No. 2 Pencil | Student Pastor Zach Hammond
by Zach Hammond
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Exodus 31:18, Exodus 32:15-19, Exodus 32:31-33, Exodus 34:1, Acts 2:2, Hebrews 5:9

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/zach-hammond--no-2-pencil
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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As you make your way back to your seats, we're going to the book of Exodus, chapter number 31. We are excited to be starting back to school. I know tonight that um there's there's not going to be a big roar from the student section, but there might be from the parent section tonight of who is excited to go back to school. But we're going to uh begin tomorrow and over the Sullivan and Sister Rickettt, Sister Emily, the team with the school has been prepping all week with the stu the staff and to prepare for the students and there's just going to do uh just going to be a wonderful wonderful school year. Don't forget in the morning 8:00 a.m. sharp students, we're going to start orientation and so uh some of you are already angry with me and so let's go ahead and get into uh the word of the Lord. Exodus 31. I give honor to all of you great people. To Pastor Sister Carpenter and to my wonderful family. Thankful for my wife tonight and two boys who just did a uh little road trip with me and uh they're probably about to pass out tonight. So, uh we we've been traveling and they've been with me and I I appreciate them so much. Exodus 31 and verse number 18 says this. And he gave unto Moses when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Si. In other words, he had a time with Moses of communing of fellowship. You could say it that word of He's there with God on the mountain. He gave him two tables of testimony, tables of stone written with the finger of God. This is very interesting here. So he he has a a time with God on this mountain and he gives him what we know, what we would reference in the Old Testament as the Ten Commandments. Now, if you turn the page, you may not even have to turn the page. Exodus 32:15 says, "And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, down from the place where he had an experience with God." He goes down from the mount and the two tables of testimony were in his hand. The tables were written on both their sides, on one side, and on the other side they were written. And the tables were the work of God. Writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp." Now, if you could just experience this with me as a m that it's it's kind of like you you've got you've come through a Sunday experience with God and he's given you a word. >> He's given you something that you are now you've had that moment with God. You've had that experience with God. He's given you something to take back into your family or go take it back to your your school. Go take it back to your job. Go take it back. And all of a sudden, you come down from the mountain. You come down from the Sunday experience. You come down from the youth camps of the summer. And he comes down and I hear something going on. It's a Joshua said, "That's the noise of war in the camp." And he said, "It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is the voice of them that cry for being overcome, but the noise of them that sing is what I hear." And it came to pass as soon as he came nine to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. And Moses, his anger waxed hot. Anybody ever been there before? Huh? Go ahead and be honest. We've all got a little mad before, huh? Some of you haven't. It's okay. It's all right. It's not worth going to hell over. Anybody ever been mad before? Hey, Jesus. There we go. There we go. We're going to wake up. There we go. Uh he he he comes down. He's like that this is this is this is not what I expected. I just came from a mountaintop experience and walked back into a mess. This wasn't the way it was when I left it. >> There's times where God will do something in your life. When you come back down, you're like, "What in the world is going on here?" He's angry. He's he he's he's he's boiling. He's waxing hot and he casts the tables out of his hands and break them beneath the mount. He can't even get off the mountain. He's at the base of an experience with God and he breaks what God just wrote. Exodus 32 and verse number 31. for the sake of reading all of this. And Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Oh, this people, they've sinned a great sin and have made them gods of gold. Yet now it will if thou wil forgive their sins, but if not, if you won't forgive the people's sins," he says, "blot me out. Blot me out," Moses says. And God, he said, "I pray that you would do just blot me out of your book what you've written." And the Lord said to Moses, "It's not how it works, Moses. Whoever has sinned will I blot out of my book." It's individual. Now look at Exodus 34:1 and we'll be done reading. And the Lord said to Moses, "Hue thee two tables of stone like unto the first." and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables which you broke. Go get some stones, go he them out, and I will write what I wrote the first time a second time. >> So, I I read all of this to you, and I'm going to attempt to preach to you, and I'm not going to be very long. I know we've got ice cream and trains. We're going to pray over all the classrooms and all those things. It's not going to be very long, but I want to pray