Pastor speaking from the heart 8-6-2023

Aren't you glad to be in the House of the Lord this morning. If

you'll look on the white table in the fact of the sanctuary, you'll see

that the latest bulletins have been printed and placed there for your viewing. There's

some very important information in this bulletin, especially for me. I'm seeing that

right now. Happy anniversary to our pastor and first Lady, Reverend Jeremy and

Sister Charity Howell on August to twenty seventh. So I've got just about twenty

days until I need to do something for my bride, right, So the

bulletin is very advantageous. It's just a good document to having your possession as

a church member of Bethel Hornes Church. It kind of does away with folks

being able to say I didn't know. I was unaware of this event or

this guest minister and his family being there. I just wasn't informed. So

we want you to be informed, and that bulletin is shocked full of information.

On the backside of that bulletin, you'll notice there's some stuff on there

that aligned with the Sunday school lesson this morning. Didn't Brother e j A

Ka, Brother Elijah Wallace do a great job this morning, teacher, on

the lovely name of Jesus. I appreciate the name of Jesus. I had

an encounter with an Islamic man. I believe it was a divine appointment.

This encounter took place while we were out of town. We had went to

Alaska for seven to ten days. I can't remember exactly how many days it

was that we were there, but by divine appointment, we met with this

Islamic man. He was driving a taxi car and he was trying to convert

me to the religion of Islam, and he was unsuccessful. And I was

able to speak to him a little bit about the Word of God, our

translation, the English translation to authorize King James translation of the Bible. And

he was encouraging me to read the Koran. And I told him that I

had never read it, had no intentions on reading it because I don't trust

their English translation. And he had been talking for about forty five minutes about

how their book has been preserved for fourteen hundred years in the Bible hasn't how

their book is a whole lot more trustworthy, and the information and it is

more accurate, How the Bible's missing information and I finally told him, I

said, listen, I don't trust the translators of the Qoran. No,

I don't not the English translators. I don't trust anything about that book.

But I was able to share with him of your testimonies, the things that

the Lord has done for you, all through that lovely name of Jesus,

brother Lallas, and through the ruby red blood of Jesus. And he couldn't

say anything too that he was speechless. I said, this religion of Christianity

and this God that we serve has power, life changing power, and there's

healing in the name of Jesus. I want to share this with you.

Last night, after midnight, I turned in and I was falling asleep and

the Spirit of God came down, and that's what happens the Holy ghost field

believers. And I was awake. But as I was thinking upon these services

today, the Holy Ghost began to speak through me and also to me into

my mind. And I'm going to say something since to how we're leading that

song this morning. There's a hand that's always guiding aligned itself perfectly with what

the Holy Ghost spoke to me. I was not troubled in spirit. I

was greatly encouraged in spirit, and I feel like the Lord is doing a

wonderful work here in the Well, Florida. I felt like that seventeen years

ago when we first came down here, and I still feel like it today.

This is the Lord's doings, and it is marvelous in our eyes to

see the Lord himself raising up of people, and that there will be a

remnant in these last of the last days of people, a remnant of people

that will worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, and will be seekers

and lovers of truth and righteousness. It has to be God. You hear

reports of churches falling away, as Brother j Wallace shared with us this morning,

people that are unfortunately participators of that great falling away that was prophesied of.

I don't want to be a part of that. I would be so

saddened if I felt like we were a part of that great falling away.

But I do feel like we are participators of becoming that glorious church that Jesus

Christ will return for. And I'm glad that we've had these wonderful revivals that

we've had of late spontaneous, spirit filled, the Holy ghost charged revivals that

has changed our lives and changed our church. And I want y'all to know

something that God is a god of progress. To y'all believe that because of

our travels and just how far we traveled away and how long it took us

to get home. I won't be preaching this morning. I've got Brother Roadcap

lined up to preach this morning, and then Brother Strett lined up to preach

to us this evening. I'm looking forward to both of these ministers preaching.

I do want to tell y'all that the Lord did minister to me upon my

bed last night in a mighty spectacular way, and it might have been just

for me, but he did give me assurance. That is He that is

leading us. It's Him that is guiding us. It is God that worketh

in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. And this

is the Lord's doings, and it's marvelous in his eyes. And he gave

me the promise again last night's to how well that as he was with Abraham,

and he would be with our family. And that's all I needed to

hear. It was just wonderful. There's no glittered glamor glory, and a

man being upon his own bed about to fall asleep. And you know,

I'm not trying to seek glory. I never have been a glory seeker.

If I hadn't been, I wouldn't have been it up in South Florida seventeen

years ago with three or four people. I've never been one that sought the

limelight. I'm trying to share with you all that are here, or the

sixty that are here, just trying to share with you all that God is

still working, He's still ministering to his people, and he's got special things

just laid out for you and I, and it's up to us to pick

them up and to carry them with us. He has special things laid out

for you and I, and it is up to you and I to pick

them up and carrying them with us. I believe it was last weekend this

past week, but the weekend before, Brother Roadcap texted me. Doesn't always

do this, but he said, Pastor, I know that you're in Alaska.

He says, I've got about six to eight Sunday school topics or outlines

ready and prepared. I'm ready to teach. And I mean Brother Roadcap.

They were from one side of the spectrum to the other, and he said,

how do you feel about Sunday School? I feel like I should ask

you how do you feel about Sunday School? And I hadn't been around you

off for a few days. I said, but to be honest with you,

Brother Roadcap, I feel like you ought to teach on envy, envy,

the evil of envy. And I did not give him any further information.

Apparently he took that and ran with it, studied and prayed and just

really got to mind of the Lord. And Brother Jesse said that that was

the best Sunday School lesson he's ever heard Brother Rodecap teach on. So the

Lord just really helped Brother Roadecap in a mighty way. I have heard good

reports of the Sunday School lessons, the preaching, the teaching, just the

worship, the singing, everything that you all did during our absence. It

sounds to me like it was highly anointed. And I appreciate that every preacher

that preached, every teacher that taught, every singer that saying, every worshiper

that worshiped the Lord, everybody that attended and did their part to gather together

even when the pastor was away I thank you for that, and I do

feel like God gave me something to point your attention to. Before Brother Roadecap

comes and preaches to us this morning, he will preach to us whatever it

is the Lord has given him. I have no idea what that is.

But today, if you will, if you will take the time to read

this particular passage of scripture, Let's just give you a few verses. Let's

give you an assignment for this afternoon. If you want to hear something else

that is on the pastor's heart for this people, the pastor of this church,

the pastor that received an assignment for this church. What's on my heart

for this people? I want you to notice Mark chapter number nine, and

if you would, what you study Versus number thirty three through fifty this afternoon.

I know you're gonna get busy and you might forget to do this,

but I want to plead with you to study this grouping of scripture verses.

I want you to look at it, study it contemplated. I want you

to lay it to heart and apply it to your life. This is applicable

to all believers. So if you want to know what is own pastor's heart

today, what would he be preaching on. If he was preaching today,

I would probably preach in both services from verses in this grouping of Scripture thirty

three through fifty of Mark chapter number nine. I want to point out two

things to you. We are not to be glory seekers. We are not

to be competitive concerning the things of the Lord. Are y'all listening to me

right now? This is not a competition. We are in this thing together.

There should never be a subtle spirit at work regarding competition among the people

of God. I also remember the Sunday School lesson on the evil eye of

envy. And I'm gonna say this one more time. God gave me something

to share with you all a couple months ago. And every preacher that preaches,

when he takes the text, he is acknowledging to the people that God

gave him something for his people. And I'm just telling you, just the

way God gives things to other men for his people, he gave me something

for this special group of people that I passed her. And I shared this

with you all a couple months ago. If you see a singer that can

really sing and they really get highly anointed, there has been two things that

have taken place in their life. Number One, they have simply been gifted

of God with a talent that you do not have, and that's why you

admire and respect that talent. Not only do the people of God possess such

gifts, also the people of this world have been given certain gifts they hold

in their hands talents. Some have buried them in the sand of this life,

while others like Taylor Swift and Elvis Presley and Justin Bieber have put them

on display for the world, and the world has paid them royalty royally,

and they've treated him like royalty because of their willingness to display their talents to

the world. But they lack anointing. During our meeting, I said that

Jason Crabbe is a phenomenal singer. He is. If you say he's not,

you are a liar. He may not please you. He doesn't please

me either, because of his lack of desire to live a sanctified life.

