The Price Of The Sticks | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter

you have your Bibles and join me in the book of Numbers. The book of Numbers, chapter 15, verse number 32. Thank you, praise team. Thank you musicians. Thank you choir. Thank you good people for coming out and making a joyful noise unto the Lord. Um as you're turning to Numbers 15:32, please remember that um the prayer schedule of Monday through Friday follows our daycare schedule. And what I mean by that, tomorrow because of uh Alcoa City Schools are out, our daycare is closed tomorrow. Not only is our school closed, but our daycare is actually is closed also. And it's due to the temperature is supposed to plummet. All this wet stuff out here is going to turn into uh ice. So uh pray at home. All right? pray at pray at home tomorrow and then Tuesday, Lord willing, it'll warm back up and we can get back on our prayer schedule. How many's been enjoying the church being open for prayer? Is it great? So great to have church open. It's great to have the church open for for prayer. The book of Numbers 15 and verse 32. And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron and unto all the congregation. and they put him in ward or a jail holding sail because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the Lord said unto Moses, "The man shall be surely put to death." That sure that sure enough must be dead right there, right? Because he not only said he shall be put to death, he said surely put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with without the camp. Shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp and stoned him with stones. and he died as the Lord commanded Moses. For a few moments tonight, and I will be very mindful of the time, but for a few moments tonight, would you give me your undivided attention as I want to minister on the price of the sticks? The price of the sticks. Father, in the name of Jesus, tonight, would you anoint my mind? Would you anoint my lips of clay? Would you anoint my body tonight that I may be able to minister your word, Lord, as your kingdom advances one soul at a time, Lord, it advances one message at a time, Lord, open our hearts tonight, Lord, open our hearts to your word tonight. Speak to us tonight in Jesus' name we all pray. Amen and amen. You may be seated. The price of the sticks. The price of the sticks. While in the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan, this unnamed Israelite was out gathering sticks to build a fire on the Sabbath day. Some of his Israelite neighbors saw him and took him to Moses and Aaron and reported what they had witnessed. He was placed in a holding room and the mind of the Lord was sought because they had never witnessed this before. The Lord said to Moses, "The man shall be surely put to death, and all the congregation shall stone him." Every Israelite will witness the penalty of picking up sticks to build a fire on the Sabbath day. This type of punishment by stoning. I'd like to take a moment or two and just acquaint you with this Old Testament type of capital punishment. Stoning in biblical times was the most common form of capital punishment for serious offenses against God or against the community. It served as a public communal act to purge the evil from their midst. It was intended to be public to instill fear of disobedience and uphold the holiness of the covenant people of God. It would be the witnesses according to Deuteronomy 17:17. It would be the witnesses who would throw the first stone. It would be the witnesses, the ones that actually testified of the guilt of the individual being stoned. They would be the first, they would be the first to hurl stones at the person. Their hands would be tied behind their back. Their feet would be tied. Many times they would be tied to a post so that they could not move. Stone after stone aimed at the head or the chest area of the person to ensure that death would follow the rest of the community. After they that had first witnessed, they that had firsthand knowledge of the offense. When they were through, then the community stepped up and they would begin to hurl rocks at the in at the individual. The injuries were were were to the head as I have said and to the chest area and it is said that they would throw so many stones at the individual. They would cover the individual stones to the place to where the stones would be heavy and crush the body. And many times it would be death by by internal bleeding or it would be death by suffocation. After the person had been stoned, the body was left many times unburied or it would could be buried there in the spot with the heap of stones that would act as a a memorial to the person's to the person's sin. Now, as I read to you the story tonight of this unnamed Israelite that was picking up sticks on the Sabbath day, let me be clear to you. It wasn't the gathering of sticks that led to his death. It wasn't that he was gathering sticks that caused him to be stoned. It was that he was gathering these sticks on the Sabbath day. Any other day of the week, you can kindle a fire. Any other day of the week, you can gather sticks. But God had so placed the Sabbath day off limits to any type of labor. We find in Genesis chapter 2 and verse number 1 through3, thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work. God