Tri-State District Camp-meeting Night 3 | Pastor Tim Hammond

God bless you you may be seated what a tremendous opportunity and privilege it is for Dorcas and I to be here and and thankful for what the Lord is doing the way he is moving and blessing and uh thankful for this district and all that it is what it means to the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ on a national level and do you heard all of those good reports today but God is good and he's good all the time thankful for the message today from Brother Fallon what a tremendous word of God and then brother Nolan Carpenter a tremendous word of God somebody received the Holy Ghost and that's what it's all about that's why we're here feel like the Lord's going to do something special tonight and uh and I'm not just saying that I feel like there's a healing in the room and uh not just for our physical bodies but for our mental state as well I feel like the Lord's gonna do something in this room tonight I give honor quite obviously to Bishop and sister McCool and Pastor Mark sister Jamie the whole staff here every time you're around these folks they're just uh serving God with excellence and uh and I will go ahead and say this without any hesitation or reservation you guys might may have the coolest superintendent of any District whatsoever he can outdress them and out sing them and out play them and out preach them and but I love we Pastor Mark McCool and our friendship goes goes way back and the Dorcas and the family I'm so thankful that they're here and I believe the Lord's going to do something tonight Isaiah 53 and 1. everybody good you should you shouldn't be nervous you don't have to do anything uh I know I did my best to preach with the Lord laid on my heart last night and I pray that that helped us tonight uh I want the Lord will work [Music] that's above and beyond anything we could ask think or believe or hope for this is going to be so different for camp meeting but the one thing I have learned in my almost come August the 13th my 40 Years of trying to preach and uh and I know some would say you should be better than you are but [Music] when the Lord speaks to you you need to listen and you need to try to obey him so tonight my title I'll give to you and then I'm going to go into some scripture and uh I believe tonight that there's going to be a tremendous healing in this place my title tonight is good grief good grief and I don't mean that in a joking manner as much as I just want you to understand that there's a real thing in this world and it's grief we don't like to talk about it in fact most everyone in this room you're either about to you're in the middle of or you're coming out of some type of grief and one of the things that we are not good as good at as a movement is dealing with issues that uh if you can't run about it can't shout about it can't sing about it we're usually not really good at dealing with it but I've come tonight to talk to you about grief you say well what is grief if you asked your phone right now what grief is it will give you a simple definition and its deep sorrow deep sorrow deep sorrow and I have been through some things and and the reason I don't want to preach this tonight is because I will have to make so many personal references to get a point across but our superintendent Bishop Carpenter when he was helping to preach the funeral of my dad and then seven weeks later of my mom he said uh one of the things and he said this he said one of The Selfish things about this that I cannot wait to see it's what this pain will birth in Tim Hammond he said the messages that what he's been through that God will birth I can't wait to hear them and I'm here to tell somebody tonight that you have two options you can get bitter or you get better and uh and at some point and I know I know it's it's so well grief is something that happens when someone passes away we physically lose a person having gone through what our family's gone through over the past several years I've discovered that grief is the fact that you can have grief over losing anything there's some of you in this room tonight you can't move forward because you're still grieving what you lost we lose loved ones to death quite obviously and and you should grieve and you need to learn how to grieve good I don't have this mastered I'm probably as jacked up as they come but uh I wonder what ministry's waiting on you if you could get over what you've lost maybe not get over if you could get through what you lost some of you are missing good relationships because you're still grieving the relationship you lost some of you are not developing people in your churches because you're grieving the people who walked away let me tell you about this grief business if you're not careful you will grieve what you've lost and end up killing or destroying what's left if we do not come to grips with this grief thing and come to the realization that there is an answer there is hope there is a God who is able to step into your loss your hurt your pain your agony your frustration and make it all better you say well preacher you hadn't lost like I have maybe not but I'll tell you this we never get over it you just get through it well I feel the Holy Ghost tonight I'm getting more and more comfortable which may be dangerous but I need to tell somebody in this room you can keep on talking about what you lost and you can keep on rehearsing that and regurgitating that and going back back and back and back if you're not careful you'll end up to be one of those people that are so hurt that you don't know that you're hurting other people because hurt people hurt