Sunday Morning Worship Service

Can we give the Lord a great praise today? He is worthy. Come on, do you love him? What a great name, that name that is above every name. I'm thankful for the name of Jesus. There is no other name. I'm thankful for that name. I'm thankful I've been baptized in that name. I'm thankful I can call on that name in times of trouble. And so, I'm just thankful to be in his house today with his people, in his presence. And it's so good to be home, always a a treat, always an honor uh to be able to stand in this pulpit. And uh I love and appreciate uh each and every one of you all. I get tremendous honor, of course, to Bishop and Sister McCool and Pastor Sister McCool. I love and appreciate them very much. And I was thinking the other day you go somewhere and someone asks where you're from and you tell them Knoxville, Tennessee and you tell them who your pastor is and it's kind of like in the sports world if you say you played football under Nick Saban or you played basketball under Coach K uh there just comes a They're they're like, "Okay, I I you're going to be all right then. I can trust you." Uh and so, I'm I'm thankful for for the the upbringing that I have. I'm thankful to call this place home. And I give honor to uh the McCools, the Whitneys. I love and appreciate these men and women of God so much. All the leadership of this great church. And I give honor to my former youth pastor, Brother Venoa Russell and his wife and and uh Brother Brother Venoa Russell he taught me a lot of things when I was helping him with the youth and and working with him. But one of the greatest things Brother Venoa Russell ever taught me was servanthood. And I appreciate that very, very much. And I give honor to my mother here today. Give honor to my brother, my sister-in-law, my nephews, and all of you all. Thank you for being in the house of God in this place today. If you have your Bible, turn Turn with me to the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth, the first chapter. We'll read verse number 14, then we'll go back into that chapter in just a minute. Ruth 1 and 14 and they lifted up their voice and they wept again and Orpah, not Oprah, but Orpah kissed her mother-in-law but Ruth cleaved or she clung unto her. I want to preach today on this simple thought, kiss or cling. Would you set your Bible down? Would you lift your hands? Would you lift your hearts? Would you help me pray in this house? Lord, we love you. We're so thankful for your presence. We're so thankful for your name. So thankful for your people, your word, God, your anointing, your spirit here today. God, anoint me to preach this word the way you want it preached. God, anoint your people God, to open their ears and their hearts and their minds to this word and God, let each and every one of us leave here different than what we walked in, God, and we give you praise in advance for what you're going to do in this house. In the mighty, matchless name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. Can we clap our hands one more time? And as you clap, can you give a God a shout of praise? Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. You may be seated. Backing up into that chapter, verse number one, it says it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land and a certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab he and his wife and his two sons and the name of the man was Elimelech Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi and the names of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion Ephrathites of Bethlehem Judah and they came into the country of Moab and the Bible says that they continued there. Now, the first thing you need to know about this story today is that Bethlehem, if you take it into its root meaning, it means the house of bread. So, their first mistake was they left a place called the house of bread. In a famine, this Israelite family leaves a place called the house of bread. In the words of Pastor McCool, stupid. WHY WOULD YOU leave a place called the house of bread in a time of famine? BECAUSE IF