A Call To Remember - A Tale Of Two Flags

Amen. God is so good. What a God. What a God.

There is none like him. Amen. Good to see you

in the house of the Lord. Thank you for being

here today. If you're visiting with us, it is

an honor for us to have you in this house of

worship. There are countless others across this

city and town that you could be in today, but

yet you chose to be here with us. And for me,

I count that a great honor. to have you here

with us. We as a church appreciate your attendance

today. If you have your Bibles, begin turning

with me to Psalm 60. Psalm 60. It is good to

have my family with us, part of our middle daughter,

Lauren, and the crew. They are embarking upon

the... travel baseball effects. And as they are

growing into various age groups, they had to

separate yesterday. One's in Chattanooga and

one was over here. And I'm just glad they come

to church this morning on the way to finish up

the Chattanooga tournament. Just set it right

over there, boys. Yeah, please, brethren. I'm

sorry, not boys. Apologies, brethren. Brethren.

Yeah, just grab that other thing right there.

You're about to see your pastor do something

that he very rarely does. And so know that I've

been urged by the Spirit. Amen. But it is good

to have them here with us. Yesterday, we ended

up with a runner -up championship ring. Amen.

And an MVP ring. Amen. Looking for another. Yeah,

sit it right over here. Sit, yeah. Yeah, yeah,

right over. Right over there. Yeah, well, a little.

Got most of it from their nana. Their nanny's

where they got most of their talent when it comes

to that ball field stuff. Poppy was all right,

but nowhere near what nanny was back in the day.

That was back in the day. I don't know, did any

of y 'all see that little family? picture that

Gerald put on Facebook during Mother's Day that

Sunday afternoon of we were outside throwing,

passing the softball just a little bit. Well,

she had this thought, well, yeah, give me a glove.

And I almost messed up. I threw it like back

in the day to her. We're not back in the day.

And so it almost got bad. She defended herself

right at the last moment. Keeps telling me, I'd

like to play. I said, you better get up and walk,

let alone play. That arthritic ankle, I could

play. I said, no, we're past that. That's prime.

It's a good thing she loves me. You got good

friends that remind her of that, too. Are you

ready today? Psalm 60, verse 1 reads, O God,

Psalms 60:1

thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us,

thou hast been displeased. O turn thyself to

us again. Thou hast made the earth to tremble,

thou hast broken it. Heal the breaches thereof,

for it shaketh. Thou hast showed thy people hard

things. Thou hast made us to drink the wine of

astonishment. That's staggering from the effects

of what has happened. The hardness, this hardship

that they're referring to, the psalmist. But

then verse 4. Thou hast given a banner to them

that fear thee. That it may be displayed because

of truth. Then the psalmist says in 63, verse

6, he says, When I remember thee upon my bed,

and meditate on thee in the night watches, because

thou hast been my help. Therefore in the shadow

of thy wings will I rejoice. With the help of

the Lord for a little while today, I'm not going

to be in a hurry. If you are, if you need to

be dismissed, just ease on out. God bless you.

Thank you again for being here, but I'm not going

to be in a hurry. Amen. I feel like the Lord

has put this on my heart, so we're just going

to share it. The thought I'm going to preach

to you today is a call to remember the tale of

two flags. The tale of two flags. Today, I don't

know, some of you may be aware of it. I know

some of you are. Today is National Flag Day.

And I know you begin to think, well, what's a

flag got to do with church? Well, I'm going to

tell you what a flag has to do with church so

that you'll know that I'm not outside the bounds

of the word. How about that? I'll pray for you

if you pray for me. Father, we love you. Thank

you for your goodness and your mercy. So grateful

and thankful this morning for this opportunity

to be in your house. And Lord, to encounter your

presence. So Father, now as we've broken the

bread of life, your word is the bread of life.

