Kids Takeover Service

Amen. Well, praise the Lord. Center point. How's everybody doing today? All right. Well, let me start by saying that it is an honor for us to be here with you guys again this year on Kids Takeover Day. Listen, these are my favorite days. Any anytime we go to a church and it's kids takeover, those are the best days for me. Those are the absolute best days because this that's what praise is supposed to look like. That's what we all have to become as us old kids, right?

We have to become more like them and and give Jesus our very best every time we step into this place. I'm so thankful for all these kids. One more time. Didn't these kids do an awesome job today. Man, they did great. But like I said, we have been here before and and I've been in the Tennessee district quite a bit and and we've traveled around. We we got to work at the camp and do some different things. And so I see a lot of people in this room who I consider friends of mine.

Good good friends. I see a lot of good friends here today. But I got to thinking there there's some people here that don't know me, right? There's some of you don't know me. Raise your hand if you don't know me. Yeah, I see. I'm sorry. We're we're going to get to know each other a little bit better. I'm going to tell you a little bit about me throughout this service. A little bit about my testimony and what God's done in my life and what he can do in your life today.

But I'm going to start by telling you this. Um, when I was a young lad, I was a boy scout. Any any other boy scouts in the house? Few of us. Just a couple. Okay. Okay. Now, listen. When I was a boy scout, I learned a lot of things as a scout, right? They teach you a lot of things, right? There's a whole book. It's a whole big manual of all these things that they want to teach boys in the Boy Scouts. And the thing I learned is that about 85% of being a Boy Scout is learning how to tie a knot.

Yeah. If you can tie knots, how many of you tied your shoes this morning? Yeah. You guys would be really good Boy Scouts, okay? Cuz I'm telling you, that's what it's what you do. And so, I'm going to teach you just a real simple technique how to tie a knot. If you didn't tie your shoes this morning, you're going to leave here today and you're going to know something. Okay? You're you're going to know something. You're going to be you're going to be proud of yourself.

You're going to pat yourself on the back today. So, I'm going to teach you a very simple knot that actually is illegal. I know they don't even teach this anymore because apparently it's not safe. Whatever. Everyone repeat after me. Right over left. >> Left over right. >> And then pull. Now, you got to pull it until your eyes pop out just a little bit. Okay, just a little bit. Let's try that one more time. Make sure Make sure everybody got that. Okay, everybody say right over left.

>> Right over left. >> Left over right. >> And then pull. Okay. Did you get it, ma'am? You You sure? Okay. I'm I'm going to do it one more time. One more time just in case. One more. Okay. Here we go. Every say right over left. >> Left over right. >> And then [groaning] Very good. Very good. Here you green dress. Come. Come. Come. Quickly. Quickly. Quickly. Quickly. Wait a minute. Just pull on this. I I that man right there, he doesn't think I tied this good and tight.

Just give it a good tug. Don't Don't pull me off the stage. That's good. That's good. That's good. That's good. Thank you very much. Now, ladies and gentlemen, all of my years of scouting can be summed up right here. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, it's Don't clap now if you didn't start. Okay, there. There it is. Now, I grew up I grew up I got out of Boy Scouts. I became a man, right? I'm a man scout. I became a man and I started working for the Boy Scouts.

This is several years ago. And again, same thing, just tying knots. But here's the problem. There's always a problem with everything. Here's the problem. The Boy Scouts taught me this. You know what? They didn't teach me how to untie these. Right? And that's half the problem. All right? That's a problem. How many of you have ever tied your shoes so tight? And kids, be honest, that you couldn't get the knot undone, so you just kicked them off and they just stayed tied forever. Anybody have a pair of those shoes that just they've been tied since the 80s?

Yeah, I've got I've got a couple pairs like that, too. And so, this was always my problem with the scouts. They taught me this, but I couldn't get it untied. I wasn't good at it. So, I created something. And I'd like to show it to you today. Would anybody like to see it? >> Okay. Here's the deal. If I show you something that's underneath a curtain and you've never seen it before, you have to pretend, ma'am, like it's the coolest thing you've ever seen in your entire life.

Okay. So, you could go [groaning] try that this section. >> Yeah. Very good. YOU COULD GO, "AH, TRY THAT." Or you could go, "Wow." >> Yeah. Yeah. So, any of those are acceptable. Okay. I'll take any of those things. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I am excited to introduce Centerpoint Church to my machine, the not be gone. >> Thank you. Thank you for playing along. That makes it more fun for me. Now, here's how it works. You open the lid like this.

You just open the lid like just o stay. You open the lid and that's not funny. Don't laugh at that. Okay. You open the lid like this. Now you open the lid and you pull out the tube. Thank you. Thank you. Now, here's what we're going to do. We're going to take the tube. We're going to take our knots and we're going to place them inside. Oh, I got that on the first try. That never happens. inside the tube. Thank you very much.

And then what we're going to do, we're going to take this cap and put it on here. If we can get it on there. Come on, silly Steve. Don't mess up. There's a camera in your face. Why is this so hard? This shouldn't be Oh, sorry. Little help. Little help. Sorry, bud. Sorry, bud. Thank you. Thank you so much. You can be seated. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, hey, bud. Sorry. Hey, bud. Sorry about that. Sorry about that. That's my bad. That's my bad.

