A More Excellent Way | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter

If you have your Bibles, would you turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse number 25? 1 Corinthians 12 verse number 45. 25, excuse me. 1 Corinthians 12:25. that there should be no sism in the body, but that the members, that's us, should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffers, all members suffer with it, or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular. God has set some in the church. First apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers. After that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues, are all apostles, are all part prophets, are all teachers, are all workers of miracles, have all the gifts of healing, do all speak with tongues, do all interpret? Verse 31, of which I want to get my text from today. But covet earnestly the best gifts, and yet show I unto you a more excellent way. That's going to be my title for today. A more excellent, a more excellent way. Father, I love you today. Father, I thank you for all that you've done for us. I thank you, God, for the beautiful spirit that's in this room, God, that is that is here because we welcome you with our praise and our worship, God. Lord, I ask that for the next few moments, you would anoint my lips of clay that the eternal, powerful, life-changing word of God could enter all of our hearts and at the end of this message today, we could have a demonstration of your power. Lord, let someone be baptized in your name. Lord, let someone receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Let someone receive their deliverance, God, today. In Jesus' name we all pray. Everybody said, "Amen." If you're going to preach with the preacher and if you're going to receive the word of God as you're being seated, give him a great hand of praise right now. Last Sunday night, Brother Ericson preached a faithbuing message. If you were not here, you need to go back online and you need to hear this faithbuing message. And it was a message on hope. Was a message on hope. How many remember that message on hope? How that we have hope in God. And uh it was such an impacting message. uh ve very very simplistic but yet very profound because sometimes we skip over the what we think is a simple thing and we we want to go to the book of revelation or whatever and that's okay but but he preached on hope and and it so impacted my life it so touched me that that um you know regardless of u the uncertainties of tomorrow regardless of the uncertainties of tomorrow. Uh, everything's going to be all right in Jesus. Everything's going to be all right. Regardless of the uncertainties, regardless of what you don't know, that's that's that could take place that might take place. It's going to be all right. Why is it going to be all right? Because we have hope, right? When you get overcome, do two things. Take a deep breath. And when you're exhaling, say the name of Jesus. It's going to be all right. Everything's going to be all right. Do you know that God has not lost one of us yet? Let me strike the yet. I don't believe he's ever going to lose us. It's all right. These people, there's people spend a lot of money on psychiatrist and medication, and what they're really looking for is hope. And I appreciate that. It so impacted me that that that I be to study and uh I brought a message here Wednesday night. Went from I went from kind of a teaching mode Wednesday night to a preaching mode. And uh I I preached a message entitled There is a way. There there is a way. And God moved. And God moved in such a great way. We talked about how that our our challenges in life, God uses our challenges to develop you and I into who we are today. Things that that have happened to us that that God is able to take things that have happened to us and and and turn it around and cause it. Zakius would have never climbed a sycamore tree if he had been born with the average height of a man. He said, "Well, what's that got to do with it?" If he had never climbed that tree, Jesus would never seen him up in that tree. So what he endured with a lot of ridicule and scorn in the physical aspect actually turned out to be something good because Jesus noticed him in that that tree. We all talk about Joseph, but do you know that Joseph would not have ended up being second in command of Egypt if he hadn't have went through the horrible ordeal of being hated by his brother? So, you see, there's some places you'll never get till you're hated. >> As a matter of fact, I believe with all my heart, Bible backs it up, that you you won't make it to heaven without being hated. Scripture says you'll be hated for my name's sake. So, so when we're trying to get everybody to love us, I'm going to tell you something. Go ahead, hang that phone up because you're never going to get everybody to love you. All right. What does he say? You can please some of the people most of the time, but you can't please all the people all the time. Sooner sooner sooner or later, they said that during the Civil War between the North and South that a man was on a hill had an ingenious ideal. He he had a flag and on one side of the flag was the Confederate flag and on on the other side of the the the flag was the uh the rebel flag, right? And uh so when the rebels would come one way and see the flag, they would they would not go up there because that was that was them. And when the Confederate army would come one way and see their flag, they would not go up there. It worked great for years until the wind blew the wrong direction. Then both sides blew him off the top of the hill. All right. So, so you can never you can never really have everybody. That's that's just something Joseph would have never made it to his full development in God unless he had faced ridicule. David, you'll never have a scepter in your hand and be the king of king of uh Israel. You'll never have a scepter and be the king until you go through the mundane, not noticed times of having a shepherd's staff in your hand. So I I I just ministered in in in the fact that there there is is a way. I mean he's glad today that Jesus is the way. >> Glad he is the He is the way. He is the way. Do you know that the early church had a name that they they named the early church? Them of that way, persecuted but still growing, fed to the lions but still preaching. But today I want to I want to spend a little time on the u the more excellent way. Paul is addressing the Corinthian church. And just in case you believe that the Corinthian church and the church in the Bible days was perfect and we're just a bunch of lousy people here in Mville and America. Let me show you a few challenges with the Corinthian church. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 10. Paul doesn't go very many verses into it until he says, "I hear that there's divisions among you. I hear that you're separated. I hear that you got clicks among you. I hear there's clicks among you. Some say you were baptized from Paul. You're you're Paulites. And some say you were baptized by uh Simon Peter. And some say that, you know, you you you were baptized by this one and that one. And and Paul had to throw up his hands. He said, "You know what? I'm thankful that I didn't baptize any of you folks, lest you should say I had baptized you uh in in my name." So he he he begins to straighten out. He talks about the clicks that they had there. And then he goes to chapter 5 verse number one. And he says, "It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you and such fornication as is not so much is named among the Gentile. You're living worse in the world." He says that one should have his father's wife. And he goes down and he addresses he addresses uh that. Then chapter number six, verse number one. Dare any of you having a manner against another go to the law before the unjust and not before the saints? And we're we're not talking about criminal activity here today. We're talking about a civil. He said, "You you mean to tell me you all in this town, brothers against brothers, are going to court against each other and suing each other in in in court?" And and he said, "And the judge knows who you are." and and and the people know who you are. And he he he said uh he said, "Can't you get together and have the least among you to to judge such things?" And in verse number uh 12, he he he goes into uh he goes in again to to fornication. He he talks about flee fornication. He's he's he's hammering away. He's hammering away at that. But then in verse number 12, he starts discussing the gifts of the spirit. The nine spiritual gifts of the spirit. Nine spiritual gifts. And if I can give you just a real quick little Bible study, God came to this earth as a man. It was a gift. It was the gift of God. It was a gift given to us. You open up a gift because it comes wrapped. All right? And God came wrapped in flesh. and they opened him up at Calvary. And 50 days later after they unwrapped him at Calvary, that provided the means to have another gift given to us. And that's called the gift of the Holy Ghost. If we hadn't had the gift of Calvary, we could have never got the gift of the Holy Ghost. But you know something? After the gift of the Holy Ghost came, when they opened it up and was baptized with the Holy Ghost, there was nine other little small gifts inside the gift of the Holy Ghost that was for the body of Christ. It was for it was for the in it was for the entire church. And so in chapter 12, he's trying to get these these immature people that are boasting and bragging about their gifts. I mean, I I mean, they're they're they're just like a bunch of little kids. I've got the gift of prophecy. Na na na na. You know, I've got the gift of tongues. I've got the gift of interpretation. I and and they're just a bunch of immature. I mean, after all, after all, I'm amazed at God's mercy and grace after all I read to you about and God would still operate through through them. Now, that's not giving us a license to do things. That should give us the understanding that he's a merciful God and that we should quit and let God use us fully. But anyway, he he comes down and and and I read I read it to you in my text today. Uh I I read it to you in my text today. He's chapter 12. He's coming down. He's coming down through there in chapter 12. And we'd go back to that for a moment. And um he he he he he let's go to verse 28. 1 Corinthians 12:28. And um let's give God an amen right now. Okay. >> Amen. 1 Corinthians 12 and 28. He's he's coming down and he says Corinthians God has said some in the church. In other words, God gives the gifts and first apostles, secondary prophets, thirdly teachers. After that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Then he asked some questions. Are all apostles? Let me answer it for you. No, all of us are not. All of us are not apostles. And let me just stop right here and tell you something comical. It amazes me people today that are title seekers. You know, they're they're they're titled say, "Oh, I want you to call me bishop. I want you to call me apostle. I want you to call me and and it's what's funny about it is this. They're not even satisfied with that because one man will get the title of apostle and then and then other men will get the apostle of title and then they'll feel very common and there's even a group today that they they operate and they have apostles and then they have super apostles and I submit to you that years to come they will probably have super duper apostles. All right. Crazy, ain't it? So he says are all apostles. What's the answer to that? No. