Don’t Sleep Your Opportunities Away | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter
by Kenneth Carpenter
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Acts 20:7-12, Psalm 13:3, Judges 16:19, Jonah 1:5-6, Matthew 13:24-28, Matthew 26:40-41, Matthew 26:56, Matthew 27:32, Matthew 24:3, Matthew 25:1-13, Proverbs 24:30-34

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kenneth-carpenter--don-t-sleep-your-opportunities-away
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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will you stand with me tonight for the reading of the word of the lord i love you church family i thank you for the wonderful um about said ad but it's not an ad but for the wonderful article in the paper giving honor to first lady and myself um i'd like to if i had enough money i'd go get a full page ad make a collage of all of your pictures and november ought to be saints appreciation month amen i don't know we got a billboard out here on the highway i might can make that i might can make that happen uh saints saints appreciation month you know make that make that happen because uh you're just wonderful you're just a wonderful group of people and i love you and i feel the presence of the lord every time we meet together it's good to raise our children together and raise our grandchildren together see what god is doing for a few moments tonight i want to invite your attention to the book of acts chapter 20 verse number 7 through 12. then we'll be going to the book of psalms chapter 13 and verse number three acts chapter 20 verses 7-12 psalms 13-3 praise the lord praise the lord and upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread paul preached unto them ready to depart on the morrow and continued his speech until midnight and there were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together and they're set in a window a certain young man named eutychus being fallen into a deep sleep and as paul was long preaching he sunk down with sleep and fell down from the third loft and was taken up dead paul went down and fell on him and embracing him said trouble not yourselves for his life is in him when he therefore was come up again and had broken bread and eaten and talked a long while even till the break of day so he departed and they brought the young men alive and were not a little comforted psalms chapter 13 verse number three somebody say praise the lord psalms 13 and 3 consider and hear me o lord my god lighten my eyes lest i sleep the sleep of death for just a few moments tonight i want to minister to this church congregation on this subject don't sleep your opportunities away don't sleep your opportunities away father i love you tonight thank you for the privilege to have a house to come to thank you lord for the musicians and singers and choir and those that have lifted up an intercessory prayer thank you for all my brothers and sisters tonight that have gathered together to worship you with their whole heart lord jesus i ask you tonight that you would look down from heaven and let your anointing fall upon my lips god help me to speak tonight as an oracle lord help me to give direction to all of those that are in this room and all of those that are watching tonight lord you are coming soon and we must be ready and helping getting get others ready in jesus name i do ask for these things a man and a man you may be seated you have to understand when you read the scripture that nothing in scripture is placed there by accident there's nothing in scripture that's there that's not there for a divine a divine reason we come to the 20th chapter of the book of acts verses 7 through 12. record an evening an evening with the great apostle paul what a man what a man still to this day the apostle paul is revered as a giant if not the giant of the new testament even to this day there is a prison sale in the middle east there is a prison cell that tourists from all over the world come because it is believed that that was a sale that paul was in when he wrote the book of philippians what a man what a man the apostle paul and of course it was paul that makes the story a little interesting because how we view paul as a giant today and many would go around the world to go into the jail cell that he was in yet if we had been living in the book of acts and had spent an evening with paul we would find that he was a man of an urgent hour he was a man that was very focused he was a man that knew that the time of his departure was clicking away minute by minute he was a focused man he was a man that didn't waste any time he was not a man of a lot of words but the few words that he would speak were filled with power he knew that this would possibly be the last time he would come with these disciples and the bible records an evening with him the bible tells us a little bit about his preaching we today would consider paul a long-winded preacher we would consider paul and maybe maybe even some as he started his message and went to the midnight hour we might fall under the category that he was radical but there as paul began to preach because of the urgency of the hour knowing that his time was short knowing that this possibly would be the last time on earth that he would see these these disciples he was preaching and he preached up into the night which required that there would be lights brought in and so the bible the bible just doesn't tell us in verse number eight that the room was lit but the bible would add that there were many lights in that room there were many lights it was well lit it was a high third story chamber many lights the apostle paul but the whole story revolves around a young man by the name of eutychus matter of fact it's my brother tyler it's my personal