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I too want to echo welcome to those who have joined us online. Those are guests in the room or church folk. We're so glad that we've given one been given one more opportunity to come. Amen. Um as the day approaches, love him more, serve him more, trust God more. Amen. Would you guys pray with me right now? Lord, today we have sung songs to you. We've sung about your grace and goodness. We've identified the fact that you don't fail. We brought needs to you, Lord, and we prayed for them.

As a body, Lord, we gathered together to love and serve you. Right now, Lord, we come to you in faith believing that your word does the work. It surpasses anything we could ever give you, God, because your word is forever settled in heaven. Therefore, we trust it. Today, one more time, I make myself available to you, Lord. I most certainly need you, and without you, I am nothing. All of my righteousnesses, they're filthy rags. I must have you. Help us, Lord. Lead us today in the word.

I love you. I love you. If you love the Lord, if he's been good to you, would you take 30 seconds and just magnify him? Come on, lift a voice. Lift your voice. Lift your heart. Come on, identify with the reality. God is good. Come on. God is good. God is faithful. God is good. I love you, Jesus, and I thank you, Lord. Praise God, forever. Feels good to be in the house of the Lord today. Redeeming the time because two weeks ago I was told I went long. Last week I went three minutes shorter.

Today we'll see. Amen. You can be seated if you feel like you have to. You can stand. It's fine. Don't bother me a bit. Another week, another sequence of events happened in our lives. Is anybody glad that this week is over? Anybody? Oh, come on. You can you could have another one just like you had or you could say, "Lord, I thank you for what you did." Say it this way. And for the lessons I learned. Yeah. Here we are one more time together encouraged in our spirits.

We are grateful in our hearts. We know that there is such a thing. The reality, the truth is is that sometimes life is simply a daily grind. Up early, out late, working hard, sweating. Uh, well, okay, let me see. Uh, modern. I got I'm sorry. That's old. Let me bring this back. Um, you got out of bed on time. Coffee was okay. The barista got it right. You typed your fingers away. I don't know. Whatever this generation does, right?

All of it is because we are attempting the best we know how uh to live in this present world and to be somewhat successful su successful successful we we want to understand more and more about the hope that we have and that hope is in come on does anybody still believe all hope is in Jesus Christ come on that that's why you work and why you live and and why you have your being is because the blessed hope of the Lord continues with or without you. Come on.

It doesn't change because you don't believe in it because it's God and he stays the same. New Testament, come on. For those who still believe in the Bible, uh Titus chapter 2 verse 11, a very familiar verse to all of us. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Verse 12, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. Somebody say it out loud right now.

looking for that blessed hope uh and the glorious appearing of the great God, our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself, verse 14 says, for us that we might redeem, he might redeem us from all iniquity, purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Listen, let no man despise you. I'm reading out of the book of Titus because the reference here is there is a blessed hope. There is a blessed hope.

We have the assurance today that if we stand in Christ Jesus, we are blessed. And the hope that we have is in him. If we walk after the things of God, then we have peace among men. If we walk after trying to please mankind, we will fall short every time. I I tell you today, if you'll seek for the spiritual things of God, you will live in this present world the way God wants you to live with joy and peace and holiness in the love of God every day serving and loving him.

I am sure that every one of us today could tell our testimony of just this past week. The Lord was good to me. I went through this trial. I had this situation. Nations are rising against nations. We're finding out on the world scene. We're finding that social systems are collapsing. We're noticing politicians are walking in confusion. Schools no longer have a haven of peace and safety, but parents are afraid to send their kids to school. We see that on people's faces.

There's a look of confusion. There's a look of distress and almost a hurt that somebody in the world would actually hurt someone else. This confused look has settled in on the face of our society. But I've come to tell somebody that the grace of God has appeared to all men.

Look at your neighbor and say, "All men." Every one of those rioting in the streets, everybody that's causing a ruckus in their homes, I've come to tell you that if they'll lift their hands to a holy God, he is still the Almighty and grace will work in their life. It has appeared to all men. Those who are cursing their parents, they should understand something. Respecting their parents comes with a promise from the word of God. It's a different world we're living in today.

I never would have thought we would be here indeed in this place, but here we are. Come on, let's do it as the old-timers. Say, "Hey everybody, here I am." It's the condition of our world. As we come together today in this place, we gather with those who join us online. We are in a war of the ages. Let me say there's a conflict that rages across the globe. Good is waring against evil. Evil is trying to overcome good. Hear me.

The heart of man is deciding if God is really enough to get them through or if God falls short because they won't believe in his promises. Come on. When times get tough, you got to make a decision in your heart and in your mind. God's still God. Regardless of what's going on, whether I got all the pieces of the puzzle or not, he is still God and he still knows what's happening. Come on. I believe uh that our kids can be safe in the schoolhouse. Hear me.