And I thank you so much. So Lord, and on our

ears to hear and our hearts to receive what it

is the Spirit would say unto the church. To you

be praise forever in Christ's name. The church

said, amen. You can be seated. One man said while

he was walking through a country courthouse square,

on a park bench, an old man was sitting. And

he said to him, your old flagpole is leaned a

little bit. And that's a ragged old flag you

got sitting on it. Well, he said. I don't like

to brag, but we're kind of proud of that old

flag, ragged old flag. You see, we got a little

hole in that flag there when Washington took

it across Delaware. It got powder burned the

night Francis Scott Key sat watching it, writing,

oh say can you see. It got a rip in New Orleans

when Packingham and Jackson were tugging at its

seams. She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville,

and she got again cut at Shallow Hill. There

was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg, and

the south wind blew hard on that ragged old flag.

On Flounders Field in World War I, she got a

big hole from a Bertha gun. She turned blood

red in World War II. She's hung limp and low

a time or two. She was in Korea and Vietnam.

Desert Storm and Iran now. She went where she

was sent by her Uncle Sam. She waved from our

ships upon the briny foam. And now they've about

quit waving her back at home. In her own good

land, she's been abused. She's been burned, dishonored,

denied, and refused. And she's getting a little

threadbare, and she's wearing thin. But she's

in good shape for the shape she's in. So we raise

her up every morning and we bring her down slow

every night. We don't let her touch the ground

and we fold her up right. On second thought,

I do like to brag. Because I'm mighty proud of

that old ragged flag. Today is National Flag

Day. I don't know if I'm as patriotic as some,

but I am a patriot. I love my country. I love

this nation. Is she perfect? No. Never will be

as long as some of the folks we send up there

to run it. We got a long way to get before we'll

ever get perfect. But she's in pretty good shape.

For the shape she's in. Amen. On this national

flag day, we have these two banners that are

before us. In old glory here that waves, the

colors of red, white, and blue. The red symbolizes

valor and sacrifice. White represents purity

of which it's getting sort of dingy. Blue signifies

perseverance and justice. The 13 stripes on the

flag are for those 13 original colonies that

separated from tyranny and began the revolution

so that a people could live free. It wasn't free.

So that we could live free. Blood has been spilled.

Can I tell you without the shedding of blood,

there's no remission of sin. And without the

shedding of blood, there is no freedom for people.

Because it has to be fought for. You have to

take freedom from tyranny. It doesn't surrender

it. Evil doesn't just surrender it. Now, I know

in this room there are varying opinions politically

about how we interject ourselves into world affairs.

But I believe that the United States of America

is the greatest nation on this earth. Not just

because I'm from here. If I was over there looking

this way, this is where I would probably want

to be. Various reasons for its greatness. Hopefully

the number one thing is God has blessed us because

the gospel has really flooded from these shores

around this world. Now I know there's some whacked

out ideas out there and it's going to get wackier

as time wanes on. The further we move away from

the origination and the original plan and the

original foundation was shaky, the men who...

penned and orchestrated the greatest document

for men to live by, the Constitution. They were

not perfect men by any stretch. But the system

that we live under, as far as the world goes,

I believe has the potential to be the fairest

for any in the world. That's the reason many

long to live on our shores. But for the child

of God, we've got another banner. We have another

banner. You notice it's on the right side of

the church. Another thing I don't know if you

know about the American flag is that it is to

never dip to any other. Never. I read some interesting

things. In 1908 at the Olympics, it was in Europe,

and our flag bearer, when they all come time

to tip the flag to the king of England, old glory

here just stood tall. I told Pastor Brian this

morning, I said, why would you tip to he who

you conquered? Come on, somebody. Why would you,

no, no, no. You might want a curtsy right here,

kind sir. Interesting facts about the flag. I'm

proud to represent it. I'm proud to have it in

our sanctuary. Although the places of prominence

I don't think need to be up there. I kind of

like where we have them. In sight and in mind.

But today I wanted them out in the forefront

for you so that you'd understand that this flag

doesn't hold priority over this flag. Because

that one day, this one will tip. Hello? One day,

this one will tip, not to the symbol, not to

the banner, but to the king of the banner. The

king of England may not get a tip, but the king

of glory will get more than a tip. For she shall

bow with every other. I'm going to try to get

warmed up right here now. For us as believers,

this flag here is our standard. It is our banner.