opinion that we wouldn't even have this story if it wasn't for uticas we wouldn't even have the story it would just it would just go it would just fade into something else but because of this young man the holy ghost would cause the hand of luke to begin to record what happened it is in the ninth verse that this young man by the name of uticus set in the window it's interesting his position is an interesting thing to note that he wasn't just there in the room it doesn't just say that eutychus was there in the room but it tells us where he was at in the room and i believe tonight that many times we can tell where we are at by where we're at we can tell where we're at by where we're at he's in the window and the bible would tell us that being fallen into a deep sleep now he wasn't just falling into a sleep he was well accustomed and if you'd allow me just to lead way he wasn't a casual head-knotter he was falling into a deep sleep all right into a deep sleep the bible says he was not only falling into a deep sleep which would lead me to believe that he had a lot of practice here he was well accustomed to coming didn't matter if it was the apostle paul or jesus christ he was well accustomed to sleeping into a deep sleep and then he goes on and says and as paul was long preaching now the bible tells us he's already preached up to midnight but now it says he was long preaching he sunk down with sleep and fell down from the third loft and was taken out dead evidently the fall alarm the service maybe mother eutecus let out a scream we don't know i've had a lot of things happen right in the middle of church i remember i remember being in brookville ohio preaching for uh brother roger gray pastored the church there and i was doing a watch night service for brother roger gray which started at 7 30 and went to midnight and about 15 to 9 he gets ready to turn the service over to me and i don't know what he was thinking i was going to do for three hours and 15 minutes but that's all right something took care of it about 10 minutes into my sermon the back doors of the church burst open and somebody yelled out chuck and linda's house is on fire chuck and linda were there chuck and linda's parents were there chuck and linda's friends were there now it's small enough to begin with and the hour is long but that was a long watch night service having to preach because chuck and linda's house caught on fire things have happened in church no doubt i believed it probably when you just begin to fall out the window maybe somebody hollered paul is trying to preach like i am and somebody hold her there he went there he goes paul goes down falls on him they've all pronounced him dead paul goes down falls on him and says no he's not dead his life's still in him paul comes back up and paul continues to preach and they bring uticus back up into the room in verse 12 and everybody's happy that eutychus is there but i want you to know something tonight uticus was a miracle but think about all the preaching eutychus missed out on think about now this is an urgent hour if there's ever been a day that we need to tune our ears to preaching it's now if there's ever been an hour in the church that we need to discipline tune our ears folks we're about to witness the coming of the lord that's right we're about to witness the coming of the lord the newspapers and the book of revelation are becoming in line with each other and we are about to witness the coming of the lord there's ever been a day we ought to fight boredom it's today if there's ever been a day that we should not seek the seat in the window it is today if there's ever been a day that we just need to work on staying alive and staying alert it is today what tremendous opportunities we have to live for god think about what the opportunities that young man had that young man didn't have a novice as a pastor that young man didn't have somebody who didn't know what they were doing that young man was pastored by the apostle paul i mean a man that had so many revelations that god had to give him a thorn in the flesh to remind him that he was earth of this earth think of the opportunity that young boy had folks are you hearing me i'm talking about the apostle paul can you imagine we could get a crowd in this place if we could resurrect somebody and bring them back here that was dead could you imagine the stadium that we would need if we could resurrect the apostle paul i mean folks will go around the world to go in a little old drab dungeon and say this is where paul was at and they'll ooh and all i mean this young man he wasn't pastored by a novice he didn't have a pastor that couldn't feed him the word of god he had the apostle paul church don't sleep your opportunities away don't sleep your opportunities away as a matter of fact he had no excuse for being able to see the scriptures he had no excuse he couldn't complain that there was poor lighting the bible said there were many lights in the place it was it was well lit now let me make a spiritual analogy aren't we a people that's blessed with the light of revelation just think we don't have to explain away the baptism of the holy ghost we don't have to explain away the healing we don't have to explain away the excitement the apostolic church is full of the lights of revelation you're thankful that you know that jesus is god you're thankful tonight to know there's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved aren't you thankful tonight that the house is full of lights of revelation none of you are scratching and digging as some of your grandparents did to know the truth none of you none of no none of you are scratching and digging hiding because you want to know the truth church there's many lights in this place but eutychus he slept