My Father | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter

Would you stand with me today? Let's exalt the name of Jesus this morning. Let's exalt his name. Can we lift up our voices today? Let's exalt his name today. Oh, let's magnify him today. King of kings and lord of lords. King of kings and lord of lords today. It's been said several times today to all of our fathers in the house. Happy father's day. Amen. But we're here today to celebrate the father of all fathers. The prophetic Isaiah said that he would be called wonderful counselor, prince of peace, the everlasting father. The everlasting father. If you want to know, if you want to know what God is like today, Jesus plainly said, "If you have seen me, you have seen my father." The Bible says in Acts 10:38, how that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. So today, we worship a good God, don't we? We magnify a good father, don't we? We praise a good father today. What a wonderful spirit is in the house of the Lord this morning. I felt my rejoicing. I had to check had to check my I had to check my time out there cuz I was feeling my Sunday night Holy Ghost on Sunday morning and I was feeling the shout in my shoes today and I uh feeling the good presence of God today. While you remain standing, if you would turn to Exodus chapter 4 and verse number 22. And while you're looking for that, we are so blessed today to have brother and sister Olette with us this morning. They are our district superintendent um in New England, Massachusetts. And we're so glad they're personal friends. They're personal friends of ours. And uh just to see them walk in today, my heart was overjoyed. and brother and sister Olette, welcome to First Apostolic. We are so glad so glad to have you. So good to see the Watts, our missionaries here today and so good to see brother and sister Watts. And of course we uh Marville is home to the Namies. And so we're so thankful to have them with us this morning. How many are ready for the word today? Exodus 4 verse 22. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, thus saith the Lord, thus sayeth the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn. Verse 23. And I say unto thee, let my son go that he may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. Let's all pray together. Remember, pastor's not going to be the loudest one praying today. We're all going to pray right now. Father, Lord, although I'm preaching your word today, I need your word, Lord. Although, God, I am the spokesman. I am your voice today through the word. God, I need the word just as much as the people in the pew need the word. Now, Father, I pray that you would anoint my lips and my mind and my heart today that I would edify and lift you up and glorify your name today. I I I just ask right now, Lord, that while I'm preaching, your spirit would cover this place like a fog. And Lord, you would move upon those. You would bring encouragement to the discouraged. You bring light to those that are in darkness. God, you would bring liberty to those in bondage. Lord, I'll give you the praise and I'll give you the honor. In Jesus' name we all pray. Amen. And amen. You may be seated this morning for just a few moments today. And I want to gather us in the altar to let the Lord move upon us again. But I want to preach on a simple title. Just a simple title. My father. My father, my earthly father, my earthly father died when I was 16 years of age. And um I have been I have been without an earthly father for for some time. And that's my father there, John Virgil Carpenter. a hardworking man, a man that my memories of him uh he would get up early of the morning and he worked at Free Service Tire Company on Magnolia Avenue in Knoxville. He was a hardworking man, mechanic, um kind of a kind of he was kind of a brother Cheshire. He was a jack of all trades. He could he could do electric, he could do plumbing, he he could just about do anything. And he was a hardworking man until he developed cancer. And at the age of my age, he was 46 years old when he passed. I was 16 years old when when when he passed. And of course uh today that's my mother there. And everybody says that I look like my mother. All right. Look like my mother. Of course my sister is here today. And I think my sister favors I think my sister favors our my dad our dad more than the mother mother there. I'm a good mixture. I really am. Dad was a he was just kind of even kill. He u he lived and let lived. He was kind of just a he would he would u he would walk around the block to keep from having an argument. He didn't like he didn't like arguments. He didn't like any any kind of controversy. Now mom was different. Um, mom wouldn't start a fight, but she wouldn't run from it either. All right. And um, sometimes I think I'm a good blend, but when mom did go off, mom did go off. All right. I think I personally think I'm happen to be a good good blend of of both of them. But that's my parents today. And um, I love them. Would you give would you give my mom and dad a hand right now? parents. Let's share a little bit about the nature of our heavenly father today. He begins in Exodus by telling Pharaoh. He says, "Let my son go." Let my son go. See, I want you to let my son Israel go. He's my firstborn. and I want you to let him go so he can serve me. And then he was he was very serious about Israel because he gave an ultimatum. Did you pick that up in the scripture? He said, "If you don't let my son go, I will slay your son, even your first born." And so we soon