When the schoolhouse turns back to a holy God that will protect them, is it any wonder that confusion has settled into the hearts of young people? Because there's a mom and a dad that won't pray. There's a mom and a dad that won't declare thus says the word of the Lord. We're going to talk about him when we get up in the morning. We're going to talk about him at noon time. Uh when we rise up, when we lay down, when we go out of the door, when we come in. Come on, mom and dad.

It's one thing to teach your child to throw a baseball or a football. It's one thing to teach them how to play a video game, but if you'll ever get the word of God in them, it will change humanity. We're living in some fantastic times right now. God of grace has appeared to all men, teaching us to live soberly, to live in the right mind, to understand the grace and goodness of God. The battles that rage many times are due to a person's uncertainty that God is actually a jealous God.

I don't know if God is that or not. Try him. Find out. Worship yourself another God and see how the God of all creation responds to that. Worship yourself and watch how things decay very quickly. Come on. I can be laying in a jail cell or on deathbed, but if I trust in the Lord God, whether he takes me or leaves me, I all I know is I'm in the hands of a gracious God because grace appeared to me. We work, we live, we do our lives every day. We try to provide. We practice. We cherish. We love.

We invest in things that we're not really sure about. Come on. Anybody here invested in the stock market? Come on. Don't be afraid of it. Why certainly I know I am. I don't know if I'll ever get it, but man, I got I'm asking my my financial advisor all the time because I live with her, "Baby, can we just take it out? Can we let's just get all that money out and go do something good with it?" And she she said, "Yeah, babe, we can. And next week, what are we going to do?" I'm like, "Oh, man.

Is that as long as it'll last?" She Mhm. I said, "Well, when's a good time?" She goes, "Well, how long you want to live?" I'm not at all encouraged about that. Come on, somebody. Come on. I do know this though. I invest in the future. Come on, listen to me. Because I believe that if I live my life right now, whether I see the money or not, I'm using money finances at this moment because every one of us like the doay with me. Understand?

I understand that if I invest in the things that I don't control, I can receive an investment and a return for that. But some of us in the spirit world, we won't invest in the things we can't control. Oh, I just hurt somebody. I'm sorry. Let me back it really back in. I'll throw it back at you. You're going to have to decide whether you're going to trust that God you can't see. You're going to have to decide whether Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, or forever.

You're going to have to decide in your mind and in your heart. If he slay me, I'll trust him. I'll serve him. I'll love him. I'll believe in him. I'll honor him. Come on, mom and dad. You better know that teaching your children the right way in the word of God is still the right way. But if you're going to tell them it's in the word, you better get in the word and let the word become part of you. Mom and dad, your children don't need false identity. What they need is, hey, my mama believes it.

I believe it. My dad does. I do. My grandparents did. I do. Why? Because that investment says it's worth putting it in there. The grace of God has appeared to all men. But what are you doing with the grace? Y'all going to let me preach in. I got the clock right there. I don't know why they put it up there. We want to understand. We want a path to success. We want to know.

We want to know that when the walls fall down and the path to scrambled eggs that make French toast out of bread, when all that shaky ground begins to crumble around. Come on, let me get a little closer, somebody.

When your coffee creamer goes bad, when they won't sell you that drink any longer, when you can't get aista to get you anything, and the oimati waties don't work anymore, whatever that is in your book, I've come to tell you there's still a God that's perfectly pure and right and holy, and whether you understand it or not, whether you comprehend it or not, God is still God and grace still works. Now, go let me talk for a moment.

Give me a moment to invest a few words from the scripture to you to the book of Philippians, a letter written to the church of Philippi. Very, very interesting words. We we know these words because we believe in the good stuff of almighty God. God been good to you, wave your hand. Come on. God been good to you. Yeah. So, you know God can do anything literally. Chapter 2 of Philippians verse one.

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any bows and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, the Bible says that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing, verse three, say, be done through strife or vain glory, but in loneliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. Oh Lord, don't let me pause here. I'll get myself in so much trouble. Okay. Now, verse four.

Let not every man on his look on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Lord, don't let me stop here because people think they're getting nosy. M let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

Verse eight, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Verse nine, wherefore God high also highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. name. I hear it. That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven, things in the earth, things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, hear it.

But, my beloved, as ye have also obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Do you notice the words to the church of Philippi? It applies to us today how you should act and how you should present yourself and carry yourself in the family of God. We do things in the family of God as we humble ourselves before God as we give ourselves to the things of God. Why? Because this present world is not going to be our home.

Uh but we are building up treasures in heavenly places. Why? Because I don't want to stay here. I don't want to pay rent forever. I don't want to have to stand in line forever, but I'd prefer to stand around the throne room of God and simply cry, "Holy is the Lord." There's a new song that I'm singing. I'm one of the redeemed of the Lord. I have been washed in the blood of the lamb. My sins have been done away with.

