At All Times

We're gonna get into the word now. I just had

to share those wonderful things and gonna be

reading just one familiar. I don't always get

to read a familiar verse. Sometimes I have to

do a lot of explaining, but this is a familiar

verse. It's found in Psalm 34, verse one. One

that is quoted often, but I pray that... As this

message is preached, we will gain a new understanding,

appreciation, and application for our lives.

Because I believe it holds a very profound mystery

and principle for the believer. It is the psalmist

David who writes, I will bless the Lord at all

times. I'm going to say at all times. His praise.

shall continually be in my mouth. Somebody say

amen. I'm going to preach today on this very

thought at all times. At all times. Join with

me in prayer right now. Father, we love you.

We thank you for your spirit that is so evident

in this place. But we know, God, that... As the

word is being preached, the enemy wants to do

everything he can to distract, to rob, to hinder

someone from their blessing, from the word. But

today, God, we bind and we come against every

foul and contrary spirit to the spirit of God.

And we bind it in Jesus' name and we loose revelation.

We loose freedom because where the spirit of

the Lord is, there is liberty, God. And I pray

for a greater liberty to permeate and fill this

place, God. And let your word go forth with power,

God. Anoint these lips of clay. Put your word

in my heart, God. And do a work among us. Confirm

this. with accompanying signs. We give you glory.

In Jesus' name we pray. Everyone say amen. You

may be seated in the presence of God. David is

arguably one of the most prolific worshipers

and warriors in the Bible, a man whose gift of

music and courage and battle made him a legend,

both in the religious and secular worlds. This

summer, I had... the privilege to check off one

of my bucket list items. I don't know if you

have a bucket list of things that you would like

to do or places you'd like to visit in your lifetime,

but I was able to check one of those things off

this summer when I got to see up close and personal

Michelangelo's statue of David in person. And

doing so was kind of a dream come true, just

being a I guess, a casual student of art and

history and the Renaissance period. And so to

be able to see the various sculptures, not just

the one of David, but the various sculptures

and paintings was a delight. But this one was

breathtaking and inspiring for all the reasons

that the world has come to know. And while this

statue is regarded as a perfect masterpiece by

many, Art enthusiasts, both expert and casual

like, the life that inspired it was anything

but perfect. David's spiritual sculpting was

more painful than the marble version that we

see reflected today. His life was not as perfectly

polished and sculpted. Even the way that we,

the church, tend to talk about men like him and

other characters in Scripture, tend to put them

on pedestals, tend to enshrine them, idolize

them even for their iconic feats throughout Scripture

and the highlight real moments of their life.

Well, there's more to the story than that. without

belaboring this point too much, is a complicated

person, really. It's a complicated figure. For

every highlight, for every shining or crowning

moment in his life, you could parallel that with

a less crowning moment, if I'm just going to

be very kind about it, but with a dark and painful

and regretful moment in his life. quoted Psalms

such as Psalm 3 and Psalm 22, Psalm 51 were not

pinned on the pinnacle of success but in the

basement of affliction and failure. Not in the

courts of the palace but in the caves of the

wilderness. And this was the case in Psalm 34

which is usually Not in its original context,

but just quoted in isolation. It is a verse that

we have, if you've spent any number of time in

church, attended a few services, if you've got

a few apostolic services under your belt, amen,

then you have heard this verse quoted. If you

could put it back up. You've heard this uttered

from... this pulpit many times and from other

pulpits, from worship leaders and psalmists and

singers that we are to bless the Lord at all

times, right? And His praise shall continually

be in our mouth. And I think one of the reasons

why we like it so much is because it just cuts

straight to the point. You know, it just gets

right to the heart of the matter. We need to

praise God and we need to do it all the time.

