Heaven

I I I would dare say that in this group, this crowd today, that whether you're online or you're here in person, that you have a morning ritual, perhaps a custom that you go through. uh in in your slumber this morning. I know some of you get up at the what would the old folks would have called the crack of dawn. Some of you barely got up this morning and some perhaps are still hoping that you can wake up here in just a little while. Um there are possibilities that connect themselves to this day. things maybe that yesterday you didn't know about.

Uh for an example, if you know that God is a way maker, then you pray to him in that wise God, I know you'll make a way. I know you'll make a way. But if everything's going your way, that prayer begins to get softer and softer until you have a physical problem. And then you'll pray, "God, you're a healer. A healer. A healer." And then you feel better.

And that prayer begins to diminish and then you need a million dollars because you can't pay your bills because Walmart got all your money and you Lord you're a provider a provider and God doesn't he makes you get a second job anyway your prayer kind of shifts left to right sometimes anybody guilty of that or do you just pray the same old same old All right I I I believe that we then all can understand that there are possibilities that come with every single day. But I will encourage somebody today in this room or somebody online. I am pleased to announce to you right now from this moment forward, God will continue to be God. God didn't fall asleep at night. He wasn't kicked off the throne while you were nestled up in your bed. There was no committee nor group that offended him where he would decide to go and do something else with another someone else.

He didn't lose his position because of a foot race. God is still God and he's still on the throne. God is still God and he is still on the throne. I will announce to you, you did not place him there. He is there because he is God. You can't pull him down.

You can't shift him left or right. But he is God. Now, what you can do, listen to pastor a moment. You can build a different throne and put your own God on that throne. But God will simply say, "There is none like me. There is none beside me." You can't even get your God beside him.

on your journal right now. Write down a list of things that you are thankful for that God gave you today. Just today, don't go back there and say, "When I was in the third grade, what had happened was and God?" No. Right now, today, when you got out of bed and your eyes popped open, surely there's a list of things that you can be thankful for. Somebody say, "Lord, I'm thankful. I feel compelled today to assure somebody that the God of all of creation is still in his position.

And because our world has lost its mind does not mean that God has lost his mind. Just because the systems of our culture and society appear to be in chaos and out of whack does not mean our God is out of whack. You got to know, I come to encourage somebody that God is still high and lifted up. See the prophet of old Isaiah in 6 and1, you know this one. He wrote it like this. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up.

His train filled the temple. Above it stood the saraphims. Each one had six wings. With twain did hide his fa covered his face. with twain covered his feet and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of his glory." You got these saraphims, you got these angelic beings, and they are declaring, listen, not to the one that is high and lifted up, but to one another, saying, "He's holy. He is holy. He is holy. He is holy." Listen, listen, listen. It was not there high and lifted up in that place that they simply declared who God was, but they brought it home to you and I. And they declare the whole earth is full of him.

Full of him. The prophet of old declared the whole earth is full of his glory. Why should that excite you and I today? Why should that settle somebody's nerves today? Why should somebody declare, "I don't need that anxiousness. I don't need that fear.

I don't need that doubt. Uh the whole earth uh is still full of God's glory. The plans, the processes that we are knowledgeable about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We understand that. But you got to understand even today he is still God and he is still filling the entirety of the earth. Today it stands worth reminding us one more time uh that although your friends, your neighbors, although the government, although teachers and those around, although anybody that you may know or may not know, uh they may be running to and fro trying to figure it out.

I've come to simply remind you uh our God is still God. He is still on the throne. His whole power and presence fills the world. That means today uh he is endless in his possibilities. That means today uh that he is above humanity uh and your mess ups and your decisions that you're not making correctly. I've come to remind somebody on this Sunday uh that if you are truly looking for his appearing, you will see him when he comes back.

But if you fill your time, your effort, and your energy with the stuff of this world, you're not going to know it till it's too late. At the mention of the name Jesus, at the mention of his name, you simply open your mouth, activate your vocal cords, and say the name Jesus. every devil that could try to pull you down, uh, every situation that could try to destroy you, uh, every problem and issue that you come face to face with, uh, if you'll simply speak the name Jesus, you are speaking authority and power in the face of your enemy, uh, and all fear and doubt has to flee. Then why pastor, why preacher, do I have problems and issues? Why is my mind plagued with junk and distractions and things? Why do I constantly feel anxiousness and and I wonder where you are?