This Christian flag waves in praise of our Lord

Jesus Christ. Amen? who gave up his divinity,

surrendered his divinity to carry a cross for

us, the symbol at its top. Not an eagle, the

symbol of Calvary, the symbol of sacrifice. It

waves in celebration of the Holy Spirit. When

who is the wind beneath the sails of our hearts

and it invites us to worship our risen Lord and

the God of all glory. When you see it waving,

it should cause your mind to lift up. the head

and look toward the glories. Amen. It should

let your eyes gaze across its colors and see

the cross at its tip but lift your eyes as the

psalmist would say above the heels from which

cometh him help because his help comes from the

Lord. When you see this national banner it's

for the nation of those who follow Christ and

believe it or not there's a nation within the

nation. I begin to think about the banners and

the standards and the flags representing presented

in Scripture. There's more about flags. There's

more about standards and Scripture and ensigns

than you can imagine in the Bible. Webster calls

it a banner, a flag, a standard, an ensign. And

there's more to what goes on than just meets

the eye. The Bible, the Scripture is filled with

references to banners and standards and the insignia

that we see and know that God is Lord of all.

We can find one Himself. in Exodus 17, 15 as

Moses declared this. One of the names of God,

Jehovah Nissim, the Lord our... banner. Hallelujah.

The Lord waves proudly before us and truly the

spirit of the Lord, that wonderful wind of the

breath of God that blows in our hearts and causes

us to move and to go about our being. It's the

power of God within us to help us and to instruct

us along our way. But let's just look at a few

others before we progress a little further. So

you'll know that pastor's in the book today and

not just making something up for you that it's

something to draw our attention to. This morning

in Psalm 20 and 5, we hear this. We will rejoice

in your salvation. In the name of our God, we

will set up our... Hallelujah. We will set up

our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

We're going to talk a little bit about what banners

we can fly as we inquire of the Lord. And we

seek him with our petition. In Psalm 64 and 5,

we see these words. You have given a banner to

those who fear you, that it may be displayed

because of the truth. Selah, that your beloved

may be delivered. Are you hearing, pastor, this

morning? that your beloved may be delivered.

Say with your right hand and hear me. We're going

to wave our banner because I need the delivering

power of God. And I want the Lord to know that

I am on his side. Amen. Oh, you need to know.

I want to wave it proud and clear. Amen. That

I am a blood -bought, born -again child of the

living God. Amen. I'm not ashamed of the marker

of it. I'm not ashamed to let that banner go.

I'm not ashamed. to count myself one who has

been bought and purchased and cleaned and purified

and empowered for service in the Lord's army.

Man, a little song come to my mind. I may never

march in the infantry right in the cavalry. Shoot.

50 artillery I may never fly over the enemy,

but I'm in the Lord's army. You see, back in

the day, we didn't care to get a little foolish

to let somebody know I am in. I'm signed up.

My God, I am one. I may be in the infantry of

the Lord, but I am here. Amen. I may not do many

of these other things, but I am in the Lord,

and his banner flies over me. two and four. He

brought me to the banqueting house and his banner

over me is love. Hallelujah. What a banner. What

a flag. What an insignia to fly over you. You

ought to do a little research and look. Every

tribe of Israel had an insignia. They had a standard.

They had a banner. We know of the tribe of Judah,

which is the lion. Amen. It was on their banner.

And they marched behind their banner. And all

the other 11 tribes, they all had their banner.

They all had their symbol. They all had their

sign. Why? Because when you look up and see the

banner, that's where I'm standing. supposed to

camp tonight. That's where I'm supposed to be.

Amen. I've got a campsite under this one, but

I've got a better one under this one right here.

Amen. A nation within a nation. A nation when

every nation around this world, that flag flies

in every corner of this world. There's not a

continent that someone isn't camping under the

banner of the Lord's insignia, that sign of Christianity,

the blood belt, the Lord himself. Well, hallelujah.

