I Just Want to Please God

Let me let you be seated for just a moment. And uh this so good tonight. This is so good. It's so good tonight. Um let me let me tell you the weight the weight that's upon uh myself as a pastor, as a spiritual leader here at the church. the weight the weight that that's not necessarily on on you good people on you good people um of course I do believe in the levels of authority that that a father will father needs to feel that he will be accountable for his family believe that parents need to feel like they'll be accountable to their children um I feel the wait because on judgment day I will be judged by a different standard than you will. I'll be judged by a total different standard. And I'd like to read a couple verses to help you with that. James, I didn't turn these in, but Ericson, that's so good tonight. James chapter 3 and verse number one. Direct your attention to the screen if they can get James 3 and one there. Thank you so much my brethren. Be not many masters knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. He's talking about James is talking about being teachers of people. And he says he says that uh to to not be in other words really to to to know what you're getting into. You need to know what you're getting into. The pull pit is not a place to make a living. It's a place to fulfill your God calling. Nobody ought to be in the pool pit for money. They ought to be in the pool pit because that's where God called them. It's it's a calling. He said, "Knowing that you will receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all if any offend not in word. The same as a perfect man also able to bridle his his whole body. So here James James James tells us James tells us to be not many be careful about being a teacher. It's a great responsibility. Be careful about being a teacher. Then then in Hebrews chapter 13 verse number 7 this is speaking James was speaking to me. Hebrews uh 13-7 is speaking to you. Remember them that have the rule over you. Hebrews 13:7. Remember them that have the rule over you. who have spoken unto you the word of God whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation. In other words, their manner of life. He says to the church, he says, "You need to remember them that have the rule over you." And there's another passage there. There there is there there is another passage that is talking about remembering spiritual leadership. For they watch for your souls. They watch for your souls as they must give an account that they may do it. And if one of brother no, brother Eric, if you could find that verse of scripture for me real quick and then just just speak it out when you find it. Remember it. It it says, "For they watched for your souls that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that would be that would be unprofitable for you." As I sat there tonight and heard Brother Ericson talking about authority, of course, the greatest authority is the authority from God. Authority from from from God. And you know, we can trust God. God's never let us down. People have let us down. But don't you confuse people with God. God has never let us down. I I I believe I believe we need to give him praise right now. God God Come on, give him praise right now. God has never Oh, God has never If If If God has been good to you, would you would you get on your feet and give him some praise right now? God has been so good. God has been so good to us. God has God has been God has been so so good. I I I do apologize for being a little a little adult right now. I I sat over there. I sat over there. I listened to him talk. I felt the weight just coming. I felt the weight, Brother Ben. I felt it just just just coming down. And um I uh I thought to myself when I got in church, I wanted to please God. I How many just I just want to please God. I I I just want to please him. I I just want to please God. Um and that's the way that that I I did. I just wanted to please God. And not only did I want to please God, and I know and we we really shouldn't even giving time to the critics. I wanted to please my pastor. I wanted to please my pastor. And um there was a lot of things my pastor asked me to do, brother Sinata, that I did not understand. I didn't I didn't understand I didn't understand why if the youth choir went on a trip, we didn't get back into 4:30 on Sunday morning. Remember one time going to Portell, Georgia, the Eagle bus had a flat tire and we didn't get back into Knoxville to 4:30 Sunday morning. 4:30 Sunday morning. That was back before I knew 4:30 came twice a day. 4:30 Sunday morning. I didn't understand when he got on that speaker on that bus and he said, "It would be unthinkable for us to go down to Georgia and sing to others about the Lord and bless other churches. Bless other churches and not be in Sunday school at 10:00 in the morning." I didn't understand that, man. 4:30. He said it'd be unthinkable. I I did I tell you I didn't I didn't have the love for the house of God that I have right now. You know why I didn't have the understanding? Cuz you can't love something you don't understand. >> Brother Ericson, while you was teaching tonight, Colossians chapter 1, I I'll say this verse. I'm going I let you go home. Um, y'all probably knew I wasn't Y'all probably knew you wasn't getting out here at 8:30, didn't you? Probably. Colossians chapter 1 verse 10. Whoever's running the scriptures tonight, you are doing a fabulous job back there. You're you you are doing Colossians chapter 1 verse number 10. Look at this with me real close. that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all what? How are we to walk? We are to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God. Sounds like to me that I just need to get busy pleasing the Lord and the knowledge will come a little bit later. Well, Bishop Makul, I want you to know, 16 years old, I didn't know why you wanted this 16-year-old boy that got into 4 4:30 a.m. in the morning. I didn't