Sunday Morning Worship Service

Has God been good to anybody in this place? He is great and greatly to be praised. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You may be seated for just a moment. I give honor to this great church. Thank you, Pastor Anthony uh for those kind words and uh we have been friends a long time and I since he was kind to me and he didn't tell any stories about me. I will return the kindness but as soon as one slips it's over and we will both suffer. But uh no, I I I have great respect for Pastor Anthony. I have great respect for this Mcool family and uh Pastor Nate, Sister Ashley Whitley. Um I give honor. What a what an incredible pastoral family. Bishop Mcool. Uh this entire family, what a blessing. And I know they they don't like those. And and u I'll move quick because I I hate when people talk about me as well. But uh I think the the word of the Lord is true obviously when it says give honor where honor is due. And I think you need to give your leadership team a hand clap here today. We love them. We're thankful for them. The last time we were here, um, Bishop Mcool stood up and he began to talk about, uh, a theme that he did years ago called It's a Great Day. Do you remember that? And I was so inspired by that. And we went home that year and some really tough things happened in our church. A young lady had passed in a terrible, tragic uh, car accident. And man, families were going through it. other things were were happening. I believe it was 2018. I may be wrong about that, but um we implemented that. We stole that from this church. You guys are worth stealing from obviously. Uh what what a beautiful congregation this is. And we implemented that theme that year year. It's a great day. And uh uh it they don't remember they probably don't even remember the vision casting from this year, but they still remember it's a great day. And it wasn't even mine. I didn't even come up with it. But uh so we'll we'll figure out uh the next uh uh thing we'll do from you guys probably. But I give honor to this church. I give honor to this great church. And I'm thankful uh to be able to be here today. And uh I'm thankful for my friends, the Ambrose family. We love them and cherish their friendship. Uh and then of course uh brother Jeremy and Sister Jody and Jaye. Uh we love them tremendously. And what a class act they are. I'm thankful for what New Beginnings is doing. And then of course my wife uh and my two girls are with me today and I give honor to them. Can we stand our feet today? If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of Acts, chapter 9, 16. Anna Katherine's with us today. She's a Jesus name community church member and uh we we love her and I saw her dancing and shouting in the in the altar this morning. And it made me proud. Anna Katherine, you keep it up, girl. All right. Book of Acts, chapter nine, verse 16. For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. I want to preach to you this morning and hopefully it'll make sense in just a moment on this subject. I'm sicker than you. Look at look at your neighbor. Say, "I'm sicker than you are." Y'all got family that I mean, you can't even be sick in the home because they've been through more than you've been through. That cold isn't Look at your neighbor. Say, "I am sicker than you." I want to preach to you this morning on that thought. I am sicker than you. Would you put your Bibles down? And are we in an apostolic church this morning? Would you lift your voice and help this preacher pray today? Lord, we love you. God, we thank you. God, we give you all the glory. We give you all the honor. God, I know that there's people in this place that need a miracle, oh God. And Lord, I'm asking you, God, to anoint me today. God, don't let me try to impress anybody, but God, I'm asking you, God, to minister through me today. God, if there's anybody in this house that's never experienced you in the power of your spirit, Lord, before this day is over, God, fill them from the top of their head to the sole of their feet. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Somebody shout, "Amen." Clap your hands as loud as you can as you're being seated today. [Music] Don't stay seated. I am sicker than you. This sanctuary this morning is no doubt filled with trials, with hurts, addictions, tribulation. Now, you guys look wonderful. You you you've got your Sunday best on, and you you look wonderful. But uh and and it and it might it it might seem as if things are better than they really are. And I I would say that this place looks better than it really is. And that is a compliment. It is a compliment. Some though are coming out of trials while others are going into trials. The Bible lets us know that men are born for just a few days. And those few days are full of trouble. But I want somebody to hear me this morning when I tell you that it may seem like you are alone. But can I rem remind you that we serve a God that will never leave you nor forsake you. Does anybody have that testimony that we serve a God that will stick closer than a brother? Somebody hear me today that God is with you. I don't know where you are and I I don't know what you're going through and I I don't know what you're facing this morning, but I need you to know that you are not fighting that battle by yourself. You're not fighting it by yourself. He's