develop in scripture that the God that we so worship today has a father-son relationship. We soon learn with these ver two verses I've read already that in this relationship he emphasizes care. He emphasizes protection and he emphasizes authority. He says to Pharaoh, I care about my son. You have had my son in bondage for many years. I care about him and I am demanding that you let him go. And if you don't let him go, I have the authority. I have the authority. I hold your next breath in my hand. I hold your next heartbeat in my hand. If you should choose not to let my son go, I will take your son. I will take your son from you. We soon find that he's a God that cares about his children. We soon find that he's a God that protects his children. And we soon find that he is a father of authority. I'm glad to be covered by him this morning. Well, let's go on through the scripture and see if we can weave together and put together like a quilt what our father is like today. In Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse number six, uh he's upset with Israel now. He's up. He's upset with his child. He's upset because a a good father a good father is one that knows the direction that his children should go in. And when we're going in the direction that he pleases, uh our father is pleased with us. But when we choose to go contrary to our father's commandments, then uh our father is displeased. Here in Deuteronomy 32:6, the father is displeased with the direction of Israel. He says in this verse here, do ye thus reququy father that are three things here we're going to look at. I am your father that bought thee. All right. I paid a price for you when you were nothing. I paid a price for you when you were in Egyptian bondage. I paid a price for you when no one else cared about you. I paid a price for you. We're thankful today, aren't we? that when we were nothing, God paid a price for us. When he became man and suffered, bled, and died on a cross, and he redeemed us. And we have not been redeemed with temporal things such as silver and gold, but by the precious spotless blood of the lamb, that there had been none like it. There will never be any like the cleansing power of the blood of the lamb. I believe Paul put it this way. When you were not a people, he showed mercy on you for so the first thing we're going to look at this verse today. He says, "You mean you pay me back this way? Is this the way you paid me back? I bought thee." And then the second thing, hath he not made thee? Have he not made thee? In other words, what he bought wasn't what he wanted, but he was willing to work with what he bought to make it what he wanted. All right. He bought what was not to make what would be. He bought us when we were a a a a lump a lump of clay without any identity. When people would look at you whether say that's just a lump of clay, but he said I'll buy that lump of clay and I'll take it to the potter's shop and in the potter shop I'll begin to make you. The the Bible said it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves. So we need to stop patting oursel on the back to our achievements and our accomplishments. You couldn't have graduated from high school if he hadn't gave you the breath and the mentality. You You couldn't have started that business had God not given you the ability. You couldn't be who you are today. Oh man, I'm a self-made man. I feel sorry for you. You're living far beneath your privilege because it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves. If you believe that today, would you give him not only a sh a hand clap, but would you give him a shout today? He hath made me. Come on, praise him with me right now. Real good. Is this how you pay me back? Is this how you pay me back? Oh, foolish people and unwise. Don't you know that I bought thee? And don't you know that I made thee? And then not only that, he said, "I established thee. I established thee." And I'm going to tell you, when God establishes you, hell can't stop you. When God establishes you, who is man? Why are you sitting up late at night worried about what man can do to you? Man can't touch you as long as God has established you. Let me say it again. Man can't touch you as long as God has established you. Now, if you're not established by God, you need to up and you need to you need to hire you the brightest minds you can, and you might win. But when God says, "Upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against me." I I think I'm going to s circle back around because I think I may identified a spirit here today. tell this. I feel it in my spirit of people that are worried, stressed out to the max because of what somebody possibly can do to them and and what they possibly can say about them and how they they they're they're they're never going to forgive. Let me tell you something. It is don't don't stay up late at night. It's not your place to forgive you. Forgiving you is up to them. But you you forgiving them is you. So you concern yourself with what you concern yourself with and you let God do you you you don't know what's coming my way. Well, I think I hear a brother Olette. I think I hear a psalm coming my way. Well, brother K, you just don't know what's out in my future. I think I hear if God has bought you and God hath made you and God hath established you. Oh, I hope you get this this morning. If God has bought you, if God has made you, if God has established you, and you're well, I'm just concerned what's coming my way. Let me listen to David right now. When my enemies