From The Pig Pen To The Porch - Pastor J.D. Howell 4-29-2026

Brother Nathaniel Luke, chapter number fifteen and verse number nineteen.

Brother Jesse Philippians, Chapter number two and verse number seven,

I would like to say to you, beautiful Bethel, we

appreciate each and every one of you so much. Thank

you for coming out tonight, dear in midweek service.

We have a beautiful crowd.

I appreciate your prayers thus far this week. We do

have some matters of prayer before, so let's continue praying

for one another, especially for dear sister Cheryl Harrison, she

needs a miracle in her body. And pray for our

dear brother and buddy and christ Brother Dylan Wallace. We

appreciate his service for his country. Our hats off to

our dear brother Amen. Pray for his bride and his

precious children. Brother Nathaniel Luke, chapter number fifteen and verse

number nineteen, My brother.

And am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Make me as one of thy hired servants.

I want to preach a message the Holy Ghost titled

from the big Pen to the Porch, From the pig

pen to the Porch. Brother jesse Philippians, chapter number two

and verse number seven, but made himself of no reputation,

and took upon him the form of a servant, and

was made in the likeness of men. A key word

in those two cotexts for us tonight, servant, how many

of you believe in the necessity of servitude. I want

to be a servant. I want a servant's heart. Lord,

help me to have a servant's heart. Let's stand for

our reading of the Golden Text. As for a chapter

number five, verses number ten and eleven, the Bible said,

we asked their names also to certify THEE that we

might write the names of the men that were the

chief of them. And thus they returned us answers, saying,

we are the servants of the God of heaven and earth,

and build the house that was builded these many years ago,

which a great case of Israel building and set up.

Look at verse number ten. Again, we ask their names

also to certify THEE, that we might write the names

of the men that were the chief of them. And

thus they returned to us an answer saying, we are

the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and

build the house that was builded these many years ago,

which a great king of Israel building and set up.

May we pray, Heavenly Father, we love and we praise you.

We thank you for the opportunity to be in your

house tonight. We pray that you would anoint this thy people,

set a guard at their ears, help them to hear

what the Spirit of God says unto the church tonight, not.

Of my words, but of your word.

We pray, God, help them to hear, help them to

hearken and heed. We pray that you would set a

guard at my mouth and help me to say the

things that you would have me to say.

Nothing more or less.

I pray God that you would visit us in this place,

for I know you desire to speak to some of

us tonight. We'll give you the praise and the honor

and the glory, and help us to depart this place

joyfully and not sorrowfully. In Jesus' name in the church said, Amen,

Praise the Lord. Our textas found in an Old Testament

book of the Holy Bible, the Book of Ezra. The

title bears the name of its author. I remember the

time when I was reading this book and I grew

to know more about this very special descendant of Erin.

This man was one of a priestly lineage from birth,

he would have been called to do something for the

Lord in his kingdom. How many of you know that

every child of God is called of God to do

something for the King and his kingdom. It is obvious

that this prophet Ezra didn't deally dally around when it

came to tending to his heavenly father's business. Even Jesus Christ,

while God incarnate, felt an obligation or a necessity to

be about his heavenly father's business.

There is a.

Common trend among independent holiness people today not to be

busy about the Father's business, in spite of the fact

of being recipients each one of the Clarion call of evangelism,

every child of God has been commissioned and called to

reach the least, the lost, and the lonely in this world.

And so this priestly person Ezra felt like he must

be about the king's business. Even though he had been

servant in the presence of kings, and he was a

priest and ascribe, a man of status and station, he

knew that he had to be a servant of the Lord.

And any real preacher or minister of the Gospel of

any status or station. He will acknowledge that he is

nothing without being a servant of the Lord. And if

he does not possess a servant's heart, he is no

minister at all. We know how our Lord Jesus felt

about these things. He felt like, if we were going

to be the greatest among our brothers and sisters, we

needed to be the one with the biggest servant's heart.

And so as you read the writings of this scribe,

you have ten chapters, and you can tell right off

the bat that this man had a grip on the

law of Moses. In other words, he was not hesitant

at all to study the law of God. And unlike

many people today, he walked the walk and he talked

to talk. This obedient servant of the Lord made it

his occupation to teach and to preach the whole counsel

of God. Again, he practiced what he preached. He walked

the walk and talked the talk. If you look at

our golden text again and Ezra chapter number five and

verses number ten and eleven, the Bible reads like this.

We asked the name also to certify thee that we

might write the names of the men that were chief

of them and thus they returned us answers, saying, we

are servants. Did you notice that we are servants of

the God of heaven and earth? And build the house

that was builded these many years ago, which a great

king of Israel builded and set up, in other words,

a great man of stature and status. And the Bible

said that a greater than Solomon is amongst us here tonight.

I'm thankful that there's a greater strong man in this place,

and there's a greater wise man in this place. And

there's nobody as greater wise as our Lord Savior Jesus Christ,

and whatever he called and commissioned his people, those twelve

disciples or those seventy disciples that traveled upon the ground

of this earth alongside of him while he ministered. He

demanded that they have a servant's heart. And today the

reason why a lot of people are not engaging their

neighbor in ministry is because they lack a servant's heart.

So this scribe of status and station, Ezra was a

servant because he was willing to share the will of

God or the mind of God with his brothers and sisters.

So at the time of this answer in our text.