And although I know you're God, humanity overtakes me sometimes and I can't find you. Stay with me. Sometimes we learn as humans that God simply needs to be your last resort. You don't believe that we have a bottle of oil right here because James tells us to do that. Anoint with oil. That's what we're told.

We have prayer cloths up here because we receive instruction from what the disciples, followers of Christ did by taking part of their apron, praying over it and giving. We understand that value system, don't we? But I can almost assure every one of us today that there are many in this room, there are many online that came into this place today and you bring back with you the bag of stuff that you've been trying to figure out what to do. You you you've you've even tried to have a yard sale with your stuff and then the devil in hell want to buy it back. Tell me online some some of y'all trying to negotiate terms about your salvation. Some of some of you know full well the breath of God as it swept into your bedroom or in your hospital room and revived you on death's bed and you stood up whole and complete.

And you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that a doctor didn't do that, a lawyer didn't do that, a teacher didn't do that, but it was the hand of almighty God. But for whatever reason, time has passed and your praise has shifted gears and you've decided and declared that in your healed state that there are many things that you decide that you want to handle yourself. I know of what I speak only because I experience the same things. There are times that God comes through and there is no doubt beyond my mind that it was the hand of God. And the very same circumstance can happen a week later and I find myself rolling up my sleeves and declaring, "God, I'll take care of this one." And what I just did is I just simply said to the God who fills all of the earth that, you know what, you're busy. I I'm sorry that I got myself back in this mess and you forgave me then.

You You washed me there. You you you let me take your name on there. But because I'm human, my fear and doubt, questions and concerns overtake me sometimes. And instead of simply loving you from the rising of the sun until the going down of the sun, instead of just magnifying your name, Lord, I will magnify my situation in the midst of it. And then I begin to fill my world with me. Some of us need to understand the value of simply trust God.

When I see that God's goodness and mercy work in my life and when I allow him to be God, I am reminded of the beginning. Y'all ready for it? Genesis says it like this. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was without form, void. Darkness was upon the face of the deep.

And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. In the beginning, God created. That voice began to vibrate through all the chaos and the stuff. And in the beginning, it started with God. If it began with God and you're looking for God to be there at the end, somebody hear the preacher today. What in the world do you think God's doing in between those two points?

He not going to chase you down, beat you over the head, throw you under the rock, and sit on you just to keep you loving him, but he's simply going to say, "This earth is full of my glory." If you will identify with who is right now in your presence, your circumstance can change that quick. I've come to declare, y'all need to look at the pastor right here. Like I told my children, look right here. You need to know something. In the midst of the devil's hell that you're going through and the junk that you're facing, you need to know something. If you will simply open your eyes, God is standing there right in front of you.

Uh looking through your soul, identifying the fact I never went anywhere. I've been here the whole time. But you need to pray yourself into a position where you could tell the enemy of your soul, pardon me. Uh I'm not listening to your voice. Uh I'm bringing down the strongholds that I have built. I'm tearing down the thrones that are removing myself from you.

And I'm coming face to face with you, God. If you could ever understand and realize, you won't fabricate God. God's already here. You won't make him up. He's already here. You can't generate him.

He is already in the room. God didn't look at a committee, roll a dice, and say, "What we going to do with this one?" Now, I've done that with some of y'all, but I ain't God. Could Could it could it be and I'm just going is it okay if I'm okay real today? Could it be that the circumstance you're facing and God actually knows what he's doing? Oh, pastor, you don't know what pain or suffering or troubles or trials or tests or things that I'm I'm going through. You don't know if you if you knew if you knew, you wouldn't say that.

And I don't I've said this to y'all. I'll repeat it today in case somebody missed it the last several times I said it. How how how much do you think of yourself? I don't know. Some of you may think you you're you're above all that. I mean, if the earth is full of God's glory, then why would you think that that the glory of God can't touch you?

I I tell folk all the time, man, you don't know what I'm going through. I said, well, now hold on a minute. You think God for one moment is surprised by that and he's got to go fabricate something else just for you? That's not how my God works. He is fair. He was fair to my grandparents.

He was fair to my parents. He's fair to me. He's fair to my children. He's fair to my grandchildren. That's God. Why?

Because you didn't make God. You didn't put him where he is. He's God. He fills his glory fills all the earth. Well, we've got to recognize, come on, somebody. You need to pray yourself into a position that says, "God, get me away from the negative, the doubt, the fear, the question, and let me sidetrack.

Move just a little bit over so I don't look at that stuff." And you can stay right there if you want to. Mess, sin, disaster, garbage, junk. You can stay there if you I don't care. But I'm not going to look at you. But instead, the earth is full of the glory of God. You stand right there if you want to.