and my foe came upon me to eat of my flesh, didn't say they wouldn't come. But watch what happens when my enemy, even my foes, came upon me to eat of my flesh. They stumbled and they fell. He didn't say you won't see it. He said just right before they reached to get you. How many times did God not come through? How many times did God not come through in the midnight hour? I think the midnight hour is there to build our trust. I think the last minute is there to build our trust. Can I can I tell you something? The Jews are going to be annihilated when the morning light comes. When the morning light comes, the Jews are going to be annihilated. But on that night could not the king sleep. He had done signed the decree of the Mes and the Persians that they could slaughter the Jews. It had already been signed. But all of a sudden on that night, on that night, the king couldn't sleep. And the king asked for the Coronacles to be brought out. And they found a man that was a Jew by the name of Morayi. And Morayi had come down and reported that two of the king's bodyguards were plotting an assassination. And it was Morayi the Jew that came down and told the people, "They're going to kill the king tomorrow. They're going to assassinate the king." And on that night, the king couldn't sleep. And he said, "Bring me the Chronicles." And he got to reading in the Chronicles. And he read where Morayi He read where Morayi had brought the plot to light. He read where Mordeayi had come down and and and and the king said, "Hey, get somebody in the room here." And and they said, "Yes." And he said, uh, he said, "What was done for this man here?" They said, "Nothing was ever done." He said, uh, he said, "What?" Now, now he's talking to the enemy. He's talking to the enemy right now. Can I Can I tell you when God gets ready to bless you, he can even make the devil his Uber driver. Now, if you're driver Uber, I'm not calling you the devil. I'm just simply telling you today that when my God gets ready to bless you, he can move on the most unlikely people that I hope y'all believe this this morning because he bought me, he made me, he established me, and nothing's going to stop me. I've spent a spent a little bit too much. Listen, I know you've heard it before, but you're going to hear it again. That poor woman, Christian woman, believed in God. She was praying. She was next lived next door to an atheist. It drove him baddy to hear her pray. And she was praying. She got down. Nothing to eat in the refrigerator. Nothing to eat in the cabinets. She got down. Lord, I need some groceries. Sweet Jesus, send me some groceries. The old lady just thought, "Man, I'm going to show this woman once and for all." He went down, bought a bunch of groceries, and filled her front porch up, knocked on the door, and went to hiding in the bushes. The woman came out, and she saw them groceries on her front porch. She She couldn't even step on the front porch for all the groceries. And she begin to say, "Thank you, Jesus. I glorify your name, Lord. Thank you." He stepped out of the bushes. He said, "You fool you. The Lord didn't bring them groceries. I bought them groceries. I delivered them. She started shouting, shouted off the front porch into the yard. And she said, "Wait a minute. You didn't hear me." Said, "No, I did hear you." Said, "He's greater than what I think. He even had the devil deliver my groceries right to my door." That's the kind of God that we serve today. Come on. I I wish you'd do like this. He bought me. He made me. He established me. He's a personal God today. I said he's a personal God today. Jesus, teach us how to pray. Would you? Would you teach us how to pray, Jesus? Sure, I will. He said when you pray say our father our father I'm a personal God to you. In John chapter 1 verse number 11 he came to his own. Now there's something about God. I got news for you. I got news for you today. I want you to get a blessing today. But if you don't want it, I'll take it. You hear me? Amen. As a matter of fact, I've often believed about myself that I was not God's plan A in the ministry. I believe I was plan B. And I love my brother. And he knows I feel this way. And I've told him, but I believe plan A was my brother. You ought to have heard my brother's first message he ever preached. My brother preached the first message he ever preached. And they said about him, they said he preached like a seasoned man when he preached there in chapel. As a matter of fact, my brother was using the gift of tongues interpretation. I never forget one Sunday night the Knoxville church when I heard somebody speaking in tongues and sound familiar. And I looked around, it was my brother with his hands lifted speaking in tonesues and giving the interpretation. But my brother didn't walk on with God. And I don't believe that I was God's plan A. I believe that was God's plan B. And I'll just tell you this. If you don't want it, somebody will take it. If you don't want to be in the church, let's get something straight here this morning. I'm going to say this as kind as I can. If you don't want to be in the church, it ain't going to stop the church. Somebody's going to want to be in the church. Don't you allow the enemy to deceive your mind. Don't you allow the enemy to deceive your mind. that the purpose and the cause of the church is wrapped up into you. If we all quit today, God will raise up a church. There'll be somebody that'll say, "I tell you what, I want it. If you don't want it, I'm not as gifted as you. I don't have the gift of