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Are all workers of miracles? No. Have all the gifts of healing? No. Do all speak with tongues? And the answer is no. You said Carpenter. No. No. You got to understand there's three types of tongues that are mentioned in the book of Acts. There's in the Bible. There's three types of tongues. There is the first tongue which is the initial sign, the outward evidence that you have been filled with the Holy Ghost. That's the first sign. Then after you're filled with the Holy Ghost, you take that same intensity and you take it into prayer. And then you can pray in tongues. You'll just be you'll just be praying and all of a sudden tongues moanings will start. You you can't put your you can't put it in in in in in words. is something that you you can't pray. But the Bible says that the spirit of God knows what we need. And the spirit of God prays through us when we don't know how to pray. The spirit of God prays through us with groanings and and other tongues and and it's we pray in tonesues and and and then there is the gift of the spirit. There's the gift of the uh tongues and interpretation of tongues. Now this gift of tongues interpretation is for the entire body. It's for the entire body. It operates in the entire body. Sometimes in worship, we we have it here. We have it we have it happen here. I believe, matter of fact, I believe it happened last Sunday morning if I'm not mistaken. Uh it happened last Sunday morning. Someone gave tongues interpretation. They speak in a tongue that nobody in this room understands. They speak in a tongue that nobody understands. And then someone or maybe even the person that spoke in tonesues will give the interpretation. They will speak it out in English. And this is what's called the gift of tongues interpretation. Not everyone has the gift of tongues interpretation. I know that's not my message today, but I think that could help you when somebody wants to challenge receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, speaking the other tongues and say right here it says that do all don't speak in tongues. You got to put it in its proper place. Paul comes to verse number 31 and he says, "But covet, but covet desire long after covet." That's what that word covet means. That word covet means don't be satisfied with what you've got. That's what it means. Don't be satisfied with what you got. But covet earnestly, sincerely the best gifts. All right? So he he he says there there there's some best gifts. And then he says it this way. And yet I show unto you a more excellent way. What are you saying, Paul? He said, the gifts operating in the church is good. It's a good way. But then Paul says, I want to talk to you about an excellent I want to talk to you about an excellent way. Would you like to know about the excellent way? you you know when when some you just you're wanting to have a gift but God is God Paul through Paul is saying I want you to have a more excellent way because remember there is a way and there is a more excellent way. Well show us where where is this at Paul? It begins with the next chapter chapter 13 and verse number one. Everybody still here say amen. >> Amen. 1 Corinthians 13 and1. I'm going to show you in a more excellent way. Though I speak with tongues of men and angels and have not charity, that's love. That's the love of God. That's the love that comes from God. Though I have not charity, love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling symbol. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity, it profitth me nothing. Let me show you what Paul is saying. Let me show you what he's not saying. He is not saying do away with the gifts. He is not saying he is not saying you have to choose either one. You have to choose one of the two. You can either have the gifts or you can have love. That's not what he's saying. Love is like a cup. It's like a it's like a a container or excuse me, the gifts are like a cup, like a container. But love is what goes in the cup. And Paul is saying, "If I had the ability to speak with the tongues of men and of angels," and I believe he's talking about when he he talks about men, I believe he's talking about I believe he's talking about being an intellectual, being be being the tongues and of of an intellectual and and and of angels, a heavenly realm. If I could communicate with angels and have not love, what am I? Noise. It's all I am is noise. That's all I am. Noise never helped anyone. The noise The noise of a kitchen never helped anybody. The noise of a hospital never healed anybody. He said, "If I've got this gift and in the container is not love, I'm a sounding brass and I'm a tinkling symbol." He said, "Though I have the gift of prophecy." Wow. I can understand prophecy. I can understand the things that are going to happen. Though I have the gift of prophecy and I understand all mysteries, there's not a mystery in the Bible I can't un unfold to you. There's not a mystery in the Bible because I've got the gift of prophecy and I've got the gift of understanding all mysteries and all knowledge. Listen to this one. And though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity. Look at the last Could we all repeat the last three words of that verse? Could we repeat the last three words of that verse? And if you could hurry up and put it on the screen so they can the last three verses. Okay, I'll tell you what it is. I am. Won't we say it again? I am. Now think about that. He says I if if I have tongues if I have the tongues of men and angels, if if I'm a sounding brass, I'm just a bunch of noise. You know, a lot of people, they don't really know the love of God from noise. The old people years ago used to say this. They used to say, "An empty wagon makes a lot of noise." All right? An empty wagon makes a lot of noise. He said, "I had all this." He said, he said, "I'm I'm sounding brass. I'm a tinkling symbol. I'm I'm really I'm I'm really just I'm really just nothing." And he said, "If I could explain prophecy to you that you would leave here and say, "Wow, if I could explain the mysteries, that you would leave here and your mind is is blown." Or I could just speak to the Smoky Mountains here and say, "Move out of the way a little bit, be cast into the sea. I could do a demonstration of