ended his work which he had made. And he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. Follow verse three very closely with me. and God blessed the seventh day and God bless the seventh day. We flippantly, haphazardly will say things to one another like God bless you. God bless you. And it's more of a greeting. But can I tell you anytime God blesses something, it is a special thing. When God blesses and God favors something, it is very special. And God blessed the seventh day. But he not only blessed it, look at the next thing he did to it. And he sanctified it. Or in other translations, he made it holy. He decreed it to be holy. This is the first reference of anything in the Bible being holy. So now we understand that even time can become a holy time. Quite honestly, I believe that our church attendance is not just time spent. I believe that Sunday morning at 10:00 and Sunday evening at 6:00 and Wednesday night at 7:30. I don't believe it's just any other time. I believe because of what we do here, it is sanctified time. I believe that it is holy time. He sanctified this day because that in it he had rested from all his work which God had created and God had made. So now understand something with me. There are six days of creation. There are six days of creation. If you're a Bible reader, if you've read Genesis 1 closely, you'll read that all six days end with something similar to this. And the evening and the morning was the first day. And the evening and the morning was the second day, third day, fourth day, fifth day, sixth day. All these days, six of them end with the phrase, "And the evening and the morning was whatever the day was, but not the seventh day." Because the seventh day was a holy day. The seventh day was a blessed day. The seventh day was going to stand for a time that our rest from God and our remembrance of God and our being blessed by God was going to be more than just a 24-hour period. But that rest, that Sabbath would come in the form of salvation. So we have no and the evening and the morning was the seventh day because God intended it to be a continual an eternal blessing. It was a day that marked that he had finished his work. Now let me ask you something tonight. Somebody said, "Well, well, do we keep the Sabbath?" And to that I say yes, but we don't keep a 24-hour day. We keep a seven day a week Sabbath because Jesus Christ is our great blessing. And if you don't know him in the power of the born again experience, you're missing out on life because it is a most be blessed life. There's no greater life you could live like living the life for Jesus Christ and serving him. Could you put your hands together? If you feel that way, if you don't feel that way, keep sitting on your hands. But if you feel there's no greater life like living for God, then put your hands together and give him praise. He could simply say to man, "This is the day that I have sanctioned. This is the day that I have blessed." So Adam and Eve, whether what, however deter undetermined amount of time it was, they lived in perfection. They had a God reset. They had a God reset. Six days they would labor and six days they would work. But every seventh day there came a God reset. How many are thankful tonight for a God reset. I'm thankful this evening for a Sunday. Now I I praise him all through the week and you do too. But you know as well as I do, there's nothing like coming together with God's people and begin to worship and begin to praise God. There there's nothing that can be compared. It's a it's a God. It is a God reset. But sin entered the human race and man went in a downfall of becoming wicked and more wicked and more wicked until God would have to give what was called the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments. And one of the ten commandments, the longest commandment of all is doing a is Exodus chapter 20 and verse number eight. One of the ten commandments. Follow this with me. One of the ten commandments. Exodus 20 and verse number eight. How does it start out? Remember, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Sixth day shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy ma man's servant, nor thy maidervant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Can I tell you this evening, God knew the hardness of man, so he interjected a word. He said, "I'm going to put some responsibility on you. You need to remember the Sabbath day. Don't forget the Sabbath day. You need to remember this day of rest. You need to remember your creator. You need to remember what I did. You need to remember that I am the God of creation." I'm I'm going to tell you something tonight. God knows what he's doing because God put a day in the week that there would be a reset to the children of Israel. That they were living in a paganistic society. They were living in a society that did not brace the God of creation. But not God's people. God's people every week had one day that they were reminded that God is our creator and God is a good God. God is a good God and God is our creator. Can I tell you something? There's something the positive about this verse here because anytime the dad begins to honor the Sabbath, mom begins to honor the Sabbath. And anytime mom begins to honor the Sabbath, sons and daughters honor the Sabbath and man's