know why you wanted me back in the house of God at 10:00 a.m. that morning. But years later, this 66-y old man can stand and say, "Oh, the value of loving the house of God. The value of raising your children in the house of God." I want you to know, I've come through a lot of trouble. I'm not the only one. I've come through a lot of trouble because I kept on coming to the house of God. I the ways of God. So, I wanted to please my pastor. I didn't know why he wanted me to get a haircut. He can't pastor people this way anymore, but this is how I was pastored. I I didn't know why he came through the lobby and took his fingers and put my hair back over back behind my ears and said, "Kenneth Re, you need to get a haircut." I didn't know why he did that, but you know what? I wanted to please God and I wanted to please my pastor. So I went I I went got me haircut. I didn't know why that Wednesday night when I was talking to Dion Wilson, we just having a great conversation during Bishop Mcool's Bible class. I didn't know why. All of a sudden Dion stopped talking to me and I kept looking at him and punching at him. I looked and Dion was staring at the pool pit and I looked at the pool pit and there was my pastor looking down. He said, "You finished?" I said, he said, "I can't talk and you talk." Said, "You got to listen." Now, you know, I could have done just what I could have I could have probably found me some saints who would have felt sorry for this poor or orphan boy that the pastor got on to. I I could have probably got around and found somebody that would said you you know what he shouldn't have talked to you that way. But thank God I didn't and thank God I took it on the chin and thank God I listened because he was teaching one night. He was teaching one night and he said God's got you a mate right here in the house of God. Said you don't you don't have to date out of the face. said, "God's got you somebody right here in the house of God." So when I would go when I'd go out in the world and I'd see this little girl and that little girl and my flesh would say, "She looked good." I'd hear somebody in my mind that I wanted to please saying, "They're not in the house of God. I'm so glad that I listened to him. I got my million dollar penny and I got her right in the house of God." We've raised our children, folks. Now, I know and we'll talk about this in some days to come, but I know that people have taken spiritual authority and abused it. I I know that when people come to me and they say, "We're thinking about moving off." One of the first things I'll say to them is, "Is there a good church there?" See, you got to develop critical thinking in people. Is there a good church there? Is there a church you can raise your family at? Is a Is it a good place for your you you know? Well, yeah, there's a real good church about 70 miles away. Now, just think, brother, you can't hardly make it three times a week and you live seven miles away from the church. See, that that's a bill of critical thinking. You you get people you folks do have brains and and I know what brother Ericson meant, but you you you do you you're able to think and and you know once you dig it out, the teacher can show you the answer, but brother Martin, once you start digging it out on your own, that's that that's it. But but but I appreciate this good teacher tonight. I I brother, I I appreciate this good and I'm going to do the lesson next week and Let's let's just let's just pray one last time. Let's pray one last time. And I'm going to create a doctrine here at the church. And I hope they're still watching tonight. I'm going to create a doctrine here at the church. And I'm going to call it the Xander doctrine. What the Xander doctrine is, brother and sister Xander are physically, Sister Xander is physically unable to be in the house of God. If she could be here, they would be here. They'd be sitting right back here, they'd be here. She's physically unable and he's tending to her and just physically unable to be here. But here's their doctrine. He would say to me often, "As long as we can go, we're going to go, folks. As long as you can pray, you better pray. As long as you can what? Don't Don't put it off. Don't Don't put it off right now. Father, in the name of Jesus, God, I can pray right now. Lord, I want to stay under your authority, God. Lord, I want to submit myself, God, to you, Lord. I want to submit myself to your word. Whether I understand your word or not, if I will trust you and submit to your word, God, you mean us nothing but good, Lord. You mean us nothing but absolutely good. Lord, bless God. Thank you, Lord, tonight. Thank you, God, that you led Lord. You you you you led Brother Ericson, God. Lord, you led him to to ask, can we have this series? you you led him, God. And I I felt that the leading would go down this way. And Lord, I thank you, God, that he laid this out for us tonight. Oh. Oh, God. We submit our lives to you tonight, God. Lord, in every area, we submit to you, Father. I pray for the people right now. Lord, I pray for the people that I lead. Oh God, give me wisdom to lead your people. God, as Solomon prayed, I am but a child, I know not how to go in or to come out, and you have made me ruler over Israel. Lord, give me a wise and an understanding heart, that I may choose between good, I may discern between good and evil, that I may lead your people. Oh God, I'm but a mortal man. Lord, we're fighting the forces of hell. We're fighting the masterminds of hell. God, give me the wisdom to lead your people. Oh, God, give me the wisdom to lead them in the way. Lord, give me the wisdom, Lord, to for our marriages, for the raising of our children, for the per perseverance, God, of this great church, God, for the preservation of the apostolic truth. God, give us the wisdom tonight, Lord. Lord, we'll give you the praise and the honor and the glory in Jesus' name we pray. Give the Lord a big hand right now. God bless you. Dismissed in Jesus name.