with you. But not only not only is he with you, but he is for you. His thoughts today to or toward you are not evil thoughts, but his plans are plans that would prosper you. They that he his goal is that you prosper as your soul prospers. Some have been with us, but not all have been for us. know that. I need you to understand that that it's it's there's a difference in being with someone and for someone. And I need you to know today that we serve a God that is not only with us, but he is for us. And if God is for us, I ask you the question, who can be against us? God is for you. I need somebody to know that that he is on your side. That he will never leave you nor forsake you. And he knows he knows you intimately. He knows you. He knows you in detail. And yet he still believes in you. God is for us. His His word declares it. I don't want to belver the point here today, but before we can go any further, I need you to get a revelation here today that while you seem like you are by yourself, you are not by yourself. Romans 8:31 says, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" And so Paul knew, he knew this fact and he was determined to prove it to you and to me and to emphasize that God is for us. Now, I I I gota I have to get to where I'm going this morning. And I'm I'm going to use my family to do so for just a moment before we get real into the word of the Lord. In my family, when you are sick, you know what that means? Nothing. It means absolutely. Anybody got a family like that? It don't mean nothing. I had COVID in the early days. My wife was telling I had a cold. I thought I was dying. My my sister, she works at our daycare there. and and uh she had an emergency C-section and uh she had her a few weeks off there and and and and my mom and and we're we're doing a lot of the the the the heavy caring now as far as the daycare goes. They're they're leading the district and doing different things and but then mom was very very much uh uh involved in that and and uh she said, "I need a couple more weeks off." and and they said, "Um, well, you're going to need a a doctor's excuse." Because we've all been pregnant. Look at your neighbor, say, "I'm sicker than you are." When When you're sick, in my family, there's some there's somebody always been sicker. They've always been sicker. Listen to me. One of my dad's famous quotes, and you're probably not listen I'm from I'm from the country. I I'm from redneck country. I I'm I'm I'm from I'm from Mississippi, but not just Mississippi. I we're we're we're we're from that that rural area, that that very country. And he had a I grew up hearing a phrase. I don't even know what it means, y'all. I I don't I don't even have a clue what it means. And you're probably going you're not going to know what it means. But he used to say this all the time. He'd say this quote right here. He'd say, "I've had worse places on my eyeball. I have no idea. I mean, you could come to him and my arm be broke three different places. I'd say, "Dad, I'm hurting." And I promise you, I'm not making this up. He'd say, "I've had worse places on my eyeball, and I still don't know what that means." You You know those folks that it doesn't matter what you've been through, what you've gone through. You've had to swim the Mississippi River. They had to swim it twice underwater because because I I promise you I'm going somewhere to today. Listen to me when I tell you that the Apostle Paul had been sicker than us. When I tell you that Paul had been through more than most, you better read scripture before you try to argue that or to debate that. Paul went through hard times and would go through many more hard times in his life and a promise of suffering was part of his calling. Acts 9, our scripture text, verse 16, the word of the Lord says, "For I will show him how great things he must suffer." Everybody say, "Suffer for my name's sake." There were things that Paul was destined to have to go through. What if I told you that that thing that still haunts you, that thing that still torments you, that things that thing that brings butterflies in your stomach when you think about it, what if I preached to you today that it was all part of God's plan? Because listen to me, somebody hear me today. God does not waste pain. I'm not saying that God causes pain. I'm not saying that God has delivered the pain. I'm just saying if there is pain, God said, "We're not going to waste it. I'm going to use it to glorify my name." Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. And so, I need you to understand that Paul knew suffering. He knew suffering. He understood suffering. And because he suffered, there were things he could say that nobody else could say. His testimony in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 23 through33, you can you can go find that is telling. And this is where Paul turned into a porterfield. This is where he turned into a porterfield. We're gonna call him Brother Paul Porterfield today because you get to verse 23 and he asks the question, there's a little sarcasm here. He says, "Are they ministers? Are they ministers of Christ?" And then he says, he said, "I speak as a fool. Are they ministers?" And even Paul acknowledges, I'm being a little foolish right now. I can't believe I'm saying this, but here it goes. Basically, he says, "I am sicker than you