Isaiah. Isaiah said he will lift up a banner

to the nations from afar and will whistle to

them from the end of the earth. Surely they shall

come with speed swiftly. Man. Talking about all

this ball stuff. When they were that size, we

did the same thing. And my mind, when the scripture

says, and the whistle goes out, and hopefully

they'll come running speedily. That was my kids'

sign. When they could hear my whistle, I don't

care how many were around. I don't care what

they were doing. When they heard me whistle,

they stopped. I've done it before just to see

them, just to see what they'll do. In a crowd

playing, I whistled, they would stop and begin

to do this. Looking for me to say, it's time

to go. Didn't matter where they were. Didn't

matter what we were doing. If they heard me whistle,

they were looking for me so that they could come

running to me. Oh, come on now. Isn't that what

the Lord just saying? He's got a banner. And

let the whistle be heard from the end of the

earth. So all that see it and identify with it.

Oh, come running speedily. My Lord, there's not

a whistle going to sound. There's a trumpet going

to sound. Hey, hey. and they're going to come.

Oh, my Lord. Woo! Come on, somebody. It's National

Flag Day, and we're having church. Hey, surely

they shall come with speed. If I had them boys

right there with me for a summer, they'd come

speedily. I assure you. Because only one time

do you want to turn and go the other direction

when you know that you heard me. Huh? Next time

you hear me, you will come to attention and go

to looking. And in that day there shall be a

root of Jesse who shall stand as a banner to

the people for the Gentiles shall seek him. Hallelujah.

That's us. That's us. The Gentiles shall seek

him and his resting place shall be glorious.

I'm just going to give you some that you can

look up and read when you get home. I'm not going

to cover all of them or you'll get up and leave

because I won't get done. Isaiah 11 and 10. Isaiah

18 and 3. Isaiah 30 and 17. Isaiah 49 and 22.

Isaiah 59 and 19. I will read this one. So shall

they fear the name of the Lord from the west

and his glory from the rising of the sun. When

the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit

of the Lord shall raise up a standard against

him. Hallelujah. He's going to raise up a standard

when the flood of the enemy tries to overwhelm

you and overtake you. I'm telling you, the Lord

of glory is going to put a stop to it. He's going

to plant his marker. He's going to say, come

to me. Woo, my Lord. There's so many good ones.

You just hate to run over them all. Amen. Isaiah

62 and 10. Jeremiah 50 and 2. Zechariah 9 and

16. I want to hit that one, but I won't. Understand

that this banner is the freest banner there is

under which you can march. You hear me? It is

the freest banner on the face of this earth owing

allegiance to no man or nation. Are you hearing

me? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United

States of America and the republic for which

it stands. One nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all. That's my allegiance.

I am claiming my allegiance. But let me tell

you something. This flag right here has no allegiance

to no man other than the man, God himself, the

incarnate one. Amen. He bows to none, but all

shall bow before him. I'm telling you, it's the

freest flag that you can. There is liberty and

perfect peace in him and in him alone. Oh, my

God. And where the spirit of the Lord is, it

ushers those who are with him to come and go

in the liberty of his. choosing and that choosing

is hope and peace and love. The liberty that

you have. There is some yet tyranny and taxation

under this banner but there is the taxes are

paid in full. The bill is paid in full right

over here. It'll come. The first pledge written

by a Methodist minister years ago for the Christian

flag goes like this. I pledge allegiance to my

flag and the Savior for whose kingdom it stands.

One brotherhood uniting all mankind in service

and love. Later ratified to read as this. I pledge

allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior

for whose kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified,

risen, and coming again with life and liberty.

For all who believe. Now, my Lord, I can pledge

some allegiance to that. Amen. I can stand firm

beneath that. Amen. I can bow before that. Amen.

I don't bow at that, but I will bow for the cause

of this. Amen. It's not the flag. Amen. It's

not the flag, but it's what the flag represents.

The banner for Judah was the lion, and when that

banner was there, that's where they rallied.