over our students tonight. And that's a generational thing. That's not just me preaching to the students. That's me, us partnering as a team, as a church, as a body of Christ, as families, as fathers, as mothers to make sure that these students are headed in the right direction. I'm going to preach to you on this topic tonight, the number two pencil. The number two pencil. Would you lay your Bibles down? Would you lift your hands and ask God to preach to speak to us tonight? Lord, I pray as a father, Lord, that your word would prick me, that it would stir me, that it would God, help me to guide my family. Lord, I pray for every family in this place, for every student in this house tonight. Lord, I pray that as they go into this new year, this new grade, that Lord, you would do great things in their their life. I know that you have, Lord, you you've ordered our steps up into this moment, and you have a plan for this school year. You have a a revival in store. We see God on the horizon. Great things for not only the church but the school in our community, Lord. Let us God embark on that tonight, Lord. Let us take that first step tonight of what you're going to do in the 2526 school year, Lord. And we'll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory and the honor. In Jesus' name we pray. And everybody said, "Amen." >> Amen. You may be seated. Moses in his wrath, in his anger, as the Bible says that he waxed angry, he was hot, >> breaks the ten commandments. He breaks them at the mount, at the base of the mount. So, we begin by a picture that is painted for us within the scripture that the law was broken before we ever got it. The law was broken in picture form before we ever received it. The people were breaking them when he comes down the bottom of the mountain. The law is shattered before we can ever receive it as a people. The finger of God has written on these tables of stone and before anybody can apply it in obedience, it's broken. you understand there's a lot of correlation and I'm not going to spend a lot of time here but that that that that happens in Exodus 32 is happening at on a feast day. It's called the feast of Shavead. It's also the day of Pentecost. We've talked about it. We preached about it. He stands at the gate. He says that if you're not going to be on the Lord's side, we're going to kill you. So for all of you that want to live in the Old Testament, that's how it worked. You either serve God or we kill you. You serve God, you do wrong, we feed you to the bears. It was pretty cut and dry. You know, nobody would have went to that church, right? It was just pretty cut and dry. You failed, you messed up, you just done for him. He says, "Who's on the Lord's side?" Because these people, they made gods of gold. They're not doing right. They're not You can't even I can't even give you the law. You're already breaking it. I've done broke it because you've done made me mad and I'm not happy. And here I am trying to tell the Lord, "Just block me out for the sake of the people." And God's like, "It don't work that way. You got to stand before God for yourself, right?" And so God and Moses is having this dialogue and these things are happening and this is all happening on the day of Pentecost. It's a feast day, but they're down there instead of having the feast of Shaveiat or the day of Pentecost, they made gods of gold and they're doing all these other things. And so that day when Moses makes the decree, who's on the Lord's side? He kills. The sword kills 3,000 people. The Bible literally says about 3,000 souls died that day by the sword. That's why in Acts chapter 2, when the spirit of God was poured out all in one accord in one place, the suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the house where they were sitting. We all know it. We are Pentecostal. Amen. >> The spirit was poured out. And it reads about 3,000 souls were added to the church on the same day, the same feast experience. That's why the New Testament writes that the letter kleth but the spirit giveth life. Since the moment that Moses walked down from the mountain and he broke it before he could even give it, >> this has always been a benchmark that we could never live up to without the spirit. >> This is to kill our flesh. But the only way that we can live by this law, the only way that we can make those ten commandments in which Jesus took it a little bit further because he started saying things that you don't necessarily even have to do it. You just have to think about it. >> Yeah. So it goes from ten commandments to 10 commandments. It's a it's in your heart. And if you're going to have this Holy Ghost, he said, "I've tried by making you pillar people. You follow a pillar in the cloud by by day and a pillar of fire by night. I've I've walked with you as 12 disciples and you still turn your back and you still cuss Peter and you still killed yourself, Judas." And and he said, "I don't know any other way but to come down and pour my spirit out and inhabit your earthn vessel that I could be in your heart and what's written on your heart. I can help you speak out and I can help you walk and I can help you do. And so this law is something that we're always going to break. >> The only hope we got is the spirit of the Holy Ghost inside of us that's going to prick us and prompt us and lead us and guide us to do the right thing. Amen. >> Anybody thankful for the Holy Ghost? >> You thankful for the Holy Ghost? Somebody shout amen. >> Got