Christ Our Cornerstone - Pastor J. D. Howell 9-6-2026

Will you turn with me to Psalm chapter number 118?

May I direct your attention to verses number 8 and 9.

Brother Jesse, 2 Kings chapter number 7, verse number 2, please.

Brother Nathaniel, Proverbs chapter number 3 and verse number 5.

I appreciate the Bethel Holiness Church family. You all are

truly a family I admire. the family unit here at

the Bethel Holiness Church. Some may despise the unity and

the harmony amongst the brethren and sisters, but I appreciate

it so much. I do not despise it. I admire it.

All right, Brother Jesse, 2 Kings chapter number 7 and

verse number 2, my brother.

Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered

the man of God and said, Behold, if the Lord

would make windows in heaven, might this thing be And

he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes,

but shalt not eat thereof.

Amen.

So Brother Jesse just read to us a verse of

Scripture that is speaking of a king leaning upon the

shoulder or the arm of a counselor, a chief counselor.

There's no doubt that this man was a member of

the king's cabinet and was one of his counselors. And

the king would lean upon him. He would look to

him for answers. He would look to him for guidance, instruction,

and direction. He would lean on him. How many of

you are leaning on the everlasting arms of the Lord?

I believe that.

Brother Nathaniel, Proverbs chapter number 3 and verse number 5,

my brother.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean

not unto thine own understanding. Amen.

Lean not to thine own understanding. I want you to

learn to lean on Jesus. How many of you remember

the old song, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms? There's another one.

Learning to lean on Jesus. Learning to lean on Jesus.

Let's stand for the reading of our golden text. Again,

it's so good to see our missionary, USA missionary, Brother Thomas,

there in the service this morning. Psalm 118, verses number

8 and 9. The Bible says, It is better to

trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

It is better to trust in the Lord than to

put confidence in princes. Read verse number 8 with me again.

It is better to trust in the Lord than to

put confidence in man.

Verse 9.

It is better to trust in the Lord than to

put confidence in princes.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, We love and we praise you. We thank

you for the opportunity to be in your house this morning.

We pray, God, that you would anoint this thy people,

set a guard at their ears, and help them to

hear what the Spirit of God says unto the church today.

Not of my words, but of your words, we pray. Oh, God,

would you help us? Would you help me, oh God,

I want to be thy servant. Anoint me, I pray.

Set a guard at my mouth and help me to

say the things you would have me to say, nothing

more or less. Help the sayings of this blessed word, oh,

go below the shoulders. Let them saturate the spirit and

the heart and the mind, the being, we pray.

Let us not be hearers only.

Let us heed what the Spirit of God says unto

the church today. And may we depart this place joyfully

and not sorrowfully. In Jesus' name, and the church said, amen.

Look at your neighbor and say, hey, neighbor, do you

remember when Pastor preached that message titled, Christ Our Compass? Well,

this morning, he's preaching a message titled, Christ Our Cornerstone.

Amen.

Preaching a message the Holy Ghost titled, Christ Our Cornerstone.

Our text is found in an Old Testament book of

the Holy Bible, the Hebrews people's book of meaningful poetry

and spiritual songs, the book of Psalms. In recent weeks,

I've spent many hours reflecting on the importance of this

book of the Holy Bible. For me, its placement in

the center of the sacred writ or the divine library

signifies it's a central pillar in the public and private

life of every child of God. We look to it

as a pattern of prayer and a worship. I've reached

the conclusion that the writings of this book is foundational

in the hearts of every true follower and worshiper of

Jesus Christ. I believe the Psalms are the gold standard

by which all songs of divine inspiration are measured and judged.

The Psalms are the cornerstone of sacred songs recently published

One of the brothers in this church, Brother Nathaniel Howell,

has felt impressed of the Lord. And by divine inspiration,

he has written a few songs unto the glory of God.

And me as his father and pastor, I measure those

divinely inspired songs by the gold standard.

The songs that are found in the book of Psalm.

If you'll look at the 118th Psalm again, you'll notice

various scriptures within that Psalm that are the favorites of

people in this building. This psalm itself, Psalm 118, has

become a favorite of mine in recent years. I don't

know that I've ever told you that as your pastor,

but this morning I want to tell you that, that

this psalm, Psalm 118, has become a favorite of mine.

I cannot say that I have settled on the identity

of the inspired author. of this book of the Bible,

or this particular psalm, rather. But I know this individual

had a white-knuckle grip on certain foundational truths. And Bethel,

let's get a grip on this psalm. I ask you

to memorize this psalm. If at all possible, put forth

the effort involved in order to memorize this psalm.

