Good

would you pray with me please lord we love you jesus we have sung songs today we have called upon your name we have given lord we have moved in and out of your presence lord as you breathe into this place today lord we are thankful for the opportunity to come to church privilege it is to gather together in your name lord one more time i make myself available to you jesus i need you take calls from the altar lord i pray today touch lips of clay anoint today lord every heart every home every family let us hear the word of the lord today let our hearts run after you search for you god find you today and connect with you you are glorious you are excellent you're all together lovely you're all together lovely jesus could you slip your hand in the hair come on slip your hand in the air right now and just love the lord come on slip your hand up right now lord i love you i believe in you lord i believe in you hallelujah hallelujah can you give the lord a handclap of praise together before your seated i love you jesus i love you lord praise god you may be seated today thank you singers and musicians thank you to all the workers and helpers and volunteers sunday school teachers door greeters and everything in between again if you're a guest with us today we are so honored that you are here honored that you've come we welcome you to cornerstone amen continue to pray for the sick families that are affected by sickness and so forth and believe god for the miraculous amen um we'll begin today a very open if you will open-ended maybe question what is the first thing that you think of when you are thinking of god what is the first thing that you think of when you are thinking of god it's a it's a question that perhaps is difficult to give a a direct answer because probably there would be different answers all over the room agreed we would all have a point of view a point of reference if you will for an example in our minds in our hearts we would say god you are big but how big god you're powerful but how powerful god you're you're loving but how loving kind wise uh whatever words you want to attach to it the the thing that we think of many times when it comes to describing god it's it's a great challenge because we all want to fall back on the age-old answer of he's just everything he's just all in all and that way it excludes us from having to give details i don't mind telling you friend when when i've been sick and didn't want to see nobody talk to nobody hear nobody be nobody and god came in i was thankful and i thought a whole lot about him being my healer at that moment you know i'm talking about or when i didn't have and i prayed and i asked for god to intervene and he moved i i was right there he had a face and it was called the need meter you know what i'm saying now i know that as a as a as a put a word on the description of god it's really a challenge maybe to give that description to the hungry he's bred to the thirsty he's water you know what i'm saying come on whatever is going on in your life to the hurting he's a healer you know what i'm saying to when you're in a situation you then begin to identify with who god is by your situation but i've come today on a sunday afternoon to declare to somebody god is not simply connected to your situation god is not just wrapped around how big or small your life is but understand something of 8 billion people on planet earth god's all of that to all of them amen knowing that we have to understand that it doesn't depend on our situation as to who god is what happens is we have to allow god to be god in whatever situation we're in that's why in the early morning you need to praise him in the late night you need to lift him up when everything fell apart you need to magnify his name when everything's going right you need to love him why because in all of life situations god will be god there if you'll let god be god there stay with me today as we sit here in this place today i am reminding every one of us of the power and the possibilities of our god he is wonder and wonderful both he is power and powerful both hear me he is peace and peaceful both anything you want to attach to him you need to understand something there is a little bit comparison between who god is and whatever situation you're going through hang on to me a moment can we still fall yes can he no understand him being god has nothing to do with who you are can we fall short yes can he fall short no he is god can we struggle in life situations yes does he struggle with your situation no why because for you and i the best thing that we could ever do is simply decide you know what god i didn't make you i didn't put you there i didn't rearrange your life i didn't put you on a place that i didn't control the best thing i can do is simply know you understand you and worship you at whatever point in life that i am when i find myself in the valley i gotta know he's still god in the valley like he we will be on the mountain when i have a need and it looks like there's no way out i still gotta somehow come up to my face and say lord you're still god and you're going to see me through it so many times we shortchange the god of all creation the best thing for you and i to do is simply hear it allow god to be god and love him allow god to be god and serve him allow god to be god and follow his word that he's given to us when it comes to the things of god i am standing here today to simply remind us of all the power that he has and everything that he can do he was doing with his creation from the beginning what his plan was to do with his creation he put it into motion you did not the one that's causing you the biggest trouble in your life they didn't put it into motion the circumstances you find yourself going through it wasn't that circumstance that got god into the healing business it wasn't that it it's always been god first everybody say first if we'll serve him if we'll