A Friend, a Failure, and a Foe

You just be seated for just a moment. I want to say this evening the first miracle that Jesus did turning the water into wine. Of course, we know that he saved that the the water that was turned into wine was better than the wine that was served at the beginning. The Bible said that when the governor tasted and knew not why or how, it simply says, "But the servants which drew the water knew." While someone was enjoying a wine that was the finest they had ever tasted, there were some servants with some sore hands and backs and shoulders. >> And they knew would just be almost a sin tonight if I didn't say to the servants here at the church. And I know it's already several times been mentioned, but everyone from the cooks to the tech team to this fantastic choir. Three nights we had the choir. That great. Three nights they came and they would sing. We get to have them. They do that every Sunday morning and Sunday night here. I want to thank them. I get a lot of pats on the back, but truly truly sincerely, Sister Carpenter and I are blessed with the greatest team here at this church. Uh whether it's um daycare, Christian school, lawn care, it it it this doesn't matter. It's it's the best of the best of the best. And we're blessed with uh this team that puts this together and we they all put it together and we just S carpenter and I we sign off on it. We just we just sign off. We just sign off on it. And um while I said her name did First Lady Evermore do a tremendous job today. It's a miracle in the mundane. Pastor Ericson, Sister Fallon, Pastor Hammond, Sister Lauren, Pastor Nolan, Sister Flannry. Thank you all so much for your long hours of planning and putting this all putting this all together. And one last person I'd like to mention before I begin to preach, who is really the inspiration of the movement conference, who as long as I am breathing and living and have my mind, Pastor Jimmy Tony will always be a part of the movement conference here. He'll always be a part. Always be a part. You need to run with friends that challenge you beyond what you think you can do. >> You you you need to have friends like brother Tony that back when this building was a construction zone and it was a concrete floor and steel beams exposed and piles of plywood and lumber laying around. he would be say, "We need to have a conference here. We we need to get people together here. We need to have a conference. We need to have a church." And uh at the time I Brother Brother Tony, I I just don't know. I just don't know. But he kept saying it. He kept pumping me full of it. And brother Tony, I appreciate your vision for the movement conference. Would you give my friend a hand right now? He inspires me. If you have your Bibles and would be so kind to stand. Bishop Woodward, thank you so much. We planned um the movement conference the week before Labor Day and my hopes is a lot of people will come in and stay over the weekend and this beautiful uh archaeologists will discover one day that East Tennessee is the Garden of Eden. They'll they'll they'll find out. you'll find out it was. And um I appreciate everybody staying. And and uh if you happen to be staying the weekend, now if you're local here and you've got a local church, you show up at your local church. All right? This is not for you. But if you're staying over the weekend here and you want to hear some more great preaching, we have Bishop Woodward this Sunday morning and Sunday night here at FAC. We're looking forward to it. We're looking forward to it. Book of Galatians, chapter number two, verse number nine. The great apostle Paul who bishop preached about today. The apostle Paul says, "And when James, Cphus, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision, or the Jews." only they would that we should remember the poor the same which I also was forward to do. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I was withtood him to his face. I withtood him to the face. That's the King James version. Let me give you the KRC version. It reads something like this. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I got in his grill. Back to KJV. Back to KJV because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles. But when they were come, he withdrew himself and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, in so much that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation or their pretending. Now let's go to second Peter chapter 3 verse number 15. We we've heard from Paul, I got in his grill. I got in his face. It's hard to believe these apostolic men did this, isn't it? Second Peter 3:15. An account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation. Even as our beloved brother Paul, Wow. our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you. I want to preach tonight on three words. A friend, a failure, and a foe. A friend, a failure, and a foe. If you want to receive the word of the Lord tonight, would you just put your hands on your chest like this? And would you just begin to pray to receive the engrafted word of God? Father, in the name of Jesus, tonight I believe that I've heard from you. Lord, I even understand that the spirit in this place is exactly what you want tonight. Lord, we shouted, we ran, and we rejoiced. But tonight, you want to send us home, God with something in our hearts and in our minds. I ask you, Lord, to anoint your servant once again. And I will be careful to give you the praise and the honor for the glory belongs to you. Lord, bless these wonderful people that are here. Lord, reach out to those that are watching on live stream tonight. Lord, may your kingdom be advanced upon this earth in Jesus name we pray. Let's give him a thunderous applause right now. Oh, thank God. Thank God. Thank God. A friend, you may be seated. A friend, a failure, and a foe. Abraham is called a wonderful title of which I think we all ought to be ascribed to. Abraham is called a friend of God. In reality tonight, what brings us all together this evening? What brings us all together this evening is we all share a mutual