I stand as a creature that can stand before the God of all creation and declare, "Angels, you stay silent. This is my time to worship God because of what he's done for me. Anybody still want to make heaven your home? Huh? Notice these words that Paul gave. Paul is such a cool writer. I wish I could write things like Paul. I can merely copy and paste. But anyway, he says to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Y'all with me? What did he mean by that?

How is it that we can better ourself, think oursel, scratch oursel into a better place and call it heaven, your own salvation, fear and trembling. Because you know, if you're working out your own salvation in the mind of humanity, that simply means that you're trying to find your way. Your way. How many know some folk that tried to make heaven and failed miserably because they didn't do it God's way?

We all got folk in our family that are I'm a good Christian person and they do every sinful thing in the book and wonder why they can't live a peaceful life. I'm just saying. I'm not judging nobody. I can see fruit just like you can. So what does it mean to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling? Does it mean that you can make up your own heaven? No.

Turn your neighbor and say, "No, we have to allow the grace of Jesus Christ to work in our lives." We have to understand that the church family is not a perfect family. We have to understand that because we're human, we still have faults and fallacies. We can mess up. But what we can do also in the midst of the messups is that we can live in honor unto the Lord. We can love him in the morning, in the evening, and in the noon time. Come on. We can know him the way he has worked in our lives.

And our salvation get be dependent on how we recognize him working within us. See, you don't know. I I'm not going to get caught up in an old song again because y'all know how I am. But you don't know like I know. See, you weren't there when I was laying in the bed and I was going to die. You weren't there maybe when I was sinning and I should have done. You weren't there when I was looking death in the eye or when I was walking in a dark spot.

But the grace of Jesus Christ showed up to me and shined a light on me. And I don't really care what you think about what I've done or what I'm doing. What I do know is this. My report with the Lord says, "I am healed. I am restored. I am clean. I am right before him. I might not have my act together like you think I need to, but I know this one thing. Uh, the blood of Jesus Christ has covered a multitude of sins. I walk because he lets me walk. I run because he lets me run.

I do the things God lets me do because of who he is. I already know I can't do it. I Oh Lord, don't let me get stuck. It's 107. Your coupon's still good. We're all right. I I believe that our world is now in such a prime location for one of the most incredible manifestations that this earth has ever known. That's going to be one of them big old nods. Come on. You feel like it. Rare back. Cross your arms. Go on. It's okay. Go to the next step. You hear that?

M see trying to call that phone listen all the time. Bless your heart. That was ser y'all. Sorry I had to shut it off. But what I do know is this. What we need right now in our great United States of America. What we need right now in your home. What we need right now at your school and on your job. What we need right now in every hospital bed in America. What we need across the globe, we need what is called a simple revival. Come on, help me somebody. We need a revival.

We used to use that word a lot when I was grow I talk about this a lot cuz I'm one of them old folks in the church. But what we need as a church is we need to have a reviving attitude that says I was that but something has overtaken me. Something has run over me. Something has caused me not to believe. Uh something has taken away my faith. Uh for whatever reason, I'm I'm concerned about my situ. Come on.

I know in this room right now or online right now, some of you are walking daily in fear because you don't know how to handle the circumstance you are in. Some of you have a sickness or an illness in your body and you don't know what to do next. And fear has overshadowed you. You're afraid to walk out. You're afraid to look at that. You're scared. Come on. And I'm going to tell you, God did not give you a spirit of fear. So, how do I overcome it?

You step out in the grace of God and you declare, "Thus says the word of the Lord." I'm a child of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I don't know how it's going to turn out, but one thing I do know, he knows. Uh, and what I'm listening for is my name. called uh well done uh good and faithful servant. Y'all going to give me a minute to pastor you. Listen in the name of Jesus. I rebuke fear right now. I come against it. I take authority over it. Devil, you're a liar.

Get out of their hearts. Get out of their ears. Get out of their minds. Uh we are children of the most high God. We walk in him and the grace of God works in us in the name of Jesus. Devil, you're a liar. Quit lying to the people. Oh, come on, somebody. Look the devil in the eye and tell him, "Get out. Get out. Get out. I'm a child of God. A revival. a revival. Oh, y'all go ahead. It's one It's 10 after one. Y'all got a minute. If you want to love the Lord, we need a revival.

The church, the church was designed to be a group of people. Look at your neighbor and say, "You part of the church." Come on. Tell you, you you're part of the church. Helping one another, encouraging one another, supporting one another. Come on now. Let me explain something to you. You okay? You all right? Let me explain something to you. It does not mean Oh, God. Help me stay on track right now. Lord, don't don't let me get sideways.

It does not mean that as a brother or sister in Christ does not mean that as a pastor that I have to give in to every whim and every bad feeling or attitude. Being Christlike simply means this. I don't have a license to allow people to hurt me. But because I love people, I will allow the spirit of God to lead me when I am hurt. See, some Oh, God help me. Sometimes what happens in the church is you can be offended by the things that really don't matter. How many know what I'm talking about?

