The Fragrance of Prayer l Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter

if you have your Bibles and turn with me to the Book of Exodus chapter number 30 we'll begin reading at verse number one Exodus chapter 30 and verse number one I want to thank God for brother Timothy Jackson that was baptized this morning brother Timothy God bless you got baptized in Jesus name today come on would you welcome him to the family right now he took on the family name today and I'm thankful I'm so thankful for that my brother I'm also thankful for the precious lady sister that was watching online today and uh she was refilled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost while watching online today come on give the Lord a hand for that several weeks ago several weeks ago we met and we talked about the month of August the month of August now we can't get spoiled okay we cannot get spoiled we had Strong Tower Camp that's for us we had uh Kids Quest Camp that's for us we had so many main functions those are for us and we prayed about it and we felt the leading of the Lord but in the month month of August everybody say August August in the month of August every Sunday morning would you say that with me every Sunday morning the message that you will hear is going to be a message of Hope to the Hopeless it's a message to reach the sinner it's a message to reach the prodal it's a message to reach the lost now folks if you're one of these that's got to come on Sunday morning get a word well come on you're going to get a word you're going to find out it's not about you all right so every Sunday morning every Sunday morning the month of August we got permission from the Lord I would not commit myself to a month unless I went before the Lord I said Lord I want we we've talked about this God we discussed this now God and I felt in my heart that we take every Sunday morning every Sunday morning we're going to preach a message to the Hopeless we're going to preach a message to people that have no hope so I want you to invite your co-workers on your job I want you to get your next door neighbors here I want you to get people here I want you to call we'll fill this place up with people that need to hear a message of Hope do you know anybody that needs that needs a message of hope I do and I'm going to be doing my best to get them here the book of Exodus chapter 30 verse number one and thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon of shyam wood shalt thou make it a cubit shall be the length thereof and a cubit the breadth thereof Four Square shall it be and two cubits shall be the height thereof the horns thereof shall be of the same and thou shalt overlay it with pure gold the top thereof and the sides thereof round about and the horns thereof and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about and two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it and by the two corners thereof upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it Thou shalt and they shalt be for places for the staves to Bear it with all and thou shalt make the staves of item wood overlay them with gold Thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the Ark of the testimony before the mercy seat that is over the testimony where I will meet with thee and Aaron shall burn their own sweet incense every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn incense upon it and when Aaron lith the lamps at even he shall burn incense upon it a perpet ual incense before the Lord throughout your Generations you shall offer no strange incense thereon nor burnt sacrifice nor meat offering neither shall you pour drink offering thereon for a few moments tonight in preparation for the month of August I want to minister on the fragrance the fragrance of Prayer the fragrance of prayer pray with me tonight Lord Jesus I humbly come before you tonight knowing that in and of myself I do not have the ability Lord to lead this church I know God that I must have the Holy Ghost anointing when I stand before your people Lord I know that I'm a mortal man and I'm I'm so limited God in so many different ways but father if you'll come down tonight and touch the tip of my tongue if will touch my heart and my mind God I could be used by your spirit Lord and we could see our lives change through the fragrance of prayer Lord use the next four few moments God use it for your glory use it for the advancement of the Kingdom Lord May there be many more souls like our dear brother to come and be baptized Lord May there be many more women like the dear sister that was refilled God lord May the Hopeless find Hope in this house in Jesus mighty name we pray amen and amen you may be seated tonight the fragrance the fragrance of prayer well it sounds like I'm about to preach up a storm doesn't it I was preaching for brother Osburn many years ago brother osbor has a train track that runs right behind the church or he did at the time it couldn't have been planned more perfectly it could have been planned more perfectly I was preaching on the trumpet sounding and when I got to that point about the trumpet could sound at any time thank God for the 908 train that came through because it really stirred some folks up to get to the altar the fragrance of prayer the fragrance of prayer me talk to you about fragrance for a few moments it's hard to believe this but in 20 23 multi-outlet sales of home air fresheners in the United States amounted to about $2.8 billion doar in sales home fragrances that was purchased in the United States last year totaled 2.8 billion billion that's a b billion dollars