friend. We all share a mutual friend. You're glad that his name is Jesus. >> We love him. We talk of him. We praise and we worship him. As a matter of fact, we are so filled with him that the old song went something like this. When you see me coming, >> I've got him on my mind. When you see me coming, I've got Jesus on my mind. >> Oh, we are so filled with him that we often quote the scripture, in him we live and move >> and we have our being. We share a common truth tonight, the word of God. We share a common truth of the ways of God. We are friends in this place tonight because of him. By choice we love him. Amen. By choice we hold him to be the greatest of our lives. And tonight this is what makes us friends in this room. Bible says a lot about friendship. Says a lot about friendship. Proverbs 17:17 said, "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 18:24, "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly." And there is a friend that stickketh closer than a brother. I I like having friends, don't you? >> I I like friends. I like old friends, >> but I also like new friends. And friends is something that you never can have enough of. And we're making friends. Proverbs 27:9, "Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart. So do the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel." Then it turns the corner and it says, it's not going to refer to it's not going to refer to cologne or perfume. It simply says in Proverbs 27:17 that iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpenth the counsel of his friend. Well, we opened up with an interesting text tonight where Paul and Barnabas were given the right hands of fellowship. And what that simply means tonight is they were given the power of fellowship. Well, there's power in fellowship. I >> I said there's power in fellowship. when you're in fellowship with people. And in in years ago when I evangelized over 40 years ago, I was intrigued by the older pastors at the fellowship meetings when the common phrase of all of them that would get up was it's good to be here tonight with brethren of >> like precious faith. They had the gospel in common. They had the doctrine in common. And I'm going to add with Pastor Ericson tonight that yes, there'll be a lot of modern technology down at the movement, but there's going to be the instilling of this wonderful Jesus name apostolic doctrine in bred in them, taught in them so that when they leave, they can they can teach on one God who is father above, father of all and above all and through all and in you all and on and on and on and on and on and on it would go. Paul said they gave to Barnabas and I the right hands the power of being in fellowship. Then he goes on and he talks about a situation that happened to where in that early church they were they were making a move slowly away from some things of the law and circumcision being one of them. And there were those that were saying, "Oh yes, repent, be baptized, every one of you in Jesus' name and receive the Holy Ghost and be circumcised." And they was, it was over the first council. The church came together. And and at that council, James got up and made the decree by the Lord that they would not put the circumcision any longer upon them, that it had been fulfilled. It had been fulfilled in the law. But there were still fractions of them. There were still fractions of them that were holding to the the doctrine of circumcision. And evidently Peter had went down and was fellowshipping with some of those. And when uh when the Gentiles came down that had received word that that uh circumcision was no longer under uh the gospel, it was not not to be under the gospel. Uh uh Peter would separate himself from them. He would he would not have any fellowship with them. And and this this this caused a a sism in the in the fellowship in the harmony of the fellowship. And there were those that simply didn't understand why Peter will talk to us one moment won't talk to us the next. And he'll eat with us today, but he won't eat with us tomorrow. And and uh the even and Barnabas, the Bible said that Barnabas kind of lost his uh footing in the Lord a little bit. He he he kind of was looking and he was confused and and and Paul came down and Paul said, "I I got in his face, Brother Smith. I I got in his face. I I I We're not talking about biatitudes here. We're we're we're not we're not we're not we're not talking about a a a a w a stroll in the park. We're talking about a man that gets in his face and he is telling the apostle Peter, you are wrong to do this. >> Can I tell you the Bible also says that in Proverbs 27 and verse number six, faithful are the wounds of a friend >> but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Do you see? A kiss represents a surface relationship with no depth. But a wound represents something on the inside that must that that must be extracted. But you can only make an incision and make a wound to get it out. Can I tell you what I believe is needed as never before? I believe that we need to be true friends in the apostolic movement. Thank God. I if if if someone sees me going a little this way, I want a brother Nathan Thornton to come around and say, "Hey, pastor, I I just think we're leaning a little bit too far this way, or we're leaning a little bit too far that way." Thank God. Do you realize that if a relationship cannot take confrontation, it's no relationship at all? Well, I I I see that I see that person doing this or I see them doing that, but you know, I'm afraid if I'll talk to them, I might lose them as a friend. Can I give you a news flash? You don't have them right now. Because a true friend relationship can take confrontation and say, "Okay, I'm going to see this this way." Just just bear with me tonight. Just bear with me tonight. We have confrontation today if we don't let the Holy Ghost lead us. Friends or so-called friends are separated for years. But evidently not the apostolic apostle Paul or the apostolic Peter because Paul could say in his opening text tonight, I withtood him to his face. And later Peter would write