are." Look at your neighbor. Say, "I'm sicker than you." He He He looks at them and he says he says, "Are are they ministers? Look, I'm about to be foolish and I'm about to go somewhere that nobody's going to like and nobody's going to feel comfortable when I say it. But basically, he says, "I have been through more than you have." What does he say? He goes on, you can go on down that scripture there. He says, "Are they ministers of Christ?" He says, "Hey, how how are they ministers of Christ?" He said, "I am more." Everybody say more. He said I am more in what? He says I am more in labors more abundant in stripes above measure in prisons more often in deaths of off of the Jews five times. He said let me tell you what qualifies me to speak right now. He said of the Jews five times received thy 40 stripes save once thrice. He says, "Was I beaten with rods? Once I was I stoned thrice, I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I have been in the deep. What have you been through?" Oh, somebody. Is there anybody in this place that could stand to your feet right now and say, "I want somebody else to know that I'm not here for some social event." No. I'm here because of the grace of almighty God. And I don't have to qualify anything that I do. The only qualification I need is that when I was lost, he found me. When I was dead, he resurrected me. Uh when nobody else was there for me, I've been through something. Am I in a placeh that's perfect? Or am I in a placeh that can say I've got some scars? I've been through some shipwrecks. My worship may look like tradition to you, but if you don't know where I've been through or where I've come from, oh, somebody hear me right now. I am sick. Somebody shout, I'm sicker than you are. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You think he would stop? Thank God Paul didn't have Facebook. You're talking about a rant for the ages. He said, "I am more more in labors, more in shipwrecks, more in in beatings, more in deaths oft." And you think, "I hope he's done." No, he's not done. He said in verse 26, "In journeys often in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren." He said, "The country men hurt me. The city folk hurt me. People that I thought was my brother." He said, "I couldn't escape on land. So I went to the sea. Anybody ever felt like that? Everywhere you go, it doesn't seem to work. You can change geography and there that old devil stands. You can change friend groups and you're fighting the same thing. I've come to tell somebody right now that I know that you've had to fight through pain, but there is purpose in the pain. And the devil's trying to get you to quit. And the enemy is trying to get you to give up. But the Lord sent me to tell somebody today that I'm going to take what the devil meant for evil and I'm going to turn it for the good. And he doesn't stop. He said, and he said, "Are you ministers of Christ?" He said, "You think you've been through something? You think you've had to face some hell, some devils?" He said in verse 27, "In weariness and pain, in in watchings often in hunger and thirst and fear, fasting's often in cold and nakedness beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches." And then he says, "Who is weak? Who is weak? Who is sick? Who's calling in today? Who's quitting today? Who's giving up? who's wanting to give up. He said, "I'm sicker than you." He said, "And am I not weak?" You ever You ever looked at you just wanted to say, "Man, get over it. Am I not weak?" That's what Paul's saying. Am I am I not hurting? Am I Am I Am I Who is offended? He said, "You don't think I've been hurt? You don't think that I've been talked about? You don't think that I've been ready to walk out? Can I preach to some young people right now? Let me tell you something. These elders that sat in here today, you think their life was easier? No. Let me tell you something. You're very naive to think that. Listen to me. If you've lived for God for 50 years, for 40 years, you're not here because your life has been easy. You're still here because you refused to give up and you didn't know what time. Come on. I need an elder. I need a middle-aged man that would let some of this new generation know that the only reason I'm here is because I refuse to stay at home. I refuse to stop worshiping. I refuse. Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. Paul's looking at him. He said, "Look, you don't think I've been hurt? You don't think I've been talked about? You don't think I've been ready to walk out of this thing? Give up." That was the temptation for me. Paul in one portion of scripture he says that I fought this temptation to drift in one in one uhh translation he he fought this all the cares of the churches set upon him all the cares of the people and he said that that was the biggest fight brother Whitley that he would that he would would would deal with was the temptation to drift away. I can tell you if there's if there is a temptation for for for ministry that would be the temptation to just go find you a cabin on the back side of nowhere and close the door and and stay. That's what that's what he was fighting. That's what he was dealing with. He was carrying the burdens of the church. He was carrying all the the issues of the people. And he said he said, "Look, you don't think that I've been ready to work