worth fragrance is a is a big business now fragrance is a it's a big business now as a matter of fact I stumbled upon an article that says that Disney Disney has been experimenting with scent based technology to enhance the immersive experience in their theme parks they refer to it as scent scent Delivery Systems these machines are designed to release specific Aromas that correspond with a theming and atmosphere of different lands and attractions the goal is to engage multiple senses Beyond just Sight and Sound to create a more immersive and memorable guest experience the article says for example the smell of freshly baked cookies might be dispersed in a Main Street USA setting so when you walked down Main Street at Disney and you smelled cookies and you tried to find out what Cookie Shop it was coming from it wasn't there's a machine on the building that is blowing the aroma of cookies down onto the street or how about the aroma of saltwater and sunscreen in a beach theme area in other words they take you to Disney where it's a beach scene you might start smelling you might start smelling sunstream and salt water and think man we're really here the Haunted Mansion you'll notice and I have noticed this The Haunted Mansion smells a little musty when you walk in it it's because they've got a machine there that's putting that odor into the room you smell the gunpowder of the Pirates of the Caribbean Caribbean how you want to say it they mostly they most certainly have odor generators in every corner of the park Disney has patented various scent delivery Technologies including including systems that can release targeted cents and demand or dispersed on demand or disperse multiple cents simultaneously they have been testing and implementing the scent systems in recent Park expansions and attraction updates with the aim of further blurring the line here's the article of further blurring the line between reality and the themes environment and they've done it all they've done it all with fragrance they've done it all with a fragrance well you know I'm not here to talk to you about a theme park tonight but I am here to tell you that in the word of God I find that when God was giving instructions for the all most important Tabernacle in the Old Testament oh that Tabernacle that's filled with types and shadows of New Testament salvation oh that Tabernacle that was so important that almighty God said it's there in the Tabernacle it's there that I will dwell with you it's there that my presence it's there that my presence will be and as God begin to give directions for how the Tabernacle should be built and the fence of the Tabernacle and the tent Stakes of the Tabernacle and the pieces of furniture from the altar to the labor to the Candlestick to the Ark of the Covenant to The Mercy Seat and it goes on and on and on there was one piece of furniture and let me add it was the smallest piece of furniture out of all the pieces of furniture in the Tabernacle out of all the pieces of furniture in the Tabernacle the altar of incense was the smallest of them all was the smallest of them all not the altar of burnt SA sacrifices but the altar of incense and as I read and I begin to study this I made several points as I studied the altar of incense and here we go number one it is the smallest of all the pieces of furniture in the Tabernacle and that I discovered how small things it seems like that God God always has wanted to use Small Things seems like God has always wanted to look for small things that he can work with small things that he can work through was Israel's first king listen to Israel's first king in 1st Samuel 9 and 21 this is Israel's first King Saul when he was told that he was going to be the king of Israel here's what he said in 1st Samuel 9:21 and Saul answered and said am not I a benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel and my family the least of all the families of The Tribe of Benjamin wherefore then speakest thou so to me oh when God got ready to choose a king he CH chose a man who may have been large in stature but he was small in his opinion of himself might have been a head and shoulders taller than anybody but he was small in his opinion of himself he didn't have an overly exalted opinion of himself and when the prophet Samuel said you're the king of Israel all that could come out of his mouth was I'm from the smallest family I'm from the I'm from the least family but isn't that the reason God would choose him is because of his attitude can I tell you tonight God doesn't choose us because of our talent he chooses us because of our attitude you don't have to have talent for God to use you God can give you Talent later but God cannot give you character that's something you have to develop on your own God will not give you humility that's something that you that is something that must be developed on your own any Wonder Saul's life ends in such a tragic way Saul's life ends in such a way church that wasn't the will of God he his life ends in an ugly way he falls on his own sword but before he did that in 1 Samuel 15 and 17 he's been he's he's let pride get in his heart he's got an overly exalted opinion of himself and listen to the same man of God in first 1 Samuel 15:1 17 and Samuel said said to Saul when thou was little in thine own sight was thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel and the Lord Anointed The King over Israel in other words Saul's life was Fallen apart and the man of God came back to him and told him the problem with his life he said when you were little in your own sight when you were