I feel like he lacks an anointing. But he is super gifted and super

talented in his style and his words, even his father's lyrics on his songs,

they're well pleasing to the ears. Have you ever heard anybody that sing

like a bullfrog. Oh yes, I've heard people singing church. They sounded

no better than a bullfrog. They were not gifted, but they were anointed,

and because they were anointed, they were a blessing. Years ago,

at a camp meeting, Brother L. D. Moore got up and sing

behind a guy that sounded like a country crooner. This guy sing a very

moving song. The lyrics of that song sounded just like some kind of country

western song that he had glorified and sanctified a little bit and sing in one

of our big holiness meetings. I've heard this recording numerous of times. You

could tell that the people appreciated this man's vocal abilities, his talents, and

they were somewhat blessed just by the sound of that man's voice. Brother LD

Moore took behind the pulpit shortly thereafter, and Brother Jesse just belling out a

few sentences, and the Holy Ghost moved in that place in a mighty way.

And I believe he's saying the song has never been a man like Jesus

or something along them lines. Just a very simple song, but very simple

sentences and simple sentence structure. And oh how God moved, and I honestly

believe that Brother lde Moore, without saying it, was demonstrating to the people

that it's not all in our abilities or in our talents. But do you

know there are certain people that have abilities and that ability is given to them

by God. And again a couple months ago, pointing something out, and

I'm fixing and remind you of this. You will struggle with envy at times.

I admit that I don't feel like I've ever been one that's envious of

things, of what people have, or people's talents or abilities, but obviously

there are people within Christenom, within Christianity and the church world, they are

envious. They see a mother that has a big family or a lot of

children, and they just stew over that, Or they see a senior that

can really sing and they just stew and fume over that and spend almost every

waking hour and moment just wishing that they had that. You know, when

we went over the bridge this morning, did anybody notice there's another big yacht

in town. I didn't notice it because I'm envious. I noticed it because

of the color that it is, and also because what is that doing in

Lobelle? You know, it's a beautiful yacht. It's just beautiful. But

I have no desire for that, no desire whatsoever for that. But this

might help somebody that's coping with envy. Pray it through. Pray it through.

Ask God to help you. If you have a competitive spirit, ask

God to sanctify you of that. He can do that. And for the

sake of the Church at large, corporately, the worldwide body of Christ,

we don't need any body having what William Shakespeare called that green eye of envy.

It wouldn't do you any good to sit on a pew and just to

because that mother has a household full, or because that brother is able to

play the ivories in the manner that he is playing the ivories, or that

this brother can play upon the string instruments the way he's playing them, or

that this person can lead the way they're leading, or this person can cut

the way they could. You know, we acknowledge that our Lord has given

people abilities. Do y'all remember that, sir, and I preach title being

gifted. God gave some pastors, some teachers, prophets, evangelists. God

gave God gave them pastors after their own heart, do you all know why

I'm here? Because God gave me to you. Whether you like the package

or not, God handed me to you, and it's up to you to

pick it up and take it. And as tongues and interpretation we're given through

Brother Nathaniel about six months ago, and knowledge what God has given unto you,

submit to that and God will bless you simply through acknowledging it. You

know, there's some people they have they have issues and they just struggle with

submission. And it's not like anybody's gonna put anybody under anybody's foot. They

just can't stand to subject themselves to anything the government, parental, already,

pastoral authority, governmental authority. They just can't submit. And there's some people,

Brother Nathaniel, they just can't utter the word pastor some of them can't

even know to the word brother or sister. Now I know in the North,

is not their custom to put that what would you call that, that

brother or that sister in front of a name. They would just say Rick

or George or Ethan or Samuel. The first time I went up North and

visited our holiness churches, they were calling everybody by their first name. And

because of me, being a Southerner, I thought that is so disrespectful.

At least add that brother or that sister on there. And brother stret he

comes from the north. And he told me, he said, Pastor,

sometimes I feel terrible if I say brother Jeremy or brother how Warm, and

nobody should be foolish and stand up next service to say I've always known him,

his brother Jeremy. We know that, but you're guilty of exactly what

I'm talking about right now. You're challenging and bucking up and kicking against rather

than getting in compliance. Right. So brother Start said, I just sometimes

even feel condemned when I say brother Horwill. He said, I realized I

need to address you as Pastor how And there's a lot of people that would

hear him say that and mock him and say, oh, he's my brother.

He's not a lord over. I mean, that's exactly right. We

know what the Bible says. We're not the lord over God's heritage or God's

flock or God's people. We are supposed to be servant in this building.

The pastor is the least amongst you, but at the same time should be

appreciated, acknowledge and respected. But I am your servant. That's why I'm

trying to do what I'm doing right now before brother Roquat preaches. But if

you're struggling with man, why can that I preach for an hour and I

can only preach for twenty minutes. Just praise the Lord. That is simply

an ability that was given to him by God. For you. There's scripture,

and I don't have time to go over it all, but there are

a scripture in this if you will view that person that you're being envious of

as they are simply possessors of a gift that God has given them. I

doubt anybody in this build and walks around saying, man, I wish I

could sing like Justin Beeper, or man I wish I could sing like Miley

Cyrus, or I wish I could sing like Elvis Presley. But because your

brother or your sister is before you, week after weeks, service after service,

you can find yourself saying I wish I sing like them. And they

may or may not sing as good as the God of the Road or the

girl up the road. But for some reason that person has become the target

for your envy. Why are they really deserving of that for you to despise

them. You know Saul struggle, did he not? He struggled as God

began to promote David. He was watching David too much and not looking upon

what God had done for him. I mean, he had the kingdom.

He could have been a blessing to David. There could have been a smooth

transition, The power of God could have manifested in a glorious way. Saul

could have taken, when time had come, taken the royal crown up his

head and given David the royal scepter. But Saul had heard issues. Salm

was his own worst enemy. And because saldid master envy, he died a

horrible death. And now his name is not spoken of in a positive manner.

And I want you to know something. If the enemy envy destroys you,

you will not have an honorable demise or death right. So what did

the Bible say if you perceive someone to be your enemy, or even if

they are your enemy, you could bake them a cake I'm paraphrasing, or

do something good for them. What is saying is get the mastery over your

feelings and your emotions, that heart, that is deceitful above all things,

desperately wicked, who can know it right? Get the mastery over that man.

I just so bad want this, You're never gonna have it. For

many, many, many many years, there's been people that have struggled with

envy. And we are not to seek status. We're not to seek a

recognition. A couple of years ago I preached the Bible said, Jesus made

himself of no reputation. He did not go around letting everybody know, hay,

he just wants you to known I have power. You know, His

gifts made room for himself. His abilities made room for himself to operate in

his anointing. When he walked out of the wilderness, the spirit of God

led him into the wilderness. When he walked out of the wilderness, he

began his ministry. And there were people, according to the Bible had said

they envied him without a cause. There was no cause for it. He

wasn't doing anything whatsoever to provoke them to despise him or envy him in the

way. It wasn't coming from his heart, but the anointing the nature of

Christ and the spirit of God itself was provoking sinners envious people, jealous people,

leaders of truth, haters who were struggling with what Jesus was doing.

Who are the people that were struggling with what Jesus was doing? The religious

elite, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, Chypus, anna nice and so if

you're struggling, you're not on a good side of this. If you're struggling

with envy or jealousy, the truth is you will have to fast and pray.

There are demonic spirits that try to afflict us and oppress us, and

you have to fast and pray, Jesus said, And make no mistake about

it. The words of Jesus ring true for every generation. Jesus said,

this kind goeth not forth, but by prayer and fast. Basically, Jesus

is saying it's not leaving. Envy will never leave you, Jealousy will never

leave you, anger, hatred, bitterness, These demotic spirits will never leave

you alone. Many DeMont expirits are there a per person ten thousand seven,

ain't ten thirty thousand to tempt one person? How many demonic spirits are there

to afflict or tempt or oppress oppressed the child of God? They don't get

tired, they don't get more out. So they envied him without a cause.

We can't have him preaching. Oh, we can't be pushing or promoting

Jesus. We can't have him preaching because he challenges our system. We can

do it, But how dare he do it? Even though he's thirty three

years of age? How dare he challenge us? It was okay when we

were thirty three to be bold and direct with people and challenge them and be

controversial and confrontational. But how dare Jesus do that? You know that spirit?

So these kind goeth not forth. That's almost the end, isn't it.

