His Name

we have been looking of course this year at first the kingdom let's go to Matthew 6:33 is there somebody in the big room over there somebody's in there very good Matthew 6:33 uh we're going to read that verse verse out loud this is our annual theme I want to make sure that I start with it in my class so that we won't forget the whole purpose and reason Matthew 6:33 how we doing in there anybody got it will you read it out loud very good someone else out loud please someone else you didn't read it oh it's memorized she said all right that's our theme for the year and here the the the purpose in that is I I really feel like there's things we need added to our church to our homes to our individuals selves whatever we need and the scripture according here to when Jesus sat and Tau when he's starting his ministry he one of the things he says is if you'll put the kingdom of God first look for the kingdom of God look for his right way of doing things right then the other things will be added how's that now this does not say your bank account shall be full doesn't say your gas will never run out of your car or none of that simply means that addition will come to those who seek God first is that all right so that's what we're doing here first the kingdom for this entire year of 2024 in part of that for this series of lessons tonight being the last one Matthew chapter 5 verse number 10 Matthew 5 verse number 10 okay somebody read verse 10 for me please out loud verse 11 someone very good fa verse 12 someone very good we discovered last week if you were here for the lesson we discovered that the actual or origin of persecute persecution persecuted the origin of that is persuing they if somebody pursues you now again 2024 if I say the word persecute what what instantly first comes to our mind what yeah we're we think the negative connotation don't we because nobody wants to be persecuted the origin of the word though is to pursue if that's the case then can you when when you find the love of your life can you say I'm going to persecute you by its definition in origin yes you can but you got some explaining to do why because we understand it differently now stay with me it's important when Jesus is sitting on the mount that day and on that Hillside and he's given these instructions to the crowd that's there he understood fully that their level of comprehension was going to be very basic why I didn't say they were dumb but why would it have been basic to his teaching they' never heard it I mean to present where Jesus was they're still doing sacrifice and Jesus comes and now he is trying his best to infiltrate overwhelm saturate push back all what you want all of the years and centuries if you will and and and and eternities of time with the law and how people did things when Jesus came he said I I'm not coming here to to change all of I'm just coming to fulfill it coming to complete what that said so imagine the look on their face when Jesus starts blessed are the pure in heart or blessed are the peace makers or blessed are the meat and they're looking at one another and say we need to be fighting for this and he's saying peace mate he's saying me they're probably looking at one another like how how we going to be successful if we're all me I mean it's a concept that is very contrary to human nature agreed Jesus knew that so in the ministry of Jesus beginning here in The Sermon on the Mount if you will in the Beatitudes your attitude ought to be this he is instructing them contrary to what their flesh has told them basically their whole life even contrary to the law that they were built on that's why it's so important that we understand in verse number let let let me let me read one before we ver chapter number five

look what the Bible says further down verse 38 ye have heard that it hath been said this is Matthew 5:38 ready for it an eye for an eye and a tooth or a tooth but also said in Deuteronomy in Exodus a levitical law that a foot for a foot an arm for hand for a hand so but eye for an eye tooth for a tooth verse 39 but I say unto you that ye resist not evil but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek what's it say turn to him the other also stay with me this is Jesus teaching notice in your King James version that we have on the screen can we give him my hand look at there put it on the screen sorry um you turn to him the other verse 40 and if any man will soe thee at the law take away thy coat what's he say even the undergarment that's under the coat as well all right keep going then he says this whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile what should you do go with him till he's Twain no go with him two okay give to him that asketh thee and from him that would not that would borrow of thee turn not thou away verse 30 43 ye have heard that it hath been said Thou shalt Love Thy Neighbor hate thine enemy verse 44 y'all ready everybody help me with this is it up let's read this out loud you ready but I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you pray for the which despitefully use you what's it say and persecute you pray for those who persecute you can we continue a foot further verse 45 says that ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven for he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good sendeth rain on who the just and the unjust verse 46 for if you love them which love you what reward have ye do not even the publicans the same and if you salute your brethren only what do ye