Amen. It represented Judah. This represents the

Lord of glory. It stands in semblance for the

sacrifice. that he alone made and he alone could

make so that all who come unto him could have

everlasting life. You don't get that here. You

get that here. Well, hallelujah. Two flags, two

tails of sacrifice and love. Two tails, two flags

representing sacrifice and love. Now, the only

ones that serve under this, maybe under duress,

are those who were drafted. But they served.

And if you didn't, if you dodged, what about

here? What about your service over here? There

was shame when you dodged that draft. Oh, now,

for all those of you that are shouting and clapping

while I go, you're under this banner. Raise your

hand one more time. You're not dodging, are you?

You're not dodging, are you? You're not dodging

service, are you? What's that? I'm trying to

think of the name of that movie. Private Doss

in it. What? Hacksaw Ridge. He wanted to serve.

He didn't try to get out of it. He signed up.

He wanted to serve differently. He had a conviction.

Are you hearing me? Have you seen the movie?

If you haven't, you need to watch that. It's

a pretty good movie. It's a pretty good movie.

It was at one of those times that our flag was

hanging a little limp that that old man was talking

about. But he wanted to serve. And I hope it

went pretty close anyway to the way the narrative

was given on screen. But when he stood before

them and he told them, he said, look. I want

to serve. I just don't want to take life. I want

to try to help save life. That's what he told

his superiors. They're trying to court -martial

him, get him out and all this stuff. It's a good

movie. He just wanted to serve. He wanted to

preserve life. I'm not going to spoil it for

you if you haven't seen it. You just need to

watch it. He wasn't trying to dodge. He wasn't

trying to get out of it. Man, he was mistreated.

He wasn't trying to get out of service. He just

wanted to carry a medic bag instead of a rifle.

He wanted to try to help save life instead of

take life. And that was just kind of head scratching

to some of his superiors. But when it was all

said and done, I liked what the head officer

there told him that. He said, well. If you want

to run headlong into the enemy, I forget exactly

how you word it, and get yourself killed, who

am I? Go ahead. But you've got to watch it, people,

to see the end of that. We can't be dodgers.

We can't dodge our service. Amen? And you can't

be a conscientious objector to the battle plan

either for this one. You might can over there.

But for this one, you can't. You can't. You can't

compromise the plan. You can't compromise the

service. You can't compromise your duty. The

Apostle Paul said, What man, ensigned in the

army of God, would entangle himself into the

affairs of this world? You've got to be committed

to the core values. of what it represents. Don't

dodge it. Don't hide from it. Don't compromise

it. But stand boldly and firmly for that for

which it stands. Remembering what God has done

for us. Remembering how God has blessed us. Remembering

that very first moment that you trusted him to

cleanse you of your sins. I wonder on the tip

of your mind right now and how fresh might it

be. I can recall the day I bent a knee and truly

repented of my sins. I remember that very well.

I'd love to say I was faithful to my service.

Amen. No, I went AWOL a few times. At least seven

that you know of. Six that you know of that I've

told you about. I went AWOL. But I come back.

I went over the wall, but he come after me and

brought me right back in. But now here I am,

fully committed to the service and the cause

of the banner for which I am camped beneath.

Amen. Why? Because the banner is not just over

me. The banner is in me. Hallelujah. I'm sold

out to the cause of it. One of the privileges

of this nation. Bad as I hate to say it and bad

as it makes me feel. And for those of you that

may be possibly in this room that have bled for

it, got your medal to prove it, I can only imagine

how some of you who have served under this feel

when we see the idiocy of people who live under

its protection but disdain it. who love the freedom

of speech that it affords them, if it was up

to me, the first one that lights a match is gone.

What nation of origin would you like to land

in? You're out of here. Oh, that's just me. That's

your pastor, okay? I know that's a little bit

hardcore, but that's where I'm at. That's where

I'm at. You lie to match to her, honey. You're

gone. You have forfeited the privilege to live

under its protection. Where do you want to live?

Give me an illegal that's coming over here that

may look at this and have pleasure in the freedom

that it may afford them over some idiot who don't

understand the blood that was given for their

right. Now, you don't get under me, you just

did. You light a match here, honey, you are gone.

