Watch & Pray by Raymond Sloan November 1, 2020 ยท Cornerstone Apostolic Church (Chattanooga, TN) Kind: sermon Scripture: Hebrews 13:8, Luke 21:34-36, Psalm 51:10-12 Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/raymond-sloan--watch-pray Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page. Free to copy and share with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------ i know that for whatever reason when i i'm trying to find the the direction the path the face the the word the purpose of god for any sunday worship time or wednesday bible study whatever happens to be that in the day and age in which we are living there's a whole lot to talk about amen truth is every week we have just a moment together and we gather for an hour or two and we worship and we hug each other's neck appropriately and then we spray you down with lysol as you leave and it's really impossible to share all the good stuff that there is talk about in such a short amount of time but i would right now just for a moment i want to ask you as you came into this place today as you gathered into your classroom or as you gather even right now in this room i want you to ask yourself a very simple question and that is simply this has god been good to me would you ask yourself that you could use an outside voice or an inside voice god have you been good to me this week and i'll give you a moment to think about it because the truth is is if i did take the time to pass a microphone and give all of you an opportunity talk of the goodness of the lord then some of you of course would sputter and you would stutter and you would say well and some of you the spirit and the power of the microphone would take over and you begin to wax eloquent about all the good stuff god has done in your life i i think we could really say that there are aspects of the word of god that is still at work within us amen there are things about the scriptures that is working in us still as we enter into a worship time time that that we come together if you will on a sunday or whatever it is the truth is is that we have already that week spent time in the presence of the lord does anybody only pray on sunday don't raise your hand you thought i was going to ask you to stand up be counted but the truth of the matter is as you you'll spend time with the lord even if it's even if it's simply now i lay me down to sleep lord i pray that in the morning i'll have warm feet whatever your prayer is there's something happening in your communication with the master now because god is in all places all the time and knows all things hear me now then we understand that when we come together that god is already doing what god does god already knows everything about where you are even right now before you get someplace god is going to be there now y'all hang on to me for just a moment if you will the fact of the matter is simply this he is all places he is all-knowing and he is all-powerful god is god somebody shout amen god is god in every circumstance when you are aware that the darkness of the affairs of men cannot change the light of the almighty god when you understand hear me you cannot get rid of the power and the knowledge and the presence of god after all god is god it don't matter how dark dismal gloomy whoa down and out and ugly a situation can be you need to know if you'll simply breathe his name he's already there so when we come together like we are right now and we worship like we are right now then you have to realize something the lord god made a way for me to get here i got up in my right mind it might have been a challenge but i stayed the course i walked into the church house and now that i am here it's all up to me whether or not i get something from god to take out of here the best way today that as pastor of this assembly the very best way that i know how to describe our god is simply with this phrase he is faithful i'll say it again god is faithful that means when he says he loves you he loves you that simply means when he's working on you he's working on you hey i've come to tell you when you're changing in your attitude it's because the god of glory is doing a work in your life if you want to know him he'll allow you to get close to him why because he's our god hear what i'm saying we also have to take note that our god is an on-time god he is there all the time in all situations but i've got to let somebody in today on a little bit of knowledge that same god is a just god that same god he's a fair god what does that mean that means that it reigns on the just and the unjust he is no respecter of person stay with me a sin the one is a sin to another wrong is still wrong doesn't matter who's doing it a lie is a lie don't matter how you paint it hear me so when you consider all the aspects of your god then you have to consider if god is all of that then why is he so righteous why is he whole he's so holy why is he so perfect the fact of the matter is this our world may blame god but the truth is god was here before the world ever got here so often as a world we want to blame god for the problems and the issues of our past our present and future that we live in that we never lived in and where we still don't know where we're going and when you look at the root of the issue hear me you can see it very distinctly and very clearly why because when the man the human the human person the one that god created when the hand of man gets associated with something good and holy and righteous god is doing then you can already know there's a possibility of a sinful act to be done it is in the heart of man to do wrong it is in the heart of man to be wicked and evil hear me it is in the heart of man to want to please themselves to want to do what they want to do to want to have an attitude about what they want but i'm telling somebody today if you could ever get a handle on who god is and how much greater he is how much perfect he is how very holy he is that he can step into your stubbornness and he can do a work in your life is anybody here ever sinned fell flat on your face only to find out that when you got up and breathed the name jesus he shows up does that make sense to anybody does that make