That's my bad. Sorry. You can be seated. Thank you. Thank you. No more. No. Oh, sorry. Listen. I could do this all day faster. I won't do it. I won't do it. That's it. That's it. I promise. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, WE PUT THE KNOTS INSIDE THE TUBE. Thank you. Thank you. Stop it. Stop it. Don't clap for that. Now, here's what we do. Everyone say, you open the box. You take the Don't laugh at that. Okay, that's not funny. Open the box.

You take the tube and put the tube inside the box. Now, here's where I need everyone's help. Okay? On the count of three, I need you to all take your hands, hold them out in front of you like this. Everybody doing this? Give me one of these. Go do Pastor, you know what that does? Nothing. But it's funny. It's funny. So, we're doing it. Okay. Now, on the count of three, give me a doo doo doo. Here we go. On the count of three.

HERE WE GO. ONE, TWO, THREE. OH, my bad. Okay. Hopefully that worked. Sorry. And we pull out the rope. And ladies and gentlemen, give me a big round of applause cuz the nuts are gone. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Normally they clap louder than that. Pastor, I don't Oh, did everyone do you, ma'am? Did you you did Oh, okay. Okay. I can I can make this work. Uh, raise your hand um if you've ever made a mistake before. Yeah, I I did just now in front of 600 people.

Um, raise your hand if you've ever done something wrong. Okay, good. Raise your hand if you ever said something wrong. Yeah. Raise your hand if you've ever thought about something wrong. Yeah. Sometimes that's hard to admit, but guess what? Every single one of us, everybody say all. All of us have sinned. We've all messed up. We've all done something, said something, or thought about something that goes against God's word. And when we do that, it creates a problem like this that that might seem daunting to get rid of.

This might be seem really hard to get rid of, but you know, God loves us. >> Do you know that God loves you and you and you and and all y'all? That's what we say in Kentucky. I'm I'm I'm We're in the South. We could say y'all, right? They make fun of me when I go up north and I say that. But he loves all of us. Everybody say, "Jesus, >> Jesus >> loves me." >> He does. He loves you so much. And he knew you were going to mess up.

He knew you were going to make mistakes. And he made a way. Somebody say, "Thank you, Jesus." He made a way and he made it very simple. He gave us a plan to fix our mistakes. And he said, "Listen, if you will repent," everyone say, "Repent." >> Repent. >> That just means to say, "Jesus, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the mistakes I've made. I'm sorry for all the things I've done. Will you forgive me? Will you help me to turn and start doing right?

Start making right choices. That's what repentance is about. He said, "If you'll repent and be baptized," everybody say, "Be baptized." >> In the name of Jesus Christ, just like the Bible says, I believe in doing things the way the Bible says. He says, "If you'll be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission or for the washing away of your sins," he said, "then if you'll do that, I'll do what only I could do, and I'll fill you with my spirit." And Jesus said, "I'll come and live inside your heart.

I'll fill you with the Holy Ghost. I I'll change your life. And all of a sudden, those problems that you thought you had, they're just going to start falling away." You see, and God's going to put everything back. Close your mouth now. The flies are going to come in. And [laughter and gasps] God's going to put everything back. exactly the way he originally planned. How many's thankful for the plan of salvation today? How many's thankful that we have A GOD WHO LOVES us today?

Give him a big hand clap of praise. Will you do it? Amen. Now, I need I need a helper for this next thing. And I I was looking I was looking who said me really loud. >> This fell. Now, you can't do it now. You My man right here in this this suit, black shirt suit. Yeah. Blonde hair. That's you, bud. That's you. Come up here. Give Give my buddy a big hand. What's your name, bud? What's your name? >> Forest. >> Forest.

Everybody give Forest a big hand. Forest. Forest. We need another helper. I'm looking for somebody. Here's what I'm looking for. Wait. Wait. Before you Before you volunteer, here's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a man about I need a guy about this tall. I He needs to have a bushy beard. He needs to be really funny. Do you know any funny guys with bushy beards? He needs to be in charge of kids church on Wednesday nights. >> Do you know one? >> Who?

Who's him? What's his name? >> Who? >> Josh. >> Brother Josh. Close enough. Brother Josh. Come on. Come on. That's not the bearded man I was looking for, but he'll do. Is there another bearded man on Wednesday nights? What's his name? Blush. Where is he? There he is. He's hiding in the back. Come on, BROTHER BLUSH. COME ON. COME ON. COME ON. WE NEED your help. Remind me. Josh. Josh. Josh. Josh Forest and Brian. Brian. Nice to meet you, Brian. Now, Josh Force and Brian.

You guys, are you guys ready to do our song? You practiced, right? You You don't know the song? Oh, hang on, pastor. I'm sorry. I was supposed to send the video ahead of time and I totally forgot. Guys, can I have 30 seconds? I just need to teach them the song real quick. You three gentlemen, hold one finger in the air like this. Repeat after me. Therefore, every one of you >> Therefore, every one of you >> who hears >> these words of mine >> and puts them into practice, he's done that before.

>> Is like a wise man. >> Is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. >> Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Everybody stand up. Everybody stand up. Everybody stand up. All right. Everyone repeat after me in my praise team here. One finger in the air like this. Repeat after me. Therefore, every one of you. >> Therefore, every one of you >> who hears >> these words of mine >> and puts them into practice >> puts them into practice. >> Grandparents, don't hurt yourself.

Okay? This is your day. >> This is your day. Don't hurt yourself. Is like a wise man. >> Is like a wise man. >> Is like a wise manise >> who built his house on the rock. >> You guys are going to do awesome. On the count of three, we need to tell the music team to hit it. Okay, that's Sister Stacy over here. So, on the count of three, SAY, "STACY, HIT IT." 1 2 3. STACY, HIT IT. Turn it up. Put your hands together.