We see that it's said, and we are the servants

of God. At the time of this answer, some very

talented individuals are working with other multi talented people in

the rebuilding of the temple. People are glad to have

returned home from Babylon, and they aren't interested at all

in status. They are fine with being a servant. I

have seen before people come back to the Father's house

after venturing into the far country of their own choosing,

and after experiencing shipwreck. They want to come back to

the Father's house with status and station and be men

of great stature. I've seen them ask the preacher, well,

if I come back to God and give my life

to Christ to rededicate myself to the call, will I

be allowed to preach in your pulpit. I've seen people

that I knew without a doubt God was dealing with

them to go to a certain local assembly or house

of worship, to sit in those pews as servants, and

to learn something, and to bear their brother's burdens, and

to be their brother's keeper, and to work among their

brothers and sisters of light precious faith, and to be

a blessing to those people in that pew. But because

they were not allowed to pick up an instrument, or

because they were not allowed to stand behind a microphone

stand while holding a microphone, because they were not allowed

to lead singing, or to teach a Bible.

Class, or to drive a church bus.

Because they were not offered status, they had no desire

whatsoever to be in that local assembly. There's a lot

of people to not occupying dysfunctional churches and gatherings because

they want status.

They want to be somebody.

I've seen people before that really know hardly nothing more

than the cords ce eping spent a lifetime in a

little country church, half heartily banging out a few chords

and singing something. And they say they're singing from their heart,

and they say they're anointed. But why is the yoke

not being destroyed? The truth being known is they are

looking for station and status. And so these people come

back with the scribe of status ezra. And as they

are working, they're doing a notable thing, and these people

coming and they say, give us the names of these

great people. And their answer is we be servants of

the God of heaven and earth. You see, several years

priors of Rubbable had led some people back to Jerusalem

to begin the construction process or the reconstruction process. But

for whatever reasons for people didn't do as they.

Were told to do.

They didn't follow through, they didn't finish that that was

meant for them to do. I wonder if they buried themselves,

not busied themselves, but buried themselves in murmurings, grumblings, and complainings,

which led them to be distracted from their missions and purpose.

I wonder if they wanted pre.

Eminence and prestige and position and power, and because of

internal conflict they were unable to do for the king

and the kingdom what they could have done if they.

Had had a servant's heart.

I wonder what led to their distraction that kept them

from finishing the task that God had commissioned commanded them

to do. You see, God spoke to my heart earlier today,

these words, if we don't remain busy as servants, we

will be.

Buried as slaves.

Ezra may have been a person of status that he

may have been a scribe of Almighty God, but he

had a servant's heart. Since the beginning of time, people

of status have felt they possessed the abilities and talents

needed for them to do something great in this world.

But if God was not the originator of those plans,

if God was not the architect of that design, if

God was not the builder of that house, that, if

God was not to watch on the wall, we know

that their efforts were futile, and that ultimately whatever it

was that they did, whether great or small, in time

it became nothing. You see, nothing last very long when

it is not ordered or built by the Lord. Hazra

called these people to the work. And when he called

these people to the work, he called them to a

like mindedness. As you study the writings of these ten

chapters of the Book of Ezrael, you can see that

this man pulled no punches when it comes to giving

them a clarion call for commitment to truth and righteousness

and holiness. And he let them know that if you're

going to build again things that have been destroyed, you

are going to have to be devoted to God.

You're gonna have to be holy.

People for that that you are doing to be finished

and for it to last. So Ezra intended to do

something other than rebuild walls and a building. He knew

those Israelites needed to surrender their will to God for

their nation's families and each individual to succeed.

They have to have a servant's heart.

And the Lord Jesus possessed such a thing. It is

what made him so adored by so many people, whether priest,

king or pauper.

A lot of people loved the Lord.

Jesus because he knew how to meet people at their level,

and he did that by becoming a servant to all.

You see, we know that a servant knows how to

surrender where we There are people in this building tonight

who are called employees because we don't like to use

the word servant, but literally, you are a servant to

your master, and a certain time each week you look

as a servant does, to the hand of your master,

for that that you feel like is coming to you.

But I want you to know, in the things of

God concerning laboring for the kingdom and the Kingdom, you

are never looking to see what you can get out

of it.

I know years ago.

When God said to Sister Howl and I and our

family to come to La.

Bell, Florida, we were not.

Looking for compensation. We were not looking for God to

do exceedingly abundantly above.

All that we should ask or thank We.

Were just happy to be out of the pig pin

of confusion and out of the mire of misery, and

to be working on the front portion of the.

Will of God.

You see, these Israelites had spent some time with pigs,

if you would, the gentile people in the region of Babylon.

And so let's refer to that experience and as a

pig pin, and God, through his goodness and through his grace,

allowed men like Darius and our dessert season to give

certain men favor and to enable and equip them to

go back to the porch, if you would. How many

of you are familiar with the porches that were around

Solomon's temple. There were certain places that people would gather

together and hang around summer to receive a miracle of

the Lord, others to receive blessings and of Almighty God.

Others just to spend them a moment or an hour

of prayer. And so God brought these people from the

peak pin of Babylon and brought them to their porches

of Israel. I'm thankful to not that I no longer

laboring in the peak pin and in the mire tonight,

but that I've got a peace of mind here at

the Father's house.

And working for the Lord.