power and I have not charity. I am nothing." He's not saying for you and I to put away with the gifts, but God, help us all to be more than just noise. God, help us all to be more than just knowledge. God, help us all to be more than just a demonstration of the power of God. Because I'm going to tell you what's going to change people's lives. Love is going to change people's lives. That that that that love, not only not not only that, not only that, do you know what's going to help us stay the church that he wants us to be? How can we love a world when we don't love one another? Matter of fact, brother Magna Jesus said it this way. He said, "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples." How are they going to know? How how they how they going to know? Is it our building? Is it what we look like? Is it what we sound like? He said, "By this shall all men know that you're my disciples." Help me, church. If you have what? >> Charity, love. How? One for what? >> He he he he didn't say they're going to know that you're my disciples. If if you're if you're got your hands lifted and you say over and over again, I love you, Jesus. I love you, Lord. I praise you, Lord. He didn't say that's going to be the sign. He said the sign to all men is going to be they're going to walk away and say those people of that way love one another. They love one another. You say, "Man, yeah, now you're preaching hard. That's a that's a hard that know man that's loving one another." Can brother Carmen after church can meet with me. I need to kind of tell you what she's done to me. I I brother car church I I need to kind of meet with you and I tell you what he's done and I I I need to kind of meet with you and tell you kind of help you. Well, let me see if we can bypass that by showing you what love is. First Corinthians 13 verse number four. Now he says charity suffereth long and is kind. Charity envth not. Charity vonneth not. Itself is not puffed up. Can I tell you charity is when we are longsuffering with each other. You know what you need to strive to be as longsuffering with others as you want God to be with you. longsuffering. We get that from God. Longsuffering comes from God. This this isn't this is a trait that comes from God. Exodus 34:6, the Lord passed by him and proclaimed the Lord the Lord God merciful, gracious, longsuffering. Numbers 14:18, the Lord is longsuffering. Psalms 86:15. But thou, oh Lord, are a God full of compassion and gracious and longsuffering. And then when we get the Holy Ghost, that means glad. Would you would you be so kind? If you have the baptism of the Holy Ghost, would you just raise your hand for pastor today? Would you just wave your hand a little bit today? You You got the Holy Ghost. You got the Holy Ghost. Can I tell you a fruit of the Holy Ghost? A fruit. Because when the Holy Ghost comes, it's a seed. But the seed is going to produce some fruit. And in Galatians chapter 5 verse number 22 it says this. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, what? >> Longsuffering. So if love from God is longsuffering, then when we receive the spirit, we should be willing to tolerate. We should be willing to suffer. We should be. Have you ever wondered the verse when Jesus said about children? You you realize what he said about your little darling babies. He said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." In other words, if you're going to raise children, you're going to do some suffering with them. They're not going to come out of the womb doing everything you say to do. You have to train them. They're going to do they're going to do some of the most ridiculous things that you have ever seen in all your in in all all your life. I last Sunday we went to Buddy's barbecue and there was a man there that reminded me when we lived over across town up on a hill. He reminded me, he said, "Uh, yeah." I said, "I remember you all." said, "Now, you all had the daughter that got in the pickup truck and knocked it out of the gear and it rolled down your yard, broke through a fence, took a hard right turn and took out the side of the house." I said, "That was Lauren." I said, "That was our I said that was got in the newspaper." It was in the Marble Times. Got got it did. It got in the newspaper. And at that time, they Lauren and Fallon were just little girls. and Fallon started calling her at that day. She said, "You're just the home wrecker. That's all. It's all you are. You're you're you're a home wrecker. You want to raise kids, get ready." Come on, >> parents. Get ready. Are you receiving this today? If you're going to have children, get ready. You better get ready to suffer a long time with them because there's going to be things. There's just going to be there's going to be things. And um God is a long-suffering God is a long-suffering God. 1 Peter chapter 3 20 the Bible talks about Noah building the ark because judgment was coming. The Bible simply says which sometime were disobedient when once the what longsuffering of God did what? Waited in the days of Noah. Can I tell you the Lord is going to come? The rapture is going to happen. >> The trumpet is going to sound. Jesus Christ is going to come back to this earth. This earth is, as the Bible say, going to burn up with extremely strong heat, everything on it. And God's going to create a new heaven and a new earth. So why hasn't he done it? Because he's longsuffering. Because he wants men to come to repentance. But they'll there'll come a time, hey, let's work on being longsuffering with one another. Let's don't give up on one another. Let's pray about bring long longsuffering with each other. Please, let's ask God. Let's ask God. I know that we're asking God for a lot of things, but I'm going to tell you something. Just ask God. Say, God, would you help me to be more longsuffering? Would you, God, would you would you just help me, God? Would you help me? Would you help? He said, um, charity suffereth long. Um, what's the next word? And is