follow his word if we'll truly give ourselves to the things of god the more we understand who he is what he is how he works then you can stand and be on the shadow of any doubt and you can make the declaration if god's for me who can be against me i stand here to remind you of his power he has a plan for your life everybody point to yourself that god knows me come on tell yourself god you know me come on tell yourself god you know me you know what he knows your name he even cares about the hair on your head hear what i'm saying god come on let lord i identify that you know me come on somebody got to say it because the enemy's been lying to you some of you are sitting here the enemy's lying to you right now you're so distracted by all of life stuff that ain't happening and you've got no control over put god first and let god be god and see how god works it out romans chapter 8 romans chapter 8 verse 28 everybody probably knows this first but we're going to the bible today if it's all right this is a scripture in the in the word and this is a message 8 28 of romans and we know that everybody say it with me all things come on everybody say it all things work together for good to them that love god to them who are the called according to his purpose all things work together for good now hold on a minute if i were to ask every one of you today to write down on a piece of paper or even send it in a text let's go digital what do you think ask you to tell me what is the definition of good we would have various ideas that would come because to some of us if it doesn't add value it doesn't lift up and exhort and evidently it's no good but you understand friend that there are things that happen in our lives that we may not want but we need and because god knows who we are and we're praying and we're talking to him he is allowing things to happen in our lives but yet he's still god with whatever is happening in our circumstances the writer of the letter to the romans was simply telling the truth in all of the pain and then all of the suffering and all of the time wasted in the money invested in everything that's going on in your life and in your circumstance in the ups the downs the lefts the rights the goods the bads and the uglies you need to understand something everything that's happening if you love god and you're serving god good is going to happen the situation though that we all challenge within ourselves is there are times when we cannot see the hand of god because we don't understand the good of god now i don't mind saying yesterday this came to me it's this has been rumbling in my brain and i'm trying my best sometimes as i get older to put things down and then i have to chew on them a lot my wife looks at me sometimes and says what's going on in your brain i don't know i'm chewing on something it's just there you know brother gibson i'm talking about it's marinating their stuff and i'm flipping it over and i'm i'm adding a little spice here and there and it ain't all what i'm trying to get but it's it's there and the lord knows that and then i i'm carrying this in my brain into a circumstance and i'm like oh that's why that'll make no sense at all erase it and start over stay with me when i try to figure out lord in all of the 2020 2021 chaos and confusion and stuff that's happening where is the good and then i begin to realize and i begin to ponder and consider that in the midst of the things happening in our lives those things we face they are working in tandem with the purpose called good it's hard to swallow that sometimes because there are so many challenges in our lives that make very little sense to us if it were up to you and i we would all be multi-millionaires somebody's nervous to even nod your head on that because we think money solves all of life's problems now it does help with a few like taxes right but the fact is the lord god knows exactly how much money is in your pocket don't think for a moment you're robbing him other things happen in your life and they are not your fault you didn't ask for them it was somebody else that pulled the it was somebody else that happened it was someone else that brought it in it was someone else's problem and now all of a sudden you are carrying this and in yourself you are saying where is the good somehow we have to wrap our minds around the reality that god actually is god and if the writer to the romans would declare he's working things out for good then we have to realize lord every step we take every place we go the good bad and ugly of all of it god i gotta trust and believe that you are there and somehow it is going to work together now trying to sleep last night i may enjoy sleeping well that's such a good thing come on you know they teach you when you're in school you should sleep 16 hours and get at least eight hours of work done a day sorry i got those backwards and and and in my again i'm rattling in my brain last night ethan trying to just rest and it's there and i'm up and i'm down i'm up and i'm down and and i'm trying lord here here it is you're ready for it what if somehow today you and i had the possibility of cutting and pasting and we were to simply take good and we were to remove it when it comes to the plan and the purpose of god hang on to me for a moment when it comes to what god is desiring to do what if we could remove good a challenge it would be to say the least but in the effort to better understand the possibility and to better understand the working together then let us for a moment look at this in a different light we all are aware of the attempts that people have in doing good how many here want to do good come on how many of you are falling short of that oh hands are like well i don't know how to answer that some of y'all are elbowing your neighbor go on put your hand up huh you're you want to do good and you want for the purpose and the plan of god to be seen in your life every