How many has ever listened to a preacher? How many listen to this pastor? I'll take it. And you say, "Hey, why'd he say that? How come he said it that way? Ah, he looking at me. He must know something about me. Oh, he knows. And they got all this angry attitude, mad, upset cuz pastor done read your mail or the spirit of God done got in your business. And now you think, you know what? If he stay his track and I get on my track, we'd all make it to heaven. I come to tell you that's a lie.

And the devil's trying to isolate you. I need you and you need me. Uh, we need to work together in the kingdom. Why? Because the grace of God has appeared to all of us. The church has to understand the hour in which we live and this hour. We need the church to live without vanity and pride. We need the church to live without fear or favor. We need the church to live without doubt. We have it. We need a church that doesn't have ungodly desires.

But we need a church that'll rise to the occasion and decide in this generation of messed up, chaotic things that we will be the body of Christ. We'll rise early in the morning and we'll declare the goodness of God. We'll spend time with him every day. We'll spend time with him every night. Uh we'll allow his spirit to work in us. Uh we'll allow the word of God to unfold in us. Uh what we need is a revival. You ready for it? We need a revival of revival.

We need to breathe deep in the things of God and get out of the lethargy. We need to shake it loose and decide, I'm going to walk the way he wants me to walk. I'm going to talk the way he wants me to talk. I'm going to be bloodbought. I'm going to be apostolic. I'm going to love him in the morning, at night, and at noon day. I don't have to apologize for my love for Jesus, huh? Y'all okay? You going to let me love on you a little more? Some in the church are afraid of conflict and conversations.

They're afraid that if you confront something that you're not familiar with that you're going to be thought to be a bad person. Listen to me. Hang on to me. But in the age in which we live, most of the time the concern now is not that you simply said something. There's nothing wrong with questions, right? I ask them all the time. And in fact, I preface most of my questions. I'm going to ask you a dumb question.

And it's so funny to hear people say, "No such thing as a dumb question." I'm like, "Have you heard this one? I got stacks of these things." Listen to me. See, there was a time on planet. Boy, that sound like an old show. There was a time there was a time in church that I I could walk through the church and not be afraid of offending someone because of my tie. There was a time when my pastor is growing up. I I know I refer to him a lot, but that's his fault. He had such an impact in my life.

I didn't even know I didn't know it then. I pushed back. I questioned.

I wondered as a young person, as a young married I I don't know what who think they what's it going and now here I am Tim old my friend brother Tim there all the time accuses me of being brother Tedrick my pastor said yeah but I ain't making y'all get split up and go sit in different places so you get to whip it at home when you get home anyway that's what happened to him see I was nice guy listen to me and I I again I'm going to stay on my notes if I can one of the greatest apprehensions of the day in our church is the fear of being misunderstood, offended, or offending someone.

I cannot tell you the value of an elers's voice in your life. I did not know what my pastor, brother Tedrick, was doing when he would walk by me at the young age of 15 or 16 and he would put his finger behind my ear and flip my hair and keep walking. Some of y'all don't have a clue what I just did, but my pastor would walk by and he would look at me, put his hand on my shoulder, run his finger up under my long hair I thought was short.

He'd flip it and keep walking and I'd go, "Man, I was just touching my collar." And I know, Brother T, it was bald. So almost wasn't fair. But at 15 or 16 years old, I would stand there and he had the audacity to walk by and do that to me. And I'd think, who in the world does he think he is? Come on, brother Dan. Don't leave me here. And I'd look at him and in my mind, I'd never say it. I'd look at him and say, "What is wrong with my hair?" That'd be many times it'd be before church.

And this is what I found when my hungry heart began to look for God is I'd find myself in an altar saying, "Lord, I'm sorry if I displayed an attitude of rebellion because I won't submit to what your word says. I'm sorry, Lord, that my pastor had to come by and and then not even say anything, but to simply take time in me to cause him grief because he's simply trying to help me.

And for me to walk back in the church house the next week with my haircut and him walk up and put his hand on my shoulder and squeeze it hard and walk away. He knew that I got it. And I knew that he knew that I got it. I was not prideful nor vengeful. I simply said, "Lord, may I ever have a teaching spirit that I can learn. May I ever be palatable, Lord, in your hands.

May I ever be God where you would want me to be as the men of God and my elders invest in me." I don't mind saying there are times in my ministry as a young man I didn't understand a lot of things that was happening. Let me let you in on this one. Y'all think I'm a mean pastor. My pastor one time gave me the right to preach on a Sunday night. Boy, that's blast from the past. Anybody remember Sunday nights? Yeah, that's your game night and stuff now.

