream and to get a a blizzard praise God don't sound bad right now does it hold on here just a little while walked up there my wife and me got out of the car and we stretching and and ordered some ice cream young girl about 19 or 20 waited on us and and so we got our ice cream and started to walk away she turned to us and said you're Pentecostal aren't you and I said yes she saidou United Pentecostal aren't you and I said yes we are I said I turned around to her and I saidh how did you know that how did you know that she said don't you know that I could tell she said I was baptized in jesus' name I received the Holy Ghost at the California Youth Camp I received the Holy Ghost I spoke in tongues I know what it is to live for God she said I said well what happened tell me she said well as you can tell I'm far away from God today but she said I want to tell you what happened sir and she'd never met me she said I want to tell you what happened my pastor got up in the pull pit just about four or 5 months ago and he told us that from now on he wasn't going to preach anything we could do what we want to do he wasn't going to preach any standards we could do anything we wanted to do and she said it so destroyed my confidence she said I had such great confidence in my pastor and in my church and I was taught that and it destroyed my confidence and today I'm out of church right she had lost out with God that was something that had taken place in her life and and and the the reason was is because of what had happened in the pull pit Hallelujah if there was ever an hour we need truth in the pull pits it's today I'm not talking about cynicism I'm not talking about bitterness I'm not talking about pet peeves I'm not talking about jaob horses I'm talking about the word of God that's right we need God's word in the pull pit because as the pull pit goes so goes the Pew hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah huj I said Hallelujah let's preach the truth let's teach the truth let's preach repentance let's preach baptism in Jesus name let's preach the Holy Ghost speaking in tongues let's preach the new birth of water and spirit let's preach that Jesus

is god let's preach separation from the world and separated unto God hallelujah amen amen this is not a hobby horse with me it's not a pet peeve with me I'm not mad at anybody I love the lost we're trying to have bival in my church and obviously I don't get up every sermon and try to clean everybody and skin everybody's hide amen we wouldn't have a church if we did that praise God praise God but last Sunday on a snowy icy day we had over 1100 I'm not saying that to brag but I'm telling you we had over 1100 in Sunday school and they're not there just to hear a preacher skin them and show a bad Spirit which I don't do I I believe we got to speak the truth in love we got to love God we got to love souls we got to love the lost but I'm telling you in the midst of all of that there's still got to be the unadulterated word of God it's got to be taught it's got to be preached it's got to be preached Hallelujah you don't have to say it's okay to do certain things you just stop preaching that you shouldn't is it all right say what I say I'm not coming to you negative today I have no axe to grind you don't have to tell women they can cut their hair you just quit preaching that it's wrong Hallelujah I said we're still Apostolic we're still Jesus name you don't have to get up and say all you ladies can cut the hair brother when you quit preaching it they'll start doing it all right you don't have to say it's okay for a woman to wear a man's clothes when you stop preaching it they'll start doing it Hallelujah somebody shout amen somebody shout hallelujah hallelujah let's clap our hands to the Lord hallelujah you may be seated I'm going to tell you we got folks in all stages of of development spiritual growth and development in our churches you've got them here we've got them in Durham North Carolina we got folks that are that are one week old in God we baptized five last week and and four or five got the Holy Ghost we got brand new people we got folks that are 30 days old in the Lord we got quite a few that's two months old in the Lord because of a young evangelist over here I use that word generously Young Brother Brian keny just preached us a Revival few weeks ago and 75 people receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost we got we got a lot of new babies and you better believe I'm going to handle them tenderly and with care and if you come there with a bad Spirit I'm going to scoot you out of the pulpit huh is that all right Bishop if you come there trying to have a bad Spirit I'm going to ask you to get out of the pull pit let me take care of them I love them they're my babies they're my spiritual kids come on I'm not talking about vindicative I'm not talking about an ugly Spirit I'm talking about loving truth and not changing we better decide somebody here today maybe needs to decide what you believe about acts 238 you need to decide what you believe about one God you need need to decide what you believe about rock music you need to decide what you believe about mix swimming oh it's not a problem in February but it will be in July hallelujah hallelujah I still believe in oldfashioned decency I believe in modesty I believe in Holiness I believe in the truth of this book Hallelujah can it come go let's know chames when the prodal son comes home Hallelujah let's let him find the father's house the same way they left it hallelujah hallelujah somebody shout hallelujah hallelujah Glory Glory I was reading an article the other day today it's in USA Today some of you probably read it here's what it's titled