people and if you're not careful you and I can be saved Sanctified and fill the Holy Ghost and bitter we can be paying our tithes and we can be fulfilling a position but never really reaching our potential because we've never really grieved properly so everybody say good grief Isaiah 53 and 1 you can be just stay seated I've got a lot of scripture at some point we're going to get up but it's not going to be the shout it's going to be delivered who hath believed our report to whom is the arm of the Lord reveal read it last night but he shall grow up before him as a tender plan and a root either dry ground he hath no form or commonness and when we shall see him there's no beauty that we should desire him he's despised and rejected a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief your savior is acquainted with grief and here's what we did to our Savior is said and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not we have to stop hiding our faces from grief you got to stop shouting over it you've got to stop running over it you've got to stop leaping over it you got to make up your mind you're going to take your hurt to Jesus and say God I'm laying it at your feet and I've carried it as far as I can carry it and I've done all I can do with it and I trust you because let me tell you if you're still here and you're breathing God's not through with you when I walk through the sanctuary this Sunday when I get home I'll walk to one side and I'll talk to an individual that's lost their spouse and I'll say how you doing and that person brother Atkins is going to say the the Lord is good his Mercy endures forever his grace is sufficient then I'll go to the other side of that sanctuary and shake hands with someone and say how are you doing and they've lost a spouse and they're going to say well I don't know if we're going to make it or not I'm trying why did God leave me and take them if that's where you're at I want you to know the reason he left you if he's not done with you but God can't use people that are determined to let grief be their identity God cannot use us the way he wants to if we are determined to let what happened to us be the place we get our mail at some of us are we stopped in the middle of our storm and we just set our mailbox up there and and if anybody wants to reach you they just have to go to P.O box woe is me P.O box why God PO box bitter P.O box hurt P.O box forsaken but I Rise to tell you our God is acquainted with grief we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised that we esteemed him not but surely he has borne our Greece and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions and he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed I'm here to tell you my friend there's a healing in this room tonight there's a better for you to go home with tonight than what you came in this room I'm rising under the auction of the Holy Ghost to tell you God sent me from Georgia to help somebody tonight oh I'd love to preach something else but I'm just going to obey God because we need healthy pastors and we need healthy pastors wise and we need healthy feeders and we need healthy Saints we need healthy churches because we're we're about to wrap this thing up and we can't go limping into the battle we got to have our head up and we've got to know beyond the shadow of the doubt that our God is more than able our God is on our side and if God be for us who can be against us you got to know that tonight you got to know that tonight you got to know that tonight you got to know that tonight I don't wanna I don't want to throw you a curve up there in the media I didn't give this to brother brother Whitley but could you could you grab for me Genesis 50 20 and then I'll I'll go ahead and preach is it is that too hard can you grab that Genesis you got it for me could you throw that up there this is what Joseph said to his brothers after their dad had died they come in and say let's tell Joseph that Daddy said the street is right Daddy's dead but we want you to know Daddy said for you to treat us right because these brothers that had sold their brother into slavery they think that Joseph is going to lose his character because his daddy is gone but let's look at this scripture he said but as for you he's looking at his brothers now his dream has come to pass now he's gone through everything that we love to preach about Joseph and his life but look at what he says he looks at them and says but as for you you thought evil against me but God meant it unto good to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people if I could paraphrase Joseph is saying don't sweat it guys it all worked out yes you put me in a pit yes I went to a to Potiphar's house yes I went to a prison but I ended up in a palace if I'm over it how about you getting over it because God spoke to Our Father Abraham and said we were going to go in as just a family but we're going to come out of here as a nation do you realize that there's a Revival waiting on you in your church if we could just get to the place where we can look at our hurt and say it was good that I was afflicted it was good that I went through that it was good that my faith was tested it was good that I actually had to try my Holy Ghost it was good you put it back up there for me friend because here's how we've always preached it but as for you you meant it for evil but God meant it for good or either we'll preach it that you meant it for evil but God turned it for good as if God was caught off guard that it happened I preached the message at home a few weeks ago God meant it from this God meant it God meant for Joseph to be sold