Anyway, he said, "Brother Amy, you're going to preach Sunday night?" I was young, man. 20, 28, 29. It's funny I'm saying young. Anyway, so man, I'm in the altar. I'm in the prayer room. I'm digging out. I'm scratching. I'm pulling. I'm praying. Before Google, brother Garris, you remember that? I I all day for two or three days I'm trying to find God. I'm trying to find a word. I get to church that evening and Holy Ghost outpouring just smashes the place.

It happened a lot when I was a kid because people came with busted up stuff and a whole lot of glue needed and they'd hand it to the Lord. Now we Oh, God. Let me get now. We bring in boxes of broken stuff and we seal up the box and say, "Lord, can you handle this?" Unwilling to expose it to him. On that particular Sunday night, the Holy Ghost broke out. And I knew that I had the word because everything happening was in that message that I had gotten together.

And as I we sit on the platform then there's eight or nine chairs on the platform that we preacher feature we called. We'd sit there and I sit in there and man, I know this is going to be good. This is fire. Fire. They don't even know what about to happen. And my sweet dear old pastor looks at me, brother Dri looks at me and he taps me on the shoulder and says, "You're not preaching. I got this." He walks to the podium and he preached what incredible message.

And I'm sitting there seething in my righteous indignation. Amen. Transparency. All right. Today, it was all different than what I was going to preach. Brother Herb, he missed it. I had it. I know I did. at the end of his message and the altar call blows up. He walks over to me. I'm still on the platform. I can still see this right now. And he puts his hand on my shoulder and he says, "You know I love you." I said, "Yes, sir, I do." He said, "You know why I did that?" I said, "No, sir.

I don't understand, but I'm okay with it." He said, "I did that because I wanted to know if you'd believe it and not preach it. If that word never came out of your mouth, would you take what God gave you and still believe it and live it as if you did preach it? I don't know, my mid 20s. I'm sitting go, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Can we get this in another lesson or something?

And he looked at me and he said, 'The only way to learn that lesson is let God speak into your life as a preacher and watch what happens if you never preach it. And he grabs me and hugs my neck and he says, "Are you willing to live it if you never ever tell anybody about it?" I said, "Yes, sir." He said, 'Then that's the word that's for you. You're welcome. Fell on my face in an altar and I let that age and that elder in my life speak.

And I may not have liked it nor understood it, but I did know one thing that grace had appeared. And for whatever reason, God was teaching me something that in my silence and in my om submission and obedience to the man of God that there was a word to be spoken to me. He did not speak preach into my life that night on that platform. You know why?

because I couldn't understand why I'd been put in this situation and I shut him out because sometimes we need if you'll just give me the mic I can fix all this. Okay, fine. You didn't make this mess. How you going to fix it? I'm not meddling today. I'm simply telling you Paul was admonishing the church at Philippi to work out your own salvation. How? fear, trembling. Listen to this. This is so interesting.

When you allow and respect the faithfulness of the body of Christ to work, grace has its own work in each one of us every time we come together. We understand that being a newborn in the kingdom of God, we are not born knowing everything. We're not born again knowing everything. But we have to learn and understand as we grow in grace that it has been afforded to us so that we can mature in him. As I look into this New Testament plan for the church, I discover that perilous times are coming.

Somebody say dangerous times. Perilous times are coming. I'm I'm hearing that word perilous more and more in the days that we live in because on school shootings and church shootings and business shootings and shooting shootings to be shooting of shooting of shootings and shootings and I'm sitting there going, "Why is my generation so messed up with all this stuff? How watch this young people? Watch this. Y'all ready for it?

How many of you older folks, gray hair folks, remember when the word terrorist was brought into your vocabulary? I didn't even know what that was. I didn't know what that was until a terrorist attacks somebody. I'm like, "What? Who? Are you a terrorist? I don't know what that means. I didn't know." And I'm learning now in 2025, there's a whole lot of things that's come. Perilous times are happening. Dangerous times are happening.

And all I see is that men are lovers of themselves more than lovers of God. I see that the witness of the simple disciplines and purposes of allowing God's creation to be God's creation is being questioned on every hand. They're looking at each other for salvation as opposed to looking to the only God who can give salvation, Jesus Christ. They're looking for other names that can save them.

They're trying to figure out how they can bypass the plan and the systems of the word of God and somehow find a backdoor in to heaven. The fact remains there is no other name given among men whereby you must be saved. Therefore, working out your own salvation means you better get a hold of the precepts and concepts and principles of the word of God and apply them to your life and understand I can't sideswipe heaven. I can't leap over the wall of heaven.

I can't come around another way into heaven. There's one door and his name is Jesus. There's one way in and his name is Jesus. He's the sheep, the sheepfold. He's the guarder. He knows it. He's got it. He's it's all in him. There's no other name. But look at this. This is so so interesting. The book of Ephesians chapter 6 verse number 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the ws of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Number 13, notice this. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand in that evil day. What's it say? And having done all to stand.