strict religious Faith lifts the mind as well as the spirit now this wasn't in the Pentecostal Herald this was in USA Today here's what it says and I quote followers of that oldtime religion a favorite Target of comics may have the last laugh their faith gives them a strong mental health Edge I like that let me read this is in USA Today fundamentalist that and it says Those Who interpret religious text literally and impose more daily regulations on members are far more optimistic than followers of moderate or liberal religions Welly I knew there was some reason we were so positive we get them all filled with the Holy Ghost Mr Clinton can scratch the middle Health part off of the tax off of the health Bill aren't you glad you got a sound mind here's what it says we know optimistic people are less vulnerable to depression and and optimism correlates with high achievement says psychologist Sheena setha of stand for University she lists three groups and categories number one is fundamentalists number two is moderates number three is liberals and here's what she says most optimistic of all three groups were the fundamentalist and the least optimistic were the liberal religions the most pessimistic of all was the one-third of unitarians who don't even believe in God here's what she said optimism also is linked to your allowing religion to influence your daily life what you eat what you wear and whom you marry I even believe you ought to marry in the face boy I am oldfashioned Hallelujah I still believe a saint of God ought to marry a saint of God I don't care how many promises they make wait till they get baptized and get the Holy Ghost and start living for God and prove their life and been and only them then should you date them or marry them and finally here's what she said what we found was exactly the opposite of what we expected the oldtime religion is going to have the last laugh you've been saying it for a long time Bishop glory to God glory to God glory to God aren't you glad you're a part of a church that's not changing aren't you glad you're part of a church that is not going to enter into the arena of change because when you start changing you don't change from one position to another position you change from not changing to a position of change and when you start changing there's no place to stop hallelujah it's a merry go round that you can't get off of but thank God for the church that still the church hallelujah hallelujah Jacob look at what he did he deceived his brother he cheated his brother he left and stayed 20 years you know I thought of the Apostle Peter when he denied the Lord warmed it wrong fire and did all of that there's one thing I think you know I noticed this that after Peter denied the Lord cursed and swore and said I don't even know him brother Baker 50 days later he was in the pull pit preaching and Jacob when he got away from God he stayed 20 years and I think the big difference is that Peter stayed around where it was when he did have it Hallelujah he stayed around Jacob went 500 mil from home but Peter just stayed around brother Kilgore when he said I'm going fishing you know what he did he went out there and while he's trying to fish he no doubt memories come flood in his mind brother Cole right over there is where Jesus walked on the water right up there on that on that hill is where I heard him give the Beatitudes everywhere he went something reminded him of some past blessings brother if you can just stay around where where it was when it was better it's going to get better again Hallelujah I don't care how far you are away from God today Hallelujah I'd rather have folks to hang around the church I'm not trying to run anybody off I don't want anybody to leave I don't

care I want the backsliders there I want the centers there I even want the Hypocrites there Hallelujah I said if they're there we got a chance to work on them I don't want them in the bars I don't want them in the taverns I want them on my pews I don't care who they are I don't care what they look like I don't care how they live I want them on my pews God's got a chance to get through to them if they're sitting there you may be seated we're not trying to run folks off we're trying to get them to God we're not trying to kill we're trying to save somebody shout amen Jacob left stayed gone 20 years he got money he got riches he got Leah then he got Rachel he got got deceived himself didn't he what goes around comes around you what your soul Hallelujah I said Jacob didn't go away to stay but he stayed 20 years once he was gone 20 years because he went 500 miles away Peter's preaching in 50 days because he stayed right around where it happened glory to God hallelujah you know what I'm going to say something right here we don't need something new now don't get me wrong I'm not talking about programs and innovative ideas you understand what I'm saying I'm talking about the word the gospel the truth the message we don't need something new we just need the old to be repeated Hallelujah we don't need to shock our church with something new we need to bless them with something old stand you in the wavs and see and ask for the old path where it's a good way and walk therein and you'll find rest for your soul I'm not trying to shock my church every Sunday with a new doctrine a new Dogma a new philosophy or a new message Hallelujah I want to come back to that Pulpit after 21 years I want to say exactly what I said 21 years ago the gospel hasn't changed Jesus hasn't changed the word hasn't changed come on apostolics we don't need to enter in to the arena of change when you