graduation Sunday

have, to hear the trades mentioned. Come on now.

To hear the trades mentioned. Folks actually

going to go out there and not work with a head,

but work with their hands. Welders, which are

after my own heart. And for this young lady,

I thought, yeah. She hadn't got burnt good yet,

but yeah. I've got scars between my toes where

them balls of fire got through the tongue in

my boots. I'm scarred up. Come on now. Anybody

else? Yeah. But that's just electricians, physical

therapists, cosmetologists, hair cutters. You've

got to have a haircut. Samuel needs one now.

So you need somebody to practice on. Right there

is one. Is that right? Sister Kathy, we can get

him in the chair. But just kindly, you know,

I think we have enough psychology majors in the

world. They lose out. They scratch their head

when they talk to me. Are you ready? I have exactly

one hour to get this done. Come on. And we're

going to get done less than that, I promise you.

Isaiah reads 43, verse 18. Remember ye not the

former things, neither consider the things of

old. Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall

spring forth. Shall you not know it? I will even

make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the

desert. I want to preach to you this morning

on a simple thought. Now what? When we're thinking

about graduation, now what? Amen. I'll pray for

you if you pray for me. Pray the Lord. Speed

pastor up. Make him very expedient. Father, we

love you today. We thank you for your mercy and

your grace and your goodness and the abundance

of your love. And I ask God that you'd have your

way in our hearts and minds today for you truly

are good and your mercy endures forever. The

fullness of this day, Lord, I thank you for every

graduate at every level. Lord, I thank you today

for the call that we're hearing to step outside

the realm of normal, to step out and go beyond

the realm of comfort. And Lord, to enter into

the kingdom and kingdom work. I ask Father God

now, have your way in our hearts and lives. It

would be quick to praise you in all things. And

the church said. Amen. You can be seated. You

know, graduation is just simply elevating beyond

one point to another to graduate, to move from

one phase to one stage and to move to another.

Nowadays, we graduate from preschool. Amen. All

the way through PhDs. But even beyond that, you

have the school of life. Amen. I'm working on

my PhD in that. I don't know when you get that,

but for me growing up, a PhD was piled up high

and deep. Or at about 13, working with Dad on

the farm, you were the PhD, the post hole digger.

I had one of those. I've earned one of those.

Earned it. Not one of these honorary things.

I earned that one. Blisters. The whole deal.

Yeah. But life has its graduating moments. Amen?

And frequently, you and I, we arrive at pivotal

moments in life as we continue to go on. When

we get to some of those moments, we say, well,

this is it. We finally arrived until you just

pass it on by. And that moment is still there.

Enter those moments, we have a self -sense of

accomplishment and achievement. We say, but this

is what I've been working for. This is the moment

that I've been waiting for. I'm so glad to see

so many of our graduates here post -graduation.

Normally when they walk, you don't get them.

And so to see them here and others that were

out of town today and unable to be here, it's

what you've been waiting for. It's what you've

been working so hard for. That's what all of

those school mornings was about and all the education

that you hopefully received was all about. And

you'd been waiting, and there's a sense of accomplishment

and achievement when you get there. And after

what seemed like a relentless amount of time,

it never lets up, classes, assignments, projects,

tests. And then finally when you get it done.

Amen, whatever level of graduation it is. If

preschool, you're excited to go into kindergarten.

Kindergarten graduation, you're excited to go

into first grade. You know, and when you finally

make it to junior high, you're arriving when

you make it through that junior high graduation,

and you get to enter into high school. And then

finally, after four long years, you finish that

high school diploma. You get that, and it is

a sense of achievement, and you have achieved

a lot by doing so. You've done it. Now what is

the question? And certainly graduation is not

any form, any level of graduation. It's not the

pinnacle of life. It's merely the setting us

up and the preparation to fulfill what God's

call is on our life. And, you know, if you're

good at what you do, it's a gifting and a calling.

How many of you have ever, I love to watch people

do what they're called to do. It doesn't matter

to me what it is. I love to watch a roofer from

the ground. I'm not real good at being up there

with him. I've been there, but I love to watch

a roofer who is called and gifted to roof. I

mean, it's a flick of a wrist, and they've got

a roofing tack nailed in one smack. I heard a

guy one time on the back of the roof, and if

you'd have asked me to put my life on it, I'd

have said he was using an air hose and an L -gun.