Now, wonder how many people listen to this message right

now are upset with the preacher because I told you,

when you're ministering to people and doing the work.

Of the Lord, you should not be looking for compensation. Now.

I know that the Bible said that the laborer is

worthy of his hire. I know the Bible said not

to muzzle the ox that treadeth out the coin.

But money should not be your motivation.

You should work no matter what time of the day

it is, no matter what season of life it is.

We should all go into this, even though some may

end up laboring longer than others. We should all go

into this, Sir, expecting to receive the same recompense, eve reward.

We should all go into this expecting to receive the

same compensation. Whether pastor Howell is the one standing behind

the sacred desko, and so to speak, preaching as guts out,

whether people want to hear it or not, it could

go on for thirty something years. A labor of love,

a ministry poor the Messiah could last up to a

half of a century, and then you could be an

eyewitness to some prodigal, some sinner come staggered in here,

let's say a week or an hour before they lose

their life.

For a week or an hour before.

The Sonerman comes and takes everybody away. We should expect

the same compensation. I want you to know when you're

preaching extra good because you know the offering will be

extra good. If you get called a preacher at a

camp meeting and you know, at the end of that week,

help me a two or three thousand dollars offering, and

so you are extra studious, and you are extra assertive,

and you are extra attent of that week, and you'll

work a little hard because you're preaching for money.

That's the wrong reason.

I've heard preachers before talker about they're willing to go here,

and they're on their diama, and they're willing to preacher

in this little churching and that little churchill, and they're

not going somewhere for money. They're not going for the

big offering. But then we see where their feet go.

We see when opportunity presents, its helping when it comes

right down, they're preaching the truth to in love her

and doing like her. The priest and describing Ezra did.

Tell them the truth and tell them they can work

on the building up. Tell them they gotta be holding us.

We'll see some of them back up from telling the

tru to, from preaching the tru to why because they're

afraid they're not gonna receive her. That big prechent come

there concerned they're not gonna be invited Bacca to preach

a repible. I know we should use wiz them. I

know it takes money to operate her. I know it

takes fine acces to run a ministry in a church.

But I want you to know we're not in this

for station there. We're not in this because of our statue.

We're not in this for status.

I don't care what my title is.

That drunker that comes in sits in that pew. It

could be the last minute of us life. I expect

him to get the same reward.

In the act of life that I get.

It could be that we'll have an award and a

reward ceremony in the after life because of some of

the things that we have done with the right motives.

If her motives have been pure, if our motives have

been wholesome, he'll we.

Done it for the right reason.

And if God, who sees all things, can say you

did what you did as a hired servant.

Our brother read a co text and the Bible said

that that prodigal son came home and he let the

father know right off the back.

And I am no more worthy.

I am no more worthy to be called thy son.

I've seen young people before choose to go out in

this world and to live like the devil. And they

walked off the platform, maybe the pastor's grandson or the

pastor's granddaughter. And God had used them a lot on

the father's ports, if you would, And they got anointed

and they sing like an angel, and they danced like

the angels of heaven, and people said, you're singing.

It has blessed me.

It was wonderful, the anaughting of God with soul powerful.

But then they cast their gaze upon the park country and.

They go out he and they use her.

Talents for the death flow, and they sing in clubs,

or maybe they sing at birthday parties, or maybe they

do this and do that, and they end up in

the pig pen. I want you to know you can

tell right off the matter when they attempt to come Homer,

whether or not they steal them expect status her, or

whether or not their servant.

I'm telling you.

If they come in the church and they overlook her

the sacrificial altar, and they overlook he selflessness, and they

embrace selfishness, and they selfishly save her, I feel like

I ought to be singing a special coming next service.

They had come Homer with.

The right attitude. I'm telling you here the night her

prodigal sign up. He left out with sonship status, he

left out a sonship ring.

What nowhere in the Bible? What do you find him

coming home? They're saying, am I still a son up?

Where? Where?

Here's my status?

Where?

Hooray, here's my sonship ring? You know what the Father

was saying.

Your attitude there still is right up as there was

when you laughed.

Amen, you're so.

You let one of our preachers leave out of here

and go into the world, and their faith makes ship

preck Sister Woodin. There's gonna be a trial period. There's

gonna be a testing period. There's gonna be a proven period.

Prodigal sons and prodigal daughters. Are you listening to me?

I'm telling you there's people it makes me sick to

witness them. They come in and they look at the platform,

and they look at the pool pitt and they can visit.

A camp meeting and the only thing they can.

Do is sit there and cealibate and lick their chops,

hoping they get five minutes, five minutes to say something

at the camp meeting, because if somebody recognizes me, if

I get special reception and special recognition, I can springboard

from this little testimony. And you can tell that they

are using the platform as a springboard and trying to

move on up the road. I'm not worried about what's

going on off the road. And what I'm looking for

is an opportunity right here, right now, in this moment,

to be about the father's business. I'm not looking to

get annoying it off the road right now. I'm not

looking to preacher in another country right now. I'm not

looking for another opportunity right now. Who right now, in

this moment, we're looking for somebody to pray over. We're

looking for somebody to preach to her. We're looking for

somebody to help. What about your brother's sister. I can

tell when you come to the house of God. You're

like David, a man of status, a man of stature,

a man among men.

Ascribe of sorts, if you would.

But he said, I'd ruther stand right there as a

door keeper in the house of of my God.

What about it here to not?