You're not, you're going straight to jail and

out of here, and you will not collect $200 if

I was over it. Bread and water might be all you

would get. It would be an honor for me to slice

you some of that green moldy bologna that they

talk about and have to eat. But now, let's go

over here. You really want to get me stirred

up. Now, I get upset you're treading on old glory.

But it's hard for me to fight against my flesh

when folks go to treading on this. When you go

to treading on the cause, when you go talking

to get scrapped, my skin crawls every time I

hear someone use the name of the Lord in vain.

It's just like. You just want to slap the taste

out of somebody's mouth. Because why? They don't

have good sense to know that the protection that

they're living under. Oh, pastor? Yeah. Don't

you know that the Lord causes it to rain on the

just and the unjust? Don't you know that every

day that the unjust get up and take a breath

of fresh air, God's been good to them? Oh, they

don't realize how good God has been by sending

his beloved son to perch himself upon the bars

of that cross and to carry it and to drag it

to Calvary's hill. He who would bankrupt glory

with his royalness and his attributes. My God,

the peril of great price that was given for them.

My God, you ought to get up. If you're in this

house of sin, you ought to leave here praising

God, whether you accept his sacrifice or not.

Why? Because it's of his good mercy and of his

good grace that you take another breath. You

go to treading on that and its principles in

here, I don't have control. What goes on with

that one? But I do this one here. You go disparaging

Christ and I'll show you the door. You go talking

against his sacrifice, saint or sinner, I'll

show you the door. And we got enough mediums

around here to help me get you out if I can't

do it myself. And they will happily assist pastor.

You know, well, that sounds awful violent. Well,

according to the Word of God, Matthew puts it

this way. Since the days of John the Baptist,

the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and

they that take it, take it by force. That's part

of our problem. We've got people who believe

once you come here, you don't have to do anything

against the devil anymore. He's running from

you. Hogwash. He's coming dead at you. He's coming

for you. You are marked. Why? Because he knows

the banner that you're under, so he knows where

to find you, and he's headed to you. Two flags,

two tails of sacrifice and love. As we take a

moment to remember today, remembering is vital

to the life of a child of God. You've got to

remember. You cannot let yourself come out with

self -righteous amnesia. You've got to make yourself

remember what you were, where he found you and

saved you. Well, I was a good person. Well, that

don't get it. You're still a good sinner person.

Well, how do you know? Because we're all born

that way. Come on. You're born in it. We're born

in sin. And the only way to get out of it is

to be reborn. How do you know? You must be born

again. Again. Nicodemus scratching his head.

What are you saying? I'm an old man. I can't

get back in my mother's womb. No, no. Must be

born of the water and of the spirit. So it's

vital for us to remember his banner over us.

Psalm 105 .5 says, Remember his marvelous works.

that he hath done his wonders and the judgments

of his mouth. 106 and 4. Remember me, O Lord,

with the favor that thou hast bearest unto thy

people. Visit me with thy salvation. Upon our

liberation. Upon the liberation of his people

from bondage from Egypt. Exodus 12, 14, this

day shall be unto you for a memorial. As they

began to consecrate their firstborn to God, Moses

said to the people in 13 and 3 of Exodus, remember

this day in which you came out from Egypt. To

the extent that they remembered the Lord's steadfast

love and saving acts toward them. The Israelites

had a... Much better chance of staying faithful.

And it's the same way for you and I. You got

a better chance of not going AWOL if you continually

remind yourself of everything He's done for you.

Part of the problem in Christendom is, especially

here in the Western world, we've become at ease

in Zion. But not so around the world. I don't

know what some of the tribulation is that's already

in action. I don't know what, I know there's

tribulation in the world. Even possibly beginning

of the end times of the tribulation. Christians

are being killed by the hundreds and the thousands

because of their alignment with the principle

of that standard. Armies rallying up just going

out and killing them. Let me ask you something

today. Just for personal pondering. It was a

chore probably for a few of us today to just

go ahead and make up our mind. Well, I guess

I'll go on. Versus many of the other activities

that you could have be participating in right

now. I guess I'll just go on church. Look, if

you don't come for any other reason than to keep

me from being aggravated when you're not here,

come on. For those of you visiting, is he like

this always? Yes, I'm sorry. I'm just me, transparent.