small in your own opinion didn't God choose you and didn't God anoint you because you had the attitude that you were small and you had the attitude that you were insignificant can I tell you tonight church that God uses small things he uses small things in a powerful way would it not be in comparison could we not all see it clearly a Shepherd boy a Shepherd lad a stripping a young man named David in comparison with the Giant Goliath could we not all agree with that it should have been Goliath that won the battle but Goliath didn't win the battle why God was able to use a small boy by the name of David God uses Small Things Not only that we see a multitude of over 25,000 people eating sitting on the grounds in Judea eating there where did the food come come from to feed 25,000 people in the desert I'll tell you where it came from do you see that little boy over there do you see that young lad over there that young lad had a sack lunch that his mama packed him that's where it came from church I want you to see tonight God uses small things God uses small things it's the smallest piece of furniture in the Tabernacle the altar of incense the smallest piece in the Tabernacle the second thing I want you to see tonight is just common shiden wood the altar of incense was to be made with common shyam wood just common wood there was nothing special about shyam wood it's just common shyam wood can I tell you tonight that God uses common people that are on the pews of First Apostolic Church of mville God uses common men that stand up like your pastor tonight just common wood just common men but God said when you make the altar of incense which is the smallest piece I want you to make it out of shyam wood just common wood common everyday wood but then God said I want you to Overlay it with gold can I tell you tonight that when we are in the hands when small people are in the hands of a big God we walk into his hands common material common flesh but when God gets through with us he wraps Us in Gold he makes something valuable out of us he makes something out of us he hides our commonness he hides our smallness oh did we not rejoice with you brother Ericson tonight did you not sing what we're all hoping for do you know we talk about going to a city help me preach tonight we common shid would common people tonight common and in the estimation of a lot of people not very wealthy not a lot of us if any of us are in the who's who all right but God takes common people like you and I and we talk about one day we're going to walk help me say it we're going to walk on streets of common people just small people just common people just the smallest just the smallest there we're going to walk on streets of gold the third thing I'm want to bring to you about the alter of incense God said I want you to put rings on the side of it and I want you to take rings and place it on the side of this small piece of furniture and I want you to make staves that can be put through the Rings because this piece of furniture prayer is not going to stay where it's at it's going to be able to be transported it's going to be able to go from where it's at to go to other places and I begin to think about the power of prayer I begin to think about when we pray I know we're praying on the Earth but our prayers go further than the ceiling that we're in our prayers are heard further than just the sound wavs that can carry our voice out I don't know how far our voices can go but can I tell you when we pray in the name of Jesus and we believe that God hears our prayer there's a song that talks about it and says we've got a direct line to the throne room when we begin to pray although we're on Earth our prayers go where we cannot at this time go our prayers go where we can't go our prayers go where we can't go my sister my proudly pastor denied her and my brother-in-law my my our SI my sister we've got a baby brother that spent 34 and 1/2 years in a correctional center here in the state of Tennessee and do you know that we prayed and I prayed that God would send an angel to that Correctional Center and that God would keep him safe in that Correctional Center that no harm would come to him in the night when he would make his way through the correctional sinner I would say over and over again God keep your hands on Jerry God keep your protective hands on him and I want you to know that he served his time and he walked out 34 and A2 years later with his life and I thank God for that I couldn't go Babys set him our mother couldn't go Babys set him my sister couldn't go be with him but you see when you know the god that can answer prayer you can send prayer to a place that you can't go to you can send prayer that's how the fragrance of prayer well the book of 2 Chronicles 7:14 says it this way if my people which are called by my name please don't waste your potential tonight if my people which are called by my name please don't waste your Your Privilege tonight if my people which are called by my name brother Timothy this morning when you were baptized you were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and there was more than happened to you you than just a sound know you not those of you that have been baptized and put on Christ and now you wear the name of Jesus and we able to use that name please Church use that name understand that name if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray seek my face turn from their wicked way then will I hear from heaven then will I hear from heaven then will I hear from heaven Satan you are a liar God does hear my prayer flesh you are a deceiver