to have the Holy Ghost. All have sinned, broken in anger, broken in pride, broken people, broken tablets, broken law. But God is a God of second chances. >> God has always been one that would give another opportunity. He said, "This time we're going to do it a little bit different because failure has a way of bringing us to our knees. Failure has a way of bringing us to a humble place. It will bring you to an altar. It will bring people that that are that some of the worst people, the worst state somebody can be in is when they are deceived because they don't realize who they are. They don't realize what they're going through. The Bible says that that God, and I want you to understand this is why pride is such a a huge thing. And I've mentioned it the past few times I preached and it it's a it's amazing to see that that pride can make paradise look like a bad place. >> Pride can make people discontent in what God created as a paradise of Eden. >> Pride is a a thing that God says this. He said you don't even have to be prideful. He said I hate if it looks. >> He hates even a proud look. In other words, don't even look like it. >> Don't don't don't don't even appear to be it. Right? He said, "I I hate it. I can't stand pride." And this time he says, "You're going to have to humble yourself. You're going to get it." Pride is this terrible thing. And and and he says, "You're going to have to break your pride or it's going to break you." >> And so Moses, we had this experience with God. You come down and you allowed what you saw to cause you to react. So, Moses, you're going to go back to the top of the mountain and you're going to do it again. But this time, young people, you're going to he out yourself. >> You're going to do a little work. God said, "This time, I'm going to paint a real picture and show you that if you want God to do it like he did the first time, but you want a second chance, it's going to require us to put a little bit of sweat, >> a little bit of work into it. God can. He could have hewed it out again. He could have just done it the way he did it the first time. But he says, "No, Moses. You're going to cut out the rock this time. You're going to make an investment. It's going to come from the sweat of your brow. The will of man is going to be involved in the creating or the the buying. You could see all the scriptures that starts tying in in the buying of the truth. It's going to take the will of man. It's going to take some work. It's going to take some some things that you've got to be involved. He says you're going to cut out the stone and then the finger of God will come and write. >> So here we are tonight. I bring to you my thought of the number two pencil. It is very interesting and most of you I know students today some of you I'm going to kind of date myself and that's sad to say because I don't really feel that old however I do tonight. I think I may have outdid it this weekend. But the number two pencil is something that when we walked into class and we had to take a test. You could not take the test with a pen. You couldn't take the test with with anything other than a number two pencil. If you don't have one, we'll provide one for you. You take the standard test. You take the SAT. You're going to take the ACT. You're going to use a number two pencil. Why? Well, they they had a lot of fancy reasons, but the real reason was there was a machine grading those papers. Teachers were like, "I ain't grading all these papers. I'm not checking all these bubbles. I'm going to stick it through a machine. And the density of the lead within a number two pencil is dense enough for it to be legible by the machine that was going to grade your paper. It was it was dense enough that it was legible for you to fill in the blank or write in the correct answer. However, it was not too dense that it could not be erased. Because if you take, and most of you, at least I didn't know, there is such thing as a number one pencil. There's even a number three, a number four. There's there's different levels and and and and ways that they grade the density of the lead within a writing utensil. And so the number one pencil is something that it's so dense that when you go to erase it that it won't properly erase. it leaves too much residue that possibly if you had a number one pencil and you filled in C and you decided I'm going to change my answer to A that the machine would read that possibly you still put in C because we really couldn't get it to go away. And so as I began to read about this and I began to see the this is quite an interesting fact. I thought man I know a lot of people who are just writing the story of their life with the wrong pencil. He says, "Moses, we're going to do this again, but the second time you're going to get involved. >> It's a requirement that you and I, young people, it's a requirement that you write. It's a requirement that we do something. In fact, uh I I I I want to make sure that we stress because there's a lot of uh culture uh within within our social media, Christian culture. Some of you follow them because I see that you follow the pages. And so maybe I should address a little bit of it tonight that there are some some false uh uh ideas. There's some terrible philosophy out there that some of these people that are Christians are pedalling to you. And that is that you don't have to do all those works to be saved. >> You Well, Paul says, "I'm not saved by works." But he does say that