his opportunity away sure he could walk into church and say i'm a miracle but he couldn't tell you the value of paul's preaching and can i tell you if i had to choose between having a miracle and knowing the message i choose the message over the miracle the miracle's a one-time thing a message is something that'll keep you going day after day after day after day after day don't sleep your opportunities away must have been david in psalms 13 and 3 he cried out and said oh god put the light in my eyes oh god put the light in my eyes lest i sleep the sleep of death you know how it is don't you to get sleep you got to have all the lights out you got to have all all of the lights out got to have all the curtains pulled and without getting too personal you you you just don't understand sister carpenter wants it pitch dark i mean could you get up and hang your coat over the light on the tv i said it's off she said that little red light's still on you see it's impossible to sleep when the light's turned on that's why we need to always keep things fresh and bright in our lives because i don't want to go to sleep the most horrible sleep you would ever sleep would be a spiritual sleep i find in the bible i thought i was going to have a difficult time finding some examples but i found several examples of men who slept their opportunities away there's a young man by the name of samson who had parents that live for god oh there's no excuse samson you've got a mother and father that lived for god as a matter of fact samson when the angel appeared to your mama and said that you were coming it was your father that wanted god to send the angel back so that they could make the proper offering to god for you samson you're not a kid that didn't have a mom and dad that lived for god sampson you got a godly mother and father they obeyed the word of the lord they kept the nazarite vow on you and you grew up and you began to deliver israel samson you would find your way in judges 16 and 19. you would find your way into a poller with a woman by the name of delilah and samson the bible simply says in verse number 19 she made him sleep upon her knees that one phrase there she made him sleep upon her knees have given way that there's a possibility that delilah mixed together a concoction that put him in a drowsy state because he would never allow the philistines to cut his hair when he's awake but let him be asleep and the devil can have his way with him church tonight we need to stay awake in this our finest and final hour because when we're awake we can ward off any demon in hell that may come our way but let us fall asleep and we'll be praying for the enemy oh i don't want to sleep that sleep of death sampson went to sleep they cut his hair he woke as any other man there's another man that there's another man that slept his opportunities away or at least for a season his name is jonah he's got a call on his life he's a prophet god talks to him and god sends him where people who need help can hear preaching jonah has always obeyed the lord he's went where god told him to go but on one occasion when the lord told him to go to nineveh he was prejudiced he felt that god didn't love those of nineveh and even at that he knew that god was a god of mercy and so jonah goes down buys him a ticket and gets on a ship and goes to the bottom of the boat and look what happens in first jonah jonah chapter 1 verses 5 and 6 then the mariners were afraid and cried every man unto his god and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it of them but jonah was going down into the sides of the ship and he lay down look at this and was fast asleep just like sam sampson sampson went to sleep on the knees of delilah with the strength of god upon him but when he woke his hair was cut and he was just like any other man jonah he looked out over the smooth seas and thought to himself i'll just go down and take a nap until we get to tarshish but jonah you're going to be awakened because there's a storm out on the horizon you might have went to sleep in the calm but a storm is going to wake you up i want to preach tonight let's not sleep our opportunities away samson you've got the opportunity to be israel's hero jonah you've got the opportunity to be the prophet evangelist of all times don't sleep your opportunities away jesus spoke a parable in the gospel of matthew chapter 13 beginning at verse number 24. he spoke this parable that went like this another parable put he forth unto them saying the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man which sowed good seed in his field don't know about you but when you're coming to church and reading your bible and praying and obeying the commandments of god you're sowing good seed into your life good things are going to you nothing but listen good things nothing but good things are going to come your way when you're walking in the light of god's word when you're sowing the good seed of the bible you're sowing the good seed of the word of god good things are going to come your way he said it's likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field well let me ask you something if you sow good seed aren't you expecting a good harvest if you sow good seed i've got the anticipation that i'm going to have a good harvest something good is going to happen to us you see we can walk with shoulders back and chin up and eyes on the spiritual horizon why because i've been sowing good seed my blessed future is not hinged upon some spiritual lottery my spiritual future is hinged upon me sowing good seeds today put your shoulders back put your chin up look on the horizon you don't have to live your life doubting whether something good is about to happen to you if you sow good seed you're going to have a good