in his epistle and refer to the Apostle Paul, did he not? As our beloved brother Paul. I believe that Peter took the rebuke. I believe that Peter understood when Paul said what he said and I believe that Peter took it to heart and that Peter changed the course of his direction. Uh we have heard it said that friends don't let friends drive drunk. Then let's bring that same concern for our spiritual well-being in the church. >> Friends don't let friends die lost. >> Friends don't let friends drift toward the world without sounding alarm. I wonder how many ministries could have been could have been salvaged had some friend not went to another friend and said, "Hey, brother, I believe you're going just a little too far this way. I don't want to be in a fellowship where it's so shallow. It's just surface up. It's just praise the Lord, brother. How you doing, brother? How many you running, brother? How many this brother? I don't want to be in that shallow relationship. I want to be in a relationship where somebody can wound me. Could you lift your hands and just worship God for a moment? I want a friend. I want a friend. I want to cast vision for the movement conference. The movement conference needs to be about meeting new friends. >> It needs to be about exposing friends to friends. >> It needs to be about bringing a Bishop Raymond Woodward and exposing him to our movement. >> Exposing him to such a degree that the organization that I am a superintendent of would hear a message here. Several of our district board members, our district superintendent would hear a message here at the movement on holiness >> and they would come to me and they would say, "Uendant, we need Brother Woodward at our general conference." And I said, "General board members, we got a constitution >> and it says that you have to hold license with the ALJC to minister general conference." >> And the only way around it is to get the general board to sign off. And all 26 districts signed off and said, "Bring him to our conference." That's what friends exposing to friends happen. Some of you had never heard. Last night I heard somebody lean over and said, "Who this Sean Garnett?" I heard somebody else said, "You about to find out." Isn't it great to expose friends to friends? And that's what the movement's going to be about. bringing men and women together. And this friend that's got a gift in the body of Christ hooks up with this friend that's got a gift in the body of Christ because it's all about the kingdom. The kingdom. The kingdom. The kingdom. The kingdom. The kingdom. The kingdom. I wish somebody would shout it out. The kingdom. And if there's any of my brethren here tonight that you may be a little upset with this past statement, I would inform you that Jesus was not ALJC >> and I could go down the alphabet. it. >> Friends don't let friends drift toward the world >> without trying to do their very best. I wonder how many churches would still be in our fellowship today. >> If somebody had just been a friend >> at the smallest little degree of turning, if somebody would just been a friend and stepped in and said, "Hey, I love you, but you're going the wrong direction." You you you see you say, "Well, he's just leaning a little bit." You do realize leaning is a direction. There are apostolic churches today or former apostolic churches today that baptize you any way you want to be baptized. There's former holiness apostolic Pentecostal churches today that women used to have long hair and long dresses, but now their platform is filled with tight blue jean women up there with a microphone. But how in the world if somebody when they had that little minute change would have just sounded the alarm. You can't go to an airport without seeing a sign that says this. See something? >> Be a friend. >> Be a friend. >> I go on record here at the movement. I go on record to tell any man or woman of God, if you see anything in me, come to me and talk to me. If you see anything in me, you say, well, that per that person just they're just leaning the wrong way. You know, there's a there's a building that is famous in Italy, the leaning tower of Pisa. I don't want to be known for my leaning. I want to be known for my standing. >> Get in my face. If there's a Paul here, somebody, somebody get in the face. You just may salvage a church. You may salvage an entire movement. My friend, every student here tonight, every student here tonight need to read the account found in 2 Samuel 13 that simply says, "But Amnan had a friend." Every student needs to read the account of Amnan. How he had a sinful desire and lust for his halfs sister. But the Bible said Amnan had a friend and this friend led Amnan to fulfill his sinful lust. He arranged it all. He planned it all. He told him exactly how to get her in the room and exactly what he needed to do. Amnan's friend would lead to Amnan's death. >> Students, tonight, you don't need friends that can tell you how to go to the world. >> You don't need friends that have things on their iPhone or iPad. You don't need friends that know how they've got things hidden from their parents. They got things hidden away and they're going to share it with you. You You need to have friends that are going to show you the prayer room, that are going to show you the way to living for God. Those are the friends. Here's what you need to pray for. God, give us friends that will share publicly your victories, >> but yet pray privately for your struggles. >> I've shared my victories with friends and they never told a soul. >> But I've shared some struggles with friends. that half of Pentecost came up and put their hand on my shoulder and said, "Hey, listen, brother so and so. Talk to me about your issue." >> I don't need friends like that. >> I wish tonight I had spent a little bit more time and tell you about the miracle in Gainesville. I wish I could tell you about my good friend Jimmy Tony and how the Lord is an absolute miracle. their new building. Their new building is an absolute miracle. How it was like a domino. Everything had to fall the right way that he made a he he put some money down on a much larger church. A a large church just literally became vacant. They were needing to get out of it. He he put some money down on a larger church. Called another church across town to see if they would buy his church. And for a while we had the dominoes up. It's got to fall this way and that way. But a few weeks ago, Sister Carpenter and I went down to Gainesville, Florida, and on a Sunday night, we worshiped with the Pentecostals of Gainesville in their brand new building. I need a friend that can celebrate my victories. Brother Thornton, how many you baptized this year? >> I know. I was down there preaching for you. You had 500 on your screen at one time. >> Bunch. >> Bunch. 