I have accepted that challenge.

Up late, while thinking on this psalm, I noticed that

several of our young preachers at Bethel have been quoting

verses of Scripture that they had plucked out of this

particular psalm. Brother Nathaniel opened service a couple of Sundays

ago with a verse taken out of this very psalm.

I believe Brother Nathaniel remembers doing that. If I'm not mistaken,

it was during a Sunday night service. And I remember

feeling the power of God in this place as he

read unto us that particular verse of Scripture taken from

this certain psalm. The Bethel preachers and ministers aren't alone

in learning of this chapter. In times, I've heard people

in this church building quote from this particular chapter.

Brother Jesse, I have seen it to be foundational.

I've seen people put their faith on the bedrock of

this particular psalm. This psalm served as a schoolmaster for

some of the apostles that were authors of books of

the New Testament. It's evident that they were students of

this literary masterpiece. It is a masterpiece because its author

understood who the centerpiece of the universe is, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the creator of the cosmos. He is

the centerpiece of human existence. The Bible says it's in

Him we live and move and have our being. It

was upon his very spoken word that the universe came

into existence. The solar system and this particular planet within

that solar system was formed by the spoken word of

the second part of the Godhead. You see, it's upon

his word that the entire human race should stand. It's

upon his word that the entire world solar system circulates around.

You see, it is the centerpiece of our existence, the

Word of God. Paul said in Acts chapter number 17

and verse number 28, for in him we live and

move and.

Have our being.

The prophet Isaiah in 28 and 16, he said, A stone,

a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Let's

read Psalm chapter number 118 and verses number 22 and 23.

The Bible says, the stone which the builders rejected. The

stone which the builders refused. The stone which the builders

rejected has become the headstone of the corner. I want

to encourage somebody today to learn to.

Build your life on Jesus Christ.

A couple of months ago, Sister Howell and I took

a few days off and we went to Miami. And

while we were there, we visited the small town of

Sunny Isles Beach. And we saw them constructing a huge building.

And by huge, that's an understatement.

I mean an enormous structure was being erected.

And I could tell that there were men.

Many, many, many cubic yards of concrete underneath that enormous structure.

If there had not have been, because of its location,

meaning on the shifting sand of the Sunny Isles Beach,

there is no way that that building would have withstood

the The forthcoming storms, because us South Floridians, we know

that surely another storm, it may have a different name

than Andrew or Irma, but another storm is going to

hit the beaches of South Florida.

And I feel like those.

Builders knew very well that they had to anchor their

structure on.

A solid, sure foundation.

And those are people of this world that did not

want to lose their investment. Those are people of this

world that are very wise and did not want to

be liable for bodily harm or injury that might occur

to about 1,000 or 2,000 occupants of their structure. I

have no idea how many people that building will hold,

but I know.

It is a lot.

And I have no idea how many cubic yards of

concrete and how many linear.

Feet of heavy-duty rebar.

Are in that foundation, but I know that it is

a lot. And can I tell you today, that the

Lord Jesus Christ from the glory world has always intended

for him to be the centerpiece of your life. He's

always intended to be the cornerstone of human existence, and

that includes you personally. That scripture said the stone which

the builder refused to This is referring to the incarnate

Son of God, Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, the one

that the prophets prophesied about and people supposed they were

ready to accept.

The incarnate God.

Jesus Christ in human flesh came and he was the

stone which the builders rejected. They tossed him to the curb.

They cast him to the side. The builders are the

Jewish people which were the religious leaders of Judaism. They

had no desire whatsoever to allow the Lord Jesus to

have his perfect will in their hearts, their lives, or

their country. They wanted an earthly kingdom. And for their

earthly kingdom, they wanted a builder. There's no doubt the

apostle Paul spoke of himself concerning the construction of the

early church.

He said... I am a wise master builder.

And he said, I'm building upon a firm foundation. He said,

you be careful how you build upon this foundation that

Jesus and the Holy Ghost has had me lay. Apostle

Paul knew the importance of a rock-solid foundation. Apostle Paul

knew the importance of a builder having a cornerstone. And

I feel like maybe God has revered to me while

some of you are not progressing in the faith and

while you're not growing in the knowledge of the Lord

and Savior Jesus Christ. You don't know that you need

to build every building Fasten up your life upon Jesus Christ.

The songwriter wrote a song, and some of the lyrics

go like this. Jesus is a sure foundation in the

middle of strife. I've seen people build upon the shifting

sands of this world. I've seen them build upon the

shifting sand of the arm of the flesh rather than

leaning on the everlasting arm of Jesus.

