Shattered Dreams | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter

Mark chapter 5 and verse number 24. Mark chapter 5 and verse number 24. Thank you Jesus. To those of you that are watching online, I feel like God has given me a message. And three times since I have prepared this message, three times I have felt the gentle voice of the Holy Ghost speak to me that someone would be watching online that would need this message today. That it would uh this message would be what you would need from the Lord for direction in your life. Mark chapter 5 and verse number 24. And Jesus went with him, and much people followed him, and thronged him. And a certain woman which had an issue of blood 12 years and had suffered many things of many positions and had spent all that she had and was nothing bettered but rather grew worse. One more passage of scripture the book of Ephesians. The book of Ephesians chapter 3 and verse number 20. Praise God. Ephesians chapter 3 and verse number 20. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that workketh in us. Just a simple title today. Just a simple title. Shattered dreams. shattered dreams. Precious God of heaven, today I stand here as your God called man. I stand in this place today, God, to proclaim your word. Lord, your spirit rides upon the words that come from the Bible. Lord, your spirit, God, is intertwined with the stories. Lord, your spirit is intertwined, God, with the doctrine. Lord, I pray today that for the next few moments, you'll use me. That God, your spirit will touch the hearts of men and women. And God, there will be a miraculous change take place in their lives. In Jesus wonderful name we pray. Amen. And amen. You may be seated. Thank you for standing in honor of the reading of the word of God. We have here this morning the story of the woman in the Bible who had an issue of blood. Simply put, she was hemorrhaging. She was losing blood for 12 long years. This woman was in this state of continuing continually losing of hemorrhaging. Now we understand that not only did this affect her health, this not only affected this woman's health, she was probably very pale in her complexion, losing blood. She was probably very weak in her strength. She was very pale. She was very weak. She uh probably according to all the things you can put together on hemorrhaging, she probably slept a lot. She was probably tired a great deal. But in that day, the culture, the religious culture of that day, according to the book of Leviticus chapter 15, that if a woman was hemorrhaging, if she was hemorrhaging blood that uh her clothes would become unclean, not just physically, but her clothing would become unclean. So every time she hemorrhaged blood and it got on her clothes, her clothes had to be not only washed, but her clothes could not be put back on for seven days. But not only was it her clothes, if she sat on a piece of furniture and that piece of furniture, the blood of her hemorrhaging was upon that furniture, that furniture became unclean for a certain period of time. But not only was it furniture, it was also people. If somehow that woman touched someone, then that individual became unclean for seven days. Had to stop what they were doing and had to go down to the priest and stay in quarantine and and on and on and on. And we know a little bit about the last couple of years has taught us a little bit about the inconvenience of being quarantined. But not only did this have this effect upon this woman, but can you imagine with me how shunned that she was? I mean, after all, who's got seven days to be quarantined? Who's got seven days that doesn't matter if the crops are about to come in? It doesn't matter if you've got business transaction. It doesn't matter if you're about to go on a cruise around the Sea of Galilee. It doesn't matter if you touch this woman. you were unclean for seven or seven days. But not only this, we don't know the age of the woman. We don't know her age. We just know that it was 12 years that she suffered from hemorrhaging. But don't you know that this woman had dreams of one day being married? Maybe she got maybe she began to hemorrhage when she was a teenager. which meant her best friends couldn't hang out with her and she was shunned because once again, who's got seven days to do nothing but quarantine? Maybe she was a young woman that had dreams one day of that boy getting down on one knee and asking, "Will you marry me?" Maybe she had dreams one day, as every little girl does, of having her own baby and raising her own baby. She had dreams of her life that was all put before her, but yet when she began to hemorrhage, she began to hemorrhage blood. All of her dreams were shattered. She didn't just hemorrhage blood for a few months. She didn't just hemorrhage blood for a year. The Bible says, can you imagine that? 12 long years this woman was unclean. 12 long years people shuffled to get on the other side of the street. 12 long years she was never asked over to anybody's house. 