And so no wonder it's become... such a quotable

scripture for us, and it evokes such a joyful

response, and also it has become a bit cliche,

something that rolls off the tongue without much

consideration for what it really means, and certainly

from the place that it was written from. Despite

its upbeat nature, this One Psalm and the rest

of the verses that come after verse 1. All of

these verses, despite their upbeat nature, was

written in the aftermath of one of David's most

disgraceful moments of his life. So I want you

for a few moments, look at the background of

Psalm 34. And if God will allow, I may circle

back to this psalm in a few weeks and preach

a little more about what David writes because

there are just some layered and textured and

powerful things that he writes from such a raw

place in his life. Behind Psalm 34 lies a disturbing

scene of terror and shame. One that you can read

about in 1 Samuel 21. 1 Samuel chapter 21 is

1 Samuel 21 · chapter mention

the background story to Psalm 34. David wrote

Psalm 34 in the aftermath of what he experienced

in 1 Samuel 21. So it's imperative for us to

understand where he's coming from. And in 1 Samuel

21, we find a desperate David. On the run from

Saul, King Saul, and unwisely entering the hostile

Philistine city of Gath. He's on the run. He's

a fugitive. He's a marked man, David is, because

King Saul is filled with rage and jealousy over

the next best thing, which was David, the one

that God had anointed. to succeed the throne

of Israel. And now Saul is, he's on a rampage.

And he wants to find David and kill him. So David

is forced to flee his homeland. And in doing

so, he begins to act a little undavid -like.

He begins to act a little rash. His flesh gets

the best of him. So he goes into enemy territory.

He must have been desperate. to go into Philistine

territory, the city of Gath. The reason why he

must have been desperate was because Gath was

a significant city in that it was the hometown

of Goliath. Gath was where Goliath was born and

raised. That was his hometown. And of all the

places that David, on the run, could have sought

asylum, he goes into The town whose champion

he beheaded. He could not have picked a worse

place to find refuge. But that's how desperate

he was. He goes into Gath and he's looking for

something, some sort of refuge. But when he gets

there, he finds that, of course, his reputation

had preceded him. As he enters this area as the

reputation of a giant slayer. Not only that,

but the parallel story, the corresponding story

in 1 Samuel 21 tells us that he was also carrying

the very sword of Goliath. He happened upon the

sword of Goliath in that desperate moment on

the run. He carries it with him. So picture this,

if you will. David's on the run from Saul, already

a fugitive. He goes into the homeland, whom's

champion he beheaded, and he's got his sword.

Strike three, buddy. Could not get any worse.

Talk about a risky move that David was making.

He was skating on the thinnest of ice as he goes

into Gath. You see. Something I want to alert

you to this afternoon, if I can preach this like

I want to, somebody say, go ahead. That sometimes

life will bring you face to face with your past

battles. But this time, the fight is different.

It's not going to be like the last time David

fought Goliath. Of course, we know that legendary

story of how he took the stone, right? And he

charged towards Goliath and he... Struck him

with the stone, with the sling. What a powerful

display of God's power. What a dramatic scene

that was for David. And of course, it catapulted

him to the highest of heights in his homeland.

Made him a hero overnight. Overnight success.

But you know, life isn't always going to be like

that. I said, life's not always going to be like

that. Your enemy's not always going to be. 12

feet tall or however tall Goliath was with all

of his armor. It's not always going to be that

dramatic. And David was about to find out that

truth for himself. That the fight was going to

be different. The enemy isn't a giant this time

in front of you. But David realized it's the

fear within you. It's the fear that can rage

within you. The battle. It's not with Goliath.

But I want to tell somebody today, I want to

help somebody if I can. I want to preach to somebody

about praise. You got to understand where David

is writing this from. The battle is not always

Goliath standing in front of you. It's not always

a battle with Goliath. But sometimes it's a battle

with yourself. Amen, somebody. I said amen, somebody.

It's a battle with your own mind. Your own insecurities.

Your own... perceived fears, your own doubts,

and your own suspicions. It's a battle with your

own flesh. And I've come to realize that many

saints are engaged in the wrong battle. They

think that their battle is to fight Goliath or,

to put it in today's terms, to go toe -to -toe

with the devil every day. I got news for you.

