The Nehemiah University | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter

what has been pressing upon my mind and my heart of late is seeing the people of First Apostolic Church develop leadership skills that would enable them to reach their god-given potential anybody want to reach their god-given potential come on you want to reach your god-given potential right boy I sure do I don't think I have I don't that's what keeps me going that's what keeps us putting one foot in front of the other I want to reach my god-given potential yet in order to reach that place we must realize that success in our lives doesn't come by accident and just by luck it comes to the lens of what I call 3D 3D desire say it with meire discipline discipline and drive drive say it again desire discipline and drive heart and mind heart and mind desire is the heart and discipline and drive is the mind so I want you to turn with me in your Bibles to Psalms 21 and verse one 21 verse1 it's a song that David sung to the Lord Psalms 21 and verse one how many love the Lord this morning Psalms 21 and verse number one the king he's speaking of himself the king shall joy in thy strength oh Lord and in thy s in thy salvation how greatly shall he Rejoice thou Hast given him his heart's desire and Hast not withholden the request of his GPS CA it means pause and think about it one more passage of scripture third John chapter 1 verse number two written by an old man called John written around the same time that the Book of Revelation was written the man's well over 90 years old and he writes these words beloved I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy Soul doth Prosper you'll find out in a minute while my title is what it is but I want to minister today on the Nehemiah University the Nehemiah University father I want to reach my full potential in you God God lord We Gather here Sunday after Sunday and Wednesday after Wednesday and God we want to reach our full potential in you God we don't believe that God even as as a whole as a church that we've reached our full potential in prayer we've reached our full potential in evangelism locally and globally Lord I pray today that you would move upon every heart on the Pew because there's no one that's outside of the reach of your mercy God touch them today in Jesus name we all pray amen and amen give him the best hand clap offering you've given him all day all right come on do better do better than Chad Ericson at the concert the 3D desire discipline and drive David said I'm a worshipper David said I'm a praiser David said I'm excited about Jehovah I talk about Jehovah and one of the reasons David said I do this is because he has given me verse two my heart's desire I want you to notice the placing of that you can't get your heart's desire until you've lined your heart up with God because what we think we want today we probably don't want today but if I can align my soul right with God I can I can desire and get what I really need well John this elderly man wrote third John 1 and two and he said beloved I wish above all things he said let's just put this at the top of the list let's just put this at the top of the list he said I wish above all things that you would prosper and be in good health now we know this Prosperity that he's talking about was Prosperity here on this Earth he said I I would that you would prosper and that you would be in good health and I can you say Amen to that am amen and let me just tell you today and I I I I hope I get a few amens about this you don't really appreciate your health till you don't have it right right you don't really appreciate your teeth until you got a toothache you never thought about your hip you never thought about it maybe ID have gave God thanks for it more or something you know but boy you let that hip begin to act up you think about it it'll wake you up middle of the night say think about me all right so can I tell you there's nothing wrong there's nothing wrong with us prospering and nothing wrong with us being in good health but then he says this even as your soul prospers so he says I I I want your body and the things here to prosper but yet I want your soul to prosper but with me to the Book of Joshua chapter number one verse number 8 Joshua chapter 1 and verse number8 Joshua gives Israel or God through Joshua gives Israel the really the key verse of success the key verse for being successful in life the key verse for being a success number one number one I want to be a success as a Christian I want to be a success as a Christian I'm aiming one day I want to hear the words ah you're with me this morning thank you I want to hear the words well done thou good people I I want to be as successful as a Christian matter of fact I think that's the first thing on our list we ought to be we ought to desire I want to be a successful Christian and the second thing I I I want to be a successful husband you'll say well buddy putting down on the list your wife's going to speak on Mother's Day and not telling her is not a good story well she said it was her honor na na na N I want to be a good husband all right I'm still working on it you should be still working on being a good husband we want to have a good marriage right have a good wife good marriage I want to be a good father want to be a good father amen now I know I know today you kind of yeah but you know what the things I've just listed are the three major things I do a lot of counseling about I've never counsel someone how to clean their shotgun so you're talking about marriage coun no no no i' never I've never I've never counseled someone about what kind of boat motor to get on their