12 long years no boy would not even come nigh to her, much less get down on one knee. 12 long years of nothing to look forward to but being being shunned. Well, the Bible says that she spent all that she had on many physicians. There were so-called cures in that day. There were so-called doctors that said, "We have the cure for hemorrhaging." And I did a little research and please pardon me on the pronunciation of these names. They're they are simply spices and roots of trees. But according to medical history in the time of Jesus, if a woman was hemorrhaging with blood, she would take a certain syrup from trees in Alexandria along with amalgam and culcus and these are just spices. And they would put them together. They would crush them together. They would pour them in wine and they would give them to the woman that had the issue of blood. I'm reading from the medical journal journal. But if this failed, they would take Persian onions, nine Persian onions, boil them in wine, and give it to the woman, and say, "Arise from thy hemorrhage." Now, I don't know about you, but that don't sound very tasty. Nine onions and wine. But then the medical journal says, "But if this fails, set her in a place where two streets cross, and let her hold a cup of wine in her hand, and let someone come behind and startle her, frighten her, and say, "Arise from thy hemorrhaging." But if this, do no good. Take a handful of spices and a handful of other spices and a handful of another spice. I just can't pronounce the the the spices. Let these be boiled and given her to drink and say, "Arise from thy hemorrhaging." But if this fail is the last one, this was her last, pardon the pun. This was her la last ditch effort. It said, "Dig seven ditches and burn in them seven cutings of vines that are not yet four years old. Let her take the cup of wine of of wine and let her be led from trench to trench and at each trench let them say, "This shall be removed." And it ends there. Evidently, if all the onions and the wine and the spices and the wine and the ditches and the wine didn't work, they just simply said, "We're sorry, you can't be cured." But not only did they say, "We're sorry you can't be cured." She had spent all she had and was nothing bettered, but rather rather grew worse. All the cures that were being offered to her didn't make her one bit better. It made her worse. But the scripture simply says in Mark 5 and 27, when she heard of Jesus, and I want you to pay real close attention to this. When she heard of Jesus, what did she hear? Well, she heard about all the miracles. She heard about how he turned the water into wine. Pastor Webster. She heard how Jesus opened the eyes of the blind. She heard how Jesus walked on water. She heard all the miracles, how he cast out demons. She heard all the miracles that Jesus did. She heard about his power. Would everybody say power? Do you know I really doubt today that any of us would have to be convinced that we serve a powerful God? I don't think any of us today we have to have a message that God is a miracle worker. We can just say the statement and we ought to get some amens in the house. God is a miracle worker. He's a miracle worker. He's a He's a powerful God. He's a creator. He's a powerful God. I doubt very seriously that you have to be cons convinced that he is a powerful God. But I'll tell you where we need some work. That he is a personal God. That's where we get in trouble. We have no doubt believing he can answer prayer. We just stumble over our faith when we believe that God can answer our prayer. Now, I'm going tell you today, I admire this woman's faith. What'd she say? She said, "If I can just touch the hem of his garment." Are you with me? Look at this faith. If I can just touch the hem of his garment, I shall be healed." Can I tell you that I admire her faith, but I marvel at her ignorance. She has faith that there is a God that can heal. But the very fact that we have this next word in chapter number in chapter number five of Mark in chapter number five of Mark and verse 27. I've looked over I I just I I've never just had the Holy Ghost light this verse up. And when she heard of Jesus, everybody say power came in the press behind came in the press behind. I mean, if you need healing, why don't you come face to face with the healer? If you need healing, why don't you if you're if you're able enough to come in the press and touch him from behind him, then you're strong enough to come in front and face him face to face. But you see this woman, I believe this with all my heart, she has only heard about the power of God, but not the personality of God. You see the personality of God. When you want to know what God is like, God is love. When you want to know what God is like, God, his mercy endureth forever. When you know what what God is like, he is he is a God of law. Oh, yes, he is. He's a God of judgment. Yes, he is. He's a God of consequences. Oh, yes, he is. But can I tell you, the consequences of judgment are God's last thing that he pulls out of his bag. He works with us with mercy and he works with us with grace. And I want to stand flatfooted and tell everyone in this