The devil is not omnipresent. He cannot be fighting

you every single day of your life because he

can only be in one place at one time. So he's

got to pick his battles wisely and he's got to,

you know, fight here and fight there more often

than not. The thing that we are battling most

in our life is not a 12 -foot devil in our life

or a giant. It's the fear and the doubt and the

insecurities and the flesh and the deceptions

and all these things that can come against us

in our own minds. Cornered by his fears and out

of options, David was reduced. Watch this now.

You read it. Again, your homework. Everyone's

got homework today. You've got to go back and

read. So that you can match with this message

in Psalm 34. Go back and read 1 Samuel 21. Because

there you will see that the giant slayer, the

kid who became a king, the anointed one, who

also killed lions and bears with his bare hands.

I mean, he was a, even though he was young, he

was a man's man. This guy, who had done all these

things, you read in 1 Samuel 21, this same David

was reduced to scratching on doors and drooling

on his beard in a sad attempt to spare his life

from death. The same guy who charged Goliath

with a sling and a stone, now, is foaming at

the mouth, scratching on doors, pretending to

be crazy so that he can avoid being killed by

his enemies. It's almost like we're talking about

two different people, right? Amen, somebody.

It's almost like we're talking about two. I mean,

wait a minute. Is this the same David? I got

to go back to that passage where he killed God.

It can't be the same David. But in reality, we're

talking about the same person. How many of you

know you can be the same person but from one

day to the next? Hmm. Depending on what the situation

is, depending on what the problem is, depending

on what's coming against you, depending on what

was said, depending on where you are, an emotional

state that you're in, a mental state that you're

in, you can go from one moment to the next and

find yourself just like David. Here is the reality.

Church folks are not so different. You know why?

Someone say why. Because it's easier to pretend

to be somebody you're not than to face the war.

I'm going to just make this plain and simple

for you. It was easier for David to pretend not

to be the king that he was and to be a madman

than it was to face the truth about where he

was and who he was. It's easier to pretend like

you have it all together than to admit you got

problems in your life. Hello, somebody. I said,

hello, somebody. It's easier to pretend to be

somebody else, to put up a front, to act holy

rather than to face your issues. It's easier

to act ignorant. than to be responsible for what

you know. It's going to get quiet here now. Hallelujah.

It's easier to act strong rather than to admit

your weakness. And while today there might not

be anybody scratching on doors, drooling, I don't

see anybody drooling on your mouth today unless

you're hungry, praise God. Nobody's... drooling

on their mouth today? You say, pastor, I'm not

that extreme. Yeah, but have you been acting

less than who you really are? Have you been pretending?

Have you been putting up a front? Have you been

acting in a way that is less than the revelation

that God has given you about your life? About

what you're called to do. I've come today to

help somebody. To tell you that you are greater

than that. That greater is he that is in you

than he that is in the world. I've come to tell

you that that is not God's will for your life.

Hallelujah. But it's easier for us to act a certain

way. To get us out of something. To get us to

deliver ourselves. from whatever it is that is

vexing us, that is troubling us. David pretended

to be less than the man that he was. And so this

is the very place in his life where he decided

something has to change. He had a wake -up call.

David realized, I can't keep going through my

life pretending to be somebody I'm not. You know,

that's real misery. Real misery is not being

in misery. Real misery is being, it's pretending

that you're not in misery when you are. Real

misery is living a lie. My God, I'm going to

help somebody. Real misery is living a falsehood.

Real misery is projecting one thing but living

another. Real misery is having to project something

to people or to play the part and yet be broken

or hurting or defeated on the inside. And so

David realized in this moment of his life that

I cannot spend another day. I cannot allow myself

to degrade myself again. I can't allow myself

to fall, pray, and be a prisoner of the situation

again. I cannot allow myself to fall into that

dark place again where I start acting less than

who I am in God. I cannot allow my mind to creep

back to that place again. I cannot allow myself

to forget who I am and how good God has been

in my life. I cannot allow myself to ever regress

into a place of depression and fear and anxiety.

and panic attacks and allow the enemy to run

roughshod in my life. I cannot allow myself to

just live any old kind of way. I cannot allow

myself to succumb to my fears and to cower at

the hand of the enemy. I cannot allow myself

to go through my life not living in total victory.