>> Matthew 7:24. >> Here we go. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine, these words of mine, these words of mine. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into good job for us. >> Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine, these words are mine. These words are mine. Therefore, everyone who hears these words and puts them into practice is like a wise man. >> Is like a wise man. >> Ooh. is like a wise man who built his house on the rock house.

Can you jump a little bit? Can you jump a little bit? Let me see you jump. They got it. >> Oh, look at he's got it. >> Here we go. Therefore, everyone who hears these words, these what? >> These words are mine. >> These what? >> These words are mine. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice. >> Therefore, everyone who hears these words, these what? >> These words are mine. >> These what?

>> Therefore, everyone who hears these words are >> and puts them into is like a wise man. >> is like a wise man. >> is like a wise man. is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. House on the rock. House on the rock. >> Listen, here's what happened. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house. Yet it did not fall. Yet it did not fall.

Yet it did not fall. Here's what happened, guys. The rain came down. The streams rose. And the winds against that house. Yet it did not fall. Yet it did not fall. Yet it did not fall. Tell me what happened. >> The rain came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew against that house. >> Yet it did not fall. Yet it did not fall. Yet it did not fall. Why not? because it had its foundation on the rock.

>> That's right. One more time. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine, these words of mine, these words are mine. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine, and puts them into practice. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine, these words of mine, these words of mine. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man. >> Is like a wise man. >> Is like a wise man. He's like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

House on the rock. Cows on the rock. Cows on THE ROCK. >> GIVE MY PRAISE TEAM A BIG HAND. Good job, guys. Good job. Thank you. Thank you. You guys can be seated. Amen. Amen. I want to read to you a scripture. You may be seated in Jesus name. I want to read you something out of the Bible. Hopefully, you've heard this before. Maybe you haven't. If you've never heard this scripture before, just listen up. This is a good one. This is one of my favorites.

The book of Matthew. Everybody say Matthew chapter 7. Verse 24 says this. Therefore, every one of you who hears these >> Oh, you know this. Yeah. These words of mine. Yeah. Very good. Therefore, every one of you who hears these words of mine and >> puts them into practice is like a >> wise man who built his house on a >> you you've heard this scripture before. >> You guys know what happens then? >> I'll tell you what happens. Next verse. Everybody say, "The rains came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat against that house, and yet it did not fall."

Why not? Because he had its foundation on a rock. But now here, listen to this next verse. Therefore, every one of you who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice, somebody say, "Uhoh, >> is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. Mm-m. Here's what happened. The rain came down. The streams rose. The winds blew and beat against that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. Jesus said, listen kids. Jesus said, "If you listen to my words, >> if you come to church, if you listen to pastor preach my words, if you if you read the Bible daily, if you, you know, come to Sunday school, if you come to all the the classes and and you study this out, if you listen to these words and do them, everybody say, "I got to do it."

>> Jesus said, "You're very smart." He said, ' That's a very smart thing of you to do because when you have a bad day, and you will have a bad day, he said, 'The rain's going to fall. The the stream's going to rose, you you might hear some bad news, you might have some some some bad news from a doctor, you might lose a job, something bad might happen, mom and dad might be fussing and fighting, there might be scary things going on in the news and in the world.

But Jesus said, "If you're doing what I said," he said, "Your house is going to stand. you don't have to be afraid cuz Jesus is going to take care of you. >> But on the opposite side, he said, "If you listen to these words, if you show up to church and listen to pastor preach and go to Sunday school and go to your kids classes and and go to all the things, but you don't do it." He said, "That's very foolish." He said, "Because the bad days, they're still going to happen.

And when the rains come down, the streams rise, and the winds blow and beat against your house, your life is going to fall apart. And there's nothing he can do about it because we got to do what the word of God says. Everybody say, "I got to do what the word of God says." >> Amen. Amen. So, now it is it is 12:24 on the dot. Perfect. Pastor, um I I don't know if you saw this in my contract, but 12:24 is my snack time.

So, I'm going to take a quick break. You guys just be chill. Just I'm just going to grab something to eat here real quick. And and and they're going to play some music apparently while I eat. It's okay. Uh, I I brought a snack. How many of you bring a snack to church? Be honest. Thank you. Listen, when my daughter was little, we had snacks in that purse. And you better believe daddy ate some of them, too. How many of you moms and dads have snuck in and got some of those snacks in church before?

Be honest. I see some hands. It's okay. I like a goldfish as much as anybody. But today, today I brought with me a snack that that I love that I believe everyone should love. And if you don't love this snack, I'm praying for you. But ladies and gentlemen, I brought today one of my favorite things in all the world. How many people like hot dogs? >> Yeah. Yeah. Hot dogs. Hot dogs are delicious. Yes. >> Yes. Hot dogs are the best snack in the world.

It's it's bread. It's meat. It's it's it's mustard. It's perfect. And and yes, mustard is the only acceptable condiment you can put on a hot dog. Okay. Can I get an amen? >> Now, p Oh, pastor shaking his head. No. I'm scared to ask, pastor. What do you put on your hot dog? >> Mustard, ketchup, >> no. Don't clap for that. Don't clap for that. I have the microphone now. I'm the captain now. I'm joking. Um, pastor, that they turned me off. >> >> I see you.