room today, God hasn't given up on any of us in this room. Don't listen to the voices of doubt. Don't listen to the voices, well, you've tried God and tried God and God's disappointed at you. Do you know God remembers that we're but dust? God knows how frail that we are. Came behind him. This is just not this is just not in. Do you know this event is recorded three times? It's recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And all three times the word in Matthew came behind him. Luke came behind him. Mark where we're using came behind him and touched his garment. He touched she touched his garment. She came behind him. She had no problem believing in the power of God. She just didn't understand that he is a God that is a personal God. He is a God that cares about you. He is a God that is concerned about you. Some of you are here today needing the power of God to touch your life. And oh yes, he will. But I want you to know, don't anybody come from behind today because he's a God that wants to meet you face to face as a man. Let's go on in the story. She heard of Jesus came in the press behind touched his garment for she said if I may touch but his clothes I shall be whole. I just all I've got to do is touch the power of God. There's a lot of people. Oh, if I can just get a touch of God this morning. If the choir Oh, I got a touch of God during the choir. Great. Great. I'm glad you did today. But do you know what's going to keep you going this afternoon is not the goosebump that you got with the choir, but the fact that you know that he's not a four-leaf clover that you say, "He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not. I had a thought I shouldn't have. He doesn't love me. I've done something I shouldn't have do. He doesn't love me." He may be displeased with you, but don't you ever doubt that he loves you. All of us as parents today, all of us as parents today have had our children displeas us, but not one time did we ever not love them because of what they And if our love does that, church, come on. How much more does our heavenly father today? I'm glad you got a touch at the choir. But at 2:30 this afternoon, I want you to know that God loves you and that he cares about you and that he is concerned. Now, watch this with me. Please watch this with me. She touched him in verse 29. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. She got what she came for. She got what she came for. But I got to tell you something. There's two parties here today. There's us and God. She got what she came for. But God didn't get what he came for because he came not just to heal us and deliver us and make sure the mail runs with the check. She He came not just to make sure we live happily ever after in our little house on the prairie. He came to give us eternal life. He came to give us purpose in life. And there's no greater purpose in life that you re realize than when you're born again of the water and the spirit. You become a new creature in Jesus Christ. But not only do you become a new creature, you have a new purpose in life. And that's to share him with as many people as you can share him with. And you find this tremendous purpose in life. Can you give him a hand of praise right now? This tremendous purpose. She got what she came for, healing. But Jesus didn't get what he came for, salvation. Look at verse 30. And Jesus immediately knowing in himself that virtue, power had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, "Who touched my clothes? Who touched my clothes?" His disciples said unto him, "Thou seeest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touch me?" And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. She's hiding. She's hiding. What kind of a God are you serving today? What kind of a God once she got her healing? Why didn't she stand there and begin to say, "Thank you, Jesus. I praise you, Lord. I magnify you for your goodness." because she had only been told about a god of power, not a god of compassion. She had only been told, brother P, that he was a God that could walk on water, but he's also a God that can hold little babies in his arms and bless them. She had been told that he's a God that can raise a man from the dead, but she hadn't been told he's a man that can take a woman caught in the act of adultery and before it's all over with, he has her cleared. He has her cleaned from her sin and cleared from her charges to be put to death. Can I tell you today I think a lot of us fall in this same category. We know God is powerful but we live in fear that God is going to take back things that he has given us in our life. I got news for you today. He is not that kind of a savior. He will correct you but he will not he will not hurt you. You looking about who touched me? Can you see the woman? Well, here's the scripture. Verse 33. But the woman fearing, what's she fearing? And trembling, so much fear, she's shaking. What's she fearful of? He might take it back. What's she fearful of? I may not have had any right to touch him. Because after all, have I upset his day because every