500 is a bunch. It's a Greek word for bunch. >> How about you, Bill Smith? >> As of today, starting January 1st, how many? >> 187. >> 187 souls. That's Pastor Bradley Smith, Dayton, Ohio. Tell it, tell it, tell it, tell it, tell it, tell it, tell it, tell it. Cuz that's what friends do. They celebrate our victories together. They're telling our victories together. That's what friends do. Let me say it again. Friends will share publicly your victories, but yet pray privately for your struggles. I'm glad that the movement conference has introduced me to some brand new friends. Donovan and Valerie Hill. >> They're my friends. >> And I'm glad the movement has brought us together as friends. I love their outreach. I love their vision. I love that the movement has made a new friend. Brother David Scott and his wife from Oak Park, Georgia. And they my brother and sister Scott, would you stand right now? These are some of my new friends that I through movement that that that they're here and they've been to several movements and I believe in them. They're ordained from God. God sent them into my life. He came by me. He came by me the last night and he said, "Brother Carpenter, I want to get with you. I want to be more involved with you." And I said, "So help me, Brother Scott." That's exactly what I was going to tell you before you would get away from here is I want to be with you. I want to be tied together. That's what friends are all about. I want some friends that'll make me accountable. I want some friends that can. The only little issue we got, you may be see the only little issue we got. Brother, sister Scott brought a young man, an attorney from their church up here. and he got one of our best girls out of this severe church. We did the wedding together a few weeks ago. They're moving to Georgia. But Smith came up to me today from Memphis and was asking me about somebody. Another one of our prize young ladies. Oh, she's a good one. But I think I'm gonna change the name of movement to statement. But do you know what? I couldn't think of finer men for the young people that we raise up around here to know that they're going to find established apostolic holiness Jesus name believing churches. Everybody say a friend. >> Friend. >> And now failure. Can I tell you that failures are impossible to avoid in the ministry. Failures are impossible to avoid in the ministry. We deal in the failure business. You need to understand that God is no respector of persons. >> That the same God that'll draw the sinner and will call us to open our arms up wide to the sinner >> and say, "It doesn't matter what you do, we love you," >> is the same God that when one of us fall and have a failure, Little quiet in here tonight, >> but you're not going to have much of a ministry if you only deal in the per perfect. >> You're not going to have much of a ministry if you're just looking for little house on the prairie people to come in your church. You're you're not going to have much of a ministry if you're just looking for Walton's Mountain to be in your church. We're going to deal with some failures in the church. And although listen to me tonight, I feel the Holy Ghost. Listen to me tonight. Maybe morally, certainly not criminal, but we all should feel like we fail God in some way. >> I feel like I fail God when schedules get so tight, hotels, airports running and going and going. I don't get to spend adequate time in prayer with God. >> I feel like I'm a failure sometimes with God. And I know I balance what Brother Hammond said the other night, but I feel like I'm a failure sometime with God when I've really not put all that I could put into it. >> Please adjust your halo and your angel wings and you may be seated tonight. Evidently, I'm the most low down rotten sinner in this whole group tonight. You won't have much of a church if you can't deal with failures. >> You won't have much of a ministry if you don't deal with failures. >> See, there's a man in the Bible that would appear to be a great failure, and he did fail. His name was Gahhesi. It's amazing that his name means the valley of the visionary. the valley of the visionary. He is in line for the replacement of Elisha. He is being mentored, having a front row seat to his miraculous teachings and miracles. But he begins to experience failure after failure. Let's go down and peruse the scripture tonight to see if we can find out how he ends up with failure. 2 Kings 4 and verse number 11. It fell on a day that he Elisha came in thither and turned into the chamber and lay there. Elisha comes into the room and he lays there on the bed that's prepared. And he said to Gahheshi his servant, call this Shudamite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. He's asking the Shudomite woman that he wants to do something for her for her kindness for building a room. Verse 15, Gahhesi answers back. He says or Gahhesi tells Elisha that the woman has said she needs nothing. But then Gahhesi tells Elisha that she is childless. And once again in verse 15, and Elisha said, "Call her." And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said about this time, about this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, "Nay, my Lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmmaid." the woman conceived and bare a son at the season that Elisha had said unto her according to the time of life. I just wonder