God meant for Joseph to go to Potiphar's house and be betrayed God meant for Joseph to go to the pit God meant for him to be in the palace but so many of us want to go from the the the the the robe to the Palace but there is some some trials and some tests and thank God Joseph knew how to have good grief not bad grief not Where's God at why is God forsaken me Joseph took every bit of this and you read your Bible he said he goes through every facet of his life every season and he just goes about it and everywhere he goes God's blessing everybody because Joseph is there who's God waiting to bless that you're running with but God can't bless them because you can't get better this didn't sneak up on God when my dad took his final breath on January the 30th of 2021 it shocked us God's sitting up there and said yep when he took his first breath on October the 15th of 1937 I knew when he would take his last and Bishop we've just been navigating through this thing called life and then all of a sudden it happens we're like what is God up to God is like what do you mean what am I up to I'm in it seven weeks later mom takes her final breath on March the 19th of 2021 seven weeks later everybody that's just left comes back to bury my mom our church is grieving because they've lost their bishop and they've lost they've lost the founding pastor what do you do and God's up there like yep that's right well I thought he was a god of love he's a god of purpose he's a God that understands that we were not through with Douglas Hammond but he was through with Douglas Hammond we were not through with Joel Hammond but he was through with your Hammond you say well if he loved me he'd give me a few more moments I need to help somebody I need to ask you what are you doing with the moments you have now the reason some of us will never have good grief is we do not have good disciplines now the way to bury a loved one and know that it is well is to have no regrets the way to make sure that you're not frustrated is to make sure that you don't put on deserving expectations on a person some of you are frustrated with your church and you're grieving because can I just can I can I you're grieving because well my church is not like their church and my praise team is not like their priest priest team and we don't have those musicians and we don't have this and we don't have that but somebody hurts you Pastor I wish I knew where you were all at but God does somebody hurt you Pastor and because of that hurt there's potential sitting in your seats and because they hurt you you've got potential sitting in your seat that because somebody hurt you in the past you are killing your present and you're sacrifice in your future why they leave here's what it gets down to those that leave couldn't stay and those that stay can't leave well what am I supposed to do oh I'd like to have the ones that left more than the ones that stayed that's your problem because it's not your kingdom it's not your body he said he has finally joined this thing together as he sees fit and the best thing you can do is rise to your Pulpit on Sunday morning and begin to love your people with an unconditional all-inclusive love that says I'm so glad you're here and if you've got a ounce of talent if you've got to have some desire we want you to know we got a place in this church for you and whatever hurt us in the past we are moving forward we will not be identified with the last hurt oh I feel like preaching I will not be identified by the last split I will not be identified by those who couldn't stay because we sit around and grieve we grieve we grieve we grieve but God meant it I can't believe they left God meant it I can't believe they're not here God meant it I can't believe they did that but God meant it oh Lord am I am I all right John 11 23 44. then Martha as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming went and met him but Mary says still in the house then said Martha unto Jesus Lord I thought it's been here my brother had not died but I know that even now whatsoever thou will ask of God God will give it thee Jesus saith unto her thy brother shall live again Martha saith unto him I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection of the last day Jesus said unto her I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live and whatso and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die believeth thou this she saith unto him yea Lord I believe the thought the Christ the son of God which should come into the world and when she had so said she went her way and called Mary her sister secretly saying the Lord is coming is coming calleth for thee as soon as he heard that she Rose quickly and came unto him now Jesus was not yet coming to the town was in the place where Martha met him the Jews then which were in the house uh with her in the house and comforted her when they saw Mary they that that she rose up hastily and went out they followed her saying she'd goeth unto the grave to weep then when Mary was come where Jesus was she saw him she fell down at his feet sailing to him Lord if thou had been here my brother had not died come on you know your Bible Jesus stayed an extra day so Lazarus would die and they're saying if you'd have been here he wouldn't have died that's true but you also don't understand that I stayed an extra day so he would what kind of God is that what kind of God is it that Waits what kind of God is it that could answer my prayer but chooses not to then when Mary was come with Jesus he saw a fill his feet if you'd have been here my brother when Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping with her which