servants and maid servants and strangers. You see, it's it's contagious to know the goodness of God. It's contagious, church, for you and I to have a divine reset weekly and understand he is a good God. You'll never find anybody. Search high and low. You'll never find anybody that'll do you like the Lord. You'll never find anything on this planet that will bless you, that will keep you, that will be with you like the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the greatest of all. He's the greatest thing. It was a weekly reminder from generation to generation that our God is our creator. >> It was a constant reminder that our God is our creator. We go to the last book in the Bible and we find something out about this in Revelation chapter 4 and verse number 11. There the angels are in praise to the eternal God. And they say these words in Revelation 4 and 11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Do you realize tonight that it's such a wonderful world? It's such a beautiful Earth. Earth is far more beautiful than the pictures of any other planets that they with telescopes have showed us. I'm telling you, they've not showed me beautiful greenery on Mars. They've not showed me beautiful fountains and grand canyons and rivers and and Niagras on the moon. Can I tell you that when God made the earth, he made it so beautiful that you and I could have a divine reset and understand we serve a good God. I tell you, if somebody run up here right now, I'd high-five you that God is a good God. He is a good God. If you if you if you believe that tonight, if this message is starting to kind of get inside of you tonight, why don't you lowfive somebody beside you tonight? He is a good God. I mean, when he created this planet, he created it as a good God, a great God. Thank God for the water. Thank God for the vegetation. Thank God for the animals. Thank God. Thank God for all. He is a good God. I'm going to tell you something, friend. That's why we pray before we eat because he is a good God. We We are living in a good We're living in a good time. >> He is a He is a good God. >> He I said he's a good God. >> Now I want you to follow this with me now. He's a He's a good God. Watch what he does. Watch what he does in Genesis 2. If everything was made for his pleasure according to Revelation 4:11 and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Then listen to me tonight. Please hear me tonight. You were made for the pleasure of God. >> I was made for the pleasure of God. Now here's here's the thing I got to ask myself. Am I bringing him pleasure? >> I said, "Am I bringing him pleasure?" That's what I got to ask myself. Am I bringing am I bringing him pleasure? Well, the only way I know the only way I'll know if I'm bringing him pleasure is to read his book. And when I can read what pleases him, I know to do that because you remember, he said, you remember the Sabbath day. So, I'm going to study the Bible. And you're going to study the Bible. And we've already found several things that pleases God. That's why we do it. Can I tell you, we don't worship God with our singing because we're Pentecostal. We don't worship God with our hand clapping because we're Pentecostal. We don't run the aisles because we're Pentecostal. We don't shout because we're Pentecostal. Do you know why we do all these things? We read in God's song book, the book of Psalms, that it pleases God for us to clap our hands. It pleases God for us to sing songs of thanksgiving to him. It pleases God. Every person in here, whether you want to admit it or not, you like to be bragged upon. You like for the You like for your boss at work to notice what you did that were extra. You like for your wife to tell you something and brag on you. And you like for your husband to tell you something and brag on you. Where in the world did we get that from? I'll tell you where we got it from. We got it from a God that said, "I made you for pleasure. I made you for my pleasure." And can I tell you when we begin to clap our hands, we've got a heavenly father that says that gives me pleasure. When we begin to lift our voices up, come on. Will you do that with me right now? Would you begin to lift up your voice? And >> some of you thought this going to be a negative sermon tonight because of our opening text, but I I don't believe it's going to be negative. I believe we can learn from failure. >> And if we don't learn from failure, somebody help pastor out tonight. If we don't learn from it, we'll be bound to >> repeat it. The Bible said in Genesis chapter 2, verse number 7, guess what? What happened when we came to life in Genesis chapter 2 verse number 7? And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. We are here because God breathed. We are here because God breathed his life into us. He breathed into man. He breathed into man and man became a living soul. Now watch this. Man became higher than the animals because now man has a soul. He has the ability. He has the ability to to choose. He has ability to choose his his behavior. Man now has the ability to choose. Animals have no ability to choose. They were made an animal. They'll always be an animal. That's why that you see the animals doing what they were created to do is they were not given the choice. You don't see dogs wanting to be cats and cats wanting to