God does hear my prayer because the Bible said If my people which are called by my name will humble themselves and pray then will I hear from Heaven you can't trust your emotions but you can trust the word of God he said If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray then will I hear from Heaven Come On Church let's get with it we can pray and God can hear us from he can hear us from Heaven God here's our prayer we can go where we can't go through the through the Avenue of prayer Psalms 20 and verse 6 now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand where does he hear him from he hears him from heaven don't be discouraged about prayer well Carpenter I've tried praying and I just don't seem to get into it that's because you're trusting your emotions and not the word of God our emotions are not the validation for whether or not God hears us or not it is the word of God and whether you got a chill bump or you're fighting to stay awake if you will pray in the name of the Lord hear me tonight God will hear you you can go where you cannot go through prayer God will hear you Psalm 66 and verse 19 but verly God hath heard me he hath attended to the voice of my prayer bless be God which hath not turned away my prayer nor his Mercy from me let's have another one Isaiah 38 and5 go say to Hezekiah thus sayth the Lord Lord the god of David thy father I have heard thy prayer I have seen thy tears behold I will add unto thee 15 years Luke 1 verse number 13 but the angel said unto him fear not Zacharias for I have heard thy prayer is heard and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son and thou shalt call his name John now here's what I want you to hang on now I personally believe that Zachariah and Elizabeth who were well stricken with age whatever that means they just weren't stricken with age they were well stricken with age I don't know how you get stricken but it don't sound good to me you know you don't just say they're older people they're stricken with age they were both stricken with age I personally believe tonight that they had prayed fervently while they had hope in their natural bodies that they would have a child but I believe tonight that as life went on and aging went on that they probably forgot about the prayer that they pray pray but years later when Zachariah is a is well stricken with age and his wife is too and all hope is gone God sends an angel down and the angel says fear not Zachariah your prayer has been heard I got news for you most of us have forgotten about prayers but God has not forgotten about our prayers most of us have forgiven have forgotten about prayers we pray but we serve a God in heaven that says I still remember those prayers it just wasn't my time but now is my time in the oh would you give him praise right now I'm talking about a God that hears us he says to Cornus he says to Cornus I'm going to tell you this brother Hammond in the month of August there are some Cornus in our city that have been praying for God to lead them they have been praying that there's more for them I believe that Cornus was a man that did everything he could do right he gave arms he obeyed everything he could do but there was something deep down in the soul of Cornus it said there's got to be more I'm not satisfied there's got to be more I'm not satisfied I'm doing everything that I can do and I believe that Cornus was saying God there's got to be more and God sent him an angel and in Acts 10:31 and the angel said Cornelius thy prayer is heard thine arms are had in remembrance in the sight of God in the month of August God is going to send somebody to the corus's of Blunt County and you're going to begin to tell them about the truth you're going to begin to tell them about the gospel you're going to begin to tell them that there's an all saving name that there's a gift called the baptism of the Holy Ghost that there's joy in the house of the Lord that there's peace in the house of the Lord and you're going to be the answer to cornelius's prayer Oh Glory to God tonight you're going to be the answer you're going to be the answer to cornelius's prayer the fourth thing I want to tell you about the altar of incense tonight the altar of incense dealt with both light and fragrance both light and incense prayer is enlightening you see the priests were told when you go in to burn incense on the altar that at the same time of the morning when you go to burn incense that you take the scissors with you you take the replenishing oil with you because it is in the morning that you trim the Wicks it's in the morning when you dress the lamps it's in the morning that you refuel it's in the morning that you cut the excess off of the Wicks that's burned through the night so it dealt with light and incense prayer deals with light and incense let's see this in Psalms 18:27 Psalms 18:27 for thou will save The Afflicted people but will bring down high looks God Will Save The Humble but God will bring down the proud the high looks for thou wil light my candle the Lord my God will Enlighten my darkness for by thee have I run through a troop and by my God have I leaped over a wall you know why we need prayer in our lives we cannot see who we truly are without prayer you cannot truly see who you are with having without having prayer in your life prayer will lighten up the soul and God can show you and God can show me things in prayer about myself and he can show you things about yourself that you never even knew they were there but if you can just get prayer and light going at the same time well let me go on let me go on 2 Samuel 