what? kind. That's an attitude. That's an attitude. It's not like, hey, you know, you you can either give the attitude, I'm longsuffering, or you can give the attitude, I'm tolerating you. All right? Can't wait till you get old enough to get out of here. I can't wait till you do. Yeah. Come on. You're not going to raise good kids that way. So, I'm longsuffering with them. Yeah, but you're not kind. you you know I like water and lemon but there's one more ingredient I like sugar all right because that makes lemonade right so when we're saying it's quiet but it's right you you we're we're like two enemy submarines we've got our motors cut off and we're just trying to get by one another hey you know it's right today. God, help us to be long-suffering. God, help us to be long. Help us, God, to look at each other and look over the faults of each other and be kind about it. Let's Let's do that. Let's do that. So, it's kind this is a this is a pleasant serving attitude of kindness, gentleness. Do you know that David made this statement about God? He said, "Your gentleness has made me great." No. No. What made David great was he had a sword and he had a slingshot and he killed Goliath. No, no, no, no. That's what God did through him. But how God treated him was what made David what made David great. When God could have crushed David, when God could have taken the life out of David and chosen somebody else, God chose to live with us to to to deal with us with gentle hands. You glad that he's a potter that works with gentle gentle hands. You you know the Bible describes the the ministry of Jesus with an Old Testament prophecy that says a a a smoking flack that's a wick that's a wick to a a lamp. He says a smoking flack you will not quench and a bruised reed you will not break or you will not crush or you will not disregard. The reed was the little flute that a shepherd would play as he was watching the sheep. He would had a little flute and he would play this flute. But sometimes in in putting the flute in his pocket, it could get crushed. And when it would get crushed, Brother Ericson, it it would not produce the sound anymore. But a shepherd that had some sentimental value about the reed would take threads from his own garment and weave through that little reed and work with it and put it back in its shape using its own thread until he could begin to play that sound again. Uh and then then then a a smoking flats was a candle that had run out, a lamp that had run out of oil and it just only had enough oil to do something opposite of what it should do. It just emitted smoke in the room and the smoke was an irritant to the eyes and and and and and you would come in and it there was a smoking flax. You would just take your fingers. It just took two of them and you would extinguish it and and and and it would stop it. It had enough it had enough to just draw enough oil just to fill the room with smoke. And he said you all you have to do is just quench it like that. But our God comes to us and he doesn't quench what we have. He comes in and begins to trim and keeps that little spark working and blows on it a little bit more until what once was an irritant now begins to serve its purpose. And and that bruised reed, that bruised re, you and I have been bruised in life. We had seasons of our life where we sang a good tune to God. We had seasons of happiness in our life where it was joy and it was peace and it was a life that we said it's a good life, but something crushed us. Something we're not we're not sounding like we once did. We're not enjoying life like we once did. But God comes and he says, "I'm not just going to discard you and get somebody else. I'm going to work with you until you once again begin to sing the song that you've already sung." I'm so thankful that we serve. He's long-suffering and he's kind. And then the Bible says, "He envyth charity envieth not." Do you know what envy is? Envy is the painful or resist resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advant. I'm going to tell you something. Envy. Envy, Job said, kills a man. Envy will kill a man. It's what Job said. Proverbs says envy not the oppressor. Proverbs also says that envy is the rottness of the bones. Envy what's going on in your heart. Envy. Envying somebody's else advantage. Envying what somebody else has. But not just envy. That that's that's kind of like coveting. But then you go into you want what they have. And that's that's the reason a lot of people get jealous of other people is because if they can't be who another person is, then they have to kill that other person. Whether it's slander of their tongue or something, they have to kill the influence so they can become the person that they were. Does it work? Envy. You cannot have love and envy at the same time. Mark 15:10. This will be interesting. Do you know why? You'll think it's an easy question to answer, but you might want to hold up. Do you know why they crucified Jesus Christ? Do you know why they're religious? And let's say this. Let me say this. Please listen intently. The Romans did not crucify Jesus Christ. They didn't do it. They followed through. As a matter of fact, Pilate Roman did everything he could do to keep him from being crucified. It was his own that had him crucified. Well, he came unto his own and his own received him not. But why? Why do you have him crucified? This is referring to when Pilate heard the case. Mark 15:10. For Pilate knew that the chief priest had delivered him, Jesus, for what? >> Envy. They envied him. You better believe they did. They envied his teaching. They envied. They stood around and said, "Where did this man learn his letters? Where did this man learn this? Where where did this man get this knowledge from?" They envied his ability to articulate the word because he didn't speak as a scribe. He spoke with authority. He didn't go into the temple like just reading out of a book. When he spoke, there were life behind the words when when he spoke. And