The Miracle Of Being Free

thank you, brother. praise the lord, church. hallelujah. bless the name of jesus. praise god. how many is glad to be in the house of the lord today? amen. turn to your neighbor and greet them and say, "let's have a little bit of church here today." amen. praise god. the lord is already moving among us through the worship. thank you. praise team for uh being so kind as to help us enter into the presence of the lord. amen. the word of the lord talks about that. they appointed everyone say they appointed singers. amen. there's a reason why we worship the lord. we'll deal with that in this message today a little bit in jesus name. praise god. it's so good to be here today again at cornerstone. amen. praise god.

last time i preached i was over there on that side. y'all have got this thing turned around here and everything is looking great. looking good. amen. and we're excited. excited to be back and see what god is doing here in your great city. amen. i don't believe the lord's done. i don't believe he's finished. i believe that he desires right now to do some great things in this great city of chattanooga. amen. how many believes that in jesus name? it's always good to be here with you. amen. see friends and and everybody again and again and be here. we miss your pastor and wife. amen.

but we do understand, having pastored myself for a few years, i do understand the need to get away and to have a good time with family and kind of recharge and reset some things in jesus' name. now, i do understand and know that uh i am the only thing between you and uh uh a good meal. praise god. now, my wife didn't get to make this. she just she hadn't been able to travel with me that much. in fact, the last time she traveled with me was when we came here. amen. that's been over a year ago. and so, she has just been limited. she is a caregiver to her sister. and she has just kind of limited a lot. it's 247, seven days a week. and so, uh, uh, she does not get to get out that very much and travel with me. but, uh, thank god.

how many, how many just want the lord to just kind of top this off before we leave here today? amen. i'm going to need your help here today. amen. to kind of wind this up here because i feel like the lord has put something into my spirit. in fact, the matter, it has already been confirmed through the exhortation and singing and worship and all the above. seems like somebody has touched on it uh multiple times which makes me feel good to know that we are all kind of here on the same vein and on the same page. amen. praise god. how many just desperately needs god to do something for you individually? amen. would you admit that today? you know that's that's that right there.

when you do that, you're you're already conquering some of your problem. when you and i say, "hey, i need you, jesus. i ju i just need you to do something in my life today. amen. and i believe if we'll acknowledge that and do that, god literally will meet us here before we leave here in jesus name. miss your pastor and wife. glad so glad that uh they have invited us back. i've told people a time or two, it's always neat to get invited to preach places. it's equally nice to get invited back. amen. praise god. praise god. amen. if you have your bibles and turn with us to john chapter number 11, direct your attention to a passage of scripture here today. amen.

i promise you, if you'll help me preach and and i i'm going to tell you right now, i'm just going to make a declaration. whether you do or not, i feel like preaching today. i feel like god has poured something into my spirit and it's important. now, if you see me talking a little bit funny, uh i have been battling bell's pausy, but uh the lord has about 98% touched me. amen. i thank god for that. so, i'm not stroking out if you think i was preaching somewhere recently and about 10 people went to one of the uh uh paramedics or whatever the guy was there at the church and he uh they it was about 10 or 11 of they said, "we we think he done stroked out in the pull pit or something." well, i'm not. so, praise god. it's it's it's really good.

amen. god, turn to your neighbor, say, "god is great." say, "god is good." amen. praise god. john chapter 11, you have your bible there. and if not, we'll place that where you can read that. amen. i want to read this passage of scripture to you today. and let's just see what god will do for us in jesus' name. john chapter 11 beginning at verse number 38. jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. it was a cave and a stone lay upon it. jesus said, "take ye away the stone." martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, lord, by this time he stinkketh, for he hath been dead four days. jesus said unto her, said i not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of god.