And I have seen them stumble and fall.

I've seen them build their house on the shifting sands

of emotion. And because they did, that deceitful heart misled

them and the structure of their life began to collapse

and to crumble to the ground. What is it about

an individual that would cause them to look at God,

to stare His Word in the white and black and

red eye? And to say, God, I know what you're

saying to me. I know that I should stand alone

on the word of God. But I want to build

my own spiritual four-inch foundation.

Come on now.

A four-inch foundation doesn't even make a good drive. driveway

for certain pieces of equipment. It's not long before it's

a crumbling. You see, these Israelis or these Israelites, they

wanted an earthly king for their earthly kingdom.

They didn't have a problem with that. They didn't have a.

Problem with having a builder, but they did not like

the idea of God.

He would deliver them, yes.

The Bible said he would deliver them from their sins.

How many of you are thankful that God saved you

from your sin? He did not save you in your sin.

He saved you from your sin, meaning he plucked you

out of the devil's talons. He saved you from your sin.

And so these people expected Jesus.

To deliver them from Roman oppression.

They expected Jesus to make it clear to the Roman

government that he was king. of kings and Lord of

lords and that his throne would be an earthly throne

even one closest to him Judah Judas did not like

this concept did not like this plan Judas wanted to

push him right on into the physical throne of David

but Jesus said my king My kingdom is never gonna crumble.

My kingdom is not temporal. My kingdom is not earthly.

The materials of this world are not sufficient to construct

my kingdom.

We're talking about a builder here.

He looked at every one of his followers and said,

in my father's house there are many mansions.

If it were not so, I would have told you.

He promised that he had built his followers a special room,

a special place, a special house in his heavenly kingdom. Huh?

You see the religious leaders of Judaism and some of

the Jews could toss this cornerstone to the side if

they wanted to. But the apostles knew this stone that

has been inspected and deemed unfit and deemed unworthy by

man It has become the chief cornerstone, the stone which

the builders refused.

It's become the headstone of the corner.

And you know what Peter heard Jesus say to Peter

one day? He might have felt like he was somebody

because he had been chosen as a libelous stone to

help build the kingdom of God. His name might have

been by definition a stone. But Jesus said, are y'all

with me? Upon this rock, Peter, I will build my

church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jesus wasn't worried about defending his people of the Romans.

He was worried about defending his people of of the

demonic forces of hell. I'm going to tell you, you

need Christ as your cornerstone for your very life and

the life of your family. So the apostles, after his departure,

they begin to reflect upon the words of the prophets.

And Sister Wooten, upon heavy reflection, and also while fingering

through the Psalms, they begin to connect the dots and

realize he's been speaking the same words all along. since

he was the creator of the cosmos, and since he

was Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. He's been saying the same thing.

And you can find their thought process in the books

of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This short verse becomes a

cornerstone of the disciples' reports concerning our Lord's earthly purpose

and ministry.

They got it. They got it.

They realize he's not going to have an earthly kingdom.

They realize he don't want to be an earthly king.

And the Apostle Peter even mentioned and referenced this verse

of Scripture as well. The leaders of the New Testament

church did not reject him as the leaders of Judaism did.

The leaders of Judaism, they threw him to the curb.

They cast him to the side. They rejected him. How

long had the earth waited on the Messiah? How long

had the earth waited on a spiritual foundation? How long

had the earth waited on a rock?

How long?

Wasn't it 4,000 years from creation until the time of

the Messiah? Wasn't it about 2,000 years from Adam to

Abraham and 2,000 years for Abraham to Jesus? Wasn't it

about 2,000 years in them segments? And the psalmist said,

the stone that has arrived, the builders of our own religion.

They refused. It wasn't accepted. It wasn't accepted.

Now, most present in this building this morning, you have

admitted that Jesus Christ is a sure foundation in your life,

and you have no problem at all with him being

the chief cornerstone. There's people in this building right now

without a doubt would raise their hand and say, you

know what? He is the head of the corner in

my life. Praise the Lord. 1 Peter chapter number 2,

verse number 6 and 7, the one that heard Jesus say,

Thou art Peter, but upon this rock I'll build my church.

Peter penned these words, Wherefore also it is contained in

the Scripture, Behold, I lay in sign a chief cornerstone. elect, precious,

and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

Unto you, therefore, which shall believe, he is precious. But

unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builder disallowed,

the same is made the head of the corner. This

is Peter saying, you know what, I remember what Isaiah

wrote about, and I am an eyewitness to the fact

that God is building the church. The Gold City Quartet

sings a song, and the lyrics go something like this,

God's going to build a church. If he has to

build it of a valley of dead, dry bones, God

is going to build a church.