came with her he'd grown in his spirit and was troubled and said where have ye laid him then or they said unto him Lord come and see then there's that great that great scripture Jesus wept so here's what I want to ask you Jesus knowing the outcome Jesus just telling Martha that I am the resurrection why is he weeping why is he crying he knows what he's going to do he knows he created this this situation but he Weeps why because you've got a god who is acquainted with grief you've got a God who will carry our grief he wants them to know hey I understand pain I know what loss feels like I have been right there with you then said the Jews behold how he loved him some said could not this man which opened the eyes of the blind have caused it even this man should not have died Jesus therefore again groaning in himself coming to the Grave it was a cave a stone lay upon it Jesus said take you away the stone Martha the sister of him that was dead saith unto him Lord by this time he stinketh for he has been dead four days Jesus saith unto her said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe thou shouldest see the glory of God what if God is trying to show you his glory what if God is up to something bigger than than that thing that that you lost I want to tell you my friend it's hard and I did it for several months it's hard to put your hero to bed it's hard to take your hero who has been a man's man who has been the answer brother Mark to every problem I've ever had and rolled him around in a hospital bed see him lose his dignity while his youngest son would change his diaper God this is your servant he's preached the gospel I've seen him lay hands on people and them instantly healed there's a man walking around right now that my dad went and prayed for and God all but raised him from the dead why is this man in this position God what are you up to it may be that God wants to show you his glory then they took away the Stone from the place where the dead was laid and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said father I thank thee that thou has heard me and I knew that thou art Harris me always but because the people which Stand By Us said that they may believe that thou has sent me and when he had spoken he cried with a loud voice Lazarus come forth and he that was dead came forth down hand and foot with grave clothes his face was bound about with a napkin Jesus saith unto them loose him and let him go let him go let him go but Jesus took time to weep you know your Bible if you just read another chapter there will be a group of people that'll come and they'll say hey we'd like to see Jesus but we'd also like to see that Lazarus guy what are you willing to let God have total access to that could bring him more Glory than it could bring you Joy they had to release their brother so that God can receive the glory and there were there were Brother Willie there were well-known uh Pharisees Sadducees teachers of the law that were converted because they met a man who was dead but is now alive but oh what those four days must have felt like from Martha and Mary everybody okay oh I still feel the Lord talking to us first Samuel 30 1-10 and it came to pass when David and his men would come to ziglag on the third day that the amalekites had invaded the South and ziglag and Smith and ziklag and burned it with fire and had taken the women captives that were therein they slew not any either grade or small but carried them away and went on their way so we're talking about we're talking about here a grief where no one has died they've just been removed so David and his men came to the city and behold it was burned with fire their wives their sons their daughters are taken captive then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep David's two wives were taken uh Captain uh a handle him the jezraelitis and Abigail the wife of nabel the Carmelite and David was greatly distressed for the people who spake of stone in him because the soul of all the people was grieved we've got Men of War grieving because they went and won a battle but lost the battle at home they were grieving every man for his sons and and for his daughters and but David encouraged himself and the Lord his God and David said to abiath are the priest a himelect son I pray thee bring me hither the ephod and abayathar brought a dither ethod to David and David inquire that the Lord saying shall I pursue after this truth shall I overtake them he answered him pursue for thou shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all David went he and the 600 men that were with him and came to the brook be sore were those that were left behind stayed but David pursued he and 400 men for 200 Abode behind which were so faint they could not go over the brook be sore I read this whole passage to let you know that there's going to be things that you're going to lose but they're still alive but I also read this passage to tell some of you of David's 600 men 200 of them were stuck at the brook B Store I want to ask you how long are you going to continue to be sore they couldn't go any further oh you know your Bibles when they go and win the Victory and come back the 400 say to David we're not going to give the 200 anything they didn't go fight and David put a rule in as king and said I don't care whether they stay with the stuff or go fight the battle everybody's gonna have the same victory no matter what I want to say to you in this room that God bless you you don't even know what I'm talking about tonight cause you've not had hurt or lost really hit you personally yet but just because you're winning the victory don't run past those of us