And so David comes into a cave and begins to

write down Psalm 34, and he begins this psalm

by saying, From now on, I'm... I'm going to bless

the Lord at all times. I'm going to bless the

Lord at all times. David had a reckoning with

himself. David had a self -realization. He had

an epiphany. He had an aha moment. And he realized

that if I'm going to walk in my destiny, if I'm

going to be the king that God has called me to

be, then I've got to make up in my mind that

come hell or high water, that come raging storms,

that come problems and tribulation, I'm going

to bless the Lord at all times. Hey, I've come

to tell somebody. here today, you got to make

up in your mind today, I will bless the Lord

at all times. And his praises, come on, somebody

ought to bless him today, shall continually be

in my mouth. Why don't you take about 30 seconds

right now and just give God glory. Somebody magnify

the Lord. Somebody bless his name. I've got to

make up in my mind. my problem. I got a makeup

in my mind that I will bless the Lord at all

times. And this is exactly where David found

himself. And I'm going to give you very briefly,

just quickly. I don't have much time. But I'm

going to give you just some three brief declarations

that will change your life. And we get these

from David. David inspired these three declarations.

And the first one is, I will not, I feel. Oh,

I got to say that again. If you weren't on board

with this message, now is your time to get on

the train, friend. I will not. Someone say, I

will. Come on, shout I will. Say not I will.

I feel. David did not write that psalm and he

did not say, I feel. So bless the Lord. No, he

said, I will. Someone say, I will. There is a

world of difference between what you feel to

do and what you will to do. And if you're going

to walk in victory, if you're going to rise above

your problems, if you're going to walk in righteousness

and be what God has called you to be, then you

need to start telling yourself the truth and

commanding yourself. to bless the Lord and say,

I will. Oh, my God. My spiritual life cannot

be dependent upon what I feel. It will be a result

of what I will because I don't always feel to

do it. But if I will to do it, my will will override

my feel. I need some help today. My will will

override my feel. I don't feel like praising,

but I will. I don't feel like shouting, but I

will. I don't feel like clapping, but I will.

I don't feel like singing, but I will. I don't

feel like praying, but I will. We've got to get

back to an I will. I'm going to tell you the

problem is that we've got too many that live

with an I feel spirit. That's the problem with

the modern -day church. That's the problem with

the modern -day believer. We've got too many

touchy -feely people nowadays. And they get bent

out of shape. And, you know, a pastor can barely

say anything. Just, I mean, remotely controversial.

Remotely stepping on one's toes. And then all

of a sudden they get into a mood where they don't

feel like doing something now. Oh, they don't

feel like praising now. Oh, they don't feel like

doing it. They don't feel like giving. They don't

feel like submitting. Oh, but come on. God didn't

save you so that you can still be, you know.

doing what you feel. God said, I need somebody

with an I will spirit. Oh, how I wish that there

would be a generation of believers here at City

Light Church. I'm thinking about 12 years have

we been established here, and I thank the Lord

for it. But if we're going to survive another

12 years, then we need some men and women of

God who have an I will spirit in them. Oh, we

need some men and women of God that will not

take no for an answer. We need some men and women

of God that are really going to press in to the

presence of God. We don't need deliverance from

the devil. We need deliverance from that moody

spirit that robs us of our blessing. Come on,

someone say preach today. I'm not in the mood

to praise him today. So they won't. I'm not in

the mood to go to the altar and pray. So they

won't. I'm not in the mood to give or tithe.

Uh -oh. So they won't. I'm not in the mood to

submit. So they won't. They serve God. based

on how they feel, what mood I'm in. Well, I'm

in a different mood this month than I was last

month. I cannot serve God. I cannot live life

and direct my life based on what mood I'm in.

You need to hear me today, believer, especially

you younger one. You need to develop the spiritual

habit of self -directed commands. If there is

anything you get from today's message, develop

the spiritual discipline of self -directed. command.