I'd rather be one of these ushers and standing at

the double glass doors of the church and the being

Barbarad's peak piano or the beaver in the pink piano

on a far contray. Get the imagery the prodigal son.

He comes home, and he took a very long walk home.

As I was meditating on what I would preaching tonight,

the Lord spoke to my heart and he said, you know,

every step he took away he had to take back.

Brother just just said he went into a far country.

Sister Wood, Sister how and I we like to travel,

and sometimes I like to push us as far as

I can, because I know what our age. We need exercise.

But this sometimes I say, you know what, honey, it

is just as far back.

As it was to get here. Let's remember that.

And sometimes I'm not willing to walk as far back

as I was as far away. Are you all getting it?

But this prodigal son. He was willing to walk all

the way back. And I feel like for every curse

word he let out. On the way out, he was

saying a prayer. I'll tell you it was a long,

dusty road. What is it about dusty roads that make

great songs on great sermons?

Tell you what else it'll do.

It'll make great servants, how to what should have been

great sons?

And they come in, and he said.

Basically, and am no more holy people could have that

serve at heart. I am a nobody. I'm nobody. I

can tell something about her. These young preachers around here,

every time they preach, who consense the feeling of unworthiness.

But yet they give it all they got. And God says,

you're my son, and God anots him, and God gives

them that a nought to ring her sonship. That's long

as you remained humble, that's long as you remain little,

That's long as you remain small, you will continue he

in a son, just as answer, describing the Israelites had

done when they traveled home from the land of Babylon,

from the land of the pigs, the land of the

scarring of the earth, the land of the nasty Gentiles.

The prodigal son comes out of the pig sty. He

comes out of the far country. Like the Israelites, this

young man comes with a servant's heart, and somewhere between

the pig pen and daddy's porch, he experiences a change

of heart. Oh, come on, now, he had a genuine

change of heart. While in the far country, this prodigal

son lost his status, and he lost his identity. Nobody

could say that's the rich son of the rich man

in that far away country. Nobody could say he's the

one with a thick wallet. Nobody could say he's the

one with a purse full of coins. Nobody could say

he's the one with a whole lot of girlfriends. Nobody

could say he's the one with an extra camel or two.

Come on, now, Ezra and the israel Lights, we're just

like this prodigal son. They were glad to be making

their journey home. I said, I'm just glad to be

preaching to a group of people here tonight. There may

be eighty in number, not eight hundred, But like Naomi,

I'm glad to be dwelling among my own people. Like Ester,

I'm glad to be drilling among my own people. Somebody

messaged me last week. I said, would you come preacher

at our meeting. One of the first things they said was,

we'll have about five hundred there. I said, to be

honest with you, I've learned to just be content to

pastoring my little small church. I feel like somebody we'll

hear what I'm preacher who right now? You know why

preachers they'll be in the prage horizon sermons. You know

why preachers take people's messages and copycat cookie cutter them

and does spend time praying because they feel the pressure

to perform run they feel encourage her to entertain whatever

happened to stupid Lord, right God say that. But they

feel the pressure of status. I want to be somebody

sister waiting. We've seen a many a preacher fall because

he wanted to preach in that pastor's pulpit, and I've

told him before. Your ministry should begin in a nursing home.

Your ministry should begin in a jail house. Your ministry

should begin at the ninety degree corner of a city block.

Your ministry should begin at the hours in the work

office parking lot. Your ministry should begin with personal evangelism.

You can ask them servants of the prophets, what happened

in their life. They had to pour the water before

they needed to pour the word. You could ask Elisha

of Old, and he'd say, before ever prophesied, I was

pouring water on the hands of Elijah, before I passed

Elijah up in miracles or doubled him in his minister

of results, I was a little servant boy.

And I want you to know if Jesus said.

By example, hey, come on now, he said, I have

to be a servant in order to be who I'm

supposed to be. Even Jesus knew if you're gonna be

somebody savior, you have to.

Be their servant.

Do you know men that belong to the United States military,

they become servants up their country, and they go out

as servants with little recognition, a little reputation.

The only thing on their breast.

Is a badger that they are a soldier or the

United States or Force or Marine Corps or army, and

underneath their uniform his personal forms of identification called a

doc tag.

Don't come on now.

They have to be literally blown apart before anybody really

knows who they are.

Because sisters, all that matters is they are in this service.

O their country and our servants, and that's the way

they should be in our churches.

The pastor how to be the servant of people. I

believe in servant leadership.

Oh come on now, y'all know the best mama is

the one and it's the greatest servant of her householder

and my preacher right down, Oh God, amen. People get

up at mother's funerals and they weep in the cry,

and really what they're saying is she was a great servant.

And they decorate deceased slash, blown apart soldiers who died

in service for their country. And really what they're saying

was he was a great servant. And when the air

mets they opened up that chain cavity and dug through

some ribs and found doctags hey, and they said, you

know what, this was Sergeant Aaron Wood.

And you know what.

We can't find his legs, we can't find his arms,

we can't find the palms of his hands, but we

found his identity, a fair tucked under that fifth rib

right there by that heart that beat.

Red, white and blue for his country.