then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. and jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "father, i thank thee that thou hast heard me. and i knew that thou hearest me always." how many's thankful he hears us always? >> amen. everyone say always. >> but because of the people which stand by, i said it that they may believe that thou hast sent me. and when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, lazarus, come forth. and he that was dead came forth. bound. everyone say bound. hand and foot with grave clothes. and his face was bound with a napkin. jesus saith unto them, "loose him and let him go." oh my goodness. you know what we've been celebrating this weekend?

this week, we're going to talk about that here in a minute. everyone say, "loose him and let him go." we've been celebrating freedom this week. i want to preach this morning on that subject. the miracle of freedom or just the miracle of being free. turn to your neighbor and say, "the miracle of freedom." i'm i'm going to preach somebody happy here today. if nobody else but me, >> somebody going to have to help me right now. praise god. lift your voices. lift your hands and ask the lord to help us in the remainder of this service today. mighty god, we're so thankful right now for your presence that we feel. we're so thankful, mighty god, to know that you are indeed right here with us. oh mighty god, we praise you today.

pray, lord god, that your word to go forth right now and prosper in the thing where into it is sent. mighty god, help us right now to receive from you what you would have us to receive in jesus name. and the church said in jesus name. praise god. you may be seated in jesus name. amen. today i am thankful for our country. come on somebody. is anybody beside me today thankful for your country? listen to me. with all of its faults and failures and division and the chaos that's going on, i stand here today and tell you i am proud to be an american. i'll tell you, i sat back in the office here today and i cried and wept and cried and wept as i begin to think about this great country that we are a part of.

you if you have and you hadn't or whatever, if you hadn't, it would behoove you sometime maybe to take you a trip outside the united states and go to other countries and come back here and see how blessed you and i really are. h. no, we're not perfect. no, we're not without flaw. but let me shout it from the mountaintop today. i am proud to be an american. is there anybody in here besides me today that's proud of the freedoms that you you and i have? is there anybody besides me that's proud of the freedoms that somebody has given to you and i? amen. we truly are the land of the free and the home of the brave. this week we have celebrated a milestone in america. yesterday we celebrated the 250th birthday.

now we've pretty much had festivities all week. amen. we do that in this great country because we can. we've celebrated that. there have been cookouts this week. we've gorged ourselves on hamburgers and hot dogs. and then we capped it off last night. well, as as i said pretty much all week with fireworks, turn to your neighbor, say fireworks. say fireworks. say more fireworks. i mean, i'm telling you, i looked from my window last night from the where i was staying at the hotel and i was up pretty high and i had the window the uh curtains open and i want you to know all across everywhere there was fireworks everywhere. fireworks going off. and we're celebrating. we're celebrating the 250th birthday.

is anybody happy today that you and i have freedom? amen. praise god. there ought to be some excitement among us that nobody stopped you and i from coming in here today and worshiping the lord. that somebody didn't have to, hey, hold a gun to our head and say, "you can't do that." here in america right at this point in time. we have that liberty and we have the freedom. amen. in this great country, let me just tell you something. there's something about me when i see old glory flying in the wind and i hear somebody take that microphone and they or something they start singing i'm proud to be an american. there's something inside of me. tears begin to flow. oh, pardon me for being patriotic today.

how many will join me today and say, "i'm proud to be an american." amen. my brother-in-law, retired military, they used to live fort bragg, north carolina. we went and visit him one time and we were on our way over to raleigh. and if you're if you're privy to anything that goes on there, you know that fort bragg and all that in that area, there's always military things happening because it's military just infested with all kinds and there was there was jets flying and there was maneuvers going on in the air and you could just see all of the fighter planes and but i mean it was just it was and i that stuff gets me going. now listen to this. this is what caught my attention.

while i was there, we d we was driving into the raleigh area for a particular conference and and and and they had they had billboards all over that area and it was for tourist and and for people visitors that were coming in to the area checking everything out and and and and the billboard had a particular caption there and they wanted everybody to be aware of it and and and that it was noisy in the area and and all the things going on there and and and and they just kind of wanted everybody to know it. and and so they posted on that billboard this particular saying. they said, "pardon the noise. we are celebrating freedom." hey, is anybody hear me right now? why don't you just turn to your neighbor and say, "pardon the noise.