But as I'm walking around, I could not see the

air hose. And I thought, well, maybe they've

got these new gas guns, right? I walk around,

dude's got an apron and a handful of tacks, and

I hammer. And, I mean, you would have just thought

for sure that he was using an automatic device.

No, he's skilled and gifted. It doesn't matter

what it is. An operator, have you ever found

yourself being mesmerized by watching a backhoe

operator dig or a dozer man push? It doesn't

matter what it is. People who cut, it doesn't

matter. A chef, a cook, whatever. When you see

people who are doing what they're gifted and

called to do, it just comes natural. And I heard

a statement the other day that's worth repeating.

If you do what you love, then you never work

a day in your life. Amen? And some of you are

doing stuff you don't love, and it's a labor.

It's a labor. It's a labor. Every day is a drudgery

for you. Well, find what you love and do that.

And then you're not. You're just fulfilling the

joy of your life daily. And graduation is about

that. It doesn't matter what it is that you.

Sister Kathy and I have told our kids growing

up, we do not care what you do to make a living.

Just work and work hard doing it and serve God

while you're at it. It doesn't matter to me if

you're swinging on the backside of Superior's

sanitation truck and you get the garbage for

that. It is. a needed job. Amen? And there are

folks who'd love to do that. I'm not that guy.

I don't even like taking it to the end of the

road, let alone ride around picking up your garbage.

Amen? But people do, and it's not degrading to

be that. Amen? You do what you're gifted to do,

and you make your way in life, and you serve

God in every aspect of doing it. Carpenters who

can just, in their mind, and metal workers who

can just, in their mind, and they see it, and

they build it, and there it is. Graduation declares

a point to which we have grown and a level to

where maturity has come, a point from which we

continue to grow. I am still growing after the

graduations of life, after the educational process

of my life. I'm still growing. Even though in

many of us in here, you've been out of school

for decades, and you're still learning, and you're

still growing, and life is still processing in

your life. Lessons, amen, the lessons. of life

and the lessons of hard knocks, they're always

near you. You're always going to have them. Instruction

is daily. See, read, know, understand, listen,

and pay attention. Because when it's now what,

there's always something else. You've never fully

arrived. You've never fully achieved. And it

works that same way with life as in school or

educational progress as you go through that life.

In this thing we call faith, in this life that

we have as children, of God as the church of

the living God. You never arrive until we arrive

in this place that we've heard them singing and

they've led us in worship about. And when we

stand before this God who is most holy, then

we can say we've arrived. We've not arrived yet.

We've not gotten anywhere yet. We're just still

in the process of living. Amen. And lessons are

going to come in daily. And we must progress

daily and continue to mature and continue to

grow. We are to mature in our our faith as much

as we are in our preparation to be educated to

do that thing that we feel called and we feel

pulled toward. Amen. Never be ashamed of what

you feel called to do because there is a need,

amen, around you in humanity or God wouldn't

be putting it on your heart to do it. There is

a need for it. There's no big I's and little

u's. There's no significant or insignificant

because it takes the entirety of humanity to

make this world continue to go. and function

and operate. So don't be ashamed. Don't let no

one talk down to you about what you feel like

you need to be doing to fulfill your life, amen,

and the call of God on your life. Because if

you're sitting in this room, I'm encouraging

you to pray and seek God about what it is he

wants out of you and what he's gifted you to

do. And do that to the fullness of your ability,

not with eye service as the Bible directs, but

with the whole heart. Do it as unto the Lord.

If it's on the back of that garbage truck, then

sing as you go the praises of God and minister

to those that are around you. Be kind and be

joy -filled. Don't dread one day of it, and it'll

be a good day every day. Why? Because the school

of hard knocks will eventually show itself. And

you say, now what? It's the next step. It's the

next level. It's the next lesson. It's the next

thing that has to be learned and the next thing

that has to be applied in your life. Amen. Well,

I didn't intend to get all this fully wound up

today talking about graduation Sunday. And I

guarantee you it'll preach we get through this

introduction. Graduation can be stressful. I

mean, on this side of it, y 'all didn't feel

a thing, did you? But leading up to that walking,

it's high stress. You know, it's high stress.