These kind goeth not forth. These kind are not leaving. They're not

going to leave you alone. They're not ever gonna stop bothering you. But

by prayer and fasting. Who else faster than the Bible? Many of the

followers of Jesus Christ's disciples fasted. Who else Jesus? Huh? John fasted

these people fast? They said, concerning John, he's fast, Jesus,

he's not faster. Jesus is eaten. Look at the way Jesus is doing.

Look at the way John did. There's there can be strife in your

life. Well, I just remembered a sermon that I've preached a few months

ago. Strife will take a life. So there's unity here. But if

there is an evil heart at work, I'm challenging you to just crucify that

heart. Surpy them selfish desires crucified. There's been people before, say,

man, that preacher helped me, and he doesn't even know he helped me.

That preacher is helping me writing down, he doesn't even know he's helping

me. If this is helping you right now, good, let me not

know that it was you. But if you're looking upon somebody, remember that

sermon I tiedle, what are you looking at her? Who are you looking

at That was also dealing with if you study somebody long enough, you want

to become like him, But you've got to have that in the right spirit.

You got to be studying Jesus enough that you want to become like him.

Remember that sermon imitating a Manuel. So I want to encourage you to

go back and to listen, because I don't know that it's needful sometimes that

our minds of these things that we're really feeding on the things that matter that

will keep us from falling into that snare of the fowler. Now, so

you could see that these disciples are disputing. Did y'all notice that in the

thirty third verse they're disputing the disciples of Jesus, the followers of Christ,

the babes in Christ are disputing, and Jesus says in there, if any

man desire to be first, that one shall be last of last of all.

Sister Hannah was the last one to show up, but our family get

together yesterday evening because she was busy getting prepared for a gender reveal for Brother

Nathaniel and Sister Rachel. We found out they're going to make to have another

baby girl. Isn't that wonderful? Another baby girl? I always wanted to

have a house full of girls, and Brother Nathaniel Sister Rachel seeing do it

that we have that another baby girl. So Sister Hannah was the last one

to show up where we were eating dinner. But somehow Sister Hannah was the

first one to get her food, or if you want to be technical,

her entree. Now, everybody laughed about that. How can the girl that

come in twenty minutes late be the first one to get her entree? God

does things that we don't understand. And God works in mysterious ways, and

his ways are past finding out. I don't know why people are so gifted,

but I do know this. According to scripture, if you use what

God gives you, he gives you more. And there goes little lightbulbs popping

up above everybody's head. It's not flames of fire, little light bulbs.

So if you can sing and nobody's ever heard you sing that awesome soprano,

If you can sing bass and nobody has ever heard you sing bass, how

can God use that? Now? We don't do these things to be seen

of men. We don't pray to be heard of men. We don't seem

to be heard of people. The people say, man, you're a great

singer. You're so talented. But how could God build upon something that is

unusable? You refuse to be used. So how could you sit there in

assess pool of just envy and stu and few Right, So I've said this

for years. You can see that God is building a church. He's building

a musician by musician, instrument by instrument, believer by believer. And the

truth is, unless somebody dies, the pastor is not going to be replaced.

The truth is what God has toured together. Let not man put asunder

that quartet that sings every Sunday morning. God put that together. That's probably

not gonna be dissolved. And a lot of it's probably not gonna change no

matter how much you stew on that, because God's done it. You can

look at somebody's companion and want that companion all you want to, but that's

not going to be dissolved because what God had joined together. Let not man

put a sounder you. I believe with everything that is within me, sister

Wooten, you saw it happened. God ordained the brother Nathaniel play that guitar.

God took him from nothing on how to play a ccord or a gcord

or an F chord, and God made a guitarist out of him. God

took this church from being a dysfunctional church with just a few people, where

the pastor was doing the teaching, the pastor was playing the piano, leading

a singing and doing the preaching, and almost had a massive heart attack from

just the pressure and the responsibility. Never had a bad attitude, never had

a discouraged spirit in our heart. Man, We just it's just the body

shut down, right, So God sent us here. God assigned us to

this post of duty. It's here by divine appointment, divine assignment because if

you all, God gifted this church. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but

unless I die, I'll be the pastor here. And I don't feel like

I have to defend my post or. But I watched God teach Brother jere

Bather bass guitar. I watched Brother Caleb, who also can play the piano,

who also construm on a guitar a little bit. I watched Brother Caleb

say, here's a saxophone. And I've realized Brother Caleb is fixing to learn

that thing. In about three to five years from now, you are going

to realize God has a side, Brother Caleb. Definitely to play wonder playing

skillfulay in the House of God via or via saxophone. Prince right, So

there are things that we can do. What about the church cleaners, man,

they do that to the glory of God. If I'm here, if

I'm on vacation, I hear from them, Hey, pastor, could you

have the sanctuary in the Lord. We want to clean the church. Whatsoever

you do, do it as hardly unto the Lord. Do it from the

purity of your soul, moll that church, Lord, to the glory of

God. Slice them to made us to the glory of God. Stir that

stew from the homeless to the glory of God. And by the way the

pastor's offering, y'all received this mornings going to the holiness food fun, homeless

food fun. Now I feel like somebody's hearing me out and under the surface

or an underlying issue of envy is so serious that spirit crucified Christ. That

spirit will cause you to say things to your brothers and your sisters that you

know you shouldn't have said. And here's something else patch's gonna touch on.

So I would preach this morning on competitiveness. And the truth is, just

get over it, because some preachers can flat out preach while others teach,

I love it all. It's all good to me. Nobody has to stand

up here and say, I love brothers. Stait's preaching as good as I

love brother Howells, that's great. We both love one another's preaching. We

preach according to our ability and according to the way God get to us.

We're going to receive the same reward in heaven. We don't need the praise

of man. God's not gonna shove Jeremy Howell. I had a tautas steric

man, I'm feeling a showder in here. And that's what Jesus was saying.

And name none of him be gonna be shoved out front. But the

truth in this life. God dealt with me for several years. He said,

I'm going to cause you to stand in front of my people. I

was content like Saul, blending among the people amongst the stuff. And God

did shove me out in passtoral leadership. And I stand before his people this

morning, just like four or five years ago. I stood in this church.

I said, God has showed me he's raising up a backup song leader.

I had a vision of an individual, and periodically I would remind you

all of that and looked hopeless. We didn't have any young men in this

church that were full of faithful of the Holy Ghost. Dear in our convention,

brother Caleb Roadcap stood here. I never said anything about it. I'm

not a glory seeker. I'm talking to our people right now that God is

with us, He's got us, He's helping us. Dear in our convention.

I saw what I saw in that vision four years ago, Caleb Roadcap

standing up here to lead and singing as a backup song leader. It isn't

wonderful. Brother Philip reminded me last night. He said, Dad, about

a week before brother Caleb got the Holy Ghost. He said, it was

just us out here, your five sons and you, And he said,

you told us just randomly said mark my words. Caleb Rode kept will have

revival rule in the Bethel Horness Church with you all in the future. Philip

said. It was one week later brother Caleb got baptized and the Holy Ghost

and we're five A service or two prior to him being baptized. I said,

Brother Caleb about to forget what all happened. It doesn't matter, but

I'll let him know that God could fill him with a Holy Ghost in a

moment. I'm not praising myself. I don't need praise. You know me,

I know you. There's sixty something people here. We're not seeking praise.

But God is with us. God is guiding us, he said,

as he was with Abraham, he will be with this people. That is

enough. I'm a feeling of shower in here. People could desire to be

Abraham. All they want to you'll never be Abraham. You could desire to

be Moses, Genis and Jambras, they could desire to be Moses. They

could be envious of that who made you a judge or a ruler over us.

That's the same thing to Phariseason sad you see said about Jesus Christ.