sense to anyone how they're the holy god of creation is this my working i lost this right there i ain't got me right there i need money right there this is bothering everybody this sounds like a helicopter thank you very much there you go i've come to tell you that the god of all of creation he is there to work on fallen man he is always providing a way of getting through an issue god is always god the world in which we live and hear this it is his plan not yours so as we live here in 2020 in this year of great challenge and disappointment i've come to help somebody to know that every day you get out of bed it's still a gift from god and you can still live a joyful life full of gladness and satisfaction and contentment in who god is we might be perplexed and we might be puzzled on what's going on but one thing i do know when i look at where god is he's always there he's always standing he's always on his feet he knows exactly what's going on he's got a plan that's still working and it does not matter what happens around you god is still god the way we do church the way you do school the way you buy food at the store at a restaurant over the last several months that has all been turned upside down has it not the way that you can't face other people and see what they're saying about you with their mask on man i get so challenged sometimes when i see a mask that's got a big old smiley face on it i get so nervous because i know back behind that thing they're in a smile one i get real nervous when it says george i'm sorry things have changed hear me and somehow our world is scrambling left and right trying to understand the why and how it almost seems like that there's things happening in the situation to where nobody's in control and it seems chaotic again i tell you when i began to put this together i began to ask the lord why god am i one more time on this why lord are we living in a day where i got to speak of this so often about the chaotic things going around in the world i'll tell you why it's the same thing about when my children for an example when they were young and they were sick there was something about the sickness that they had but if they could climb up in the lap of their mama and she would simply stroke their face and she'd hum to them or sing that a calming and a piece would come over them the same song the same melody the same note but they were sick and they just simply needed help i've come today one more time to try to help you as your pastor to realize this world may look like one thing outside but get your eyes off of that and realize god's still god he's still holy he's still perfect he's still righteous his way is right his plan we're in the middle of and there's no way no how that the devil is going to ever change the mind of god it is god who's in control god remains in control in recent days i've been reminded about the simplicity of days gone by again as i get older like sometimes whack wax nostalgic even old school anybody old enough to do that yet some of y'all are probably still think the 2000s are old and i mean the days gone by days like fifth sunday meals in the ark yeah days like sunday worship service was at 12 noon anybody remember them old times yeah way on back there hey hey what about this what about this one that old familiar favorite memory is when we used to gather at somebody's house for fellowship kids and friends and neighbors close by talking about the things of god enjoying fellowship one with another a simpler time simpler times almost nine months ago seemed like a lifetime ago but in reality it is simply a drop in the bucket of time so why has so much change and why have things altered themselves so much in such a short amount of time the question you may have in your mind am i gonna be okay am i gonna be all right oh am i still gonna be able to get up tomorrow is there still a future for my children and my grandchildren well let me ask you this way are you still holding on to jesus is your mind still a made-up mind are you still believing in the word of god is there still a ray of hope of sunshine in your eye can i ask somebody today are you still looking for the place called heaven ask somebody near you is heaven still in your view as somebody close by you or streets of gold something you're still looking for do you really believe friend that this is the end all know my friend this world is not my home i'm just passing through my treasures they're all laid up somewhere beyond the blue does your walk with god remain intact is your faith remaining daily uh talking and believing in god has your love for him grown or is it dying are you still looking to the word of god for guidance or are you looking what says somebody on a program somewhere hear me what i'm saying are you still looking for his return to come and catch his bride away i stand at this sacred desk this afternoon with a word of encouragement for this church hebrews 13 8 jesus christ the same yesterday today and forever it's time to hold on to jesus his consistency and commitment to his plan is bigger than anything that you could come up against he's not going to change the outcome nor is he going to alter the plan just because our year looks like a big mess and a mistake his way is still the right way his power's still the right power his love is still enough his blood still covers sin so i declare i rise to declare at this podium the righteousness of god there is hope and that hope remains his way his plan he wants to save those who are lost his blood was shed once for all of mankind remission of sins was for all generations if you could hold on to the plan and you can reach for the purpose of god in your life the situation has not changed hear me heaven is still there to gain and hell is still there to shun so what do we do how do we how do we hold ourselves in this hour what do we do to make it through all of the distresses of 2020. i'm glad you asked because in your red letter edition luke chapter 21 verse number 34 take heed to yourself lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares for as they snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the son of man and hear me do not allow your hearts and your hopes