Amen. I feel the Holy Ghost in this place.

Our Lord Jesus told the religious leaders of his day

that their ancestors had made a habit of rejecting those

that were preaching to them. That their ancestors had made

a habit of refusing to hear what the Spirit of

God would say unto the people of God. In other words,

they were tossing them stones to the side, the prophets,

the words of truth, the foundational characters in spiritual Israel's situation.

Sister Howell, and they would go so far as to

refuse to hear them. They would even have them silenced, muzzled.

They would have them executed. They would cast them to

the curb, toss aside their words, stack them up in heaps.

Some of you recently tossed aside God speaking to you

as though it's just rubbish. and you leave it lying

in a pile, and you count it as nothing, and

that's what these people said. Hey, Jesus is trying to

point out to us in the Scripture that He is

the cornerstone, and all of His men leading up to

this point have been tossed to the curb. The messengers

of God have been rejected one after another, but we

should not reject the chief of the corner. Why is

it that people leave the words of the preacher, the teacher,

the minister, the evangelist, the elder in heaps? Tossed to

the side. No, that's not a fit. That's not a

fit for my life. No, I'm not going to build

on that. I don't want to build on that. I

don't want that to be my foundation. But not everyone

tosses the Lord to the curb. For some present this morning,

he is everything. To Brother Nathaniel, he is the head

over all things in his life. To Brother Thomas Derrick,

he is first above all. To Brother Jesse Howell, he

is primary.

Their entire life depends upon him.

You can ask Brother Philip concerning Jesus, and he'd say,

all my hope is in Jesus. Whether my wife is

barren or whether I'm going through cancer or not, all

of my hope is in Jesus.

Are y'all with me?

Their entire life depends upon Jesus. They are totally, entirely

leaning on Jesus. Their hope and their trust is in Him.

You can't trust your heart. That's why you need Christ

as a compass. You can't build on your feelings and emotions.

That's why you need Christ as your cornerstone. As for

the Bethel Holiness Church, we feel there is no church here, period,

without Jesus Christ. There is no church, period, here apart

from Jesus Christ. There is no church, period, here apart

from the Word of God. We stand upon the Word

of God. Everything we do is based on Him. It's

based on his word. And we have no reason at

all to be fearful while placing the entire weight of

our entire life and existence on him. It's like that

old man that finds out he has to walk on

a cane going forward. He has to learn how to trust.

putting his weight on that cane. Well, I can tell

you those builders in Miami are now erecting a massive

structure on an enormous size foundation because they trust their foundation.

Years ago I heard about a structure being erected overseas

and a storm came and with that storm came a

high wind. The entire structure along with the foundation fell

over 90 degrees. They said the foundation was still attached

to the building but the foundation lost its grip on

on the earth. I'm telling you here this morning that

this foundation will never lose its grip on you as

earth because he formed you out of the dust of

the ground and you can build your entire life on

this sure foundation.

Jesus Christ!

Psalm chapter number 118 and verse number 8, our golden scripture,

it says it is better to trust in the Lord

than to put confidence in men. This verse of scripture

is more than a declaration of trust by a devoted

follower of the Lord. Did you catch that? That verse,

our golden text, it goes like this. It is better

to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in men.

The verse of Scripture is more than a declaration of

trust by a devoted follower of the Lord.

Also, secondly, the author.

Is declaring that some choose to put their trust in

a mortal being.

We have been eyewitness to this.

I have watched spouses follow their spouses out of the

house of God. I've seen their lives end up in

spiritual shipwreck. I've seen their marriages wrecked. I've seen their

children's lives destroyed. I've seen their children imprisoned. I've seen

their children turn into homosexuals. I've seen the devil wreak

havoc on both their natural and spiritual lives because they

put their confidence in somebody else. I've heard of people

leaving church and going to work and discussing the Word

of God and discussing their feelings concerning Scriptures with old prophets,

with backslidden people. And before long, they're convinced that social

and emotional drinking is okay. Before long, they're convinced that

same-sex attraction is okay.

Can I tell you.

that heterosexual marriage is the very cornerstone of civilization.

Could I say that again?

Heterosexual marriage is the cheap cornerstone of civilization. You want

to see a civilization destroyed? Ask Sodom and Gomorrah what

the end result is when you build on immorality, infidelity, homosexuality, lesbianism,

and perversion.

Oh, thank God.