person I touch has to be has to be unclean for seven days. Is he going to take it? Is he going to take it back? You know something? I just want to preach to you from the bottom of my heart today. We don't have to have fear as long as our hand is in his hand. Don't you worry about something pulling you back down to what God has brought you out. He's not going to recant or re or go back on anything he's ever given to you and I. He is a great God. But she was shaking and trembling. She was shaking and trembling, knowing what was done in her. Came and fell down before him. Now you're in the right position. You're in the right position now. She came down and fell before him and told him all the truth. What did she do? She told him about her life. I've been hemorrhaging for 12 long years. I've had all this I've been shunned. I' I've had all this stuff happen to me. I'm unclean by Leviticus. She told him all of her life. That sounds like repentance to me. That sounds like repentance to me. You see, God just doesn't want to touch you and bring you out of your dilemma by his power. But God wants to change your life through repentance. Repentance is a first start in a new life. When you begin to change your mind about your life and you begin to confess and you begin to see, hey, for 12 years I tried all these cures and I got nothing better but just one touch from you, Jesus, and my hemorrhaging has stopped. Can I tell you that repentance is the greatest opportunity that God has ever given to man, the ability to be able to change your mind. My mind got me into sin. My mind told me the answers were in the world, in the things of the world. But praise be to God, someone brought me the gospel good news of Jesus Christ. And in the good news of Jesus Christ is a little clause that says you repent. Change your mind. Repent. Change the way you view things. Change the way you view the things of the world that bring death and misery and heartache and all of that. and put your mind upon Jesus Christ. He's the all together lovely one. He's the mener of your broken heart. He's the one that can make all things new. And I believe he deserves a hand of praise right now. He deserves a hand of praise. She went from behind him. She went from behind him to in front of him and she repented. And then when she repents, she told him all the truth. She told him all the truth. Listen to verse 34. And Jesus said unto her, "Daughter, daughter." Guess what we see here? Adoption. Adoption. He calls her daughter. That's adoption. God adopts us into his family. Please don't count yourself out in life because you wish you had been born to this family or that family or you wish you had been born in a different family. A and the family I was born in is dysfunctional. Pastor, my family put the funk in dysfunction. You got to understand we my my we we're all messed up. We we hate each other. We do all this crazy stuff. We're all just messed up. I really don't even want you to meet my family. Well, I do want to meet your family because I preach a gospel that has adoption inside of it. And God can take you from that family that's dysfunctional. And God can put you into the family of the house of God. Hey, that's why we call each other brother and sister because we're all part of God's great big family today. Doesn't matter. Daughter. Daughter. Daughter. That's adoption. Daughter. But he's not through yet. Daughter. Thy faith hath made thee whole. That's healing. He first adopted her spiritually, and then he gave the clean bill of health of healing. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace. That's what I'm going to walk in. I'm going to walk in the peace of God. I've got the peace of God. Can I tell you something? We think about peace. You say, "What's the first word you think of when you think about peace?" You think war. Well, that's that's not correct. The first word you ought to think of when you think about peace is Jesus. That ought to be the first word when somebody says peace, you think war. You ought to think Jesus because peace is not the absence of war. Oh, if we can just get war shut down, we can have peace. No, peace is not the absence of war, but peace is the presence of Jesus Christ. And it doesn't matter. I can be in a ship, in a storm about to go down, but if Jesus is on board with me, I have peace. I have this peace. It was in Johnny James older years. You know, the older you get, heaven becomes sweeter. Heaven becomes more a reality. The older you get, you get a lot of friends that have already went over on the other side. So, death becomes something that maybe you don't look forward to, but you accept more about it. This is just the transition from this life to the next life. Johnny James was on a plane and a commercial plane and it got in a terrible storm. Brother James told that the storm was so bad that the water from the restrooms and the plane had run down the aisles. People were streaming. The plane had got caught in a storm. He said there was a woman sitting beside him and the woman was frantically praying. And after a while, the woman asked