THEY DON'T have bread, nobody's going to have bread. And and their second mistake is the Bible says that they continued or they remained there. See, there's one thing every one of us are human in this place today. Every one of us are are are able to make mistakes, but there's a difference in making a mistake and staying in YOUR MISTAKE. DON'T MAKE A MISTAKE TODAY AND continue there. Don't remain in your mistake. DON'T STAY in your faults and your failures today. Verse 3 says that Elimelech, Naomi's husband, dies and she was left with her two sons and they took them the wives of the women of Moab. They did what was natural. I'm sure if they would have still been living in Bethlehem, Judah, they would have married Israelite girls, but because their parents made the mistake of taking them to Moab, they are surrounded by Moabite women. Parents, if you want your kids to marry in the church, that's where you need to take them. And and they took them wives of the women of Noah Moab and the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other was Ruth and they dwelled there about 10 years. Now, if you are a Bible scholar at all, if you read your Bible and you understand your Bible, that word Moab, that word Moabite, uh it should ring out to you because they are the offspring of Lot's drunken incestuous relationship with his own daughter, his own flesh and blood. AND THEY HAVE ALWAYS, THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE, MOABITES HAVE ALWAYS been a TYPE AND SHADOW of our flesh. And not only a type and shadow of our flesh, but our need of separation between spirit and the flesh. As a matter of fact, if you study the Levitical law of the day, there was strict rules on who could AND WHO COULD NOT ENTER INTO THE HOUSE OF GOD. AND GOD said that a Moabite, even to their 10th generation, COULD NEVER ENTER THE HOUSE OF GOD. SO, THIS TYPE AND SHADOW OF THE FLESH COULD NOT enter the house of God. AND CAN I TELL YOU today that neither should our flesh. BECAUSE THE BIBLE SAYS NO FLESH SHOULD GLORY IN HIS PRESENCE. THAT'S WHY THE APOSTLE PAUL DECLARED IN HIS in the word that he dies daily because that's what each and every one of us need to do each and every day is we need TO DIE DAILY. BEFORE YOU WALK INSIDE THIS BUILDING, BEFORE YOU come into this place of worship, if you don't have time to pray any other prayer, you need TO SAY GOD, CRUCIFY THIS FLESH BECAUSE I DON'T WANT MY WILL AND MY WAY AND MY FLESH TO INTERFERE WITH WHAT GOD WANTS TO DO IN THIS PLACE TODAY. And the Bible says in verse 5, "And Mahlon and Chilion, her boys, die. And the women the woman was left with nothing but these two moabites. Uh And so the Bible says if you if you read on a little bit further, I don't have time to go all the way there, but when Naomi does finally go back to Bethlehem, Judah, the townspeople see her coming and they say, "Here comes Naomi." And she says, "Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara, for God has dealt bitterly with me." She said, "I WENT OUT FULL. I THOUGHT I WAS EMPTY WHEN I LEFT. I THOUGHT WE WERE HUNGRY WHEN I LEFT, BUT I was really full. I had everything I needed. AND NOW WHEN I'VE COME BACK, I'VE COME HOME EMPTY." CAN I TELL YOU CAN I JUST PAUSE RIGHT THERE AND TELL EVERY SINGLE person in this place today, this world will leave you empty, and this world will leave you wanting. JUST LOOK AT THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON. HE FINDS HIMSELF IN a pig pen. HE THOUGHT THAT DADDY'S HOUSE WAS NOT A PLACE HE WANTED TO be until he had lost everything, and he's living and eating and sleeping with pigs. AND I LET ME TELL SOMEBODY IN THIS PLACE TODAY, IF YOU THINK THINGS ARE BAD RIGHT NOW, IF YOU THINK YOU'RE HURTING RIGHT NOW, IF YOU THINK LIFE IS TOUGH RIGHT NOW, IF YOU THINK THINGS ARE DIFFICULT RIGHT NOW, IF YOU THINK YOU'RE EMPTY RIGHT NOW, YOU JUST TRY LEAVING THIS HOUSE OF BREAD. YOU'VE NOT SEEN HURT YET. YOU'VE NOT SEEN PAIN YET. YOU'VE NOT SEEN EMPTINESS YET. SO, she arises, she tells her daughter-in-laws that she's going to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard that the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. Of course he gave them bread. It's called the house OF BREAD. THERE'S ALWAYS bread in the house of bread. No matter how HOW MUCH YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT PASTOR PREACHES, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THEY DIDN'T sing your song today, there's still bread in the house of bread, and I'm thankful whether it's a Wednesday night, whether it's a Sunday morning, whether it's a SUNDAY NIGHT, WHENEVER LIFE HAS LEFT ME EMPTY, WHENEVER LIFE HAS LEFT ME BROKEN, I CAN COME TO THIS PLACE CALLED THE HOUSE OF BREAD, AND THERE IS NOURISHMENT, THERE IS HEALING, THERE IS VICTORY. OH, I'M THANKFUL FOR THE HOUSE OF BREAD TODAY. SHE AND SO SHE goes forth out of the place where she was and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they went out on the way to return unto the land of Judah. They are going back to the land of Judah or the land of praise. And I just can't help but think on this beautiful Sunday morning that somebody in this place needs to return TO JUDAH. SOMEBODY IN THIS PLACE NEEDS TO return to praise. Maybe it's BEEN A LITTLE WHILE SINCE YOU'VE PRAISED. MAYBE IT'S BEEN A LITTLE WHILE SINCE YOU CLAPPED YOUR HANDS. MAYBE IT'S BEEN A LITTLE WHILE SINCE YOU LIFTED YOUR HANDS. MAYBE IT'S BEEN A LITTLE WHILE SINCE YOU LIFTED YOUR VOICE. MAYBE IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOU LEAPED FOR JOY OR DANCED IN THE SPIRIT. CAN I TELL SOMEBODY HERE TODAY, IT'S TIME TO GET BACK TO JUDAH. IT'S TIME TO GET BACK TO THE LAND OF PRAISE. IF YOU'RE DEPRESSED TODAY, GO BACK TO THE LAND OF PRAISE. IF YOU'RE BATTLING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, GET TO THE LAND OF PRAISE. IF YOU'RE HAVING PROBLEMS IN YOUR LIFE, IF YOU'RE SICK IN YOUR BODY, SOMEBODY OUGHT TO GO BACK TO JUDAH TODAY, BECAUSE WHEN YOU GET BACK TO THE LAND OF JUDAH, WHEN YOU GET BACK TO THE LAND OF PRAISE, GOD CAN MOVE IN YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE. VERSE number eight now. looks at these two daughters-in-law and she says, "Both of you go back to your mama's house. You're both young. You're both attractive. I don't have any more sons to give you. And even I'm too old to get married again and EVEN IF I GOT MARRIED AGAIN, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WAIT AROUND for me to have more children. YOU'RE NOT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WAIT AROUND for me to have more sons and for them to grow up and marry. SO YOU YOU STILL GOT YOU STILL GOT YOUR YOUTH. YOU STILL HAVE YOU YOU STILL HAVE the best YEARS OF YOUR LIFE. JUST GO BACK TO YOUR MOTHER'S HOUSE." And then she blesses them. She says, "The Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest each of you in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them and they lifted up their voice and they wept. And they said unto her, "Surely we will return with thee unto thy people." SO NAOMI TRIES TO TALK THEM INTO GOING HOME. SHE TRIES TO TALK THEM into staying in Moab, BUT THEY BOTH AFTER HEARING NAOMI'S WORDS, they say, "No, we're going to go with you." BOTH OF THEM. NOTICE HOW THE STORY PROGRESSES. Both of them begin the long journey back to the land of Judah. BOTH OF THEM ARE BLESSED BY their mother-in-law Naomi. Both of them are kissed by her. Both of them LIFT UP THEIR VOICES and wept. Both of them They They both wept together. Both of them initially state that they will go WITH HER, BUT THAT IS WHERE the similarity stop. Cuz verse 14 brings us back to our original text today. And they lifted up their voice and they wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law. But Ruth cleaved to her. Orpah kisses her and says, "I'm gone. I'm going to do what you told me to do. I'm going to go back to my people. I'm going to go back to my god. I'm going to go back to my mama's house. I I'm going to see what KIND OF LIFE I can have here in Moab. I I know I know you're a great lady, Naomi Naomi Naomi, and I know YOU'RE A WONDERFUL PERSON. I I KNOW THAT YOU THAT YOUR GOD'S A GOOD GOD, BUT I I I I'LL GO BACK TO WHERE I CAME FROM." BUT RUTH THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT RUTH THAT SHE GRABS A hold of Naomi. AND SHE SAYS, "I'M NOT GOING TO KISS YOU GOODBYE. BUT I'M GOING TO cling to you." And in her clinging, IN HER GRABBING A HOLD OF NAOMI, IN HER HOLDING NAOMI, RUTH SAYS UNTO HER NAOMI SAYS TO HER, "LOOK, YOUR SISTER-IN-LAW'S GONE BACK UNTO HER PEOPLE UNTO HER GODS. WHY DON'T YOU DO THE SAME?" BUT RUTH SAYS, "ENTREAT ME NOT TO LEAVE THEE." IN OTHER WORDS, I I'M BEGGING YOU, LET ME GO WITH YOU, NAOMI. I DON'T WANT TO RETURN BACK TO MOAB. I WANT TO FOLLOW AFTER YOU. AND THEN SHE SAYS THESE WORDS. She says, "FOR WHITHER THOU GOEST, I WILL GO. AND WHERE THOU LODGEST, I WILL LODGE. THY PEOPLE SHALL BE MY PEOPLE, AND THY GOD MY GOD. WHERE THOU DIEST, WILL I DIE, AND THERE I'LL BE BURIED. AND THE LORD DO SO TO ME AND MORE ALSO IF AUGHT BUT DEATH PART thee and me." SO NAOMI SAYS, "GO BACK AND FOLLOW YOUR SISTER-IN-LAW, ORPAH." BUT Ruth says, "NAOMI, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THESE 10 YEARS THAT I'VE LIVED WITH YOU. I'VE SEEN THE LORD WORK IN YOUR LIFE. I'VE SEEN HOW YOU'VE WORKED THROUGH SORROW AND PAIN, AND I JUST GOT TO TRY THE GOD THAT YOU SERVE. I JUST GOT TO TRY AND SEE WHAT YOU GOT. I DON'T WANT TO STAY HERE. I DON'T WANT TO STAY IN MY PAST, BUT I WANT TO FOLLOW YOU TO BETHLEHEM JUDAH. OH, AND I WISH SOMEBODY WOULD UNDERSTAND IN THIS HOUSE TODAY. WHENEVER YOU BEGAN TO TAKE A STAND FOR GOD, WHENEVER YOU BEGAN TO LOVE GOD, EVEN THROUGH YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES, THERE'S A WORLD OUT THERE THAT'S GOING TO SAY, I WANT TO SERVE THE GOD THAT THEY SERVE. I WANT TO HAVE THE HOLY GHOST THAT THEY HAVE. I WANT TO LIVE THE LIFE THAT THEY LIVE. LIKE HER sister-in-law Ruth, Orpah initially wanted to accompany Naomi and returned to her with her to her native land of Bethlehem Judah, but unlike Ruth, she finally accepted her mother-in-law's argument, and she went back to Moab, back to her people, and back to her gods. Orpah used her mouth to kiss her future goodbye. But verse 6 the death and life are in the power of the tongue. Orpah, you may have just kissed your future goodbye, but Ruth, YOU JUST USED YOUR MOUTH TO PROPHET PROPHESY AND TO proclaim your future into existence. WHEN YOU SAID, YOUR PEOPLE WILL BE MY PEOPLE, AND YOUR GOD WILL BE MY GOD, WHAT YOU DIDN'T REALIZE, RUTH, you are forever changing the history of YOUR LIFE. OH, I WISH WE WOULD UNDERSTAND TODAY THAT IF WE WALK OUT OF HERE AND JUST SAY, I'M GOING TO KISS MY FUTURE GOODBYE, I'M JUST GOING TO KISS MY MARRIAGE GOODBYE, I'M JUST GOING TO KISS MY RELATIONSHIPS GOODBYE. I'M JUST GOING TO KISS THE FRIENDSHIPS GOODBYE. I'M JUST GOING TO KISS THIS CHURCH GOODBYE. YOU ARE LEADING YOURSELF to a DAMAGING FUTURE. BUT IF YOU'LL BE LIKE RUTH TODAY AND SAY I'M GOING TO CLING TO THIS THING. I'M GOING TO HOLD ON TO TRUTH. I'M GOING TO HOLD ON TO THE MESSAGE. IT MIGHT BE DIFFICULT TIMES. IT MIGHT BE FRUSTRATING TIMES, BUT I'M GOING TO WRAP MY ARMS AROUND IT. AND I'M GOING TO CLING TODAY. ONE KISSED. The other clung. And this story shifts not just on an emotional level. But on a level of commitment. See, Orpah disappears after the kiss. She is never mentioned ever again. But Ruth, Ruth made history for clinging. Ruth becomes a symbol of promise. And Orpah BECOMES A SYMBOL OF PROMISCUITY. THE MESSIAH WOULD COME through Ruth's bloodline. And according to rabbinical tradition and Midrashic literature, the very day that Orpah left that day, THE VERY MOMENT SHE KISSED NAOMI GOODBYE, THAT NIGHT SHE I DON'T WANT TO GET TOO GRAPHIC, BUT THAT NIGHT SHE HAD RELATIONS with over a with 100 men in one night. AND THE RESULT OF THAT SICK AND sin-filled night, Orpah became pregnant with a son, A GIANT BY THE NAME OF GOLIATH. AND RUTH, AS WE KNOW, WENT ON TO BE THE GREAT-GRANDMOTHER OF DAVID, WHO WOULD LATER DEFEAT GOLIATH IN BATTLE. SO ONE OF THEM BECAME THE MOTHER OF SPIRITUAL GIANTS, WHILE THE OTHER BECAME THE MOTHER OF PHYSICAL GIANTS. AND THERE'S even an old Jewish saying saying that says, "May the sons of the one who KISSED COME AND FALL BY THE HANDS of the sons of the one WHO CLUNG." BECAUSE KISSERS OF THE FLESH WILL ALWAYS WAR WITH clingers of the spirit today. And I want to tell you today that the decisions we make in emotional times and difficult times, those decisions have the ability to change our lives and our future. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. In in in Genesis 32:24, we hear we find the story of a clinger. Jacob was left alone. There he wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh. And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him. And he said, "Let me go for the day breaketh." Now, you one thing you've got to understand about Jacob is Jacob had always let go. Jacob had always been a kisser. He had always kissed his past goodbye. HE HAD ALWAYS KISSED HIS FUTURE GOODBYE. HE HAD ALWAYS BEEN ONE WHEN THINGS GOT DIFFICULT, WHEN THINGS GOT FRUSTRATING, HE WOULD JUST KISS IT ALL GOODBYE AND LEAVE. He had spent the last several years of his life running from his past, running from what he did to his father and his brother and and and his father-in-law. And so Jacob comes to a place where he wrestles an angel ALL NIGHT LONG, AND THE angel says, "LET ME GO FOR THE DAY BREAKETH." BECAUSE JACOB, YOU'VE ALWAYS LET GO. YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN A QUITTER. YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN A KISSER. BUT JACOB LOOKS, PROBABLY THROUGH A >> >> A BLOODIED LIP, PROBABLY THROUGH A BROKEN NOSE, PROBABLY THROUGH A BLACK EYE, AND PROBABLY CLOTHES TATTERED AND TORN, AND THE MUD HAS BEEN MADE FROM THE SWEAT AND THE DIRT MIXED ON HIS CLOTHES, BUT I SEE JACOB WITH A PAIN IN HIS hip looking AT THE ANGEL AND SAYING, "SIR, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW WHO I AM, BUT I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A QUITTER. I'VE ALWAYS LET GO, BUT TODAY SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE IN ME. I CAN'T GO BACK TO WHO I WAS BEFORE. I CAN'T GO BACK TO MY PAST. I CAN'T GO BACK TO MY WIFE AND MY CHILDREN THE SAME WAY." AND JACOB SAYS, "I WILL NOT LET GO EXCEPT YOU BLESS ME." AND I WONDER IS THERE A JACOB IN THIS HOUSE TODAY, JUST LIKE RUTH, THAT YOU WOULD GRAB A HOLD OF GOD AND SAY, "GOD, I'M NOT LEAVING THIS HOUSE UNTIL SOMETHING CHANGES IN ME. I'M NOT LEAVING THIS ALTAR UNTIL SOMETHING CHANGES IN ME. I CANNOT JUST KISS IT ALL GOODBYE. I WANT TO CLING TO YOU TODAY, GOD." AND Jacob didn't just turn from a runner to a limper after that all-night wrestling match. He didn't just change from Jacob to Israel after that life-changing encounter. But Jacob literally switched in one moment from being a kisser to a clinger. And many times it's the things that cause some to leave that cause others to cleave. Our faults, our failures, our mistakes, our sins, our hurts, our pain, they can either make us leave God or they can make us cleave to God. See, there's another kissing and clinging story in the New Testament. And it is distantly related to the one in the book of Ruth. Mark the 14th chapter. Verse 43, that immediately while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the 12, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he. Take him and lead him away safely." And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him and said, "Master, master." And he kissed him. Jesus, who ironically enough was a descendant of Ruth, is given a kiss by someone close to him, just like Naomi experienced. JESUS HAD ONE DISCIPLE WHO KISSED HIM WITH THE KISS OF BETRAYAL. BUT THE OTHER 11 clung to him. AND THE NEXT TIME WE SEE JUDAS THE KISSER, HE is swinging from a tree, another victim of suicide. BUT THE NEXT TIME WE SEE THE DISCIPLES, THE CLINGERS, they're in an upper room being FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST. THOSE CHRIST CLINGERS WERE BEING MADE INTO WORLD CHANGERS. AND THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE TODAY. Kissers keep themselves from becoming who the Lord wants them to become, BUT CLINGERS BECOME who they're supposed TO BECOME. THEY BECOME WORLD CHANGERS. And when you make A DECISION TODAY TO BE A SPIRITUAL KISSER, YOU ARE SETTLING YOUR SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR SPIRITUAL SUICIDE. But when you make THE DECISION THAT I'M GOING TO BE A SPIRITUAL CLINGER, YOU ARE SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR SPIRITUAL SUCCESS TODAY. SEE, THE reason marriage in America ends in divorce almost 50% of the time, there's too many kissers and not enough clingers. Whether it's within hours, days, weeks, or months, the honeymoon eventually ends. And those butterflies in your tummy fly away. You have a disagreement, AN ARGUMENT, A FIGHT, or maybe just a loud discussion. Sickness hits hits. Bills are due. And that fairy tale of a marriage turns into a comedy, a drama, and sometimes a horror flick. You go to sleep with beauty and you wake up with the beast. Morning breath and messed up bed hair. IT'S AT THAT VERY MOMENT THAT LOVE must be more than just a feeling. Love must become a decision. AND IT'S AT THAT VERY MOMENT YOU HAVE TO YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER YOUR MOST HOLY VOWS, HOW YOU PROMISED TO LOVE and to cling, for better or for worse, for richer or for poor, to remain faithful and loyal in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. And can I tell you today that we are the bride of Christ? And we have GOT TO CHOOSE TODAY TO cling to him. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR SAVIOR CANNOT JUST BE A FLIRTATIOUS KISS. It can't just be I'M GOING TO COME IN THIS PLACE once a week and feel the goosebumps of the Holy Ghost and dance and shout a little bit and forget about him the rest of the week. No, it has to be a decision today THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS IN MY LIFE, NO MATTER WHAT I HAVE TO GO THROUGH, I'M NOT JUST in this for the flirtatious kiss, but I am in this to cling to Jesus today. I'm going TO CLING TO CHRIST THROUGH IT ALL. SEE, WE MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT KISSES. Our first kiss, our wedding kiss, etc. But, the staying power isn't in the kiss. It's in the cling. One of the many prophecies that came out of the Azusa Street Revival in California over 100 years ago. One of the many prophecies was this, "There will be a day that the church will praise a God that they don't pray to." In other words, enjoying the kissing of praise to him, but not committed to the clinging of prayer to him. And And I don't I don't know for sure, but I'm more than certain today that if Orpah could have looked down through history and time, if she would have known what was going to happen to her that night, if Jewish tradition is right, if she would have known that she was going to be wiped from history, that she would never be mentioned again within history, I'm sure that Orpah would have done what Ruth did that night, and she would have clung instead of kissed. But, guess what? Ruth didn't have the ability. She didn't have the benefit of being able to look down through history and time, either. Ruth simply made a decision. I'm going to cling. SHE DIDN'T KNOW THAT her great-grandson was going to be David, the the the the king of Israel. SHE DIDN'T KNOW THAT THROUGH HER LINEAGE THE MESSIAH was going to come. She just made a proclamation and a declaration of faith that I'm going to cling. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TOMORROW HOLDS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT WEEK, NEXT MONTH, or next year, but I'm going to cling to this thing. And And Ruth, because of your clinging, you are forever known through the annals of of the Bible, through history and time, as a as one of the the FIRST PEOPLE THAT OUTSIDE OF THE ISRAELITE BLOODLINE that came grafted into the Israelite bloodline. And Ruth, I know you didn't know your future. I know you didn't know who your descendants were. YOU JUST SIMPLY MADE A DECISION THAT YOUR GOD WILL BE MY GOD AND your people will be my people. So, I want you to know today, you and I do not have that benefit either. We do not know what's going to happen today. We do not know what's going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. I don't KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST. I DON'T know what's going TO HAPPEN IN WALL STREET. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN AMERICA. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN WASHINGTON, D.C. BUT, I'VE GOT TO GET A MADE UP MIND TODAY THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS TO ME, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS IN MY LIFE, I DO NOT WANT TO KISS MY FUTURE GOODBYE. I WANT TO CLING TO JESUS. I WANT TO CLING TO THE CHRIST. I WANT TO CLING TO THE OLD RUGGED CROSS. I WANT TO HOLD ON WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S INSIDE OF ME. THAT'S HOW YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH A STORM BECAUSE YOU'RE CLINGING TO THE ONE WHO CHANGES NOT. THAT'S HOW YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH END TIMES. YOU'RE CLINGING TO THE GOD OF OUR LIFE TODAY. AND SO, AS WE STAND ALL across this house this morning, I ask this question because we all have to make a decision in this house today. Will you kiss or will you cling? Will you leave or will you cleave? Will you be a kisser or will you be a clinger today? As every head is bowed, every eyes closed. If you're here today and you've never repented of your sins, this altar is open for you. If you're here today and you've never been baptized in the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved the saving name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're here today and you never been filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost, this altar is open first to you. But then I want to issue a challenge today. We are standing at a decision. You can be like Orpah and you can kiss it all goodbye. You can kiss your future goodbye or you can be like Ruth and say even without knowing what tomorrow holds I'm making a decision today that I'm going to cling to Jesus. I'm going to wrap my arms around this place. I'm going to wrap my arms around this church. I'm going to wrap my arms around this truth. I'm going to wrap my arms around this one God revelation, this apostolic message. I'm going to wrap my arms around the cross and I'm going to cling to it with everything that's inside of me. So as you every head is bowed, every eye is closed. I just challenge somebody today to make a decision to walk down to this altar. Say God, I'm going to cling to you. God, I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I'm clinging to you today so it doesn't matter what happens tomorrow. I don't want to kiss my future goodbye. I don't want to kiss my family goodbye. I don't want to kiss my marriage goodbye. I don't want to kiss my CHILDREN GOODBYE. I DON'T WANT TO KISS THE BLESSINGS AND BENEFITS of living for you, the favor of God and the faithfulness that you've given me in my life. GOD, I DON'T WANT TO KISS THOSE THINGS GOODBYE, BUT I WANT TO CLING TO THEM WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S INSIDE of me today. Come on, would you step out of your seat in a in a in a act today in the spirit of Ruth today by stepping out of your seat you're saying I'm going to cling. Come on, would you just COME TO THIS ALTAR and make a declaration like Ruth did? Your God's going to be my God. Your people's going to be my people. Come on, if you if if you if YOU GOT A PROBLEM, IF YOU GET FACING SOMETHING IN YOUR LIFE, BE LIKE NAOMI, BE LIKE RUTH, and go to back to the land of Judah. Go back to the land of praise because it can change the atmosphere, it can change your circumstance, it can change what you're going through. Come on, right now as they get ready to play and sing, would you just begin declaring to God, I'm going to cling to the cross. I'm going to cling to Calvary. I'm going to cling to Jesus Christ. >> >> Not not only do we need to cling to God today, but I believe we need to cling to each other. We need to let each other know, I'm not going to let you fall. I'm not going to let you leave. >> >> So, once you declare it yourself, why don't you find somebody in a spirit of unity, in a spirit of agreement, and link up with them and say, "I'm not going to let you fall. I'm not going to let you leave. I'm going to cling to you as we cling to Jesus today.