Man, I've read that verse a hundred thousand times, probably just like you have. And I've oft wondered, what does it mean to simply stand to stand? It's two feet on the ground, in the pockets, out of the pockets, crossed in the front or in the back. It's not. It's standing. That's not what it means at all. Listen to me. Listen to me. Begin to dig into this a little bit.

And what I found out was that everything that we have in the scriptures, in the word of God, is given to us to help us, to instruct us, to lead us, to teach us, to show us all things. That's what we have. When we allow Jesus to be that in our lives, then we are learning how to apply him in all aspects of our lives. So, as we look, notice he says that you put on the whole armor and then once you've done all, you stand. And I'm saying, what is the all? Is there a certain percentage?

Do I got to get to a certain place? If I figure out seven other things and I do six of them, is that all enough? I don't understand this. I'm trying to comprehend. And in that possibility that Paul is writing to the church, be strong in the Lord. The power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God. Flesh and blood is not the battle, but the spiritual neglect and malnutrition. There is your issue.

Once you have searched the word of God, hear me church on this Sunday afternoon and you've applied its promises and its teachings to your life.

Once you have prayed and you've looked for the hand of God in your life situations every day after you recognize that then the spiritual battle and the flesh and the blood is working trying to war against the spirit that something has to happen in your life to where you declare if I can simply find Jesus in the midst of the up the down the good, the bad, the ugly.

If I can find Jesus and apply him to my life in all of life's situations, at that point I can say, "Okay, God, how does this apply to this poem? How does this apply to this point?

How does this apply to this point?" Uh, and after I've searched the word, after I've tried to get it all together, after I've tried to seek after him and I fell short, after time in an altar, after time on my face in the altar, after time on my face on my back in the altar, after time trying to get under the altar, after time that I spent talking to the Lord, I'm trying to figure out where are you. Therefore, what I'm doing is with fear and trembling, I've got to decide, am I there or am I not?

Come on. I can't save myself, get myself to heaven. But when though I can recognize it's all in him. It's all in him. The fullness of the godhead. It's all in him. Once I can declare, I might not have all the answers. Uh but I know the one who has all the answers. Uh once I can declare without you, I'm nothing. Uh but with you, Jesus, uh I can do anything. When I understand that and I have done all I can stand and where I stand is the important place.

I stand on the foundation of the word of God forever settled. Having done all, I stand there. I stand on my testimony that says, "I once was lost, but now I'm found." I stand there. See, there's some folk that want to stand, but they want to stand their ground and defend their position when their position is not in the word. Making a war, making a mountain out of the things that really don't matter.

But if we can understand that, I've got to save myself because that said, I am responsible for finding Jesus. Last week, our dear brother Rob made a fool of himself standing at the back of the room. Over here, come over here. Come over here. I asked him, "Are you okay at animating yourself?" And then I said, "Never mind. You're a missionary. Sure you can." And he did. Come over here. that's been rolling over my brain for the last two weeks, three weeks now, that I'm right here.

And if I go find him, what I'm doing is I am declaring his power, my submission, my obedience to his power. You don't have to run around say, "Where can I find something better? Where can I find something better?" But if I can simply go to the word of the Lord, I can find what I am looking for because he is found there. Listen to me. If I don't allow the whole armor of God to be working in my life, I don't have a place to stand.

You notice how that the writer wrote it, put on the whole armor, having done all stand. And then what he do? Starts explaining the armor. You would have thought he would explain it all. And he said, "Okay, once you get that figured out, there you go." But instead, he says, "You the whole armor." Then you're going, "Wait a minute. A breastplate? Wait a minute. Helmet? What? Sword? What shoes? What? Now he's saying, okay, to stand, you've got to get these principles in your life.

One more word of counsel as I close. Ephesians 4:1 17. And this I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not after not walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind having the understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God through their ignorance that is in them because the blindness of their heart. Verse 19, who being part or who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness.

But ye have not so learned Christ. If so be that ye have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus. Verse 22 that you put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust. It says in verse 23 be renewed in the spirit of your mind that you put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor? For we are members one of another.

Be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down on your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. So in the same letter to the Ephesians, the concern before we got to chapter number six, later part of the letter is this. You better figure out what the devil's trying to do. And you better not let him get a foothold in your life. Stand with me, please. In order for you to stand on the fullness of who God is, you better recognize what the enemy is trying to do.

Can I let somebody in on a really, really high top secret top secret information right now? Nobody else knows this. This is brand new. It's revelation to us today. You ready for it? The devil does not like you. He is not thinking of your interest. He cares not that you bust hell wide open. He's already there. He'll be glad to have the company. He doesn't love you. He doesn't have anything good to offer you. In fact, his DNA, follow it. his DNA. He is the father of lies.

When a lie bs, the DNA is from the enemy. So truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation, spirit, these are parts of the armor of God that if you'll allow them to work in your life, you can stand then and you've done all of those things, all will begin to work in your life. All all of these things come from him, not us. Today, I simply encourage somebody to do all you can to allow him to be God in your life like only he can.