Reverend James said, "You're not praying. Could you pray?" He said, "All is well." He said, "All is well." He said, "I win. I win either way." She said, "What do you mean you win either way?" He said, "Well, if this plane makes it to Philadelphia, I get to preach tonight." And said, "If this plane crashes, I'm in heaven tonight." And he said, "I'm I'm a winner either way." You know, that is a truth. That's just not a soft story to tell you today, but that's the truth. I can't tell you that everything's going to be just all right in your life, but I can tell you this. Jesus will go with you. How do you know that, preacher? Because he said in his word, not my word, but his word. Man's word can falter and fail. Man can say something, he can't back it up. But when God in flesh says something, it is eternally written in the heavens. He said, "I will never leave you nor ever forsake you. I am with you always, even to the end of the world." He's not only with us when I get my miracle, but he's with us when the miracle doesn't come. He's not only with me when the shout comes. He's with me when the long days come of dry times and I have to keep on going. I tell you what keeps me going is to know that he's with me. Peace. I'm going to adopt you. I'm going to pronounce you clean. I'm going to give you my presence. And then this last one. and behold of thy plague. Wait a minute. He's already said that, did he not? Did he not already say thy faith have made thee whole? What do you mean behold from thy plague? Why the two times here? And behold of thy plague is restoring what the 12 years of hemorrhaging took away from you. You see, we serve a God of restoration. You're not just going to start back over again. So, I'm I've been going through something for many years. And and brother Carpenter, I love God. I I serve God. I praise God. I live for God. But I've been going through something. I've lost things in my business. I've lost things in my family. I've lost things around me. Now, now when God brings me out, I'm going to start all over again. Oh, no. No, you're not. Because God is going to restore to you the 12 years that hemorrhaging took away from you. You see, you don't only need to embrace a god. If she had only known a god from coming behind him, if all she could walk away is join somebody and say, "He walks on water. He opens deaf ears. He opens the blinded eyes. He causes the crippled to walk. He raises the dead. Oh, what a powerful group." And that's all you ever get. But now she walks away with not only a God of power, but a God of compassion. He adopted me. The man listen. people that he healed may not have been called sons and daughters, but she could go around and say, "He not only stopped the hemorrhaging, he called me daughter. He pronounced me clean. He said I would have peace with me. But not only that, I'm looking for the 12 years of restoration to come back to my life. I'm looking for the 12 years." Oh yes, he's going to do it. I wish somebody that's been through something this morning would give God an affirmation of an amen that God is going to give us back the years. It's called restoration. It's called restoration. Some say that oh co I heard it during CO. I heard it during CO. The doubters and the false prophets were saying churches will never be what they were precoid. You just got to understand CO has dealt the death blow to church attendance. And you heard these voices whizzing around that churches are going to be different in all of this. But I'm glad to report from the senior pastor and I'll give you the state of the union address today. We weathered CO. We went through COVID. Our attendance did plummet at time. But I stand here today in 2023 in the month of February. I stand here today to tell you on record we're having more baptisms. On record, we're having larger crowds. On record, are you ready? on record. We're sending more to mission fields than we've ever sent before in our life. He is a God. Come on. He is a God of restoration. He is a God of restoration. I stand here. I stand here and offer an apology. Who would have ever thought 2020 this would be said? I stand here and offer an apology. You may be seated. To all of you that got here to church and could not find a parking spot, I stand here in apology and tell you that we're going to try to put some more parking in. You see, when God puts us through a trial, at the end of the trial, he not only brings us out, he goes back to the trial and he says, "I'm going to restore these years. You spent a lot of money on doctors that didn't give you a cure. I'm going to restore the years. Oh my. Oh my. Well, that's a good little sermon, Brother Carpenter, but you would you please back it up with scripture? I thought you would never ask me that. Joel chapter 2 and verse 25. Joel chapter 2 and verse number 25. Listen to God speaking to Israel that has come through a famine. I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten and the cankerworm and the caterpillar and the plumber worm. All of these insects that invaded the land of Israel and destroyed their