God of all creation, the one who spoke in the beginning. Uh you're my God and my eyes are upon you like your eyes are upon me right now. You're going to notice something changes in your situation. Uh you're going to move past all the junk that's been sidetracking you. Uh and you're going to know, you know what? I'm living in victory.

Uh hey, as the young folks say, I'm living in the light now. I'm living in the light now. I'm living in the light now. Oh, I'm living in the light now. I'm living in the light now. I'm living in the light now.

I don't need this junk, this garbage, this stuff. It's Jesus and me. Now, could y'all y'all I got We don't have a clock in here. Brother Sam said we got to get a clock put on him. So, we'll we'll think I got one, too. Brother Sam, I just want to remind somebody that every single one of us have a goal in mind.

The goal is not to be prosperous here on earth and have all the stuff that we desire and our hearts filled with the things of stuff and all of that. But my goal is heaven. My goal is heaven. See what what what I've discovered with humans is because I one I've discovered with humanity that the enemy as declared by scripture cannot form a weapon that can hurt you. Hold on. If that is truly the case and you actually believe what the word of God says, then why the struggle or the trial or the questions or the concerns or the difficulties?

Pastor, are you trying to minimize my suffering? No. I'm trying to tell you that even in your suffering, God's still God. Jesus can have all the power to speak. Jesus can have all the authority over everything. But it was the same Jesus that spoke and healed and miraculously provided.

It was that same Jesus that went into a garden place and fell on his face and cried out, "If it's your will, let this cup pass from me." But oh, I'm g I'm going to settle this. Not my will, not mine. Not my way. Hold on. I thought he was God. He was but he was dignified deity and humanity by design for us so that we couldn't simply say your door Jesus you don't know nothing about that Jesus could say okay then come with me to that garden I don't know about this suffering okay fine they're welcome to put up another cross by mine and you can hang with me the only way you'll get off your cross is by death.

The way I got off my cross was by death. But I rose again the third day. Come on. You want to try that one? That stop putting yourself on that cross that the sacrifice that Jesus made be sufficient and declare the whole council of God says, I know our pastor's use a lot of old songs. That's just because I only get one month out of several to preach and next month, Brother Sam can take it.

But I was reminded, Brother Gibson, you ready to help me? This world is not my home. I'm just pass. Come on. It's like that choir song. You don't know the words.

Ohord. If heaven's not my home, Lord, what will I do? The angels beckon me from heaven's open door. I can't feel at home in this world. No, y'all ain't doing that. Y'all gonna take over my message.

I I'm simply trying to remind trained a generation here at whatever age level you are. That the whole earth is full of his glory. And what he's doing for us, what he has done for us, the investment that he's made on us, the payment that he paid for us was so that the place that he was going to prepare for us, that where he is, we could be there also. Now, notice something here. Are we okay with time? Notice something here.

Philippians chapter 3. Y'all y'all know this, brethren, be be follow. Verse 17 says, "Be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us born in Samuel. For many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ." They they started walking after Christ, but now they're the enemy. And it breaks my heart. Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, and whose mind earthly things.

For our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. I wonder sometimes in your journal, would you write this down? What lies has the world told you about the events that are going to come to pass? What lies has this world told you about heaven? You don't have to write this one down unless you want to concern yourself with it. Do you serve your belly?

Oh, that that's silly. That's silly. No, no, it's it's not. I I have a two month old grandbaby. I can ask her stuff about what she ate, what she's eating, what she's enjoying. She loves Brother Daniel.

I'll ask her where is it, where was she point. Now, she's a little bit confused because her mom is going to have a baby. So, if you ask her where's her baby brother, she'll go, listen to me. My belly has the chichin and chu. And you know what she does when she's happy about that? Listen to that.

That's an action of a child. But I think that Paul understood humanity and that many times as long as we're satisfied, as long as we can consume what we like and ingest what we want, then we don't need the God that fills the whole earth because we're comfy with where we are. That's why in parenthesis in the letter he said they some of them follow started following Christ but then they got sidetracked and distracted on their consumption and their desire for the things of this earth and in so doing they walked away from the plan of God for their life. Listen, if you will give him space, if you'll give God time, if you'll make him intentionally in your life, listen, you cannot make God bigger than he already is. He can't feel another world. He already feels this one.