more than others do not even the publicans so verse 48 but ye therefore be ye therefore perfect excuse me even as your father which is in heaven is perfect this instruction again we started Matthew 5 you go down verse 38 he's talking here now I I know that it's been told to you the instruction came to you your parents grandparents your teachers whoever that an eye for an eye if if if somebody takes your eye what right do you have take theirs if somebody takes your tooth what do you have a right to do take there have your tooth Tim well that just be awful what are you going to do with it hey thank God I suppose you could wash it right anyway sorry my mind took off there then he go he even goes on and he says they got your coat give them the cloak you go one one mile they're asking you to go go with them two if they ask don't turn them away listen to what's happening here this is a theology again how this is a teaching a doct that was so contrary to humanity and yet all of Jesus was that I mean Jesus was loving folk that people wouldn't even look at they were accusing him of what man he's eating with publicans and sinners you can't do that well who then eats with publicans and sinners I mean on and on the the the Jesus was doing things that that that nobody nobody really thought was was right

I'm going to ask you a question how easy is it to allow somebody to persecute you and you still love them huh they persecute you now you can Define that as you want to they're coming after me they're trying to hurt me they're trying to embarrass me they're trying to whatever it is they're trying to use me however you want to define it is it easy or is it hard can you still love them how how then I'm going to ask a really loaded question and you can answer if you'd like how how'd that work out for you how did it how did it work out does anybody have a firsthand experience here we go we're gonna get from the horse's mouth what happened okay yeah even though they had persecuted you or were persecuting now okay thank you that persecution was it physical mental emotional spiritual all the above question because a lot of time a lot of times if somebody looks at us sideways we could probably overcome that but if they throw a fist at us uh it's human nature again it's a greater challenge is it not um if loving someone in spite of their pursuance of you trying to negate you hurt you whatever I I if the challenge here according to again Jesus is teaching in Matthew the fact that they're persecuting you does not make you better worse or anything it's how you act or respond to it greed that that that therein lies the situation because I I'm going to say a few things and you don't have to identify you don't have to nod or anything but I will say from from a personal experience and B through study of human nature that a lot of times it's our pride that stands to hurt don't they know who I am they ain't about to talk to me that way now Jesus is nowhere in that it is simply what our flesh and pride none of us want to say you know what smack me here on this side of my jaw cuz there other one need smack too Nobody Does that but the fact remains we we even we we have even declared you know what if they shoot at me I'm a shooting back and then we got a story for that it's called Mr Hatfield and McCoy Stay With Me Jesus stay I don't think that Jesus intended for these guys to get up off the ground listening to his story listening to his instruction and walk around town with their hands are behind their back looking for somebody to Sock them you look like a mad guy why don't you punch me I'm going to show you how humble I am by letting you punch the other side I I don't think that he expected them to walk around half naked because they' had given away their coat and their cloat stay with me fact remains though is that the reference that Jesus uses is he mentions who they're going to persecute you for righteousness' sake but when they do consider yourself to be something because they did that to who the prophets now Jesus of course in that day all the Jews sitting around them would have known absolutely what was being talked about because they understood the lives of the prophets they they did they had been taught that they they' listened to the instructions at Sunday school it's called it they saw the flog graph they ate the cookies all of that they learned about these prophets of old but the fact is some of the prophets of old man they had nothing at all to look forward to their lives were some of them I don't mind saying in my human mind those dudes were miserable imagine imagine being told to go sit by a creek and then a bird come and throw food at you can I we okay in here imagine a r and who would pick it up and eat it just ke hold on to me don't don't let go yet I'm I'm coming for you huh I know uh we we all think you know what he Raven did as he flew by Panera and there was a bag sitting out for a you Uber driver or Uber Eats and and door Dash and he grabs it and brings it and sets it I that's what in our minds we're thinking right 2024 I mean you know my luck Horton he they dropped the bag off and i' open and no salt and pepper I'm out man how do I get him to go get me salt and pepper grain at a time joking imagine these prophets of come on one of them well all these prophets had killed by the sword 850 and then he's off running thinking that life's over you can go to any one of these prophets Elijah Elisha Isaiah Jeremiah you go to any of these old prophets but they had a hard