or walk out?" And then he says at the at the end of that scripture and he says, "And I burn not." He said, "I'm sicker than you are. And I'm not quitting. I'm not giving up. I'm not laying down." Have you ever just wanted to to to to just give up and quit? I've come to tell somebody, you've got to stay focused on the prize. There's an enemy. There's an adversary. I feel the Holy Ghost right now that's trying to talk somebody out of living for God over the next year, over the in the future. But the Lord sent me to tell you that you better put your suit back on. You better put that Bible back under your arm. You better walk back into You listen to me. Do not listen to the voices of the adversary that is whispering in your ear. Stop. Quit. It's over. It's finished. I've come to tell you there's a message that's about to come out of the madness. There's a purpose that's about to come out of the pain. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And he gets all the way down, brother Mcool. He works himself all the way down and he talks about all of it. And then he gets to verse 30 and he says this, "If I must need glory, He said, "I will glory up the things which I'm good at, which I've accomplished." Now, he's accomplished some things now. Now, you got to understand, Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin. Paul had accomplished some things. Paul would go on to write over half of the New Testament. Paul was literally shifting things and building things in the kingdom of God that day. He had done some powerful things. But when it come time to glory and he wasn't he he understood that you shouldn't boast and you shouldn't brag but what he says is he said if I need to glory I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. What was he saying? He said look I know you're not supposed to brag and I know you're not supposed to to boast. He said, "But if I were to brag," he said, "I'm not going to brag about the things that I've accomplished." He said, "If I'm going to brag," he said, "I'm going to brag about the things that tried to kill me and couldn't." I wish somebody would help me preach right now. Is there anybody that would stand to their feet this morning and say, "I know we aren't supposed to boast, but if I, Brother Huff, was going to boast, I wouldn't tell you about how I sang camp meeting. I wouldn't tell you about how I preached youth convention, I wouldn't care about all those things." No. He said, "If I was going to brag, I would brag about how I should have been dead, but I'm still alive. I would brag about my family should be lost, but they're still in the house of God. If I was going to brag, I'd brag about the things that should have destroyed me. But I'm still here, Satan. Is there anybody right now that would take about 15 seconds uh and give God the best praise that you have because you're still here? Oh, come on, somebody. Your praise is telling somebody not how how good you are, but how good he is. Your worship right now is not telling somebody about how amazing you are. It's telling them about how amazing God is. Oh, can I preach to somebody here this morning? You listen to me. There's people in this househ you've judged by the way they worship. But if you knew how good God had been to them, if you knew, somebody hear me right now. You've you've judged people by the way they've danced and the way they've praised, but you weren't there in divorce court when they thought their life was over. You wasn't there. You weren't there when their kid came walking back into the altar. Somebody hear me right now. Now, I don't believe I'm in this kind of church, but there's some places that they come in and it's just a social gathering. I don't think that's where I'm at. I believe I'm in a place where the altar is bloody, where where the people are real and they understand. Had it not been for the goodness of Jesus, where would I be? I was sicker than you. I was sicker than you. I was sicker than you. Come on, somebody. I wish somebody just begin to praise him right now. He's a healer, isn't he? You know it cuz that's your testimony. He was a doctor for you. He was a lawyer for you. He was everything for you. Is there anybody that'll testify of the goodness of Jesus Christ? Oh, hallelujah. Can I preach a little longer? He said, "If I'm going to brag," he said, "I ain't going to brag about nothing else except the things which cons Go ahead. Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost in this place. I'm going to brag about the things which concern my infirmities." And then he doesn't stop. You think, "Okay, chill. Chill, Paul. Chill, Brother Porterfield." He begins to walk down memory lane. He doesn't give details in the beginning. No. You ever been? It's about like talking to someone when you first meet them and they'll say things like, "Oh, God's been good to me." If you knew what God had done, I'm only here by the grace of Almighty God. And you just think that's a blanket statement. But if you could go deeper into those words, there's a story there. There's details with it. There's there's a body. There's there's meat to that. God's been good to me. But if we had time to hand this mic to everybody, you wouldn't worry about what people thought. you wasn't worried about getting out of church to your favorite restaurant and you took this mic and you just begin going