they envied the fact that we've had a man visiting our synagogue for years that's got a he that's got a withered hand and nobody has ever been able nobody has ever been able to help him. But when Jesus comes along, Jesus heals his hand. We we have never in all of our years, we have we we we have officiated when someone was to be pronounced with leprosy, we have officiated the pronouncement. That's that's how you got the pronouncement that you were lepous. It was the priest that walked out and examined your body. It was the priest that wrote down and said, "You are a leper." It's what Leviticus said. But it was also in the book of Leviticus that had a chapter that if a man felt like he had been cleansed by leprosy, there was a long list of things the priest was to do to pronounce him clean again. But you know something, they had a long the rabbis had a long list of things that they had pronounced lepous, lepous, lepous, lepous, lepous. But when Jesus came, there were people showing up at the rabbi's door. What do you need? You're a leper. Well, I met a man named Jesus and he spoke and the leprosy fell off my fell out of my Bible and he told me to come and see you for you to pronounce me clean. Can I tell you? They envied him. They envied him that he could answer. They envied him that he could perform miracles. And instead of joining him, what did they do? They had him crucified. They had him crucified. The Bible says envy. The Bible says love vaunteth not itself. You know what the word vault means? It's a vain display of one's own worth or attainment. You better be careful when God gives you some success. You better be careful of bragging on yourself. >> And I'm just being a good pastor to you today. God wants us to be successful businessmen. God wants us to be successful people in our community. But you better give the glory to God and not yourself. You you you better not go around talking about, "Well, I'm worth this." You ain't worth nothing. All right? Without love, none of us is worth nothing. Your car don't make you who you are. Your suit don't make you who you are. Your success don't make you I'm just preaching this morning. I'm not preaching against good cars. I'm not preaching against good suits. I'm not preaching against gated neighborhoods. But when you start bragging about that, you're bragging on the wrong thing. >> Come on, let's give God some glory right now. Let's give God some praise right now. Can you listen to me today? Listen to me today. Listen, musicians, would you come? Listen to me today. Singers, would you get ready? Listen to me today. There was a man that was the most powerful man in his kingdom of Babylon. with the couch. He was the most powerful man. And God gave a dream. And the dream was a tree being cut down. All right? And he got the interpretation of that dream. And that dream simply was this. And I don't have time to get all through it, but it was simply this. I've given you this dream because you better stop boasting on who you are because I have got the ability to take your mind from you. He didn't heed the words to the dream. One day on his balcony, he looked out and he said, "I am the ruler of mighty Babylon. I am the most powerful man in all the world. I have centers. I have I have leaders around me. I have wealth untold around me. I am the mighty leader of Babylon." And at that moment, God took his mind. And for 12 months, can you imagine when his leaders come to get him out of his office and he's walking on all four, all four, you know, he's walking on his hands and his feet. He's he's he's chewing on the sides of the desk. And what are we going to do? We can't we can't let the other enemy know that our our our leader has lost his mind. And they took him out. The Bible says this, maybe it might not chew on the desk, but it does say this. It they took him out the backyard and he ate grass like an oxen. and he was unckempt. His hair grew and matted together and it resembled it it resembled feathers of a bird and his fingernails d grew like claws. He was unckempt for 12 months. For 12 months, a man who had once been a mighty ruler, was now on all fours with fingernails unkempt and hair and all this. And he says it till one day I looked up and I said, "There's no God in heaven like you. There's no God in heaven." And he said, "The moment I said there's no God in heaven," my mind came back to me. I stood upright and I called for them and they bathed me and they they clothed me and they put me back in position. But I lived out the rest of my days letting everybody know it's God who reigns in the heavens. Yeah. You better not vault yourself. You You You better not. And let me meddle. Let me meddle just a little bit with our school teams. When you win a game, win with class. Rude is crude, but class will last. When you win a game, win with class. When you win a game, go over to your opponent, shake their hand, and say, "Good game today." Don't vault yourself. Don't don't don't don't don't do that. I I just got off my message just for a little bit today. But treat others the way you want to be treated. treat others the way love does it boneeth not itself and uh it's not easily provoked. It's not easily It's not easily provoked. Anger is all right but anger should be used only in corrective measures not in punishment. You ought to get angry enough to change your life. You got to get angry enough to be able to articulate the right behavior. Love thinks no evil. Love doesn't ponder on evil. Love doesn't rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth coming to the end. The Bible says, "Charity believeth all things." Now, that doesn't mean charity is gullible. That just simply means that charity believes good about people. Charity sees good in people. I that's got to tell you that's got to tell you today. I promise you it's a natural fleshly tendency to look at the negative in a person's life. Say it again. It is a natural fleshly carnal tendency to see the negative in people's life. But