Don't engage in a debate with yourself about

what the Word of God says you ought to do. Don't

engage in vacillating between two opinions. No,

you stand your ground and you say, I will do

what God has called me to do. Oh, feelings are

fickle. They can change from one moment to the

next. They can change from one season to the

next. Oh, and that's why moody Christians, they're

so hard to please, so difficult to work. with

and so impossible to understand and you surely

cannot pin them down because they're always shifting

and they're always shaking and they're always

moving around. You never know. Is it a good day?

You know, you've got to ask them for permission

before you say hi to them because are they in

a good mood today? Am I going to get the bad

Jacob or am I going to get the good Jacob today?

Oh, no. You've got to have an I will. I'm not

telling you to be fake. I'm not telling you to

just be phony, but what I'm saying is you need

to put your own flesh and spirit in check. And

say, I don't care how hard it is today. I don't

care what's going on in my life today. I don't

care what's happening in my world today. I will

bless the Lord at all times. I was glad when

they said unto me, let us go into the house of

the Lord. Anybody glad to be in the house of

God today? Come on and clap your hands and give

him some praise. That's why Jesus prayed in the

garden, not my will, but it will be done. Because

if I do it based on my feelings, I'm going to

say, Lord, let this cup pass from me. Because

I don't feel to go to the cross. Second thing,

let me tell you briefly, is that David tells

us, gives us the declaration that at all times,

not sometimes. Someone say at all times. It's

been said. by somebody, famous maybe, I don't

know, it wasn't me, but that you cannot demand

a full -time God while being a part -time Christian.

Blessing the Lord, let me tell you, it's not

a side job. It's not a side hustle. It's not

a gig you do here and there. It's something that

we don't just do when it's convenient or comfortable.

And David, in that time, in that moment in Gath,

he failed there because he forgot. What some

of us forget sometimes is that God is sovereign

in every season, not just the good ones. Can

I preach this like I want to for a few more moments?

Just because you're going through a valley, brother

or sister, just because you're going through

a hard time, just because you're in an adversity,

a trial, doesn't mean that God has stopped being

God in your life. God promised to never leave

us nor forsake us. He's the same yesterday, today,

and forever. Hallelujah. is still God. He's still

God. But David, he succumbed to the moment of

his fear, of panic, of anxiety, and he failed

to give God glory in that moment. Why? Because

he did not see the sovereign hand of God in every

season. Ecclesiastes 3 .1 reminds us that everything,

there is a season, a time for every purpose under

heaven. If you don't recognize that you're seasoned

or you're seasoned in how God is revealing himself

in that season, what's going to happen? You're

going to become a prisoner of the moment. Think

about this. The same man, David, the giant killer.

David was ruthless. He didn't just knock him

out. He cut his head off. That's gruesome. I

don't know if I would have had the stomach for

that. Man, that is just a gruesome act. But that's

just how bold, that's how decisive he was about

that victory. Another chapter later in his life,

that same man is now scratching at the doors,

foaming at the mouth, not realizing that the

same God who delivered him from the hand of Goliath.

Was more than able to deliver him from the hand

of the king of Gath and his servants. But you

know why he failed that test? Because he couldn't

recognize how God, the same God, can move but

in different ways. The problem that we have,

some of us, just give me a few more moments.

I'm almost done. With my introduction. Praise

God. Hallelujah. I got too much to preach today.

The problem is, can I pinpoint where some of

your frustration is? Someone say, go ahead. Your

frustration is that you want God to do exactly

the same way he did yesterday today. And because

God isn't moving in the same velocity, in the

same fashion that he did yesterday, today, that's

causing you to have a panic attack. That's causing

your insecurities. To overshadow your faith.

That's causing you to question everything. Look

around. Feel sorry for yourself. That's causing

you to second guess the very thing that God said

he was going to do in your life. Because you're

waiting for him to do what he did yesterday in

the same fashion like he's doing today. This

is the reason why I know David was struggling

with this. Can I just take this a little further

here? This is the reason why. Because he was

carrying the sword of Goliath. David thought

he was going to swing the sword of Goliath again.