we're celebrating freedom with all of the things that's gone on this week with the fireworks and all of the noisy stuff. maybe that statement could ring true around here today. just we could tell our neighbors, "hey, my wife told me this morning, my neighbors shot off so many fireworks last night." she said they went off till one o'clock in the morning. but hey, just pardon the noise if you please. pardon all of the racket. there's some of us that are excited about freedom. about freedom. oh my god. i know where i'm headed today. huh? amen. praise god. the adversary doesn't care today that you're at church. as long as he can keep you and i bound in chains. >> oh my jesus. somebody needs to hear me right now.

he really doesn't care that you and i are here worshiping as long as we keep he can keep us shackled. now hold on a second. i'm going to go somewhere. he really doesn't care about all of that. he doesn't care about all of our faithfulness to the house of god. he doesn't care as long as you and i reach that place that we come in here and worship god and our worship doesn't change us and our worship doesn't affect us. it doesn't do that. but i'm here today to tell you i'm about to preach this morning the chains off of somebody. i feel like there's some people that has come in here bound with some things. and somebody needs to know that before you leave here, you can be set free. >> oh my goodness. i feel my help here right now.

might i just say it right now to all of us in this room? hey, may the bible says make a joyful noise unto the lord. hey, why don't you turn to your neighbor and say, pardon the noise. we're celebrating freedom. pardon me while i dance. pardon me while i worship. pardon me while i get excited. i'm celebrating freedom. no, i don't make an apology. no, i don't. i grew up i grew up around this where war hoops and long hallelujah was part of every service. my jesus help us. i'm here to do it today. so you might as well you might as well join in with me. the adversary doesn't care that you and i are going through all the things that you think makes you and i a christian as long as he can keep you and i shackled. let me just tell you something.

we're so prone to preach to sinners about the god that can deliver you. but can i tell you there are saints among us today that need to be delivered. >> oh, help me jesus right now. i've used this scripture here before. last year at the closing when i was here preaching before and god gave me a revelation out of this passage of scripture, lazarus, perfect type and shadow of the born again experience. everyone say he was dead. say he was born again. hello. but my text today when i read to you, bible said that when jesus said, "lazarus, come forth." he came forth bound. why are we so adamant when sinners walk through the door that we tell them god can set you free? god can deliver you.

can i tell the saint of god that's been living for the lord a number of years and you can't shake some things from you? can i tell you today god wants to do hear me in the holy ghost. he wants to do more than just save you. he wants to set you free. you say, "brother healing, i ain't bound. i'm not shackled." let me tell you something. if you can't praise god and you don't praise god, you are telling the adversary, "hey, there's something about you where you're shackled." recently, i heard it said, i'd quote the guy, you know who it was, but i loved it so much i'm using it. you know, we're so quick to make this statement. god has been so good to me.

i'm looking through this audience and i can tell that god's been good to families in this church. god, have you ever heard anybody say that god's been so good to me? you wouldn't believe how god good god's been good how he's been good to me. well, i'm glad you told me because by your worship i couldn't tell that. come on, somebody. >> see, the adversary don't care care about us talking about that stuff. as long as somehow we leave here the same way we came, there needs to be a shout coming from our mouth. there needs to be a dance in our step. there needs to be a hallelujah on our voice, a hand clap. i'll get to it. i'll get to it. i'll get to it. let it be never said of brotherly healing. i'm thankful.

you're you're looking at one man. i'm thankful for the goodness of god. i'm thankful. i shouldn't be here today. i shouldn't be here. listen to me. i'll tell you as plain as i can. the ad the adversary is absolutely afraid that you and i are going to discover that we can be set free. let me read this scripture to you. sorry people in the sound room. i was reading through my bible later and i found this scripture. i about jumped out of my chair in the hotel. john 11:34. john 11:34 says this, this is the account that i read about lazarus and he coming up there, you know, and mary and martha and all the account and where is where, you know, he's dead and they say if you'd been here, he had not died.