if you can get your heart right with God and get filled with God's love, God is able to help you to see the good in that person. You see, everybody here today has done something pleasing to God. You know what you've done? You don't have to be here, but you got up on your own and you came to the house of God. I'm not interested in your mess. God can take care of your mess. I'm just going to tell you today that I see something good in you. I see something God can use. I see Oh, I see something God can use today. Come on, stand with me right now. I see my friends. I see my brothers that are just as much a part of First Apostolic Church as anybody else. I see my brothers come up around the altar. I see my brothers begin to worship God. And when I see my brothers worshiping God. Love believeth all things. Love looks for the good. There's some good. Love. Love looks for the good. Let me close. Love believeth all things. Love hopeeth all things. Man, I'm expecting for somebody to get baptized this morning. Man, I'm expecting for somebody to get the Holy Ghost this morning. Man, I I am I am expecting to begin to hear good news out of people. Pastor, pastor, I want you to know that I I I I I'm down to two pack a day, pastor. I'm I'm down I'm down to two pack a day. Can I tell you something? I could take an old judgmental thing and I could say, "Well, I'm going to tell you, bless God, if you pray like I pray, you'd be totally delivered." I get it. I get it. If I just tell you, I'm a witness to this right now. At 16 years old, I was addicted to smoking cigarettes. What discouraged me a little bit, I'm not saying I thank God for your testimony, but everybody is not the same. I thank God that the night you got the Holy Ghost, you laid it down, you never walked back. Thank you. I'm glad God did that for you. I'm glad you allowed. But he didn't do that way with me. I had to cut back and cut back and cut back and cut back. But I'm glad that I had people in my life that during the cutbacks were saying, "At a boy, at a boy, you're you're going to make it. That That's right. And I stand here today. I stand here today completely free. That's been many decades ago. I stand here today completely free. Can I Can I tell you that if you've only fallen off the wagon two times this month, we rejoice that it wasn't four times this month. We're glad. We hope all things. We believe all things. Love endureth all things. Put your hands on your chest like this right here. Love endureth all things. Everybody say with me, God, >> you put up >> God, >> you put up >> with a lot from me. >> God, you put up with a lot from me. >> Where there's knowledge, it shall vanish away. Where there's prophecies, they shall cease. Tongues shall cease. I said, "Wait, what are you talking about? What are you talking about talking about?" He says, "You're you're you're overemphasizing the gifts." He says, "One day gifts are going to cease." One day, all knowledge, as you know, is going to cease. One day, tongues is going to cease. When I was a child, that's where we're at right now. When I was a child, when I was a child, I spoke as a child. I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. Now, we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. What's he talking about? He's talking about getting from here to heaven. When I was a child, that's what we're in right now. He said, "Except you become his little children." I got off the plane. I got off the plane last night about midnight and I was walking down. I was walking down. There was some people waiting on some passengers and there was a little boy. I wish I'd taken a picture. I don't know his story. I don't know his story, but this little boy stood there like this with two fingers crossed looking at the door. I don't know his story. I don't know who he was waiting on, Sister Shannon. I don't know who he's waiting on, but that little boy had both fingers crossed looking at the door. Oh God, could we become his little children today? Not with fingers crossed, but with hands lifted, looking at Jesus Christ. You're soon to come. You're soon to come. You're soon to come. You're soon to come. now about faith, hope and charity. But the greatest of these is charity. Women, why? There'll be one day that we won't need hope and there'll be one day that we won't need faith. But when we get to heaven, the Bible says God is love. We're going to be there with him in love. Come on, right now. Could we lift our hands? Come on. Could we lift our voices right now? I wonder who will be the first to walk down the aisle today with hands lifted saying, "Jesus, help me." I wonder who be the first to today to walk down an aisle and just lift your hands and say, "Jesus, you know I need work in my life." You need, you know, I need work right now. If you come, please stand. Please push in as far as you can. He's a great God of love. It's a more excellent way today. It's a more excellent way today. God loves me. God loves me. It's a more excellent way today. Come on. Come on. Come on. Jesus loves me. Yes, I know. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Come on. Let's pack this altar. Come on. Right now, lift those hands. These repentance and your goodness draws me to your name. Your mercy cause me to be like you. Your favor is my every day. I'll awake in my praise from my heart. You are. You are good. >> >> You are good. Your mercy is great. You are good. You are good. You are good. Your mercy is good. Your kindness leads me to repentance. Your goodness draws me to your son. Your mercy causes to you. Your favor is mine. Heat. Heat. >> >> Come on. With everything in you, I want you to love a God who loves you. Come on. With everything in you, I want you to believe in a God that believes in you. Come on. with hands lifted, voices shouting. He's the God that believes in me. Oh yes, God. >> >> Oh yes, God. Thank you. Thank you so much for your obedience to follow your pastor's voice today. We have loved on God that loves us. Sister