22:29 for thou art my lamp oh Lord and the Lord will lighten my darkness you see when we don't really have prayer to Enlighten our soul God search my heart know my ways see if there be any wicked way found in me let the words of my mouth and let the meditations of my heart come on folks get real you see when we go to prayer when we go to prayer we got to be willing to light the light in our lives there's there there there's a light that can come on to tell you why you're being depleted of your joy there's a light that can come on that can tell you gently you you need to treat people differently there there's a light that come on that say Hey you you you need to understand there's some things going on that you you need you you need to get victory of in your life it's a light it's a light and it's the incense in the book of Ezra chapter 9 and verse 6 they had been under heavy persecution they had been under heavy bondage in the Book of Esther 9 and6 Esther in the book of uh excuse me Ezra in the book of Ezra 9 and6 Ezra and their people have been under heavy bondage and Ezra prays in chapter 9:6 and said oh my God I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee my God for our iniquities are increased over our head our trespasses is grown up into the heaven look at verse eight and now for a little space Grace hath been showed from the Lord Our God to leave us a Remnant to escape and to give us a nail in a in a in a in his holy place that our God look at this that our God May lighten our eyes and give us a little Reviving in our bondage God we can listen as a church we're we we can get so quick to condemn a world we can get so quick and I had several people want to tell me about what happened at the games over in Paris and and the Abominations of entertainment that have been done and I get it I I I I I get it you'll be hated for his name's sake I get all that but you know what I think we need to turn our eyes more inward to the church if we don't love our brothers if we have hatred and stuff like that in our heart we're no better than they are across the seas with all of their Godly ungodly Abominations that they're doing we need to take a quick look on the inside before we ever start judging anybody on the outside do you have hatred in your heart do you have bitterness in your heart do you have anybody in this room tonight or anybody that you know that you would say I can't stand them I don't want to see them if you do tonight you need to get the right fragrance going on in your life because the fragrance you got right now really stinks you need to get the right fragrance going on in your life and understand how God has forgiven you and how God has wash you and if you can begin to look at people Through The Eyes come on give him praise right now now gossiping and backbiting and carrying tails and Digging Up Bones of people that have a past we all have a past somebody told me one time they said that guy's got bones in his closet bones don't belong in a closet bones belong in a graveyard we're not we're not interested in Digging Up Bones tonight we're interested in baptizing people in Jesus name when we get them baptized in jesus' name that's it for me friend it's under the blood of Jesus Christ they are a new creature I'm ready to get after and see what God will make out of them well you don't know this happened after he was baptized if they ask God to forgive them and they repent of their sin and they put it under the blood you better not crack The Mercy Seat up and try to look in because come on tonight come on tonight there's people in this church that have got mistakes that are 40 years old and they don't need anybody opening it up and making it brand new news around the church that don't help anybody to live for God come on that don't help anybody to live for God can you say amen amen it don't help anybody live for God Psalms chapter 13 verse 1-6 boy I think you're going to like this I think you're going to like this I think you're going to like this Psalms chapter 13 verse 1-6 how long Willl thou Forget Me Oh Lord forever how long will thou hide thy face from me how long shall I take counsel in my soul having sorrow in my heart daily how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me now this could have very well been written in the period of David's life when David committed a horrible sin and you know as well as I do sometimes we can't appreciate the face of God until God has showed us his back for a while doesn't mean God has left you doesn't mean God has forsaken you but there are times that God wants us to appreciate his smile and appreciate his face and appreciate his presence well how does he do that he shows us his back we pray but we get no answer we sing in the choir but we feel no Spirit we do everything that we've always done but we feel nothing until we come out just like the psalmist here how long will you forget me oh Lord forever how long will you hide your face from me how long shall I take counsel in my soul having sorrow in my heart daily how long shall my enemies be exalted over me let's keep reading verse three consider and hear me oh Lord my God lighten my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death lest my enemy say I have prevailed against him and those that trouble me rejoice when I I have when when I am moved now here's what he says God don't let me die God don't let me sleep the sleep of death God don't let me don't let me drift so far away that I sleep asleep that I sleep asleep of death and and uh brother Garnett and I this week we're talking about driving while we were sleepy and