that stuck at be soar and act like we have no value don't don't don't don't don't discount us now because we're so weary with our journey if you'll give us a few days if you'll give us just a little bit of time if you'll give us a little more time in the presence of God if you won't give up on me I'll get my strength back I may go through a seasoned Pastor where I'm not able to do what everybody else is doing but if you won't give up on me I will get up from this be sore Brook and I will join the rest and we can have Victory together come on come on come on come on Isaiah 6 and 1. the year the King uziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up he's trained from the temple and it came to above it stood the seraphims each one had six wings between they covered his face between they did cover their feet between the Dead Fly and one cry unto another and said holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory the post of the door moved that the voice of him that cried and the and and and the house was filled with smoke then said I woe is me for I am done because I'm a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for my eyes are seeing the king the Lord of hosts then flew one of the seraphims unto me having a live cold on his hand in his hand which he had taken with the tongues from off the altar he laid it on my mouth and said Lo this has touched thy lips and thine iniquities taken away and thy sin purged also I heard the voice of the Lord saying who shall I sin and who will go for us then said I here am I send me but he did not see the seraphims flying he did not hear what heaven says holy holy holy the whole earth is full of his glory he didn't hear any of this didn't see any of this didn't have the angel come and touch him his lips with with the coals from the altar he did not have a revelation to say hey I'm the one that I hear him I send me he didn't have that until King Uzziah died you'll know why most historians believe that Isaiah and King Uzziah were first cousins and then Isaiah and King Uzziah were so close that Isaiah held Uzziah in such high esteem that most theologians and historians believe that in order for us to get the Isaiah that we've gotten we had to get rid of the king that he depended on so it's not coincidental that when all of this starts happening and there's brother McCool there's Angels flying and they're saying holy holy holy all of a sudden Isaiah backs up and says what am I doing here and then he says I've seen the king of glory and guess what God meant it but before he could see the king of glory before he could have his lips touched with the coastal North the altar before he can respond and say here am I send me his cousin had to die see we think everything that comes to us everybody that is Born To Us is for our pleasure and for our will but God's up to something amen oh Lord help me tonight everybody okay it's 8 54. Romans 12 1-21 I love that passage because the first few verses is where we get that obesity therefore brother by the mercy of God present your bodies of Living Sacrifice holding something with God which is your reasonable service be not conformed of this world be you transformed by the renew of your mind that you may prove was that good and acceptable and perfect will of God because the first two or three verses talk about what we're supposed to do towards God and the remaining part of that chapter talks about what we're supposed to do towards a man and verse 15 of Romans 12 says Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep and let me tell you what we're good at we'll gather around when someone has lost something but let there be a Revival break out 20 miles from your church and all of a sudden well they must be compromising over there when are we going to grow up and learn that Revival and compromise do not go together you can be seated they do not go together Revival comes when repentance happens Revival comes with my people which are called by my name will humble themselves and pray then that's when Revival comes it doesn't it doesn't come when you let down but let me tell you some of us can't Rejoice with those that are rejoicing because we're grieving their Revival see because grief can also be a missed opportunity some of you have business deals in front of you right now well I feel the Lord talking and you won't take that business deal that could be from the Lord because you had a bad business deal go bad and really what happened is you was unequally yoked with somebody in business now now God's got you an opportunity over here but you're still grieving what you lost and you're going to miss what God's got for you that could help further the kingdom but you are determined to say whoa is me no I I'm telling you I can't trust anybody I've already tried that I'll Never Love Again he did that she did that they went that way but guess what there is a good grief that can happen to you that you can come out of your dilemma with your head up and with your hands up worshiping God and praising God and say I don't understand it I don't know why God did it but when I look back over my life God orchestrated everything that I've been through and God meant it [Applause] Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah well I'll help some of you right now first Thessalonians 4 13 but I would not have you to be ignorant Brethren concerning them which are asleep that you saw or not even as others which have no hope you say how are you making it Pastor how are you making it with your mom and dad gone for almost two years now because I gotta hope I watched him take his last breath Zach and some of them were sitting around