tongues and interpretation right now that you got. But if you don't want it, God will say, I'll look down to somebody and I'll give it to them." So, we're in a building this morning. And if you don't want the blessing, bring it on over here, God. My Let my cup run over this morning. I I What are you trying to say? What are you trying to say this morning, brother Carpenter? John 1:11 is what I'm trying to say. He came unto his own Jewish people. He came unto his own Jewish people and his own received. I wish somebody say received. Received. Say it again. and his own him not beam me back up to heaven angels they didn't receive me the cross is off the resurrection is off the plan of redemption's off they didn't receive me you glad it doesn't stop there because verse 12 says but as many as received him to them gave he power to become become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood. You don't inherit heaven by having the right DNA, nor of the will of flesh. You don't will yourself, nor of the will of man, but of God. It is the will of God to have sons and daughters. We didn't beg God to bring us into existence. A holy God brought us into existence because it was his will. Happy Father's Day. It was his will. What a God. I said, "What a God." Boy, we got some good fathers in this church. And I mean this from the bottom of my heart. We got some good fathers in this church. Matter of fact, I I really don't know a bad father in this church. We got good fathers here. I started writing down a few names, a few things I've seen you fathers do, and I just kind of threw just put it aside. We got some good fathers here. But in Luke 11, Jesus said, "If a son shall ask bread of any of you, that is a father, will he give him a stone?" Answer would be no. Or if any ask a fish, will he for a fish give a serpent? And again, again, the answer is no. Where if a child shall ask for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? No. What are you trying to say, Jesus? If ye then, being evil, now notice this. God's love is so beyond our human comprehension. God's love is so beyond what we can comprehend that he looks down at you and I doing our best because there's some good fathers here and he says if you being evil now not evil the way we think evil but evil in comparison evil in comparison. He mentioned righteousness in the Old Testament and he said, "Your righteousness, the best you can do, the very best you can do, is as filthy rags in my sight." And without getting too explicit today, and I'll dance around the subject, it's not talking about any rag. He was talking about what a a rag was that a person would cleanse themsself with. And he says, "The best you can do, the very best you can measure up to when you put it beside me, it's as filthy rags in my sight." Or the woman, it was back during the day when they did their laundry by hand. And many of you are may be unfamiliar with the term a clos line. A clos line. All right. If you look very closely, if you look very closely, I've got two little indentions here that shouldn't be here. And they're there because we were playing as children hide and go seek. And a coat hanger in the middle, not a closed line in the middle of Jenny Kits's yard caught me about right here. All right. But uh that's where they would hang their laundry. They would do their laundry, the wash, and they'd hang it out to dry. There's a certain woman in town that had great pride on being known as producing the whitest sheets in the neighborhood. Oh, she was proud of them. She'd even leave them out a little longer so everybody could see how white her sheets were. But one early spring, a snowfall fell from heaven. The white snow fell. And when the white snow from heaven fell, those sheets look dingy and yellow on the background of the white snow. Can I tell you today that the best you and I can do, now think about it, how good you are to your children. Think about think about how good Think about how good our Oh, this granddaughter Paris is there's a there's a there's a boy up in Ohio that she's liking and he's liking her and I'm praying about it and all that, you know. Well, she they take they take turns. He he comes down here and she'll drive up there. They try not to tell me that when she's driving back because from the time she leaves Dayton, Ohio to the time she gets back. Yes. And I know you got Brother Ericson, you got her on you're you're a good father. I'm I'm just You just don't know what it's like to be a papa. And if that happens, I blame you. Anyway, that's beside the point. Let's have some fun here. But I can call her like I did yesterday and I'll say by this time you should be in Lexington. I am papa. You know why I knew she was in Lexington? Cuz I got her on my mind. And I don't go to bed at night. I don't go to sleep. Paris make it home because I got her on my mind. Brother Thorp. If I being evil, being evil in light of the love of God, let's look at this again. Let's look at this again. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, if you know how to keep them on your mind, how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? It it it it ought to cause rejoicing here today to think about how good and how much we think about our children and what we have given and what we would give and what we would do for our children. And then to think in the light of the love of God, it's compared to something evil. What a father we serve today. What a heavenly Who wouldn't want to serve this father today? Come on. Who wouldn't want to live for him and serve him? Give him a hand of praise right now. Does the love of the father not come out in the story of the prodal? Luke 15:20. The prodal and he arose. The prodal aro and he arose. Came to his what? But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him. I want to tell you something. This in this parable, brother Namy, when he says a great way off, he's not talking about feet and distance. He's not talking about a half mile, a quarter mile, a few yards. When he said he saw him a far off, he's talking about a spiritual condition. Can I tell you that when the father is not on your mind, you're always on his mind. He saw him yet a great way off. Let me let me prove this to you. Hold your place there. But let me go to another scene in the Bible. It is Mark chapter 6 verse 48. The Bible said, "And Jesus and he saw them row to tolling and rowing, for the wind was contrary unto them. And about the fourth watch of the night, way up in the night, he came cometh upon them unto them walking on the sea, and would have passed them by it." Now, he said, "And he saw them having a hard time in the boat because they're in the middle of a storm." But the interesting thing when you when you read the whole chapter, you find that he had sent them across the sea many hours ago. It was daylight when he said, "Get in the boat. Get across the sea." It was daylight. He went up into the mountain to pray. They had hours. They had hours of time to row across the sea. It's dark now. It's not even daylight. It's dark. But the Bible says, "And he saw them." I've come to tell somebody today that when you think you're a million miles away from God and you wonder if God's heard a prayer and you're wondering if God's ever going to come through and you just think you're just out here in the middle of this storm and nobody sees you, there is a father that can see you when you are a far off. He sees that tear. He saw you pull the blanket up over your head. He saw you when the alarm clock went off and you didn't want to get up out of the bed. He saw you in the midday, in the 3:30 a.m. hours when you got up and you can't go to sleep because all kind of crazy things are going through your head. I got news for you today. I've come to tell you, we serve a father that saw him a far off. We serve a father that said, "I I see them. I see them out there." Now, here's the interesting thing, and I don't want to preach. I don't want I don't want to get too far into this story because I want to stand a prodal for a moment, but the Bible said, "And he came unto them walking on the sea." But here's the interesting thing, brother Wimberly, and would have passed them by. But when they, scripture says verse 49, but when they saw him walking upon the sea, they suppose it had been a spirit and cried out, can I tell you something? You need to see him. I said, you need to see him. The Bible says the the the the clouds are but the dust of his feet. He's describing a storm. The Bible says that God has his way in the whirlwind. That's the storm. The Bible says the clouds are the dust of his feet. I can't see. It's cloudy in my life right now. I can't see. It's It's cloudy. I I can't I can't see. It's like being on on that plane and brother Joe, you look out the window and you're in the clouds. You're in the clouds. But you say, "Well, get out of the clouds so we can see. There's instruments up there telling the pilot exactly what's going on. Can I tell you that when you can't see him, he can see you. But by faith, you got to start saying, "I see you, Lord. You're going to bring me out. You're going to make a way, Lord." I begin to look for God in everything I can look for God in. And the small little morsels of blessings that he puts in my pathway, I pick it up. I'm going to tell you something. You'll never thank God for a $1,000 check until you thank God for a $100 check. You'll never thank God for a big blessing until you until you thank God for for for a for a for a little blessing. You got to just pick up the morsels. When he saw them, when he saw them, when he saw him a far off, when he saw him, back to the prodical, when we saw him a far off, his father saw him, had compassion on him, ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him. Can I tell you that the father will blow your mind because when you think he's going to kick you, he going to kiss you because he's a good father. I can hear the prodigal now. I can I can, brother Jeff. I can hear the prodical now. I wouldn't blame him if he smacked me. I wouldn't blame him if he took his foot and kicked me. I wouldn't blame him if he shoved me down. I wouldn't blame him. I wouldn't blame him if he cursed me out. But when you get to the father, he's not into kicking. He's not into cussing. He's into kissing. And when they got there, he fell on his neck and he be he be to kiss him. He began to kiss him. But let's look further. And when he saw him, fell on his neck and began to kiss him. He began to kiss him. And the Bible and and the Bible said verse 21, "And the son said unto him,"Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son." You see that young man started repenting in the pig pin. The father saw him in the pig pin. The father heard him in the pig pin. When he came himself, the father heard him in the pig pin. The father hears people today. Not when they get to church and get to the altar, but he heard you last week when you started saying, "Oh my, my life is a mess. My life is a wreck. My life is upside down. I got to get back to the house of God. God heard that. And