do you'll keep changing there's no stopping you'll always go further than you intended to go and you'll stay longer than you intended Ed to stay and you'll do things you never intended to do in the Old Testament a landmark was a piece of stone or metal and no one came to steal the property all at once they came and a neighbor or somebody would just see that landmark and and and on Monday they just scoot it over here a little ways and then they come back about Wednesday and move it over a little further they'd come back about Friday and they'd move it over a little further and you take this for weeks and weeks and you know what they didn't steal your property all at once they just move the landmarks and finally your property is taken and you've lost it folks we got the greatest thing this side of heaven we got the greatest thing in all the world I'm not negative about this message I'm not downcast or downtrodden Hallelujah we got the greatest message in the whole wide world and folks wanted hallelujah sister mang and my wife and me were together last week up in Wisconsin and on a rainy snowy Frozen Tuesday night Hallelujah they filled that building up and the Pastor said it seat 17 or 18800 and every seat was full and the altar was lying with people and 11 brand new people receive the baptism of the holy ghost on a cold snowy rainy night don't tell me folks are not hungry for God we got to get up and stop being lazy and trifling and go where they are are we can't hide behind our laziness by saying no one wants what we've got anymore in the Southeastern part of the United States I read a story some time back and it said that two men broke into a department store it was somewhere in the Atlanta area if I remember correctly and they broke into a department store if I remember the story correctly it says that they didn't steal anything they just went in stayed four or 5 hours and changed the price tag on hundreds of items and then left so the manager comes to open the department store at 10:00 a.m. and folks are buying bicycles for $1.98 they're buying a little bit of tape for $7.95 and finally somebody said what in the world is going on here they didn't steal one thing they just changed the price of hundreds of items and I fear sometimes that that's what the devil is doing to us

today he's not stealing everything that we've had through the years he's just trying to change the price and some people say it's too straight and it's too narrow and it's too hard bless your life I'm having the time of my life I'm having more fun after 38 years than I ever thought you could have living for God I wouldn't take nothing from a journey now if you want a hard luck story don't come to me I'm having a time my life hallelujah hallelujah I close for this brother Jer would you come to the music in Jeremiah 35 I won't take the time to read it verse 1-19 God said to Jeremiah in the days of jeam the son of Josiah he said I want you to go to the recit and I want you to come to the house of the Lord I want you to come into one of the chambers and I want you to give them wine to drink hear me hear me closely I want you to bring them in the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink and the Bible says down about five or six verses later that that's what he did he brought him in the house of God and he said we're going to give you wine to drink and they said we won't drink it and they said why why not and they said well jonadab told us not to drink it drink jonadab said don't drink any wi well when did jonadab live yesterday no he died almost 400 years ago between 3 and 400 years ago well why don't you just come ahead and drink wine now we can't do that well he's already dead and gone why don't you go ahead and drink some wine no sir we couldn't do that here's Jeremiah the prophet trying to get people drink wine and they're saying we're not going to do it not because they're stubborn and rebellious but they are saying jonadab told us almost 400 years ago not to do that and we're not going to do that hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah brother if you don't have any convictions your of your own just start living by some of your forefathers praise God praise God if you don't have any convictions start living by one of these men's convictions start living by somebody else's convictions start living by your blessed old Daddy's convictions Hallelujah to God Hallelujah to God I thank God there's somebody that's going to stand up in 1994 and say no to sin no to the devil no to the world we've been taught we've been trained we've been instructed let's stand to our feet let's lift our hands let's worship God hallelujah hallelujah bear with me another moment or two before you leave please I'm closing amen hallelujah she went to sojourn in the land just to pass through it lasted 10 years and she came back home bitter and wounded Jacob went to so Jour in the land and he came back after 20 years all the way to the bottom God help us today Pentecostals we've got the name we've got the word we got the power we got everything we need in this hour let us not recant back down back away or compromise let's stand on the word of God oh you say but brother go I can't understand the Bible I don't think that's our problem I don't think our problem is that we can't understand it it's pretty plain amen I read the other day little statement in the Bible said where he went into the house now that's a that's a really hard statement to understand but I'm going to give you an exes and break that down for you so that you can understand that he went into the house that's hard to understand that's a toughy the word he is the opposite of she went means you ain't here no more into means you ain't outside the means just one in the house is where folks live now that wasn't hard to that praise God hallelujah you know what our problem is our problem is not we can't understand it Mark Twain was quoted saying on his dying bed he said I'm going to die and be lost not for what I didn't know but for what I knew and didn't do I believe Alexander is going to know this message I said I I believe Alexander is going to know this message but it's it's not enough just for Alexandria to know this message what about your church and mine what about your city and mine hey