This morning in my office here, I prayed over I said, "Lord, I feel that there's a deceiver working in our midst, in our world. Feel like Lord that what Hollywood, what social media, what Bollywood and all the other woods are trying to do is trying to confuse, deceive, lie, paint a false picture. If God really loved you, he wouldn't let you suffer. If God really cared about you, he wouldn't let you have financial problems.

If there was really a God in the Bible days, then he would be a God that'd be here today providing for us. And basically what's happened in our world is that our world has taken what is right and profitable to God and they've tried to apply it to themselves because they too want to be God. I I don't even know, brother Vandy, if they realize what they've done, but if anybody tries to rise up next to be equal to God, there is a place called No, I don't got anybody beside me.

God says, I don't have a counsel. I don't have a a community of witnesses that will say, "Yeah, you can do that if you want to." They Nobody came. Nobody stood in front of me when I was putting all of creation into place and said, "So, how you going to make stars?" He didn't. No, he didn't ask some group to come together with their committee and say, "You know, when you make a cow, you ought to make it." They didn't do that. God simply says, "Let there be." And it happened.

That's the voice of God. If we in this hour listen to I need somebody to pull the plugs out. If we listen to the lies of the enemy, we will be deceived and we will not be able to stand in that evil day. But I've come to declare to somebody on a Sunday afternoon, you can walk in the spirit of God. You can put on the whole armor of God. Uh you can get it all together. And once you've done it and the word of God's working, you can stand on the promises of a faithful God.

Uh he'll never leave you, never forsake you. He'll be there. the ups and the downs, the ins and the outs. He knows where you are before you will get where you are. And he knows how to get you to the next place. I've come to tell somebody, all still matters. There's no way you'll ever make heaven your home for an eternity if you hold back some. But you've got to give. The beauty of the cross of Calvary is simply this.

Jesus did not climb that hill, take a knife and cut his finger and say, "There, that ought to be enough." Now, it could have been enough, but he knew that if they're ever going to follow me with their whole life, I've got to give mine. It is finished. I gave it all so that you could give it all. Every hand to heaven right now, would you please, Lord? Jesus, we believe in you. Lord, there are hungry hearts in this place today. Salvation is made available, but only through your name.

Lord, we can repent of our sins today. You can wash them, Lord. We can go down in baptism in your name and we can become new creatures in Christ as you fill us with your spirit. We'll speak different. We'll talk different. We'll look different because it's you. And then as spiritual understanding comes in the word, God, having done all, we will stand knowing that we do not have to give place to the enemy. Come on, somebody pray. Would you pray right now? Lord. Oh God, I know that you're real.

I know that you're real, Jesus. I also know that I need you. Come on, somebody. You got anxieties today. Come lay them at an altar. Let them die. You got fear in your life, bring it to an altar. Let it die. Come on. You got questions and concerns about stuff in your life choices, bring it to an altar. Lay it there and let it die. Come on. What you do through sacrifice as you bring that and then you apply the fire of the spirit to it and you let it burn it up and consume it. Come on.

This altar is open for everyone who will come. Would you come? Come on. Would you come? Hey, I love you, Lord. I love you, Lord. Having done all, I stand. Oh, come on, somebody. There is forgiveness today. There is grace today. There is mercy today. There is love today. Jesus, I need you, Jesus. Oh, come on. That's right, young people. Come on, mom and dad. Withhold nothing from him, but give it to me. Lord, I'm trusting in you. I'm trusting in you. I don't know, God. I don't know, God.

I don't I don't know a lot of things, but I know that I can work out salvation with fear and trembling because I can understand your word and how it's revealed. How it's revealed to me. Come on. Where you at, prayer warriors? Pray for your children now. Pray for your spouses now. I love you, Jesus. All to you. All to you. All to you. All to you, Jesus. Oh, come on. That's right. Jesus. Hey. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Come on, somebody pray. Jesus, joy comes. Peace comes.

Contentment comes, understanding comes as I submit to you Jesus. I pray Lord that conviction would work in the hearts and lives of men and women. I pray God the drawing of your spirit would pull people out of their sinful life as they yield to you. Lord, you let them walk as a new creature. Oh God, I pray your hand would reach to them, God, wherever they are. Lord, speak into their life, Jesus. Speak into their life, Holy One. Hey, word of God, reveal yourself, Jesus, I pray.

And all everything I give to you. Withholding nothing. I Oh yeah. Come on. Pray. Come on. Call on the name of the Lord. I need you, Lord. I need you, Jesus. That's right. Come on. Forgiveness works. The power of the cross still works. Salvation still comes in the name of Jesus. There's no other way. No other way. No other way. the church in this generation, the church in this social environment in which we live. We've got more information that we've ever had.