I've never had this happen to me I I I I've never had this I've never had this happen to me but I've drove through the night before and got real sleepy and and and it's it's it's a terrible thing to want to get home and your driving and you're sleepy and and there's a big big uh pilot station and you think you know I'm just going to pull right up to the front door lock the doors and get me a few few winks and you pull up there and lock the doors and put the seat back and so help me God you can't go to sleep you get back in the car I know what it's like to drive freezing temperature and be sleepy and roll the windows down I know what it's like just to holler to the loud of my voice to try to shake myself and I know I've done all that weird stuff brother Garnett was telling me he was he was driving through the night some time ago and he said he got sleepy and he said the next thing that he knew he was running parallel in a corn field beside the interstate and he said I didn't know what in the world was happening to the interstate why did they plant all this corn on the interstate why why in the world has I have I got behind a corn truck and it dawned on him he had run off the road and he had drove for some distance down the corn he said I had corn in the grill I had corn in the rear view mirrors he he said I had corn he said I had corn I guess that's a corny story he told he said I just had he said I just had corn I just had corn all over the place you know you know there's one thing that I want to say to God God I don't want to sleep the sleep of death oh God somehow shake me wake me turn me upside down inside out God whatever you got to do I've not felt your presence in a while God maybe I haven't been appreciative to your presence maybe I haven't praised you like I should thank you like I should been appreciated like I should maybe I stayed on my cell phone during church maybe I just tried to wait for church to be over but God if you would just wake me up and if you would just shake me oh God I don't want to sleep the sleep of death but oh the psalmist goes on the psalmist goes on and I'm so glad it doesn't end this way the psalmist goes on from verse three considering hear me oh Lord my God lighten my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death lest my enemies say I have prevailed against him and those that troubl me rejoice when I moved but look at verse five but I have trusted in thy mercy my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation I will sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me what's the difference between a man saying that I that that God I feel like the enemies where's you where you're at God how long am I going to go through this until a man saying I have been bountifully blessed by God I'll tell you who is it's a man that got in a room of prayer a light and fragrance the incense and he let the light show him some things on the inside that was really stinking in his life and he got forgiveness over it and he overcame the attitudes and he became somebody that was blessed bountifully number five I want to tell you about the altar of incense it had a crown on it it had a Golden Crown around the top of it sister Carpenter this Golden Crown this Golden Crown was not for beauty hear me now tonight this Golden Crown on the top of the incense was not for beauty but it was for keeping the coals together tight tight together it was for the coals remaining focused and tight focused and tight together because one Coal Keeps another coal hot longer than it would if it was a coal all to itself the story is told of a pastor that visited a man who had been missing church it was in the winter and the man had a fireplace going as the pastor sat down with the man who'd been missing Church the man told him he said um I can live for god without the body I don't need to come to church to be saved the pastor just took the tongs that were laying on the fireplace reached inside and got a red cherry hot coal took it out of the fireplace and laid it over on the side in just a few moments that cherry hot piece of coal that had to be handled with iron Tong you could go over and pick it up because as long as it stayed in the fireplace focused it kept its heat from someone else it kept burning hot and just as sure as any of us get to feeling like we don't need one another we're losing our heat we're losing our furor we're you losing our potential when we think that we don't need I don't care who you are you need someone in this place tonight I don't care who you are you we need one another and we need to stay focused on what matters now I'm going to show you this tonight this is a proven fact startup churches new church plants new church plants experience tremendous unity and they experience tremendous giving per capita of people that are in the Pew but as a church begins to grow and we begin to get larger and we begin to get programs going programs that were initially put in place to win people to God it is so easy that we can take the crown off and become so dispersed that all of a sudden the purpose for the existence of fac is so that I have a place to go worship God I have a place and I have a right to have that preacher shake my hand and I have a right I have a right for it to be a comfortable place I have a right for I have a right that I I'm always pampered it's all about me after all that's what the church is about wrong we are about winning the lost we're not running a babysitting company around here sir we're not running a babysitting company around here ma'am and we got to grow up but if you listen if