detail after detail after detail. All of a sudden, that statement that God has been good to me, there's a lot more depth to that. And so so he's going he said why I'm more in labors more more in journeys deaths off bit stripes beaten walks all the way down but there's no detail until he gets down to verse 31 and he begins to reminisce I'm telling you there's been times where I've sat across at a restaurant from people and I'd say those blanket statements God's been good to me. Oh, if you knew where he brought me from, if you did, and I'd say those blankets statements, and then all of a sudden, the conversation would shift and I'd get a little more detailed. And right in the middle, Brother Whitley, I'd begin to reminisce. That's where Paul is right now. He says in verse 31, he said, "The God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed, is blessed forever more, knoweth that I lie not." He said, "I'm about to go somewhere." And he said, "I'm about to tell you some stuff what God has brought me out." And he said, he said, "God knows not not like Let me tell you right now, people can diminish your testimony. They can belittle your story. They can they can talk condescending about where God brought you from, but somebody ought to get the mindset that God knows I'm not lying." He had to clarify. He He put out a disclaimer. You might think I'm lying, but I know when I was by myself, there was a God that wrapped his arms around me. When my father walked out and I was just a boy, God was there when nobody, you may think I'm lying, but Paul says, "God knows. God knows I'm not lying." He knows I'm not lying. And then he begins to reminisce. He says, "I remember in Damascus, the governor under Aritus the king." He said, "He kept the city of the Damascus with a garrison and he desired to apprehend me." He said, "They tried to arrest me." He said, "But did I quit? Did I surrender?" He said, "When the door was closed, God opened a window literally." Because when you get into verse 33, he said, "And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall and escaped his hands." He starts reminiscing. Listen, I can't give you the mic, but I wish somebody right now would start remembering where God brought you from. You may have a suit on today, but there was a day when you wasn't nothing but old alcoholic, a drug addict, a whoreonger, nothing, no good, a cheat, a lie. Oh, am I in the right place right now? But God showed up. And when your own family didn't believe in you, there was a church that had the love of God in them that said, "Hey, there's goodness in that young man. There's goodness in that lady. Oh, is there anybody that was sicker than I was? Come on, somebody praise him right now. Somebody shout right now. Somebody love him right now. By the grace of God, you're here. By the love and mercy of God, you are here. Hallelujah. I'm I'm hurrying. I promise. This passage of scripture was right after Paul prayed three times for the Lord to take this thorn in the flesh. God wouldn't do it. He wouldn't do it. It was going to be used for the kingdom's purpose. And he finally got the revelation. Brother Mcool, I need this thorn. I need it. I need this insecurity. I need this this reminder. God wasn't trying to destroy. He was using the pain. Because God does not waste pain. The thorn, the trials weren't for his demise. It was for his validity. Are they ministers of Christ? He says, "I'm not a minister because I have all this education." He said, "I'm a minister because of the things that I've been through and I'm still here." Now, now, how sick are you? I think every one of us in this place could say that God has been gracious to us, all of us, in trouble and in joy. Job, remember Job? He was a very righteous man, but he lost everything he had. his possessions, his family, his health, leaving only his wife who also attacked him for his righteous stand. And what did Job say? The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord. What was he saying? He said, "I'm sick, y'all. I'm sick, but God is still my refuge. God, I'm sick, but I'm about to glory in my sickness. I don't know what you're going through right now, and the devil's trying to keep your hands chained and yourself seated. He's trying to talk you out. You ain't got a bit of energy in you, but something's rising in your spirit right now. the same spirit that got on Job when everything else was falling apart. There was something in him that said, "I know I'm sick and I'm hurting worse than I've ever hurt and I can feel the pain that's come." I'm preaching to somebody right now, but something is about to rise up in you that says, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." Is there anybody in this place uh that regardless of what you're fighting at home, uh there's a praise in you? Uh there's a blessing in you. Uh there's a fight in you. I wish somebody lift your hands right now and I wish you'd let the Holy Ghost. Come on, somebody pray. Pray in that apostolic language. Pray. I know you're hurting, but God's not finished. I know you're in pain, but God has a plan. Won't you lay hands on your neighbor right now if it's a pro I'm almost finished and I wish you begin to to pray a prayer of blessing over them. You don't know what they're facing. You don't know what they're fighting. You don't know the thorn that they can't. Come