Yeah, it aggravates me when you're not here.

Especially if you don't have a good reason. None

of your excuses I accept. Reasons, I ponder.

Do you know today, this very Sunday, we have

people on mountains, land, lakes, and seas. And

all points in between. Not excuses, they're reasons.

They're taking well -deserved vacations. But

what we also have, as my phone is lit up this

morning, we have people in beds of affliction.

We have people sick who would love to have been

able to join us this morning to worship. They

would have loved to be here. They haven't abandoned.

They haven't went AWOL. They're in sickbay. They

need the touch of the Lord on their life. They

need the hand of God. Even our folks on vacation.

And I'll even pray for the lazy ones that just

don't. But you don't want me to tell you how

I pray for you. Just know I pray for you. Sincerely.

Whenever he grew weary, Martin Luther would repeat

over and over again. I hope I get this Latin

term right. I am baptized. I am baptized. And

in saying these words, he tapped into the source

of his strength. On the road to Emmaus in Luke

24, 27, Jesus expounded unto those disciples

all the scripture concerning himself. When Mary

stood at the empty tomb, the angel urged her

to remember what Jesus had said to her. Remember

what he said to you. When we think about the

greatest remembrance of all, it would be found

in 1 Corinthians 11, the Lord's Supper. He would

even instruct them to do this in remembrance

of me until I come. We have selective memory.

We select what we want to remember and we dismiss

everything else. But I encourage you today, do

not dismiss the hard times as I read in our opening

text. Because sometimes things get so hard you

just stagger. As though you've been forced to

drink the wine of intoxication. Sometimes we

merely just stagger our way through events of

life. Sometimes we just make it. We just barely

make it, but we make it. And we do so because

of the power of remembrance. That's how I do

it. I've had people say, well, how are you doing?

Well, I'm doing. Man, I just don't know how you

do it. Well, I'm going to tell you. I remember

when I knelt beneath this. I remember the day

that I accepted the call to do what I'm doing

now. Vividly, clearly. I remember the covenant

I made with the Lord concerning preaching this

gospel. I said, Lord, you know me even better

than I know myself. And I was a young me then.

Didn't know really how much impact it was going

to be. But Lord, you know I only know how to

say things one way. And you're going to have

to help me. You're going to have to help me.

Because you know me. I would not have called

me. No. No. I'd let me be a Sunday school teacher.

I would have permitted me to keep being the church

clerk. Because the way I am about the Lord's

money, it would be me that you would want keeping

your books. Let me tell you in this house, don't

you ever worry about pastor and your money. You

don't have... There's those in here who testify

to you about that. You do not have to worry about

me misusing your funds. That ain't going to happen.

Hell too hot and I've lived too long to be a

Judas and dip my hand in the kitty. No, no, no.

But that's what I'd have wanted me to do because

I'd have known my faithfulness to the Lord's

charge over what is His. I'd have let me keep

being clerk. I'd have said, Brother Cliff. You

keep leading, singing. It wasn't singing in worship

back in my day. It was singing. Y 'all have heard

me. You know that's what I do. Sing by the letter.

Open up, let her fly. But I would have let me

keep doing that. Give me that red back and let

him roll. That's what I'd have had me doing.

But God, in his infinite wisdom, bigger than

that one, called me. And so my commitment to

him was this. I'll preach it till the day I die.

Straight. Because somewhere along the way in

my Bible reading during that time, I read in

Ezekiel where the Lord was going to charge the

prophets for having blood on their hand of the

innocent. And I said, that will never be me.

Amen. I'll be accused of a lot of things. Of

a late. But one thing they cannot accuse me of

is not preaching the truth. Because heaven's

too real. Jesus is too sweet. And I want to see

him. And I want to stand one day. I don't know

how it's going to be at the judgment. I don't

know how it's going to be. But so far, the Lord

has entrusted me over four of his sheepfolds.