I'm trying to help us in this building here today

to know you better build on God's plan.

You better do it. it God's way.

And not build on the shifting, sinking sand.

Amen. Praise the Lord. Amen.

I can trust Sister Wooten. I can trust Sister Vicki.

I feel like I can. I ain't known her very long.

I can trust Brother Thomas Sterrett to tell me the truth,

the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

So help him, God.

I can trust Brother Richard Jacob to speak the truth

in love. Amen. But there's some people out there you

cannot trust. As a husband, father, and a pastor, I

can assure you that it's a fact that people need

people whom are trustworthy in their life.

And they need somebody to lean on.

A secular songwriter didn't have to teach humanity that. You

need somebody to lean on. You can't make it alone.

God looked at Adam and said, it's not good for

man to be alone. I've been so encouraged to hear

that our older bachelor men and our younger men Bachelor

men have been getting together and going to lunch or

dinner a few times a week. You need that. You

need that fellowship. You need that bedrock friendship. You need

that foundational friendship. But unfortunately, not everyone sees that. bigger

picture in that. And I tell you, not everyone sees

the bigger picture in this either, that you better be

careful who you're leading on and who you're calling and

who's instructing you and who you're getting guidance and direction from.

Come on now.

I know you need, it's said in our golden text here,

verses number eight and nine, it is better to trust

in the Lord than to put confidence in me. Sometimes

it's a good thing to put a confidence confidence in man.

Sometimes it's a good thing to put confidence in a prince.

Amen.

But you know what? It's better to put it in God.

To put trust in the Lord is best.

Amen.

I feel the Holy Ghost because not everybody's always looking

out for your best interest.

Sometimes people get selfish. I said sometimes people get selfish.

Sometimes they want to drag the builders off the sure

foundation and start building on their own project.

Some people try to build their own kingdom.

Some people just, they surprise us and they pull out

their own set of blueprints. And we ask them, we say,

what are you doing? And they say, you know, I'm

going to build my own ark. I'm going to build

my own church. I'm going to build my own way.

I'm going to lay my own yellow brick road. Come

on now. I put the Holy Ghost in this place.

That's how Eve got in trouble. Having conversations with the serpent.

Amen.

Getting vocal with the viper. having conversations with a serpent, communication,

evil communication corrupts good manners. And after the serpent got

done turning Eve to the right, to the left, and

having her pin the tail on the spiritual donkey, are

y'all listening to me? She's so confused by now, she's

ready to do what the devil bids her to do.

And in doing that, she failed Adam. Amen. The one

that she was supposed to be a helpmate to. The

one she was supposed to be suitable for. The one

that God gave to Adam because it wasn't good for

Adam to be alone. The one that was supposed to

be foundational in the life of Adam. The one that

was supposed to be the foundational mother of the earth.

The one that's supposed to be the perfect woman created

by God upon the earth.

And she failed Adam. And then Adam listened to Eve.

And both Adam and Eve failed humanity.

Every childbearing mother will testify to this very thing.

Eve failed you.

It is through great sorrow and travail that you bring

forth a life into this world. Every working man of

the Bethlehemist church in South Florida of late in those

100 degree temperatures can tell you that Father Adam and

Mother Eve failed failed you. You work by the sweat

of your face. You ain't in a garden of Eden.

You might be living in paradise in the eyes of

the world, but you don't even really know what paradise

is or what paradise could be. Living smack dab in

the center of God's will. building upon the word of

God and the cornerstone won't get you rejected.

It won't get you ejected.

Listen, when you feel like you're rejecting him, he will

reject you. When you're ashamed of him, he will be

ashamed of you.

You reject him, he'll reject you. I'm telling you, you're

going to pay for that.

You are going to pay greatly for it. The Lord

designed Eve for fellowship with Adam. But they were both

to stay on the cornerstone. They were both to stay

on the cornerstone. She was to encourage him. She was

to support Adam and be a helpmate unto him. But

they both were to walk with the Lord in the

cool of the day. They were both to be leaning

on the Lord. They were both to be doing like

John the Beloved learned to do. Lean on Jesus. What

does the Word of God say about it? Well, I

know what grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles, children and grandchildren

say about it. The boss man on the job that's

got a cooler full of Budweiser or the co-worker that

offers you marijuana.

I know what they got to say about it.

They're saying go over there to Sunny Isles Beach and

build an enormous structure on the shift of sand. You

won't last one storm like that. You won't survive one

drunken stupor. Your marriage won't survive. Your children won't survive.