day therefore you look for him you hunger for him but for some reason you fall short and you wonder about it could it be that maybe we see it in a light that isn't correct if you and i had the possibility to better understand you know what god when there's hurting and there's pain and there's suffering and there's nauseousness and they're throwing up and there's this and no money and there's accidents and there's this cause and there's no things happening the way i think that ought to happen how is it that i could look at that any of that going on in my life and label it good what if i were to re-label it instead of good g-o-o-d what if i were to simply look at it and say lord what if i were to say it is god because if god is good then we got to understand something he is working things together for my good because he's god the fact of the matter is simply this you and i have the difficulty of trusting what's happening in your life do you think for one moment that the lord god would bring you on the journey of life into a place in a position where you currently are simply to cross his arms and walk away from you although you might deserve it although you might be sinning and falling apart somebody here the preacher today and your life may not be worth two cents to anybody else you need to know something the cross of calvary was a sufficient price tag to cover your life therefore quit being selfish with the good and let god be the god of the good that's going on in your life i've come today to declare to somebody the enemy is a liar the devil's not telling you the truth god is still in control the cross still works salvation is still in the name of jesus hope still comes up through the blood of the cross there is still power to heal he's still a waymaker he's still a deliverer he's still salvation he still puts it back together he makes sense when it makes no sense why because god is good i don't mind telling you in the middle of the night i'm trying to wrestle with this god if you're trying to tell me something please be clear i'm tired and the lord very gently and i don't know maybe maybe sometimes he beats me up and sometimes he's very very gentle and the words that came to me time and again there's two words that are so important in this verse written to the romans 8 28 work together the work together is our challenge because to work together means you got to be on the same page agree to the same things only makes sense to work together means much like you and i would consider a yoke of you may know what oxen are come on that's an old word oxen you may remember seeing those in a zoo oh okay okay okay this was a big animal he weighed about 40 cup of jillion pounds right big guy and he was a worker and they would put this yolk on him a piece of wood about this big shaped kind of this way kind of this thing with these leather things on the strap and they would put one connected to help me another one and they would work together look at your neighbor and say together the holy ghost just spoke to some of you because the problems going on in your family in your home are because you are not together and you're looking for good but you won't work together in what god's trying to do in your family and in your home you stick with pastor for a moment we'll help you you're trying to do it on your own make your own decisions and figure that you got the best interest of your family in mind and the whole time god's sitting there saying you have just sold yourself short i went to calvary i'm the one that's forgiven your sins i'm the one that can heal you and set you free and make something of your life you don't know how to do it you just make a mess of it why don't you let me be god and if you'll get together and work i will bring goodness to it in some people's families and some people's homes there's a wrestling match constantly going on because you won't work together this isn't even a marriage class this is just talking good common sense come on on your job how many enjoy working with somebody else who doesn't want to work all you hear is the high pitched squeal as you're pulling them along heels dug in you're like come on man you got to get this done come on i ain't no greater joy for me than to be on a job with somebody and they don't want to work i i look like the devil is a liar you better get out of my way i mean i worked with a guy one time had the audacity i'll share this and i'll go on here the audacity of saying man i'm tired today aren't you going just take me off the clock i'm gonna go take a nap and when i'm up i'll you can put me back on the clock that's a great idea go home no no no i'm gonna work no you ain't i don't want to see you tomorrow nor the next day i could care less if you ever get to eat again well man you ain't got to be all that no you just told me who you were you don't want to work you want to come friday get the check you want the good but you don't want to work together lord help me not meddle today listen to me friend if we're going to have revival in chattanooga it's going because we're together it's going to be because in your home you agree pastor don't know everything bless his heart but i love him and i'm praying for him pastor's wife she don't have it all together but i love her and i'm praying for her you need to know something friend if you ever expect to get to heaven it's going to be because you're together there ain't no man in an island gonna walk into heaven say i got all this on my own no it's gonna be because the good that happened in you is it happened because you began to work together hear what i'm saying today on this sunday jeremiah we're going old testament anybody know the prophet jeremiah jeremiah chapter 17. listen to this boy this is good stuff jeremiah 17 and 5 thus saith the lord cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm and whose heart departeth from the lord for he shall be like the heath in the