The God of The Ritual | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter
by Kenneth Carpenter
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Luke 16:19, Acts 3:1-2, Romans 2:6-10, 2 Thessalonians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:15, Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:11, Romans 12:1, Joshua 6:1-2, Joshua 2:8-13, Joshua 6:3-5, Joshua 6:8-12, Joshua 6:25-26, Matthew 5:16

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kenneth-carpenter--the-god-of-the-ritual
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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why don't you get up on your feet with me right now let's give God a praise right now let's give him a praise this morning let's give him a worship this morning morning oh yes if you'd remain standing with me today before I read my text I want to ask you just maybe a series of questions today how do you think you would feel you begin to have headaches and the headaches grew more painful and more painful and more painful as the days go on you will soon discover the pain is so excruciating that you'd find yourself in a hospital you'd find yourself going through a series of tests and at the end of the test they would inform you that on the back of your brain on your spinal cord there is a tumor there is a tumor how would you feel to know that that tumor needed to be removed and that the tumor would be sent off and it would determine whether it's cancer fast spreading but you have the surgery the doctor comes out and tells the family when I went in to remove the tumor it was as if the tumor popped out it was as if and I quote him it wanted to come out of there we're going to send this tumor off and we're going to see what kind of cancer what what we're looking at but news would come back to you that it's benign there'll be no more treatment we removed it I just wonder how you would act this morning God I thank you for the work that you've done on Morgan God I thank you today Lord for the work that you did Lord I Thank you today God I praise you today God lord I just give you praise and honor you are a good God you are a great God Lord you choose to heal and choose to deliver and I thank you today God I thank you for that God you're the same yesterday today and forever more you're still the god that's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can think in our ass you're still a heavenly father that cares about his children Lord we just right now want to give you the praise and the honor thank you Lord for touching our dear sweet Morgan today thank you that she's here today in the house of the Lord I just got to tell you that I believe that's how I'd act if that was if that was me um I believe that's how I would act the longest weekend of my life happened on a Friday afternoon after ID went through a series of test blood work and right for doctor's office closed the doctor the secretary called and said the doctor wants you to call him about your test what do you think that means means a long weekend but I guarantee you I was the first call that morning only to hear oh he just wanted you to know everything was clear pray for our doctors if you have your Bibles and would turn with me this morning to Luke chap 16 and verse number 19 and then Acts chapter three and verse number one and two Acts chapter 3 verse number one and two Luke 16 and verse 19 why don't we read this verse of scripture out loud together and I'll start us off all right there was a certain rich man would and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day underline that every day Acts chapter 3 verse number one now Peter and John went up together into the temple at The Hour of Prayer being the ninth hour a certain man laying from his mother's womb was carried whom they lay daily at the Gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful to ask arms of them that entered into the temple I want to continue with just a different variation in my title from last week but church family today I want to preach and teach about the God of ritual about the God of ritual if it blesses you half as much as this has blessed me you'll leave here today with a blessing the god of ritual would you lift your voice and let's pray over the word today father thank you this morning for your word thank you Lord for your people that have gathered in your house today God I thank you for every soul that is here this morning God every need that is here today Lord I Thank you for all the songs that have lifted up your name I thank you Lord today for everything that's been said and done God to bring you glory and to bring you bring you honor this morning Lord I ask ask you that you would anoint my lips of clay that I could speak the word to the congregation today that we would grow and become more like you in Jesus wonderful name we all pray amen before you're seated give him a hand clap of Praise right now come on think back on what the Lord has done for Morgan and give him a hand clap of Praise right now Lord I love you and I praise you today you may be seated here's my prayer today Church May our faith increase in the rituals or routines of serving God May our faith increase in the rituals or the routines of serving God that we never somebody say never that we never lose faith in the process we never lose faith in the process may God increase our faith today that we may understand the value of rituals or should I say spiritual spiritual routines our spiritual daily routines shape who we are in God there's no other way around it you are where you're at today good or bad in God based solely on your daily ritual or your daily your daily routine you're who you are today no way around it you're you're you're who you are today because of your daily ritual or routine