We've got more content than we've ever had. We got more stuff that we face than we've ever had. But for some reason, we can't get past the reality of we don't need that to go to heaven. We need him. We need him. We need to walk in him. We need to serve him. We need to love him. We need to let him. So, that's what I'm going to ask you to do before we go home. I I I do this a lot because I I believe in the power of unified prayer. Would you let the Lord lead you to somebody and go pray with them?

Come on. You don't have to offend anybody. You don't have to embarrass nobody. just I just want to pray with you cuz I I want to join together with you because the weeks that you've had, the the years that's coming, whatever it is, I believe that God is still the answer. The joy of the Lord is still strength. Come on, pray. You pray for them like you want them to pray for you. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on us. Have mercy on us. Jesus, have mercy on us. Jesus, we hunger for you, Lord.

We thirst for you. Come on, pray. Oh, God, let us walk in the liberty of the spirit. Let truth prevail in us, Lord. I pray. Oh, that's right. Come on. Oh, that's right. Come on. In the name of Jesus. by your spirit. By your spirit, by your spirit. I pray today, Lord, for my brother and my sister. I pray today, Lord, that your word would take up residence in their life.

When they've done all, God, they can stand knowing, Lord, that they have searched the scriptures and they have found you to be true and they stand upon that foundation, Lord, as you work in their lives. Yeah. Come on. That's right. Press on. press into his presence. I come to you, Lord, believing in you, Jesus, withholding nothing from you, Lord. Oh, that's right. That's right. That's right. Let faith grow in this house. You are holy. You are holy, Jesus. You are holy. Ah, you are holy, Jesus.

Oh, good God. Good God. Good God. Good God. Knowing knowing knowing that without him you're nothing. Jesus. Jesus. Oh yes. I want to ask a question as we leave this room today. Anybody here remember the day, the night, the time that you received the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost? Anybody remember that something happened when you found an altar of repentance?

Something inside of you said, "I'm done." I I know that here of late I've used this word a lot because it has become strange in the church and that's simply this conviction. Conviction says, "I am wrong. You are right. I am sorry. Please forgive me. conviction draws you. It It breaks your heart.

It breaks you to a place that you can begin to call on the name of the Lord with a clear conscience and say, "Lord, I haven't even been able to speak your name, but in vain, but right now, Lord, I I'm reaching to you because I've discovered that without you, I'm nothing. You're actually the only hope that I have. You are the only hope. The only answer that I have is you.

That's why that old school people would cry and snot all over themselves when conviction settled in because they would break and they would lose all control of what they thought they controlled and it would come to a place where they simply had to cry. I mean an ugly mug cry. Can I help somebody? I'll try my best to stop this service today, but there's a reason that these boxes of Kleenexes are set out here. It's not for decor. This this brother Vandy was old school stuff.

And now I'll ask it this way. Hey, when's the last time your flesh was broken under the spirit of God? And you allowed yourself to weep and cry in your brokenness before the Lord only to feel the bomb of Gilead come in and heal you and restore you. It's called tissues. They're they're soft and strong. I'm not advocating that you go buy 10 boxes and put them in your house.

What I'm telling you is the word of God gets us to a place to where we can stand and say, "Lord, all of this mess is my fault. But today, I'm broken and I don't even know how to blow my nose now. I don't even know how to get myself back together. But Lord, I need you. I must have you. Search me, oh God. Forgive me, Lord. Let me be clean. I'm putting on armor, Lord, because there's an evil day coming and I've got to be able to save myself from this untoward generation.

I can't, but with you, I can. I don't understand it, Lord, but I know you've given me a way to get out. But I've got to break before you first. Lord, today I thank you for the family of God. Thankful, Lord, that your word doesn't change, but instead it changes us. Pray Lord for each one of us today. God, there's an army Lord in this generation that is rising up to fight the enemy. Reaching for souls, reaching into the fire to save some, not even having garments to smell like smoke.

We're doing things, God, in the kingdom. Lord, we're reaching for hearts that are broken and lives that are busted. Lord, we can't do that without you. We would be foolish to try. Chattanooga Lord needs hope. You are the hope. Our nation needs hope. Lord, you are the hope. Our world needs hope and it's you. Let us be strong in the Lord and the power of your might. and help us to put on the whole armor of God to understand how it works and to stand on that truth of your promises Jesus.

I want somebody to know today the Lord's tapping on your door gently, ever so gently. He's trying to give you an opportunity to make it right, to get back in line with him and to stand for some reason. Keep shutting him out. Even though he loves you and he wants to help you, you keep shutting him out. I admonish you today. I plead with you today. Get back right with God. Get back right with him. He's your only hope. Somebody say in Jesus name. In Jesus name. Would y'all pray prayer with me?

The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace and they shall put my name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them. I love all of you. So glad you came today. Shake hands. Be friendly. Go with God. Walk in the newness of who he is and let him bless your week this week.