desert shall not see when good cometh but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness an assault land and not inhabited verse 7 blessed is the man that trusteth in the lord and whose hope the lord is for he shall be he shall be yes as a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth out her roots by the river and shall not see when heat cometh but her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought neither shall cease from yielding fruit the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it stay with me when jeremiah the prophet of god and the day in which he lived he's talking about cursed is the man that simply lets flesh be the guidance of what he's doing the man that doesn't see the good coming but instead he sees the negative and the down and that god must have forsaken us and whatever bad is there but blessed is the man that trusts in the lord he hopes in the lord he's going to be like the tree planted by the waters you see this jeremiah he talked about there would be like a heath in the desert do your homework look it up the heath was a group of trees but they were shallow trees they didn't have any root system really in them the heat of the desert could dry them up they're still all over the world today they sprout up they go away the wind comes knocks them down they come up somewhere else it's called bramble bushes it's called the outcast nobody wants it why because man that's doing it on his own and not working together they're not going to be planted by the water where the water of the river comes up through the root system and gets into them and lets them provide shade and lets them provide housing for the birds and lets them establish themselves i listen for him if i'm walking through a place i'm not running to the heath or to that that's going to be desolate bearing in nothing i'm looking for a tree planted by water where i can draw strength from i've come to tell somebody today that jeremiah was prophesying at that hour understanding folia you can't even know your own heart you think you're doing it all the church needs me today they know that i'm not i will exercise my spiritual gift i'm going to split it down the middle or i'm going to destroy it or so discord they're not saying it with their mouth they're saying it with their unbelief why because if you're not working together and if we're not moving forward then good cannot come out of it we want the payday we want the good but the working together hear me who can know the heart of men only the god that put it there therefore you better find yourself every chance you get in an altar you better find yourself every opportunity you get with your hands lifted up to heaven every chance you get you better be loving god and everything about him give yourself to the things of god and realize good's going to come when i bind together with god's people the prophet concerning the heart of man you can't trust it you can't you can't build on that cursed is that man that looks just simply to the flesh trying to figure it out listen to my friend as pastor of this great assembly there have been multiple times in my ministry and in my life that i had no clue what was going on confession and i pray about it and i'd pace the floor and i'd look for the hand in the voice of god nowhere to be found and the only thing i could do the only thing i knew to do was to give god glory and honor and pick up my foot and put it down and in the midst of that god will begin to move and open doors and things will begin to happen and there's always been somebody that would come up alongside and say not really sure how it's going to work out pastor but i'm with you and i said i'm not either but let's move forward i realize and i told people recently i'm so tired of talking about the tornado and what we lost in it but i don't mind telling you over the last year and a half or so this church has been through many many things and it has made us who we are today but if you will recall before that tornado said day of destruction came we were already in a mode of working and doing things for god it's just when that happened listen to me carefully when i walked into that church building half fallen over water everywhere stuff torn up things ripped apart and i scrooched through here and i stepped over that and my dear friend here brother duran standing beside me saying what do you think i said man i don't know what to think but to god be the glory he said i don't know if you're just saying that to be kind if you're saying that because you don't know what else to do and i said to him i said bro i don't know what else to say but i know if god gave it god can take it it's not mine what i do know is this more than ever before i need somebody that'll work in tandem to say blessed be the name of the lord because it all works together for good i don't know how the outcome's going to come but i know in everything that we did in here and everything that we've done in here god is looking for a church in this city and whether i know what i'm doing or not does not justify nor qualify i simply want to put myself in the hands of the master that will say god you're working it out for my good i'm coming up with so and so and i'm connected with such and such if they want to be lazy and sit on the sideline so be it but as for me and my house we're going to serve you we'll show up lord when nobody else is here we'll stay until everybody else is gone we'll turn on the air we'll turn off the air we'll clean the camo we'll sweep the floor i don't care what it is i'll change the light bulb i'll connect why because this has nothing to do with you it has everything to do with the good of what god wants to do in chattanooga blessed is the man who will trust the lord and do good who can know the heart of man jeremiah even said it this way it is deceitful you can't know it it's good intentions it wants to but yet it struggles i learned