boat but boy I've cancelled a lot of people about who they are or about who they are as a father and a husband I've never I've never done anything like that but I've done a lot of counseling in these areas won't be a good grandfather I want to be I want to be a good I want to be a good uh I want to be a good pastor I want to be a good pastor I do I want to be a that's why you you know I debated today I debated you know well you better not talk about Israel you better not talk about the Arabs because you know we may get on somebody's radar or something like that but neither do I want us living in ignorance all Arab people are not evil all all Russian people are not evil I think I'd be less than a good pastor let go ahead and dis believe that it's not true I want to be a good pastor I want to be a good I want to be a I want to be a good I want to be a good preacher I want to be a good pre preacher I want to be a good pastor all right do you know a lot of shipwrecks in the ministry did you see the way I laid that out a lot of shipwrecks in the ministry are caused because we get it turned around our number one priority is I got to pastor this church I'm tell you I got to be the pastor of this church here that's that's and they're driven I got to be a pastor of a church and you know what comes along second I got to be a good preacher I gotta I got I gotta be I gotta gotta be a good preacher and after all that comes troubled kids and I've got to be a good parent and then after that comes a troubled marriage and then last what pushes us over the side we fail to become a good Christian you see we got to get our priorities right today church we need to get our priorities straight because the number one success in life is that I'm a Child of God that I have the that I have the fruit of the spirit in my life that my voice emanates the love of God and the mercy of God come on now I don't know how to weigh this out but some of the daycare teachers here tell me that when I come through the lunchroom that some of the little children there two and three years old will say there's Jesus and I'll stop and tell them no I'm not well I'd rather them say there goes Jes Jesus Then There Goes he gives him the key to success do you want the key to take home with you today do you want one verse in the scripture to take home with you today Jo Joshua 1 and verse number8 this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth but Thou shalt meditate there in day and night that thou mayest observe to do accordingly to all that is written therein for then for then say that with me for for then Thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then Thou shalt have good success prosperity and success one one verse prosperity and success comes after this book not before this book you can't say God if you'll bless me with this in the driveway if you'll bless me with this uh zero behind my paycheck God I'll go to church it don't listen it don't work that way it just doesn't work that way you're looking to luck is what you're looking for but prosperity of the real kind doesn't come by luck it comes by desire it comes by discipline it comes it comes by desire and being being disciplined to have this inside inside of you now this book it's as simple as that the Nehemiah University of course I need to take you to the book of Nehemiah Nehemiah chapter 1 and verse number one and of course before we begin to read that verse of scripture I need to give you a little background sin has separated the nation of Israel Israel at one time was 12 wonderful tribes working in harmony having Jerusalem at its hub having a city of worship where priests and songs were sung to Jehovah where the law was taught where everything everything good came out of Jerusalem but sin sin divided the nation of Israel it now existed as 10 and two tribes these tribes were taken into captivity Assyrian captivity hundreds of miles away Babylonian captivity hundreds of miles away Jerusalem that wonder of the world that wonder that wonder of the world Jerusalem that place that the Queen of Sheba came to and said the ha was not told me Jerusalem the house of God the temple that Solomon built the place that heathens pagans from all over the world would come and stand in a at the beauty and Splendor of Solomon now is nothing more than a burn over Hill with rocks being strewn from one end of the of the mount to the other Gates being burned with fire just a few people left behind to to keep the identity of Jerusalem it's a burnover field it's a reproach it's a reproach people walk by but God said people would walk by and wag their heads and gasp at this city it's all because of sin sin will divide us Church you hear me that's why we have to live our lives to fight against sin sin will divide it'll divide a person you won't know know who you are sin will divide a marriage sin will divide a family and if we let the enemy sin would even divide this church today but oh did you hear them sing about the blood this morning did you hear them sing about the blood this morning what can wash away our sins nothing but the blood of Jesus what can help me battle what can help me battle against Temptation the Bible said they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of Our Testimony hey friend I know we might fall in sin but when we fall in sin don't stay in sin get back up and Claw your way out of there get back up and Claw your way out of there I'm here to tell you today First Apostolic church is a church with open doors to The Sinner The Sinner that's never come to God and yes the sinner that Embrace God and walk away from God we're here to kill the fatty calf to strike up the