That's why he had it with him. He's like, he

was probably sharpening it. He was probably like

polishing it. Sword of Goliath. He had that baby

so polished, he probably was looking at himself

in the mirror just like that. Man, the sword

of Goliath. He was already envisioning. Man,

if I got to use this baby again, I don't know

how, practicing this sword. I don't know what

he was doing. Practicing his moves. Last time

I cut from the left to the right. This time I'm

going to cut from the right to the left. I'm

not sure what he was talking himself about with

that sword. But the one thing I know is that

his faith was more attached to the sword than

it was to God in that moment. Some of you have

more faith in the things of God than you do in

the God of the things. Y 'all ain't hearing me

today. I'm blowing right over some of your heads

right now. You got more faith in the system than

you do in the God of the system. You got more

faith in the structure than you do the God of

the structure. You got more faith in the economy

than you do the God of the economy. And what

I'm trying to tell you today, it's not man. It's

not this. It's not that. It's God. I wish I had

a witness today. I wish somebody would realize

that the power is not in the sword of Goliath

of yesterday. The power is in the faithfulness

of God. Come on up here, brother. The power is

with God. Somebody give the Lord some praise

today. Somebody clap your hands. Somebody bless

his holy name. Hallelujah. Remember, David was

carrying the sword. But the sword was not for

him to swing again. The sword was for him to

remember the faithfulness of God. To remember

that God hasn't changed. His methods do, but

his character doesn't. Oh, my God. His methods

do. That's why the children of Israel, the majority

of them didn't. enter the promised land. You

know why? Because they couldn't adjust their

faith. They wanted God to part the seas for them

again instead of learning how to cultivate the

land. They wanted manna from heaven instead of

learning how to grow carrots and potatoes. It's

the same God. Someone say, same God. New season.

David is there. And he's struggling. Why? I wonder

if that's your struggle today. Can you see an

area of your life right now where God is teaching

you to trust him in a new way? Huh? Why is he

doing that? So that you will learn how to bless

the Lord. At. Why aren't things clicking now

the way they did before? Why are you having to

pray ten times harder this time than you did?

Why are you not seeing results sooner, better

than you did yesterday? Could it be that God

is teaching you, training you how to bless the

Lord? Anybody can bless them on the mountaintop,

brother. Anybody can bless them. When a check

arrives in the mail and you got a bonus at work.

Anybody can bless them when things are going

your way. Things are happening on your timetable.

But David realized, if I'm going to survive,

if I'm going to make it, if I'm going to rise

up and be the man that God wants me to be for

my family, for this nation, I need to learn how

to bless the Lord. Gives us this final thing.

This will be my altar call. If you want to call

it that today. This is how we're going to end.

The final declaration he gives us is with my

mouth. Not just my heart. He said I will bless

the Lord at all times. And his praise. Someone

say his praise. Shall continually be with me.

Notice he didn't say in my heart. Had he said

in my heart, I've got no problem with that. It

actually sounds good too. But that's not what

he said. He said in my mouth. Why? Because the

key to blessing the Lord and living a life of

blessing and victory is learning how to exercise

the power that's in your mouth. Because if you

can speak it, if you can declare it, if you can

use your tongue for the glory of God, if you

can train your lips how to praise God. Oh, I

feel the Holy Ghost right now. How to bless God.

How to make a joyful noise. How to break the

silence. You know why? Because the devil wants

you to shut up. The devil knows that if you open

up your mouth and you begin to declare and confess,

he knows that it's the end for him. He knows

you're going to rise up. He knows that you're

going to get the victory. Why? Because the Bible

teaches us that death and life are in the power

of the tongue. Oh, I wish somebody would get

that revelation today. Why must we praise him

with our mouth? Why must clapping is good and

stomping is wonderful? waving of our hands is

nice. All those things are complimentary to giving

God praise and glory but none of those things

can replace nor substitute the power of that

spoken praise that comes out of your lips. No

wonder God chose the mouth to be the physical

manifestation of the indwelling of his spirit.