in God now it's very easy as 1 plus 1 equals two if you don't like where you're at with God change your daily routine but don't get discouraged with your daily routine because it takes time to see change oh I wish we'd all say that I wish we'd all say that together it takes time to see change I know we we are Pentecostal spirit filled I know that we believe in the mighty hand of God but there are some things a prayer line was never designed to do I know that God did miracles in a twinkle of an eye he healed a woman who had suffered for 12 long years for 12 young long years he healed her in an instant I know that I know that he opened blinded eyes in an instant but you won't find one scripture or one story in the New Testament where he ever performed a miracle to teach he never laid his hands on anybody and said now you received all the Beatitudes he never laid his hands on anybody and now said you went from the first grad in me to the 12th grad in me he never laid his hands on anyone and parted knowledge because knowledge was going to basically come through a daily routine a ritual of receiving of receiving his word you see where we're at Daily where we're at Daily may we never lose faith in the process may we never give up in the process giving up in the process because we don't see change is like going on a diet you've been on it 24 hours and you give up box up the $99 999 kit they sent you to lose weight box it up and send it back cuz you didn't see change in 24 hours well it just doesn't happen that way in the natural and it doesn't happen that way in the spiritual and can you say Amen oh God help us not to lose faith in the process your daily routine it's interesting that we read from Luke 16 verse number 19 said there was a rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously look at those last two words every day do you know why he ended up in Hell his daily routine had nothing to do with God he ended up you read the rest of the chapter he ended up in a place called hell because his daily routine had absolutely nothing no Bible reading no prayer no trip to the temple all it had to do all all his daily routine was circled around was himself he fared supes tells us what He Wore tells us what he ate and that's the totality of his daily routine but in Acts chapter 3 verse number one we find Peter and John going up into the temple at The Hour of Prayer sounds like routine to me sound like ritual to me going up into the temple at The Hour of Prayer being the 9th hour and a certain man laying from his mother's womb was carried whom they laid they laid him what bi-weekly monthly annually they lay him daily at the day at the Gate of the temple isn't that amazing one man ends up in hell and one man ends up healed and it all had to do because of their daily routine with God their daily routine in God you you know a routine the enemy of routine is boredom the enemy of a routine is boredom the enemy of a routine sometimes we don't know that we're blessed the way we are because of the routine and just as sure as we get discouraged with the routine and stop the routine I've got news for you the grass begins to grow around the blessings and all of a sudden the curse begins to be great G than the blessing we have in Romans Chapter 2 and verse number six it's interesting Paul is Paul is writing here in Romans 2 and6 of course he's trying to really tell them to to to to to stay with the routine stay with the spiritual ritual stay with and then he says this is the reason in verse six talking about God who will render to every man according to his needs to them and this is the category you and I both want to fall in to them who by patient continuance in welld doing seek for Glory and Honor and immortality and eternal life but unto them and this is who you don't want to be categorized with I wish you say I'm trying want to engage allall of day everybody say out loud that you can hear yourself not me not me boy I don't want to fall in this group but unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile two people here he says there's one group of people and I want to fall in that category because they're headed to heaven and these are people that have look at verse seven again patient patient continuous inw doing now I know we're the generation that when we're ask how we're doing we want to say super great I get asked a lot of time how you doing I'll say if I was any better I'd be a twin I'm as happy as a dog with two tails I mean I I go into all these kind of spills that I am and we want to do that I'm super I'm doing great but how about just doing well how you doing doing well I'm doing well because the Bible tells us that the enemy the enemy of doing well is boredom that's why you've got to have patience you got to have patience don't want to fall in that other group no wonder in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 ver 13 look at this no wonder Paul said this in 2 Thessalonians 3:13 but ye Brethren be not what in what don't be weary and well do see they they were no different than you and I 2,000 years haven't separated the Thessalon Church from the maral church because we still fight the enemy that when we're doing good and we're doing well we're in we're in the midst of a ritual I'm so thankful today several hundred people are here and it's your routine to be in the house of God thank you so much and I mean that from the bottom of my heart thank you today you didn't come you're not here today because you had a dream last night you're not here today because something super duper happened in your life over the weekend you just feel like you need to go to church you're here today because it's a ritual it's a routine in your life attending the house of God giving an opportunity to give praise and worship to him