life the prophets Jesus says they were persecuted but hey consider yourself if you're persecuted the same as them now again nobody here is buying t-shirts that said love me I'm Jeremiah why because there's not many in our culture and society that want to go through the same things they went through now stay with me the guys that face some of the very worst situations they still trusted a God that could get them through that situation I didn't say it was easy for them in fact many of them lost everything had to give up everything had to lay down everything here's one for you is anybody ever heard this is an Old Testament guy his name was Daniel how well would you do in a Den of Lions that's that I'm asking all right you didn't bow you're going into Den see uh first of all how deep was thean and did the flashlight work and did you have Bears pray or lions pray I me you know in our minds we're thinking that but this guy goes in and what happened anybody somehow I'm okay don't hurt yourself King their their mouths had been shut I've been here all night what did the king do that night anybody remember he was up all night night worried stay with me fact remains Jesus knows the stories from old because he is the stories from old but he's now teaching Humanity how to be a blessed person not one of us run to embrace persecution but everything we've talked about over the last three weeks and even into tonight simply tells us this the name of Jesus is going to cause you problems it is for his name's sake that people are going to persecute you they probably won't persecute you because the type shoe you wear or the half sock or full sock or hair on part on the right or the left no they're going to persecute you when you open your mouth and you say you believe in Jesus now again 2024 is there is there anybody that you know personally that has faced persecution pursuance because they said I love Jesus in fact we live in a culture and a society here in the United States of America you better be glad that you can still worship God you can still freely and openly stand in any courtroom in any courthouse and say I love Jesus better than ice cream am I right I didn't say they were going to like it I didn't say they were going to run to you all I know is this i i i relay this to my wife the other day my wife and I we there was this plant show going on has anybody ever been to a plant show you go watch Plants stand there oh you got to take your wallet CU you can't leave the plant got to buy the plant I'm looking at plants so I bought blueberry plants anybody ever bought blueberry plants I don't know if they'll grow they're like this tall now though they got this little bitt dinky thing on I'm standing day looking at like you know what it's going to be a long year the lady told me she said now these are two years old huh she said well one next to him is three years old I had to put them further apart they with me we're walking around this place and there's every type of plant you can imagine I bought Sage I bought Rosemary I don't care much for Rosemary but it sure does smell good Sage I use in my pizza dough that's just a side right Sam um all these people there's hundreds of people walking around this this greenhouse if you will they're selling plant we got in our car it's crowded as all good I mean we're through having to move around to get out get through get through the crowds I promise you in that one hour or so span of time when we walk through that little place I heard I heard from people in that little thing six to eight times God bless you have a blessed day true story got in the car we're pulling out I'm having the ease over so they can get by and then they would ease over you get out of the park nobody's screaming nobody's honking horns nobody's pressing the gap guys got people trying to get him through I pull out fin I get on back on the the road and the guy with the final yellow Vesta standing and he says you have a wonderful blessed day in the Lord now hold on to me this is me I looked at my wife and I said sweetie Isn't it nice to live in a town that people still talk about Jesus as you can go to this thing right here ww whatever.com and it'll show you so many Knuckleheads running around tearing burning track ing places and I'm like Lord don't let me think the whole world's that you know why I wanted to mention that story to you because I still believe in in the blood of Jesus and I still believe that you and I can be a positive influence in this world I I do think though that we as a nation because of the mindset and the the the seeds planted by our nation there's coming a day when the balance is going to to shift see it used to be that grandmas and grandpas were in the prayer closet praying for their grandbabies in there but grandparents grandmas and grandpas a lot of times aren't there anymore I'm not pointing I'm just saying my my granny man I knew where my granny would be that was no question at all she'd be in that prayer room she had her own bill and she didn't spend 20 hours a day in there there but I knew that if a situation come up and my granny C pull the dish rag off the table dried her hand said I'll be back and she'd walk out the door out to the okay it's G to be a minute before I get my Boney cuz she go out there and she jamy remember your mom saying y'all going have to wait you remember that you g to have to wait I got to talk to the Lord right now I've told y'all these to my mom standing washing dishes I come in from school dish towel over her