mom's bed and she had been unconscious for for several several hours almost a day uh almost a day and a half but when mom went to take her final breaths there's here's how it happened she opened her eyes wide open and smiled and said do you realize what a privilege it is to know that I was holding her hand I didn't feel it but I know it when she took that final breath her hand slipped into another hand and that dementia that had had her and held her captive for two or three years she saw daddy and knew him for the first time in years and Daddy because of the stroke had taken his vision and when he saw Mama you say why are you preaching this tonight because I want you to know God's no respecter of person and if he can help me through this he can help you through whatever you're going through if he can help one he won't help everyone if God Did It For Me and if God is doing it for me he can do it for you God's got an answer for you tonight I just want to tell you we're not without hope we're not without hope we're not without hope he says for if we believe that Jesus died here it is and rose again even so them also would sleep in Jesus will God bring with him why am I worried about my parents they're with God for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that day which are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep for the Lord himself shall descend from the heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel with the Trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord wherefore comfort one another with these words you say preacher you're you're preaching like you got it all together just let me tell you here's a little insight into me when I'm home mom and dad are buried less than a half mile from the house when I'm home two years later I go every morning and every evening you say what's wrong with you I know I'm messed up that's how folks see it but that's how I cope because my schedule for years has been every morning and every evening you say you can't see him no I can't I can talk to him I feel something now we have folks in the church we have a a couple of sisters that have lost their mother one of them can go to the Grave get a book sit there in a chair and read the other one can't even go by the cemetery you say well which one's right both of them because we're all different one finds comfort and strength in that the other is still so but they're both moving on all of us are different let me tell you what there is not there is not a cookie cutter for grief oh and as Ministers of the Gospel and it's churches that are supposed to be soul-saving stations we have to be aware of that there's people that can come in and they'll go through a loss but they bounce right back you say well they must not have loved really and then there's someone who can hardly function because they're so paralyzed by the hurt so you think this one loved more than this one no is is grief and we all handle it different could we somehow give each other enough Grace and show enough loving kindness to say hey it's okay just the other night Dorcas was with me in the truck and we've been out in a pool by the cemetery and I looked at her and I said honey I know I've got to quit this and I'm sorry she said honey don't apologize to me I'm with you you're saying when will you stop I have no idea but it's the coping mechanism it's okay to be dependent as long as you're dependent on the right thing he said wherefore Comfort one another with these words I'm almost through John 14 and 26 but the comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the father will send in my name he shall teach you all things and bring all things through your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you peace I leave with you my peace I've given to you not as the world giveth give I unto you let not your heart be troubled neither Let It Be afraid but the comforter which is the Holy Ghost peace I leave with you my peace I've given to you I had to go home the Tuesday Morning of Strong Tower because a first cousin of mine who was more like a brother 62 years old took his final breath during the night and passed away as I conducted that funeral I began to look at the people that God has was taken out of my life removing out of my life that I was so dependent on my cousin Stevie Pastor Mark had so many Connections in our community then when it come to our building if I had something that I ran into I could call Steve and he knew who to call in my mind I was like what am I going to do but then I felt the strength of God that says Stevie is not your answer when I said goodbye to my dad I felt something to say he's your hero but he's not your savior nobody loves you like Mama when I said goodbye something said but I I'm the arms you need to run into when Mom took her final breath I felt the scripture come to reality that I might fall but I will not fall through because underneath of the Everlasting Arms of God I'm telling you there's a comforter there's a strength there's a helper in the house oh God help us Ephesians 4 29. let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that you may Minister Grace unto the hearer let's look at this let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth stop talking yourself into greater grief you see I don't believe that has anything to do with it do you know what the next scripture is he said let no corrupt communication proceed what's corrupt anything that takes you down a wrong road anything that causes your thinking to depend on something other than Christ he said let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the edifying that it may Minister