band to put a ring on your finger and put a robe on your back and tell you our motto is welcome home come on give him some praise right now the city lays desolate the city lays a reproach hundreds of miles away one of the captives by the name of Nehemiah Nehemiah had a young person one day pull a good one on me he said pastor do you know who the shortest man in the Bible is of course I took a little offense to that he said do you know who the shortest man in the Bible is I said no he said you don't know who the shortest man in the Bible is said no I don't he said well he he's named that I said who is it he said NE High Maya he was knei here's old brother nimiah now he's miles away from Jerusalem he got a comfortable job he's got a comfortable job he's the king's cup Bearer um which was really when you studied out was a very comfortable job you lived in the king's Palace and those were no shacks in those days you ate the second matter of fact not only the second did you eat you even would eat what the King was going to eat now obviously the the strings attached to this was how they assassinated Kings in that day was to poison the food and so you first ate the food and they watched you for a few hours to see if you dropped over dead if you didn't drop over dead they'd serve it to the king but nonetheless he lived in the palace he ate the King's food he had what we would all consider a very comfortable life brother brother Seth Jeter today can I tell you the one thing that I feel is killing the church today is we are comfortable and content God has nothing against us being comfortable but don't get content so how you you know what what what what do you want I want more of God what do you want I want I want more of an impact of the for the name of Jesus in my life I want my family to know God and I'm not content unless that's happening and I'll never be content I guess the place we'll be content is when we can get our family sister Masa around the Throne of heaven and begin to worship God I believe that'll be the greatest day of it all but we can't be content be comfortable be comfortable but don't be content anytime you get content you stunt your growth whether you're at today at your marriage if you're content with it oh my marriage is pretty good well I'm telling you ours isn't right right so oh my God confession I've got I done invited my neighbors to come to church I who this no sir you need to work on your marriage well I know we're just going to go to church one Sunday night and have a big Hallelujah service and no ain't going to happen Jeff thr ain't going to happen you going have to work on it you have to work on your life because if you ever get content in life I've got enough I am enough you have stunned your spiritual growth comfortable say that with me and content now if any man could be content he's living in the king's Palace but let's watch him Nehemiah 1 and one the words of Nehemiah the son of hachaliah and it came to pass in the month chiso in the 20th year as I was in shushan watch this now the palace that hananiah one of my brethren came and he he came he and certain men of Judah and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped which were left of the Captivity and concerning Jerusalem and they said unto me the remnant that are left of the Captivity there in the province are in great Affliction and reproach the wall of jerus Jerusalem also is broken down and the gates thereof are burned with fire the first thing I want to draw to your attention when nehemiah's brother came to shushan and other Jews came to shushan to visit him what was on his mind he asked the question how is it going in Jerusalem how is it going in the land of captivity verse two and how's it going in Jerusalem can I tell you something what is on your mind is what you're asking questions about what is on your mind now can I tell you in in in leadership today if you want to be successful you got to have the right things on your mind and Jeremiah or Nehemiah had the right thing on his mind although he was living in the palace although he had a comfortable job although things were going good for him guess what he still had on his mind he had Jerusalem the place that he worshiped his God can I tell you first and foremost in nehemiah's University the first thing you got to get down is not your occupation but the greatest decision you'll ever make in your life is the decision to give your life totally to God that is the greatest decision before you before you start talking about being a law laer and an accountant and owning a business and all this please settle this I have got to know Jesus Christ now that's interesting because the majority of people will tell you when you start questioning their walk with God they will say I'm a Believer do you realize there's three levels in scripture of Christian maturity there's three levels of Christian maturity believing is the K5 class the K2 class the kindergarten class believing now no man can come unto God except he believe we understand the importance of believe but you don't stay there because believing leads you their secondly they were called Believers in scripture and they were called Disciples in scripture now you can't be a disciple until you're first a Believer but you don't just stay in the K5 class you learn how to discipline your life all right you learn how to discipline your life and this is where desire comes in because when it comes to the Walk of God you're not always going to feel like doing what you know you should do you're always going to feel like it your emotion are not always going to pep you up sometimes and most of the times you've got to do what's