but right here in 11:34, the word of the lord says, and he said, where have ye laid him? everyone say, "where have you laid him?" i feel like preaching right now. yeah. where have you laid him? i want to know where you hid that body. now i i he knew. listen, he knew. he wasn't asking a question he didn't know the answer to. where have you laid him? i'm preaching to some saved people in here today. you've hid some things. can i tell you, you cannot be delivered. god gave me this for this service today. you cannot i never said this to my knowledge. you cannot be delivered from the thing you keep hiding. >> hey, you can't be delivered from that thing that you've buried and put away.

and jesus has walked in here today and he's come straight up to you and he's asking you a question. where did you lay that at? if you'll take me to it, i'll resurrect it. i'll give that life. there's a thing about freedom today. and so many times you said, "brother, why?" i'm telling you because i know this sister was being vulnerable talking about some stuff. you know, that's the problem with a lot of us. we fight and battle stuff. people come up to us and ask us all kind of questions. how you doing? doing good. well, huh. you can't god can't heal what you and i are hiding. the torment that you go through day by day, the fear and all those things. we're afraid. we're afraid some of they're not going to love me anymore. they're not going to.

you know, the sad thing about it is almost almost every one of us in this room, we battle things. we fight things. we go through things. and we wonder sometimes if we'll even survive. oh my god. and after lazarus was resurrected, after lazarus was born again, jesus said to them, "loose him and let him go." your next miracle after being born again is being set free. your next miracle is being set free. i don't really care who thinks i'm crazy. i really don't care who thinks i've lost my mind. this is between me and my god. i need peace in my mind that passes all understanding. i give you permission to make fun of me. oh my god in heaven. we got some old-timers in here. i don't know much, but come on.

i start saying, brother, we go back too far. and then then brother rob gets up 43 years ago. really? so much for hiding that. we used to sing a song years ago. oh my god. y'all may have to time me now. and that song went something like this. now i ain't singing. just hold on. i'm going to give you the lyrics. it went like this. once like a bird in prison i dwelt. no freedom from my sorrow i felt. but jesus came and listened to me and glory to god he set me free. hey my god. and it goes on and says now i'm climbing higher each day. darkness of night has drifted away. my feet are planted on higher ground. and glory to god, i'm homeward bound. hey, goodbye to sin and things that confound. not of this world shall turn me around.

daily i'm praying. i'm working too. and glory to god, i'm going through. and then we broke into the course. he set me free. yes. he set me free and he broke the bonds of prison for me. i'm glory bound my jesus to see for glory to god. he set me free. not only did he save me, but he set me free. and i think it might be noteworthy just to say it again. pardon the noise. pardon the noise. we're celebrating freedom around here. hallelujah. jesus. jesus. turn to your neighbor. say, "pardon the noise." say it out loud. pardon the noise. yeah. jesus name. oh my jesus. he can't heal. he can't fix what you're hiding. why don't you just bring it out there? why don't you just lead him to the tomb?

why don't you just lead him to the placeh where you've put that thing at? i shared it with you last time i was here. i've lived for god. had the holy ghost since 1979. pastored 10 years. but i'm going to tell you something. something happened way back in my childhood where i was shackled and i was bound and i went through the pentecostal calisthenics and i went through all the stuff praising god pastoring and was even bound by my past. so don't tell me i'm not preaching truth today because you're looking right in the face of somebody that did it. you know what we're afraid of? of what the seasoned church people are going to say. and i'm going to tell you something.