recently an old seasoned minister who i highly respect took a pulpit at a national convention and he simply said from the microphone every time there's revival it is a struggle and i said well that's a good one to shout on it's a struggle it's a struggle to believe it's a struggle to let it happen it's a struggle to get up under it and try to push it it's a struggle to get anybody else to connect to it and while he was standing in that pulpit that night and he looked out across the crowd what i saw happen was incredible the ministers began to stand and say it has been a struggle but blessed be the name of the lord god it's working for good it's working for good and i realize at that point brother durant it is a struggle but i then was reminded at that moment as i am today as our dear savior christ the lord was walking up the hill of calvary he wasn't skipping he wasn't sashaying with a little this y'all put me up there i'm trying to kill every one of you he was falling he was struggling he was struggling even at that moment he said he's hanging there father forgive him they'll realize what they're doing but this flesh is going to die up here and when this flesh dies they don't realize now the whole world can have somebody to work in tandem with because i'll be with them in the morning i'll be with them at night i'll be with them on the mountain or in the valley they can call on me in the middle of a jail cell and i can work in their circumstance i can show up in a prison i can show up in a palace i can be wherever they are and wherever is going on in their life i can be next to them you hear this preacher today some of you are struggling with yourself why don't you get yourself in its proper position off the throne and let him go back to the throne submit yourself to him and say lord i'm going to work together for good come on brother durant now again i'm standing here today and i'm asking this simple question i i started can we remove for a moment the word good can can we see how humanity sees good because if we if we remove good the fact is our plans our desires they fall apart we're not able to finish we're not able to carry it through we fall short we don't trust others therefore we tear one another down because that's what you do when you don't trust there's no way to build on the unknown so we destroy one another because we're all looking for good the only way to get good is to make sure god is in the equation so i stand here today on this sunday afternoon some of you have known the lord for many years you have seen the fruit of your labors and god has blessed and anointed you not because of you but because of him some of you are new and you're trying to figure out your place in the kingdom you're trying to find out what does this really mean the family of god the church i'm here to tell you that you are bringing into the family of god something for god to work with the scripture tells us in genesis notice everything that the voice of god spoke to and created he said about that what and it was good nothing darkness chaos nothing there the deep but the spirit of god began to move on the deep and when his voice activated the deep he says let there be light and out of that through his voice working together he said it's good the earth did not fight against the voice of god because the earth was going to bring forth what god was about to produce so on that day god says and it was good the animals they didn't fight against him because they knew what was about to happen is i'm coming out of what he'd already put here and so they come the fish the birds and it was good gets to the finish part anybody remember this one of the greatest compliments to working in unity is this he looked at all he had done and he said it is very good my prayer today for all of us is not simply to be good and not simply see good but to work to labor to come alongside so that at the end of it all he can say well done thou good faithful child king ruler musician sunday school teacher chair sitter down there good and faithful servant stand with me please we can't remove the good out of the equation leave the good there elbow your neighbor and say leave the good alone come on tell somebody leave leave the good there but this is what we've got to do somehow someway we have to figure out how to work together now of course we all would like to think that as the family we should all just be doing things together and it should be just skips and down the road and skipping rocks on the water and howdy duty and here we are and this is just a lovely day heard you know how to skip see he just like i don't know i don't know that i could skip now brother david i'll throw my knee out or something this is what i want us to do today on this sunday it's still early it's just 12 after one i want you to look across the room don't make an excuse you can see across the room now that's why we built it this way go ahead look around now you leave that chair where you are and you go find that person don't grab the one next to you that's too easy that's too easy that's why you're sitting there with them you've been tolerating them all service now you need to go think about somebody else now get out of your chair and go find somebody and i want you together to come to this altar go come on go find somebody get a hold of them and bring them to this altar come on we're all part of the family don't be afraid of each other come on that's right come on come on we got others that need to be down here come on that's right get a hold of somebody come on get them down here that's right come on there you go there you go come on now i don't know if you if you've introduced yourself or if you already know each other introduce yourself to them come on introduce yourself my name is this and this is who i am and like it or leave it this is what it is now you listen to me friend i know that you think for what i know you think that you