you're saved unto works. >> It requires you to get out a pencil. It requires you to write some things in the pages of your life. It requires for you to he out a rock. It requires for you to to do some work when it comes to the kingdom of God. >> So when he is your God, he writes, if you could go along with me tonight, young people, in the number one, but you must write in the number two. And I know a lot of people that have taken matters into their own hands. Things aren't the way that they thought they should be. So, I'm going to take this into my own hands. I'm going to manipulate this situation. I'm going to take control of this situation. And there's pages of their life that as they look back over their past, they wish they had not written >> because it wasn't the finger of God. It wasn't the handwriting of God. It wasn't the purpose and the will of God. You kicked down doors that should have never been open. You begin to walk through things that have never you went you you there's just forced situations and you you you put yourself in a place where when you look back you wish you could get rid of those seasons. >> Yes, sir. >> It's easy if we're not careful, but yet we're all honest. It's easy to pick up that number one pencil of pride. It's easy to begin to write things and feel like that it's it's a it's a requirement for us to write. But when I start writing, I must consistently and and just remember who the author of my story is. The creator of the universe is the author and the finisher, Paul says, of our faith. I must write, but I must write in my position. I must write with a number two pencil. I'm involved, but I'm not in control. His word is that lamp and that light. And I'm writing the chapters that he has planned for me, young people. I'm turning the pages when he wants me to turn the pages. I'm putting the period where he wants me to put the period. I'm starting new chapters and new seasons when he wants me to. >> It's the plan. It's the purpose of God because he is the author and the finisher. God is teaching through us that there is a covenant between from the very beginning until now. We see that when God steps in that there is involvement in us writing. We want to just say, "God, you just do all of it." That's bad theology. God will work, but it requires our obedience. It requires us to do something. Let me let me let me explain to you. The first covenant would be would all be done by God, but the second Adam would be robed in flesh. The first man, Adam, God made all by himself, but the second Adam would come through Mary. He would add a number two pencil. He says, "I formed the first one out of the dust of the ground and I breathed it. I did I wrote just like I did for Moses. I wrote it all out. I hewed it all out. I made it all." But he says, "You broke it. And so now I'm going to have you he out another, Mary. I'm going to have you have this this somewhat embarrassing process of a of but but if you'll let me write if you'll write what I would like you to write. It's just like all the scripture. It's inspired by God by men holding the pen but God is writing and engrafting that perfect word of truth. And so Mary plays a part in this story. And so therefore, it makes it quite interesting when we begin to say the word was made flesh. >> The word, what had been written, Jesus comes to fulfill that law. He becomes, he comes to fulfill everything that has been written. And so we see once again, Moses, there is a cost for a second chance. The number two pencil on the pages is going to cost him something just like it did Moses. It's going to cost you and I something as well. Young people, I know it's not extremely popular today and but I'm going to consistently just constantly remind you. It's not even in our world properly divi defined, but everything we do in life, it's going to take work. He said, "Whatever you do, do it with all your heart. >> Do it with all your soul. >> Do it with all your might." He says, "I'm going to come. I'm going to give you a second chance, but it's going to mean that my sweat is going to become its drops of blood." Why? Because he's a god of second chances, but that second chance is going to cost you something. >> He says, "I I I want you to cut it out of stone, Moses. And I'm here to tell you, young people, people of God, saints of God, there's some things that God is calling us to do. But we want the finger of God. We want the hand of God to do all the writing. And I'm all about prayer, and I'm all about praise, and I'm all about worship, but our prayer will never replace laziness. >> That's right. >> There's a lot of jealousy that's being interwoven in our Christian culture today within the apostolic church. And the reason there's a lot of jealousy is because the root of jealousy is laziness. >> One purpose, one person's working, another person's not. Somebody's putting in the work and somebody's >> somebody's writing and hewing out the stone and therefore the finger of God comes down and confirms and people stand back and wonder why is that person getting that opportunity? Why is God doing that in their life? Because ultimately somewhere they've hewed out a relationship with God. They've allowed there to be sweat. There's allowed to be some discipline that happens. >> Nowhere in scripture will you find that God is going to override our bad behavior. There's no there there's there's there's no where you're going to find it. There is a human responsibility involved in your