Who are you? You claim to be the son of God? Who they

told God? You can't tell me you're God? Who does that? Who

looks at God and tells God? Don't you say you're God? So there's

no need to take a pop shots and saying you're not gifted, or trying

to pull the rug out from somebody young preacher that's preaching. The truth is

all these young preachers young. The truth is God might decide to gift one

of them with a different style and a different ability, but every one of

them, if they'll just pray and get annointed, whether they're talking, preaching,

slow, preaching, fast, screaming, or hollered, all's going to

take is them three or four sentences that we're divinely given to them by God

Almighty, and it can smite a heart where it needs to be smitten and

somebody can fall in and altar and prey through regardless of the gift or the

delivery, as long as they get anointed. But according to the scriptures that

we could read, but we're not going to, if you'll just realize that

it is an ability and it is a gift from God, you can step

back and say, thank you Lord that I'm not having to listen to this

gospel music artist that's not annointed. Thank you Lord that I'm listening to a

brother or sister in our church, part of our team, part of our

family that is in love with our Jesus. And thank you God that they

sang that song that blessed me and blessed our church family. Thank you Lord,

thank you for the gifts that you've given me. Thank you for the

gifts that you've given us. Thank you for the gifts that you've given our

church. So this isn't a competition. Secondly, I want to point out

if you become competitive and you let that evil eye of envy watch the little

ones. This is altogether Jesus's dealing with something here. If he had to

deal with it, Brother Thomas Starrett, apparently we will have to deal with

it, and Jesus said, if you cause one of these little ones to

stumble. Now, I've seen what sorcerers and pharmacists have used to grind up

herbs and peals, and y'all know what I'm talking about, right. It

looks like a small grindstone. But years ago I studied this, and it

wasn't speaking of that a small one, speaking of one like Sampson was pushing,

maybe even one bigger than that, one that was pulled behind the donkey

in a circle, rotational, just rotating. Jesus said, if you offend

one of these little ones. He's not talking about the babes only. He's

not talking about the Micah's or the Abigails, or the Phase or the Joshua's

or the Samuel Stearns. If you'll study this in context, you will see

he is talking about disciples, these little ones, the followers of all ages.

And what he's saying is to those that are supposed to be mature,

those that have been in the way for a long time, those that have

been religious, those that know the ropes. He's saying, you better be

careful that you don't speak a word in somebody's ear that calls us offense.

That's what he said. You cause that one to stumble. Do y'all know

what happens when somebody stumbles. They're going on their way. Everything's good.

Somebody or some object comes in their path, and Brother Jesse, they tripped

up. We're gonna stumble a long life's way. We're gonna stumble at times.

Within our Christian walk, we can live above sin. If we're watching,

if we're praying, if we're fasting. We can't live sanctified lives.

We don't have to sin every day. Joe didn't have the holy ghost you

and all I have. We all have. But you know what, he

was a perfect man. He feared God. The beginning of wisdom is the

fear of God. If you're a wise person, you'll a shoe evil.

You'll hate sin. Trying to teach to you this morning from my heart,

Brother Roque, I you still preach it. But if we're not praying right

or correctly, you can pray and beat your jestice say, I thank God

I'm not like deal. I thank God I've learned the way of holding us.

I thank God, I'm so holy. If you're if you're not praying

things through, if you think Brother Rick Jacobs a good looking guy, and

God saves somebody. I'm just being real cornal right here. And you realize

if Brother Rick Jacob's wife dies, he's gonna be an eligible bachelor. And

you realize that that new person that God saved, if they've never been married

before and they're a brother Rick Jacob's age, you realize, man, I

could see that becoming a couple. And so you decide what you've got to

do is cancel that person so that you don't have competition up to the road

when Brother Rick Jacob becomes available. That's a bad spirit. Well, Brother

Aaron would just said, people do that. There is no tellings what you

will do. Saul to your own bodyguard, your armor bear. This week,

salmost the visual that put himself between you and the enemy, that would

have died and looked at you with the greatest look of love and have died

and bled out and said, I tried to defend you, King, and

I love you. If you let if you don't pray things through correctly,

God, I thank you that they're learning the ways of exiousness and walking in

the passive truth. I thank you God that you brought them out of that

horrible pit. I thank you Lord. We're all little ones. And if

you sit down beside somebody and you whispering their year, you say something that

causes them to miss a service, or calls him to miss church, that

calls him to lose it, calls him to stumble. That's what the Bible

said. I want y'all to study this today Martin nine thirty three and fifty,

because I ain't covered it all. I wanted to take forty five minutes

just to pour my heart up to y'all. Ain't seen him but ten days.

If you calls that person to stumble, God himself, the one we're

gonna stand before the great white throne judgment, the one whose hair is white

light, wolf whose eyes are as a flame of fire, The high and

lofty one that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, the one that inhabiteth

eternity, that one that sits in a high and lofty place. That's how

it began last night's as to how I was thinking about the high, lofty

place. That one said, if you calls one of these new believers,

he was speaking of the twelve Apostles. He was speaking of those followers that

were nearby. He said, you know them twelve apostles. Whenever Jesus was

apprehended and arrested, they did fall, They sure did it. Every one

of them fell by the wayside. For those that say you don't need the

Holy Ghost to fridge in that serving the tongue talker, I said, yes,

they were able to cast up devils by the authority of the name of

Jesus through the spirit of Jesus without the Holy Eghost. But if y'all will

go back listen to that, I said, but did they have what they

needed to stick? Did they have what they needed to keep doing it?

Did they have what they needed to stand strong in the face of university or

dies barters? No, they did not. In fact, when Jesus was

arrested, because they did not have the Holy Eghost, they forsook him and

sometimes a righteous mantle all but you know what, he'll get back up.

But this right here, according to this, you could say something to somebody

in such a way, and I'm not talking about a pastor talking about ethics

or talking about that's not offensive to the true body of Christ. And people

know the spirit behind what was being done, and people know the spirits that

we're being confronted. And the last time I checked, some of us are

near fifty years of age. We've got silver in our hair, and according

to the scripture, as mature, older ministers of the Gospel, we do

have gifts and instruction and responsibility from God to guide the flock and to point

out counterfeit spirits. If I had been thirty years old or eighteen years old,

I could understand somebody's saying, but we're not talking about a novice here.

This whole movement was born on controversy of somebody's saying we're not right in

this Baptist movement for believing in the Holy Ghost in dwelling and speaking with tongues

as the Spirit gives ut. This entire movement has been controversial when somebody said,

we feel like we should not put anything wicked before our eyes and we

should throw our TVs out this entire movement. There's gonna be times during conventions,

camp meetings, and meetings that there's going to be those that are the

seas and saints, the elders of the church. They're gonna speak on behalf

of the leadership of that local assembly, and they're gonna set things in order,

Apostle Paul said, upon my return, I will set some more things

in order. But this generation, buddy, they're puffy, they're heading.

How dare that pastor of that local assembly defend his flock? Well, I

can tell you this. If a serpent pokes its head in my chicken coop,

I expect that rooster to pop that serpent. Right. There is no

disgrace whatsoever or this at all for a minister to defend his flock. Right,

That's how you know the difference between a hireling and a shepherd. Someone

that's not being paid for is a shepherd. Someone that can be bought is

a hireling. They'll jump from church to church when a better opportunity presents itself.

You want to know the heart of a man. Let a better opportunity

present itself, and he's gone in ministry even right, So hard issues.

I want to get back on the topic here, Brother rodev getting ready now,

so you better be careful. I've said this for years when it comes

to new converts, there's none of you should ever feel like they're being overlooked.

Are they're being ignored or they're not being taken to dinner enough. There's

some people they're best if they're left alone. In a lot of ways.

I'm not saying we don't greet them, we don't preach to them, we

don't love on them, we don't show them the love of God. I'm

not saying we don't show our so friendly. But I've said this to you

all, and I've warned you for years when we have new converts, no

matter if they get saved, sactified, and Holy goos Field, they are

still babes. And I've told you all, do not exchange phone numbers with

them. I said, do not exchange phone numbers with them. And you

have to not buck up against this or rebel against this. You have to

look at your tree, look at them fruit on it, and you have

to admit not everybody gets an A and not everybody gets anough. So you

have to look at your tree and look at the results of your labor,

look at what you're mindset generated or created. And you have to realize,

I'm not a gardener. And if you can't raise fruit, the truth is,

there is no way you can be a fruit inspector because you wouldn't know

good fruit if it was staring you in the eyes. Okay, so look

at your children and that person that will try to apologize next week in some

way to let me know that that struck a nerve. I know, good

people turned back because of offense. Brother EJ. You have shared with me

that your son is in the shape, your son Dylan is in the shape

that he is in because of offense that took place in another state, in

another church. But of course, because there's family involved, there will be

contact from time to time and everybody will overlook the office ends. But that

offense, brother EJ said, it originated and if I understood correctly, since

the Teresa said the offense was so great that it literally created turbulence and hers

and Brother EJ's marriage hardship since to Serena. That was before y'all moved to

Bethel. That was in another state and another church, and out of respect

for that state and that church, we will not name it. But Brother

EJ has expressed this to us, that there was an offense that came forth

right. It's unfortunate, Brother Roadcat, that there are preachers that are preaching

that are going to stumble and fall because they should have never preached anyway.