hearing God's word surrounding yourself with people who have been changed by the power of God with will without fail make a better person out of you and out of me don't you thinkk I'm thankful for that routine I'm thankful for that routine today I'm I'm so thankful for that routine again Peter he wants to get in a little bit on this and in First Peter chapter 2 verse number 15 look what Peter says about it Peter says for so is the will of God that with wello doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men you got an enemy running their mouth what do you need to do just keep doing well you got Somebody pronouncing curses on you you got somebody you got somebody in your life that always wants to drag up and and and lie and malign and all of that what you going to do about it I'm going to keep on doing well I'm going to keep on doing well because it's basically this way the enemy of God's church is going down but God's church is going up and we're just going to keep on doing well amen we're just going to keep why you give God a hand we're just going to keep on and we open our we open our Old Testament up today and we begin to look at our Old Testament and um there's a lot of history there there's a lot of there's a lot of history in the Old Testament uh we find from two verses in the New Testament why one of the reasons why we have the Old Testament we we find with two scriptures why we have the Old Testament Romans 15 and verse4 says it this way it says for whatsoever things were written a four time that's the Old Testament were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope he said I have written to you the history of the Old Testament so that you and the New Testament can read it and number one have patience and hope in the scripture you're going to see all kinds of different people put in all kinds of different situations and I mean it seems like that there there's no way out there's no way through it seems like they're done they're absolutely done it's over until God steps in until God steps in you see we love the part of God stepping in but we ain't so hoppy poppy about getting in a situation that he has to step in you you you see there is no Victory without a battle there is no Victory without a battle there is no testimony without a test there's no Victory without a battle and there's no testimony there's no testimony I told Morgan today I said I can't wait for you to get back in the choir and she just needs to get ready she's going to she's going to be singing one of these days and Pastor just going to come up and have all everything kind of lower and we're going to say Morgan step out here and tell your story you see nobody wants to go through what she went through but everybody would like to have that testimony but you can't have a testimony without a test and you won't have a crown without a battle you see some people think a testimony is moanings about their testings well that's not a testimony all right that's not a testimony at all but you see we look back and we see everything they went through and we say man them three guys were thrown in the fire but the Fourth Man showed up wow they got in this situ situation but God came through 1 Corinthians chapter 10 here again Paul lets us know why we have the Old Testament First Corinthians chapter 10 verse number 11 now all these things happened unto them and he's been talking about the Old Testament for examples and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world come so he says here in these two verses you have the Old Testament read the Old Testament read the history read the stories of the Old Testament read how God brings order out of chaos and it's just not there for our learning it's just not there for us to bre to to to look over and say oh wow it was without form and void and he moved and it had order he's want he wants to tell you and I today he wants to tell you and I today do you have confusion in your life do you have chaos in your life allow me to speak to your life and I God can bring order out of chaos I God can bring order out of chaos as a matter of fact in the Book of Job there's a little verse it says can the rush grow without the Meer simply that can the rush grow without the Meer the rush is that small plant that they used to make paper and paper is what they use to record God's word and the rush was a small plant but the rush could not grow without the Meer what is the Meer it's that mud that yucky mud that mud that has things dying in it that dirt that has things that are dying inside of it it doesn't smell good it doesn't look good but job said the plant can't grow go without the Meer and so with you and I today there are things that happen in our lives that the only way you're going to become who God aren't you excited today who God has designed you to be is to have some Meer in your life but put up with the Meer they did in the Old Testament and they came through Victorious and if we will do the same in the New Testament it doesn't matter what kind of mire what kind of mess what kind of background that you have found yourself planted in keep holding on to your your routine of prayer keep holding on to your ritual of Bible Well I I guess it's what they Sayang before I preach Keep On Believing keep on praying till his kingdom come today do I have anybody in the house that's going to stay with the routine this morning I want you to know that not all of God's ways clearly made makes sense all right not all of God's ways before now listen to this now before God gives you a logical understanding he has to build trust in you and somehow sometimes the way he builds trust doesn't necessarily make sense and you just have to trust the god of his word let's take the blind man at let's take the blind man that Jesus ran into he takes