I'm telling you, you will end up in shipwreck and

calamity if you don't build on the chief cornerstone.

Amen. I feel the Holy Ghost in this place.

Somebody better hear what the Spirit of the Holy Ghost

says today to this church. God designed Eve, but she

was designed to lean on the Lord. You know what,

Brother Jesse? Adam should have been more careful where he

placed his complete trust. He had his complete trust in Eve.

When your spouse says something that ain't right and it's

contradictory to the Word of God, you better stop leaning

on this shoulder and you better change shoulders. Brother Thomas

Starrett lived that. He practiced what he preached. Brother Jeremy

Howe lived that for the first year and a half

of my marriage. I'm practicing right now what I preach.

I'm telling you, I know what I'm talking about. You

need a compass in Christ Jesus. Our heart is deceitful

above all things, desperately wicked. Who can know it? We

need Christ as a cornerstone. Are y'all listening to Pastor

Howe right here today? Amen. You know what Warren Buffett said?

He said, don't ask the barber if you need a haircut.

You walk into that building and ask the barber, do

I need a haircut? That barber's going to say absolutely.

Whether you need five inches cut off or an eighth

of an inch, they're going to get that payday.

Oh, absolutely. You could use a little cleaning up. Oh, absolutely.

You could use a little trimming up. Oh, absolutely. You

don't look too bad, but you could look better.

It's like going to that used car sales lot and

asking the salesman, y'all listening to me, that used car salesman,

do I need a used car? He's going to say,

I got just the car for you.

You're 5'8. You're going to fit comfortable in this. Huh?

Are y'all with me? Oh, yes, you need a new car. Oh, yes,

you need a new used car. Yes, you do.

I went to the barbershop yesterday. I guess it's an

extended weekend. She closed an hour early. I called my

other barber brother Samuel Howell. I made small talk to

kind of fill out what he was doing on the

extended weekend. I thought he might be with his family

or something. I really wanted to know is the barbershop open?

Are your scissors cutting? Is your razor buzzing?

And he talked about he's got his family on a

UTV and riding around.

I just said well that's great. I just Called to

say hello. Amen.

I knew how Brother Samuel's natured. He'd drop everything he

was doing. He'd pull up there at his barber shop,

open the door, pull out the barber's cape, get the

scissors cleaned up and sanitized, get the hairbrushes and the

combs cleaned up and cut daddy's hair. I said, I

didn't want to mess up his day off. He's such

a hard worker. But if you ask Brother Samuel right now,

do you need a haircut?

You know what?

If he needs money, he's going to say every man

in this building needs a haircut.

Right?

Y'all listening to pastor I'm telling you the answer is

obvious with some people whom you ask you ask a

dirty boy if he needs a bath and he likes

being dirty he's gonna say no I don't need a

bath Hey, one of them granddaughters of mine is like

her Mimi and like Sister Vicki Smith. She will not

go to bed that she hasn't cleaned up. That's Sister Renee.

She looks just like her Mimi did.

And you know what?

That's what they told me the other night. We got

home late from church. And Sister Renee walked in that

house and said, I'm dirty.

I've got to get cleaned up before bed.

Sister Rachel looked at her and said, all you did

was sit in the pew. All you did was just

listen to Papa exhort, admonish, and preach, and your uncles

and aunts sing, and the Bethel church family have church.

She said, I know, but I still feel sweaty and

icky and yucky and nasty and disgusting, and I need

to get a shower before I get in my bed.

Come on now.

Now, you ask Sister Renee at the church, do you

need to clean up? She's going to say, of course

you need to clean up. That's the kind of counsel

you get. Somebody that's building on the chief cornerstone, you

come to church and you ask that pastor, can I improve?

Can I do better?

Can we build stronger can we reinforce can we build

higher and that pastor is going to say absolutely yes

you can do better you can build back stronger you

can build greater you can reach greater heights because we

trust the foundation we trust the word of god we

trust that it is anchored in bedrock are y'all with

me right here this morning I'm telling you you know

what you're doing and it's time you look at that

cornerstone you toss to the curb run over there get

your mirror and drag it back to the come on

now drag it back to the corner where it belongs

and let God start building a building that.

Will last forever.

There's no doubt, Brother Nathaniel, whenever Eve fell in her transgression,

she wanted Adam to be complicit in her transgression. And

that's what false teachers and false preachers and unbelievers want

of you. They want you to be complicit in their transgression.

Misery loves company. I'm sure Adam thought of the reason

Eve was created. Well, Eve, well, Eve, I mean, I

guess you are helped meet suitable. I guess you were

given to me to kind of help me. What would

it hurt, Eve, you know, to partake of this forbidden fruit?