to be over overshadowed with excessive living and excessive lifestyle whatever that might be hear me don't be drunken or influenced on the cares of this life but do not allow a day to sneak upon you in the midst of this chaotic world but i've come to tell somebody today the word that jesus gave unto every generation what you need to do is you need to watch and pray you need to keep your eyes open when the end comes and the question of the hour rises you better be watching and you better be praying god give me wisdom hear me mom and dad this is not the day to stop praying for your children but it's now more than ever jesus i plead your blood over them god keep them where they go oh god order their steps where they are don't let them run into the pit of the enemy but let them be delivered are you watching for it are you hungry for it is your mind made up have you decided no matter what i will watch and i will pray i'll keep my eye open i'll watch unto the heavens why because i believe that if i follow the word of god i don't have to be destroyed in this present world but my hope can be in the lord jesus christ and i can say kids gather around we're going to talk about the good things of the lord god mom and dad hear me today just for a moment grandparents listen to pastor for just a moment please i can assure you that most of your children already think that you don't know anything now they may be young enough to not be able to voice it yet but it probably is rolling over in their brain somewhere and then when they reap their they reach the ripe young age of teenagers they have figured out their size might make up for their ignorance and so they spit it out their mouth i don't mind telling you there are things about my ipad that i still have no idea what it's doing and i made the mistake this morning of waking up just to let you know and my iphone had been updated with the latest and greatest something and i don't know what it does because i tried to answer a call and there was no button and i said wait a minute if i'm going to use this thing i better know how to use this thing so i have to ask one of these seven-year-olds what does this button do and they don't know how to say it so they just go there and i'm going to wait a minute some of you older ones are like some of your younger ones like what i grew up without phones and cell phones computers so i still have to learn two thumbs i never played anything but pong what that's where the square ball came in and they said oh say hang on to me hang on to me hang on carry on somewhere i'm gonna carry you somewhere fact of the matter is very simple in the world in which we live it is very easy to lose our way and mom and dad when you're sitting down talking to your kids as smart and as intelligent as they may seem to be i want to tell you something and i want this is coming from the heart of your pastor right now listen to me carefully i know beyond the shadow of any doubt as smart or as brazen as they might seem to appear that they know everything and they might almost intimidate you mom and dad listen to me if you'll set them down and you begin to talk about the days of old when the spirit of god would move in your living room and the holy ghost power would move and healings and miracles would take place their mouths will fall open because they won't understand or believe it hear what i'm saying i can talk about my 80 year old mom i know i mention her a lot but she'll sit in a classroom of third graders 20 or 30 of them sitting there and they got all the understanding and all the knowledge that a third grader's got but when she begins to talk about the spirit of god and healing and miracles and the silence comes over the room and they begin to say what you mean that's possible and that eight-year-old now who doesn't know how to use anything begins to talk about the goodness of god there is an interest in the heart of a child that says i want to know more about it it might appear that i'm not listening but the fact of the matter is this is the lord god of creation but within the heart of every human being the ability to hear the voice of a holy god and whether or not they do it is going to be up to them but i've come to tell somebody mom and dad it might be time to shut off all the media and set them down and say let me tell you about the time the lord god walked in to my living room and walked woke me up and stood me up and did a work in my life you can ask my children any day of the week if daddy ever tell you about the miraculous you better believe it there was an anointing that began to flow did mom ever talk about it you better believe it they didn't rush us to the hospital they put their hand on it and when i passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood yeah i say unto thee live yeah i say unto thee live and watch the blood stop you better know it works when they begin to plead the blood of jesus over a sick child and the holy ghost move you need to understand something friend that is exactly what they're looking for in this hour you can't write an app that'll get them in the altar but you can walk them to the altar 2020 he is still the way he is still the truth and he is still the life ain't nobody gonna pull him off the throne because nobody put him on the throne you better watch and pray in this hour and if you lose your way in this world and it lies to you and it tries to destroy you you better get up under the psalmist's prayer created me a clean heart psalm 51-10 o god and renew a right spirit within me cast me not away from my presence and take not thy holy spirit from me hear it restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit hear me we need to watch and pray in this hour we need to be diligent about the things of god in this day if you have yet to develop your own prayer life you better do so as quick as you can you better include the word of god every day in your bible time come on the verse of the day ain't going to cut it now i lay me down to sleep he's not enough rub-a-dub-dub thanks for the grub will never get you there but it better be a prayer that before your feet hit the ground in the morning thank you jesus one more day one more opportunity