makes no sense at all he takes mud and spit his spit mud and spit mingles it together pushes it in the eyes of the blind man and tells him go wash in the pool of salom and you know as well as I do they're not advertising to day for poor eyesight dirt spit and water but I'm here to tell you that man trusted something he didn't understand and he got his healing if it's God's word we need to trust it it only makes sense to worship God it only makes sense to serve God do you realize the things people get saved from when they're a worshipper and a a disciple of Jesus Christ do you know some of the things that are out there in the world that people are suffering from today if they only had good daily routines in their life if they had only taken their children to the house of God not not some Sundays of the year but every Sunday of the year I wonder how many lives of young men and young women could have been changed I wonder how many lives could have been different today had a mom and dad had a had had a routine that they would take their children to the house of God hear the Ten Commandments hear the Beatitudes be in an atmosphere where the spirit of God is moving and at a young age they could surrender they could surrender their heart they could surrender their heart to God I wonder how many would be changed today but I'm here to tell you it is never too late to start setting a good example I don't want condemnation to set in on you today and think well man i' I've not been doing that and I'm like listen today is your day to start setting a good habit today is your day father to declare to your family we're going back to church next Sunday morning we're going to we're going to be in the house of God because I see as never before it doesn't have to make sense it's just simply God's word and when we go to the house of God we are better people God does great things in our lives we are kept from a lot of things that would happen to us if we didn't have these daily if we didn't have these daily routines the Bible says in Romans 12 I beseech you Brothers Brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a Living Sacrifice unto God holy and acceptable for this is the will of God which is your what which is your what do you know that just simply means it makes sense to do this you know you say well you go to that church that can't do this and can't do that you ever thought some of the things that we can't do are bad for our health you ever think some of the some of the canot you you ever thought that the Ten Commandments are really positive they're not negative think about this when God said you shall have no other gods before me I am the only God guess if all the time he saved you from going searching for another God there is no other God there is no other God and and all the Commandments you know one of the greatest ways to be thankful is to thank God for what you have and thank God for what others have well that that beats the poison of being CET Covetous so when we look at it today and I'm just trying to really go please if you're somebody that has to have a chill bump to get up and go to church I feel sorry for you because you're serving God on a surface level the chill bump will come the undeniable presence of God will kiss you it will come down and touch you but I didn't come to church this morning because of a chill bump or something miraculous was going to take place if it does good and well I'm going to tell you something I think a lot of Miracle is we're here today still standing today still praising God today come on some of you that's got some spiritual time under your belt today aren't you glad you're still standing aren't you glad you're still in the race when they said when you got the Holy Ghost and you were baptized in his name and your family said oh they won't last they'll be over that in a few weeks and it's been several decades and you're still praising God as a matter of fact some of those family members that were critical are now Believers sitting beside you on the Pew all because you just stayed in why don't we praise him right now that we stayed hey let's go to a story in the Old Testament that really really doesn't make a lot of sense it's not really logical I've been trying to I've been I've been looking over it some time now but let's just read it together today uh Joshua chapter 6 and verse number one this story that we're going to spend the rest of the Bible class on today church this story has to do with the very first city in Canaan that God promised the land of Canaan and the cities of Canaan into the hand of Israel this is the very first city and the city is called Jericho let's start there Joshua 6 And1 now Jericho was straightly shut up because of the children of Israel none went out and none came in and the Lord said unto Joshua see I have given into thine hand Jericho and the King thereof and the Mighty Men of Valor let's stop right there God just simply says to Joshua and the people of Israel he said look at those shut Gates look at those boarded up Windows look at look at this city that has locked itself down they are on lockdown all right they were on lockdown before there was lock down they were they were on lockdown all right now why was this massive City on lockdown because of the children of Israel because of the children of Israel see they just come across Jordan and there they find Jericho it's on lockdown and now they hear God say you see that Joshua you see the city you know why they're on lockdown because I gave them I I I I I I've given you this city they're they're on lockdown because this is yours now Joshua didn't know Joshua didn't really know of the god that works behind the scenes the god that works behind the scenes now now just stay with this for a moment you do remember