And like Brother Samuel Howell said, it wasn't the serpent

that struck her. The fangs were in the forbidden fruit.

Huh?

Oh, she was created just for me. That's my husband.

He must know what's best for me. That's my wife.

She must know what's best for me. That's my church member.

They must know what's best for me. That's my brother

and sister in Christ. They must know what's best for me.

Why did Eve give that to Adam? She knew it

was going to hurt him. She knew it was going

to alter him. She knew it was going to change him.

She knew he would begin to die the very moment

he partook of it. But she should have been strong

enough to support him, right? In his mind, that's probably

the lie he told himself. She's strong enough to support me,

but it turns out she was the weaker vessel. It

turns out she was the weaker vessel. You know, sometimes

people speak to the weak. Sometimes people lean on the weak.

It's like some of those pagan kings did when they

called their counselors and they chose to lean on the

counsel of this one versus the other counselor. How many

of you remember the counsel of Hushai and the counsel

of Ahithophel? You know, I'm telling you, there's a lot

of people that differ in their opinion concerning Ahithophel. I

tell you, in my opinion, Ahithophel could not be trusted

any way you look at it.

He committed suicide at the end of his life.

He was the grandfather of Bathsheba. How do you know

that Bathsheba and David were not set up by Ahithophel?

How do you know? I mean, how do you know?

He's in the cabinet. He's a counselor to the king.

He's got connections with Uriah, David, and Bathsheba. Are y'all

listening to me? How did they get in trouble? How

did they get in trouble? Trusting the Lord. With all

thine heart, lean not to thine own understanding. In all

thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path.

David shouldn't have listened to Bathsheba. Bathsheba shouldn't have listened

to David. Nobody should have listened to Ahithophel concerning that situation.

They should have looked to.

The word of God and read what it said about

to matter. Oh, I'm a listenin'. and you're not saying amen,

the ones I'm preaching to, I'm telling you, you are

going to watch your spiritual building and physical life collapse

if you don't build on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ.

Eve made a poor decision, and she calls Adam to

make a poor decision. Y'all remember Brother Nathaniel's message? It's

your decision. You'll make it. We'll see what you decide

to do. And then in recent weeks, we've seen it.

It's come to decision-making time. It's come to you picking

your foundation. These are foundational issues. These are foundational matters.

Amen?

The Creator was to be the chief cornerstone. I have

no idea when Eve began to shift. But at some point,

Brother Nathaniel, she began to shift. And as she was shifting,

she moved Adam from a proper place. She moved Adam

off his solid foundation. And I've seen this amongst many

natural families and spiritual families, people who should be supporting

the church end up shifting it. You want to know

why I rear up on my hind legs for holiness, truth,

and righteousness, and sound doctrine as.

A warrior sometimes?

It's because I can't stand to see the church shifting

in any way. I don't like to see it shift

an eighth of an inch. Because of my occupation, both

naturally and spiritually, In engineering, drafting, and design, a sixteenth

of an inch means a lot to me. As a builder,

a sixteenth of an inch means a lot to Brother E.J.

Wallace.

As a maintenance man, Brother Thomas Derrick could tell you

a sixty-fourth matters.

As a machinist.

As a maintenance supervisor, Brother Nathaniel can tell you a

sixteenth of an inch matters. As a maintenance supervisor, Brother

Phillip Howell can tell you that a sixteenth of an

inch matters. As a draftsman, I can tell you we'd

usually throw the 32nd away and just mine the 16th.

But some of us better get to mining the inches.

I'm telling you, that cornerstone, you being a sixteenth of

an inch off corner is a problem. Well, I'm going

to be halfway in the will of God.

I'm going to be halfway out. Are you serious right now, Eutychus?

You're going to sit halfway in the window of opportunity

and halfway out? Get out the building and get out

there and set this thing on the corner and let

Jesus Christ be the chief cornerstone and start building your

family and building your house. Because the attempt at anything

else other than that is going to end up in

spiritual calamity, thus saith the Lord.

I want to preach to you. Amen.

It's been a little while since I took a text

and preached, but we've been preaching a lot to you

here lately. This is what God gave me. We must

lean on the Lord and his word at all times.

Brother Samuel, during that skit you all put on a

couple of weeks ago, I saw.

You leaning on a cane. And you know what?

If somebody had shifted the bottom of that cane, you

would have stumbled and fell.

As sure as I'm sitting here.