And you can tell one a minister with an evangelist

or a preacher or a missionary, when he's got a

burden for people, and when he's willing to be a

servant amongst those people, people recognize that. Come on, I'm

telling you this young man came home and said, and

am no more worthy of being called thy son, Make

me as one of thy hired servants. Lord, Oh, come on,

it was better than working for the pig farmer. They

don't know in the far country. He wasn't looking for

a glass of unsweet tea with a lemon inside of it.

He wasn't looking for a rocking chair on daddy's front porch.

He said, make me as one of the hard servants.

A son with status would be sitting in the rocking

chair that a servant would be one fixing the warped board.

A servant would be one reconstructing the porch. I'm telling

you of your goodness, Ezra and amscribed come on in

them men of God, and them great men said, you

know what, we don't need status, and we don't need recognition.

They said right there, they would not even give them

their names. And that's how we had to be brothers

and sisters. Said of life, precious faith. That's how it

should be in the church. There should be no big

eyes and little user. There should be no divisions. Excuse them.

So in the body of Christ. Oh, come on now

and me.

One of them players said, I get it. I get it.

He said, who are you playing for? It was a

Duke University.

Yeller harved that tim They said, we're playing for the

not States of America. Honey said, they come on practices over.

That's what I've been waiting on. That's for y'all to

realize her. You ain't on team Duker. You ain't on

team Miami. You ain't on team Atlanta. You ain't on

team type of Bray. You're a team USA.

What about it?

Here to night, I'm sick and tired of of the

the peasons and the cliques and the scuse him say, Oh,

we're supposed to all be a part her team Jesus.

We're all supposed to be my brother's a sister's keeper.

We're all supposed to be servant sir for the Lord

of Sabra, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Somewhere between the pig pen and Daddy's porch, he experiences

a change of heart. He's not looking for the son's garment.

He's looking for a work jumpsuit.

Amen.

Amen, you know what, if we get a mindset I'm

not worrying about being the next pool pteering the big

camp meeting, Oh my God, and really get down there

and roll them sleeves up, and get down to the

Greece and the grime of ministry, and get into the

fasten and the praying and get eternal on every lasting results.

I'm not saying precating these great meetings is not a

benefit to the king or the kingdom of the people

with them. But I'm telling you there is more than

ministry than having status. While in the far country, the

prodigal son lost his identity. Who are you, sir, I'm

a nobody. I'm a nobody. Because if he was to

say he was somebody with pig slop all over him,

they'd say, yeah, right, yeah, right, sister, how sister, who

Brother Jeremiah, You've all seen it just like this in

our lifetime. When they get sick of their status and

grow a servant's heart, they're able to do something for

the kingdom. Come in and they say, give me a

job to do. I'm just glad to be here. I'd

love to see Mama as she stood there by father

when she said, is that our boy? And he said,

I've been looking for days for him, I've been looking

for years for him.

It is him.

And he hollers back and says, Mama, he's looking for

a work, bitch. She looks at her husband and says,

you know what, our boy is different. He's not entitled.

They're picking on minister sermons. They're picking on people because

they want status. It's politics. They said, brother, how we

heard you fifteen years ago when you first said it anointed.

You're like a reject from a troll factory. Finally, I said, listen,

it's the father's business. It's the father's I'm just glad

to be a servant. But I will say it's a

crying shame when a preacher, whether a camp meet and

p or a country preacher, all he can do is

get up and read a sermon that he's plagiarized from

a oneness Pentecostal. It's a crying shame when they get

up here for ten minutes and read word for word

something somebody else preach, and then they try to pretend

to act like they got it.

From God and they make a statement.

I've had a burden about this and I prayed about

it all week long. I can tell you something God

dealt with me on this right here, about three hours

before church tonight. I'm not gonna stand here and tell

you I've been working on this sermon for six months.

If it wasn't for the Good Holy Ghost, I wouldn't

have had anything to preach to you tonight. But the

Good Holy Ghost, if you got him, he always makes

sure you have something to preach.

If you're a preacher.

But if you're looking for status, to have the most

listening to message, if you're looking for status, come on.

But I want to have a servant's heart. God, let

me labor in obscurity. God, let me labor in obscurity.

I will say this for the Bethel Holness Church. Let's

say I will work for our church family. I will

work for my church. I will work for my God.

If you look at our golden text again, Brother Samuel Howell,

When these hard workers were asked for the person in charge,

they didn't feel they need to offer any names. It'd

be fine with me if they say, you know Bethel

Holness Church, and they never say, Bethel Honess Church.

You know we're pastor Howell pastors.

It'd be fine with me if we're just all a

bunch of servants around here doing what we're supposed to do,

everybody filling their roles, nobody with special recognition. I appreciate

special services where you recognize the pastor and the first lady,

and leadership and your musicians. I appreciate appreciation services, but

at the end of the day, our motives better be

pure that we're doing this for the king and not

for our own kingdom. The workers were asked, where's the

person in charge? Hey, hey, we are servants of the

God of heaven and Earth. We are here to rebuild

something a real person of status has built, a great

king of Israel.

Does anybody know who that person of status was? Solomon.

They're not about to act like there's something special when

they're rebuilding something the great Solomon built. And the Bible

said before honor, there will be humility, and the greatest

ministers of them all are the most humble.

Lord.

I want a servant's heart. I will gladly do my part.

And you know what, Lucifer came in and he wrecked

something that was intended to be beautiful, and he destroyed

something that would have been a beautiful kingdom. And he

not only done it once, he'd done it several different times.