harvest can you say amen unless you go to sleep because verse number 25 says but while men slept his enemy came so tares among the wheat and when his ways are amazing isn't it amazing that the enemy doesn't come until the farmer is asleep the enemy would like to do a lot of things to you and i but he fails because we're staying awake in this hour we're shaking ourselves we know the hour is late the spirit of the time is trying to cause the church to become drowsy and and i won't go to sleep just let me get comfortable that's the first step in going to sleep is getting comfortable you can deceive yourself if you want to you can say i'm not going to sleep but if you get in the position of sleep you've got a more chance of falling asleep is if you stay on your feet there is a psalm and it's written for the priests who serve brother nolan throughout the night they serve what i call the night shift in the temple and it says that blessed are those who stand by night in the house of the lord well i guess that would be right if you work the night shift you better not sit and you sure enough better not lie down because if you get in a still position sleep is going to creep upon you sometimes to stay awake you have to cause uncomfortable things around you if you're driving sometimes you'll have to roll the window down everything about you says everything about you says roll the window up let the automobile get warm but there's something inside of you that says if i get comfortable if i get comfortable i'll go to sleep let me turn the radio up a little bit louder oh it's an irritant but i understand i've got a few hours to go to home and if i turn the music down low and if i get the car good and toasty i'm liable to fall asleep and never make it home can i have a spiritual analogy tonight church we're almost home we're almost home i know the enemy wants us to get comfortable the enemy would like for us to get just get seated but somebody's got to keep walking around somebody's got to keep walking around that stance that the verse says that the priests stand by night in the house of the lord and they lift up their hands you know what they're doing they're trying to fight off sleep they're trying to fight all spiritual we're almost home church we're almost home church we're almost home mom and dad the next miracle is just around the corner the next answered prayer is just around the corner stay awake we're almost home but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way but when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit then appeared the tares also so the servants of the householder came and said unto him sir it's not thou sow good seed in thy field from whence hath it tares he said and here it is he said and here it is an enemy hath done this you see the enemy has a way of getting us in seasons of our lives spiritually asleep and we think that we really weathered that little season that we went through that we didn't push our spirituality and we didn't put things push things the way we should be well assured there's a harvest coming and you may have to stand back and say the enemy did this but he only did it because i fell asleep it's an interesting thing and i want to ask for your consideration in these scriptures here jesus christ god and man he comes to the garden of gethsemane in matthew 26 verse 40. he cometh unto the disciples and findeth them asleep saith unto peter what could you not watch with me one hour watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak again verse number 56 but all this was fulfilled that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled then all of the disciples forsook him and fled what's the difference between verse 40 verse 56 verse 40 jesus christ is pleading with the disciples to pray and not sleep i want you to pray and not sleep so when they came to arrest jesus the bible says that all the disciples forsook him and fled can we find the reason for them forsaking jesus in the fact that they slept when they should have been prayed they should have been praying but instead they slept and when it came to an hour that they could have really made a stand for jesus they could have really made a stand for him they forsook him and fled boy i wonder what was told about that story i wonder how the roman guards made fun of the galilean disciples and said they must not have been very true and faithful to you jesus when we come to get you they all ran they all forsook you of course there was one of your zealous disciples it did take a swing with a sword but they all forsook and they all fled now please give me a little lead way on this next verse chapter 27 verse 32 and 33. jesus has been flogged he's been beaten with the cat of nine tails the cross beam is laid across his back and he's compelled to walk to calvary and as they came out they found a man of cyrene simon by name him compelled him they compelled to bear his cross now we understand that the reason simon was compelled to carry the cross is because evidently not written but jesus could not carry the cross we understand that that could not carry the cross was not in on his divinity side it was not on his god side it was on his flesh side but could i offer for consideration to you tonight is it possible that had the disciples prayed for him when they should have prayed and not slept that he would have had the strength to mate it with the cross i believe tonight that we fail publicly many times when there has been the lack of prayer and the abundance of sleeping the enemy knows the time to come just get us in a season of just coming to church and one of the temptations is having a church like this this can almost become entertaining our music can almost entertain you our music can almost dazzle you and almost