we don't just need a Revival and Alexandria thank God for what they've had here 40 some years but I'm going to tell you what God wants there to be a bunch more places like this scattered all over America come on pente costos we've got what it takes let's don't change let's don't hesitate vasolate I compromise let's stand for the name Jesus Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah you said K can't reach the loss yes you can why don't you go home and start a bus route right why don't you go home and get a Bible chart start teaching a Bible study somebody say amen I said why don't you start teaching a Bible study you say I can't do that yes you can I got a brand new convert had the Holy Ghost Less Than 3 weeks brother the Magan they're already teaching a Bible study don't tell me you can't do it if we want to do it we can make an impact on our generation hallelujah what don't we start going to our campuses how many's got a college campus within driving distance of your area in your city sure you do a college junior college why don't we go make an impact on them Duke campus is 2 mil from my church North Carolina University campus is 6 miles from my church you can see the Duke campus from the Carolina campus and we we just started a prison ministry our our rather campus ministry I'll talk to prid men we started a campus ministry there and brother Jeff is leading that and in one Sunday and Sunday night and Tuesday night recently there were 21 college students off of the Duke in Carolina campus that came and said we want to know about Pentecost he introduced me to a young man Sunday shook my hand and he said here's a young man that wants to find God off of the campus what about the prison ministry we got a fell in our church named brother Barry he he wasn't really well schooled and trained but in in prison ministry but he started applying himself and and and loving people you know what you can't do anything if you don't all people and he started going to jails and prisons last week he preached to 148 people our rather had 148 in the altar last week that's coming Friday day after tomorrow we're going to baptize four men now then bu brother Anthony has been made the chaplain of all of the Durham city and county prison system a man from a Pentecostal Church you got other denominations want to do it and here's a young man and they made him the chaplain of all the prison system and instead of us going there to baptize they said we'll bring them to your church and Friday afternoon at 4:00 we got four more men out of the AE program that's coming to our church to get that bz in Jesus name hey friend they're out there they're out there amen amen what about the rest homes what about door knocking what about the hospitals what about loving people Pastor are you going to have Revival are are you just going to come to because of the times and get stirred and then go back home and forget what you've heard do you know what it's possible to do is come to this great meeting with great preaching and worship and singing and be moved even to the altar but go home and not do one thing about it a a preacher in my city I say this and I turn it back to brother Anthony a preacher in our city called me on the phone a few days ago I won't call the name of his church highly visible church trinitarian church and he Pastor the first church in that City he called me and he said brother go there and I said yes he told me who he was I was shocked to hear him call me he said my wife has got cancer would you pray I didn't even know he cared about us he said I have confidence in you people that right he said I have confidence in your people I have confidence in your church we started praying brother Anthony and I went out to the hospital to see his wife when she went there she had a knot in her breast bigger than than her thumb and when they went in to get it they could hardly locate it he told me himself that they went ahead and took it but it was hardly even recognizable and it's gone and the doctor say she's totally well I can't help but believe let me tell you not only in the not only as you talked about last night in the gutters but there's some people out there in the religious world that's so hungry for what we've got apostolics don't change stay like you are keep living right keep loving God keep believing the truth keep living in the spirit keep praying keep fasting

keep the prayer room open one preacher came to me as I was leaving the other day I had only 45 minutes to get on the plane he walked up my steps nice suit tie dressed very nice introduced himself I'm the pastor of the church one mile from us one of the largest churches in our city doesn't believe in the Holy Ghost speaking in tongues and he said to me he said pastor I need to talk to you and I told him I was going to get on playing and I I apologized and he hand me his card and he said when you get back home call me I need to talk to you there's some hungry people out there by I want to reach them I said I want to reach them I want to reach them