There were several different times that it appeared that the

Kingdom on Earth would be established. Even near the ascension

of Jesus Christ, there was supposition that the kingdom is

fixing to be established. But the Jews were never ready

for the kingdom. Do you know why they were never

ready for the kingdom and why they never could have

an everlasting tabernac or a temple, or why they could

never just have the everlasting king in their midst because

they didn't have the servant's heart. I feel the hole

of ghost. Jesus told them. He said, the gentiles do

exercise lordship over They're all about status. They're all about

lordship all alone. Jesus has been looking for people that

would operate within a unified kingdom through servanthood, through the

attitude of servitude. The prodigal son come home with the

right attitude.

I'm ready to serve.

But if you think about the Jewish people, and I'm

by no means antisemity, but you think about Jewish people, they.

Were always wanting the Lord over everybody.

And so when Jesus came to this earth, if there

was an opportunity of some supposed for him to ascend

to the throne of David, nobody's heart was in the

right place. It's the same thing we say here when

we go overseas as a body of Christ, as Beth

the hole in his church, if you haven't fashioned and

prayed and had the humble spirit and had a servant's heart,

if you go into that other country and you feel

like you're you're better than everybody else, people are going

to recognize that. So the prodigal son left out with

the wrong attitude, but he come home with the right attitude.

And I'm telling you here tonight how we should present

ourself around these altars with that attitude of servant.

Oh the necessity of to God.

I may never stand behind a microphoe stand again, I

may never get a white knuckle grip on a microphone

again and sing with the anointing.

Prodigal son, Just come home, kneel in the altar and.

Pray, and start cutting grass, and start praying for your

church family, and start passing out bibles and start passing

out tracks and just working amongst the people like Ruth

Tomorrow Baptist did. And it won't be long before Jesus

looks and says, they came home with the right attitude,

and after that the right attitude, I'm able to promote

them and within the kingdom. So we're trying to rebuild

something that has been destroyed by the spirit of this world.

A greater king built this. We will never build a

pretty enough church. We'll try to build something for his glory.

We will never buy a pretty enough chandelier for what

he deserves. We'll try to do something for his glory.

We will never reach enough people for what he deserves

because of his selfless sacrifice. But when he was about

to be offered, and he took that cloth, that towel,

and he girded about himself, and he started walking around,

knowing good and well, if the hearts of the Israelites

had ever been right within history, he could have assembled

a kingdom on this earth. But because once again they

had miserably fell, because they had missed the man and

the mission and the purpose. And he realizes, yet again,

we'll go this way again until they learned a lesson

of servit to his servanthood, and he takes the towel

and he begins to kneel down and to wash those

saints' feet, and Peter says, not so, Lord. He addresses

him as his lordship, not so. And Jesus said, I

need to get down here, and what I've done to you,

you do to others. Somebody told me about something that

just happened in one of the churches we've been ministering

in overseas, said that this hardened sinner came in and

said it just happened to be feet washing service says

to how hardened sinner? And he looked around and he

saw those people humbling himself. The sisters split off and

went this way, and the brothers split up and went

this way, under the same roof, but divided where they

couldn't see one another. They began to humble themselves, and

they said, that hardened sinner criminal started weeping and crying

and bawling and squalling, and said, I need what they got.

I can go out there and beat people up all

day long. I can go out there and bully people

all day long and force them into submission. But the

great strength within them people's revealed by their ability to

humble themselves, and so Jesus goes around washing feet. Peter says,

just do it all, Lord, and Jesus said, no, let's

do the dirty parts. Let's get right down where it's

ugly and nasty. I believe we'd have more effective camp

meet and preaching if we'd wipe more homeless people's brow

and hand them more tracts infused with prayers and love.

I don't know what's going on right now within me,

but I'll tell you something. Sunday night, something happened to

me before the preaching, during that move of God, not

because certain ones were praying, but because the church together

was praying. Something happened to me right there. The next day,

I told Sister Howell. In over twenty years of preaching,

every time I get through preaching, I hurt someway or another,

I said. The next day, I suffer in some ways,

not severely, but I suffer. I feel weakness, soreness, even

the pads of my feet hurt. That morning comes six thirty.

After preaching hard twice on Sunday, after five hours of sleep,

I woke up praying in the spirit. I felt like

I was fifteen years old. I didn't hurt all day.

I told sister how I said something happened to me.

I checked them massive hernias, They're gone. I kept telling

my bride, I said something happened to me. I said

something happened to me. And you know what said He

sent his word and healed them. I can do about thirty

set ups right now. I can show you. But I'm

not going to be stupid, Brother Jesse, I ain't hurt

all this week, he said, I am the Lord God

that heal is the sister Wooding. If me just pastoring

a little hole in this church of eighty people instead

of pastoring one to eight hundred, and I can get

healed just ten into my master's business, if he can

just throw this little servant dog a little crumb, if

I had to stumble into a little crumb, like a

little servant maid would stumble into a blessing after the

mistress has walked away from the table.

I wonder how many maids.

And men servants and maid servants have walked away from

the master's table and said, you know what, I wasn't

treated to that big puffy loaf of leaven bread.

But why they ain't looking it? Sure is good.

And tell all the other little servant boys and servant girls.

They don't know it, but I'm eating like a king.