be dogs. You don't see chickens wanting to be lions and lions wanting to be chickens. When God made the animal kingdom, that's who they are. They they don't have the ability to choose. They will roar. They will cluck. They will mu mw. They will b they will bark. They don't have the ability to choose. But you and I have the ability to choose. And that, brother French, is what makes it worship because he breathed into us and gave us the power of choice. And because he gave us the power of choice, buckle your seat belts tight because Psalms 150 and1 says, "Praise ye the Lord. Praise him in the sanctuary. Praise him in the power of his fir in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts. Praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise him with the sultry and heart. Praise him with the timberal and dance. Praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud symbols. Praise him upon the high sounding. But listen to this. Let everything that hath breath praise ye the Lord. You breathed into me and now I'm breathing into you. I'm giving you praise. Come on, somebody breathe into him right now. Come on. He breathed into you. Now breathe into him. I love you, Jesus. I glorify your name, Lord. You're all together lovely. You're all together wonderful. I adore you, Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. >> You see, there was something about Sabbath day that we got to look at because Sabbath day was more than a group of people standing getting up on the seventh day and saying, "Hey, this is a day we're not going to work. Hey, this is a day we're not going to work." Oh, no, no, no. It became much more than that. It became their reset for their worship. It became a time of their praise and worship. Listen to Ezekiel chapter 46:3. He hints at this. He brings he brings light onto this when he says in Ezekiel 6 46:3, "Likewise, the people of the land worshiped at the door of this gate before the Lord in the Sabbaths and in the new moons." That was more than just getting up said, "Hey, we don't have to go to work today. We don't have to get the mule tied to the plow today. Oh, we don't have to go. Oh, we can stay home." No, no, no. It was a day they got up and they began to lift their hands and say, "Jhovah, >> I worship you, Jehovah. I magnify you, Jehovah. I I I glorify you, Jehovah. It was a It was a day. It was a day that they remembered. I'm not here because of who I am. And I'm not here because somebody gave me a break in life. I'm not here because of who my daddy is or who my mom or who my cousins I I'm not here because I knew somebody that knew somebody that knew somebody that could get me a break. Oh, no. I'm here, God, because for your pleasure, I was made. For your pleasure I was created, God, I I give you praise. So all over the land of Israel, the seventh day heard the sounds of praises and heard the sounds of worship because it was a day of remembering that God is the creator. God is the creator. Let me read you another chapter out of Psalms. Psalms 100 verse number one. Psalms 100 verse number one. Listen to it. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all you lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, he is God. It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting and his truth endureth to all generations. Can I tell you something tonight? Anytime we can enter into the Sabbath of our God, anytime that we can keep refocusing and resetting, he is our God. It is he that have made us and not we ourselves. Anytime we can give him praise and give him glory, we bring pleasure to him. But now in my notes in bold block letters, I have written out why such a severe punishment. Why God? Why God? Do you know do do you know that if you'll ask God, if you read his word and you don't understand it, do you know if you'll stop for a minute and pray and ask God, do you know if you're sincere in your heart, you know God will give you the reason? If you'll study his book, you'll see the reason. I mean, come on, God. Maybe the man's fire went out. Maybe it was cold. Maybe he maybe he had shivering children at home. Maybe he had the fire went out. Come on, God. See, here's one issue and and I hope you I hope you really put this to heart. The problem this generation is going to have to work on is that we are more sympathetic with emotions than we are principled. If the media or the marketing agency can cause you to feel sorry for somebody, we will overlook grotes sin. It's truth. >> Because if I can play on your emotions, if I can play on your emotions, you'll put principle to the side. Come on, God. He might have had cold. He might have had they may needed to eat something. Come on, God. Why do he might have been out there picking up sticks to start his fire, but here it is. Here it is. Why such severe punishment? Well, let's go to Exodus 35 and1. Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together and said unto them, "These are the words which the Lord hath commanded that you should do them." Here it is again. Six days, you've heard it before. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be shall be to you for a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Look at verse three. You shall kindle no fire throughout your generations upon the what? Sabbath day. I don't want you starting a fire, kindling a fire on the Sabbath day. All right, God, lead me on. Leviticus chapter Leviticus chapter number nine, verse number 23. Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation and came out and blessed the people. And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar, upon the altar the burnt offering, and the fat, which when all the people saw, they shouted, and they fell on their faces. Fire was a symbol of only what God could create. Fire was only something that God would create. It was not just an ordinary fire they had in the tabernacle. Oh, no. No. It was a fire that God that was a fire that God had made. Now, God didn't say you can't start a fire day one through day six. He gave you permission to start a fire on that day. But on this day, day seven, you cannot do any creative work before because for you to do a creative work of starting a fire would be to cause you to act like a creator. And there's only one God who is the creator. So in Leviticus, we see God starting the fire on the altar. It came from heaven. It came from the Lord. And God started this fire. Interesting. The next chapter, Leviticus 10 1 and 2. And Naab and Abahu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his sensor, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out a fire from the Lord and devoured them and they died before the Lord. You say, "Wait a minute. Come on now. These two boys see their daddy Aaron. They see their daddy Aaron working. Oh, they just wanted to go up and pray. They just wanted to go into the temple and offer this. They just wanted to do this. Come on, brother Snitzer. Come on. Come on. Let's cut these two boys a little slack." God says there's no slack being cut you because you have offered your own manmade fire. You cannot come into my house into my temple building your own fire the way that you want to. Therefore, the fire of God came out and slew Naab and Abahu. Can I tell you it was strange fire? It was fire that they had created. It was profane fire. No fire was to be kindled on the Sabbath day. You can make a fire any other day of the week, but not on the Sabbath day. Making, and hear this please, making of a fire was creating. And God reserved the right that on the Sabbath he would be the only creator that would be recognized. He would be the only creator. And so now we begin to see what this man was doing. He was gathering sticks. He had knowledge that he was not to build a fire on the Sabbath day. He was with them when God gave the Ten Commandments. He was with them when Moses even said and brought it down and spelled it out, "No fire shall be kindled on the Sabbath day." So what is he doing? He has a total disregard for what God's word has said. Because after all, after all, are we not made in the image and the likeness of God with the ability to reason and the ability to make our own choices? Sure you are. Sure you are. I don't know what was going through the man's mind, brother Ericson. I don't know what he was I I don't know if he was thinking, listen, I got to start this fire. But I do know the principle was there that he shouldn't start it. But you see, he acted as God in the day of the Sabbath. H how what what do you mean he acted as God? He made his own word. He decided his own own way. But can I tell you tonight, I can't make you come to the altar. I can't make you repent. I can't make you get in the baptismal pool and get baptized in Jesus name. I can't I can't give you the Holy Ghost. I can't cause you to live for God. That's all left up to you. But I got news for you. Whatever you do, there's a price to your sticks. Whatever you do, there's a cost to those sticks. Sir, can I tell you not to go out? If I could have been there that morning when he left his tent, if I could have been there that morning, I could have said to him, "Sir, please don't go out today. For the word of the Lord says," but he probably could have looked at me like happens a lot. Yeah, I know what the word says, but you you see that that word there is saying that you know, but you're putting your reasoning on the same level with God's word. And when you want to be God, you got to be willing to pay the price for the sticks. Sir, there's going to be a price to those sticks there. I if if you go out and pick those sticks up, there's going to be a price to be paid and they're going to take you down to public square and they're going to stone you and you're going to be dead before sun before the sun set you. You're going to be dead. I I wonder if I could preach to somebody tonight on this cold January dark rainy January night. If I could rattle somebody and tell you there's going to be a price to that stick you're going to pick up. There's going to be a go ahead Eve. You made in the image and the likeness of God. You can take that fruit if you want to. But Eve, there's going to be a price to be paid. Go ahead, Samson. Go ahead and go down to the Philistine girls and go ahead and be with the Philistine girls, but there'll be a price to be paid for that stick. >> Be a price. Be a price to be paid. Be a price to be paid. You see, your ways are not his ways. His ways are not your ways. Your ways produces thorns and briars. His ways produce trees that clap their hands and good greenery around you. Go ahead, pick your own stick up. You don't have to listen to me. You don't have to