something happened in me, brother harris, that i didn't really care what people thought because it boiled down to my freedom recently. it's been said to me, well, about being right. can i tell you something? it's not about in a marriage who's right and wrong. well, i i got to be no, no, no, no. you've missed it. you've missed it. talk about forgiveness. talk about forgiveness. you know, when you forgive somebody, you know, most of us, well, why should i forgive that person? you know, i i i'm not in the wrong. forgiving somebody doesn't mean you're wrong. i feel like preaching this right now. oh, i don't even know why i'm saying this right now. my goodness. for forgiving somebody of what they did for you doesn't mean that you're wrong.

it means you're free. it means you're free. that's what it means. i'm not bound by you anymore. you can't shackle me anymore. i'm freeh. and i'm going to thank god that i am free. that's another song we used to sing. thank god i am free. free. free. that's world of sin. i'm i'm well i'm dating myself right now. some of you would enjoy living for god a whole lot more if you'd shake off some of those chains. can i tell you? oh my goodness. i'm going there right now. look here in acts chapter 16:25. at midnight, paul and silas prayed, sang praises unto god. and the prison, everyone saying, "the prisoners heard them." can i tell you that people that are bound need to hear you and i praise god. they need to hear that.

i got it wrote here in my notes. oh my goodness. right here. you know why the adversary wants you and i to be quiet today and not praise the lord and not magnify him because he knows if he can keep us quiet the chains stay attached. paul and silas prayed. everyone say, and sang praises. notice what 26 here says in this passage of scripture. and suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bands were loosed. i submit to you two words today. everyone say suddenly. say it with me. suddenly. and then say immediately. say it again. suddenly. and immediately.

can i tell you the god that i serve today, it doesn't take him four weeks or four months or four years to do something. oh, i feel my help here right now. you know, if i understand the word suddenly and immediately, that means that can take place before you and i even leave this place today. >> suddenly and immediately. that means right now. my god. can i tell you with all that being said, as plain as i know how, god wants you and i to be free. he wants you and i to be free. and i've already touched on this, but let me see what the lord will lead here. i'm really bothered today by how many christians have accepted their chains. it's always going to be this way. i've done this for so long. it's always going to be.

can i tell you today, when you really want to be delivered and you want things to be different, you really don't care what your neighbor thinks. you don't care what the one behind you thinks. it's amazing. my wife gets tired of hearing me talk about it because that's all i talk about. sorry i keep listening to me. it's like we've pulled our chains up to us and we're proud. the adversary has convinced some of you in this room that it's just normal to stay bound. i was bound for 50 years. 50 50 plus years i was bound. but i can tell you the morning the time i've got it wrote down in my book when god set me free. i'm going to say it to you and some of you ain't going to like it.

but i'm more proud of that date than i am the day that god filled me with the holy ghost. oh my god, i feel like shouting today. hey, i don't really care if you don't like me. uh, i've got past all of those feelings and i am thankful. pardon me while i yell. pardon me. uh, what i lift my voice. uh, i am thankful for freedom. i grew up in church. i grew up in the altar, but i was still shackled. and i'm preaching to somebody today before you walk out of here. it can happen suddenly and it can happen immediately. oh my jesus. there's freedom in the house. there's freedom in the house. there's freedom in the house. come on, somebody. let it go. let it go. god's taken over here. come on, somebody. rejoice in the miracle of being free.

of being free. being free. it's almost as if you and that chain has become one. i'm done. i'm done. somebody let's stand all across this place today. jesus. jesus wants to set somebody free here today. and he's asking you, "where did you lay that? where did you put that? why don't you why don't you grab him by the hand today? in your mind and make your way to this altar. make your way down here. hey, those that want to be free don't really care. those that want to be free don't really care. lift your hands. lift your hands. come on, church. god wants to help somebody here today. god wants to help somebody here today. god wants to help somebody here today. he wants to set you free before you leave here.

he wants to set you free before you leave here. jesus. jesus. jesus. jesus. come on, somebody. why don't you find you somebody right now? two are better than one. yeah, two are better than one. find you somebody and pray with them. be delivered before you leave here today in jesus name. in jesus name. jesus. bless my sister today. jesus. >> jesus.