But what I do know simply is this. If I'll recognize who he is in all of my circumstances and in all of my problems and issues, then my God can stand with me. Put his loving arm around me. Y'all know this verse. And he will supply all my need according to his riches in earth. No, in glory.

Who? His rich is where what fills the earth. Where where he is glory. He will supply where he is. Come on. You can you can do and say and be what you want to be, but the end of the day you need to know something.

God needs to occupy every corner of your heart, every corner of your mind. He needs to be there in the morning when you get out of bed. He needs to know that when you come into the house of God, you didn't come with an agenda, but you came with a hunger and a thirst to simply know him. I cannot today uh drag you into heaven. As I said many times, you won't wake up there one day wondering where you are. No, but it's going to be for those who look for his return.

Those who are hungry to see him come, those who are convinced that he is the way, the truth, and the life. Come on. There are possibilities with God that you don't even know yet. Uh there are things with God that you can't even understand yet. In fact, the Bible tells us that in that place that he is going to prepare for us called heaven, eye has not seen, ear has not heard, it's not even entered into the heart of man what he's going to do for us. So my friend, I rise to this podium today to tell you uh that if God truly inhabits and dwells in all of the earth, then we simply need to recognize the fact if we get out of the way, he's already the way.

The testimony that he gives you in your life, you need to know, God, you brought me a mighty long way. Uh you forgave me of my sin. You allowed me to walk right in my mind. And I am looking at you right now face to face. And I've done made up in my mind. It doesn't matter what this world throws to me, throws at me, puts across my path.

If I'll simply call on the name Jesus, I can overcome that by be by the word of my testimony. I can be known and I can know God has been with me. Uh it might not look like it now. Uh, I might be dragging a little bit today. Uh, I might be weary in my body right now. Uh, but I know that God's still God.

Uh, I can't make him bigger. I can simply get closer to him. If you have not found him today, to be your all in all. There's an altar of repentance. Uh, you can come to an altar and you can decide, uh, I'm turning around. I'm not going that way any longer.

But instead of my focus and my eyes are upon heaven. Uh if you don't know him today, repentance still works. Uh conviction still worksh. He can forgive you of your sin. Yes. Uh if you've yet to be baptized in water by immersion in the only saving name of Jesus.

Uh today can be your day. Uh he can remit those sins and wash them and push them off of you. Hey, he won't leave you there, but he'll fill you with his spirit. He'll confirm with you that his glory is now in you. I I came in I came in here earlier today and these singers and musicians were praying. They they come early in case some of y'all wonder.

They come early and practice. I know y'all thought they just good, but no, they they got to practice. They got to practice. And in all on all their faults and stuff, they got to have a laptop filling fill in the space. Y'all know what I'm talking about. Called loops.

They got two of them. I I offered to do that myself, but I can't hold it. Can't hold it. These guys come early. They pray today. For whatever reason, brother Don, at the end of their prayer before they practice, he was very simple.

He knows perhaps what it's like to have issues and problems and stuff. Got his own testimony. I got mine. You got yours. that he stood up here with his singers and musicians and said, "Guys, we're going to pray together today." This is not a quote because I was listening, but I was holding my grandson. So, my attention was split.

He said simply this, you know, we all going to have needs today. He said, "I'm I'm convinced if we can just lift up the name of Jesus, God can move the situation instead of focusing on the stuff, the things, the junk, the garbage, the confusion, and all that. If we just love the Lord, he can come in. He can move within moments. See?" So, so y'all let me pastor you for just a moment. So many of us bring all of our needs to the Lord and we expect for him to take care of some of us bring our circumstance, our failures and mess ups, hurts and habits and all that stuff to the Lord and we expect for him to to simply handle them and and he does it sometimes.

There's situation that unfolds and it it won't go away and we try but it it just doesn't happen. And so so we're confused and instead of taking it out on the one who started the mess, we take it out on the one who understands me. That's just how humans work. But I I I believe today number one by experience, number two by the word of God, three by the understanding of the spirit of God. I am today that no matter where you are in life, if you will simply come to the Lord, listen, don't bring your mess expecting him to take care of it. Why don't you take what you have and go buy some worship by reminiscing in your mind how good he's been?

I mean, I mean, some real worship. Why don't you make yourself available through the crowd? Why don't you push your way through all the stuff? Why don't you get to where Jesus is because you amplified him? Why don't you fall down and break the alabaster box and pour it out? She She didn't come saying, "Lord, can you give me?