It just... I began to think about that in studying

and preparing for this sermon. I remember my

high school graduation. I don't know why I was

stressed, but I was. You know, there's just this,

all of a sudden, the apprehension that comes

with this graduation. Now what? I knew what I

was doing the year before. I was getting up and

going back to school. Now all of a sudden things

are going to change. So now what? When we begin

to think about the stress of it, fear, relief,

sadness, hope, apprehension, exhilaration, and

all of this rolls up into a piece of paper that

we call a diploma. Some of you, you do know why

they give you that little book with nothing in

it, right? Because they know half of you are

going to lose it. Yeah, that night, no, no. That's

the reason you don't get it then. I was so disappointed

when I opened it up and it wasn't there. I thought,

well, where's it at? Then I began to think, well,

what did I do? Hey. Did they keep it? Then I

get mad. I think, well, if they kept it, then

why'd I even fool with being here? You know,

it's a long time ago, saints. But graduation

is exhilarating sometimes. Isn't that way? When

we graduate levels of life and the hard knocks

of life and the enemy that's coming against us

every day. You do know the enemy hasn't let up

yet, right? He's still coming after you. And

we learn that. And apprehension builds. Excitement

builds. Enthusiasm builds. And just for a little

extra. FYI, about graduating and life's pivotal

moments when you are now asking yourself, what

now? Here's something I want you to consider.

First of all, I want you to consider that you

must push through the fear that is rising up

in front of you. You've got to push past it.

Oh, I know there's a lot of unknowns ahead of

you. I know those of you that are maybe going

on for further education, there's unknown things

about the schools that you're going and the lessons

that you're going to have to learn and the projects

and all that. things that rise up. And if you

are a child of God, let me just tell you right

now, the enemy's going to cause a fear to try

to well up within you. But I'm here to tell you,

don't you dare be afraid. Don't you dare because

the steps of a good man or woman are ordered

of the Lord. And if you have prayed and you have

sought God and you're on your way into doing

what God is calling you and instructing you and

pulling you to do, you don't have to be afraid.

Amen. You don't have to have fear and let fear

rise in you. There are no fears and there are

unknown fears, but something I want you to know

right now, you're only born into this world with

two fears. One is the fear of loud noises. You

ever see a day or two old baby, you bring them

home and you try to be real quiet, but then dad's

trying to help mom cook because she's still recovering

and he opens the bottom cabinet door and about

five pots and pans fall out on the floor, clang,

clang, and little Susie or little Junior, they're

wound up in that little cocoon thing, but they

jump because they've Heard this loud, startling

noise. That's one fear. And the other is the

fear of falling. Amen. We're born with that one.

Amen. We're afraid to fall. But something I want

you to know right now, there's a difference between

falling and failing. Amen. Don't you dare be

afraid to fail because you learned through the

lessons of hardship. Amen. It's not. And if you

do fall, you need to hear what the prophet Micah

said. Though I fall, don't you rejoice over me,

O my. enemy because I shall arise and I may be

in a dark room but the glory of the Lord will

be the light that illuminates my pathway hear

me don't let fear dictate what you do or do not

do the devil is a liar and God is the truth of

your life if he's called you he'll anoint you

and if he's anointed you he'll equip you seek

him follow him and know him and do what he's

called you to do Happy graduation Sunday. Every

other fear or phobia that enters into your life,

you allow it with your own imagination. Unless

it's snakes or spiders, and they're real. That's

not imagined. Say, well, pastor, it's just a

snake to you. To you. If that's your approach

on that, let me find that spider web and put

it on you. And you do all this. I'll do it for

the snake. You do it for the spider web. I've

had friends of mine, rough redneck coon hunters,

and, you know, they'll pick up snakes and fool

all that. But the very time their light goes

out and they walk through a big spider web in

the dark, they look like a big sissy. They look

like me over any snake. Rubber, alive, dead,

I just don't fool with that. You know, and I've

had, and you've heard me tell it, and I'm just

going to put those on record who are new to arrive

here at Hopewell. Don't ever think it's funny

to play with a pastor with a snake of any kind.

I will hurt you. Hey, look, I am not playing.