I see you up there. He's the captain. I love it. No. Uh, you're wrong. Um, does anybody who eats ketchup on a hot dog? You're so weird. I have so much to pray about. Um, how old are you, young man? >> 15. >> 15? Bro, you got to grow up sometime. Like, when I was a child, I ate like a child, but now I'm a man. I eat like a man. You know what I'm saying? All right. Ketchup is unacceptable. Okay. And here's why.

Here's why. Ketchup is a kids It's a kids condiment. It's full of sugar. It's just It's not good. Okay. Mustard is tangy. It's delicious. It makes you twinge just a little bit. It's good for you. It makes hair grow. I I don't know, but maybe. And so mustard is Where's all my mustard people? Just >> Okay, good. Good. You exist. Okay. I'm scared. There was a lot of ketchup people. And And pastor said something else. >> Where's those pickerellish yuckies? >> >> I feel like some of you are double voting.

Man in the suit with the orange yellowish tie. But yeah, you pickle relish, bro. >> Come on, man. It's good. >> No, no, no, no. I don't like I don't like any of those things. I only like mustard and so I only eat mustard on my hot dogs. And so my wife always packs me my mustard. That is not mustard. Sister Stacy, I do not like ketchup. Okay, she knows that. She's just playing a trick on me. Okay, so so we're just going to get rid of the K.

Okay, I very funny, babe. Okay, I do not like ketchup. So, I'm going to need some help from these two sections. Okay, as a whole, these two sections, I need your help. So, kids, listen, you're the most important part of this, okay? Cuz moms and dads are going to try to be sneaky and they're going to say something that's not mustard, okay? So, on the count of three, these two sections are going to shout out loud, "We love mustard." Okay? Do do not say ketchup?

I'm watching you, Hunter. You were just up here. Don't Don't turn back on me. Okay? We love mustard. These two sections only, okay? Don't say ketchup, ma'am. Okay? I'm not joking. Do not say ketchup. Stop it. Ushers, get that one. No, I'm joking. I'm joking. Okay, here we go. On the count of three, we're going to say we love mustard. These two sections. Here we go. One, two, three. We love mustard. We do not want ketchup, guys. That's not funny. Now, I can't trust you.

So, I'm going to come over here. You two sections. I need you. Why are you already shaking your head? No. Listen. Disobedience is That's the next series. disobedience. Okay, here we go. These two sections, we love mustard. Okay, do not say ketchup. Why is the young The young people are on a coup. They're like, "Say ketchup. Say ketchup." No. Be an example to the children. Okay, it's for the children. Here we go. On the count of three. One, two, three. We love mustard. It's not funny, guys.

It's not funny. Okay. We do not want ketchup. Stop it now. Where's uh where's the suited wonder? Stand up. Suited wonder. What's your name? >> Jaylen. >> Jaylen. Jaylen. I could hear you were all the way up here earlier as if you had a microphone on. And you said pickle relish. You You backed your pastor on that. And I I disagree with you wholeheartedly. So, I'm going to give you a chance to redeem yourself. Much like that's why we come to church, right? It's for redemption.

So that we can, you know, we we all make mistakes. Brother Jaylen, you made one and now today's your chance. This is your opportunity to grow up and be a man. Okay, Jaylen, on the count of three, we love >> mustard. >> That's it. That's what Remember that. Say it again on the count of three. Here we go. Say it. Here we go. One, two, three. We love [cheering and screaming] Jaylen. It's not what I said, bro. Sit down. Can anyone be trusted in this place?

Where's Hang on? Where? I need a man who eats mustard on the on the on everything. Where's my must? Is that my mustard guy right there? He is. They're all pointing at you. Do you eat mustard? No. He said ketchup. I need a man. I need a man, sir. Right here in the red shirt. Uh, never mind. Sir, in the mustard colored shirt back there, right with the glasses. Can you see me? I'm looking at you, bro. Yeah, you. Yeah. Yeah, that's mustard demise.

All right, here's what we're going to do. Me and you, bro, don't listen to anyone else. We love mustard, right? On the count of three, sir, just shout it out as loud as you can. Here we go. One, two, three. We love >> M MUSTARD. GIVE HIM A HAND. Give him a hand. That's what I'm talking about. THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT right there. The tangy zip of mustard. Yes. And that is delicious. And And there's a lot of stuff going on up here.

Um, uh, sister, pastor's wife, you're a mom, right? If I eat this hot dog and and this mustard and relish, all this ketchup, there's one more thing I'm going to need. You're a mom. You know what it is. Shout it out on the count of three. 1 2 3. We need Pepto-Bismol. THAT'S RIGHT, MOM. YEAH. It's for nausea, heartburn, upset stomach, and all those other things. Um, this is a lot. Uh, somebody point your finger up here AND SAY, "THAT'S A LOT OF BOTTLES."

YOU'RE RIGHT. AND IT is 12:32, which means my snack time is over. I'm going to sit these to the side, but I want to tell you a story that has to do with a lot of bottles. Um, if I could, how many of you How many of you have a Bible? Good, good, good. How many of you read it? Good, good, good. Today, I'm going to tell you a story out of this Bible. You, maybe you've read it before. Hopefully, you have. And, and hopefully this will be just a a memory exercise for you.

But in 2 Kings chapter 4, the Bible tells us that there was a lady. Everyone say a lady. >> Now, we don't know her name. The Bible doesn't tell us her name. It could have been Judy. It could have been Sarah. It could have been I don't know. But the Bible just says a certain lady. Everybody say a certain lady. So, we have this certain lady. And this certain lady had a family. She had a husband. She had two young boys. Everybody say a >> Yeah.