miracle. >> He don't need the lad's lunch, but he'll ask for it. >> He don't need some of these things. He is God. He could have simply just made it fall from heaven like he did in the wilderness. But he says, "Bring me the lad's lunch. Sit down." God says, "If you will, I will. >> If you'll do what I've asked you to do, then I'll do what I said I would do." >> God says, "If you will, then I will." But there is a cost for a second chance. There's always a cost to make a comeback. The covenant requires it to chisel it out, to humble yourself. Because here's the thing, young people, if I could preach to you, and I know there's some saints of God in this place that would amen this with me. When you work for it, you won't let anybody take it from you. >> That's right. >> When you work for it, you will value it a whole lot more. >> That's right. >> When you work for it, you won't break it so easy. Moses, maybe next time you'll think before you throw it. >> If you go out there and he out, you cut it out of a rock. I don't know if anybody's ever worked. Anybody ever hit your thumb with a a hammer? I just imagine Moses sitting down there thinking, Brother Perry, you know, just down there, it's like it's just it's this hard labor. He's cutting out stone. There's nothing I would rather not do than chisel. >> Cut stone. can't even carrying those center blocks, stacking them. Your hands just get ripped all to pieces. And can you imagine? He's sitting there thinking, "I had these perfectly written, but I broke them." He says, "You dropped it the first time, and I bet you'll think again before you just throw them down." Said he cast them on the ground. I I can't help but just stress to you that's the biblical way of living for God. When you have sacrificed, which is the which is the the kingdom exchange throughout all the Bible, when you sacrifice, you're much less likely to leave this thing. >> People that are much that they're antsy to walk out their door. They're antsy to turn their back on God. They're antsy to blame God. You know who those people are? People with very little sacrifice. They have very little investment. They've not cut anything out. They've not built anything out. They've not. >> So young people, if you could if you if you could discipline yourself to invest in the kingdom of God, put your time, put your talent, put your treasure into eternal things, when it's all said and done, what have I put into the kingdom of God? When they roll you down the aisle, saints of God, were you a pillar >> in the kingdom of God? >> He said, "Walk holy, walk pure. Nothing's going to separate me. As for me in my house, I'll serve the Lord. All these statements, all these declarations made by people that were doing things, investing. So, Exodus 32, we've already read it. Moses returned to the Lord and said, "These people have sinned a great sin. They've made these gods of gold." He says, "If you'll forgive their sins, if not, would you blot me out? >> Take me out of your book." The Lord said to Moses, "Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book." >> Could I leave this with you tonight? Could I encourage somebody who the devil is just messing with you with condemnation and you are just you're just in a place where you feel like you're so far. I'm thankful that he could have blotted me out, but instead he blotted my sin out. Paul says, "Repent therefore and be converted. Let your sins be blotted out. When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of God, he said to the church at Colossians, blotting out the handwriting, blotting out the handwriting of ordinance that was against you. Maybe you wrote it. Maybe somebody else wrote it. Maybe you were deceived. Maybe you were strung out on drugs when you wrote those chapters of your life." But he says blotting out the handwriting of some seasons and some chapters and some things in your life. You say it was supposed to be my name that was blotted out, but instead he blotted out my sins. He blotted out my failures. He blotted out my mess ups. He blotted out everything that I wish I could. I don't know about you, but has God done anything for anybody in this place tonight that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, God's pencil has an eraser called the cross. While we were sinning, while we were sinning, I know we've preached it before, but the mercy of God will draw you to repentance. While you were yet sinners, while you were in your mess, he says, "Bring it to me and I will blot it out. >> Bring it to me and I will take care of it." If you will, he will. If you'll write, if you'll begin to write repentance, if you'll begin to make a step of obedience, if you'll begin to do something, he'll blot out your bondage, he will blot out your bitterness and brokenness. I can't help but think, and I don't have time to to to deviate, but there was a woman caught in sin, and and they bring her to Jesus, and they they surround him. They're trying to get him caught in that law that that none of us can really live up to without the spirit. They're trying to say, "Jesus, you should kill her because that's what the law says. That's what the law, the letter killth." But the spirit, the word made flesh, was standing there. And he said, he stooped down on the ground, Brother Tyler. And we don't know what he wrote, but I have some pretty good ideas that I love to think about that if it wasn't for the goodness of God, he said, if you're without sin, go ahead and throw a