A pastor he saw the Preacher of the Road had twelve or fourteen preachers.

He felt the pressure to have a preacher in his church laity, and so

as soon as that young man got the Holy Ghost. And y'all know,

there's parts of this movement, and I'm not against this movement, but I'm

a about fifty years of age. I ought to be able to have a

voice and not people assume that I'm attacking our movement. I'm not attacking our

movement. I'll tell you we were attacking when we first came into the Holiness

movement for things that we got rid of. We responded positively. But every

young man, and I know this isn't true in every state or every church

or every sect within the Holiness movement, but in some places, every young

man against the Holy Ghost is a preacher. I've never called any of these

preachers to preach. I've I've never said you're called to preach to any of

my sons, right, But there are people and this is an offense,

and it causes people to stumble. They'll take somebody and say you're a preacher.

And then when that preachers don't getting used because that preacher comes among real

preachers, that God's gifted and annointed, and you know, even tongue talking.

It is said that tongue talking should be held in check when there's unbelievers

in the building. That there should be regular English being spoken and not the

language of angels incessantly things that are easily to be understood. That's what Apostle

Paul said. I came not with X. Well, I'm not trying to

talk above anybody's head this morning. I'm trying to talk to you from my

heart. And so parents, we can get our feelings hurt. We see

all these young men that have claimed to be preachers. What if in three

or four years from now we realize some of them just flat out weren't really

called and they missed it. Well, you can't get offended because brother Howell

has deserned your child missed it. I love to hear crickets preached. But

people will sit there and say, just because somebody made a profession, hey

I'm a preacher, then they'll expect ma'am. God has used a brother road

cap Sunday morning and brother stair it Sunday and night, and God and used

me in six months that leader can tell it's not the pastor that calls them

the stumbling. It is that preacher or that pastor that's so desperately needed results

and just needed to be able to have a break that pushed that person out

there. But a wise pastor will realize this person possesses a spirit of pride.

There's an element of pride there. The Bible said, if that novice

getting lifted up, they'll stumble, They'll fall into a stare, they'll come

into a reproach. They just can't get past it. There's a lot of

backslid preachers at sounded like they could preach right now because they got offended preaching

because they preached to a certain group of people. One brother was sharing with

me while we were on the cruise ship. We just ran into him.

I'd never met him before. He said he was preaching the camp meeting where

there were a lot of people, and he said he preached basic holiness.

He said six to seven years ago. I didn't provoke this conversation. People

are thinking these things just because I say them, they know they're thinking them.

I made sure I was quiet because the way word gets around the world.

I made sure I didn't say anything. But he's spilling this out,

and he said, I preached against basic things. And he said, after

church, some well known preachers said, man, you just really really cutting

us to not didn't you know? He said, it's just basic stuff.

He said, I thought they ain't no way they got a problem with this.

They're gonna say a man Hoidelujah, praise the Lord. He said.

What their response was, how did you do that and take holiness to that

extreme? Now it's a good thing that he wasn't. Mamma called and that

is sin because he would have backslid when that opposition come against him. The

same thing could happen to Brother how or any of these other preachers. We've

got to realize that whenever these preachers start preaching, they have put themselves up

or God has put themselves up for adversity. The spirit of compromise will try

to sweep them right off their feet. So y'all got to realize something.

Brother Howell was not trying to defend the little ones. It's not talking about

those with learning disabilities or the simple ones or the little children only. But

I will be honest with y'all, I'm very reluctant and hesitant to preach a

preacher again whenever I even perceive their intellectual ability is superior to many, but

they don't want to look presentable. They look unkempt, they look like they're

homeless, or they get up and they don't put the reading glasses on and

read correctly. To be honest with you, Wall, I'm protecting this church

but also protecting them. While we were waiting in the Alaska Airlines terminal,

this woman pushed this mentally disabled child past me. And I don't know what

it is about me that attracts mentally disabled kids, but there must have been

one hundred or twenty of them in Mary and Sister how I just walked off

to find something to drink. One hundred and twenty people in this little at

this gate, sitting in this waiting area. And when she got about halfway

in, that little girl, it was about twenty years of age, and

she just looked like a bad case of mental retardation and DL syndrome and illness.

She snapped her head around and went to hollering at me and smiling,

and that lady immediately went, Mariam, hush, Mariam, you can't do

that. And I just smiled and I said it's all out. But even

though I like it, and I might stand over and say it's all right,

hey man, Praise the Lord, that doesn't mean that the other one

hundred or two hundred or five hundred in that building they're gonna say, all

right, a man, he's got last week's chili on his shirt. Amen,

Praise the Lord. It took him two minutes to read his text.

If it takes a preacher two minutes to read his text, the truth is

he ain't studied. I don't care how nervous you got. Do you watch

brother Justin here. In a minute, he's gotten his fingers in about three

different areas. Am I telling it right here? Bible? Brother Justin,

he's sitting on ready. I pay attention. I pay attention. So give

us the benefit of the doubt that we're protecting your children right number one,

If they're struggling with envior, they're struggling with pride, you can't expect me

to preach them a lot. If they're not praying things through, you can't

expect me to preach them a lot. And it's not me offending the little

ones. But let's get back on new converts. If somebody's been here less

than two years. You should be taking them to lunch or to dinner,

or meeting with them. I said it about a year ago. Don't take

them out there to Sunny's or take them somewhere in air out your dirty laundry.

I said, they have enough of their own. They're overwhelmed, and

don't try to counsel them. You've got to look at your children. You

got to look at your spouse. You've got to look at your situation.

We've had people come here from other churches. They're nervous wrecks, they're struggling

with fear. You are nodding your heads. I'm not naming any names.

And suddenly, within six months of being here, they say their nerves are

settled, their doubts and their fears and worries are calm. They're no longer

stressing out, they're no longer panicking. All it is is a change of

atmosphere and a change of environment. So what I'm trying to say is your

environment and your atmosphere and your son. That's what the exhortation was during the

convention. Just the way you convey yourself. I'm not saying every person action

out, you know, twenty four to seven. But there is a truth

to the fact that there are people copycatting or parroting their pastors and their actions,

or in the way they say things, or the way they handle things,

or concerning ethics that they're copycating parroting somebody else. Are are y'all with

me right now? So I was saying, look at your atmosphere and see

if it's conducive for you, and if it's not conducive for your well being

and for your children's well being. And there in the miss no matter how

good your intentions are, no matter how peri your designers are, no matter

how much you pray, and let's just make a parallel here to make things

easier on each one. No matter how hard you try to study, no

matter how hard you preach, you got to get annointed, have the right

spirit. It may not come across as good of a delivery. The altars

may seem more barren, but you just supposed to do what God told you

to do. But I'm gonna say something. And if you look at the

toxicity around you, and if you realize it's nothing but a waste land,

just a toxic in agenna in the Bible, and you look at just as

a waste field, as a dump place, and you realize what you've got

to do is just start for yourself. Plant some green grass. You got

to bring in some good soil, and then pretty soon you can convert that

waste land into the promised land. Right and before you got to get yourself

in order and get your ducks in a row, before you start bringing people

to picnic in your environment. I think that opened some eyes right there.

I don't want to picnic with you at Sonny's. If we're gonna picnic in

a dump. Anybody ever be in the garbage dump. You can't be dumping

your stuff and you can't be The truth is there's people in this building.

You don't realize a but you need to pray. This altar is for the

young and old, for the disabled and the enabled. Jesus gave us the

examples. We've got to crucify stubbornness and rebellion. We got to move towards

the front. I know if church is drawing, everybody can't get around the

altar. We can get around the front. Two queues Jesus. If you

can walk to Walmart, you can move twenty there's no way I who ever

believes somebody can't walk twenty feet to the front of the church. But now

we're being in that starboardness I manifest with. You'll start watching movies. You'll

start disregarding that we warned you about being on you two. You'll just so

The truth is, we all have to see to it that we get fixed,

we get settled. And hey, if somebody picked you up and you're

shocking with somebody, right, that's offensive. If somebody picked you up and

you're still buying packs of cigarette, that's offensive. Let's putting a stumbling block.

But if you've seence God promote somebody and he's been gracious that he's saved

and sanctified and filled him with a holy ghost, and you don't like that

because you think, man, there's a Mother of Israel or a Master of

Israel, a leader of the church in the making, and I'm gonna do

what I can to make calls him to stumble or you know, there should

be no grown person getting in this boy's ear right right right. Anytime we

went off to Kemp meeting and somebody got in my little kid's ear, immediately

I would ask him, I said, what did that creep say? Just

the fact that they had to get in their ear instead of talked to him

like this, and wait till the parents weren't around and the pastor was around.