I will hurt you. And not repent. I won't. I will

not repent. The Holy Ghost will have to put his

thumb on me and mash me good to get me to repent

from hurting you. If I do repent, it'll be under

great duress. I'll hurt you. Friend or foe, I'll

slap the living taste out of your mouth with

something. Make sure I don't have a gun. I'm

liable to shoot you. I do. I'm not playing. Well,

it's just a green snake. I don't care. That's

just the way it is. When I was 12 years old,

we lived on the farm back when I was getting

my Ph .D. I nearly got bit seven times in one

summer. Now look here. That struck a fear in

me. I've not been able. Well, I know God is God.

Come on. Now I'm up here preaching to you. I

know who God is. I know how big God is, but I

still don't like snakes. I'm moving on before

I say something that God will make me regret.

I'm going on. You don't have to be afraid. You've

got to put fear behind you. Use common sense.

Don't pick up snakes. I mean, well, don't the

Bible say? They shall handle, well, they said,

take them up. I'm not one of them. Drink in the

deadly thing. Hey, look, I drink our city tap

water. I got enough stuff in that. Talking about

fear, a little first grader stood up in front

of his class to give his speech, what I want

to be when I grow up. He said, I'm going to be

a lion tamer. I'm going to have me some fierce

lions. I'm going to walk into that cage when

they roar. And he began to think about what he

was saying. And he said, of course, mama will

go with me. I got a little 66 -year -old boy

one night. There's a thunderstorm going on. He's

scared to death. You remember how thunderstorms

are, especially these days. The weather channels

got you so scared now. If the T shows up, if

you're above a 2 on the color scale, we in fear

and trembling because of tornadoes. Come on now.

Some of you won't even come to church if it's

forecasted for Tuesday. You won't be here on

Sunday. You're prepping. I understand you've

lived through them, thankfully. I understand

how devastating they are, but I remember growing

up when I was in first grade, the bell would

ring. You'd take your history book and get in

the hallway and put it over your head. I remember

playing on the playground in Sequatchie County,

Griffith Elementary School. The siren goes off,

and on the other side of the mountain, you could

see that thing trying to come over, and we're

standing out there. Then we had to run inside,

get in that block hallway and put our history

book over our head in case that block wall got

knocked over on us. Now we'll just cancel school.

Fear! Mama went in there to tuck him to bed.

He's scared to death. He said, Mama, can't you

stay all night and sleep with me tonight? She

said, no, darling, and patted him on the head.

I've got to stay with Daddy in Daddy's room.

So she reassures him, she hugs him, kisses him,

and she gets ready to turn the light off, go

out the door, and she hears him say, Big sissy.

That's what fear will do to you. Hey, that's

what fear will do to you. Isaiah 41 .10 says,

Fear thou not. For I am with thee, be not dismayed,

for I am thy God. Above everything else you hear

in this text, you need to hear that and know

that. For I am thy God. Hey, God, I will strengthen

you. I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you

with the right hand of my righteousness. I don't

care what school of hard knock you're in right

now. I don't care what the devil's trying to

come against you with. I don't care what lie

he's feeding you. I don't care what fear's rising

up in you. You need to know who your God is and

the declaration that he makes over your life.

Oh, what did Paul tell Timothy? You have not

been given a spirit of fear, but a power and

of love. and the soundness of your mind. Look

at life. Look at it with reservation. But don't

look at it with fear. Why, Pastor, why? John

14, 27 is probably one of the best examples for

you. Peace I leave with you. My peace. There's

the catcher here. My peace, the Lord says. I

give it unto you, not as the world giveth, give

I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither

let it be afraid. Why? Because he's overcome

the world. And greater is he that's in you. Look

at things with reservation. Yes, look at them

with reserve. Study out your next move. Pray

through your next directional change. The pivot

points of your life that you're facing. The hardship

of the trial and the battle. Look at it, but

don't be afraid of it. Why? Because you can have

the same declaration that David had headed into

the valley of Elah where Goliath is roaring and

spewing. When he tells him, who do you think

you are? I'll tell you who I am. Oh, as Goliath,

he would hear those words, you come to me with

a spear and a sword. But I come to you in the

name of the Lord. My God, the battle is not mine.

It belongs to him. And if the battle is his,

then the victory is his. I'm here to claim it.

I'm here to take it. I'm here to pick it up because

greater is he that's in me than he that is in

you. You need to hear it. Now what? Now you need

to know it's his peace. It's your God. Don't

be afraid of the future. Don't be afraid of what's

in front of you. Well, hallelujah. Second, there's

only three of these, so it's just 12. Proceed

in faith. Proceed in faith. Don't be afraid.