you don't have a prayer life of an incense that it's all about me and I didn't get my hand shook I'm not going to make any apologies if you've got the Holy Ghost I'm not going to make any apologies I'm going to give you some advice grow up get your mind off yourself that's why you're miserable all you can think about is yourself and somebody didn't talk to me I mean who gave you the the title that everybody's got why do you think you're entitled to have somebody talk to you I'm not coming to church to have somebody talk to me I'm coming to church to talk to God I'm coming to church I'm coming to see another Timothy Jackson get baptized in Jesus name I'm I'm I'm coming to church to see what God can do I'm coming to church to see Miracle signs and wonders I'm coming to church to see young people grow up and marry and have children and raise their family I'm growing I'm I'm I'm in the church to see what God will do I'm in the church I'm in this thing to see God take a little house on McGinley Street and make a mighty Cathedral on William Blunt I'm in the house because of this well praise the Lord p Pastor oh you're talking to me would you pray pray how you doing pray well he does know where we're at Meander back here this section or back here to that section oh you finally got down here thank you for getting down here can't you walk downhill can't you can't you walk downhill and and let me tell you something tonight we'll never be the church God wants us to be if we lose our Crown we can have programs we can have programs we can cook for everybody that's sick we can have programs we can have a daycare center we can have a Christian School we we can we we can have we can have kids Quest we can have uh uh we can have uh uh Strong Tower we can have all these things but at the end of the day if Strong Tower doesn't exist for the Salvation of young people and their disciple ship shut it down if kids quest does not exist for the Salvation of little children and the discipleship of little children shut it down if the daycare you know why we got a daycare we don't listen I've heard people tell me well I'm thinking about and I've have had this conversation you know how much money I know when somebody calls us and wants to tour our daycare in school and when they ask us the first thing well how much money do you make you don't need to start a daycare and you don't need to start a school you've done asked the wrong question it ain't about making money it's about winning souls and if we will win souls God will always provide the money if we will win souls God will always provide the the money you know why we got I hope every daycare teacher hears this tonight you need to be prayerful about every parent that drops her kids off at your daycare because there's a soul and that's why we got a daycare we want to reach Souls oh God help me preach tonight would somebody help me preach tonight would somebody help me kick out the spirit that's trying to bind us up tonight would somebody help us do that we are about soul every daycare teacher every daycare teacher in the name of Jesus have a burden for the parents every daycare teacher have a burden for the parents that walk in in the morning start at 6 6:30 a.m. they'll PE people from our community that'll never come to a house of God they'll come through the doors of this the the doors of the daycare over here I pray prayer saturation I pray angels are here I pray something gets a hold of them come on I pray this prayer it's been answered I pray God put a put a spirit on here put a spirit on this church came in one day and found a daycare parent sitting in the office and I wondered they sat there the lady sat there brother the pared for so long I went in and out a few times and I wonder what the problem was if there were a problem finally the daycare directors told me they said This Woman's troubled This Woman's troubled and she just told me she said I have such peace when I walk into into this building and could I just sit down here for a little bit I have such peace come on people there is a Holy Ghost and there is a devil there is a God that wants to draw the Lost there is a God that wants to weep over our city and wants to see us drw but God needs to be manifested in the flesh one more time he saved the world 2,000 years ago by being manifested in the flesh and he wants to save Maryville in 2024 but it once again it's got to get manifested in the flesh you and I have got to cross the aisle you and and I have got to give a smile you and I have got to pray a prayer and if we will God God God will reach them please grow up I know I'm digging deep tonight and I'm cutting deep tonight but please grow up please grow up tonight if you're working at the daycare if you're working at the school for a paycheck quit quit now I know Sister ammy probably just passed out but God will raise somebody up that's here for Souls yes sir we lose our Crown what are we all about souls what's August all about brother Hammond Souls do you realize that you're one invite to somebody on your job could bring the them here during August totally turn their life around Souls Souls would you lift up your hands right now and even if I preach to you tonight would you lift up your hands and say God help me go ahead God help me get over myself God help me get over myself God God I've got wrapped up in myself Lord and I'm so miserable God I've got wrapped up in myself and I I'm I'm so miserable God I I want to find the joy of pouring myself into somebody else right now come on pray with me right now I want to find the joy of pouring myself into somebody