right not because your fickle emotions are giving you a hand clap but because you just know it's right to do this I'm putting my foot in front of the other not because I feel like it I'm doing it because it's right why did you set the alarm clock for 6: a.m. because it's right to be on time to work it's right to be on time you may be seated today but you get noticed when you're doing what's right not only in the church but in the world you get noticed when you're doing what's right so believer K5 discipline first second 3rd fourth 5ifth 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th grade you're working on discipline and that turns into the third thing they're called in scripture they are called Saints and Saints are simply people that are continually used for a holy holy use you're continually yes I've settled the question I'm going to be an attorney I'm going to be a nurse practitioner I've settled the question but before I ever settled that question and went to school I became a disciple of Jesus Christ a Believer I became a disciple and I become a saint that means while I'm on my job practicing law or practicing medicine I'm sharing the good news about Jesus Christ Our Lord at the halls of the hospital at the halls of the Justice Center wherever I'm at being a mechanic I'm sharing the good news oh come on somebody give a give God a hand of Praise right now what's on your mind what's on your mind so on my mind is material things wrong thing on your mind the main thing on your mind the main foundational thing on your mind are you right with God is your life right with God do you have disciplines in your life do you have disciplines in your life faithful Church attendance faithful in prayer faithful to read your Bible you see we can't read about success and think that it just going to come by chance by luck do I have disciplines do I have disciplines in my life you're not always going to feel like pray praying pray anyhow I said you're not always going to feel like praying pray anyhow your flesh is never going to wake you up in the morning and say go to the prayer room you don't float to the prayer room you fight your way to the prayer room cuz because your flesh is giving you every reason why you need to be washing the car or cleaning the gutters out or going checking a mailbox or something else your flesh doesn't want to pray that's where you got to be disciplined you got to say you're praying right now it's time to get down on my knees and it's time to talk to God discipline discipline discipline this hananiah this nemiah excuse me although he had a comfortable job he has mind on the work of God how's it going in Jerusalem they told him he said the walls are burnt with fire the gates are the walls are torn down pushed down scattered rocks over the mountain the gates are burned with fire do do you know what this means there's people there walls and Gates represent civil order no walls no Gates no order walls and gates are intended to keep the right thing in and the wrong thing out you have no walls notice how the enemy works you have no walls you have no Gates you have no order in your life no walls no gate but I I'm here at church you see there were people living in Jerusalem but they had no civil order they had no they had no protection go ahead and plant you a field an enemy can just come and walk right in and get whatever you've got go ahead and amass a little something the enemy just comes in and gets what you got am I making sense today no walls no Gates no order in your life no wonder no wonder there's people today that are living under the banner of Christianity but are living miserable Lives why it's not that God doesn't work it's not that the blood doesn't cleanse it not it's not that God has ceased to do the impossible it's that we have ceased to have the right walls and the right gates in our lives we we've ceased to have order we've ceased to have order in our lives oh I I want those walls in my life I I I I want those walls of protection in my life you see the walls around Jerusalem are like the walls around a a correctional center do you realize there are two views of the walls of a correctional center when you drive up and look at a correctional center there are two views number Wonder their inmates on the inside that view those walls of keeping them in and that's correct but to allow Law Abiding Citizen and I'm not passing judgment today but to a law abiding citizen when I look at those walls I say thank God that's not walking our streets thank God my little girl can ride a bicycle up and down the road thank God I can drive to the store without the fear of someone robbing me now come on don't don't don't get quiet on me now that's what those walls are there for can I tell you I am not an inmate in this church I'm a saint of God here today and the walls that are in the house of God are not keeping me from doing what I want to do they're keeping me in the Blessed realm of living for God I've got my sanity today I know some of you may not believe that but I've got my sanity today because I'm in the house of God I've got a good marriage today because I'm in the house of God I've got children that love God I've got grandchildren that love God Chad F let me let me let me just let me just tell y'all something today and I want to tell you thank you but yesterday I had a London for a little bit we were going back before uh sister carer left her glasses at the house and I had to come back to the house to get her glasses and London wanted to go with me um she wanted to spend time with Papa ain't that sweet now what coffee shop would she want to go to she want to go dutch bro I thought man