i'm coming up out of this bed i got no idea what's in front of me but one thing i know this is the day that the lord has made i'm going to rejoice and be glad in it it might be challenging it might be difficult but i'm still going to choose god over anything i will watch and i will pray i know i say it often brother duran come on there are things happening in our world that would cause anybody to faint anybody to lose hope but to a blood-bought child of god it ought to bring a smile to your face the truth is this very simple if this world is your eternal hope then you will be of all men most miserable and as nice and fancy and as good and as beautiful as the things are in your life right now if you do not include the blood of jesus repentance baptism in the name of jesus christ for the remission of those sins and the infilling of the holy ghost what you have done is you have built a false community of doubt and fear and the enemy stands by and wraps his hands and says yeah if they simply would have prayed i would have had to run away if they simply would have said the name jesus i would have shaken in my shoes and had to flee if they would have just trusted what they were holding in their hand so again i'll ask in this hour is he still god to you is god number two or three or is he still the first line of defense i realize 2020 sicknesses are worse than they've ever been diseases are worse more tragic than they've ever been in our generation because the plague the bubonic plague is no longer around leprosy is just for a small group polio has a vaccine i mean you really think that covet is the worst thing that the world's ever seen no the plague wiped out how many millions caused by rats in the sewers we've lived in countries before where the life expectancy was 45 46 years old because cholera was rampant in those countries you see the pictures of my children when they were this big their faces are red because we wipe them down with bleach we don't know what else to do to kill all the stuff and only to be disappointed when my girl would take a sucker out of one of the other little girl's mouths and stick it in her own wait a minute we can't spray that sucker down i was there when the doctor told me as a young person i don't have no idea why but you can come off that medicine i was there when the doctor said i have no idea what happened but you're welcome to go back to school next month i i was there when my mom and dad came in and said baby you're going to get a homebound teacher learn how to write again learn how to feed yourself and all because i've been taking out all that because of the disease the sickness that god or that it happened that thing and i was this like this all the time but after somebody watched and prayed god began to move and things began to happen and i realized some of y'all today could look at pastors say he still ain't in his right mind you're right but i refuse to let the doubt and fear and questions of this present life snuff out the hope of the one to come hell can be in a building program if it wants to but i'm not about to clock into that place my name is in the lamb's book of life i look for the day that i stand before him and say i've come to honor you because jesus whatever you give to me when i get in there i'm giving it back to you all i want to do is see your face all i want to do is be in your presence i don't want to have fear i don't want to have pain and sorrow i don't want to cry and weep i don't want to hurt but i want to be in the prayer hey anybody realize i'm talking about a place called heaven it is still out there and you better make up your mind every day i'm gonna watch and pray i'm gonna make heaven my home and it's gonna be because every day even in the midst of questions and confusion i still stood for the good things of god stand with me would you all over this place come to ask somebody today are you watching are you praying come to challenge someone else today it's time that you begin to pray and you begin to watch for the coming of the lord is happening very soon and when he decides it's done and it's over trump's going to sound twinkling of an eye it's going to be done so my question to you today is simply this are you watching and are you praying are you looking for the answer in jesus are you still looking for the word of the lord to illuminate itself to you in the midst of all of your loss and all of your question and hurt in this present world i want to ask you today it's still early a couple minutes after five i see the watch back there i know what's going on i want to ask you is there anybody in this room that will take a step of faith to say lord with all the stuff and the unknowns and the questions in my life i refuse to be pulled back by that but instead i'm going to step into an aisle and i'm going to walk to an altar and i'm going to get to that altar god and i'm going to spend some time just loving you and letting your truth and your word settle itself within my heart and my spirit come on come to the altar would you you can distance yourself from others there's plenty of room from the right to the left there's a place for everybody to come and pray to come and say lord help me to develop an attitude of thankfulness as i watch and as i pray i don't want to be sidetracked i don't want to fall into the snares i don't want to fall into the cares of this world but lord god i want to know you i want to have a relationship with you come on begin to call on the name of the lord god jesus i'm hungry for you jesus i'm thirsty for you come on that's right in the name of jesus my soul says yes to you jesus come on mom and dad you need to bring your kids to an altar let them pray that's right in the name of jesus grandparents you need to be interceding for your grandchildren in this hour they need jesus hallelujah watch and pray watch and pray come on that you can be accounted worthy to escape all the things that shall come to pass and you can stand before the son of man come on in the name of jesus it's prayer time in the church seeing brother jerome it's prayer time watch pray look for him pray talk to him come on talk to him i don't want to be snagged by the stuff in this