No wonder it was tongues of fire on the day of

Pentecost that sat upon each of them in the upper

room no wonder it was the Lord who told Satan

in the wilderness man shall not live by bread

alone but by every word that proceeds out of

the mouth of God I've come to tell somebody right

now as you stand to your feet that the blessing

and the miracle and the glory and the promise

is in your mouth if you will learn as a child

of God Open up your mouth. The devil wants to

silence your mouth. He wants to silence you.

You know why? Because he never forgot what happened

that day at Jericho when the people of God lifted

up a voice of shout unto the Lord. He never forgot

what happened on that day. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

He never forgot what happened on that day when

the people of Jericho, when they heard the shout

of God's people and at the shout of God's people

of praise, those walls can't see. The devil knows

that when you pray, Praise God. The walls come

down. I don't know what walls you've got in your

life, my friend. I don't know what walls are

circling your promises. I don't know what walls

are circling your miracles and your blessings.

But if you learn how to bless the Lord at all

times, and his praise shall continually be in

your mouth, if you really learn how to praise

him, if you really learn how to bless him, those

walls won't be able to stand much longer. Those

walls will start to tremble. Those walls, I wish

I had somebody. I wish I had a believer. Is there

a believer in the house of God today? Is there

a believer in the house of the Lord today? Who

understands that when you begin to open up your

mouth, those walls begin to come down. He knows.

He knows. He knows. Somebody right now, you better

begin to praise the Lord. Somebody right now,

you better begin to lift up your voice unto God.

Lift up your voice unto the Lord. I want everybody

in here. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, hallelujah.

I don't want nobody leaving the service yet.

I don't want nobody walking out yet. I want to

stay right here in the spirit of the Lord. I

want to stay right here where God is doing. This

is where God is moving. God. is moving among

us right now. Oh, I want my ministers to get

ready. Oh, get ready, Brother David. Where's

Brother Kevin? Hallelujah. Get ready. Oh, hallelujah.

Hallelujah. Get ready. I want the ministers to

get ready. Oh, hallelujah. It was Paul and Silas.

Oh, hallelujah. The devil never forgot what happened

in Acts 16 when Paul and Silas were bound in

a Philippian jail and they were shackled together.

But the Bible says at midnight they began to

pray and sing praises unto God. Oh, I don't know

who I'm talking to right now. But as they began

to lift up their voices, as they began to sing

praises unto God, oh, as they began to worship,

the Bible says that the prison began to shake

and the doors were opened. and everybody's chains

were loose. Don't you tell me there's not power

in your praise. Don't you tell me there's not

power in your worship. Oh my God. I will bless

the Lord. I don't know if there's somebody right

now. Listen, hallelujah. I don't want to sing.

I don't want the praise team to sing yet. The

musicians are here. That's all right. But if

I I almost was going to say don't even play yet,

but keep playing. That's okay. Because what I

don't want anybody to do, don't you fall into

the same routine where you wait for a certain

song. Don't you wait for the music today. Don't

you wait for the praise team today. Don't you

wait to feel something in your spirit. I dare

somebody right now under the sound of my voice

to say I will bless you. We're always waiting

for the atmosphere to change. We always want

the atmosphere to change. But I've come to prophesy

and tell you, God has given you the power to

change the atmosphere. If you don't like what

you feel, why don't you praise him differently?

Why don't you praise him differently right now?

Come on. Right there where you are. Why don't

you lift up your voice? Lift up your hands. Open

up your mouth. And give God the glory. Hold off

on the song. Hold off on the song. I feel something

happening right now. Come on. Hallelujah. You

want to step out of your aisle? Step out of your

aisle. Oh, hallelujah. There's plenty of space

throughout this building right now. I'm here

to tell you, it's not complicated. It's simple.

It's basic. It's elementary. We just got to put

our flesh. The problem is not that it's difficult

or complicated. The problem is that we don't

want to do it. That's all it is. But once you

win the battle in your mind today, once you get

over your mind today, once you get over your

feelings today, you say, I will bless the Lord

at all times. Is there anybody right here right

now that said, I'm going to bless him? Come on.