crops. All these insects that brought disaster across the foliage of their country. God said, "Now I'm bringing you out. But I'm not only going to bring you out that tree that that pomegranate worm ate up all the fruit. I'm going to cause that tree. It didn't give you fruit for four years. I'm going to put eight years of fruit on that one tree. I'm going to double. You're going to walk out. You used to get a bushel out of this tree, but you're going to walk out one day and eight bushels are going to fall out of that tree because God said, "I'm going to restore." Come on, give him praise. Shatter dreams. I don't have Bible to prove it. I don't have Bible to prove it. And you don't have Bible to disprove it. And I'm the one up here, so I get to talk. I do believe she did get married. I do believe that she did have a boy drop to one knee and say, "Will you marry me?" I do believe that she got pregnant and had a baby. I do believe that she carried a little baby all around. And I believe that she told all of her family, "You're a miracle baby. I suffered from hemorrhaging for 12 years and I shouldn't have been able to have a baby, but because of what Jesus did for me." And isn't that the greatest thing? Don't just tie your miracle to FFC Marville. Tie your miracle to Jesus Christ. It's not what FAC can do for you. It's what J Esu S can do for you. Oh yes. Shattered dreams. Shattered dreams. Just very closely. Just very very quickly. Very quickly. There was a young man by the name of Mphibicheth. And I hope I just say it one time. I practice it and I didn't get anything on my tie when I said it either. Mphibicheth. There's a young man. He was Jonathan's son by the name of Mo Mphibicheth. Do you know what his name means? Dispeller. Dispeller of shame. That's what his name means. Dispeller of shame. Jonathan. This is Jonathan's boy. Jonathan is Saul's son. Jonathan Jonathan his son um Jonathan was fighting a war with his father Saul. Saul had turned his back on God but Jonathan stayed with his father. Um let me see how to present this story to you for time sake. Jonathan stayed with his father. Although his father was far from God, Jonathan fought the battles. In one of the battles that Jonathan and Saul were fighting, both Jonathan and Saul lost their lives. Not only Jonathan and Saul, all of Saul's sons were killed in this battle. The culture of that day was when one king was was killed, another king took over. But not only did that other king take over, that king would not rest until he would hunt down all of the descendants of the defeated king. So if your grandfather was king of Israel and your grandfather had been killed, you had to go into hiding because the next king would seek you out because he's he viewed you as a as a threat. So in 2 Samuel 4 and4 Jonathan Saul are killed and Jonathan Saul's son had a son which was lame on his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezrael. His nurse took him up and fled. And it came to pass as she made haste to flee that he fell and became lame and his name was Mphibichef. It's a very sad thing here. That nurse protecting that five-year-old son, that five-year-old Mphibichef, that nurse hears words. Jonathan and Saul are dead. She begins to grab things out of the counters and pack a bag. And she reaches down and she swoops up this 5-year-old child. And as she begins to run frantically to get away, she slips. She falls. The five-year-old flies out of her hands, hits probably somewhere on his neck area, renders him paralyzed. Paralyzed. Shattered dreams. Shattered dreams. Every little boy wants to be like his daddy. Wants to be like his daddy. You know why them little Hammond boys play ball? If it wasn't for George, I'd really brag on him. But their daddy plays ball. I promise you they didn't get that ball playing from their mama. That carpenter jean doesn't have a lot of that. Nolan asked me one time in school. Did I ever play sports? I said, "I played on the football team." He said, "Oh, yeah." I said, "What? What would you play?" I said, "Tail back." "You played tailback, Dad?" I said, "Yeah." Every time I got off the bench, the coach told me, "Get my tail back." Scripture tells us that Jonathan was noted for one thing. He was noted for his fast running. They they said the eulogy at his funeral, the eulogy at Jonathan's funeral was he was swifter than an eagle. He was fast on his feet. Don't you know that when Jonathan played with his little boy Mphibicheth? Don't you know that that little boy said, "Daddy, I want to run like you. Daddy, I want to Daddy. Daddy, I I I want I want to act. Daddy, I want to act like you. Daddy, I I I want to be like you, Daddy. I want to act like you." But somebody else's mistake renders him paralyzed. You know, it's interesting today. It's one thing to go through life with things that you've caused, but it's a different thing to go through life with what someone else caused on your life. A nurse dropped me. I don't know how old he was when the conversation was held. What happened to me? What happened to me? I don't know how old it was. is it's not