Four of his pens. He's entrusted me with those

four. I don't know if he's going to go down the

road. Eternity will just be on, so it don't matter

if I'm going a little long, like today. But when

it comes time to call roll at Hopewell for the

years of 2019, the third Sunday of the year of

our Lord, from that moment to whenever my journey

ends, I don't know if he's going to say, all

right, you stand here, shepherd. I don't know

how this is going to be. But I do know according

to the word that we shepherds are going to be

judged a little more harshly. As to how we handle

the word in God's people. So I don't know if

I'm going to have to stand and let each one of

you come by. And I give an account. But I assure

you this day. Your blood will not be dripping

between my fingers. Because I'm telling you today.

If you're in sin you need to repent. If you don't

know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And

you've not signed up yet. He's calling you today.

He's calling you. From where? From darkness into

light. Why? So that you may have what I'm about

to talk to as you stand to your feet. Isaiah

said, when the enemy comes in like a flood, that

he'll raise up a standard against him. I preached

long, but I could have preached longer because

I left out a lot of the little details. I didn't

take you through the Hebrew words for the standard,

for the banner, for the ensign. We didn't go

over all those, but they're there. The depths

of what that symbol means. I didn't talk to you

about all of those flags of the tribes of Israel,

what they represented and what they stood for,

but they had meaning and purpose. Because I wanted

our mind to focus. I didn't labor too awful long

over here on old glory. How she waved through

the night to give hope for freedom. Because I

want our focus right here. Where our allegiance

is truly, truly pledged. I tell you today, if

this varies far or any from this, I'm here. Don't

even have to go far if she varies any. I'm here.

I'm not there. I'm not there. To bow the knee

in 2020, to shut the doors for the weeks that

we were closed was about all I could muster.

Matter of fact, we stayed open a few weeks after

they said shut her down. And we were in full

church mode before they said you could open her

back up. And I don't think I'm going to lock

them anymore. I don't think I will. I don't think

I'm going to lock them anymore. I have faith

in God. I have trust in God. Anytime this says

shut the doors, if you want to worship, come

on, because I'm going to be here. If it's not

here, wherever, if I have another fold, I'm not.

Don't get me wrong. If I am stationed at another

one before the Lord comes or I go, those people

will be able to do what I'm telling you to do.

Come on to church if you want to. Doors will

be open. We'll be as safe as we can with whatever

may be going on. But I'm not shutting her down

again. We're going to have church. And with that,

what I tell you is you take care of you. You

pray. You pray. And you take care of you. I'm

not telling you what to do. I'm saying I will

be here. And if you want to, come on. We'll have

church. Fair. Fair enough. Because the enemy

is coming in like a flood. He is. Floodwaters

are rolling. If you need to go, right now is

going to be your chance. Thank you so much for

being here today because I'm about to give an

altar call right here. But if you need to go,

you will not offend me because I know I've got

long and an hour goes late. I want you to have

a blessed day. And I pray the word in your worship,

the Spirit of God has ministered to you in this

house today. But for those of us, those of you

who may need something a little bit more, here

it is. The standard needs to be raised and the

Lord's ready to raise it because he sees the

floodwaters of the enemy. So whatever you need

to put as an insignia on your banner, I want

you to come raise it up. If it's healing, say,

I need healed. Come down here and raise your

banner. Because by his stripes, we are healed.

Are you hearing me? If it's peace, come down

here. I need peace of mind. You come down here

and you wave a banner. Your hands are your banner.

You begin to surrender and lift them up. I need

peace. If you need provision, come down here.

And lift up your banner. Lord, you are my provider.

I read all of those to you. And there was many

more that we could have read about the banners

and the signs and the standards that could be

raised up. Because the enemy's coming in like

a flood. If the devil's after you, if the enemy's

trying to destroy you, come down here and raise

up that victorious banner. Stand under the victory

of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's his victory. He

has won. He has fought. Death's swallowed up.

The grave has no victory. Our victory is in Christ

Jesus, the one for whom this banner represents.