if some seeds of discontentment. Come on, Elisha. I'm next in line and all I seem to be right now is a chore boy. Why can't you get off that bed and call the woman? Why is it always me being told to call her, go get her, go call her? Can I tell you tonight, you need to uproot any seeds that may be in your heart because you're in line for greatness. You're in line for greatness. You're in line to do great and mighty exploits for God. But before you ever get to that place in your life, you just simply got to be willing enough to do what is asked of you. Call her. The woman has a child. The child grows as you realize and the child gets sick. The child dies. The child is laid upon the bed of the man of God. We we read in the scripture where the woman went after the man of God, saddled the donkey and went after the man of God. She got a dead baby in the chamber. And in 2 Kings 4 25, so she went and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. And it came to pass when the man of God saw her aar off. See if this doesn't sound familiar that he said to Gahheshi his servant, "Behold, yonder is that Shudamite, run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, "It is well." Once again, is it possible that he thought to himself, "Why don't you go see? Nothing wrong with your legs. Why don't you go check on the woman? Why is it always me?" You know, it's amazing. People will get in the altar and cry and scream and beat the altar and say, "Oh, God, use me. Use me." And one of the first complaints in the office is, "I just feel like I'm being used. >> Brother Sloan, that's what we prayed." I just wonder. I just wonder then I imagine Gahesi feels like feels like he gets his biggest break when in verse number 29 the man of God said to Gahhesi, "G up thy loins, take my staff in thine hand, go thy way. If thou meet any man, salute him not. And if he salute thee, answer him not again. Lay my staff upon the face of the child. The mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her. Ghazi passed on before them, and he lays the staff upon the face of the child, but there was neither voice nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him and told him, saying, "The child is not awake." And I wonder as he had that staff in his hand, Sister Scott, if he wasn't thinking, "This is my big moment. This is my coming out, man. This is my this is my miracle reveal." You know, he it's my miracle reveal. I'm going to take this step down and they're going to know the man of vision. They're going to know I'm gonna lay this staff on the baby and and the child's going to come back to life and this is my big break. He laid the staff on the child and the child was not awakened. I wonder if now he begins to sink low. He begins to question his calling is simply not answering. Verse 30 32 of the same chapter says, "But when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead and laid upon his bed. And Elisha went in therefore and shut the door upon them twain and prayed unto the Lord. I know that we got more talent in Pentecost now than we've ever had. I know that we've got more ways of being more refined in our speaking and we know when to raise our voice and lower our voice and we know exactly how to how to gesture with our hands. We've got more technology. We've got more skill in Pentecost today. We got Bible studies. We got all kind of things in disciplehip. And we got all these all these programs. But can I tell you something? All those programs without prayer is like that staff. It will not bring them back to life. Would you notice with me tonight, church, that the difference between Gahhesi going in the room and Elisha going into the room, there was no prayer with Gahhesi, but there was prayer with the man of God. I want you to know tonight, prayer is everything. Prayer is the way to bring the power down. It's not just in choir practice. It's not just in playing the right note. We've got to have prayer. Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. We got to have prayer. Hear me tonight. When you pray, you are saying to God, "I must have you. young preacher comes up and says, "When do you not get nervous when you got to preach?" Never. >> You should always have a stomach full of butterflies. You should always stand there with your notes and know if God doesn't touch me tonight, this thing is going to go down. You you you should know. Let me tell you something. Pentecostal churches that have tasted the Holy Ghost and the power of God. We don't make good charismatic churches. We don't make good denomin. Oh, I wish you'd lift up your voice and say, "God, I got to have you." Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. When you pray, you are saying, "God, I must have you." But when you don't pray, you are saying, "I got this, God. I don't really need God." I'm going to tell you, you may not need God to stay on key, but you need God to be anointed. You may not need God to deliver a three-point message, but you need God to bring the center down the aisle. You need God. That's the difference in the staff and the prayer. you. >> I tell you, a friend right now will put their hand over on another friend's shoulder and start praying right now. That's what a friend will do. A real friend will even try to find somebody that may be failing right now and lay their hand on them and pray for them. >> A friend, a failure. You may be seated. Gays. I know you've been a chore boy. Go get her. Go call her. Come. Go. Gaze. I know you took the staff down, but Surely Gahesi you can make a pot of stew. Second Kings 4:E 40. Surely Gahhesi you can make stew. Very simple. Surely Gahhesi makes the stew. He makes the the soup. The stew. Verse 40 says, "So they poured out for the men to eat. It came to pass as they were eating of the pottage. They cried out and said, "Oh, thou man of God, there's death in the pot." And they could not eat. Can you imagine? All I am is a go get go get her. Go bring her in. Ask her this. You can get off the bed. Go go go ask her this. Go get the shoot woman. Why won't she run? Go get take my staff and it'll work. Now I can't