So I'm starting to breathe heavy, so I'm getting dangerous. I'm gonna

back off. Let's back off, Let's move out here where it's safe,

brother Tyler. But causing someone to stumb bowl, it is better to take

that big grind storm and tether it to yourself and let them people do like

they did John to hurl you overboard. In other words, Jesus is saying

you can't get away from here fast enough. We flew from South Florida to

Seattle, Washington. That's about as far as you can travel in the United

States, the greatest distance. It's a pretty great distance since to how and

I flew in an airplane for six hours. The good news is Alaska Airlines

has really good seats. We flew in a seven thirty seven nine Max Her

and I felt better after six hours of flight time in twenty minutes before take

off, a twenty minutes after take off, almost six and a half hours.

We felt better after six and a half hours of being in an aircraft,

then we have an hour and a half an American Airlines' aircraft. Because

that corrects us to how well, that's how comfortable the seats work. That's

a great distance. Jesus is saying, throwing you overboards not enough. We

don't want you to float up. And Jesus is saying you've floating up and

drifting to the shore and being resuscitated is not enough. These words seem so

offensive to our thin skinned friends of Pentecost and holiness today. But the Son

of God that people envied and despise, said, if you're causing one of

these little ones to stumble and ultimately fall and then decide, you know what,

I'm just going to forsake God. If you told somebody their number one

responsibility is to their husband, that's long, that's taken advantage of them before,

and if you've given them some terrible counsel and you did it on purpose.

But what we all need to do, we need to follow that altar

and be broken less that rock, that grindstone that Jesus is talking about.

Could it be that we're not seeing situations in our life rectify or resolved or

made better because we refuse to crucify our mindset. Do you know there's nobody

in this building too old to learn a new trick. You could come right

here to the altar and crucify your will and your desire and your spirit and

saying, God, if my will is tainted, if it's impure, that

adamic nature that has possessed me is leading me astray, I want you to

slay it on the altar, and only till after you own it and admit

that it's a problem, then you can begin to get that green grass and

that pop soul in that waste land and turn a buying into a promised land.

Right, not my will, but I will be done. I can

tell you're still needing some of this. And I guess what I want to

say is I appreciate these young preachers preaching. I appreciate these young adult preachers

preaching. But when it comes to pastor in the church, they can leave

pastor in the church to me. They can leave the name calling to me.

They can name them getting pointed out to me. But if they feel

moved upon by the Holy agust to preach or along the lines of something they've

seen and praise the Lord praise the Lord, right. But I'm not so

concerned that these stumbling stones are gonna be put in the paths of our people

or new converts by the preachers. Because the apostle Paul said that he was

considered faithful when he was put into the ministry. A lot of times the

lack of church growth is not because of the pastor's because of the people.

A lot of times when you see at church begin to shave its fruit because

somebody is undermining what God is doing. Because the truth is, there's some

they like their position and some like it us for no more. The truth

is, some people like that congregation where it's ten or twelve simply because that

means they get to sit across from the pastor at lunch. Some thinks,

man, but I'm going to tell you we're pasta. I told Sister Howell

about six months ago. I said, I refuse after all these years the

pastor the pipsqueat church. I'm not saying I regret having helped people that needed

help. I'm as saying I'm regretting building from the foundation up. But I

will not labor or travail where there's somebody going behind me and I'll do one

or two things. I will mark those that cause division among us and dismiss

them in order that the church may grow, no matter how deep the cut,

no matter how hard it feels, and to hurt may be great.

Sometimes you have to prune off the dead for the new to grow. So

I'm serving notice, look at yourself and quit looking at this church, look

at your surroundings, and get focused on I need him to heal my land.

You need him to heal that circle that is yours. When we were

flying over Washington, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of these circles,

Nathaniel, Brother Nathaniel, I don't understand it. I'm gonna research it,

try to figure it out. It was near that the city. Circles

were near the city, these circles were out in the country. I saw

these circles just everywhere, and I thought, you know, used to when

you flew at an airplane, you looked down you saw squares and rectangles of

all sizes and shapes. But now everywhere there are these perfect circles. Brother

Jesse, I'm going to figure out what's going on here graphically? What is

that? What's happening there? Farmers aren't farming in circles. Used to,

you could see the clay colored squares and rectangles. What's going on? Why

all these circles. Surely it's not where UFOs have landed. Someone would say,

right, these massive circles, these small circles, Brother Richard Jacob,

just didn't make sense. Used to, we saw squares and rectangles. Now

we're seeing circles. We need to start focusing on ourselves. I need to

be broken in these altar services, and I need to pray, and I

need to apply these messages to myself. Husbands and wives won't fuss and five,

right, we won't lose our children. The Bible said their fruits shall

remain. We won't lose. Am I helping y'all? Really, If we're

trying to build the church and they see you at Walmart and all of fussing

and five husbands and wives are slapping your children around, they're not gonna have

any confidence in this church. They're gonna associate me with that immediately. So

these little things cause people to stumble. And I'm gonna say one more time,

as brother o Kep gets ready, Jesus said the best thing to do

is tie him to that millstone and let him go to the bottom of the

sea and let him be picked apart by the sharks and efficient to see until

there's no trace of them. That's what Apostle Paul said. You'd be better

to dismiss that one. And I want to say this with all the love

of God in my heart. People that have been in church for years,

when new blood or fresh meat comes to a church, immediately they stick to

that like a tick on a dog. They become parasitic to that new life.

There's many reasons for that. It could be because they're wanting to discuss

for that person, they're wanting to hinder that person or hurt that person.

Or secondly, they have tarnished their relationship with every other brother and sister in

the church. My relationship with Sister Irish Wooton, Sister Illa's relationship with Sister

iris Wootton has not been distant. We have grown closer year by year.

It is never God's will that you be in a church for five or ten,

fifteen, twenty years and to have never been close to those that you

have been. Immediately you're thinking your pastor to have never been able to say

I love them, I will truly weep for them at their funeral. I

truly lost something great. I'm not saying you have to sit in a live

room of somebody every day or talk on the phone every day to have a

close relationship with them. The extent of our relationship with Sister Wooton is simply

exchanging a few texts every now and then's sister how and heard exchange and a

few text every and ending, and then just having a wonderful time fellowship in

a church and having a wonderful time during the services. That's the extent of

our relationship. But somehow it is a very admirable and powerful and strong relationship.

But if you see new people come in and you know, and somebody's

sticking to them like maggots on a gutwagon, right, but yet they can't

address Sister Elizabeth or care on a conversation with Sister Elizabeth, you can always

know that you know there's something foul and a mist there. Oh ways every

time. So again I want to draw this into focus and say, look

at yourself. If you've ever felt like you're in Patmos, if you've ever

felt like you're all one and you have nothing and nobody let me ask you

this question. This sermon is titled why why. He that has friends must

show himself friendly, not creepy. He's that has friends must show himself friendly,

not change the topic while everybody's talking about something. Not want to be

the center of attention. In the Disciples group, there were some that were

outspoken. I may or may not have liked Peter. Probably I would have

liked Andrew. I may or may not have liked John. Probably would have

liked John. Might not have cared too much for James. Now there's little

set about Nathaniel and Bartholomil is the same character in the Bible. That's brother

Bartholoman. Everybody said, hey Bart, you're one and only Bart breath Bone,

and then that's Bartholomil. Y'all didn't know that. You gotta read the

Bible. That's brother Bartholoman and brother Nathaniel Bartholoma, Hey, brother barthel Okay,

I know I would have liked brother Nathaniel in the Bible, because Jesus

said, when you was under that tree, I saw you. Here's it

in Israelite, indeed in human. No God, I had just liked his

personality, would have liked everything about him. I don't know that Peter and

now would have got along to you. I like Peter. I appreciate Peter's

ministry. I appreciate his boldness. I appreciate him very much. I love

him dearly. I don't know that I have character, Thomas. I don't

like people. It's doubting there to think, are you sure we're supposed to

go over there Jesus? Are you? Are you sure we've got enough money

in Jesus? Or use your with brother Rick. That would have put a

damper on me. You know, Pastor, I'm wanting to go. Are

you sure? I can't stand somebody saying are you sure? Sarah saying Abraham,

are you sure? But I want you to look at yourself as a

follower of Jesus, and I want you to look around you and see is

it toxic? And as we have church today in solitude, up towards the

altar, so as not to teach our children that they can take it easy,

try to move forward some way, press your way through. But I

want us all, it started with me last night. I want us all

to say, God is what I'm wanting. Really, what you want is

what I'm doing really what you want me to do? My motives pure?