And that's what happens when you eat like a king

as a servant in a father's house. And that's what

the prodigal son knew. Just get me there and let

me be a hired servant. I don't have to have

the status of son. I'm not gonna ask that from

a ring back. When I tell you this, they'll be

bread and and despair. And when them hard working men,

Brother Sam Shivers was lifting stones. A lot of that

carpentry in the Bible days was mason work. It wasn't

always working with wood. It's working with stones or cement,

stuff like that. Brother Nathaniel. I'm working on a building.

I'm working on a building. Somebody could have passed by

and said, hey, brother, the spirit of Besy littles upon you.

What's your name and what's the name of your pastor.

I'd love to see brother Sam Shivers and brother Jesse

Howe and brother Nathaniel Howe, brother Philip Powell over there

building a church for this beautiful church family for the King.

Somebody walk over there. I'm over preaching at another island,

and they say, hey, you guys are multi talented. Look

at what's your building? What's the name of these great men?

And brother Jesse look at all the men and say,

aren't you all and a green? One hundred percent wholeheartedly

concurring with me what I'm about to say. We're just

all servants. Yeah, but who's your pastor? We're just all servants.

If I told you who my pastor is, he say,

we're just all servants. I have never seen this text

in my life in the Bible like this. I'm sure

I've read it fifty to sixty times. Who knows how

many times I read it, But it jumped up to

me and I realized these people had the spirit of

Christ and sistter hell. They were gonna get something done.

And our elders here, they know how to get something

done when it comes to worship of praising the Lord.

And you see they don't just sit there. This is

a service, buddy. They I come to church to service God.

I come to church to work. I come to service

because serve and worship God. I come to church to

praise the Lord, to be a service. Ho Holy Ghost,

Holy Ghost, we have no need to offer any names.

We are serving of the Great God of Heaven and Earth,

and we're here to rebuild something a real person of

status build. And that's what I'm trying to tell you.

He went, and he left us behind to work on

a building for the great King of Israel, spiritual of Israel,

while the world can desire recognition and repentance. The Apostle Paul,

speaking to the Church and Fillippine in Philippians, chapter number two,

in verse number seven, speaking of Jesus, he reminded them,

but made himself of no reputation. That's the prince himself,

that's the son of the King himself. Just to howl,

and he said, he took upon him the form of

a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

A prodigal son. Didn't want to sit on the porch

with status. He came back to work on the porch

if it needed repairs, and that's.

What Jesus came to do.

The devil tore it up, but I got a plan

to fix it. And I don't care what end of

the boards you're on. I don't care what end of

the spiritual tabernac or a temple you're working on. I

don't care what part of the platform you're standing in. Hey,

come on now, it'd be better to be the commode cleaner.

Sister Wooton last Wednesday night, she asked me, She said,

how long have I been cooking for the homeless? I said, honey,

at least eight years. And I don't know what people think,

but they wonder the status has she the queen be

at a camp meeting? No is her name on the

marquis No. But I can tell you what that servant

girl can tell you. She's living to dream in the

King's house because every time she does something for the king.

I ain't seen a service yet that he ain't blessed her.

I saw her standing flat footed tonight in service to

the king. What about twenty minutes later he's pouring it out.

It ain't, brother Dealingwood, that we want you working like

a slave around here. It's that we want you to

understand it's better to be working on the porch of

the king than to be out there in the pig pen.

I'm preaching a message, the Holy ghost title from the

pig pen to the porch. Hey, this ought to make

every man of God want to go out there and

pull a few blades of grass to the golory God.

This how to make every woman in this house want

to do something for the glory God. This coming son,

if come on, He made of himself no reputation, and

took upon himself the form of a servant, and was

made in the likeness of men. Let's stand here please.

Somebody told me about a great man of God that

took a chart about twenty something years ago. I know

him personally. I knew when he took the church he

was coming off the field and I was going on

the field. In fact that in a lot of ways,

him and I have been connected spiritually. There's been just

a lot of mysterious happenings around our ministries together at

random times, even though we're not, you know, the best

of friends. Distance keeps us from being that kind of

person or that having that kind of relationship. But brother Jesse,

he went into a small park of this country, a

small county, after many years working as an evangelist, and

he took a church. And somebody said, why did you

take a church? He said, because God told me to.

And I know this other preacher very well. He's one

to be practical. He's wanted to know what he's getting into.

He's one to know your status. Make sure you let

him know you're there to be pastor make sure you

let him know your not there to be a doormat.

Make sure you let them know they got to treat

you right. So he asked this man, how much are

they gonna pay you per week? You're gonna be a

to take care of your family. You've been traveling and

preaching revivals for years. How do you know you're gonna

be able to support that beautiful family? How you know

you're gonna get a paycheck? Here's what the man said.

He said, if God sent me there, I will labor

amongst them people as a servant, and they will either

take care of me or they will not. But I

will do what God said regardless. It wasn't but a

few months later, Brother Jodie Silvers went by and preached

them a revival, and I remember.

Scads of people got saved, sanctified.

Holy ghost filled, and I believe the church tripled in

size is baptizing one right at to anohing got saved

because one man said, you know what, I'm not gonna

ask God what's in it for me. But the best

part is prodigals came home and what some of you

don't know. Some of them prodigals became preachers, and some

of them preached in this building right here. And not

long after they preached in this building, they moved out

west and they passedor holding His churches, and they've preached

in camp meetings, and they've been a blessing on the

mission field, and they've started mission works. Because one man said,

I'm not looking for compensation. I just want to labor

in the Master's field. And I'm telling you here tonight,

God has spoken to the Bethel holding his church. Let's

just leave the pig pen in a misery and come

to the porch of the Master. There's something I can do.