God be to say, I I hear what you're saying. Father, I have sinned against heaven in thy sight and no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to the servants, "Bring the best robe, put a ring on his hand, shoes on his feet, kill the fatty cal, strike up the band, for my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found, and they begin to make Mary." Now, you do realize, hear me now, this prodal son story is about two sons. One was lost in the world and the other was lost in the house. Well, I don't do what they're doing. That's right. But are you enjoying what the father has? Let's read verse 25. Now his elder son was in the field. Boy, that's interesting. Now his elder son was in the field and he came and drew nigh to the house and he heard music and dancing. He heard music and dancing. And he said, "Can somebody tell me what the what the celebration's all about?" What's the celebration's about? Your brother has come home. Your brother has come from the world with harlots and wine. Your brother has come home and your father has killed the fatted calf and your father is making a celebration. Verse 29, he answers and said to his father, now listen, and there's a lot of there's a lot of uh there's a there's a lot of custom things that had that you don't find in the Bible, but it was a culture that day. What started the prodal what started the prod party at the prodal's house wasn't when the prodal stepped into the room. They didn't strike up the band when the prodal stepped into the room. Do you know when the band started playing? According to culture, the band started playing and the people started dancing when the father stepped in the room. Because when the father stepped into the same room with the prodal, it said to everybody in the room, there's been repentance and reconciliation and the band got struck and they started they they start they started singing and they started dancing. But read the term there. It said they heard he said the elder son heard the singing and the dancing. Now I understand how you could hear dancing sister Franklin or excuse me I understand how you could hear singing. But how do you hear dancing? You hear dancing because they're on an old wood floor and they're having a stomping good time. They stomping around. They're dancing. And the prodical son or the older son would not go into the party. Would not go into the party. But he stood outside. And sooner or later, the father got to saying, "Hey, where's my older boy at? Where's my older son at?" Somebody said, "He's outside." You read this in the story. He's outside. And the Bible said that the father went out to him. Which means when the father left the room, guess what stopped? The music and the dancing. The father goes out and the son says, "You never killed a fatted calf for me. You never made a party for me. You never did these things for me." Listen what he said in verse 29. And he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment, yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I may make Mary with my friends. But as soon, what? See if you pick up a little animosity here. But as soon as this thy son was come, didn't even call him his brother. your son was come which hath devoured thy living with harlots. Thou hast killed for him the fatty calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was me that we should make Mary and be glad. For this, thy brother was dead and is alive again and was lost and is found. You know what he really said? He said, "You could have had a party anytime you wanted to have a party. You could have had a fatty cap, a ring, a robe, and shoes anytime you wanted to, but you had a servants mentality." Can I Can I tell the older saints? Can I tell the elder elder son here today something? I love to serve the Lord, but it's not just tedious service that we serve the Lord with. Strike up the band. Get your hands in the air praising God. It's a joy to live for the Lord. It's a joy to live for the Lord, to magnify his name. It's it's it's a joy to live. You know, if you have the older brother mentality or syndrome, you get jealous when new people come in because well, them new people, them new people get all the attention. They sure do. They sure do. Them new people. Oh, brother, he's always talking to them new. I I I am I am now. I seem to get all the attention. Not exactly. Let me see if I can help us understand this. Chapter 15, book of Luke, chapter 15, verse number 7. Let's see if we can understand this. Jesus said Luke 15:7, "I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one one one sinner one one sinner that repenteth more than 99 just persons which need no repentance." Now I'm going to tell you something. It says there's more joy. It doesn't say that the 99 have no joy. Follow it now. It doesn't say the 99 have no joy. It just simply says that the one that comes in that there's more joy there. Let me see if I can say in a few weeks from now, Lauren will give us our seventh grandchild. It's already determined. It's it's it's a boy and there's three girls and Hammonds will have three boys. Nolan's got a girl and and more to come hopefully. But you do know when they go to the hospital and they come out, Brother Hammond comes out and says he's here and Beckham and Hampton go into that room, the main attention is going to be on that baby. But that doesn't mean Beckham and Hampton's not loved. We live as a church to see sinners changed into saints. What happens on a regular basis in that pool right there? What happened the other