Are they? Holder? Am I being secretly competitive and my secretly wanting status?

Do y'all know it makes no difference to me that I'm exhorting or teaching

right here as it does right here. There are some people you watch it.

They walk into church and their visitors and their strangers. Man, they

just can't help but want to get up here. Why there's other people in

the building. They could care less if they're on the platform or at the

back of the church. I'm asking you to master yourself else, through the

power of Jesus died daily, beat yourself black and blue. Crucify your passions

and your fleshly lust for desire, for status, to be somebody. We

don't have to be somebody, but I want to bring up Brother Gabel,

Sister Candice, and then Brother Rocap can come up here. They came into

church and attended here for quite a while with wedding bands on. Brother and

Sister Howell visited within the Holiness movement periodically from time to time for the space

of eighteen months or so with wedding bands on. While Brother Gabel and Sister

Candice, we're here I never zeroed in on wedding bands. At some point

they realized nobody's wearing wedding bands, or maybe some visiting minister just happened to

mention it because they didn't know that them on. But at some point they

ask brother sister, how what about these wedding bands? And we said,

hey, you pray. There are some scriptures in the New Testament talking about

costs, the array and gold and the outward adorning of this gold, and

paroles and peril, and y'all pray until God convicts you. It won't do

any good to take it off. Right. Here's how people cause people to

stumble, and they're sneaky old devils. And there'll be somebody in the building

and say, man, you just taught them how to do it. They

already know how to do it. Man, you just planted to see.

Now they know how to do it. That'll be between them and God.

I still have to teach the nine, even if one of the ten is

corrupt, even if we've got twelve and one of them is the devil,

we still have to teach these things. Jesus taught these things. But brother

Rick, here's what they'll do. You do know brother Howell disapproves of that

wedding man, don't you? But I still love you, and you let

God lead you immediately you're doing the work of the devil. You do know

that brother Howell doesn't have a television, right, You do know that this

church preaches against television. Right, that's correct. But they'll go over their

brother road Captain. They'll say things like that, and then they'll act like

they're on their side. And I want you to know, I know you

got saved, and God's being patient with you, and God's gonna teach you.

God's gonna lead you no matter what said. Don't give up that.

We all know you got a TV. Pastor knew they had a TV before

that little devil knew they had a TV. Pastor has been patient with it.

But the truth is that person's ready to run them off. Right,

So we're gonna move on into the preaching. But if you have done that,

you need to fall on your knees at any time in my ministry or

any other preacher's ministry. You've said on the view if you have undermined that

church because you haven't prayed through until you're sweet and until your passions zeal desire

and things are proper. If you haven't wept through one service in the last

six months, if you haven't sincerely cried for the young people in this church

and for their salvation in the last two weeks, your backslive when you pray

through to the point that you come here like I did this morning. Haven't

had the Holy go speak through you you during tonight because you say God,

I belong to you, I'm yours, I'm at your disposal and I'm also

available for removal. That that's what you need. Don't you ever play foolish

like that. But I said God, I would never intentionally try to hinder

your work. The fact is the instrument program is being blessed, the musicians

are being blessed, but it's not filled up. There's still room in the

band. But what we need is God to gift you to play that mandolin,

the banjo, the trombone, the trump at the fiddle. I feel

the Holy Ghost in this house. There are things that we all can do.

And I want to say this because of the nature that I have that

God has given me. It's not me, it's God. If I say,

brother Rick Jacob's working hard on this lawn, and I'm just gonna mark

him. And you hear me say that. And from Micah's age of four

and Abigail's age of five, and since the Wood's age of sixty five,

everybody hears me say that. Brother Jacob's trying to keep this grass green.

And everybody drove down Cornelia Drive and saw him pretty lines across the street and

the pretty lines over here. Everybody knows we're trying not to have waste land

here. And when you pull up this law maintenance crew by appointment, is

wont to make you not proud, but please, And when you get envious

and you sit there and bake a hole in that grass about twenty four,

you've marked yourself. And I'm going to tell you something. The fact that

you don't switch to engine off after a couple of minutes or move it to

the asphalt. This is a very wise church. This is a very well

fed church. Every bit of respect people have built for you is torn down

immediately. Because I'm the pastor. I drive around through there and I park

at the back door to walk into my office. But you asked this to

howl, even when it's a scorcher, out of respect to God. At

God's house and also those that are laboring blood, sweat and tears at this

law during the summertime, and I'm having to say, say hydrated, I

switch a car off as fast as I can. People say, you know,

other preachers don't have to do that. There's two reasons for that.

Number One, their people are normal and they know. Number Two, there

are people didn't have one hundred thousand dollars in the bank and been held their

tithe and held things over the years. They were able to pour a parking

lot. Okay, Now there could be a new convert to stop here this

morning because you poured them out them and letting them buy your lunch, and

you had one hundred thousand in the banks. Maybe she's tired to give it.

I don't know. Maybe he's tired to give it. I don't know.

I'm telling you concerning these new converts, leave them alone, because Jesus

said, you can't do away with that when it's causing offense quick enough.

That's what David. No matter how much shit hurts your feelings or how you

dislike it, David told Solomon, you've got to dispose of Jelapp. Okay,

So Tyler I'm authorizing you. If you see anybody's sitting up there with

their car running, and it's been longer two minutes, and all they gotta

do is move it over four feet, put it on the asphalt parking lot,

or at least holding the driveway. Nobody's there. I'm asking you to

knock on the wind and say or your rebel amoking against the will of the

both the Holiness Church and they will of the pastor if everybody wills, if

somebody don't sit there and burn the grass raging in also between this church entrance

way and the handicapped park, and that's not a driveway, no matter.

I'm an engineer, I'm not licensed. I'm not a professional. I am

a professional, but I'm not licensed. Could have been. But I have

licensed engineers who work for me, and I have licensed engineers that don't know

what I know about commercial construction. I have structural engineers that have degrees that

have no idea how commercial construction should beat up, asked Jesse. Their drawings

are ten drawings versus architectural set of drawings two or three hundred. It's very

overwhelming. I know the dimensions of that front entrance way. They told me,

Sister Cheryld they meant for that to be a driveway where we have the

ramps. I don't know who built that. More power to them, but

brother Dwayne and I would have owned immediately. It's not wide enough for a

car. You couldn't pull a car in there and open the door and the

glass door swing out. It's not to code. So it's made a wonderful

greeting. Straighten up your jacket, pict your necktie platform out there. No

matter what it was intended to be, somebody made a mistake and we're not

using it as a drop off. So the distance between that front whatever you

want to call it, porch and then handicapped ballards, that's not a driveway.

Okay, you need to reminisce about anything. Stand at the bottom of

the ramp and reminisce. I asked y'all a year ago to stop walking out

that front way there. We actually have some grass because you've started using the

ramps. The second reason for that is those of you that had to clean

and sweep that front porch every service. You know this to be true.

When you walk through that sandy, dirty area, it don't take but ten

people. That sand sticks the bottom of the shoes and it just fills up

that green carpass that we've paid six hundred dollars for. Somebody said, well,

you can pressure wash it. We've done to have it with Samuel,

and you know what, when we pressure wash it, it tries to pull

the carpet up. So we got problems in your simple mind. Because you

want fellowship and watch us and work with the group, you wouldn't know we're

trying to cope with your foolishness. So I guess I'm being reported, So

forgive me God. I want to share this. Also, thank God for

our new irrigation system that coupled with the line maintenance team doing what they're doing

and not cutting the grass too short, has created this lush line that we

have. But there are sprinkler heads all throughout this churchyard. Now, did

y'all know that paying attention instead of being in your own world, you'd have

heard me say that three or four months ago. Do you know people rode

over sprinkler heads and broke them. You know who has to fix that at

their own expense, the lawn maintenance and the building maintenance committee. Right,

if you see me coming this back road, I'm hugging Cornelia Drive and riding

the ditch along the fence because there's a septic tank right here. One year,

a visitor from the north he saw me go that backway road right over

the septic tank. We almost had a five thousand dollars issue. You might

think you're parroting what somebody else is doing, but you guys, you're able

to pull in right here apart from Cornelia Drive all the way to the stair

It's place use the driveway. Well, I'm worried about my vehicle getting dusted.