else right now I want to find the joy I want to find the joy oh let's don't lose our Crown let's don't lose our crown and then I go back to the starting point the altar of incense was the smallest piece of furniture in the Tabernacle and I want to tell you this God answers short prayers it's not the length of your prayer that causes God to hear you it's the condition of your heart if we get to thinking it's the length of time that causes God to hear us we fall into the company with the Pharisees that thought that they would be heard for their much speaking God answers short prayers ask Samson judges 16:28 see how short this prayer is Samson called unto the Lord and said oh Lord God remember me I pray thee and strengthen me I pray thee only this once oh God that I may be that I may be at once Avenged of the Philistines from my two eyes I'll tell you what do brother brother Hammond take your your phone you got a timer I'm sure you got a timer on your phone don't you you got a timer on it I'm G give you just a second tell me when you're ready when I say the first word of Samson prayer hit it and when I say the last stop it oh Lord God remember me I pray thee and strengthen me I pray thee only this once oh God that I may be at once Avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes stop what we got 13 13 and 1/2 seconds what happened a that's that little prayer God ain't going to hear no 13 and 1/2 second prayer oh he didn't Samson took hold of the two midle middle pillars upon which the house stood and on which it was born up and the one with his right hand and the other with his left and Samson said let me die with the Philistines he bowed himself with all his might and the house fell upon the Lords and upon all the people that were therein so the dead which he slew at his death were more than that which he slew in his life don't tell me God can't answer a short prayer don't tell me God can't answer a short prayer a 13 and 1/2 second prayer and God gives him the strength to bring down a mighty Coliseum there hey Church we just need to get back to good old heartfelt repented turn the light on examine your life we need to get back to where God can answer a prayer in 13 and 1 12 seconds that God could answer a prayer smallest piece of furniture in the Tabernacle Matthew 15:25 see how short this prayer is then she came and worshiped him saying Lord help me as a woman that's got a daughter demon possessed got a daughter that's demon possessed oh how powerful they want to think demons are oh how how demons are this and demons can do that but a woman comes in the presence of Jesus Christ and praise three words Lord help me and he did I'm telling you tonight don't get discouraged about a prayer life because you don't pray a long time like you heard somebody blabbing around that they' got a six hour a day prayer life for 4H hour a day prayer life you just get down and pray some 13 and 1/2 second prayer and let God begin to move in your life Peter's drowning the wind is blowing and Peter is drowning and he simply Cries Out Lord save me and God reached down you see tonight and I'm finished you see tonight it's not the length of your prayer it's the condition of your heart it's not listen you may fool your mama and you may fool your daddy and you may fool your wife and you may fool your husband and you may fool your pastor but there's one that you don't and that's God so why don't we just come clean with him tonight why don't we just let God cleanse us tonight why don't we just have a prayer tonight and say God turn the light on God turn the light on in my heart right now God oh God I want the light to be turned on in my life God I do God I want the light to be turned on God God Pride would have me exalting myself Pride would have me thinking that life is all about me getting recognized ized and pride would have pride would have me thinking God Pride would have me thinking this family exists for me and and on and on and on but oh God turn the light on tonight please Jesus turn the light on would you stand with me right now turn the light on right now pray with me right now Church come on I'll give you an example to pray pray with me right now turn the light on God oh God turn the light on right now God I want the fragrance of prayer I want the fragrance of prayer I want to Adit a fragrance that causes people to believe that God can work in their life oh I want to emit a fragrance it would CA somebody not to get hungry for popcorn or or or or or or a cookie or something of that nature God I want to admit a fragrance that causes a man to say I just believe God would love me if I would go there I just believe God would work with me if I would go there I just believe that God would work with me come on Church come on let's pray tonight come on let's gather up around this altar right now let's pray oh God turn the light on in my life God God forgive me of being selfish God forgive me for being self centered oh God forgive me oh God for being self-c centered and selfish God oh God forgive me Lord that I have I have thought that life is all about me and it's all about my Comforts God and when I'm not comforted when I'm not pampered God I get ugly with my words I get harmful with my words oh God that's not the fragrance that I want to have that's not the fragrance come on Church turn the light on right now come on turn the light on right now turn the light on right now oh yes God oh yes God oh yes God oh yes God oh yes God oh yes God oh God turn the light on right now God me oh God oh God don't let me lose my focus God God don't let me lose my focus God