Grace into the hearers verse 30. and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed into the day of redemption some of us are allowing our grief to grieve the spirit you still a preacher I'm telling you I'm just tolerating you right now because I've got a problem with preachers every preacher I've ever dealt with I'm just telling you I'm telling you I don't trust anybody I'll never open my heart up to love again I'll never I'll never I'll never I'll never I'll never stop grieving the Holy Spirit it is your answer I see the kids coming in but we're going to have an altar call here because when we're done some of you and I don't care if it's just one of you if God just if God just helps one person tonight I'm good but God can help all of us don't grieve the Holy Spirit you say well what I need to do in just a few moments we're going to come around this altar and nobody needs to lay hands on you because it's your grief and it's going to be good when you're done God is going to baptize you afresh the Holy Ghost is going to overshadow you and you're going to speak in an unknown tongue and you're going to allow the right things to proceed out of your mouth from this day forward because if you don't my friend the glory that God has for you you'll never see Pastor the church that God wants to raise up in your city what if it's you that's stopping the Revival do you know how many pastors and we talk about church hurt I don't think there's such a thing there's people hurt that was at church amen there's pastors that are hurt that it it takes a lot of God to give somebody a chance after two or three eight or ten have hurt do you guys realize and all we talk about is the good of brother Billy and sister Betty McCool do you realize how many people have caused them grief sister Betty how many nights have you and the bishop sit around the table and lay in your bed and cried because people walked away you didn't know what in your mind you did everything you knew and they left anyway you know while you're sitting in this building because he got up the next morning and he kept loving people even though a person had heard him he didn't let that stop him from ministering to other people no one has lost so much so quickly than job and his wife some historians and Bible scholars believe that from the time he got the news of the first loss until God restored him in the last chapter of his book was nine months because God was birthing something we read the 42 chapters of of job and and we think it took a long time it was about nine months because God was birthing something and job 42 and 10 says this it says in God or the Lord turn the Captivity of job when he prayed for his friends also the lord gave job twice as much as he had before sometimes it's harder to get over people's opinions than it is to cope with grief it never really says anything in the Book of Job that I could find about grief but his wife grieved Pastor McCool they had to grieve but the thing that turned the Captivity was when he got over the opinion of his friends who are you allowing in your life to hold you back from getting all your stuff back and your story ending well who who is it who is it second Corinthians 1 3 through 11 and we'll be done blessed be God even the father of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of Mercies the God of All Comfort who comforteth Us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the Comfort we're with we ourselves are comforted of God for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ why am I going through this so when you get to the other side you can have empathy and not sympathy alone dad always told me he said son when you go where there's someone grieving if you haven't experienced anything close to what they've experienced don't say I know what you're going through he said because there's nothing more offensive than for some to want someone to be standing there at the coffin or a casket of a loved one and someone walk by with all of their family intact and they said well I know where to know you don't you don't know see because here's where I'm really at on Father's Day of 20. 2002 my only brother passed away on Father's Day 2002 I was preaching on Sunday night and they came in the back door and the cousin I just buried just nodded and said he's gone I've just been installed as pastor and extended there my only brother gone what a prodigal story I preached about that the Lord brought in Full Circle and I believe it he's in the hands of a just God so I stand here tonight the reason I need you to take care of all the family of mine you've got up here because outside of Dorcas I have no immediate family my only brother is gone I buried both my parents seven weeks apart I'm not asking for your pity I've gone through that and I'm going through that so I could come on a Thursday night in Knoxville Tennessee and say I'm telling you If He Did It For Me he'll do it for you there are better days ahead weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning [Applause] uh [Applause] I told Pastor McCool and sister Jamie the story last night that that denominable preacher that I mentioned I'm believing with everything that is within me that when he comes to visit us and look at our building I'm believing that God's going to speak to him and I'm going to baptize him in Jesus name for the remission of his sins and when I take him down in that watery grave I gotta believe that standing on the balcony of Heaven Douglas Hammond is going to say That's my boy he just baptized my friend I tried my best to get him in the water but Look What the Lord Has Done do you know there's a Revival in your