in the previous chapters of Joshua that Joshua sent two spies they ended up in the house of a harlot by the name of Rahab Rahab will become because of her faith in God RAB will become the great great grandmother of King David all right he she will become the the Harlot the Harlot I don't need to spend time telling you about that the Harlot becomes the great great grandmother of David for one reason alone she had faith in God well listen to her here now now keep your place there in in Joshua 6 and 1 and 2 but flip back a few chapters to Joshua 2 and8 spies come into to Jericho to spy out the land to spy out the city they end up in the house of Rahab the Harlot and in Joshua 28 let's listen to the Harlot let's listen to her and before they were laid down the the spies she the the Rahab came up unto them upon the roof and she said unto them I know that the Lord hath given you the land and that your terror is Fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you comma I'm going to try not to preach right here that's a 40 year old Miracle we do good to remember what God's done done for us four months ago I I can't get off on that for we have heard how the Lord dried up the Waters of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what he did unto the two kings of the amorites that were on the other side Jordan sihon OG whom ye utterly destroyed and as soon as we heard these things our heart did melt neither did there remain any courage in any man because of you for the Lord your God he is God in heaven above uh uh this is a harlot speaking for the Lord your God he is God in heaven above and the Earth beneath now therefore I pray you swear unto me by the Lord since I have showed kindness that you will also show kindness unto my father's house and give me a truth token that you will save alive my father my mother and my brethren my sisters and all that they have and deliver our lives from Death can I tell you they didn't know that matter of fact don't you hear them 40 years before don't you hear them 40 years before we are grasshoppers they are giants no you're not when the land begin to hear that God brought you out of Egypt and made a way through the Red Sea they begin to Shake in Terror they locked up the city of Jericho they boarded it up they put it on lock down they were so fearful of them but yet the devil wants to put in their minds how in the world would we ever conquer this city I don't believe that we're able to do this we're we're grasshoppers in their sight and they're such big giants I'm here to tell you today that the last thing the devil wants you to know is how much he fears you the last thing that he wants you to know is how much he's afraid of you the last thing listen it's basic it's basic you want tell you what makes him tremble the Bible said the devil believes in one God and trembles that's foundational in our walk I wonder if he trembles because there's one God what he does when we keep showing back up after he's blacked both of our eyes if you can only understand today how fearful the devil is of you repeating over and over and over again spiritual rituals of prayer well I I prayed and oh he just he loves to gather around and so oh man their mind is thinking they're wasting their time praying and they're saying things I heard them say the other day that prayer doesn't make sense I heard them say the other day they don't feel like their prayers are going to the ceiling and if they only knew their prayers go right up through the atmosphere where we the Demonic uh uh people live the demonic spirits live and it goes all all the way up into the throne room of God if they can just keep believing that their prayers are not getting through if they can just keep believing that they're wasting their time that mama won't take that little boy back to church and he'll be raised 8y old niney old 10 year old 11 year old 12 year old 13 year old out in a world and I'll thoroughly mess up his life during that time the devil is so afraid of our rituals that he's fighting it it's not our Revival the devil fights it's our rituals the devil fights he wants to get us out of the habit Abit of the house of God out of the habit of praying out of the habit of worshiping God when I tried that raising my hands I didn't feel anything it's not about you it's about him when you raise your hands and give you oh I wish somebody helped me praise him right now oh the devil is so afraid ah he's getting a little nervous right now he's getting a little nervous right now you know why somebody started clapping their hands that haven't clapped their hands in a long time he's getting a little nervous right now somebody just raised their hand up right now man he walked by some folks that just kept their arms folded he said ah they ain't listening to a word he's saying right now I got them right where I want them at but I'm here to tell you he fears my praise he fears My Worship he fears he fears my routine you don't have to give me a chill bump God my Hallelujah pleases you you don't have to give me a blessing God you've already blessed me more than I deserve and I I praise you I praise you I praise you I praise you I Praise You almighty God I praise you oh my God if this preacher don't help you today you need to buy a newspaper after church and look in the obituary column for your name they're shut up they're locked up all because of you Joshua verse let's go back to let's go back to Joshua chapter 6 verse three now okay Joshua here's the plan I've give you the city I've give you Jericho it's yours Joshua here's the plan now it make it'd be logic Jericho's got Mighty Men Israel's got Mighty Men brother clayon it would be logical right to March off all your soldiers up to the gate and say to Jericho's King bring out your mighty men that would be