They were just the quintessential family. Got the two boys, got the husband. Everything's going good. Husband, fun fact, the Bible tells us husband was a good guy. Any you got any good husbands in here? Come on, wives, give them a hand, clap it if they're good. Okay. All right. He was a good guy. The Bible tells us that that the husband, the dad, was uh what they call the son, one of the sons of the prophets, which means he he kind of was like going to Bible school.

He was studying the scriptures and he was trying to be a good godly example for his family. But one day, just like the song says, some bad things happened. The husband got sick and he passed away. So now we have mama and her two little boys. And mama's doing her best to raise these two little boys and so that they'll grow up to be men. They'll grow up to to have their own families and to grow up to to live right. And mama's doing her best and she's trying her best and she's she's teaching them how to how to do chores and teaching them how to work and teaching them all the things they need to know.

And one day they heard a knock at the door and she went to the door and she opened the door and there was this big man on the other side of the door. He said, "Hello, ma'am. I need to see your husband." And she said, "I'm sorry. My husband, he's he's passed away. He I I I sorry." And he said, "That's okay, ma'am. Your husband owes me some money. So, if you could just go get the money, pay me today, I'll be out of your hair, and we don't have to talk about this anymore."

And she said, "Sir, I don't have any money. I I wish I did. It's just me and these boys, and it's hard on a woman in Bible times to make money, and we're doing the best we can, sir, but I don't have any money. I'm sorry." And he said, "That's okay. That's okay. Calm down. Here's the deal. I'll be back here in 3 days. You can either pay me the money you owe me or I'll just take your boys." Yeah. Some Some kids just had a realization.

That doesn't sound fun, does it? How many of you kids want to go live with a stranger who just showed up one day? Don't raise your hand, boy. No. Nobody wants to lose their boys. And so the man closed the door and he left. And here's the here's the strange thing is the law said he could do that. That that was a that was a totally within the realms of his rights. And and so he he closed the door and and mama started to worry.

And she started to fret. Any mamas ever had worried about your babies before? She started worrying and she's like, "Oh no, I can't I can't lose my boys. I I can't I've got to figure something out. This there's got to be a way to get out of this because that's all I got left in this whole world is my boys. I can't lose my boys." And so she thought about it. She's like, "There's got to be a place I can go. There's got to be somebody I can call on for help.

There's got to be some help somewhere." And she had an idea. And she said, "You know where I'll go? I'll go to the church." That'll preach. I'll go to the church because I need help. And at the church is where we can find help. At the church is where we can find support. It's where we can find a group of people who will pray with us and believe with us that God would work something out on our behalf. Amen. >> Amen. And so she went to the church.

She found the man of God. He was he was the prophet of the time. He was kind of like pastor. And she said, "Pastor, pastor, pastor, I need help. They're going to come and take my babies. Pastor, you know my husband, he was a good man and he owes this money and I don't know what to do. Pastor, help me. And you know what pastor did? He prayed about it and he said, "Ma'am, what do you have?" Everybody say that. Say, "What do you have?"

>> And she she said, "Pastor, you know me. I I don't have a whole lot. I we don't have much since since my husband's not here. It's just me and the boys. All I have that I can think about it at the house, I've got this little jar. It's got a little bit of oil in it. It's worth a little bit of money, but it's not enough, pastor. He said, ' That's okay. We can work with that. And so he said, "Here's what I want you to do.

I want you to go home. I want you to get your boys and I want you to do something a little bit crazy. I want you to go doornocking." Anybody ever gone door knockocking before? I grew up in a doornocking church, right? So we we went door-knocking a lot. I'm I'm good at this. She said, "He said, "Go get your boys. I want you to go door knockocking and I want you to knock on your neighbor's doors and when they answer the door, here's what I want you to do.

I want you to say, "Uh, excuse me. I I'm your neighbor from down the road. I was wondering, do you have any cups or bowls or or vases or jars that I could borrow? And when they say yes, take them back to your house and then go get some more." Does this sound a little bit crazy? Sounds a little bit crazy, but but that's what the man of God said to do. So, she went home. She got her boys. She said, "Boys, come on.

We we've got some work to do. Pastor said, "We're going to go door knockocking today." So, come on. Come on. Let's go. Let's go. And they they went to the first door and they they knocked on the door. Hi, it's us, the Johnson's from down the road. Hey, we were wondering, do you have any uh pots and pans we could borrow? You do? Thank you. I'm so generous of them. They went and took them to their house. They went to the next door. They knocked on the door.

Hey, it's us, the Johnson's from down the road. Um wondering, you have any cups or vases or bowls that we could borrow? You do? Thank you so much. And they went from house to house borrowing bowls and pots and pans and vases and jars and anything they could get their hands on. They borrowed a bunch. Everybody say a bunch. Not just a few. They borrowed a bunch. And so they went and they borrowed all these things. And here's what the man of God said to do.

He said, "Go get your little jar of oil." Now, I know what you're thinking. This is not a little jar, okay? But I wanted you to be able to see it all the way in the back. So, she went and got her little jar that had a little bit of oil. Everybody say, "A little bit of oil." And the man of God said, "Go get your jar, get you an empty vessel, and then pour it out." Everybody say, "Pour it out." [panting] Pastor, I don't know how this is going to work.

This doesn't really make any sense. I feel like instead of having a jar of oil, I'm just going to have a bucket of oil. But whatever. You're the man of God. I trust you. I trust that you're talking to him. And so I'm going to do what you said. So she went and got her little jar of oil and she did what? >> Poured it out. And she just poured it out. And that was it. She poured it out. The boys went and took that bucket.