entertain you and even maybe at times the preaching can keep you on the edge of your seat brother hammond and brother erickson and brother nolan can keep you on the edge of your seat i do too but i keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to go home they keep you on the edge of the seat wanting to hear more could it be that the enemy knows well you're fighting spiritual to stay awake does the enemy know that i've got plans for you two months from now i've got plans for you in 2021 i've got plans you you don't know mom and dad what i'm doing behind the scenes with your grandchildren and what i'm doing behind the scenes in your life and could it be the enemies trying to lull us to sleep i want us to stay awake let's not sleep away our opportunity i want to preach tonight this church is on the verge of a holy ghost explosion we are on the verge of taking our city we are on the verge we are on the map the community has taken note of us oh yes the the small groups is going to take our church to a level that we've never been to before we're going to see more baptisms and more holy ghost baptisms and the story that i told of the woman with the healing is going to become a common thing because it's our day don't sleep your opportunities away i close with this tonight musicians and singers would you come i close with this in luke excuse me in matthew chapter 24 and verse number three as jesus set up on the mount of olives the disciples came unto him privately saying tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world now you must understand something when i begin reading in chapter 25 in just a moment he's answering the questions about the end of the world and his coming and if there's something all of us should be aware of is the signs of the end and the signs of his coming hear me now hear me what shall be the signs of the end of the world and of your coming and in matthew 25 and verse number 1 he spoke a parable then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened into ten virgins which took their lamps went forth to meet the bridegroom five of them were wise and five were foolish they that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lambs while the bridegroom terry they all slumbered and slept and at midnight there was a cry made behold the bridegroom cometh go you out to meet him then all those virgins arose and trim their lamps and the foolish said unto the wise give us of your oil for our lamps are gone out but but why is answered saying not so lest there be not enough for us and you but go you rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves and while they went to buy the bridegroom came and they that were ready went in with him into the marriage and the door was shut afterward came also the other virgin saying lord lord open to us but he answered and said verily i say unto thee unto you i know you not watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the son of man tell it doesn't this talk about the church all ten of them's virgins all ten of those virgins all ten of them have not known a man false doctrine truth they've not known false doctrine all ten of them have had the unadulterated word of god nothing from rome nothing from man they're all virgins they've all got that name they've all got that experience but there isn't a vision wise and foolish the foolish only think of right now the wise think about tomorrow the foolish they look at their lamp and they say i've been to church i've got some oil in my lamp i've got some light in me but the wise so you know i know it'll be cumbersome i know that i am not as free as the foolish the fruit the foolish have both hands free they're light but i'm going to reach down and get me a container and i'm just going to keep that container full of oil it'll be cumbersome it'll be a little heavy the other virgins are over there just happy and carefree both hands are open but the foolish are carrying a container of oil with them but the bible says this is what we got to watch out as a church they all slumbered and slept they all slumbered and slammed and at midnight midnight is that hour that period of time you do realize midnight does not belong till today nor tomorrow midnight is a period of time that suspended between two days and at midnight a cry was made behold the bridegroom cometh yo you out to meet him and they all were awakened trimmed their lamps and while the foolish were trying to beg for oil the wise was replenishing their lamb yes we live for many years with you questioning whether i had to do this or not yes we lived for many years that sometimes i even looked at you and thought do i really have to do this but now at this hour that we're living in i'm glad that we carried this extra bottle of oil with us i'm glad that i'm ready for this let me tell you i would rather go through the pearly gates so far that the gates swing round and round than to miss heaven over two or three feet i get me a bottle of oil i get i gotta stay away i gotta i gotta stay awake in this hour staying with me tonight by raising of hands how many of you in this auditorium have been privilege is the word i'd come to ever seen built more gardens in asheville north carolina here seen that place man isn't it pristine i mean the flowers and the shrubs and all of that but do you know what would turn that place into an unpleasant sight daily neglect all it would take somebody just neglect to mow the yard somebody just neglect to trim the flowers somebody just neglect to wash the windows of the doors in a few years you would ask them to pay you for you to go through that place what caused it just neglect just neglect you see the devil wants us to think it's going to be some big thing that we do to bring us down it's not going to be a