shoulder and she's hold on hold on no you ain't devil you better get out of get out of here and she swat at the Devil swat at the Devil I said what are you doing mom he was right there between the stove and the cabinet I got him go open the front door row y'all I don't care what you say I live through that here's my point the the balance is Shifting I'm afraid doctor's offices are full of people who can pray for their situation but they're not I'm not saying don't go to a doctor I'm just simply saying that that same grandma would say come here when my brother threw a rock and burst my head I mean it was a gash it was just just wide open Jesse just a gash blood all over I didn't go to the clinic probably should have sorry Christian I should have no stitches my mom just held it together and said repeat after me when I saw thee polluted pass by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood yeah I say unto thee live y I say unto thee live she's holding it together I'm sitting here there there you go all right now don't you move it she sat down and kept sewing now why am I telling you this I believe the name of Jesus is what makes the difference I would hope to God that our church would have holy rollers in it Jesus only Jesus free y'all are those Jesus crazy people I tell you all the time the reason I I pray in a restaurant babe we got to pray people you know host up our server coming up I'm sorry I had to pray I don't know who's in the Kitchen Tonight I'm not taking that chance now listen to me it is not going to be because of you it is going to be because of who you talk about it is when when we understand that the world only sees Jesus in us that's why Jesus Was preparing them at that time that's why he was giving them blessed are the peacemakers this

this is how he said Matthew 5:3 blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain Mercy blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God the poor in spirit the mourn the meek the hungry the Thirsty the merciful pure in heart the peacemakers every single one of those listen it demonstrates power and purpose in his name anybody here can you be a peacemaker without the Holy Ghost no because sooner or later your flesh is going to boil up anybody here can you be merciful with the spirit the name of Jesus apply no you can't you don't understand it we need to understand that the power of the name of Jesus will bring persecution what I don't think will happen I don't think it will bring persecution the way that we Define persecution I think you're going to have to make some choices on your jobs choices in your family choices about your health choices about your finances and when it you have to Simply trust that you made the right choice depending on the power of the name of Jesus you're going to persecute yourself if things don't turn out the way you think has anybody here when's the I'll ask it this way no show of hands unless you want to identify when's the last time you sacrificially gave something to the kingdom sacrificially not just out of your increase but but you just said you know what I'm going I'm going to take a step of faith and I'm going to do this and doesn't matter what it is typically we identify that with funds or money or whatever because money is the hardest thing for us to turn loose of many times unless there's a bunch of it in fact our culture and Society has taken care of that because now is anybody here have a lot of cash in your wallet most everybody in here most every most everybody in here has plastic huh I ought to take up a cash offering right now let's just see let's just see I did that once before and somebody got upset at me so I had to I had to not do it again I'm joking I'm joking um here here's the thing listen to me carefully I'm I'm watching my clock here when you're persecuted pursued for righteousness' sake you better know something friend the pursuance the persecution is only going to come because you're doing the right thing okay when you teach for an example parents when you teach your children you better teach them the value of the name of Jesus because they will be pushed or prodded or invited into the presence of not so good things and if they don't have a good foundation of what the Holy Ghost and the power of the name of Jesus is is when it comes to that point there will be this going on now I don't mind telling you as a child I received the Holy Ghost baptized thankful for it my testimony that's me that's not yours it's mine but when I went in the military and I traveled and all there were some situations that I found myself into that I could feel the darkness um I may not have been first and foremost in the line of those worshiping the Lord at that time I'm not saying I was down and all that under the Rocks I'm just saying probably wasn't as prayed up but I walked into a situation A Place one time where the evil came running out of there and I stood at the door and looked in this place and I'm looking around this saying oh my gu said come on man they won't bother you H me they won't and I walked away and all the way to the train stop where I got on the train and rode back to the barracks I I at that point Lord I'm wow I don't know what to say but thank you listen to me in the day and age in which we lived Jesus was giving pure wisdom and knowledge to those who would listen everything that's about to transpire in your life will be because of my name your problems your issues that are going to come you're going to find yourself in a