Proceed in faith. Psalm 37 is one of the greatest

instructions for you when you begin to say, now

what? Proceed in faith. 37 .1. Fret not yourself

because of evildoers. Look here. Get the heathen

out of your mind. Are you hearing me? You let

too many folks determine your future who have

no bearing on your future. Other than what you

allow them and permit them to have over you.

For it not thy simple cause of evil doers, neither

be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

Don't ever look at the world crowd and say, I

wish I had that. Or you'll find yourself with

the psalmist in 73. Go home and read it. When

he talked about how his feet almost slipped out

from under him. How he almost fell. Why? Because

he began to look on the evildoers that were around

him. He began to look on their prosperity. Let

me tell you, unless they accept Christ, the best

they can get in this world is the best they'll

ever have. Just like I tell you, as bad as it's

going to get down here, that's as bad as it'll

ever be for you, child of God. It'll never get

any worse. The sooner you get that said in your

mind, when you begin to let your mind begin to

wrap around, that eye hath not seen and ear hath

not heard, and neither has it entered into the

heart of man what he has in store for those that

love him. The sooner you get it, you'll keep

your eyes off of the world. Verse 2, he says,

for thou shalt soon. Be cut down like the grass

and wither as the green herb. As soon as you

know that's what God's going to do to those of

iniquity. Verse 3, trust in the Lord. Now what?

Trust in the Lord. Do good. Don't do bad. Don't

be evil. Don't cheat. Don't lie. Don't steal.

Don't dip. Don't smoke. And don't go with girls

that do. That's what we was always told growing

up because they did where I was from. I almost

said, you know how bad a taste it would be if

you kissed a girl who was on Copenhagen and you

was on winter green skull? Can you imagine just

how nasty that would be? I'm glad I didn't say

that. It's just all going on in my mind. Trust

in the Lord, do good, and so shalt thou dwell

in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. In

other words, God's going to take care of you

if you remain true. Verse 4, here you go. You

want people that are depressed. You need to hear

this. You need to hear this, verse 4. Delight

yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give

thee the desires of thine heart. I've been depressed

before. I've had that shadow enter into where

I was sitting. It's hard to get out from under,

isn't it? But one thing I discovered, that I

could not delight in the Lord and remain depressed.

I had to learn that in a hard way, but I learned

it. I learned it the hard way, but I learned

it. I graduated from that one. Got the diploma,

the sheepskin, you know, the scroll I've got

on that one. I discovered that if I delight in

the Lord, I can't remain in darkness. I can't.

That shadow, Pastor Brian, begins to fade. To

the glory of the Lord that begins to enter into

my situation. Because if I delight in him, I

can't help but know that he delights in me. Are

you hearing me? Are you hearing what I'm telling

you? If you delight in him and if you remain

in him, he remains in you. And no word he's ever

spoken is a lie. And if he made you a promise,

he'll uphold that promise. And the promise that

he said this, you need to get it down right now

in the next moment when the devil tries to bring

fear to overshadow you and depression set upon

you because you can't see a way out. And you're

saying, now what? Then let your now what turn

into a delight. Lord, thou art good, and your

mercy endures forever. Lord, you are good, and

your mercy endures forever. And I thank you for

all the good things you do. And when you begin

to delight in him, do you know what happens?

He begins to show up. His presence begins to

come to where you are. Why? Because he dwells

within the praises of his people. He'll come

down and pitch a tent and sit right there while

you worship him and praise him. And the light

of his glory enters in to the darkness of your

situation. You can't delight in the Lord and

remain in darkness. So delight in him. 37, now

what? You trust, you delight, and you commit.

Commit thy way into the Lord, trust also in him,

and he shall bring it to pass. He shall bring

forth thy righteousness as the light and thy

judgment as the noonday. I read another little,

I found several little comical illustrations

that really drive these points home today. The

other one's about a little boy that was on a

church van going home from Sunday school. Tickled

to death with a little card, a little piece of

paper that he received. It had a picture on it,

and the caption read, Have faith in God. And

like most little boys riding home, the window's

open, and he's got his little card. Blows out

of his hand, out the window, and he begins to

cry out, Stop the bus! Stop the bus. I've lost

my faith in God. Bus driver pulls over. He gets

off. He runs down to pick his little piece of

paper up. He says, have faith in God. One little

parent on there, a little chaperone, said, oh,

isn't that cute? And another one that was a little

bit more astute said, wow. I want to get it right.