stone. Because when God writes, God has a way of blotting things out of your life, erasing things out of your life, no matter what the people around you say, no matter what your peers are saying, no matter what they put a label on you is this, he can blot that out at the moment and he can go ahead and silence the crowd of condemnation. I've come to encourage somebody tonight to don't listen to the lies of the devil. Go ahead and let God blot that out of the book. I know you messed up, but guess what? We all have. We've all failed him. We've all got our shortcomings because this is a law that was broke before we got it. But thanks be to God for a second chance. >> I'm thankful for a God who's got an eraser. I'm thankful that if you turn the pages of my life, I I don't I wouldn't I wouldn't even want to look at it if it didn't have some residue >> of redemption. Anybody ever erased it and it's like you can't read what you wrote, but there's still that red on it. Huh? >> I don't have time to go into it there, but there's a reason that this eraser is red. The >> same reason his blood is red. It has this effect that it just can remove things. It's a powerful element that I'm so thankful that as you turn the pages of my life, as you go and you look back over my life, that there's some residue of some things that I know who. And that's why you can worship in a perfected praise. As David said, like nobody else can worship because in your heart, you know that there's pages that should have divorce. There's pages that should have defeat. There's pages that should have a mess. I I I should have died there. I should have. But no, there's a residue of blood that blotted out who I used to be, who I could have been. I should be drunk tonight on a bar stool. I should still be strung out on drugs. But God gave me a chance. God died for me. my name was going to be blotted out. My name deserves to be blotted out. >> But he says instead, >> if you'll come to an altar, >> if you'll come to an altar and you'll be able to write that on a Sunday night, I know I had messed up just the few few hours before. I had messed up on that Thursday before, but you said, "Oh, I'm g I'm gonna let God deal with that past and I'm gonna write obedience. I I Lord, I wish you'd forgive me. I wish you'd create in me a clean heart. Oh, God. I wish you'd renew in me a right spirit." And when the number two pencil starts writing at an altar of repentance, all of a sudden, the finger of God comes down. All of a sudden, the power of God will fall down. I'm here to preach to somebody who feels like you're so far from God. You've characterized yourself by your shortcomings. You've labeled yourself by it. But God's got an eraser tonight that no matter your age, no matter your situation, God wants to w He wants to wipe it clean tonight. He wants to wipe it out. He wants to remove that. As far as the east is >> from the west. As far as he's concerned, it's never there. >> Oh, there's nothing more powerful than when you pick up that number two pencil. And I don't know anybody that's ever been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. >> That's something we can do. >> That's obedience. You don't get the name. >> Unless you pick up that number two pencil >> and you say, "I'm going to get my flesh under subjection. I'm going to submit my pride. I'm going to walk up in front of some folks and make a declaration that I'm not ashamed of him." That's me swallowing my pride. That's me hewing out a rock. If I want a second chance, I got to cut the rock out. If I want a second chance, God's got to crucify my flesh. If I want a second chance, I got to bury this old man. But let me tell you tonight, if you will get that pen out, the hand of God, oh, I feel the Holy Ghost in this place. The hand of God will come down, brother Kenny French, and he will write Jesus over your life. He'll write a name that's above every failure. He'll write a name that's above every sickness. Oh, if you'll do your part tonight, there's no telling what God would write in this place. >> Hebrews 5:9 says, "And being made perfect, >> he became the author >> of eternal salvation unto everybody >> that will obey him." In other words, if you'll pick up this pencil, I'll write eternal salvation on your life. >> If you'll pick up, he says to obey him. If you will pick up your part, he'll do something >> like you never thought could ever happen. There's something interesting about stories and books and things being written. In order to know the author, you have to read the book. You you you in order to know the author of this story that you and I are a part of the moment you were born you became a part of this book. The book of acts the church is one of the only books in your bible that has no ending. The term aulot is used at the end of the book of acts because it is continuation. It's going it's still being written today. The book of acts is being written right now. You're we're a book of acts church. It's being written. The pages of of the book of Acts are being written right now. Says they were gathered together on a Sunday night and the spirit of God fell. Things happened. Somebody was baptized in his name. We're still writing it because it's a continuation. >> You know the author. The only way to know the author though is to read the book. Know the book. So he he says he says a lot of things here that that that you and I can can can maybe not comprehend, but most of it we can look at the pages of scripture