listen to me if you face life's hardest decision if you're if you face the toughest moment of your life listen to me if you're full of the Holy Ghost and you pray about it guess what he will honor your prayer and he'll order your step agreed so why is it so many times we're wishy-washy in our step placing because we're trying to decide when in ourselves I wonder if my prayer life's what it used needs to be or my whatever life is what it needs to be or whatever and we don't have the confidence in our relationship with God enough and it causes us to waver look if the Holy Ghost tells you something the spirit of God leads you to something the name of Jesus is involved in it then with all the love and the grace that you can you can embrace it and walk through peacemakers we talked about that pure in heart we talked about that those hungry and thirsty talked about that he's given the indication here that you are going to be persecuted but it will be for the right decisions you make have you ever been persecuted for a bad decision probably but you did it to yourself wow that was dumb huh the guy who was next to you probably saying you know what that was a good thing and in your spirit in your mind you're saying anybody ever try to make a decision and you're about to take the step and something in you say don't you just kind of back up and say Lord I don't don't feel the Liberty to step do you think for a moment that that's just a happen stance or do you trust enough in the power of the Holy Ghost to say you you you you plad my name over this therefore I'm going to lead you I'm going to help you through this

I'm coming down here all the power power and the purpose in the name of Jesus he gives to us to be able to live our lives I think we all understand and realize that salvation comes through repentance turning around that heart's broken I'm sorry Lord I really need to I need to deal with this and then baptized in the name of Jesus for remit the sins pay those off wash those away and he doesn't leave you there because why although his name is applied to your life in baptism what do you need now to identify with his Spirit you need the spirit so he lets you have that in fing he doesn't simply say go by the library check it out go by the convenience store buy what you need no he says I'm going to fill you up why does he say that because in and of yourself you're not strong enough powerful enough nor wise enough to make right choices but if you're going to plead the blood of Jesus you better have the spirit in you that knows how to discern the right and the wrong of it because it's for righteousness' sake that you're going to be persecuted huh have you ever prayed prayers and they not come them not get answered the way you thought they should I manyan you know that that's God's grace many times huh how me you know that that that the Lord really does know what he's doing I'm con vinced that every one of us are on the Journey of life every one of us are are taking steps towards heaven agreed we're all at different places we're all on the road we're all at different levels if you will because of our maturity our our desire call it what you want I I do know this that I never really learned how to pray for sick people until I got sick never really learned or knew how to pray for folk that were hurting until I hurt and so I count those situations that he's allowed me to go through I could have got angry and mad and thrown rocks at him and said you don't even care about me but instead what he was saying was what trying to help you down the road I'm convinced that all of life situations have a purpose I mean now I'm not saying that it's going to be some Angelic host standing on the hillside declaring glory to God in the highest and people peace on Earth a good will toward men you need to go and take that job never happened to me that way you what I did do was say Jesus I am no way at all smart enough to know what to do here and I'm gonna pick my foot up and I'm going forward I'm going to actively pursue you and I have given in this this conference this call it what you want to to so many people counsel word whatever you want to call it I've stood with folk and I have said you better Proverbs three that thing trust the Lord with all of thine heart and lean not to your understanding but what and all your way thy ways not his th your ways do what acknowledge Him Lord that's where I'm headed and he'll what he'll direct your path now I know sometimes we get paralyzed with fear the unknowns or whatever we're afraid we're going to get persecuted or somebody's going to say something or this is ain't going to turn out the way it's supposed to the fact is is every Wednesday night here at midweek University this month being my month and any of the others that I've sat through and listen to all of it has been wrapped around the whole premise of Jesus really does know what he was doing I I I I convinced by all of the signs and the Fulfillment of prophecies and things that we have seen just in the last five years the last 24 months I am convinced that things are happening so quickly right now in the world stage um I'm GNA sound really old right now but you better be ready you better be ready you know I was that old question well if if I don't take the Mark will I be able to eat well I'm not going to take the mark okay don't what is the mark well you're not going to take it but you don't know what it is I'll just shoot them all oh there there you go that's biblical yeah at least let