even make a bowl of stew. Let's get in his whirl here for a moment. But Elisha says, "Bring meal." He cast it into the pot and he said, "Pour out for the people and they that they may eat." There was no harm in the pot. Is it possible movement that since nothing seems to go his way that instead of looking inward for the cause, he looks outward believing that Elisha is the issue. How many times have we seen people go through failures, just not willing to wait God out, tired of going, tired of coming, tired of trying, and all of a sudden they just begin to stop looking inward and they start looking outward. You know, things may not be working in my life because of Elisha. It may be Elisha that is hindering me. It may be Elisha that's holding me back. It may be Elisha. It may be him. After all, I think I know a little bit more than him. And I'm not saying this in a bragging way. I just want to prove a point here. I remember years ago a man that played an instrument here in the church and he hadn't yet learned to understand that his instrument wasn't the only instrument. Do you read between the lines? And so we tried, you know, the kind way and this way. you know, somebody's too loud and somebody's too loud and until they just come and said, you have to say something to it. So, I did and I said, you know, brother, you know, they're all playing, we need to all blend together and and um you know, like I know music like we all need to, you know, blend together and and all this. And he said, hey, hey, hey, hey, I know what you're trying to say. And I thought, "Hey, I'm good." He said, "I went to school to play this instrument. I know how to play this instrument. I understand that that that you've never went to school for this instrument. And I understand that your your knowledge in music is very limited. And you know, mine's appear." Then I thought, okay, the gloves have to come off. I said, you're exactly right. You have a degree in that instrument. You're exactly right. You have known way more. I don't even know how to play that instrument. But there's one thing that you don't know that I do. And that's the moving of the power of the almighty hand of God. I know what disrupts. I know what distracts. And I'm just telling you, we've got to pull this down. Can I tell you tonight, don't fall into the trap when things are not working out for you to start looking at your spiritual authority as the issue. Just start thinking, well, they're holding me back, and if I wasn't under his ministry, maybe I could get under your ministry or I could get under your ministry. That's not the way you need to under. You need to first look on the inside. And let me tell you this, if God be for you, who can be against you? And if God wants you to do something, no man can hold you back. It manifest itself in a conversation that Elisha had with non the former leper. For non has been healed of leprosy. And non has brought silver and changes of garment. And non is trying to give that silver and those garments to Elisha. But Elisha is telling Non, "I won't receive your gold. I won't receive your silver. I won't receive your garments." Because there was a proven point was going to be made. Non was going to go back into the land of Syria, healed of his leprosy. And the heathens of Syria would say, "How much did it cost you? What did you have to do to the God of Israel to get your healing? And it was God's plan to be a testimony in the land of Syria for non to say it didn't cost me anything. That God was just looking for obedience. That's all that God was looking for. and it should have caused a Syrian revival to come into the land of of of Israel. And Gahhesi stood there and Gahhesi watched as non and his chariots with silver and garments rolled off into the distance. And this is where failure absessed. This is where non This is where Gahhesi said he has spared the Syrian. I will go now and I will get me some of that silver and I will get me some of those changes of garment. And he took off running after non. Non turns around and says, "Uh, what are you wanting?" And he says some servants have come to Elisha from beyond the border and we need some silver. We need some changes of garment. Can I can I tell you something? It would better to have no ministry >> to have a ministry that you have to lie about. >> It would be better to keep going and getting the shootite woman. It would be better to keep drawing the water. It would be better to keep going until you enter into a calling that it is a lie. Chapter 5 25 Yehazes comes back. But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, "Whence comest thou Gahhesi?" And he said, "Thy servant went no wither." And he said unto him, "Went not mine heart with thee." When the man turned from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and receive garments, and olive yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men's servants, and maid servants? The leprosy therefore of non shall cleave unto thee, and thy seed forever. and he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. I want to preach to everyone in this room tonight that may be a failure. I want to preach to anyone watching online tonight that may be a failure. I want to equip you tonight when you come in contact with someone who is a spiritual failure. I want you to listen to this tonight. Failure doesn't have to be the final chapter of your life. I said failure doesn't have to be the final chapter of your life. Do you believe that? >> Do you believe that people that have failed God that it's not over with them? It's not three strikes you're out. It's not God's done with you. I'm here to tell you, you got to have a friend and you got to have a failure. He went out. That's not very promising. He's a leper. White as snow. Somebody say seven years later. >> Seven years later. >> Say it again. >> Seven years later. 