I want to get it right. A more perspective adult

observes that all of us would be better off if

we were that concerned about our faith in God.

How much more better off would we be if all of

a sudden, if it slipped out of our hand, we were

that concerned about stopping the bus? It may

be the short bus. I don't know what bus you're

riding, but whatever bus you're on, if you begin

to lose and your faith in God begins to slip

through your fingers and out of your heart, stop

the bus until you retrieve it. Stop the bus until

you find it and reclaim it. You cannot lose your

trust and faith in God. Connor Vogt said, nothing

is more numbing to the church than the fact that

it is mired in a rut of seemingly unfathomable

depths. The various creative approaches attempted

over the course of this decade have drawn much

attention but produced little. If any transformational

impact, although many people attend church, few

Americans are committed to being the church.

You hear me, young people? You're going to leave

this arena, probably this house of worship, this

sanctuary, and you're going to be introduced

into others who proclaim what they would say

is faith. If you go to some institutions, they're

going to tell you you must deconstruct your faith.

You leave your faith alone because if you lose

your faith in God, you stand boldly before any

professor and tell them, my pastor said no, I'm

not deconstructing anything. building upon the

foundation of the Word of God. Christ is the

solid foundation, and He is the sanctifier who

enables and baptizes me with the Holy Ghost.

I don't need to tear anything down. I just need

to build it up. You tell them I said so. Tell

them I got a Ph .D. or two. I'll give them post

hole diggers and watch them scratch their head.

I can take a book and find an answer. I guarantee

you I'd have to give instructionals for them

to dig a post hole. I almost said, and I trust

them to instruct me in theology and doctrine.

But I'll keep that one to myself. I'm going to

skip all that. You don't need that. That was

just filler material in case I had more time.

Oh, it'll preach, but I'm making a point pretty

good. And it's already about 12 after. Now what?

Refuse fear to have its way. Proceed in your

faith. And lastly, prepare for your future. Be

very leery of debt. There's a reason. The Bible

says early on that the borrower is slave to the

lender. There's a reason that's there because

that's the fact. Be very careful. In your school,

in your education, get yourself a job. Don't

roll out of there if you go further with $50

,000, $75 ,000, $150 ,000 of school loan debt.

That's good preaching right there. I'm helping

you. Well, how am I going to pay for it? Get

a job. Get a scholarship. Get something besides

a loan. Because one of these days you're going

to buy a house. Mama, I'm going to speak to some

mamas right now. Daddy's most of y 'all pretty

good. I may talk to a mama or two. Let them go

to work. They got to learn it sooner or later.

I'm from the school of sooner is better. Pastor,

you're meddling now. I know, and I enjoy it.

Somebody's got a meddle in your mess. Instead

of one of these days, you go, Pastor, why didn't

you warn us? Well, I did. Stand with me, and

I'm quitting on this one. Proverbs 16, 3 says,

listen to me now, everybody. This is all of us.

Commit thy works unto the Lord. And thy thoughts

shall be established. I told you earlier there

may be times when you fail. There will be times

when you fall. There's going to be tragedy that

enters into your life. Unspeakable things. But

do not lose your faith in God. One of my favorite

little stories about that. A farmer had an old

donkey that fell in a well, one of them that

you used to hand dig. What's he doing down in

there to start with? He's a donkey. You've ever

been around him? He's an old donkey, not really

worth going through, and he didn't have the means

to get him out. And the old well had long since

gone dry, so he was going to fill it in anyway.

So he thought, well, I'll just call some of the

neighbors in, and we'll just bury the donkey.

Two birds, one stone. Old donkey's braying and

carrying on. They start shoveling. Old donkey

realized what's going on. He began to bray louder,

and after a few minutes, the old donkey quit

braying. They kept shoveling. The old farmer

got curious as to why. He looked over down in

the well. Neighbors kept shoveling. That dirt

began to pile up on the old donkey's back. How

many of you have ever seen a horse or a donkey

shake? He shook the dirt off. When he'd shake

off enough, he'd just step up a little bit. Until

they just kept shoveling and he just stepped

out of the hole he was in. Look here. I call

it the shake it off principle. There's some things

in this life you just got to shake off and step

up. The sooner you realize you can't. You can't

do something about everything. Some things you

just simply have to shake off. People's one of

them. Negative people, you need to shake them

folks quick. Well, they're family. Well, shake

them. I mean, you got Easter, Christmas, and

Thanksgiving. You can deal with them. But I'm

married to them. Then you better pray. Keep shaking.