and and we we can see it's it's the number one question that Jesus asks and it's most of the time when they're trying to catch him in something or they're trying to challenge him or they're trying to tempt him and he says, "Have you not read? Have you not Have you not read about the man who I rose from the dead? Have you not read the pages of scripture? Now, let me ask you this. There's some of us that are sitting in this place tonight. Doesn't matter how young you are, how old you are. There's some of us, you don't even we we we've seen the power of God so strongly in our lives that you don't even have to turn the pages back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You could turn the pages of your own book. >> And I wonder often why it is that we have so much doubt when God's done so much. I wonder often why we keep record of everything except what God's done. >> So and so hurt me. So and so didn't invite me. I can't sit next to them. I got to turn my head when I walk by them in the hallway or the grocery store. will keep record of everything except the fact that God worked a miracle years ago. And he wants you to turn the pages sometimes and look back over your life and think I can surely say that I've been blessed that that I've got a testimony. All those songs that we used to sing, some of them that we steal, you'll see them threaded within the scripture. And if you you you just don't know what the Lord's brought me through. All that is is thumbing back through brother Mayo the pages of our own life. It's a reflection to see what was supposed to be written but what's been blotted out. So he says, "Have you not read? Do you not you don't you don't know who you're talking to because you have not read. We don't have access to an eraser, but he does. So many times we thought it was over, but he kept on writing. He turned question marks of our past into exclamation points. When we were down and out, he straightened us out. He turned the page when we thought it was over. The word became flesh. The creator is still writing the story of our lives. And I encourage you tonight because we always like to kick the devil in the face a little bit on Sunday night. But let me tell you this, he's been an antagonist in this book since the very beginning. He deceived before we could hardly get to the third, fourth, fifth chapter. You just you can't even hardly get in there. Here he comes slithering into the situation. He's a deceiver. He's a seeker. He's trying to destroy you. He's trying to seek you out. That's right. >> He's in here that he's in this place and some of you have allowed him to take up residence within your mind to say things and convince you of things. But sometimes I think we go back to that number two pencil where we act like the devil is writing some things. But the devil cannot write anything. >> The devil is not an author. >> The devil is not a writer. >> The devil can only manipulate your mind to cause you to write or do things that he didn't call you to do. >> So stop giving him so much credit. You're the one writing your story. >> You're the one making the decision. You're the one who can say no to him. You're the one who can turn and walk away. You're the one who can come down to this altar tonight and everything change >> in a moment of obedience. >> He can become the author of your eternal salvation in a matter of just a moment. He says, "If we would have known, we wouldn't have crucified him." He don't know what's going on. He don't even understand the end of the story. He don't get it all. We give him way too much credit. So, I encourage you tonight, don't let the devil deceive you into writing something. >> Hear the word of the Lord, know the author, read the book, and be a continuation of a place, >> a church. Brother Holmes said it last week and it's so simple but it's so profound. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. We say that. But who's the church? >> You are. >> Middle school young man. The gates of hell cannot prevail against you. >> You win. Read the back of the book. >> You know the author of the story. You have to understand tonight and live with victory knowing that not only does the beginning have just this this this powerful thing of telling me that God's got a purpose for me and God's got a promise for me and God's going to do great things in my life. I've got all that. But I've got these pages of this scripture and the pages of my life. But all in all, we win. >> Are you with me tonight? >> When it's all said and done, >> we win. We will >> I want you to stand to your feet tonight show you something rather interesting. And I don't want you to read it out loud, but I want you to look at this tile with me. We're going to read this together. And all of you teachers that are in the house, don't kill me. I know you're going to have like an attack right now mentally. According to the research at Cambridge University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are. The only important thing is that the first and the last letter be at the right place. The rest can be a total mess >> and you could still read it without a problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself, but the whole the word as a whole. My God, that'll preach by itself. >> You got to take this whole word, >> not just a few scriptures. >> And I know all you students that are looking for a loophole in your education, you just found one. Well, what we got to learn all this stuff for? I