recorded. What happened to me? Your nurse, word came that your dad, your your grandfather were killed in battle. Your nurse reached down and grabbed you and she slipped and she fell and you hit your neck. You're paralyzed. You know, there's a different level of bitterness that you have to overcome when it's your fault. And there's a whole different level you have to overcome when it's somebody else's fault. But can I tell you today, whether your issue is brought on by you or brought on by somebody else, I want you to come face to face with a God that it doesn't matter. You see, Jonathan and David had become quite close friends. One day, Jonathan said to David, he said, "I want to make a covenant with you. I want to make a covenant with you, David. I want to make a covenant that you'll protect my family. I don't believe Jonathan knew what was coming. I want to make a covenant that you will be with my family and you will be over my family." David David made a covenant with Jonathan that he would watch out over his family. Years would go by, Jonathan's killed. Years would go by, Mphibichef is crippled by a fall and lives in a town called Loivar. We don't even even really know. Bible scholars, I've looked this out, Bible scholars don't even really know if the place Loabar even exists. Uh and the reason the name loaded bar simply means a pastorless area. It's in other words it's it's it's a place that nothing grows. It's a place that nothing grows. Some Bible scholars say that because um Mphibicheth was so fearful for his life that no one knew really where he lived. He lived in no man's land. He lived in a land where if you wanted to disappear, that's where you live. Years later, Saul is dead. Jonathan's dead. David's on the throne. And one day, out of nowhere, David begins to think about that covenant. He begins to think about when he said to Jonathan, "I'll look out over your family." And so David has a royal decree. Can anybody bring me the names of Saul and Jonathan's descendants? Does anybody know the next of kin to Jonathan? And finally a man came forward and he said, I know where Jonathan's son lives. I know where his son Mphibicheth lives. And the Bible says that David sent and fetched him. He fetched him. Now, can I tell you something? Can I tell you something? When a king fetches you, you know you have been fetched. And I'm sorry. When a king sends that entourage after you, it's chariot after chariot after chariot. All of a sudden, this crippled Mphibicheth is ushered from no man's land. He's ushered from no man's land. But you got to remember something now. He doesn't know to what he's been found out. He doesn't know the what he's about to face an execution. So when he comes and I and I I just for time sake because the time is getting away from me. When he comes when he comes the Bible says he fell on his face. I I I How far does a crippled man fall to go to his face? He falls on his face and this is what he says. I am a dead dog. I am a dead dog. Even the wise man Solomon wrote and said, "A living dog is better than a dead lion." He said, "I'm not even a living dog. I am a dead dog." But what he doesn't understand, there is a covenant that your father made with the king. And this isn't about executing you. It's about elevating you because I'm about to give orders. Zeba, Zeba, go find all the property that Jonathan owned. Go find all the property that Saul owned. Take the farms back. Man them. Farm them. They belong to Mphibichef. And then he said, "But wait a minute. You live in no man's land, Loabar. You're not going to go back to the farm. That's going just going to be the extra that's going to be for your children. But you're going to eat bread continually at my table in Jerusalem. And you will be as one of the king's sons. There's the adoption again. And there's the restoration again because there is a covenant. Can I tell somebody today, don't view yourself as a dead dog. Don't view yourself as hopeless. Don't view yourself, oh, you don't know how old I am. I'm too old to make a change. You're never too old to make a change. As long as there's breath in your body, lady, there's hope in your soul. There's been a covenant made. There's been a covenant that God made with humanity. God made a covenant and he said, "I died for you. I shed my blood for you. I sent my spirit for you and all you've got to be." Can you imagine going from living in Loar to sitting down at the king's table? Sitting down at the king's table. And I'm not the originator of this. I'm not the originator of this. But when you sat down at the king's table, your flaws are covered by his tablecloth. From waist up, Mphibicheth looked like anybody else. But underneath mercy and grace was a flaw that someone had put on him. Can I tell you today, let's all come and eat at the master's table. Let's put our flaws underneath the mercy of God, underneath the grace of God, and underneath the love of God. I could tell you today of the sinful woman that came in the house and stood behind Jesus. I could tell you today of the prodical son. You know the name prodal what it