It don't appear that way. It doesn't appear that's the case. But

we're working on the ask driveway and for ten thousand dollars we can finish it.

But to be honest with y'all, I'd rather have that lush green grass

out there than just the whole property being asphalt. So if we can just

be careful, I know there's times that happened for the first time in four

or five years. The other night brother wrote, cap y'all got the church

about fifteen minutes before church. I got the church fifteen minutes before church,

and the church wasn't unlocked. If in the event that happens. It's only

happened once in four or five years, and I know of usually within thirty

minutes, definitely, or an hour the church is unlocked. But in the

event of that happened. And the only thing I can tell you is,

don't sit up there and burn the grass, which it often stand up here

under the porch. I know it's hot, but it's hot when they're bowing

that grass too. And how do you know that that want offend somebody?

How do you know that want offend somebody? So I want you to think

about this. Can we be selfless and non selfish? Can we be respectful

of the labors of our brothers and sisters, if that's a sermon or a

teaching, or a playing or a singing or a cleaning. How about this,

y'all wanted to hear from Pastor. He's still going to preach. I'm

not in any hurry. I missed the church. I'm glad to be here.

But if you're a child, and I could be talking about all of

my grand babies, if at some point because they haven't learned yet, can

I Pastor how to control things? And while the service is going on,

a rainbow appears over their pew. Are y'all following me? They wept themselves

into pew. A rainbow appears over there pew. Please do not act like

nothing's happened. God the Devil, all of the angels and all of the

demons, and all of the church members saw that spot on that pew.

There's no need and pretending like our circle, y'all get it is not toxic.

We all see it, ma'am. We all see it, sir,

what's around you. Let's start planting some grass. Let's go out there and

get some cleaner and clean that pew, clean that circle. If they stand

up front, if Mica stands up front singing to b I Blee, and

the waterfall happened, we can all act like what happened didn't happen. But

I am going to be reluctant to put my head right there and pray where

Brother Jacob prays every service after that. So we're going to clean up our

act. We're gonna clean up behind ourselves. We're gonna clean up some things

around here. Could the church say amen? And I know Jesus's words are

hard. Jesus said, put that millstone on them and let him drown and

go to the bottom of the sea. Now that hurts, Brother Jesse.

That hurts because sometimes I want to hold on to people that Jesus has put

a millstone on the but brothers stare it no matter how hard I try to

do what I'm doing right now, and I try to preserve them and try

to keep them afloat. When Jesus has put up millstone on their net.

Nathaniel, Brother Nathaniel, They're going to the bottom no matter how hard I

try. So I want you to know envy, seeking status, being subtle

in your comments, potshots, competitiveness, if Jesus puts a millstone on your

neck, y'all get this. It's not that Pastor Howell was hard. It's

not that the Bethel Holness Church wasn't sweet. Because you're supposed to be a

good judge of character, and that's why you're here. It's why you made

the all inclusive sacrifice to come. I'm speaking words of wisdom. But if

you end up being detached, it's not because we didn't try to hold you.

It's simply because Jesus cuts you loose. And it's true He'll have to

pride my fingers off of that. That holds you to us. But I

have seen people come and go, and they've had every excuse in the book.

But Jesus knows the secret. Sin. I'll close with this and this

teach it. There was a girl in this building until two years ago,

or so I estimated, in the same building at the same time, there

was another young woman. One morning, I was doing exactly what I'm doing

right now, and at that good sweeth, holy ghostitting on you like it's

pun system right down. You don't build a burden of what I'm trying to

do. I love you your detachment and people that used to be part of

us, their detachment is not indicative of I was a hard person. There's

some people we helped save their houses. The Bethel Holness Church gave an off

into one family in the amount of forty five hundred dollars and saved their houses.

The truth is they didn't want to loose of certain things that we never

even preached on hard day. Right. But Jesus has detached some from us

on purpose because he saw the harm that would come to some in this building

if they tarried. Y'all believe that I believe that there were two young women

in this building about two years ago. I said, with love in my

heart, in the same spirit I'm saying right now, I said, if

a certain celebrity was to come into this building, do y'all remember this,

And I said, was to look at some of you and was to say

I've chosen you to be my bride and to go back to Hollywood with me.

I said, there's people in this building that would walk out, and

some of y'all would be aghast and chopped. I didn't know what was in

her heart. She was just waiting on the right opportunity. Neither one of

them were here this morning. It doesn't matter if Pastor exhorted hard or firmly

or harshly tried that way led to the Holy Ghost that way Jesus overturning take,

or if he just talked and said the truth is, when who you

perceived to be, mister Wright comes in your life, you'll flush everything you

appear to be down the dream to go with mister Worray, they y'all know.

Six months later, one of them young women in this church pulled up

in her phone and showed some nurse that she was nursing with. She didn't

know I was walking by by divine appointment. I was walking by and she

said, I would sell my soul to be with that man. And I

thought, Honey, you don't even remember what I said. Six months There's

people that'll do anything, brother, than a thing to a stunt new growth.

When you see a church that for years was unable to grow, you

have to look at the gardeners. It may or may not be some that

are still living. It may be some that are deceased, but there was

something wrong with that group of people. It's true. People don't want to

be around a group of people anywhere anywhere. Is that right, brother Tyler?

The truth is the truth, no matter who it hurts. We have

to embrace it and say, God, what can I do to be more

palatable, more lovable, to be more endearing? What can I do show

yourself friendly? I'm driving this point home, and I know your moms are

busy with them babies. But Brother Richard Jacob, there's some people just gonna

do what they're gonna do. And that's what Jesus told Judas. He said,

what you do do quickly, because as soon as you do it,

we're gonna have the Bible. So I want to sum it up with this,

summing up again, continuing to close. The only person you're going to

hurt for that envy, that competitiveness and that jealousy, Judas, is you.

But oh, what a blood chilling statement it is, Sister Wooten.

When Jesus looks at Judas and says, what you're doing, do it quickly.

In essence, he's saying, get those a little bit. Enough is

enough? This sounds hard, doesn't it. Jesus said it can't happen soon

enough. Jesus is saying enough already, Brother Rocap, you're weeping his crying

right now. It's quality, sister whoops, weeping and crying his quality,

the gravity of the Son of God saying you can't get out of here soon

enough. Now. That's not God speaking of Sister Christel, or speaking of

Sister Charity, or speaking a sister whooping, or speaking of brother Justin.

Somebody who's hearts right now saying, oh God, that's heartbreaking, that's cut

rising. Oh God. We've all sinned and fallen short of the Lord of

God. We've all spoken out of turn, and we've all said things that

we shouldn't have said right, and we've asked God to forgive us, and

what we do, we fall on this altar and we're broken. But Brother

rod Cap, I don't want to ever get to that place where I'd rather

see the family of God dissolved than to see it build up. We could

have an altar call right now with this sweet spirit. I believe people would

search your heart. And I want to say, if that preacher preaches good

in a little while, I'll say, that's all I gotta say. I

don't have to flattery, I don't have to build him up for a pride,

but I can said great preaching, Brother Justice. Come on, Brother

Rode Cap, I do want us to have a word of prayer as he's

coming up to preach. I want you to search your heart right now,

in this afternoon. I want you to read those scriptures Mark nine thirty three

through fifty. Would you ask God right now out to search your heart.

I'm not worried about what time it is. I'm worried about our church.

If there's envy, jealousy and strife in one heart, I want you to

get it sanctified. God can purge you right now. The holy ghost conviction

in this place is so real. I don't want to offend one of these

little ones. Forgive me God, help our church, help the church worldwide,

help the people of God. Help me to see the gravity of the

situation, that I'm not a feeling word or deed. Help me to look

at my surroundings and in my circles seeds of toxic or is it a green

passion? Are you waiting on another opportunity that M on the side of the

m M. I appreciate this good presence of the Lord, the Holy Ghost

conviction we feel and just let the Holy Ghost have his way. I really

don't know that I have to preach, but I feel like the Lord gave

me this message, and I want to be mindful of the Holy Ghost.

We turned in the book Acts, chapter number five, and I turned to

the book at first Peter, chapter five, and I may not even get

past the reading of our text or the title of the message. And I

really feel like Pastor has really said enough and and spoken to us. And

the Holy Ghost has reached into our hearts and lives this morning, and again

we want to be mindful of him. We need his help