2 Kings chapter 8 verse three. There's been a seven-year famine in the land. The woman whose boy was raised from the dead left her land for seven years. After seven years, she comes back for restoration. And in 2 Kings chapter 8 verse three, and it came to pass at the seven years in that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines, she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. And the king talked, look at verse four. And the king talked with Wait a minute. I thought his final chapter was a failure. Wait a minute. I thought we weren't supposed to be around him. And he talked with Gahhesi, the servant of the man of God, saying, "Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done." And it came to pass that as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, wait a minute, you got leprosy. And as he told the king how that God had restored a dead body to life, wait a minute, you're given up on. And as he told the king how he had restored a dead body to life, wait a minute, you're not going to be used anymore. And as he told the king how he restored a dead body to life, can I tell you something right now? The world is not looking for perfection. They're looking for somebody to tell them the great things of God that God is doing. Come on, lift up a failure. Pray for a failure. We need the failures back in the race. We need the failures back in the choir. We need the failures back in the Sunday school. We need our failures back in Come on. I just feel in the Holy Ghost right now. I'm hitting a little bit of a resistance in here right now. And we got to understand that we're facing the rapture. We're racing the rapture. We got a world going to hell. And we got to have all hands on deck. It's time to get the failures back in here. Brother Tony, you had a good illustrated sermon. Brother Nolan, you had a good illustrated sermon. Said the carpenter, you had a great illustrated sermon, but you don't hold a light to Gahhesi because the Bible said, "You may be seated." The Bible said, "And the king talked with Gahhesi, the servant of the man of God, saying, tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha had done." And it came to pass as he was telling the king of how he had restored a dead body to life that behold the woman whose son he had restored to life cried unto the king for her house and for her land. And Gahhesi said, "My Lord, oh king, this is the woman and this is her son that Elisha restored to life." What can I tell you? If we can get the failures back into this thing, if we can get the failures back to teaching Bible study, if we can get the failures back to telling the good news, if we can get the failures back in here, just what are you trying to say, brother K? I'm trying to tell you to get the failures back. That's what I'm I mean, what? Greek, Hebrew, what what do you want me to tell you? >> We got to get the failures back. >> We got to get Ezekiel's boneyard resurrected again. I know they failed. I know they got defeated. I know they were ashamed. But God is going to breathe upon them and we're going to put them may be seated. My wife and I were building our first house. We had a construction loan on it. We're trying to close the construction loan and the the bank the the the person over the construction loan was wanting to close the loan and he called he said are you ready to close? I said no. He said what? He said is the heat and air in? I said yes. He said is the driveway there? I said yes. He says, "You already put in a yes." He said, "Then what's the problem, Rev?" I said, "Well, the windows have still got some paint on them from the painters and there's some cardboard boxes in the garage that I need to take off to the dump. There's some dirt. Construction workers come in across the kitchen floor and there's mud in the kitchen and there's just a lot of dirt that I got to clean up." He rocked my world. He said, "Reverend, the cleanup is no problem as long as the value is there. >> Can I tell you the cleanup is no problem >> as long as the value is there?" Well, how do you know they're valuable? Are they breathing? Are they wanting to come to church? or they wanted to get back in the race. The cleanup is no problem. Stand with me right now. If you don't like this kind of preaching, you wouldn't want to you wouldn't have wanted to have Moses as your pastor. >> He killed an Egyptian. >> If you don't like this preaching, you wouldn't want to sat under Abraham. He lied about his wife Sarah. You don't like this preaching, you shouldn't like David killing Goliath cuz he committed adultery with Bashibba and orchestrated the death of her husband. >> If you don't like this preaching, you wouldn't like the key, the man that has the keys to the kingdom. He repeatedly denying that he knew Jesus Christ. Can't we just come face to face with human imperfection >> and just because we got the Holy Ghost and talk in tongues and know there's one God and know what to wear and what not to wear and know where to go and where not to go. The presence of human failure reveals that even the most faithful individuals are prone to mistakes and sins. Can we just pray for a moment? >> How many we got in our cities right now? How many names do you have on your cell phone right now? >> Pray. >> How many young people can you think of was in your youth group a year ago that are not here now? >> Pray. Pray. a friend, a failure, and a foe. I promise I won't belabor this point. Our true enemies today is not liberal education. Our true enemies today is not even Hollywood. Our true enemies today, our true foes today. It's not even Deeus that left us loving this present world. Seems like that you and I have been faced in the hour that the church is in right now that there has been a new spirit rise up. It's not Hollywood nor godless liberal education. It's those who were once among us chose not to walk this path. Not content with just walking away and saying, "I don't want to live it any longer." They have to shine the light on their twisted, >> unhappy life. The only way they can shine the light is to turn it back to the church. Say, "You twisted me. You harmed me." Brother Haven, remember the social media flack that you got when you preached from this platform that Jesus is the door and there's no way except this door. and you preached Acts 2:38 is what puts