logical right but God doesn't always work in a logical way here it goes you shall Compass the city all you Men of War go round about the city once thus shalt thou do six days do you all get in your mind right now routine and see how many routines you see here okay see how many routines you see you shall Compass the city all the men of War go around the city about the city once thus shalt thou do six days if you don't see routine here a blind man with leather glasses in a dark room could see this right here we're talking about routine W you go about the city once for six days verse seven seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams horns and the seventh day you shall Compass the city seven times and the priest shall blow with the trumpets six days you go around the city once a day for Six Days on the seventh day you go around the city seven times on the seventh day sounds like to me that routine gets more closer to the miracle you get that I do does it sound like the miracle comes when we have less routine in our life sound like to me the miracle comes when we put more routines in our life once a day for six days and then on the seventh day seven times around the city verse five and it shall come to pass that when they make a long blast with the Ram's Horn and when you hear the sound of the trumpet all the people shall Shout with a great shout and the wall of the city shall fall down flat and the people shall Ascend up every man straight before him doesn't make any sense at all all right be logical to send your armies out but God says I don't do things because here's what I could send the Army out and they could fight and I could cause our army to whip their army but I am wanting to develop trust in you you see routine helps us to have trust in God um oh let me see I can put this if there's something God wants to develop in all of us is to trust him and to trust him takes time you're very foolish to meet someone who you've never known and five minutes into the conversation I just trust them I just trust them I say you're a little foolish because it takes time to develop trust and the only way that we're going to get through time is to have routine and if we have routine that we don't necessarily logical you know make sense to us then we're never going to develop faith and trust in God it doesn't have to make logical sense it doesn't have to be approved by the world and God knows we don't want to go there do we because the the world standard is so messed up and I don't even want to go there right now but to look at the world and think they've got it together I don't trust them and I'm not meaning to be political today but I think there'd be a few hearty amens coming out of this crowd there's probably more distrust in our government today than there's ever been in the history of the United States of America I'm not being negative I know what's going to happen tomorrow and great but there's a distrust but now let's put the world where the world ought to be and that's outside the church and let's start talking about right here inside the church God says I want you to do some very unusual things and in the midst of you doing very unusual things things that are not logical you're going to learn to trust me you're going to develop faith in me if you'll give me time to work in your life I'll do things for you that you never dreamed could ever take place I'll take you places I'll Elevate you I'll put you in front of people that you never dream that you could stand in front of and when you get there see this is why it has to go this route you don't pat yourself on the back you're not a selfmade man you don't say I've done all this by myself you just begin to give God more praise and moreor Glory Look What the Lord Has Done Look What the Lord Has Done can I tell you today when we were building this multi-million dollar complex here when we were building this I would hear people say we need to pray that God sends us a millionaire we need to pray we need to pray listen there's people in this city that could write one check there's people when we dug the footer that could have wrote one check and paid for this whole thing it we could have been in it in less than half the time that it took to build it but guess what what God doesn't get the praise whoever wrote the check gets the praise and guess what the testimony that is worldwide and as a matter of fact the miral miracle leaps over denominational walls there are denominal churches today that heard about the miral miracle and how we were building this by faith and they built their own places of worship as a matter of fact according to the testimony of our own mayor that was here he took the marable miracle into a business boardroom and said if the apostolics can do it we can do it also but can I tell you if somebody writes one check God doesn't get the glory but because there's average people here there's just a bunch of God-fearing average people here we stand today and we say glory be to God glory be to God I'm telling you if we will S A suton if we'll give God time and if we'll just give God a ritual things are going to happen things are going to happen in our lives if we'll give God time people are coming to church that are going to blow your ever living loving mind that are going to walk through the doors of this church you got family members that are coming you got people that are going to come but God just simply says trust me I hope I'm doing all right this morning let's just let's just just jump in this and uh verse number eight let's go to verse number eight it came to pass when Joshua had spoken unto the people that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of Ram's horns passed on before the Lord blew with the trumpets and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord followed them the armed men went before the priest that blew with the trumpets and re reward came after the ark and the priest going on blowing with the trumpets Joshua had commanded the people saying you shall not shout this is to the people now Joshua said hey folks you're not to shout nor make any noise with your voice neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth until the day that I bid you shout then shall you shout so the Ark of the Lord can pass the city going about it once they came into the camp and lodged in the camp let me let me stop right here verse number 12 somebody help me know that I stopped at verse number 12 please it won't hurt my feelings if you just say 12 when I go back to look for my scripture that's crazy how we going to win this city the priests are going to do what the Ark of the covenant's coming where they're going to blow trumpets and the men of War are going to be there but they're not fighting and all we people were there and you can you believe the preacher told us to keep our mouth shut he's out there telling us us what to do he's telling me I can't say anything he's tell well who does he you know who does he well do you want a miracle or not you see I think the church is thinking one way but the inhabitants of Jericho were thinking another what looked crazy to the to to the Israelites didn't look crazy to them because they've been boarded up every window and they're putting a peepo and they're saying what you see there oh they got that Arc of that Covenant oh they're they they're blowing trumpets and I'm going to tell you for six days you can't tell me that every time those priests blew those trumpets it didn't send it didn't send a shiver down their spine oh are they coming in right now are they coming in right now are they coming in can I tell you I can't see how people can say that Pentecost is weird just y y'all y'all just y'all just weird I don't care who you are educated or a headbanging rock concert guy how can you say we're weird when they'll go to their football games get in get get in the bathroom and paint the letters of the football team on their stomach and stand out there educated men I'm not I'm not knocking it well maybe I am but I'm not knocking it too much just wear a shirt with a letter on it all right it's all right it's all right but they'll say that's all right they can hoop and holl and everything but let a church get together and we begin to magnify and Worship the Lord let a man let a man that drugs had a hold of him but he come to the house of God we call him spinning Kenny when he comes to the house of God and he's been totally set free from all of these vices he works a job he's raising a family he's coming to the house of God and he say man that that that that's weird right there I I'll tell you that that that's really weird right there no that that ain't weird it just depends how you're looking at it it might be weird to you but it glor is pleasing to him that's why you ought to praise him that's why you ought to worship him well I I I I just don't make any sense to me it don't have to make any sense he said to praise him he's said to worship Him can't you see him in Jericho can't you see him in Jericho M the trumpet s that's the best trumpet I can do right m m are they coming over the wall they coming over the wall can't you see although Joshua told them not to open their mouths people are people just like they are today that's the stupidest thing ever seen out there they didn't have they couldn't text it see they didn't have text see what we do now when the preacher says something we don't like we text it to somebody can you can you believe he said you he said our mouth shut you that this the craziest thing i' ever been my I don't know that I'm coming back tomorrow I I just don't know that I'm it's a crazy thing while they're in pycho but they St they stayed with the routine until the seventh day they got up at the dawn of the dawn of the day and they marched around that City seven times and when they marched around that City seven time at the end oh Joshua turned to people that had been quiet for seven days and Joshua said Shout with a great shout and when they shouted with a great shout God honored the routine God on listen you don't shout if you don't trust you don't shout if you don't believe you don't don't praise if you don't believe you don't praise if you don't trust that may be the answer for why some don't praise and why others do I praise because I trust him I praise because I believe in him I praise him today I know I may be here in this situation I may be in the fiery furnace but the fourth man is on the way I may be in the L's Den but the angels on the way I may be down financially I may be down hell may have torn my family apart but I trust in God he's going to bring back what the enemy sto he's going to bring back he's going to repair I just trust that God God is somebody help me today God is going to bring it back God is going to make something out of us oh i' like to minister in the Holy Ghost today I rebuke the spirit that tells children that they can't be anything because their mom and dads are not together anymore I rebuke the spirit that wants to tell our children they'll never amount to nothing that's a lie from the pit of Hell today that's a lie from the adversary today you ought to get up on your feet shake your fist in the devil's face and say I'm going to be so I'm going to make come on I'm going to be don't you stop serving God because your family life is falling apart don't you stop serving God because your husband walked away don't you stop serving God because your wife walked away don't you stop serving God because your boyfriend broke you keep on praising Keep On Believing uh musicians come and