There's something I can do. The Holiness Brother wrote the

song and pen these lyrics.

I can pray, I can pray. I can pray.

I can go out there the fire forest and I

can kneel at a stuff or rock, and I can.

Pray for Revifa.

I don't ever have to have my name in recognition

or of great reputation. I can preach for the next

thirty or forty years in labor and obscurity in a

little town called La Bel, Florida. Oh come on, now,

I've seen preachers wives before so desperate to get attention

and recognition that they wrecked their husband's ministry. But if

they had just labored as a servant with their husband,

they would have become honorable. Sister McDonald just passed away,

what was it ten thirty four am on Monday. As

her pastor read to her the twenty third Psalm, she

drew her last breath, Brother Jesse, everybody, I suppose in

the holiness movement knows the name Reverend Russell McDonald, But

I was in several services with sister Reverend Russell McDonald,

and I saw the twinkle in his eye every time

he said sister MacDonald and I love. He had confidence

in her prayers, and a lot of times when he

was preaching those meetings, he said, sister McDonald could come

with me tonight. She is very sick, but he say,

but love it rest ashore while we're having church. That

woman is holed up over there praying for us. And

he talked about having to leave because she was sick

and preach revivals and leave her behind, and he said

he would come home and see the hollow of her

eyes and being blinked around them eyes. And he said, honey,

have you been praying since I've been gone? And she

wouldn't want to answer him, and he said, not only

have you been praying, you've been fasting. And them little

McDonald boys and that little McDonald's girl would say, Mama

has been faster than praying the entire time you've been gone. Daddy,

come on as somebody willing to labor in the shadows,

somebody willing to lay in obscurity. My granddaddy had a

saying about his grandsons, and he sat there, my little shadows.

I'll tell you something.

It was a blessing to hear Oman dampire say that

is my shadow. I'm okay laboring in the shadows of

a great man. These Israelites were okay laboring in the

shadows of Solomon. They were okay laboring in the shadow

of the scribe. Israel all come on as a rubber ball.

But here tonight, I want you to know, it doesn't

matter if the pastor drives through your.

Churchyard and sees you working or not.

It doesn't matter it the pastor sees you praying in

that pubil.

Poor church or not, there is work to be done.

Now. I feel like the best part of this service

is the next part of this service, of the altar service.

Mean God teaches all of us are how to become servants.

Could we bow our heads and close our eyes? The

prodigal son left the porch with a bad attitude, not

interested in servitude around the family place. But he came

back with the right attitude. And I'm going to say

this about Sister Teresa Wallace's son, brother Dylan Wallace. If

I've ever seen a young man come back with the

right attitude, it is brother Dylan Wallace. He hadn't been

back with the Lord, but just a couple of months.

I suppose it's been now. And he said, Pastor, look,

I'm planting tracks at the gas station, Brother Jesse. He

wasn't asking for a place on the platform. And I

have seen people quit church and quit God because they

wanted status. And I'm going to close with this, Brother Philip.

I've seen people labor fruitlessly and little churches across the

America because they wanted status. I have heard of preachers

preaching to two or three people for forty years because

they wanted their name on that marquis saying Pastor so

and so, so and so brothers and sisters. No matter

how you look at it, at the end of the day,

we can correctly say they did it for status. When

they bury one of them four members they had for

thirty years, they get a kick out of the fact

that the obituary says Officiant so and so, so and

so brothers and sisters. It'd be better off for those

individuals to join functional churches and labor as nobody's and

servants for the kingdom and go into nursing homes and

jail ministries in the highways and beating them hedges until

they find the prodigal and tell them you can come home.

There has to be somebody in this building right now

that would say, pastor, this message tonight was from me.

This message tonight was for me. Would you raise your hand?

It's going to be a different altar call tonight. There's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,

Are there any others?

Nine? Ten?

Now, in the spirit of Jesus, I want to ask you,

will you be how about your father's business? Would you

be willing to teach even if you didn't have the

title teacher, would you be willing to preach even if

you didn't have the title pastor? Well done, my good

and faithful pastor, He shall say, no.

I will close with this.

No where do you find the status or the titles

of ministries and ministers. All you hear is the generic

statement servant, well done, how good and faithful servant. Now,

if this is somebody wanting to pray right now, these

altars are open, they always are, would you come right now?

You know why we're faithful in the little things, not

because we want to be ruler over greater things. You know,

while we're fight for in little things because of servitude,

understanding the importance and the necessity of helping others, and

we're not afraid of embracing and responsibility. Jesus, I've heard

of many preachers abandoning pastorates nowadays and leaving pretty churches behind.

Somebody told me recently of a group of Pentecostals that

have about twelve vacancies and their parsonages and pastorates because

people are starting to get sick of status. It's not working.

May God give them the heart of a servant. Can

I'll tell you this ministry will be fruitless unless we

promote the holiness and the righteousness of God. And Ezra

knew we're working on a building. We're doing something, but

we also need to work on the internals as much

as the externals. And God worked on that prodigal son's heart.

In the nation of Israel needs of working on their heart,

and here tonight ministers and ministries need to be worked

on by the Master