you through the door. Now, they'll go by a bunch of different names, but the majority of them are people that were once with us who are hellbent on seeing the church of Jesus Christ totally destroyed. But what we have to understand when our foe comes, don't fight with them. >> Let God do it. >> Don't fight with your brothers. >> Joseph, don't fight with your brothers. They think they hate you because of your dreams. They think that they have buried you, but they didn't bury you. You're a seed of the future of God's greatness. They didn't bury you. They planted you. And all through Joseph's life, foe after foe after foe, but he simply stood back and he let God do his fighting. You see, we think that revenge would be, "Oh, those people that are talking about us. Oh, those people that are lying. Oh, those people are doing this. Oh, they're going to have a car wreck. Oh, they're going to have all this. We get to thinking that'll be how God gets them. That's not how God's going to get them. >> You know how the revenge is going to be? God is not going to let me have a front seat to their tragedy, but God is going to bring them to the front seat of my being blessed. David said, "You prepare a table before me." Somebody tell me where at the table's at. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my >> And at the end of it, you will forgive because they will come. And I'm going to tell you something. You may think I'm I I'm I'm saying something impossible tonight, but I'm telling you, every person that has ragged the church, ragged our ways, ragged on holiness, ragged on Acts 2:38. I'm praying a prayer right now that we're going to see them walk through the doors of our churches. God's going to send them some angels in the middle of the night. God's going to do some great work. We're going to see someone walk down the aisles of our church. We'll say, "My God, you know who's here tonight?" Because God is able to do that. And here's what I want us to do tonight. It might take just a minute or two. Might be a little pandemonium for a moment, but I want us to break up in twos tonight, pairs tonight. And I want us to begin to pray for one another right now. Maybe if you could break up if you'd like to come up around the altars. Come up around the altars. Come up around the altar. I I want you to find somebody. I know you're sitting on a pew with somebody. It'll be so be so easy just to reach over, but why don't you go go try to find somebody that you haven't prayed with this week? Why don't you go find somebody you haven't prayed with right now? Brother Sloan, will you come up here? I don't I don't believe that I've prayed with you this week. Would you, Brother Sloan, would you come up here on my platform right now? Come on. might just take a moment if you come down around the altar. Fill the altar up right now. Fill the altar up right now. We need each other. Oh God, we need each other. God, we need each other. God, we need each other. Oh God, we need each other. Maybe try to find somebody you haven't prayed with this week. Introduce yourself to them right now. Come on. There's a big gap. Come on. Right there. Come on. This middle aisle. Come on. Fill it. Fill. There's a big There's a big hole right here. Come on. Come on. Down. Down here right now. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. That's it. Come on. Come on. That's it. That's it. That's it. That's it. Come on, brother John Sto. That's right. Leave the white. Leave the white. Come on. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Sing the revival. I will keep praying. I will keep fasting until pouring over my sin. I'll keep believing. I'll keep interceding until the Lord send a revival. I will keep praying. I will keep fasting until it pour it over my f. I'll keep believing. I'll keep interceding until it's done. Pour it out, God. Pour it out, God. We're ready. We're ready. Pour it out, God. Pour it out, God. We're ready. Oh, we're ready, Jesus. We're ready, Jesus. Lord, send a revival. I will keep praying. I will keep fasting until the end. >> Come on. We've been talking about a demonstration. I thank God for them running around this room last night. But the same demonstration's right here, right now. >> The same demonstration. >> Lay your hand over on somebody. If you feel like confiding in him, if you feel like confiding in them, confide in him right now. Friend, failure. Paul, we're going to make it. We're going to make it. Friend, failure. Oh. Come on, man. Somebody pray with. You don't just have to get stuck on to it. Jesus down. >> It go. Oh, God. Oh, God. I'm not ready. We're ready. We're ready. We're ready. Oh, God. Oh, sing the highest. I'll keep praying and I'll keep trusting all of my belief. Change of being broken right now. My hands on my anointing here. God. Oh, we're ready. God, we're ready. God. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Pour it over my family. Pour it over my family. Pour it over my family. Pour it over my fing. Pour it over my sin. Pour it over my sin. Pour it over my sin. Pour it over my sour. Pour it over the nation. Pour it over the nation. I don't blame God. I don't have the life of the point tonight. But I believe God's not finished in this room right now. >> I believe there needs to be one more concerted effort. >> Putting our hands on somebody right now. We are the church of Jesus Christ. There's a key right now. Be sensitive to the Lord. Be sensitive to the Lord right now. Now, be sensitive to the Lord right now. It may be your hand. It may be your voice that encourages somebody. Come on, one more time. All over this room. I know there's no room in the altar across all our pews. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. God move on. Brother Perry. God. Touch Brother Perry right now. Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, Lord. Touch Brother Perry right now. Touch the great state of Kentucky right now. Lord, empower us, God. Empower us, God. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Don't quit. There's an anointing that's flowing. There's an anointing. There's an anointing. [