that's so sweet of her she want to ride with her papa got in the car she said let's go to Dutch bro but I used a little time there and we got to talk about the Lord we got talk about the Lord in the car and I said lond I called her Londo I said Lindo I said she was telling me she said you know a lot Mama Mom and Daddy bought me a little devotional book and said and she just been a kid all right she been a kid don't pass no judgment she said you know I Papa I don't understand the Bible I don't understand the Bible well she's a little kid all right nothing wrong with that but she said mom and dad bought me a little devotional book and it's got a little scripture and it's got a little story to go with that scripture and kind of helps me to to know that you know how I'm supposed to do and all that then she said this cuz I I said now Lon I said do you got a good daily a good daily time of prayer and she said Windsor and I pray together that's her sister said wsor and I pray together every night before we go to bed now I don't know about you but I could walk on water when she said that because that's the greatest success that I could have for my grandchildren it's on your mind it's on your mind no walls no Gates no order and when Jared when Nehemiah heard that verse four when Nehemiah heard that now it came to pass when I heard these words that I sat down and what did he do wept and mourned certain days and fasted and prayed before the god of Heaven let's read that verse four together as a church I I'd really like to read that together he hears the news no walls no Gates people are living in confusion how did it hit him how did it move him him you know the truth of the matter today is the truth of the matter is today most people are moved more over a commercial showing an unwanted dog what moves you I said what moves you I'm going to tell you what to move I should move all of us the things of God what moves you because let me tell you something you'll never pray a prayer that that moves God until it first moves you you want to move God about a situation in your life it's got to move you if it doesn't move you why should it move God can I tell you when NE neiah heard that the walls were burnt and the gates were burnt with fire there was no civil order and that people were just living being robbed it moved him can I tell you and when there's people in our city and people here today that doesn't know God that moves me I'm not passing judgment that moves me but it ought to move us to prayer it ought to move us to kindness it ought to move us to make sure that that guest doesn't leave this church today until somebody walks AC cross an aisle and introduces themsel and say I am so glad to have you with us today glad to have you here you don't have to look like us you don't have to talk like us you don't have to look anything like us today we are glad you're here we are glad you're we've got something for you we've got a relationship with God that we want to introduce you to he was moved he was moved he was moved let's read it together verse four let's read it out loud together and it to pass when I heard these that I sat down and and mourned and fasted and prayed before the god of it moved him moved him on brother Carpenter I wish you just knew how many messed up my life is oh brother car I just wish you I just wish you I just wish you I just wish you knew how messed up my life is I I just wish you knew I wish you understood just how messed up and can I tell you something today in return to that statement I wish some of you just knew how it pains me how flippant you act about the house of God I I I just wish and it's nothing personal I don't hate anybody I grieve I grieve for you because your ending is not going to be well you hear the word of God today your ending is not going to be well some people think they're going to get back at the church and they're going to get back at listen you only oppose yourself you're the one going to suffer the agony but people say little Carpenter you you you just don't realize what a messed up life I've got right now you you don't realize how really messed up I am you you know I I put my best on today this is the best I got preacher and I put it on to come to church today but I don't even know why I'm here is something keeps drawing me something keeps pulling me here to this church I like for you to stand with me today musicians I want you to come and before I tell this last thing I want us to offer up a prayer to God right now come on there's nothing more beautiful than a Praying Church there's nothing more beautiful than a Praying church right now I want you to come right now I want our altar workers to come right now but I want us to pray God we're going to give invitation Lord for you to work Lord Jesus up to this point today we've sung songs we've played music we've received offerings and we've given prayer requests God up to this time today God I preached about you but Lord for the next few moments God we want you just to move in this congregation right now God in the next few moments Lord we want you to move right now God because people that don't know you move me God people that don't know you move me today God God marriages Lord that have been torn apart they move me today God they moveed me today come on church pray right now prodical that come back to the house of God they move me they move me they move me they move me oh God they moveed me God men and women that said in this congregation that's not ready to meet you Lord they moved me I I don't want it to be said that I didn't I didn't tell them about you Nehemiah it's a bunch of rocks Nehemiah Nehemiah it's a bunch of rocks