just let me have you be seated just for a moment the walls of Jericho fell down I went to the holy lands we toured the site they said one of the phenomenal things about the foundation is that according to sonar they didn't find a bunch of rocks like the wall look at this like the wall fell this way they were looking for debris they knew where the foundation was but they were looking for debris because the wall would fall this way but what they soon found out they couldn't find debris but through a sonar they found found out that the walls are perfectly intact that it appears that a great power came down and just shoved them into the Earth the walls fell flat they go up and watch what happens they go up into Jericho and the Bible says I'm not going to verse 12 I'm going to verse 25 the walls have fallen flat Joshua says and Joshua saved Rahab the heart of the alive her father's household and all that she had and she dwelt in Israel unto this day because she hid The Messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho Joshua assur adjured them at that time saying cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up and builth this city Jericho for he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn and in his youngest shall he set up the gates so the Lord was with Joshua his Fame was noised throughout all the country now just for a few moments let me tell you that Joshua is an old test type of Jesus Christ Joshua is the Old Testament type of Jesus Christ and when the people followed with Obedience of what Joshua said his Fame his glory spread even further through the land our obedience and faith and trust in God causes the name of Jesus Jesus to spread further through our community and through our County our trust and belief and obedience causes the name that is above every name to spread further and farther than ever before did he not say in Matthew 5:116 let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works routine ritual and glorify your father which is in heaven I don't know how many people tell me never been inside this building they'll meet me in a restaurant and say man y'all got a crowd down there yes sir to the glory of God was you in service with us no I just drove by saw the parking lot full who would ever think somebody would bring the Apostolic Church up in a conversation because somebody who has the routine to come to church now I I know you may said that you're being a little far-fetched now I'm really not I'm really not they see your good works glorify your father we're liken to three things in the word of God we're liken to Salt the church is liken to salt salt is is the opposite of corruption it prevents corruption from getting worse the church is likened to a light light gives off the gift of guidance so that those that have lost their way can find their path home the church is likened to a city a city is the product of social order and government it is against chaos and disorder how much better our lives have gotten since we've been in the Church of God I on if we can stand pray for a moment won't we just stand and pray for a moment all over this building I I want you to pray loud enough you can hear yourself pray I know it's a routine we're about to do another routine we're about to come to the altar in a moment that's a routine and we're praying right now and that's a routine oh come on let's lift our voices up today in prayer God you stopped the corruption in my life God oh God you've let me be a light Lord to help some soul oh God you've helped me Lord to be in the order of the church the City Homes have more peace now because of the church homes have more peace now because of the city we have more guidance today because of the city oh pray a little bit more would you just pray pray Lord I love you Lord I praise you right now Lord I Thank you right now you know if it'd be if if the person beside you wouldn't mind would you just put your hand over on them and pray right now would you we just pray right now I'm talking about I'm talking about a routine today would you just pray right now now in the name of Jesus God I love you oh yes God yes God yes God yes God yes God oh yes God yes God God may we never get weary of routine just for a moment and I'll close with this I'll close with this the walls have fallen down lost souls have been gained silver and gold goes into the treasury of the house of God to further the king of Israel the god of Jacob the city lies in a waste in a ruin Joshua offers up a command don't anyone rebuild this city don't anyone build this city again let this city remain a testimony to what obedience and Truth can do for any people and then and he prophesied he said if a man would rise up and build this city when he digs the foundation his firstborn son will die and he prophesied father and he said If any man rebuilds this city after he digs the foundation and he sets the gate on its hinge he'll go home and his youngest son will die many years later in an atmosphere of Ahab and Jezebel a man rose up said I'm tired of looking at that waste area there he dug the footer and when he dug the footer his firstborn son mysteriously came down with something and died when ribbon cutting day came and they set the gates on the hinges he goes home thinking he'll have a jubilant wife but there she stands with tear stained eyes our baby just died can I tell you if you have tasted the good gift of the Holy Ghost and The Wonderful Plan of Salvation don't rebuild don't go back and rebuild what God tore down in your life if you're picking up things well H how what would that look like if you laid things down when you come to God and you gave things up when you came to God and it was wrong when you came to God it's still wrong right now 40 years later don't go back and pick it back up