means? It means waster. It means waster. But don't stop there. Prodal not only means waster, but it also means generous. Do you know that God blew the mind of that waster when he came back? Unto him who is able, unto him who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that you could think and ask. Oh, you have meditated on your little life and you've got your little life all mapped out and I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that and I'm going to make this kind of money and I'm going to straighten this out. I'm going to do this over here. Do you know that God is going to blow your mind, David? God is going to blow your mind. We have such low ceiling expectation. What are you doing, young man? I'm going back to my father's house. What are you doing, young man? I'm going to tell my father I sin. What are you doing, young man? I'm going to fill out an application and see if my father would hire me as a servant. I'm no worthy to be I'm not worthy to be a son. I'm going to fill out an application and see if I can get behind a mule and plow. I'm going to fill out an application to see if I can clean houses for father. I'm going to become a servant. I'm going to become a servant. But Mr. Prodal, God is going to blow your mind, David. God is going to blow your mind because you don't even make it to the front gate because the father has already seen you a far off. And the father takes off running and he comes running to you. And here's all you get out of your mouth. and it's all you should get out of your mouth. Father, I have sinned and I'm no more worthy to be called your son. He never got any other words out of his mouth because the father begins to interrupt him. He will never take a son to a servant level, but he will take a servant of sin to a son level. He never let him get that out of his mouth. He He said, "Father, I have sinned." That's all God's looking for us today. All God's looking for us is to own up to our mess, own up to our bad decisions, own up to all of this, and that's the end of it. Then he begins to say, "Somebody bring the robe. Somebody bring the ring. Somebody bring the shoes. Somebody kill the fatted calf. My son that was dead is alive. Somebody bring all of these." Come on, stand with me this morning. If you think I'm happy, you don't need a gift of the spirit to know that shoes represent dignity. Dignity. A ring A ring represented authority. A robe represented identity. Identity. So today I preach with all my heart to tell you that God can put back together your shattered dreams. God can put back together your shattered dreams. Would you bow your heads with me all over this room right now? Would you bow your heads? Saints of God, as I open this altar up right now, would you begin to pray all over this auditorium? As I open this altar up right now to people who have shattered dreams. As I open this altar up to hurt. As I open this altar up to people, God that are in a in a vortex. Never can get your footing right in life. I open this altar up to you right now. Come running. I open this altar up to you right now. Come running right now. If you're in this room with me right now and you want God to put your shattered dreams back together, your shattered dreams of having peace, your shattered dreams of your family being whole again. Your shattered dreams. Your shattered dreams. Thank you, David. Your shattered dreams. God's going to do it, sir. God's going to do it. Your shattered dreams right now. Would you come right now? Church family, help me pray. Come on, church family, help me pray right now. Oh, I I I want to I want to reach for a person who's got shattered dreams today. I want to reach for a person that you really don't know when's the last time you laughed. You really don't know when's the last time you really enjoyed life. You You're just enduring life. I I want to reach for you this morning. I want to reach for you this morning. Come on, church family. Let's all gather up around this altar right now. Come on. Shattered dreams can be put back together. Those of you that are watching by way of the internet right now, whoever you may be, I believe it God spoke to my heart about there would be people watching online today with shattered dreams. Begin to call out upon the name of the one that can put the pieces of your shattered life back together. begin to call out on the name of Jesus, the one that can go back to the future, go back to the past, and he is a God of restoration. He's a God of restoration. Go ahead, make your couch your altar. Make your chair your altar today. Go ahead, lift your hands up there online. Go ahead, lift your hands up. Begin to call out upon the name of the Lord. God can put your family back together, sir. God can put your life back together. Ma'am, sir, I know that you've been having you've been having struggles with a past life. There are things ingrained in your life that you have not yet truly broken free from. But in the name of Jesus, begin to call on him today. Call on him in worship this morning. Call on him in praise this morning. Come on, easily.