They they sat that bucket aside. The boys went and got another vase. They sat the vase down in front of Mama. And I have to use my imagination here because the Bible only gives us one verse to tell this part of the story. But I imagine the little boy looked up at mama and said, "Mama, pastor said pour it out." Son, I did. Did Didn't you not see? I've already poured it out. I've just I've got an empty jar now. Do Do you want me to pour it out of No, no, no.

Pastor said pour it out of that jar. This is crazy. There's no like This doesn't make any sense. But okay, I'll do it, son. If If that's what you believe. So she did what? She just poured it out. And that's weird. It's never happened before. Okay. So, they sat that bucket aside. They went and got another pot. They sat the pot in front of mama. And I imagine the little boy looked up at mama and said, "Pour it out. This This doesn't make sense.

I I poured it out there. Okay, I I'll try it, but I I don't know how how this That's crazy. That that that's not how science works. They went and they sat that bucket aside. They went and got another jar. They set the jar in front of mama. And then they said, >> "Pour it out." And she just kept pouring and pouring. And I imagine at this point she got really excited because this has never happened before. Then this this defies gravity and and all the laws of physics and all those things.

And so she said, "Boys, give me another bowl." They brought another bowl. Well, they sat it down in front of mama and they said, >> "Pour it out." And she just poured and poured and pour. Sorry, it's just water. Don't worry. And they poured and poured and poured and they kept getting more buckets. They sat more buckets down. They put another bucket down and then they said, >> "Pour it out. >> Pour it out." And she kept pouring and pouring and pouring. And she was excited.

And she said, "Give me another one. Bring it here. Here we go. Pour it out." Yeah. She was getting real excited now. And they poured and poured and POURED AND POURED AND POURED. And eventually MAMA SAID, "BOYS, BRING me another bowl." And they looked around and they said, "Mama, there aren't anymore. They're all full. Every bowl, every vase, every bucket, every every everything was full of oil." And she looked around and she said, "Oh my word, God performed a miracle right here in our house.

This is amazing. This is great. What do I do next? Uh, I don't know. I don't know. I need help. I need help making a decision. I need to go somewhere where I can get some good advice. I need to go somewhere where people will support me. Is there a place that I can go for help? The church. She went back to the church and she said, "Pastor, pastor, pastor, you're not going to believe it. I did exactly what you told me to do, pastor, and God did exactly what you said he was going to do."

Novel idea, right? Novel idea. And he said, "Of course he did. That's our God. Our God takes care of his people. And she said, "Pastor, what do I do? I've got all this oil." And pastor gave her some really good advice. So, you can write this one down, Mom and Dad. This is going to help you in life. He said, "Take the oil and sell it. And then go pay your bills." Write that down. Pay your bills, kids. Pay your bills. He didn't say, "Go buy a new car."

He said, "Go pay your bills. Pay off your debts. Pay everything you owe." And then, everybody say, "And then." You and your boys live off the rest. Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. God, I asked you for a miracle for today. God, I asked you just to save my boys for today. I I didn't want to lose them today. And God said, "I I see that, but I also see into next week, and you're going to need something to eat, and I see I see after that something bad's going to happen, and you're going to need you're going to need something to fall back on."

So God took care of not only today, but he took care of her future. How many knows that's what God does for his people? God is so good to us. He's so good to us. He loves us so much. And so today, pastor, I was thinking, how am I going to end this service today? I' I've done it I' I've ended services tons of different ways. And I got to thinking about this and and I was actually I was telling my friend Isaac this story the other day because he he didn't know that this even happened.

But I'm going to tell a real quick story. If I can I have five minutes to tell the story. Five months ago, my dad woke up out of bed. He fell on the floor unresponsive. My mom couldn't do anything. My mom called the ambulance. The ambulance comes. They got my dad. They rushed him to this little hospital in the close to the town where they live out in the country. Little hospital. >> >> They start running tests on him, figure out what's wrong with this man.

He's a He's a healthy man. He's in a lot better shape than me. He's he he's a hard worker. He He works hard every day. He's He's a tough man. He's got big old man hands. You know what I'm talking about? Yeah. I love my dad. They couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. Something's wrong. He He's bleeding and we don't know why he's bleeding. We don't know where it's coming from. They They start running all the scopes and the scans and the tests and all the things.

They They're drawing blood. They're They're running test after test. And they come into his room that night and they said, "Mr. Hicks, you're going to die. You have a disease in your blood." Same disease, by the way, that my uncle passed away from. You have this disease in your blood and it's and it's going to it's going to cause you to die. And there's nothing we can do about it here at this hospital. And and it's it's already it's already affected your liver and and there's there's really nothing we can do for you.

The only way you're going to make it is if you get a liver transplant and you need it now. I don't know if any of you know how hard it is to get a transplant, but it's not a right now type of thing. And so my mom called me and I was on my way to church and she said, "Son, we need to pray for your dad cuz they're not giving him any hope and he needs to get out of this hospital and he needs to get into that hospital in that town tonight cuz that hospital over there is the only one that can do what he needs done."

And so we prayed. I went into church. I said, "Church, I need you to pray right now for my dad." And kids, listen to me. When we pray, God tunes his ear. His ears perk up and he listens. He listens when we pray. And we prayed and we said, "God, my dad needs to go to that hospital tonight. Can you just make a way cuz that hospital said there's no room. There's no beds. We we can't take him." And we prayed. We said, "God, we got to get him in there.