listen to me. But I'm ordained of God to tell you there's a price to that stick you're picking up. There's a price to that stick you're picking up. My baby brother didn't have to listen to our pastor who put certain things off limits to us when he put that skating rink off limits to us and said you only the youth group only goes to the skating rink when we rent the entire skating rink. Jerry, you're going to go pick up a stick and from that stick, you're going to be introduced to drugs. And from those drugs, you're going to be you you're going to get addicted. And from your addiction, you're going to rob and steal and yes, even kill. And from that, you're going to spend 34 and a half years of your life incarcerated. I thank God that he's been out for five years and he's serving God. Yes. Praise the Lord. But you listen to me tonight. >> Those 34 years didn't have to be. >> He could have answered the call of God like he did. He could have been a preacher like I am. And the only difference, brother Helms, between Jerry and Kenny is somebody got in my head and said, "There's a price to be paid for the stick and don't pick the stick up." God, I got to preach to you tonight. There's a price to that stick. You can turn me off like a radio. You can tune me out. You can get up and go to the lobby if you want to, but you can't bypass the price of the stick. is going to be there. I wish somebody praise him. I wish somebody worship him. I wish somebody just worship him right now. for somebody tonight. And I'm not preaching I'm not preaching to the young people. I'm preaching to have a body. Some of you are flirting with sticks. Some of you are flirting with sticks. You're flirting with things that are off limits. I got to come on a Sunday night and tell you there's a price to that stick. There's a price to that stick. >> There's a price to that stick. >> You hear me? There's a price to that stick. You better drop that stick tonight. You You better pray through in this altar tonight. You You better give the word of God its due place in your life because you'll be another Eve. You'll be another Samson. You'll be another Judas. You'll be another Deus. You'll be another one in the shipwreck of life. May be seated for just few moments. But the truth of the matter is every young person and every middle-aged adult that's here and every senior saint that's here have sticks. >> And the answer is what are you going to do with them? >> Your sticks, your sticks are your potential. Your sticks are your potential. Your sticks is what God sees and he wants to do in your life. Your sticks is a God that made you for pleasure. And can I preach tonight and tell you if you're living in misery, you're only living in misery because you're building your own fire and you're gathering your own sticks and you're saying, "I know what the Bible says, but I know what but you you know I I you know there's people living with a curse over their head. There's people living with a curse over their head because God's word plainly says bring the tithe." But they got a butt to go there. Oh, but I'm in debt. Oh, but I'm this and oh, but I'm that. And oh, but I don't like how this goes. And I don't like how that goes. Listen, go ahead. God entrusted you with it. It's yours to do what you'll do. But you look up here at your pastor tonight. You'll pay the price >> for the stick. You You'll pay the price. You You'll pay the you you'll pay the price. The emergency room will get it. The mechanic will get it. the counselor will get it. You you'll you'll mortgage things to get a good lawyer to get your kids out of trouble. But I'm gonna tell you something. If we could just pick up the stick of God's word. If we could just pick up If we could just pick up If we could just pick up the stick of God's word. Well, let messians, would you come and bring this to an end tonight? What are you going to do with your sticks tonight? You got them. Everybody's got them. We all got them. We all got them. We all got potential. We all feel like we got purpose. We got purpose in our life. Young people can't deny the fact that they fall under conviction because they feel a swelling on the inside of them. God's got purpose for me. Well, let's go to First Kings chapter 17:10. It's a famine in the land. First Kings 17 and 10. So he arose and went to Zerapath. And when he was come to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there. She was gathering what? What was she gathering? >> She was gathering sticks. He called to her and said, "Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel that I may drink." And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, "Bring me, I pray thee, a mercel of bread in thy hand." And she said, "As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal and a barrel, and a little oil, and a cruise. And behold, I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, and that we may eat it and die. Listen to me now. Man of God said, "I I'd like some water." And she she obliged him with water. But when he said, "Would you make me just a little bit of bread?" She stopped. And she wanted to tell him, "But this is the reason I can't. But this is the reason I can't. I just got a little meal in a barrel. I just got a little oil in a cruise. I'm gathering you. You see these two sticks, preacher? I'm gathering these