on, church. Come on, church. Come on. It's your story that's going to bring revival to this city. It's your pain. Come on. Come on. I can hear the cries of people. I can hear the heart of a saint that says, "Is it almost over yet? Is it almost finished? I'm hurting God." And God said, "Why don't you praise me in the pain? Why don't you worship me in the worry? Why don't you love me through this? I've got a plan." Can I minister to somebody right now? God's about to get the victory. He's got to get you to a place. He's got to get you to a place where nobody will get the glory except for him for his kingdom's sake, for his G. If you'll get that revelation, you won't walk out of those doors and you won't quit church and you won't leave everything. You'll understand that for his name's sake will I suffer. Remain standing. Oh, Gideon has 32,000. 32,000 and God whittleles him down all the way to 300. When he's got 32,000, it was as if God looks and says he's not sick enough. Somebody may think that he did it. Somebody may not understand that it's by my power. So 32,000 twiddle whittleles all the way down to 300. It was a 450 to1 ratio. And God looks at that and he says, "It's time for victory. It's time for victory." Your testimony, sir, ma'am, I don't know what your family's going through. I'm just a preacher from Mississippi. I I have no idea your story, but God does. And you hear if you didn't hear anything else that I've said this morning, remember God does not waste pain. Then come play softly. My dad when he was 11 years old, he watched his father shot. I may have told this story here before. I haven't told this particular story, but you may have know my dad's testimony. His dad, he was 11 years old. He watched a family member walk. Was not raised in church. Watched a family member raise a gun, pull the trigger, shoot his dad in the back. His dad was an alcoholic coming to pick him and his brother up. And out of fear, they shot him. My dad watched him. He was filled with anger, bitterness, hurt. And you ask yourself why. Those are those are things that you know those are the questions that always enter our mind. Bad situations, people lose their life, kids have to go through hurt. years later. Just a few years ago, my dad, the bishop of our church now, he's at a funeral. Sometimes your testimony is forgotten when you've lived for God a long period of time. And many will forget, even look at my dad now, some of the things that he's been through and done. A father lost his life at that funeral. They asked my dad to preach it. And there set in that that audience of an 11year-old boy watching them bury his own father. Tears rolling down his face. And probably probably no one would be able to relate to him except that 60-year-old man that preached that funeral. Now that boy doesn't know his story. He's sitting there thinking, "Why me?" He's probably looking around saying, "I'm the only one here that doesn't have a dad." He's probably thinking, "I'm about to walk into school. If I play sports, everyone else's dad will be there. My dad will not be there. But what that 11year-old boy does not know that the man that's holding that mic [Music] is preaching that funeral. He lays down that mic while that young boy standing viewing that body. The rest of the family crying. My dad walks up to that casket. He puts his arm around that 11 year old boy and he kneels down beside him. He said, "Son, you know when I lost my dad?" He said, "No." He said, "I was 11 years old." 11 years old. They had a conversation that that day, Bishop, that there was so much peace that come over that 11-year-old boy. And they begin to talk right there at that casket. He said, "You lost your dad." He said, "Yeah, I lost my dad." Other words, he was saying, "I was sick, too. I was hurt, too. But I here I am 40 years later and God helped me through it. What are you saying, preacher? I'm saying God does not waste pain. And I don't know why you've had to go through what you've went through. I don't know why you've had to face what you faced. But one day, one day, I believe it'll all make sense. I feel the Holy Ghost right now. There's somebody in this room that you're right in the middle of the fight and the adversary is trying to get you to whatever it can whatever he can. He's trying to talk you out a blessing of finishing this thing. Some of you ready to give up on your family, ready to give up on your kids. But God sent me to tell you that if he can save me, he can save your kids, too. Would you lift your hands all across this place? Come on, church. Come on, church. I'm about to give an altar call in this house. Oh, God's about to minister in this place. Oh, come on. I preached to somebody today. And I wonder, was it you I'm talking to. These altars are open. These altars are open and I wish everybody I don't know if you're going into a storm or you're coming out of one. Whatever it is, I need you in this altar. I need you. I don't know if your pain is current or it's in the past, but I need you in this altar because you're relevant either way. You're relevant either way. I'm sicker than you are. I've been through more than you have. I've hurt just like you have. My son was lost, too. But God brought him back. My marriage My marriage needed God, too. But we stayed long enough. Come on. Come on. So, let his mercy meet you. Let his grace cover you.