We got to get him in there now." And my mom called me while we were praying. She called me. She said, "Son, they just called and they said they think they might be able to get him in soon, but soon's not fast enough when it's your dad." And I said, ' God, thank you, but we need this to happen now. I kid you not. We walked out of prayer meeting. My mom calls me. She said, "Son, I don't know what happened, but that hospital is on their way to pick up your dad right now."

And they don't do that. Normally, they make you got to find another way to get there. You got to get this hospital to take you there. They said, "No, we'll come get him." They came and got him that night. And they took him to this big hospital and they rush him in and they start running all the same tests and they do all stuff. said, "Yep, you've got a disease. Your liver is gone. We've got to do something right now to keep you alive."

So, they rushed him into surgery. They did a quick surgery and they bypassed his liver. And they said, "That'll hold you for a little while, but you need a new liver ASAP, as soon as possible." And so, we prayed cuz what else do you do? My dad's, you know, 60-year-old man. He's done a lot of things in his life that he shouldn't do. He smoked a lot of cigarettes. He He drank a whole lot of Pepsi, 12 a day. He's okay. He's He's done some things that aren't good for that liver.

And those things don't bode well when you're on the list waiting. They look at that stuff. And so we just prayed cuz that's all we knew what to do. Kids, when we didn't know what else to do, we just prayed. And we sat in that hospital, my family, just waiting for one day, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days. Nobody ever came. No doctors came in, no liver team. We was waiting. The nurses came in, just took his temperature, made sure he was comfortable.

On the fifth day, a team of doctors walked into my dad's room. There like 10 men, white coats, all the things you would imagine, had their notebooks, their charts, and their things. And they walked in. They looked at my dad and they said, "Mr. Hicks, who told you you have a disease in your blood?" And he said, he said, "Y'all did." Duh. That's an easy one. And they said, "Mr. Dr. Hick, we've run this test multiple times the last few days.

There's no disease in that blood. You don't have that disease. Thank you. But then they pulled out this picture and they said, "Who told you your liver was dead?" You all did. We just had surgery. Like, what? What do you mean? You're what? You're talking crazy talk. And they said, "Well, here's a picture of your liver. This is about what a 60-year-old man's liver is supposed to look like. And it's working. It's It's functioning properly. I I I don't see any reason you need to stay here any longer, Mr.

Hicks. You can just go home. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. 5 days ago, you said my dad was a dead man and that he he he needed a new liver or else. 5 days later, they said, "Just go home, I guess." They didn't know what to say. They didn't even give him medicine. They always give you medicine. I said, "You can just go home. What happened from that day to that day?" We prayed. >> We prayed and God healed my dad.

I have pictures. They They have pictures of his cerosis, dead liver, and his liver that's functioning now. It's not perfect. He's an old man, right? It's not going to be perfect, but it works. And they went back to his follow-ups 3 months later, and they said, "Mr. X, we'll see you in 10 years. You're good to go." Now, come on. That's That's only There's only one answer. That stuff doesn't happen. Oil just doesn't keep flowing. That just doesn't happen. There's only one answer, and that's God.

And so, I tell you that story because I want you kids to know that God answers prayers and he hears you when you pray. And your prayers matter. And if something's wrong in your family, you can pray and God can move in your family. But here's my favorite part of the story. That's not even my favorite part. That's awesome. My dad hadn't been to church in years and years and years, probably close to 30 years. And he's sitting in that hospital room right before he was getting discharged.

It's just me and him. My mom had left. She was going to change her clothes real quick so she can come back and pick him up. And so it's just me and my dad. My dad, like I said, he hadn't been to church in a long time. And the doctor came in and said, "Mr. Hicks, you need to quit drinking that Pepsi." And he said, "Yes, sir. I'll quit drinking that Pepsi." And he did. He said, "Mr. tricks. You got to quit smoking cigarettes.

He said, "Yes, sir. I'll quit." And he did that day. He hasn't smoked one in 5 months. That's good. Amen. [applause and music] He said all these other things, you know, all the the doctor speak. Quit eating so much salt. Don't don't eat McDonald's every day. All that fun stuff. The doctor leaves and I looked at my dad and I don't talk to my dad like this cuz my dad's a tough old farmer man. We don't have sentimental talks. I looked at dad.

I said, "Dad, if you're fixing everything else in your life, you need to go to church. You You lack one thing." That's like when when God was talking to that young, he said, "You lack us one thing." And I looked at dad. I said, "Dad, you lack one thing. Just you need to go back to church." And he said, "Son, you're right. I'm going to go back to church." Two weeks after he got out of the hospital, he went to church for the first time in 30 something years.

>> >> He listened to a apostolic preacher preach about the Holy Ghost. Preach about how God had changed your life. Is my dad perfect? No. Is did my dad pray back through that day? No. Is everything going great in his life? Probably not. But he he came to church and he didn't come alone. My sister said, "Well, if dad's going to church, I haven't been to church in 20some years. I'll go to." My sister went to church. Her husband went to church for the first time in his life.

They took my niece for the first time in her life. They they took her to an apostolic church and something caught a hold of my sister and my sister prayed through the Holy Ghost. And my sister and my brother-in-law, they started having Bible study with the pastor on the off nights. They go to every service. They're they're there every time the doors are open. My niece is going to church and she's singing worship songs at home. And it's totally different at my house when we go home now because God can change things.