world god let my heart and my mind be focused on you and my thoughts and my intentions lord bring honor to you come on mom and dad pray right now come on pray intercede for your kids jesus let them develop a love for truth a love for the word honor them lord with your presence honor them lord god with spirit and truth let it leave them daily i prayed in your name i rebuked the hand of the enemy that's trying to discourage and thwart their walk with you i rebuke it in jesus name there is power in the name of jesus there is power in the word of god there is authority in the word of god every devil in hell trembles and shakes at the name of jesus every demon on hell's payroller shakes and trembles at the spoken word of god there is such an authority with it in jesus name come on somebody pray pray pray reach out to god right now i love you lord i believe in you lord i trust you jesus i trust you lord that's good we're gonna stand before you help us through god to be hungry for all of you thirsty for more of you desiring the good things of god that's right come on pray if it's appropriate reach over pray for somebody close to you god anoint them in this hour raise them up lord in this house help them oh god in this hour jesus give them strength lord right now let the glory of the lord work in them right now that the joy of the lord be strength to them right now jesus you are truth jesus you are life jesus you are everything that we'll ever need and so much more hallelujah worthy is the land worthy is the lamb there you go that's right come on get in touch with him lord i've come to bless your name come to worship your name come to magnify you i've come to lift you up jesus i've come to bless you lord god i love you jesus i love you jesus come on that's right for jesus right now i need you lord i need you your holy god your holy god blessed is the lord blessed is the lord jesus oh come on pray church pray get ahold of god i need you jesus hallelujah church would you pray right now lift your voice come on every voice in here needs to cry out to jesus right now lord i'm hungry for you lord i'm thirsty for you come up breathe that name jesus i'm trusting you lord i'm looking for you jesus you have the answers you have the answer jesus it's all in you the fullness of the godhead bodily it's you jesus hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah jesus i love you jesus i praise you jesus i worship you glorify your name i glorify your name now i'm watching the clock i see what time it is your coupon will be good till 6. listen to pastor carefully please if you think for one moment hold on brother if you think for one moment the end time church is going to be this beautiful fluffy thing that you'll be able to sachet over into the glory land singing the sweet by and by and kumbaya that is not going to be the case because the devil already knows his dude he already knows his whole he already knows his future and he don't like it one bit not at all not at all because he did not start there he started in heaven hear me so i'm coming to tell you the end time church that influx that we've prayed about that revival that we've talked about that every church service has spoke about it's happening it's here look for it you better know that those things in the world are going to come into the church and it's going to be the power of the name of jesus that's going to overcome them and that's going to be as ugly as all get out can i say it that way or as my grandpa would say ugly as a mud fence it ain't going to be pretty it ain't going to look right but it's going to demonstrate the power and the glory of god hear me this world out there if you will outside the walls outside your mind trying to stop and destroy you and the battle is going to get real ugly but greater is he greater is he greater is he greater is he you got to learn to love him learn what the word says learn how to believe the truth of the word and let it come out at every moment that's why you might be sitting at your desk at work and somebody next to you break out with this heartbreaking story you can reach over in the name of jesus i plead the blood i've watched it happen with my own eyes as the power of god begins to work even on a job place in a schoolhouse on a bus in a bathroom in a restaurant hear me god has no box big enough for him let god be god watch and pray for him believe that his way is going to happen get into his word figure out what it says get an understanding of power and authority in the word of god pastor don't have to come to your workplace to pray you've got the same anointing now i will and embarrass the snot out of you i was going to ask my pastor to come but he's loud so i won't i got sidetracked past why did you pray for this situation okay come on let's go no no no no no let's do with a prayer cloth that way i can kind of pray with you right now take a hand of somebody close if it's appropriate lord we are watching and praying because we believe that this plan that's been set into motion way back at the beginning is still in motion today you are not slack concerning your promises as some men count slackness but you're on time every time you know all things you're in all places and you have the power to do all things i pray right now for the church lord i pray that a holy ghost boldness would overshadow the church an expectancy of the miraculous lord would overshadow every step that we take let there be an expectancy of the authority of the word of god to come to light as we study and we show that we know your word and we believe it because we stand upon it i plead your blood over the church today devil you're a liar leave us alone in jesus name let every word be spoken in truth and love let the witness and testimony of the good things of god be evident lord god every day in our lives keep us protect us be with us we're going to return back lord in your presence loving you and honoring you in all things and let the church say in jesus name come on in jesus name shout as loud as you can in jesus name believing in jesus in all things i love you so glad you came today shake hands be friendly greet somebody pay him a compliment until next time the lord bless you