it's burnt Gates Nehemiah it's hopeless people over here that moves me yes I know I got a comfortable life I know I'm the king's cup bear but that moves me I'm going to tell you this several years ago sister Carpenter and I built a house we got a construction loan on that house and if you know how a construction loan Works do you you do a part of the job when you need to get what's called a draw you call the bank they send somebody out to make sure that you're at the place you should be we had went all through that construction loan it was time to convert the construction loan to a regular loan that meant a man was going to come out and look at the house he called me up one day he said I'd like to set the appointment to come come out look at the house I said oh not not today not today not today he said why I said it's a mess around here it's a mess we were there cleaning it up so car was scraping paint off the windows and we were picking up and sweeping dust and he said what do you mean he said is the driveway poured I said yes sir he said is the yard in I said yes sir power hooked up yes sir he said then what do you mean it's not ready I said sir the cardboard boxes that the cabinets come in are still in the garage the painters paper that's on the floor is still in the garage and and and there's pain on the windows that we got to get out and there's little stickers on the microwave and all that and if God ever used a man a banker he said this I said it needs to be cleaned up he said Son the cleanup is no problem if the value is there oh I just reached around I had an old Carpenter's pencil I just reached around tore an ear off that cardboard box and I preached me a sermon the cleanup is no problem if the value's there can I tell you today your cleanup is no problem because the value is here in your life the cleanup is no issue today oh altar workers would you turn and face the crowd right now if you want one of these men or women to pray for you would you make your way down to this altar right now in the name of Jesus Lord I open up this altar God to anyone that wants to step out of their Pew anyone that wants to walk down the aisle to have one of these men or women pray for them right now father draw them out of their pew father draw them right now out of their Pew Lord oh Father draw them right now yes in the name of Jesus yes in the name of Jesus today oh God speak to that man's heart right now oh God speak to that woman's heart right now God the the the the the the clean up is no problem as long as the value is still there oh Jesus Jesus Jesus God come on come on come on you know you want to do it you know you want to step out of that aisle and start a new life today you know you want to step out of that aisle and start a new life right now come on church family let's all gather around this altar this morning Lord I love you right now oh let's get around this altar today God God I give you myself today God God I give myself away right now oh God help me God today oh God help me today fill up around the altar if you're here come close to the altar the a are the a are filled up move up closer to the altar right now make room for everybody right now God In The Name of Jesus today God oh God in the of so you can give myself I Bel to you give myself away you you give myself I give myself myself so can my life is on my own to you I belong I give myself I give myself to you oh my life is not my own to you I belong yes I do I give myself I give myself to you is not my it's not my own you are Bel to you give myself to you oh yes I do is take my hand take myself to you I give myself away I Surrender I Give Myself Away so you I myself my you me I give myself I Surrender I Surrender give myself you yes I do give myself I Give Myself Away Jesus give myself away with you I live to worship you I live live to Worship You To Worship You Lord to worship you I live to worship you I live I live to Worship You To Worship You To Worship You I live to worship you I I live to Worship You Yes To Worship You I to worship you I to worship you oh huah Hallelujah hallelu hallelu we praise we praise prise we praise PR we praise we praise the name of every praise We Lift Your Name we LIF your hallelujah hallelujah we see the highest we see the highest hallu we s the highest the highest to Worship You To Worship You I live toship you I live I to worship you you I to wor you I live I live to Worship You To Worship You I to you I live I live to worship you yes you to worship you I live I live to Worship You More you I you I live I live to worship you to Worship You Lord I live to Worship You Jesus come on let's lift up hands and sing this one more time I I to worship you come on just worship him in this place at the onset of this service we worshiped and at the closing we're going to worship him today come on what is your desire come on there's a first D we got to have desire God give us a desire Lord more than anything else oh God if I'm going to live for you Lord God if I'm going to succeed in your kingdom oh God Lord God if I'm going to go through nehemiah's University Lord God and truly understand Lord God my potential I first have got to have desire God give me a desire like I've never had before God oh let there be discipline like I've never had before Jesus and I just believe in Jesus name God your kingdom Lord is going to advance and going to grow because your people Lord God are going to be United in their desire for you Jesus Oh in Jesus name in Jesus name if you receive the word of God this morning put your hands together and give him praise and thanksgiving for what you've heard for what we've heard in the house today amen