Can you bless me? Can you? She simply said, "Can you excuse me? I got to give to Jesus." I didn't leave the house today with this alabaster box full of fine ointment to take it to a pawn shop. Wasn't going to the market to try to sell it so that I could have money to buy what I want. But I came looking for Jesus.

that just came to him. That's costly. One one of the followers of Jesus got mad. Man, we could have sold that and fed the poor. Jesus said, "Back up." She didn't come and bring that as an offering to the poor. You don't have them all the time with you.

But I'm here right now with her. She brought that for me. What did Jesus say about her? This is going to be a memorial not just for now. Everybody from here forward is going to know about this lady that said giving to him is more important than giving to me. See, the end of the day, I'll ask it this way as you stand with me.

How many still ready for heaven? I I mean, how many really think that there's a place called heaven? See, our current culture would say, "No, that that's just that's just somebody made all that up." No, it's in the same Bible that said you need to be baptized in Jesus name. So, if it's there, then I follow that. Then I better follow the rest of the teaching. Understand?

If that's the case, then again, I'll ask it this way. Is heaven important in your life. Are you willing to simply say, "Lord, help me to push past all the stuff. Push back all the stuff. Just come love you." Feel like today in this room that there's some hungry people that are ready for God to work in your life, but your struggle is not with God. It's not with your mess.

It's with you. It's with you in yourself. Put up so many boundaries and obstacles. I've heard people even say, you know, if there was God, there wouldn't be hunger in the world. Can't respond to that except for one thing. There also wouldn't be dumb people that would not feed them.

I'm going to get in trouble. I get trouble. God's people were hungry. I said, "Okay, I got it." Sun breaks the horizon in the morning. Get up, go outside, pick up enough heat for the day. It's called mana from heaven.

And consume it that day. That that just right now that's what you get. And see and see God knows in 2025 that some of us immediately start to make a business of that. Look what we could do is we could bag it up. We go knock on tent doors. Hey, I brought it to you.

You can buy right here real cheap. $20 and get you a meal for your family. You don't even have to get out. You don't have to get dressed and come outside. I got you. That's our mind.

God said, "You know what? I can fix that real quick. Get more than you need and watch what happens to heaven is still the goal. Eternity with him is still the goal. Now in this room right now, the spirit of the Lord is moving. How do I know that?

Because he fills the earth with his glory. I I just want to ask you this. Are you willing to push aside your agenda? Get close to him. Maybe you need to get out of your chair to come to an altar where it's just you and him. Is that sufficient?

Would you come? May maybe you need a healing in your body and you've been praying over that, praying over that, and God's simply reminding you today, you know what? I got that. But if you'll just love me and I get close to you, I can take care of that in a moment just by you loving me and recognizing who I am. Come on. Come on.

Some of you need to bring your families and you need to let your families know, you know what? This is still real. Heaven is still the goal. I am not going to be satisfied here on earth. I am not going to be satisfied with a job that's better or bigger bank account or faster this or more of that. But Lord God, I know the earth is full of your glory.

Help me to open my eyes and to see you, Lord God. Oh, come on. This altar's open. Some of you, some of us need to get serious with God and make that declaration. Lord, you can do anything. I've come to this altar today, Lord, to simply love you.

I bring today an offering to you, Lord, today. A sacrifice of praise. Come today, Lord God, with costly things, and I break them. And it's a sweet odor to you, God. I didn't come, Lord, needing all other things. You provide that for me, God.

But today, I just want to love you. Today, Jesus, I I just want to serve you. I just want to bow before you. Come on, somebody. Are you hungry for more of Jesus? Are you hungry for more of Jesus?

Are you hungry for him? Will you let him manifest himself in front of you? Come on. Can you open your spiritual eyes and see him today? Yeah. Yeah.

Jesus. Jesus. The whole earth declares your glory. Nature worships you. The sun and the moon, Lord, they're at your bidding, God. They worship you.

The animals worship you and how they do. But Lord, today we are humans, your creation, and we have to choose. Today, Lord, I choose you. Oh, come on, somebody speak to your situation right now and declare the whole the whole word of God. Lord, today I am I'm ready for you to move in my life. I'm ready, Lord, for you to have your way in my circumstance.

I'm ready for you to move in my circumstance, Lord. Yeah. Yeah. Come on. You might be living in a mess, but let God be in that mess. And it's all okay if he's in it.

I love you, Lord. I love you, Lord. I love you, Lord. I love you, Lord. I love you, Lord. Oh, come on.

That's right. Come on. That's right. Get a hold of him today. Jesus. Jesus.

Jesus. Hey. Yeah.