And God can use a really bad time to bring something really good out of it. And I believe today, everybody say, "Today, I believe today, God is waiting up in heaven and he's got a jar of blessings and he's got some anointing and he's got some healing and he's ready to pour it out." Is there anybody that wants God to pour into them today? Is there anybody that wants God to to pour the Holy Ghost in your life to change you, to make you different?

Here's what I want you to do. I wonder if you could all stand, but here's I need the kids. Actually, I need I need some kids workers first. If you're a Sunday school teacher, a kids worker, somebody that just wants to help me pray with kids, uh ministry leader of some sort, I want you to come quickly, quickly, quickly. Don't delay. Undelay. Yeah, there you go. Turn your back to me and face them if you would. We'll just stretch out across this front.

I need a couple kids workers over here. Couple over here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Now, here's what I need. Kids. Any kids in the house? Yeah, there they are. He said, "Yes, sir. Kids, here's what I need. I need your help. Okay, I've got some workers here, but now I need some kids to fill in this altar. But I'm going to need you to do something. So, come and stand in this altar and face my team. Okay? Just fill in.

I need kids all over the place. Is there any other kids that want to come help me? Just I need you to stand in these altars facing me. The kids, my workers are facing you. You're Yeah. Perfect. Just like my man Forest here. Just facing me. Perfect. Perfect. Come on, kids. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. We got plenty of room over here. Perfect. Yeah. Perfect. Right there. Perfect. Right there. Come on. Come on. Come on. Let me here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

That's perfect. That's perfect. All right. All you kids, once you get up here, you need to make a choice. All you kids, you looking? I need you to make a choice today. You can either be a frying pan for bacon, a pot for chili, or a cereal bowl. Okay. So, so frying pan, cereal bowl, pot. Okay. So, show me what you want. Pick. Pick. All right. I see a pot there. I see a pot there. Show me. Show me with your arms what you're going to be.

I need some frying pans. There we go. There's some fry. The bacon's over here. Okay, perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Hold that position. Hold. Mom, dad's, grandmas, grandpas, everybody else. I need you to make a choice right there in your seat. Frying pan, cereal bowl, pot. You can be a Stanley cup or a coffee cup. You choose. Just show me with your hands what you pick. Okay. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. That position, that is the perfect position for God to pour into us. Whatever vessel you chose today, God's gonna pour into you.

So, here's what I want you to do real quick. Real quick, hands to your sides. Hands to your sides because I have two questions before we pray. Question number one, how many of you like to eat out of a dirty dish? >> No. The answer is no. Everybody say no. >> Cuz that's gross. We don't eat out of dirty dishes. So, the second question, what do you do to fix a dirty dish? you clean. These kids know what to do. So when they go home, moms and dads, they're ready to clean some dishes.

They know what to do. >> So we have to clean the dishes today. Everybody say, "Today, God is going to pour into us. He's going to pour into you what you need today. Whatever you ask him for, he's he's ready to pour it out today. But he cannot, he will not, and we shouldn't want him to pour his beautiful, precious, holy gifts into a dirty vessel. So we have to do the dishes today." So, moms are going to do it, dads are going to do it, and all the kids are going to do it today.

We're all going to do the dishes. Now, we're not talking about real dishes, are we? We're talking about our hearts. We're going to pray. We're going to ask God to clean us up, to make some room in there for his blessings. We're going to repent today as a congregation, and we're going to ask God to get us ready to receive. And then we're going to pray. So, one, I wonder if you could assume that position. Show me what you are. Pot, pan, cereal bowl, Stanley cup, whatever you are.

I wonder if you could close your eyes and I wonder if as a church body we could all pray right now and just ask God to search us and to help us to get things right in our hearts right now. Can we repent together? Jesus, we love you. God, we're so thankful for you. We're so thankful for your word, God. We're so thankful that you made a way of salvation today. God, look at my heart today. If there's something not right, if there's something I've done or said or thought about that goes against your word, Jesus, I'm sorry, God, would you forgive me today?

Forgive me if I've hurt someone's feelings. Forgive me if I've offended someone today. I'm sorry, God. Help me to turn and and make right choices. Help me to do what's right today. I love you, Jesus. I love you, Jesus. I love you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Can you just tell him thank you? And maybe can you just just tell him thank you in your own way? Just thank you Jesus for forgiving me. Thank you God for hearing me when I pray. Thank you God for what you're going to do in this altar today.

Thank you. Now with those eyes closed, with those hands in that position to receive today, the music's going to change and I I'm going to release this team and we're going to come and we're going to pray with these children. And if there's someone else who you didn't make your way up yet, that's okay. You can come on and you can join us in this altar today because God is no respector today. And whether you're young or old, he's ready to pour into your life today.

And so, kids, with your eyes closed, with your hands raised, can we just begin to tell God how good he is? Let's begin to worship him and and just see what God would do in this place today. Come on, mom and dad. If you need something, why don't you just ask him today? He's ready to pour it out in the name of Jesus. God, we love you right now. We worship you, God. And by the power and the authority of your word, we're asking you to move in this altar right now.

Altar workers, I release you right now in the name of Jesus to lay hands on these children. Begin to pray for them. Begin to speak into their lives. Mom and dad, if you need something, why don't you come to this altar today? God is ready to pour out healings. God is ready to pour out blessings. God is ready to take care of your problems. All you got to do is give your life to him. surrender to him today and say, "Jesus, pour it out.

Jesus, pour out healing. Jesus, pour out your deliverance today." God, we're asking you to