Step up. Life is hard. But it's good. Life is

challenging. But it's good. How can you say that,

Pastor, with all the bad things that's going

on? Because look, God hasn't forsaken this world.

The Holy Spirit's still here wooing and drawing,

comforting and caring. And God is good. You don't

know what I'm walking through. You don't know

what shadow is passing over me. I may not, but

I know He does. If you're His, He knows. And

if you're not, He knows anyway. But if you're

His, shake it off. Don't fear. Push past it.

Don't let your faith slip out of your hand. Your

faith in God. Stop the bus. Now what? What's

the answer to that? Now what? It's just the next

challenge. That's what. Whatever it is. But joy

yourself in the Lord. As time is fleeting by,

and I mean it's in warp speed. We're almost finished

with the month of May. Enjoy your relationship

with God here. Because it's going to be uniquely

different when we meet him there. Enjoy now.

Because he still longs. Brother Dwayne was teaching

Wednesday night. To come down here and walk with

you. To be with you. Through the hard stuff.

Through the challenges. It's a challenge for

us to keep delighting in the Lord. It's a challenge

for us to keep the cloud driven out. How do you

do it, Pastor? Well, we sing the old hymns, don't

we, Mom? I'll read some scripture out loud. Hair

lip the devil with it. Got no time for the darkness

today. It'll work for you. If it'll work for

me, it'll work. Delight yourself in the goodness

of God. What if they come get it? You didn't

need it to start with them, didn't you? I never

forget when they was going to come after my home,

the one that had an axle under it. Never forget

it. Reality of that fact was, They're just going

to pull it off. When you're doing all you can

do to keep your head above water and you're snorkeling

in water. But the goodness of God. Delight in

Him. Father, I love you today. Well, I don't

know how to go about this closing, this ending,

but I've got to wind it down. I do know for a

fact there are people in this room that are somewhere

in that journey of the school of hard knocks

and life and they feel like they're failing and

they got an assignment due. Lord, there's brand

new pliable lives graduated from high school.

Others from college, still graduating, yet to

enter into life and all that it brings. For those

who are here in the shadow, enemies trying to

push the darkness in, I hope this morning has

encouraged them to fear not, delight in you.

Fear not. Trust in. Delight in. Commit thy way.

Over this group of people, Lord, I pray. For

every situation. Every situation. Say, Pastor,

I need that extra touch. Just slip your hand

up. Heads bowed all over the house. Just, I need

it. Man, I needed that today. Now what? I've

been asking myself that. Now what? Father, I

pray for every hand that was lifted and every

one that should have. I ask, Lord, that you begin

to speak into their hearts as they pose that

question in prayer and in contemplation. I ask,

God, that you would lead them and you would guide

them and direct them. Lord, I pray that they

find the resolve within themselves. It has to

be themselves. They have to do it themselves.

They have to fret not. They have to trust. I

can't trust for them. They have to delight in

you for themselves. I can't do it for them. It's

a daily job for me and myself to keep delighted

in you, to commit my way to you because you're

going to honor that. You are our God. Your declaration

is you will strengthen us for thou art our God.

Lord Jesus, you declared it's your peace that

you've given. Everything may fall down around

you, but you don't have to fall with it. Because

he will sustain you. Sustain them, Lord. Give

them strength and give them grace. In Jesus'

lovely name. Lord, I thank you for being with

us today. I thank you for your help to preach

your word. I sure have felt your anointing. I

pray, Lord, now that as we leave, that each one,

they will go in your grace and the power and

the promise of your word. And they walk head

on into now what? Amen. Amen. God bless you.

Hey, if you're visiting with us today, if you'll

go out that door to my left, that little banner

around there, the little booth. We got some folks

around there with a smiling face and something

special for you. We just want to let you know

how much we appreciate you being here today.

God bless you. Go in grace and peace. You're

dismissed.