Sunday night at 11:00 when a young man said, "I want to be buried in the name of Jesus." is what the church is all about. And if you can't get happy over people being changed, then you're going to be miserable in this church because changing changing lives is what it's all about. It's all about drug addicts being delivered. It's all about the immoral being straightened out. It's all about people's lives being changed. Ah. Uh, I'm I'm I'm I'm closing today. I'm closing. I'm closing. Oh, where am I going to go here? I'm closing. I'm closing. Um, the Bible says that to honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise. And uh honoring God is the road map of the direction of life. It is the road mapap to honor God is the road mapap of the direction in your life. Let me say that again. Honoring God is the road mapap for the direction of our lives. The word honor means to value. When we begin to value God, God begins to show us a road map. Make this turn here. Make that turn there. Do this here. Come out of that. Put that away. Pick that up. Go here. Don't go there. Right? It's called honoring God. And and the Bible said if we honor our father and mother, it's the first commandment. would promise that it may be well with you and that your days may be long on the earth. A as we honor as we honor. Just quickly, musicians, would you come just quickly let me have just for the next three minutes your undivided attention? Let me tell you about a a story in the Old Testament. Elisha Elisha Elisha is sick. Brother Patterson, Elisha is sick. Matter of fact, the Bible says he will die of the sickness. He will die of it. He's on his deathbed and one of the kings come in to see him. One of the kings come to visit him. And the king says when he sees Elisha for all be emaciated sees him there, he's not splitting Jordan rivers. He's not performing miracles. He's weak and frail and pale. When the king saw him, the king said, "Oh, my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof." In other words, he was saying, "You're my father and you're you're you're our weapons of war, the chariots and the horsemen thereof. The old prophet sick may he been tells the king said get a bow and arrow. The king got a bow and arrow and the prophet moving slowly got off his bed told him to open the window. He opened the window. The old prophet said, "Just shoot an arrow out the window. Shoot an arrow." But before he did, the old prophet got up, put his arms around him. The Bible said, "Placed his frail hands on the hands of the king and he said, "Shoot the arrow." And king brought back the arrow and shot it out the window. The spirit of prophecy came on Elisha. He said, "Thus sayaith the Lord, you shall utterly defeat Syria. You shall utterly defeat Syria." And then he told the prophet, he told the king, he said, "Take the arrow. It represents victory. It represents, it represents deliverance. take the arrow and smite the ground. The king took the arrow and he smoked the ground three times. I can't explain it. I'm just a preacher. It enraged the Elijah. Elisha, it enraged him with anger. Why did you only smite the ground three times? If you had smitten the ground five or six times, you would have utterly destroyed Syria. But because you've only smitten the ground three times, you'll smite them three times. But you'll always have war with them. Can I tell you that what we lack today is not the part of honoring God. It's the part of zeal. It's the part of zeal. Because you know something, I can put my hands on your hands and tell you the direction to shoot that arrow. I can tell you the direction. I can tell you what God's going to do. But there's one thing, hear me, church, I can't do for you, God says, and I won't do for you. You determine your zeal for me. I'll never make you zealous. I'll never I I'll never make you do something that your heart doesn't want to do. Only you decide the zeal. Brother Nolan, did I I read it right, didn't I? He put his hands the man of God put his hands on the king's hands. Would you come up here for a moment? Matter of fact, stand down on that step like you're going to shoot an arrow. The king, the man of God, put his hands, he put his hands, told him to shoot. He got upset because zeal is something you have to do on your own. My hands are not going to be on you. You got to do it on your own. The man of God, the prophet, dies. They throw him, Brother Doug. They throw him into a suppler. Years went by. The skin on the man of God has decayed. All that's in the supplr of the man of God is his bones. But Israel's doing a fight and they've got a fallen soldier on their hands. and they come by the grave and they take their fallen soldier and they threw him in the grave and the Bible says when his body hit the bones of the prophet he revived and stood up. I'd like to seen those guys. They're running and all a sudden they're here. Their dead buddy in the background saying, "Joey, hold up. Frank, hold up. I'm right behind you." I guarantee they run faster. But can you imagine with me once again? I'm just flesh away from a miracle. Amen. I'm just flesh away. All that I got to remove and get a miracle. I got to get flesh out of the way. And if I can get flesh out of the way, I can have a miracle. Would you stand with me right now? If I can get flesh out of the way, hear me now. Hear me. Please hear me. The only thing standing between you and salvation is flesh. The only thing standing before you, between you and deliverance is flesh. The only thing standing before you and God making a way