And there's people leaning on their job. They're leaning on

their feelings. They're leaning on their emotions. It ain't a

lot of you. It's just three to five of you.

Out of 75 that's here today, they told me it's

just three to five of you. But that's three to

five that could end up in shipwreck, spiritual chaos, spiritual

calamitous situations, a collapse in structure. Do you really want that?

There's no doubt in my mind that Eve loved Adam.

Sister Wooten, I know she loved him, but she changed.

She shifted, and she became unstable. She shifted, and she

became unstable. The Lord doesn't shift or change through the ages.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and I

love and appreciate our Lord for that, and I love

and appreciate every minister and every priest of their own household,

every husband in this building. You are foundational. Every mother

in this building, you are foundational. Every person at the

Bethlehem Church, you are foundational. But if you decide to shift,

I want you to know something. If you shift off

this cornerstone, Jesus is my foundation, and I'll get back

on corner.

Back on point. Are you getting it? You tired?

Chicken house is calling us, ain't it? In 2 Kings

chapter number 7 and verse number 2, The context is

the Israelites had been enduring a grievous famine, and some,

in fact, are becoming cannibals to escape death. Some are

becoming cannibals to escape death. Oh, the distance. Some will

get off point in order to To survive the way

they want to. And oh the gross. Immorality that they

will go to. In order to survive. In the way

they want to.

The Israelites. Had.

Relied heavily. On their powerful city. And I'm sure by now.

Brother Jesse they realize. They messed up. They had no Jesus.

They had no God to lean on. Brother Thomas Starrett.

And the result. It's famine. Consequence of that, starvation. Extreme consequence, death.

The king had leaned on the wrong arm or the

wrong hand. Trust in the Lord. Acknowledge him. I paraphrase,

lean not on thine own understanding. Jesus, help us this morning.

I have seen church group after church group, family group

after family group, individuals upon individuals at some point decide

to cast him to the curb. The Bible said that

when that chief cornerstone rolled into town, They rejected him

yet again, and they said, away with him. Away with him.

Take that cornerstone and throw it out there in the rubbish.

And sister Howell, this is so crazy, but this is

what the Holy Ghost brought to mind. Unto this day,

religious leaders... Scribes, priests, rabbis who pretend to be the part.

They take a cornerstone and they roll it ceremonially to

a spot. And they say, one day, one day, he'll

build his temple here.

One day. He may. He may.

But it's going to be new materials. It's going to

be a new heaven. It's going to be a new earth.

It's going to be new construction. But in their mind,

they're still thinking. That cornerstone is already well set and

in place. I feel the Holy Ghost in this place.

Christ Our chief cornerstone. Let's stand.

The winds are going to come. And they're going to

push against us.

The other night, as the Holy Ghost was moving, we

were praying for some who had great needs. I remember

placing my hand on Brother Phillip's shoulder, and immediately the

Holy Ghost spoke and said, no weapon formed against thee

shall prosper. Sister Howe said this past Wednesday night, she said,

I spoke of Christ, the creator of the cosmos. She said,

just before service started, I was down praying. She said

the Holy Ghost moved and I began to pray. Jesus Christ,

you're the creator of the cosmos. You're able to help

Brother Phillip and Sister Elizabeth. Then later on in that service,

I said God's able to help Brother Phillip and Sister

Elizabeth because he's Christ, the creator of the cosmos. Then

Brother Aaron Wood got a burden. He started praying for

Brother Phillip and then went over there to the altar

and by himself just crying in the spirit praying for

Brother Phillip and Sister Elizabeth. With men, it's impossible. But

with God, all things are possible. In the eyes of

this world, it's impossible to build a family. But ask Jesus.

He told Peter, upon this rock, I will build.

My church.

Brother Phillip, upon this chief cornerstone, he will build your family.

Amen. Amen.

Brother Jesse, would you come play the piano, please, brother?

Let's bow our heads this morning.

So Matthew... Mark, Luke, Peter, Paul.

They all referenced that cornerstone that had been rejected or

refused is the chief cornerstone of Christianity. Is there somebody

in this building today that would like to come to

this altar and say, Lord, I want to come forward

and in that gesture, I want to make it clear

to all of heaven, earth, and hell that I'm going

to build upon the chief cornerstone. I want to build

upon your word. I want to stand alone on your word.

Is there somebody in this building today that would come up?

There's three or four already moving. This lets me know

they're serious because they're not delaying. They're not tearing. There's

seven or eight now. That stubborn will of yours is

tearing you apart. Why not just trust the Lord? Lean

not to thine own understanding and all thy ways acknowledge

him and he will direct thy path.