one of them loose right so they can go tell the I don't know you got to have some kind of justification come on you guys have these same people asking questions right well what about what about the the the uh what about the man of sin what about the prophets that'll be standing on the streets what about the 10 heads and seven horns seven horns and 10 heads 10 horns and seven heads leopards you big dragony things and all this stuff's coming out of their mind and they don't have any idea and all I can say to them with confidence is what it's in the name of Jesus get that name love that name have a relationship with that name breathe the name driving down the road breathe the name sitting at your desk breathe the name sitting in a tree stand breathe the name on the golf course breathe the name and it don't matter just use the name Jesus why because the more you believe in the name the more you'll use the name now they're going to persecute you but it's going to be because of righteousness' sake you've been doing right things what if I lose my job then you don't think God can provide another one come on he can dry he can he can draw a water out of a rock he can make a donkey talk he can throw food at it Heaven enough to fill you up and taste like what you want you see what I'm saying as simple as it is in 2024 sitting in this room right now amongst the 30 or so that's here I want you to know there are Miracle sitting here tonight because you tasted and you saw the Lord was good and you tried him and he came through you didn't like the going through it but on the other side of it you stand there and say Look What the Lord Has Done and now when you go out the door and you're faced with questions or or situations come on let somebody call you a Jesus only person then ask them why they called you that you want them Jesus people aren't you well why do you call me that come on ask what the witness is what do you see in Me That You Don't See in somebody else I'm done here they got I got two minutes the majority of guests I can't every year we count the guests that come in here this year so far we're probably bouncing in the 80s or9 9s that we've had come through the doors on Sun every Sunday look around you there will be faces you haven't seen before is that not the coolest thing ever without fail without fail 95% of them say this man I feel something here and they may not come back but that ain't our fault I don't mind people walking in here saying man y'all got it going on I don't know why I'm crying and turn and walk away and never come back in here all I know is we can present Jesus to them and you do that and watch lives change you're going to be persecuted but it ain't because of you it's because of him how can Jesus want me to be persecuted because he wants to know who you are

would you stand with me tonight as they're going to be coming in here time is up the last few weeks we've talked about several different examples I know stepen is one that we can talk about he was killed because of his faith and I know we went Vandy went brother Vandy went to the fox's book of Martyrs and talked about those guys that were boiled alive and oil and we could all even go back to the disciples and how that they uh their lives were turned upside down but but yet Jesus came through for them and all the things that we we've talked about over the last four weeks have been about the you're going to be persecuted but the Kingdom of Heaven is like that do you want Heaven because that's something you have to settle within yourself Lord I want to see you Lord I want to walk on streets of gold such as the kingdom of heaven they're going to persecute you but it's because of him why don't you love him right now would you come on somebody love him Lord I I don't enjoy persecution and suffering and pain and all but I know that through all of it God whatever I'm going through Lord that you are you are God and you're in control it is for righteousness' sake God it's because Lord we're trying to do the right thing that people are going going to question us that things aren't going to go the way we think they should and on and on but go Lord God we're going to trust you through it all help us Lord Jesus to seek first your kingdom your name your spirit your truth I pray God that a Revival of Falling in Love With You Lord would sweep over our church just loving you just loving you Lord Lord more than the things around us more than the stuff that we don't have or the stuff that we're Desiring to obtain Lord I I pray Jesus that we would simply love you that we would love you Jesus your name that we would love you Lord your power your spirit your name Jesus come on some body love his name right now say his name right now Jesus come on that's right I believe you Jesus you are the author and the finisher you are the first and the last you are God you are would you love him right now before we go into our songs tonight just lift your hands to him come on everybody can love Jesus right now oh God I'm trusting you Lord for the journey ahead I'm leaning on you Jesus I'm running to you Jesus I'm trusting in you Your Name Lord your name Jesus you are wonderful you are glorious excellent is your name Lord in all the Earth excellent is your name hallelujah hallelujah we're transitioning right now you're coming in the door come on we're talking to Jesus we're talking to Jesus love him I love you Jesus I Believe In You Jesus I honor you Lord I I thank you Jesus I Love Your Name Lord I love your name Jesus