is flesh. Why don't we come up around this altar today and why don't we get flesh out of the way? And why don't we begin to let God move in our midst right now? Come on. Jesus. Jesus, I need you today. Come on, church. Pack in this altar. Pack in this altar. When you come up around the altar, come as close as you can. This altar is going to be filled today. We're going to get flesh out of the way. Come on. You're one hallelujah away. Get your flesh out of the way this morning. Oh yes. I nor God can determine the volume in your voice. I can tell you to praise him loudly, but you got to do it on your own. I can tell you to cry out, but you got to do it on your own. I can tell you to pray, but you got to pray on your own. You're just some flesh away from a miracle. You're just flesh away from a healing. Oh God, I can tell you which way the altar is. I can tell you to come to the altar. But I cannot determine your zeal once you get here. I cannot determine your burden once you get here. Oh Jesus. Jesus, we need a miracle this morning. Jesus, we need a miracle this morning, God. Lord, these are your people, God. They need a miracle right now, God. Some of them need the Holy Ghost baptism. Some of them need water baptism. Some of them need a blessing right now, God. Oh, God. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. God. I need you, Lord. I need you, Lord. I need you, Lord. I need you, Lord. I need you, Lord. I need you, Lord. I need you, Lord. Oh, God. I need you, Lord. Come on. Once again, church. I can't determine your zeal. That's left up to you, but you're just a miracle away. You're just flesh away. Get flesh out of the way. Get flesh out of the way. Lost in the dark, up under the dirt. I was buried love today. When I heard your voice calling my name. From the tomb I came alive. You do all things well. From the tomb I came alive. He do all things great. Keep praise. be forever and always be praise. He praise. He praise. He praise. He praise forever and always. Forever. Forever. We praise you, Lord. I think of all you do and all the battles you brought me over. Hallelujah. When I think of all you've done and all the mess you brought me home. Hallelujah. How he never before to him who is able. Hallelujah. Let there never be a day that I don't rise to bring you praise. Hallelujah. When I think of all you brought me. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Let me bring you praise. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Be praised. Jesus be praised forever and always. That's how long you're worthy. That's how long I'll bring you praise. That's how long you're worthy. That's how long I'll bring you praise. That's how long you're worthy. That's how long That's how long I'll bring you praise. That's how long That's how long you're worthy. That's how long I'll bring you praise. That's how long you're worthy. That's how long I'll bring you praise. That's how long you're worthy. That's how long I bring you praise. That's how long you're worthy. Forever and ever. Forever I bring your praise. Forever and ever. Forever. You're worthy. be forever and always. All right now. right now without the aid of any music. Could we lift our voices up to our father? Praise you, Lord. Come on. Can we lift them up to our father today? His gift, his gift is not a shirt and a tie. His gift is not a meal after church. You give the father his gift right now by giving him praise. Oh, I give you praise. I give you praise. I give you adoration. That's his gift. That's his gift. That's his gift right now. That's his gift. The Bible said that God inhabits the praises of his people. His gift right now is not a shirt and a tie. His gift right now is when his children get around the table and begin to worship, begin to praise him. You think, well, that's my father. Won't you say that with me? That's my father. That's my father. That's my father. Not mean not not being political at all. I promise you, I just get amazed at some of the things that make news. But yesterday was no king day. I'm here to tell you something. Every day is our king day. Come on Jesus, you're my king. Come on Jesus, you're my father. I'm so happy this morning. I'm just so happy. I'm so happy. And I'm not alone. I'm not alone today. This past week, the celebration of a life well-lived came to an end. Brother Gordon Widner breathed his last breath. He inhaled over here Shannondelle, but he exhaled over there and streets of gold. That's right. The family is grieving, no doubt, with unimaginable grief as I can not even comprehend that they're suffering. But today at 2:00, Today at 2:00, they'll be receiving friends from 2 until 3 and then the celebration of his life will begin right here in the auditorium at 3:00. You can't go two or three pews in this this church without being touched by the life of brother and sister Widner. We love this. We love this family. We love them very dearly. So, why don't we close in prayer focused on the Widner family today? Father, you're a real good father. Lord, you're a real good father. Lord, you've given us exactly what we've needed and you stayed with us. Lord, Lord, I ask you to touch the Widner family today. I ask you to touch Sister Widner and all the children, Lord, all the family, God, grandchildren, great grandchildren. God, I Lord, I ask you to minister to them. And Lord, let the service at 3:00, God, let it be anointed, Lord, let your kingdom go forward. We pray all these things in Jesus wonderful name we pray. And everybody said, "Amen." Amen. We shake hands of two or three