big thing that we do that brings us down it's just going to be daily neglect just daily neglect let me close with this proverbs 30 or excuse me proverbs 24 and verse 30. could you pray with me just for a moment oh god help us tonight oh god don't let us sleep the sleep of death oh god don't let us sleep the sleep of death god oh god don't let us sleep the sleep of death god oh god please don't let us sleep the sleep of death god god don't let me grow comfortable god don't don't let me grow comfortable god and not reaching out and touching you lord i went by the field of the slaughter and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding and lo it was all grown over with thorns and nettles had covered the face thereof and the stone wall thereof was broken down then i saw and considered it well i looked upon it and received instruction you see he says solomon says here i had been to biltmore i had seen the prestige the manicured lawns but i came back to build more and he said it was all grown over with thorns nettles had covered the face thereof the stone walls were broken down how did this happen how did this happen then i saw and considered it well i looked upon it and received instruction this is how it happened verse 33 yet a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to sleep so shall thy poverty cometh as one that travaileth and thy want as an armed man just a little slumber just a little gazing off during service just a little watch watching just a little i'll get stirred up a little bit later i i got a headache tonight i'll get stirred up a little bit later my back hurts me right now you ask me how beautiful lives fall into despair and i'll tell you just a little sleep just a little slumber and then just a little folding of the hands just a little folding of the hands a little inactivity and sleep comes what puts young men from our church in prison what puts young girls in our church selling their bodies as harlots what causes there to be unfaithfulness among marriages what causes men and women to become unloyal to the truth i've got the answer just a little sleep just a little slumber let's don't sleep our opportunity away would you bow your heads with me all over this house would you bow your heads with me tonight and would you begin to pray right there in your cue god don't let me sleep the sleep of death god don't let me sleep asleep of death god god please don't don't let me sleep the sleep of death make me a little uncomfortable tonight god oh i'm so comfortable just staying right here in my pew god i'm so comfortable staying right here in my pew uh do i really need to go up front god do i really need to go up front if it'll keep you awake why don't you step out of your seat right now and why don't you come up around the front of this church why don't you come up around the front of this church right now oh god scare us lord god move us tonight god oh god stir us this evening lord jesus stir us tonight almighty god come on some of you need to get back in the choir some of you need to go back to sunday school class some of you need to go back to the ushers some of you need to go back to working in the church you've allowed yourself to get inactive come on this is our finest hour let's work less work let's work let's work come on roll your window down lift up your voice right now and i know it's not comfortable but if it'll keep you awake lift up your voice and ask god shake me shake me oh god shake me stir me up god turn me upside down and inside out lord i've got to be saved god i can't be lost we're almost home i can't be lost we're almost home come on church come on church i'm gonna ask for you to spend the season in prayer right now bury your head somewhere bury your head somewhere i'm gonna ask you to be to have a season of prayer jesus god jesus god you oh amazing grace me oh oh um release the is is is um the oh on us is is glory is give us seal of god to make our prayer lives greater than neither of them we're going to make our daily devotion greater than the ever been in jesus name i just believe lord god that your church is going to awaken come on we're so close to midnight we're so close to the coming of the lord i believe it's been said i've read somewhere that there are more accidents take place 20 minutes from home more accidents take place 20 minutes from home than any other accidents anywhere else it's not long trips it's not going across country it's just so close to home god help us to pursue and to finish to find the finish line god help the church to stay alive and to stay awake long enough come on we've heard the word from the lord that's come across this pulpit tonight come on before we close tonight let's just lift up hands to heaven and let's say father i want to be awake father i want to be alert father i don't want to fall asleep i don't want to slumber i don't want them to be folding up my hands i don't want there to be a time of idleness that finds me doing things that i don't mean to do and don't intend to do but father give me the strength oh god to be alert give me oh god the mindset to stay busy in your work in your kingdom in your church come on pray this prayer right now lord i don't want to find myself i don't lord i don't want to find myself as what a sloth would be lord i want to be a person lord god who's ever always found to be busy finding my hands with something to do lord god keep me busy in your work oh god let me hear your word like i've never heard your word let me understand your word like i've never understood your word and lord god help us to live it lord like we've never lived it before in jesus name in jesus name they're gonna sing this song one more time through and while they're singing come on let's make the declaration every heart