Selena, we have believed in a God who believes in us. But now we have to turn the corner. We have openly without any reservations loved the God who loves us. But that's really not where the test lasts. He said, "How can you say you love me whom you have not seen? And you do not love your brother whom you have seen." So now here's what I want us to do. I want us to have a we I'm closing a little early today. I want us to have a time of praying one for another. Wants us to have a time of praying one for another today. And I just randomly I ran John and John and Sonia, come on up. I want you to come up on platform with me. So, it's Carver and Brother Ericson. Come on up on platform with my family. It's my family. Come on up on platform with me. Come on. I want you to find somebody to pray with right now. Who had to turn around, find somebody to pray with right now. Maybe a husband, wife, maybe a brother to brother. Just find somebody, brother Mand, you two pray for each other right now. Don't Don't start praying yet. Don't start praying yet. It's all over this place. Come on. It's all over this place. God's going to do something right now. It's all over this place. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Oh God, I love you today, God. >> >> Thank you. I might be hallelujah. >> >> your name. Hallelujah. >> >> Yes, God. Yes, God. Yes, God. Yes, God. Yes, God. Yes, God. It's beautiful right now. Pray one for another. Pray one for another. We can fellowship in a few moments, but pray one with another right now. Come on. We We can We can fellowship in a few moments, but pray one for another. If you if you have to leave right now, we understand that. But let's pray one for another right now. God is using this. Pray for your children right now. Oh God, touch Fallon and Lauren and Nolan. God, touch Chad and Paris, Windsor and London. God, touch Beckham and Hampton and Channing. God, touch Nolan and Flannry and Magnolia and touch the baby in the womb right now. Lord, I pray for Lisa's family today from Canada. Lord, I pray that you would bless them, oh God, and touch them, oh God. Lord, I pray for the young man Mark that I met today, God. Lord, I pray right now that you would touch the Bible studies that Carl and Connie Perry have here on Tuesday night. God, I ask you, Lord, to touch God. I ask you, Lord, to touch right now, God. Oh, God. You're in this prayer right now, God. Oh, I pray for both Sister Seat today. Lord, I pray for both Sister Helms. I pray for Zach, Lord. I pray for Nick and Zach, God. I pray for Gabby, Lord. Oh, God. I pray for Isaac Smith. And I pray for Ashley Smith, God. Oh, God. I pray, Lord, for Trey and Jennifer and Sunny and Suzu, God. Oh God. Jesus name. Jesus name. Jesus name. Jesus name. Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord. Now I feel little little led today. I feel led. I guess I should say I feel a little led. I feel led today. I feel led to pray for for one more group before we dismiss. And I'm going to need need your help. And if if I forgotten someone, you realize I'm just a man and I may need some help today. But we have a congregation that once were here and once came, but their physical bodies render them unable to be here today. Satan wears them out. Satan says they're forgotten. Satan works on them first that the church has forgotten them. And then Satan goes over to God has forgotten them. But could we give Satan a black eye today? And could we just take a two or three minutes and pray for our shutins that cannot be here? And I want you to line up. Brother Eric, just stand over here. Stand right over there. And I want you I want you to be praying for brother and sister Xander. John, I want you to pray. I want you to stand beside brother Ericson. I want you to pray for sister Phyllis Lee. Okay. Sister Phyllis Lee. Sister Carpenter. Brother Burkett. Brother Burkett. Sonia, I want you to pray for the Callaways. Um, Brother Yates, Cole, come on. The law, the the lawlesses, Sister Thorp, Brother Yates, see Brother Yates, Senior, Sister Thorp, but Brother Brother Ericson Senior, would you come pray for Brother Kirby right now? Am I missing anybody? Is he lost? >> Sister Whitner. Yes, Sister Whitner. All right. Anybody else? Come on. Just speak it. Just speak it out. We need your help. Yes. Sister, who? Denise Martin. Okay. Won't you come up and pray with me? Pray for her. Sister Bryant, although she's not a shut in. I had a conversation with her this week. Sister Phyllis Puit, won't you come pray for her? I think you got all cherry mode. If you like her daughter, come on up here. Sister Brian, I talked to her on the phone this week. She said, "As long as I can." She said, "I can't stand as long as I can't when we come to church. I can't stand like everybody else." She said, "But I'm going to." So, I'm going to do I'm going to do my best. I'm going to tell you something. That's kind of attitude we >> She's going to go till she can't. Lord, these people just can't can't come. Do Do you got the names down? You got the names down? All right. All right. Let's all pray. Let's Let's all pray right now. Father, >> >> God, touch these families, God. Oh God, touch these families, Lord Jesus. God. Oh God, move them on these families today, God. Oh God, anoint them, God. Touch them, God. Lord, I don't know if you're going to heal them or not, but God, you did promise your presence, God. God, I rebuke every spirit of doubt. God, I rebuke every spirit of doubt, God, that wants to go to their house. I put the blood of the lamb upon the doorpost of their house right now. Oh God, touch, touch, touch, Lord. Oh God, in your name. In your name. In your name. Oh yes, you are good. You are good. Your mercy ends forever. You are good. >> Come on church. >> You are good. You are good. Your mercy is great. You are good. You are good. You are good. Your mercy is forever. You are good. >> Yes, you are Lord. >> You are good. You are good. Your forever. >> Yes. Amen. You are good, God. You're good.