city if we can be delivered from the grief that's holding us captive why am I going through this so that someday you could look somebody in the eye and say I know how you feel remain standing whether we be afflicted it is your consolation of Salvation which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer whether and whether we be comforted it is your consolation and salvation and our hope of you is steadfast knowing that as ye are partakers of the suffering so shall you be also of the consolation for we would not Brethren have you ignorant of the trouble which came to us in Asia that we were pressed out of measure above strength and so much that we deprive despaired even of life but we have the Sinners of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in but in God that raises the Dead Paul is writing to the Corinthian Church and he said you're not ignorant of what we went through in Asia he's he's telling you I was almost suicidal I didn't know what to do but I stopped trusting in myself and I put my trust in God who raisth the Dead can somebody help me now who delivered us from so great to death and doth deliverer in whom we trust that he will yet Deliver Us he said I put my trust in a god that has delivered that will deliver and that is delivering that sounds like a god who's the same yesterday and forever ye also helping together by prayer for us that the gifts bestowed upon us by means of many persons thanks may be given by many on your behalf the God of All Comfort the God of All Comfort the God of All Comfort I've got a hand out here and I believe if you need professional counseling to navigate through things you ought to go if your pastor does it you don't need to hear a word I'm saying if you need that go get it but I want you to know there's a fix there's a help there's a comfort there's a strength I've got a handout up here we can give you copies of it but the five stages of grief one is denial two is anger three is bargaining four is depression and five is acceptance I won't take the time to break all that down I've gone too long already I will take the time to break all that down you can get this hand out or you can probably Google it and find the five stages of grief some of you you're in denial some of you are in the bargaining stage some of you are depressed but I need us to get to acceptance and that doesn't mean you're okay with the loss that means that you're moving on in spite of the loss but what I really felt in my spirit some of you are angry tonight and when we're angry our IQ drops when we're angry the spirit can't move when we're angry we're not the vessel that brother Nolan preached about this morning that God could pour into as they get ready to sing I want to know if there's a pastor that's bold enough to step out and say coming to the altar tonight and I'm getting Deliverance from this grief [Music] is there a pastor here is there a pastor here is there a pastor here it's okay it's okay is there a pastor's wife here yeah see a lot of times we pull these ladies along and we preach and pray our way through it but they're emotional wrecks [Music] they end up with bad health because of Kingdom work their pastor's wife here oh you're embarrassingness this is a real thing and this is the problem let me tell you what I've done tonight I've delivered my heart and there's Deliverance in the room if you leave with it it's because you've taken ownership of it but I'm going to tell you Revival's not coming of the prodigal and a harvest of new Souls is not coming until we deal with this because it's a real thing it's a real thing are you Brothers coming [Music] but you lift your hands if the Lord sent me here for you too he's fixing to do a work for you he's about to do a work for you that's it just lift your hands a broken I said ma'am come on here's the altar call as you come lift your hands your preacher's not the answer not in this the church is not the answer not in this the Holy Ghost is the answer oh there we go there we go there we go I knew it was here come on come on don't don't stop short [Music] foreign I'm calling that gift in that Ministry to come off the shelf come on I don't know what they're singing But I want us to I want us to hear men and women of God that life has beat you down I want to hear you pray until you prayed in the Holy Ghost God has not given us a spirit of fear but a power and of love and a sound mind come on they're gonna sing but the healing is in your praise [Music] come on Sir God's not done with you the gifts of the callings of God are without repentance God wants to use you again come on awaken that guiltness in you now all of you that are still standing could you join behind us maybe you're the 400 that still has the strength for the battle could you help the 200 of us that's been stuck at the tonight we want to reach our full potentials [Music] wannabe everything God's called us to be but sometimes it hurts so bad [Music] it hurts so bad it hurts so bad to love and hurt so bad to trust it's hurt so bad to say yes to God's will it hurts so bad but if you can rest from my friends if you can press through my bread there's good grief waiting for you there's a better day wait for you my friend [Music] sir ma'am you've got too much going for you to give up now [Music] you've got too many gifts and callings in your life [Music] [Music] tonight [Applause] tonight [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] goodness is my comfort always [Music] let me tell you how good God is my only granddaughter and she knows it got four boys in Emory well I'm in here bearing my heart to you God baptized her with the Holy Ghost tonight