really controlled this whole thing and that you had your eye on that person and you were going to go over there to them that way it's easy and that way you don't have to worry about committing or saying anything and now you don't have to open up yourself and then you know it's going to be easy now we get through this and go and eat lunch but i don't believe god works that way and that one you are standing next to right now might be in the trial of their life and they learn how to be apostolic and put a smile on and fake it through this service and when they walk out this door the enemy's simply standing there and he's gonna beat him up discourage them disconnect them and make them look for some other good somewhere else some of you right now are the greatest challenge you've ever been in and you need somebody to help you you need that one that's standing next to you so i want you guys whatever you're comfortable with get a hold of them lift their hand up if you want to put your arm around them and i want you to pray for them like your life depended on it come on come on like you your life depends on their prayer now you pray come on you pray you pray for them like you want them to pray for you you pray for them like you want them to pray for you jesus you're a waymaker come on working together lord for good there is there is purpose lord in them yes jesus yes jesus you've got a purpose in them come on that's right somebody can receive a word today come on somebody can receive a word today come on he's working he's doing it come on together together there's good happening together there's good happening yeah all my life you have been faithful come on he's a good god pray church pray he's working things things are happening don't give up now keep on trusting god keep on running after him that's right keep loving him come on lift your voice right now i will cry out to the lord god yes jesus jesus jesus i love you lord i trust you heaven i trust you today god come on that's right pray for lord open doors for them god give them an outpouring of your spirit let truth prevail in their lord let them find peace in the family of god let them love the things of god i will pursue the things of god oh that's right come on come on pray church oh my life you have been faithful come on pray for god help them at their home help them on their job help them lord in their mind help them lord in their health and their body in their family god be with them lord whatever they're going through jesus that's right jesus you know good god good god oh you're good you're good you're good jesus you need the miraculous today lift your hand right now come on you need a miracle in your life lift your hand come on pray for that person right now with their hands up lord you can breathe into them hope and life yes you can you can change their circumstance lord you can shed light on where they are hope can be found in you jesus yes it can lord god we know that without you we will fail but with you lord working doing the things of god thy kingdom come lord thy will be done jesus oh mighty god mighty god mighty god jesus jesus jesus jesus now that one that you prayed with i want you to encourage them right now come on god's doing good things come on let them know come on breathe the word of hope to him breathe the word of hope to him come on god you're doing a work come on encourage somebody close to you turn to somebody else tell them god's doing the work in you god's moving god's making a way he's making a way he's making a way that's right in jesus name god's making a way hallelujah hallelujah jesus bless your name he's good god's good come on he's good good's happening whatever you do don't remove the good leave the good there leave the good oh god our god would you pray with me together church lord we thank you for allowing us today to come together to stand in your presence and to love and lift you up to sing in the magnify to give lord and to submit to you i know good is happening i know god that good is happening we are connecting lord with you connecting one with another serving and loving your lord with everything that's within us god i pray lord for the church family today give us i pray the wisdom the knowledge and the understanding to know how to do the things of god god we want revival we want an outpouring in our community you have seen us through so many things it's all worked together good is happening lord and we're going to trust you for that go with us this week lord bring us back let us come together god expecting fully the miraculous to happen because if you're here lord anything is anything is possible i plead your blood over the church protect the church in this hour lord protect the church in this hour bless our nation lord bless our city we love you together lord we serve you in the name above every name jesus jesus can you give the lord a hand praise right now come on clap your hands to the lord together good happens together lord good happens i love you lord look around your friend if there's somebody that's usually here and they're not today shoot them a text call them let them know you you'll be encouraged some have been in their home for a long time because of safety and precautions and all a word from you might be come on some of y'all sitting there saying i don't really have a ministry at all where you can text i mean look he's texting right now see how see how that worked you see ethan how that happened thank you for being the example he was putting his order in for grub hovers i don't know i love you guys i believe god is doing great things in your life but get in touch with somebody that's not here lord i'm praying for you i want you to know i believe that god is still doing man is that all right go with god shake hands be friendly greet one another and you ask him always what he's doing all right i love y'all in jesus name go amen you're dismissed in the love of god