just got to know the first and last letter. >> But I want to use this tonight to preach something to you. Could Could I Could I just show you just a Here here's the thing. We get so consumed with the mess in the middle. >> That if we aren't careful, our mess ups in the middle will cause us to derail who the finisher is. I've come to tell somebody under the Holy Ghost tonight that yes, he's the author, but he's also the finisher. And he's not brought you here to leave you here. He's not brought you this far to forsake you. He's not given you the Holy Ghost to not put a period at the end of your story that says you win. >> Are you with me tonight? >> Don't be discouraged. >> I know there's going to be some messy pages. But as long as there's a residue >> of redemption, >> as long as the pen, >> the pencil is in the right hand, >> it's going to be all right. But the unique thing about this kingdom of God that we all live in, young people, is that every story matters. Every story matters tonight. How you respond to the choir, how you respond to this moment where we're going to anoint you and pray over you. If you connect your heart with heaven, if you consecrate yourself because you believe God's going to do wonders among you in this school year, how you respond is going to be written in your life's book, your life's story. So, I invite every young person to this front first and foremost on this back to school and every if you're going to school, even our college students, if you're especially our college students, if you'll all come up around this front, squeeze as close as you can. God is so uniquely interested in each and every one of you. He's got a plan for you. He's numbered the hairs on your head. He formed you in your mother's womb. He started writing before you ever took a step. He's got pages and pages and pages that he wants you to write. He wants to do things through you. He's got callings and purpose. And Lord, what a powerful group. What a large group of students that there is no telling what God can do through this group of students. There is no telling what this school year, hear me, high schoolers, middle schoolers, this can be the greatest school year we've ever had. Not because we win a championship, not because that that we've got the best grade point average. Not because but because we have moments in a chapel service where God wrote things with the finger of God upon your heart that nobody else could have written. But if we'll be obedient, if we'll let God work in our lives, if we'll if we'll do our part, I'm I'm so confident that this school year can be one that we look back over and we see it had to be God. It had to be God in that chapel service. It had to be God in the in this moment. And so I ask you, could you all you guys squeeze up close as you can? I don't want anybody in the aisle or feeling like they're being left out. Squeeze up here close. We're going to pray. In fact, pastor, if you want to come up here and and when where's brother Sullivan at? Brother Sullivan, if you'll come down here. We want to pray and we're going to pray together and we're going to try to lay hands on each and every one of you tonight. But I want to go ahead and dismiss our teachers, daycare and and and school teachers to their classroom. The elders are going to come and get the bottle of oil from pastor and they're going to here in just a moment as we begin to pray over the students. The elders are going to make their way through and anoint each teacher in each classroom because we want the finger of God to be written on this place. Amen. We're going to do our part. We're going to be here. We're going to educate. We're going to pray. We're going to teach them all that we can teach them. You're going to be here. Parents are going to they're going to support. But we just want the hand of God to be on everything that we do. Amen. Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost in this place. Students, I wish you'd close your eyes that you wouldn't be distracted. But I wish you'd lift your hands toward heaven right now. Parents, if you would lift your hands this way. And could we bind together right now and pray over this school year, Lord? We ask, oh God, that you would touch every student from seniors all the way down, Lord, to those little toddlers, Lord, that are hearing the word of God in the daycare. Lord, we ask, God, that your hand be upon this place. Oh Jesus. Jesus form their minds. Shape their hearts. Oh God. Lord let them be leaders. Oh God. Come on. That's it. Young men. Cry out to the Lord right now. Come on. That's it. Young ladies. Say, "God, I give myself to you. God, I consecrate myself to you. God, I give you my life. Lord, I surrender to you right now. This school year is going to be one that we can look back over and say that you touched our lives." Come on, students. I I hear you praying. Come on. Could you all lift your voice up right now? Pray that prayer. God, use me. God, do what you want to do in my life. God, touch me. God, change me this year. Yes, God. Yes, God. Yes, God. >> Yes, God. >> Yes, God. Yes, God. Yes, God. In the name of Jesus. >> In the name of Jesus. >> In the name of Jesus, we ask you more than >> Jesus name. Elders, if you'll help us pray over the students and then we'll make our way through the the building. I want every student to be prayed over, to be anointed and touched tonight. Lord, we ask you to protect them. Lord, we ask you to keep them in the name of Jesus