two sticks to build a fire to make the cake for me and my son. It is our last supper. We're going to eat it and we're going to die. That's it. No more meal, no more oil. Last meal. Death is on the horizon. But listen to what the man of God said. And Elijah said unto her, "Fear not. Go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and thy son. For thus saeth the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of mineral shall not waste, neither shall the crus of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. I'm going to read the next verse. Listen to this. No, don't put yourself first. Don't put your son first. Put the only thing that can direct you and keep you alive. Keep the word of God first in your life. >> See, we would have wanted to made it personal. How dare that pastor? How dare that preacher? How dare that prophet? Did you hear that prophet say? Did you hear how See that? That's that your way. That's your reasoning. That's humanistic reasoning. Did you hear him say that? But somehow the man of God said, "Fear not. Go and do as the word has said and bring me the cake first and afterward you and your son are going to eat throughout this famine. What's she got to do? She got to listen to a voice inside her. Brother Thompson that was saying, "This is all I have for my son. This is all I have for me." Or does she decide to take her sticks and say, you know, I just going to bank on the word of God. I'm just going to believe on the word of God. And she went, took them same two sticks, started a fire, baked a cake, beat the bottom of the meal barrel, got all the meal out of the meal barrel, took the bottle of oil, got all the oil, the last drop, the last drop, made the man of God a cake, and then he said, "Go back to the kitchen. Go back to the kitchen." And maybe in her mind, she was saying, "I beat the bottom of that barrel. There's no more meal in there. There's no more oil in there. But I'm going to tell you, when you use God's ways, you're going to get the reward, you can either live in sin and pay the payment for the stick, or you can live in grace and live in the rewards of grace. Come on, stand with me right now. Could we put verse 15? Can we get verse 15 on the screen? And could everybody in this room tonight that wants to live in the rewards of God's sticks, could we read it out loud? Could we read it distinctly? Could we read it by faith? I'll start us off. Verse number 15. And >> oh my. What are you going to settle for? One life or you going to settle for abundance of life? What are you going to settle for? My way or your way? >> What are you going to settle for? Doing things your own way, messing it up and messing it up and messing it up and messing it up. Are you going to go God's way? And are you going to enjoy life and life more abundantly? A smile in your face, a joy in your step. What are you going to do? I end with this. I end with this. Whose fire are you going to have? His fire or your fire? Who's fire? Because when it really boils down to it, our God is a consuming fire. But when it boils down to it, at the end of time, Satan, Satan is going to deceive the world, you know how he's going to do it? He's going to do it by the appearance of fire coming down from heaven. He's the great one. The Antichrist is the great one. Look at what he can do. The Antichrist is the great one. Look at the miracles and say, "Look at the fire that comes down from heaven." And there'll be a world that'll line up to put a chip in their hand or a chip in their forehead. and they'll bow down because a false antichrist, an antichrist can make it appear like fire comes down. But on a cold January Sunday night, I wonder if there's anybody that would gather with me around this altar and begin to worship the God of fire tonight. God, it's your way, God. God, it's your way, God. Oh, it's your way, God. Oh, God, it's your way, God. That's God, it's your way, God. God, I I'll pay the payment for the sticks of being stubborn. God, I'll pay the I'll pay the price for being stubborn toward the word of God. I'll pay the price for being stubborn toward a man of God. I'll pay the price for being stubborn to the ways of God. But oh God, I want your fire tonight. Here's my stick. Here's my life, God. I Here it is, God. Oh, yes. Come on. Gather up tightly around this altar. Would you push in tightly tonight? I believe everybody can get up around the altar tonight. Fire. Fire. God's fire. I don't want to pay the price of the fire. I don't want to pay the price of the sticks. I don't want to pay the price of picking up the stick. I want the reward of giving thy sticks to him. Thank you, Lord. Come on, pray, church. Come on. I will be guide upon your God. Oh God, I will put my trust, oh God, in you, oh God, and thy will. >> Oh God, put those sticks down tonight. >> Stop being your own God. >> Stop being your own God. >> Your love is >> Come on, yield to him right now. yield to him right now. Tell him you love him. Tell him you praise him. Don't worry about what anybody thinks around you. Oh God, I don't care what anybody thinks. I don't care what anybody thinks. I don't care what anybody thinks. You are my God. You are my Lord. I don't care what they say about me. I don't care what they say about the way that I dress. I don't care what they say about the way that I behave. I don't care they believe about the way we worship. I'm going to give you my stand. God, you are my creator. You are my creator. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. No one like you. Jesus. There is none. Jesus. Oh God. Oh God, you are my God. You are my God. >> Jesus, take the will. Jesus, take the wheel of my life. Jesus, take the wheel of my life. >> Jesus, take the wheel of my life. Yes. There's a price for There's a price for There's a price for Oh, God. If I can preach to you tonight, there's a price for a prize for church. I can praise to you right now. Put your hands up in the air and begin to worship. Yeah. Heat. >> >> God. Come on. Worship. Worship. Worship. Worship. Worship. Worship. Worship. There is no one like you. There is none beside you. Heat. Heat. Heat. >> >> Heat. Heat. There's a price. >> There's a price. >> I'm going to ask us tonight before I dismiss you. I'm going to ask everybody tonight. I'm going to ask everybody. I'm not in intimidating. I'm not in anything like that. But if you realize the power of worship, I'd like for everybody in this room that realizes the power of worship to begin to worship him right now from the bottom of your heart. >> >> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It don't have to make sense to you. You're not the creator. He is. You have to understand it. You haven't figured it out. >> There's a price. There's a price. I know I'm I'm I'm I'm just belaboring the point, but Sister Nelson, there's a price to that stick. There's a price. several years ago up on the hill. They told me they said there's a parent here as a I don't know second or third grader wanting you to do an interview for school that time. We were up on the hill had a gym and little modular building and we never went in one classroom. We never went into anything. and we met in the parking lot and he began to ask me about sporting this and sports that and this and that and to which at that time we had none of that. We we had none of that at that time. But what we had worked. You see we we don't have a sporting we don't have sports program out here because we going to get us a boy or girl in the NBA or whatever. We have it to teach them team spirit, team work. >> But we didn't even Sister Sharp, the man didn't even go in the building with me. He let me know that we didn't have this and we didn't have this program and that program that he was going. It was kind It was a kind conversation, but he he just said, "I don't think you're the fit for us right now. Roll the clock up." That little boy is now in the 10th grade. That little boy now is spaced out on drugs. That little boy now has gotten so much trouble the public school system and even their places of reform won't let him. And here comes that same man. Preacher, can you help me? I'm sorry, sir, with the trouble and the things. I'm sorry we're unable to help you. We can help you through our church. Would you come to our church? We can help you through the church. But the school's something different. Now, now, now I know that some of you think, "Well, Bo Carpenter, I was nowhere near the legal issues this young man had." But here's my whole point. There was a price to that stick when you got in the car because we didn't have this and we didn't have that. I wonder how different that young man's life would be today had that father said, "You know what? I just want my boy in a good Christian environment. I I just I just want him in a place that they pledge allegiance and they pray before church, they pray before school. I I just want him in a place with godly I don't care if you I don't care if you got a sawdust floor they play kickball on. If I could just get him here, but father, there's a price to that stick. I think of parents here tonight. I think of a I think of a pastor, a young man of God right now that's turned Winchester and Manchester, Tennessee, Tennessee upside down. Talk I I think about a little old boy. I think about a little old boy that took a dried up by the roots church and turned it into an apostolic Holy Ghost revival center. Who you talking about? Jordan Atinson's who I'm talking about. But do you know something? That little mom of his, worked, babysat, sacrificed when she could have wore better clothes, drove a finer car. She said, "The price of tuition is worth it. Let's get him in school. Let's let's get him there in school." And now she wouldn't take anything for that. Now, when she goes over and visits her son, he's a pastor of a one of the one of the thrivingest Pentecostal churches in the state of Tennessee. You know why? There's a price to that stick. And I'm glad we paid that price tonight. One more time before you dismiss. Drive safely home tonight, but lift your hands and praise him with me right now. >> >> God, keep every car safe going home tonight. Lord, keep us safe on the roads going home. Lord, let us all get home safely tonight. Lord, I pray that you'll bring us back. Lord, Wednesday night, Lord, keep us safe, Lord. that there's those that have to go to work tomorrow on treacherous roadways. Lord, send your angels, God. Lord, be with our people, God. Send your angels, God, after them. And Lord, we'll give you the praise and the glory and the honor in Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen. And amen. God bless you. See you Wednesday night.